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as is shown in fig1 prior art vacuum dust collection systems which may be advantageously installed in pelletizing plants ; iron ore sintering plants ; plants producing abrasive materials for industry ; gold , silver and copper collection systems , etc ; utilize a dust collector system ( schematically labeled as 16 ) which have discharge conduits 14 that are capable of dumping the dust accumulations into the atmosphere . connected to each conduit 14 are a pair of dust valves 10 , 12 which are connected in series and operable such that the valve gates therein are never open at the same time ; thus , the vacuum in dust collectors 16 is never allowed to be exposed to the atmosphere . in this regard , pneumatic motors 20 and 26 are controlled by controller 18 such that via suitable linkages gates 22 and 24 will be opened and closed ( to thus allow dust to pass through valve seat members 78 , 79 , respectively ) in alternate fashions . thus , in operation , gate 22 is caused to open ( move away from seat portion 74 of valve seat member 78 in a clockwise direction ) when dust is to pass from discharge conduit 14 into space 23 ( gate 24 being in a closed position , i . e ., sealingly engaged against seat portion 75 of valve seat member 79 ), and once space 23 is filled to the desired level , gate 22 is caused to close ( move counterclockwise into sealing engagement with seat portion 74 of valve seat member 78 ) and thereafter gate 24 is caused to open ( move away from seat portion 74 of valve seat member 78 in a clockwise direction ). the dust will then be dumped by gravity into the atmosphere . both the seat portions of the valve seat members and the flap portions ( not shown ) of the gates are subject to wear , and periodically require cleaning and / or replacement . for these reasons , access to the interior of the valves is provided by openings in the sides of the valve bodies which are normally covered by plates 90 , 91 . these plates are normally sealingly connected to the valve body sides by multiple screws or other such fastening means ( not shown ). the flap portion of the gate is removable and replaceable by disconnection from the supporting arm , and the seat portion of the valve seat member is replaced by removal and replacement of the entire valve seat member . turning now to fig2 which shows a perspective view , partially broken away , of a dust trap of the present invention , two dust traps 50 and 80 are shown serially mounted to one another . pneumatic motors 30 and 40 , which are controlled by air pressure from a suitable conventional controller ( see 18 in fig1 ), are connected to respective levers 31 and 41 so as to control the positioning of the valve gates within each respective valve 50 and 80 . such control is achieved via rotational movement of shafts 32 and 42 to which the levers 31 and 41 are respectively connected , the shafts being respectively mounted on brackets 33 and 43 to extend through the side walls 51 and 81 and into the interior of valves 50 and 80 . an opening in the front wall 53 and 83 of each valve , sealingly covered by a removable rectangular plate , allows for periodic access into the interior of each valve . as depicted best in fig3 which for the illustrative purposes shows only a single valve 50 , each dust valve according to the present invention includes an actuating arm 35 which at one end includes a collar 35a for connection to a portion of rotatable shaft 32 which extends within the valve 50 , and at the other end 35b includes a bore 35c through which a wrist pin ( not shown ) can be inserted so as to securely attach thereto a holding bracket 100 . holding bracket 100 is composed of two interconnectable members 110 and 140 ( see fig5 ). member 110 includes spaced apart elements 115 and 130 which are connected at one end by a bridge element 117 , and located at the lower portions of each of the elements 115 and 130 are aligned bores 116 and 131 through which the noted wrist pin is insertable ( the end 35b of actuating arm 35 being dimensioned to fit between spaced apart elements 115 and 130 ). to provide for snug interconnection with member 130 , member 110 includes rectangular block extension elements 120 and 121 which respectively extend away from elements 115 and 130 , the ends of each extension element comprising a flat surface . rectangular flat abutment surfaces 101 and 102 on elements 115 and 130 , positioned below extension elements 120 and 121 , include threaded holes 103 and 104 for the end of adjustment bolts ( or screws ) 164 and 165 . member 140 includes spaced apart elements 150 and 160 which are connected at one end by a bridge element 155 . the opposed ends include rectangular flat abutment surfaces 152 and 162 which correspond with rectangular abutment surfaces 101 and 102 on member 110 , as well as rectangular block indent portions which are dimensioned to correlate with the dimensions of rectangular extension elements 120 and 121 . holes 168 and 169 which extend through the lower portions of elements 150 and 160 are aligned with holes 103 and 104 in elements 115 and 130 to allow bolts 164 and 165 to pass therethrough . surfaces 171 and 172 provide abutment means for the heads of bolts 164 and 165 . at the opposite ends of members 110 and 140 are attached to bridge elements 117 and 155 are flange members 119 and 159 which extend upwardly of the elements 117 and 155 to a point which overhangs the flat top surfaces of elements 117 and 115 , i . e ., so as to define acute angular recesses 119a and 159a together with the contiguous top flat surfaces of elements 117 , 115 , 130 , 155 , 150 and 160 . these flange members act to grip and retain against the flat top surfaces of elements 117 , 115 , 130 , 155 , 150 and 160 a suitable door element ( to be described below ). the door element can be removed by loosening of bolts 164 and 165 and causing a sliding separation of members 110 and 140 . the door element 200 ( see fig7 ) is a rectangular - shaped member which is composed of a wear - resistant material such as ni metal alloy ( an abrasion and heat resistant metal alloy ). two of the opposite sides include v - shaped recesses 205 and 210 which are shaped to correspond with the configuration of flange members 119 and 159 on holding bracket 100 , i . e ., so as to be gripped thereby and thus fixedly supported on the flat top surfaces of elements 115 , 130 , 150 and 160 of bracket 100 . the door element includes two wear surfaces 215 and 220 which are each separately usable for sealingly engaging with a valve seat portion of a valve seat member as will be described below . the valve seat member 80 ( discussed hereinafter as closet 80 ) is depicted in fig3 , 5 , and 7 . it comprises v - shaped side walls 300 and 301 , a rectangular front wall 303 , a rear connecting beam 304 , and flanges 310 and 320 which extend along the top and bottom edges of the side and front walls 300 , 301 , 303 , as well as the rear beam 304 and intersect at the extremities of the v - shaped side walls adjacent the rear connecting beam 304 . these flanges have flat exposed sealing surfaces 325 and 330 ( see fig3 ), one of which at any given time functions as the valve seat of the valve 50 . these flanges also include supporting lips 311 and 321 ( see fig6 ) for support of the closet within the interior of the valve body . the inside of the closet is hollow so as to allow dust to pass therethrough when mounted within the valve body . the mounting of the closet is achieved by locating the closet within the valve body such that at least a portion of the supporting lip of the lowermost flange is supported by opposed mounting brackets 400 within the interior of the valve body ( only one such bracket is shown in fig2 ) as well as adjustment of opposed set screws 405 and 410 ( see fig4 ) which abut against opposite abutments surfaces 420 and 421 which are formed as part of the closet 80 between the flanges 310 and 320 near their intersection point . when operating , a dust valve according to the present invention includes a door member 200 mounted on a holding bracket 100 ( via engagement of flanges 119 and 159 within recesses 210 and 205 , together with abutting contact between members 110 and 140 ) which sealingly contacts the sealing surface of a flange on closet 80 which is mounted within the valve body ( via mounting brackets 400 and tightened set screws 405 and 410 ). after a long period of use , the wear flange of the closet 80 ( either flange 310 or 320 depending on how the closet is positioned within the valve body ) will wear such that an uneven surface is formed , and the peripheral wear portion of the door member 200 ( the peripheral portion of either the surface 214 or 220 ) will wear , such that pressure contact between the respective wear surfaces will not result in a sealing engagement . vacuum loss from the dust collection system will be the undesirable result . with respect to closet 80 , set screws 405 and 410 can be unscrewed from contact with abutment surfaces 420 and 421 and the closet 80 lifted off mounting brackets 400 and inverted ( such that the other flange becomes the functioning wear surface ), and then fixed again in position by positioning on the mounting brackets 400 and retightening of set screws 405 and 410 . with respect to door member 100 , bolts 164 and 165 can be loosened such that members 110 and 140 are slidingly moved away from one another , door member 200 is turned over , and then fixed again in position by sliding the members 110 and 140 back together with tightening of bolts 164 and 165 . thus , it can be easily seen that both the closet and the valve door member have twice the useful life of prior art structures . while there has been shown and described what is considered to be a preferred embodiment of the present invention , it is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	5
referring to fig4 , a core logic circuit 20 according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an interface controller portion , a geometry engine 24 and a control circuit 25 . the interface controller portion includes the similar controllers in fig1 , for example , a host controller 230 , a dram controller 231 , an agp / pci controller 232 and other i / o interface controllers 233 , which are used for controlling data exchange with a cpu , a system memory , a graphics accelerator ( not shown ) and other i / o interfaces , respectively . a demultiplexer 242 is electrically connected to the host controller 230 for receiving a first graphing command from the cpu via the host controller 230 , and outputting the first graphing command to either of the transforming / lighting ( t / l ) unit 241 and the agp / pci controller 232 . a transform / lighting operation is performed by the geometry engine 24 so as to realize a second graphing command prior to a setup / rendering operation performed by the graphic accelerator . a multiplexer 243 is electrically connected to the t / l unit 241 , the demultiplexer 242 and the agp / pci controller 232 for selecting one of the first graphing command and the second graphing command to be outputted to agp / pci controller 232 . moreover , the demultiplexer 242 and the multiplexer 243 are respectively controlled by a first control signal s 1 and a second control signal s 2 of the control circuit 25 for controlling whether the first graphing command flows to the geometry accelerator via the geometry engine 24 . it is of course that the control circuit 25 can also include registers for storing these control signals . since the transform / lighting operation is performed by the geometry engine 24 of the core logic circuit 20 , the transform / lighting operation will be no longer required to be done by the cpu . in addition , the architecture for performing transform / lighting operation could be removed from the graphics accelerator . therefore , the cost of the 3d graphics accelerator is dramatically reduced without impairing the graphics functions of the whole computer system . since the core logic 20 is pad - limited , the extra gates can be utilized for installing the geometry engine 24 and make use of the area of the core logic circuit 20 . referring to fig5 , a core logic circuit 30 according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention also includes an interface controller portion , a geometry engine 34 and a control circuit 35 . the interface controller portion includes the similar controllers in fig4 , e . g . a host controller 330 , the dram controller 331 , an agp / pci controller 332 and other i / o interface controllers 333 . the core logic circuit firmer includes a first demultiplexer 342 and a first multiplexer 343 . a data flow control unit 344 is provided between the t / l unit 341 and the multiplexer 343 . the data flow control unit 344 includes a second demultiplexer 3441 and a second multiplexer 3442 , which are interconnected with each other and both electrically connected to the memory controller 331 for determining the second graphing command to be outputted to either one of the system memory and the graphing accelerator via the memory controller 331 and the agp / pci controller 332 , respectively . the second demultiplexer 3441 and the second multiplexer 3442 are respectively controlled by a third control signal s 3 and a fourth control signal s 4 of the control circuit 35 . similarly , the control circuit 35 can also includes registers for storing these control signals . it is noted second graphing command can be optionally stored in the system memory through the dram controller 331 and , if desired , it will be retrieved . therefore , the processing speed of geometry engine 34 can match the graphics accelerator so as to avoid being idle . since the system memory is provided for buffering the output of the geometry engine , the memory bandwidth of the local memory will not be fully occupied , and the performance of the rendering engine will not be adversely affected . certainly , the geometry engine 24 / 34 can have other functions in 3d graphics . for example , a primitive sorter can re - order 3d primitives in accordance with their depth information , and discard the covered triangles . thus , only the visible primitives will be saved and passed to the next stage , which prevent the graphics accelerator from memory bound and thus enhance its performance . if the 3d graphics accelerator of a computer system has a geometry engine with the same functions as that in the core logic circuit of the present invention , it is desirable to provide a process for coordinating 3d graphics operations of a core logic circuit and a 3d graphics accelerator in a computer system , thereby obtaining the highest throughout of the 3d graphing commands . the process of the present invention includes steps of detecting respective access conditions of the system memory and the local memory , and starting the 3d geometry engine of a selected one of the core logic circuit and the 3d graphics accelerator to perform a graphics operation according to the access conditions . the detection can be done once per frame or per scene . for illustration , the flow chart is shown in fig6 . if the system memory is busier than the local memory , the graphics operation is performed by the 3d geometry engine of the 3d graphics accelerator . if the local memory is busier than the system memory , the graphics operation is performed by said 3d geometry engine of the core logic circuit . while the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment . on the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures .	6
referring now to fig1 there is shown a reinforced filter assembly 20 which is comprised of a plurality cells 22 - 27 , vertically stacked one upon the other . disposed along the circumference of each filter cell is an edge 28 which is utilized to retain the various components of each individual cell together , as described more fully below . a relatively large filtration area 30 is used for the introduction of unfiltered fluid ( not shown ) therethrough which exits through the center aperture or core 31 . disposed at either end of the assembly 20 is an retainer ring assembly 32 . the entire filter assembly 20 is disposed inside a chamber ( not shown ) having an unfiltered fluid inlet for the chamber and a filtered fluid outlet connected to one or both retainer ring assemblies 32 . referring now to fig2 there is shown a cross - sectional view taken through a portion of the filter cell assembly shown in fig1 . a retainer ring assembly 32 is disposed at either end of the filter assembly 20 . retainer ring assembly 32 is comprised of an end fitting 34 having an annular slot 36 therein . disposed in the annular slot 36 is a gasket 38 which coacts with an annular outlet conduit ( not shown ) thereby preventing the migration of unfiltered fluid adjacent the filtration area 30 into the central aperture or core 31 . a plurality of filter assemblies may be disposed inside a chamber in stacked relationship thereto , thereby allowing replacement of groups of filter assemblies ( not shown ). a plurality of annular ribs 40 are disposed on the underside of end fitting 34 and provide a fluid - tight fitting between the end fitting 34 and the surface of the filtration area 30 , while holding and retaining mesh 42 thereon . optionally , the mesh 42 may be sealed , e . g . ultrasonically welded , to end fitting 34 . still referring to fig2 filter cell 22 , 24 is comprised of netting 42 disposed on the outer surfaces thereof . the netting is preferably a mesh of the desired thickness and mesh size sufficient to withstand the forward and backward fluid flow requirements and provide for relatively undiminished fluid flow therethrough while preventing flaking and the like . hence , this netting supplements , enhances or increases the tensile strength of the filter medium 44 when wet . generally , any type of netting or mesh may be used which is pervious to flow . it is preferred however to use a polymeric mesh or netting , e . g . polypropylene . it is also preferred to have a rigidized netting or mesh which forms parallel fluid flow channels tangential to the media . a filter material separator 46 is disposed between each of the two adjacent layers of filtration material 44 . the separator 46 is utilized to prevent collapse of the filter cell in use and provide integrity to each individual filter cell while providing relatively unimpeded fluid flow therethrough . further , it has been observed that for &# 34 ; dense &# 34 ; filter cell cartridges when cell - to - cell spacing is minimal , the netting 42 acts as a separator between adjacent cells and therefore aids in fluid flow along the surface . disposed between each cell is an inter filter cell spacer 48 . the spacer 48 is preferably comprised of the same material as the retainer ring assembly 32 . the spacer 48 has a plurality of annular recesses 50 and ridges 51 disposed on both sides . it is preferable that at least two ridges 51 are utilized ( and hence two recesses 50 ) to form a fluid - tight seal between adjacent filtration material disposed on adjacent filter cells . since the netting has a plurality of apertures therethrough , it has been found that two annular ridges are usually necessary to prevent migration of unfiltered fluid along the netting 42 into the central aperture or core 31 . a plurality of bands 52 engage slots 54 in the retainer ring assembly 32 and extend from the retainer ring assembly at one end to the retainer ring assembly at the other end and are used to form a rigid filter cell assembly 20 . the bands 52 are preferably of stainless steel , although any other suitable material may be utilized . further , it is possible to utilize a plurality of threaded bolts or the like extending through the filter cell assembly and suitably attached to the retainer ring assemblies 32 in order to form a rigid assembly . referring now to fig3 there is shown a top view of a cutting die utilized in the present invention . a netting cutting die , indicated generally at 56 , is utilized to cut netting 56 into the appropriate configuration . the cutting die 56 is comprised of a cutting area , shown generally at 58 , disposed on a base 60 . three cutting blades are disposed on the base 60 . an outer circumference cutting blade 62 is utilized to cut the outer diameter of the netting to the approximate size of the filter cell with which it is to be used . radially inward is disposed an additional cutting blade , designated 64 . another blade is shown at 66 and is an inner circumference cutting blade . disposed between adjacent blades are spacers 68 ( shown more clearly in fig4 ) which are preferably of a sponge - type material to provide some backing to the netting during the cutting operation so that cutting is more uniform along the annular edge of the blade and to free the netting from the die after being cut . the inner circumference cutting blade has axially disposed therein a centering hole 70 which is used for alignment or registration purposes in cutting the netting . several non - cutting portions , designated respectively as notches 72a , 72b , are disposed on cutting blade 64 . each cutting blade is generally a thin sheet stock bent into an annular configuration having one end sharpened so as form blade tip 74 . referring to fig5 use of the cutting die 56 is more clearly illustrated via a representation of how the netting utilized is cut . the netting blank , shown generally at 76 , is larger than the desired area required . the netting is placed onto the cutting die 56 thereby forming the appropriate cuts resulting in a number of portions . these portions include discard material 78 and filter netting 80 which is material that is actually used with the filter cell . the cutting blade 64 results in respectively netting flaps 82a , 82b which remain attached to the netting via netting notches 84a , 84b . this therefore results in a frangible type of plug / donut 86 . it has been found that it is necessary to produce the donut - type structure 86 in order to facilitate assembly of each filter cell . more particularly , the center aperture is utilized to center the netting with respect to the filtration material during the actual assembly . referring to fig7 preliminary alignment and assembly of a filter cell is shown . more specifically , a cell assembly mandrel 102 is utilized to align the various components of a filter cell . initially placed onto mandrel 102 is a filter material separator 46 . on either side of separator 46 is the filtration material 44 , followed by filter netting 80 . this forms the assembly shown in fig6 ( without the mandrel 102 ). molding of the edge 28 on each filter cell is accomplished as shown in fig8 and 9 . there , a cell assembly press 100 disposed on mandrel 102 ( or any other suitable or subsequent mandrel ) and comprised of essentially two halves are axially urged along mandrel 102 towards each other until mated as shown in fig9 . this causes the edge of netting 80 to be compressed against filtration material 44 . a cavity , as part of injection mold 96 contained on cell assembly press 100 , is configured so as to be in the shape of edge 28 along the annular edge of the compressed filter cell . molten material is then injected through sprue 97 , of die 96 , and enters into cavity 94 so as to form edge 28 . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the edge material is the same as retainer ring assembly 32 and inter filter cell spacer 48 , although any other suitable type of material may be utilized . the press 100 is remained closed until sufficient cooling of the injected material is accomplished after which time the mold is then separated and the filter cell removed from mandrel 102 . the netting 80 thus becomes sealed to and / or an integral part of the edge seal 28 . referring now to fig1 and 11 , final construction of a filter cell assembly is shown . the edge 28 , as mentioned , is comprised of plastic and has a plurality of elongate slots or apertures 110 having spacer portions 112 disposed therebetween . after the molding process shown by fig8 and 9 , the plug or donut 86 is removed as shown . in order to facilitate removal of the plug or donut 86 , netting notches 84a and 84b are utilized . therefore it is possible to merely pull on donut 86 in order to remove it from the netting 80 without performing a further cutting operation . the inner diameter of the plug or donut 86 is only used for centering purposes about mandrel 102 during preliminary assembly steps and is removed prior to construction of the filter cell assembly 20 . actual assembly of the filter cell assembly is accomplished by use of a filter assembly mandrel 114 , which is utilized to properly align the various components in the filter cell assembly an inter filter cell spacer 48 is placed between adjacent filter cells 22 , 24 . on the outside of the end filter cells there is an end fitting 34 having a gasket 38 therein . thereafter , the mandrel 114 is removed and the bands 52 are placed into slots 54 , compressing the cells and components thereof to thereby form a rigid cohesive filter cell assembly structure 20 wherein retainer rings 34 and separators 48 are urged against the filter media and netting to thereby seal the central core 31 . referring now to fig1 and 13 , top and cross - sectional views of filter netting 80 overlaid onto filtration material 44 are shown . the netting 80 may have a relatively smooth or planar undersurface to contact the filtration material 44 or may protrude into the filter media . both types of netting minimize cracking , flaking and the like . the netting holds down the filtration material 44 to the maximum extent possible without impeding fluid flow therethrough . tests were conducted to compare the present invention with prior art filter cell designs . these tests produced the following results : ______________________________________back pressure testtype of cell burst pressure ( psi ) ______________________________________standard / prior art 1 . 5 - 3 . 0reinforced with netting 16 . 0 - 22 . 0______________________________________ further , while a number of different types of netting were tried , type no . xn 7020 manufactured by conwed plastics of minneapolis , minnesota , were found to produce the best results . however , other types of netting produced by conwed plastics , such as part numbers xn 7025 , xn 4210 , xn 4700 and xn 3900 are workable . the first two of these part numbers respectively performed mos satisfactorily and had a strand configuration of 7 by 5 and are a standard resin pp / pe blend . however , it is to be understood that other reinforced netting produced by other manufacturers is acceptable as individual circumstances dictate . it is to be remembered that many variations of the present invention may be practised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , the filter cells may be of different configurations , such as cylindrical , while different edge - type mechanisms may be utilized . further , different types of materials may be utilized while different methods of assembly may similarly be used . additionally , it is envisioned that it is possible to place the netting on the interior of the filter cell adjacent the filtration material so as to prevent flaking , cracking and the like during filter operation without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , the present invention produces an improved cell - type filter cartridge having an injection - molded edge which resiliently engages and holds reinforced netting tightly to the filter medium . a method of manufacturing is provided for assembling the improved filter cell cartridges so as to minimize leakage and produce an aesthetically improved filter cell which does not prematurely fail or aesthetically indicate failure . the present invention also produces an inexpensive means for improving the physical and aesthetic characteristics of a filter cell by use of a netting which minimizes the frequency at which the filter cell blinds or closes itself off while increasing mechanical and tensile strength as well as burst strength and the like . having thus described the present invention in detail , it is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit and scope thereof . what is desired to be protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended claims .	1
[ 0023 ] fig1 is a circuit diagram that illustrates a fast transient response dc - dc converter 100 according to the invention . generally , the dc - to - dc converter 100 stabilizes output voltage v out 112 according to the reference signal at the input of the comparator . during a transient , the output load is in the process of switching from one dc state to another . the dc - to - dc converter 100 effectively reduces recovery time from a transient by modifying duty cycle in order to drive the v out 112 to the desired steady state . the dc - to - dc converter 100 uses a reference dc voltage source v ref 114 , a reference signal generator 116 , a comparator 118 , a driver 120 , and a pair of switches 122 . the signal generator 116 generates a reference signal 126 , which is preferably a 300 khz saw - tooth signal , or alternatively , any shape of periodic signal such as a triangular signal or a sinus signal , with a dc offset determined by the dc voltage generated by vref 114 . the reference signal 126 is received by the comparator 118 as its first input . through a feedback loop 124 , the output voltage v out 112 is received by the comparator 118 as its second input . the comparator 118 compares the v out 112 with the reference signal 126 , and generates a pwm signal 128 with a duty cycle determining an increase or decrease in v out 112 . further , the comparator 118 forces v out 112 to follow the reference signal 126 by increasing or decreasing the pulse width of its output pwm signal 128 if v out 112 is lower or higher than signal 126 respectively . specifically , the driver 120 receives the pwm signal 128 as its input and drives the switches 122 , which are preferably implemented as metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors ( mosfets ), high and low alternatively to control the v out 112 . preferably , as a result , v out 112 approximates v ref and is maintained within the limits of the reference signal 126 . for example , where the reference signal generator 116 generates a saw - tooth reference signal 126 with peak to peak sawtooth fluctuations of 100 mv at a particular dc v ref voltage , v ref − 50 mv & lt ; v out & lt ; v ref + 50 mv . additionally , a lc low pass filter is coupled in series with the output load ( v out ) 112 . the inductance of the inductor 130 in the low pass filter should be kept as small as possible in order to reduce the recovery time for a transient of the load . [ 0024 ] fig2 provides an exemplary application circuit 200 illustrating an application of the dc to dc converter circuit 100 of fig1 . the circuit 200 uses a reference voltage generator built with , for example , d 1 ( tl 431 ) 202 , compensating for the varying of input voltage 114 to ensure the generation by comparator 118 of a pwm signal 128 which regulates the output voltage v out in accordance with the reference voltage as described above . a ramp generator 116 , generating a triangular signal 126 with peak to peak amplitude of approximately 100 mv , is built with part u 3 ( lm 311 ) 204 . the comparator 118 described above , which receives as inputs the output voltage v out 112 and the triangular signal 126 and generates a pwm signal 128 , is built with u 2 ( lm 311 ) 206 . the driver 120 in the exemplary application is built with u 1 ( tps 2830 ) 208 . finally , a power block 210 consisting of mosfets q 1 and q 2 , 122 , inductor l 1 , 130 , resistor r 10 , and capacitor c 4 , drives the output voltage v out 112 . this dc to dc converter circuit provides for improved recovery time of a transient of the load . note that this invention includes but is not limited by the components and circuit of the application schematic of fig2 . alternative embodiments of the invention may include two or more converter circuits 100 in a multiphase architecture , wherein the angle of the phase shifting between two circuits depends on the number of phases used . for example , in a four - phase architecture , the shifting angle is 90 degrees . a concern with the multiphase architecture is the undesired current flow between two phases . for instance , when a load is applied on the output , if one phase delivers much more current than the other to the load , the conversion efficiency will be severely affected . the problem is similar with putting in parallel two voltages sources . if the two voltage sources are different , a current will flow between them . to solve this problem in a multiphase dc - to - dc converter , a current balancing mechanism is necessary . for example , in a two phase dc - to - dc converter , a current balancing block is used to adjust the output voltage of the second phase to be identical with the output voltage of the first phase . by using current sense resistors , the current information is available to the current balancing block that will generate an offset voltage used to adjust the output voltage of the second phase . there are two options to execute the current balancing mechanism : ( 1 ) by modifying the reference voltage for the second phase ; or ( 2 ) by modifying the feedback voltage for the second phase . referring to fig3 illustrated is an embodiment of a two - phase dc - to - dc converter 300 with a current balancing block that acts on reference signal of the second phase . the first phase 100 a establishes the output voltage 112 depending on the reference signal 126 a applied on the input of the comparator 118 . the current balancing block 301 shifts the dc value of the reference signal 116 for the second phase 100 b to obtain the same current magnitude delivered by each phase . assuming the current through the first phase 100 a is of a higher value than the current through the second phase [ 0027 ] 100 b , the voltage on the non - inverting input of the error amplifier 302 is higher than the voltage on the inverting input . the error amplifier 302 acts to reduce the value of the offset voltage 303 and thus the dc values of the reference voltage for the second phase 100 b increases . accordingly , the duty cycle of the second phase increases . consequently , the second phase delivers a current with higher value than before . when the currents delivered by each phase are equal , the offset voltage 303 is maintained at that value to keep a current balance . referring to fig4 illustrated is another embodiment of a two - phase dc - to - dc converter 400 with a current balancing block that acts on feedback side of the second phase . the first phase 100 a establishes the output voltage v out 112 depending on the reference signal 126 a applied on the input of the comparator 128 . the current balancing block 401 shifts the dc value of the feedback voltage for the second phase 100 b to obtain the same current magnitude delivered by each phase . assuming the current through the first phase 100 a is of a value higher than the current through the second phase 100 b , the voltage on the inverting input of the error amplifier 402 is higher than the voltage on the non - inverting input . the error amplifier 402 acts to increase the value of the offset voltage 403 and thus the dc value of the feedback voltage for the second phase 100 b decreases . accordingly , the duty cycle of the second phase 100 b increases . consequently , the second phase 100 b delivers a current with a higher value than before . when the currents delivered by each phase are equal , the offset voltage 403 is maintained at that value to keep a current balance . note that the inverting and non - inverting inputs of the current balancing block in fig4 is reversed than in fig3 because the current balancing block in fig4 is acting on the feedback voltage . the main advantage of the current balancing mechanism used in the converters illustrated in fig3 and fig4 is that when alteration of the load generates a transient , both phases act to recover the output voltage to its steady state . because the behavior of each phase in transient is almost the same ( only minor differences exist due to the spreading of the values of components used ), the current balancing circuit only needs to correct slight differences modifying a little bit of the offset voltage on reference side as in fig3 or feedback side as in fig4 to balance the currents for the new steady state . note that both types of current balancing methods could be used in a multiphase architecture where the current balancing block has as inputs the current information from each n phase and the output voltage and generates the offset voltages for phase 2 to n to balance the currents with the current on the first phase . referring to fig5 a , illustrated is a diagram showing the variation of the output voltage with the input voltage . for a certain input voltage v in , because the reference signal is constant , the duty cycle will be d 1 = v out 1 / v in . this means that the voltage v out 1 crosses the reference signal at such a value that the duty cycle is obtained . if the input voltage decrease , for example , to k * v in where k & lt ; 1 , the output voltage decreases in order to increase duty cycle , because the new value of the duty cycle is d 2 = v out 2 / k * v in . therefore , the output voltage decreases with a value of ( d 2 − d 1 )( amplitude of saw tooth reference signal ). even for very low amplitudes of the reference signal , because the input voltage may vary between large limits , the output voltage varies with the input voltage . referring to fig5 b , illustrated is a method to compensate the output voltage with a varying input voltage . one way to prevent the output voltage from varying with the input voltage is to generate a saw tooth signal with an amplitude proportional with the input voltage and its top to be maintained at a fixed dc voltage level vref . this means that for the input voltage equal with v in , the output voltage is v out 1 corresponding to a value where the output voltage and the saw tooth signal cross each other to obtain duty cycle d 1 = v out 1 / v in . therefore , if the amplitude of the saw tooth signal is a saw tooth and the top of it has a value v ref , then v out 1 = v ref − d 1 a sawtooth , i . e ., v out 1 = v ref − v out 1 * a sawtoot / v in , or v out 1 = v ref /( 1 + a sawtooth / v in ). when the input voltage is decreasing with a k & lt ; 1 factor , the amplitude of the saw tooth decreases with the same k factor maintaining the top of the saw tooth signal at v ref . the duty cycle corresponding to the new value of input voltage is : d 2 = v out 2 /( k * v in ). however , because v out 2 = v ref − d 2 ( ka sawtooth )= v ref − v out 2 k * a sawtooth /( k &# 39 ; v in ), v out 2 = v ref /( 1 + a sawtooth / v in ). this means that the v out 1 = v out 2 . therefore , the output voltage does not vary with the input voltage . the major advantages of the method described above include : ( 1 ) the output voltage does not depend on the input voltage ; ( 2 ) the gain of the loop does not depend on the input voltage and thus the behavior of the dc - to - dc converter maintains the same for various input voltages . the gain of the loop is actually v in / a sawtooth because a sawtooth is proportional to v in , the gain is constant ; and ( 3 ) at a higher input voltage , there is a higher noise on the output due to the switching . when the saw tooth signal amplitude is increased , the pwm comparator works correctly , without generating parasitic pulses due to the noise in the output voltage . [ 0035 ] fig6 is a circuit diagram illustrating the method to compensate the output voltage to the varying of the input voltage . the clock pulses 601 close the switch 602 for a very short time which is long enough to charge capacitor 603 to v ref value . in this way , the top of the saw tooth signal is exactly v ref . the switch 602 opens and the capacitor 603 is discharged with a constant current proportional to the input voltage . the elements of the circuit will be adjusted to obtain the desired amplitude of the saw tooth . this circuit compensates the output voltage to the varying of the input voltage . one application of this circuit is the case in a notebook computer where the input voltage could be the battery voltage or the adapter voltage . adapter voltage is usually 20v where a discharged battery voltage could be as low as 8v or less . the system is required to work over the entire range . [ 0036 ] fig7 is a screen capture showing the waveforms of a transient when a load is applied to and removed from a two phase dc - to - dc converter . the load current step is 20 amperes . ch 1 is the waveform of the output voltage ( v out ). ch 2 is the waveform of the pwm signal of the first phase ( pwm 1 ). ch 3 is the waveform of the pwm signal of the second phase ( pwm 2 ). ch 4 is the waveform of _ load current . when the load is applied ( i . e . the current increases from 0 amperes to 20 amperes ), the v out drops . because the converter has an increased duty cycle , the output voltage returns to its steady state after a very short time ( the transient response of the converter is about 100 ns that allows recovery times below 10 μs ). when the load is removed , the converter acts to reduce duty cycle to recover v out . as shown in fig7 each phase modifies its own pwm in order to recover v out from the transient condition . therefore , when a multiphase architecture is used , the transient on v out will be recovered much faster depending on the number of phases . although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment , one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other applications may be substituted for those set forth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , the invention should only be limited by the claims included below .	7
in order to make the structure and characteristics as well as the effectiveness of the invention to be further understood and recognized , the detailed description of the invention is provided as follows along with preferred embodiments and accompanying figures . fig1 shows a structural schematic diagram according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in the figure , the present embodiment provides a light - emitting diode ( led ) 1 , which comprises an led die 10 , one or more metal pads 12 , and a fluorescent layer 16 . the led die 10 includes two electrodes 107 . the number of the metal pads 12 according to the present embodiment is two . the two metal pads 12 are set on the two electrodes 107 , respectively . the fluorescent layer 16 is set on the led die 10 . in addition , the fluorescent layer 16 does not cover the two metal pads 12 completely . instead , the metal pads 12 are exposed for the convenience of subsequent wiring and packaging processes . the fluorescent layer 16 converts partial or all of light with a first wavelength produced by the led die 10 to light with at least a second wavelength for producing light mixing . the led 1 provided according to the present embodiment is a light - mixing chip , which can be packaged directly without the need of coating fluorescent powders on the package . the thickness of the fluorescent layer 16 is greater than 30 μm . the materials of the fluorescent layer 16 include fluorescent powders and an organic polymer material . the fluorescent powders are chosen from the group comprising red fluorescent powders , green fluorescent powders , blue fluorescent powders , and the combination of the fluorescent powders described above . the led die 10 described above further comprises a first semiconductor layer 101 , a light - emitting layer 103 , and a second semiconductor layer 105 . the light - emitting layer 103 is set on the first semiconductor layer 101 ; the second semiconductor layer 105 is set on the light - emitting layer 103 ; the metal pads 12 are set on the electrodes 107 . when the first semiconductor layer 101 is p - type , the second semiconductor layer 105 is n - type . alternatively , when the first semiconductor layer 101 is n - type , the second semiconductor layer 105 is p - type . fig2 shows a flowchart according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in the figure , in contrast to fig1 , which shows an led 1 , the present figure shows a method for manufacturing the led 1 . to manufacture the led 1 , the step s 10 is first executed for forming an led die 10 , which includes two electrodes 107 . referring together to fig3 , the method for forming the led die 10 comprises the step s 101 forming a first semiconductor layer 101 ; the step s 103 forming a light - emitting layer 103 on the first semiconductor layer 101 ; and finally the step s 105 forming a second semiconductor layer 105 on the light - emitting layer 103 . after the step s 10 is completed , the step s 12 is executed for forming one or more metal pads 12 on the two electrodes 107 of the led die 10 . next , the step s 14 is executed for forming a fluorescent layer 16 on the led die 10 . the fluorescent layer 16 does not cover the metal pads 12 completely . instead , the metal pads 12 are left exposed for the convenience of subsequent wiring and packaging processes . for forming the fluorescent layer 16 on the led die 10 , glue dispensing , spraying , or pouring methods are applied . for avoiding the fluorescent layer 16 from covering the metal pads 12 completely during the forming process of the fluorescent layer 16 , prior to forming the fluorescent layer 16 on the led die 10 using the glue dispensing , spraying , or pouring methods , a mask is used on the metal pads 12 . the mask can mask the metal pads 12 and expose the location to form the fluorescent layer 16 . besides , the mask is manufactured by lithography or by screen - printing using organic polymer materials such as photoresist . the led die is divided a plurality of chips . the glue ratio in the glue dispensing , spraying , or pouring methods is controlled according to the photoelectric properties of each the chip . fig4 a and 4b show structural schematic diagrams according to other preferred embodiments of the invention . as shown in the figures , according to the present embodiments , two led structures are provided . the difference between the present embodiments and the one described above is that , according to the present embodiments , the shape of the fluorescent layer 16 can be changed by etching . the shapes of the fluorescent layer 16 can be trapezoidal or upside - down trapezoidal . fig5 shows a structural schematic diagram according to another preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in the figure , the present embodiment provides an led 1 comprising an led die 10 , one or more metal pads 12 , a dielectric layer 18 , and a fluorescent layer 16 . the led die 10 includes two electrodes 107 . the metal pads are set on the electrodes 107 of the led die 10 . the dielectric layer 18 is set on the led die 10 , and is located on the periphery of the metal pads 12 . the fluorescent layer 16 is set on the dielectric layer 18 , and is located on the periphery of the metal pads 12 . the fluorescent layer 16 converts partial or all of light with a first wavelength produced by the led die 10 to light with at least a second wavelength for producing light mixing . in addition , the fluorescent layer 16 does not cover the metal pads 12 completely . instead , the metal pads 12 are exposed for the convenience of subsequent wiring and packaging processes . the led 1 provided according to the present embodiment is a light - mixing chip , which can be packaged directly without the need of coating fluorescent powders on the package . besides , the thickness of the fluorescent layer 16 is greater than 30 μm . the led die 10 further includes a first semiconductor layer 101 , a light - emitting layer 103 , and a second semiconductor layer 105 . fig6 shows a flowchart according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in the figure , in contrast to fig5 , which shows an led 1 , the present figure shows a method for manufacturing the led 1 . to manufacture the led 1 , the step s 10 is first executed for forming an led die 10 . then the step s 12 is executed for forming one or more metal pads 12 on the electrodes 107 of the led die 10 . next , the step s 13 is executed for forming a dielectric layer 18 on the led die 10 . finally , the step s 14 is executed for forming a fluorescent layer 16 on the dielectric layer 18 . the fluorescent layer 16 does not cover the metal pads 12 completely . instead , the metal pads 12 are left exposed for the convenience of subsequent wiring and packaging processes . for forming the fluorescent layer 16 on the led die 10 , glue dispensing , spraying , or pouring methods are applied . for avoiding the fluorescent layer 16 from covering the metal pads 12 completely during the forming process of the fluorescent layer 16 , prior to forming the fluorescent layer 16 on the led die 10 using the glue dispensing , spraying , or pouring methods , a mask is used on the metal pads 12 . the mask can mask the metal pads 12 and expose the location to form the fluorescent layer 16 . besides , the mask is manufactured by lithography or by screen - printing using organic polymer materials such as photoresist . fig7 shows a structural schematic diagram according to another preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in the figure , for packaging the led 1 provided in fig1 , the led 1 is set on a carrier 2 . then , the metal pads 12 are connected by wiring . finally , use packaging glue 3 to cover the carrier 2 and the led 1 . the material of the packaging glue 3 is organic polymer , and fluorescent powders can be further contained therein . the organic polymer material of the packaging glue 3 differs from the organic polymer material of the fluorescent layer described in fig1 . in addition , the packaging glue 3 and fluorescent layer 16 are not processed simultaneously . the baking time of the two is also different , which can reduce the stress problem effectively produced in the package of the led 1 . moreover , the packaging structure according to present embodiment can be applied to the embodiment of fig5 . fig8 shows a flowchart according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in the figure , for packaging the led 1 provided in fig1 , the step s 16 is first executed for setting a carrier 2 to the led 1 and opposite to the fluorescent layer 16 . then the step s 18 is executed for connecting the metal pads 12 by wiring . finally , the step s 19 is executed for coving the carrier 2 and the led 1 by packaging glue 3 . the packaging method provided according to the present embodiment can be applied to the led 1 provided in fig5 , and will not be described in detail . it is known from above that the invention provides an led and a method for manufacturing the same . the characteristics of the invention include that the metals pads are left exposed for the convenience of subsequent wiring and packaging processes . in addition , the led provided by the invention is a single light - mixing chip , which can be packaged directly without the need of coating fluorescent powders on the packaging glue . because the fluorescent layer and the packaging glue are not processed simultaneously and are of different materials , the stress problem in the packaged led can be reduced effectively . accordingly , the invention conforms to the legal requirements owing to its novelty , nonobviousness , and utility . however , the foregoing description is only embodiments of the invention , not used to limit the scope and range of the invention . those equivalent changes or modifications made according to the shape , structure , feature , or spirit described in the claims of the invention are included in the appended claims of the invention .	7
the technical solutions of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to following specific embodiments and accompanying drawings : a v - pulley manufacturing process ( referring to fig1 ). first , a pulley is formed . gray iron material ht250 is chosen as a casting raw material . a sand - casting process is used for gray iron . the casting material ht250 is heated and melted , and liquid ht250 is poured into a sand cavity through a pouring opening . once cooled , a cast piece is taken out after the mold is released . the cast piece is an integrally formed cylindrical pulley blank 1 . a connecting hole 7 penetrating two ends of the cylindrical pulley blank 1 is drilled to connect a connecting shaft in an axial center of the pulley blank 1 . after the pulley blank 1 is cast , stress - relieving annealing , surface quenching , and low - temperature annealing are performed on the pulley blank 1 sequentially . the process of stress - relieving annealing includes : the pulley blank 1 is placed in a furnace at 150 ° c ., the temperature of the furnace is increased to 550 ° c ., the temperature is kept for 6 hours , and then the pulley blank 1 is air cooled . the process of surface quenching includes : the pulley blank 1 after stress - relieving annealing is placed in the furnace and heated to 800 ° c ., and the pulley blank 1 is then placed in oil for quenching . the process of low - temperature annealing includes : the pulley after quenching is placed in the furnace at 200 ° c . to perform annealing . the process of thermal treatment removes the internal stress of the pulley blank 1 , and increases hardness and abrasive resistance of the pulley blank 1 and extends service life of the pulley . next , v - belt grooves are machined on the outer wall of the pulley blank 1 . the pulley blank 1 is held on a cnc machine tool and cutting is performed on the outer surface of the pulley blank 1 to form several v - belt grooves 2 in a shape of a v belt on the outer wall of the pulley blank 1 . in certain embodiments , the belt grooves are spaced at a substantially equal distance . based on the number of v belts required , a corresponding number of v belt grooves are made . a machining allowance is kept after the belt grooves are machined . after the belt grooves have been machined , a key groove 8 is machined inside the connecting hole of the pulley blank 1 , and the pulley blank 1 is held in a slotting machine to cut the key groove . after the key groove is made , precise machining is performed on the pulley , and the cnc machine tool is used once again to perform precise machining on the outer surface of the pulley and the side surfaces of the belt grooves , and remove the machining allowance . the cnc machine tool performs machining only once to complete both coarse and precise machining of the pulley . after this machining is completed , a bright smooth surface is formed on the outer surface of the pulley and the side surfaces of the belt grooves . after the precise machining is completed , a drilling operation is performed . the pulley is mounted and fastened on a drilling machine , and six axial fixing holes are drilled in evenly spaced around the connecting hole 7 . the axial fixing holes are used for connection and fastening of the connecting shaft and the connecting hole . after the pulley has been drilled , a shot blasting operation is performed on the pulley . a crawler shot blasting cleaner is used for a shot blasting machine . the pulley is placed in the shot blasting machine , and the shot blasting machine performs shot blasting operation on the side surfaces of the belt grooves . for ease of machining , shot blasting is performed on the entire pulley , instead of shot blasting of the side surfaces of the belt grooves only . a propelled material used in the shot blasting machine is steel shot . the hardness of steel shot is greater than 40 hrc . the linear velocity of propelling steel shot is not less than 60 m / s . the diameter of steel shot is about 0 . 6 mm . the duration of shot blasting is around 8 minutes . after shot blasting is completed , dense indentations are formed on the side surfaces of the belt grooves , and a rough shot blasting layer 3 is formed on the side surfaces of the belt grooves . the shot blasting layer 3 has a high friction coefficient , and a frictional force between the v belt and the shot blasting layer is great . after shot blasting is completed , the pulley is made , packed and warehoused . a v - pulley manufacturing process . the v - pulley manufacturing process resembles that of embodiment 1 described above referring to fig1 . the key differences lie in the selection of a casting material of a pulley blank and the process of thermal treatment associated with the casting material . in this embodiment , alloy steel is chosen to form a pulley blank 1 through casting . the alloy steel may be one of alloy steel such as low - carbon alloy structural steel , cemented steel , and tempered steel . in one embodiment , 16 mn is used . the pulley blank 1 is cast and then taken out after its mold is released . thermal treatment processes of quenching and low - temperature annealing are performed in sequence . in the quenching process , the pulley blank 1 is placed in a furnace and heated to 900 ° c ., and then placed in oil for quenching . in the low - temperature annealing process , the pulley blank 1 after quenching is annealed in the furnace at 250 ° c . a martensitic substrate having high strength and high hardness is obtained , thereby enhancing the abrasive resistance performance of the pulley and extending service life of the pulley . once the pulley blank 1 is made and thermal treated , steps such as machining of v - belt grooves , precise machining , drilling , and shot blasting are performed , and these processes are almost the same as those in embodiment 1 , and these steps will not be repeated here . a v - pulley manufacturing process ( referring to fig2 ) includes all process steps described in embodiment 1 . after a shot blasting process on the pulley is completed , a through hole 4 is drilled axially on the pulley . the through hole penetrates two ends of the pulley . the through hole connects all belt grooves . the axis of the through hole is on an outer side of the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . after the through hole is drilled on the pulley , several tooth rings 5 are then cast . in the casting process , a mold of casting tooth rings 5 is first mounted on an outer side of the pulley , the tooth rings are cast at the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . meshing teeth 6 are disposed on the outer surfaces of the tooth rings 5 , and these meshing teeth 6 on the tooth rings 5 are designed according to a principle of mesh transmission . the mold includes bosses fitting the belt grooves . meshing tooth molds of casting tooth ring meshing teeth are provided on the surfaces of the bosses . the tooth rings 5 are cast between the surfaces of the bosses and the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . the through holes 4 are connected to cavities between the surfaces of the bosses and the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . after the mold is mounted and fastened , casting aluminum melt is poured into the cavities between the surfaces of the bosses and the groove bottoms of the belt grooves from the opening position at the end portion of the through hole . after the tooth rings 5 are cooled in air , the mold of casting tooth rings is detached , and finally the v - pulley manufacturing process is completed . the v - pulley has both a shot blasting layer having a relatively high friction coefficient on the side surfaces of the belt grooves and meshing teeth at the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . the v - pulley forms a combined transmission manner of friction transmission and mesh transmission , so that overall performance is greatly improved and desirable . the v - pulley may be then packed and warehoused . a v - pulley manufacturing process resembles that of embodiment 3 described above referring to fig2 , and includes all process steps in embodiment 2 . the material used in the casting process of alloy steel is 40cr . after mold is released , the cast piece undergoes thermal treatments of quenching at 900 ° c . and high temperature annealing at 580 ° c . therefore , a pulley blank with relatively desirable overall performance is obtained . after a shot blasting process on the pulley is completed , a through hole 4 is drilled axially on the pulley . the through hole 4 penetrates two ends of the pulley . the through hole 4 connects all belt grooves . the axis of the through hole is on an outer side of the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . after the through hole 4 is drilled on the pulley , several tooth rings 5 are cast . in the casting process , a mold of casting tooth rings 5 is first mounted on an outer side of the pulley , the tooth rings 5 are cast at the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . meshing teeth 6 are disposed on the outer surfaces of the tooth rings , and the meshing teeth 6 on the tooth rings are designed according to a principle of mesh transmission . the mold includes bosses fitting the belt grooves . meshing tooth molds of casting tooth ring meshing teeth are provided on the surfaces of the bosses . the tooth rings are cast between the surfaces of the bosses and the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . the through hole 4 connects to cavities between the surfaces of the bosses and the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . after the mold is mounted and fastened , casting aluminum melt is poured into the cavities between the surfaces of the bosses and the groove bottoms of the belt grooves from the opening position at the end portion of the through hole . after the tooth rings 5 are cooled in the air , the mold of casting tooth rings is detached , and finally the pulley is packed and warehoused . a v - pulley made according to the present invention has a shot blasting layer with a relatively high friction coefficient on the side surfaces of the belt grooves , and meshing teeth at the groove bottoms of the belt grooves . when this v - pulley is used , the v - pulley performs both friction transmission and mesh transmission , therefore overall performance is desirable . the foregoing embodiments are only a few preferred embodiments of the present invention . they are by no means intended to limit the present invention to their described embodiments . other variations and changes are possible without departing from the technical solutions presented in the claims . while there has been shown several and alternate embodiments of the present invention , it is to be understood that certain changes can be made as would be known to one skilled in the art without departing from the underlying scope of the present invention as is discussed and set forth above and below including claims . furthermore , the embodiments described above and claims set forth below are only intended to illustrate the principles of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the disclosed elements .	8
the present invention discloses a portable accessory box formed by folding a paper material , and the portable accessory box can be formed in one piece . therefore , the portable accessory box is easily fabricated , the cost thereof can be reduced , and manpower expended in the manufacture thereof can be saved . in order to make the illustration of the present invention more explicit and complete , the following description is given in conjunction with the drawings from fig1 to fig7 . referring to fig1 , fig1 is a diagram showing an unfolded portable accessory box in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . a material of a portable accessory box 100 is preferably a paper material having a buffer structure , such as corrugated paper . the portable accessory box 100 comprises a bottom plate 102 , a side plate 104 and a side plate 106 fixedly connected to two sides of the bottom plate 102 , respectively , and a lower side plate 108 fixedly connected to the lower side of the bottom plate 102 . the side plate 104 comprises an outer side piece 110 , an upper side piece 112 , an inner side piece 114 and a lower side piece 116 connected in sequence , wherein the outer side piece 110 is connected with the bottom plate 102 . the side plate 104 further comprises an embedded slot 118 and an insertion slot 144 , wherein the embedded slot 118 is in the inner side piece 114 and the upper side piece 112 , and the insertion slot 144 is located between the inner side piece 114 and the lower side piece 116 . similarly , the side plate 106 comprises an outer side piece 120 , an upper side piece 122 , an inner side piece 124 and a lower side piece 126 connected in sequence , wherein the outer side piece 120 is connected with the bottom plate 102 . the side plate 106 further comprises an embedded slot 128 and an insertion slot 146 , wherein the embedded slot 128 is in the inner side piece 124 and the upper side piece 122 , and the insertion slot 146 is located between the inner side piece 124 and the lower side piece 126 . the lower side plate 108 comprises an outer side piece 136 , an upper side piece 138 and an inner side piece 140 connected in sequence , wherein the outer side piece 136 is connected with the bottom plate 102 . the lower side plate 108 further comprises an opening hole 142 located in the inner side piece 140 and the upper side piece 138 , and the opening hole 142 also can be directly located on the upper side piece 138 . the bottom plate 102 comprises a hand - held hole 130 , as well as a fixed piece 132 and a fixed piece 134 respectively located at the two sides of the hand - held hole 130 . the hand - held hole 130 is used to carry the portable accessory box 100 ; and the locations of the fixed piece 132 and the fixed piece 134 correspond to the locations of the insertion slot 144 and the insertion slot 146 , respectively . the fixed piece 132 and the fixed piece 134 can be inserted into the insertion slot 144 and the insertion slot 146 , respectively . referring to fig2 to fig3 , fig2 to fig3 are assembly diagrams showing a portable accessory box in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , with simultaneous reference to fig1 . the portable accessory box 100 is assembled by first folding the side plate 104 and the side plate 106 , and then folding the lower side plate 108 . the side plate 104 is folded toward the interior of the bottom plate 102 along the folding lines between the side pieces of the side plate 104 to form a side rectangular body 148 . the embedded slot 118 is in the upper side and the inner side of the side rectangular body 148 . when the side plate 104 is folded inwardly , the fixed piece 132 of the bottom plate 102 can be inserted into the insertion slot 144 between the inner side piece 114 and the lower side piece 116 to fix the side rectangular body 148 . after the side rectangular body 148 is formed , the side plate 106 is folded inwardly by the same method to form a side rectangular body 150 . the embedded slot 128 is in the upper side and the inner side of the side rectangular body 150 . when the side plate 106 is folded inwardly , the fixed piece 134 of the bottom plate 102 can be inserted into the insertion slot 146 between the inner side piece 124 and the lower side piece 126 to fix the side rectangular body 150 . after the side plate 104 and the side plate 106 are folded , the side rectangular body 148 and the side rectangular body 150 are formed at the two sides of the bottom plate 102 , respectively , as illustrated in fig2 . the sequence of folding the side rectangular body 148 and the side rectangular body 150 can be changed to fold the side rectangular body 150 first and then fold the side rectangular body 148 , and the sequence of folding the side rectangular body 148 and the side rectangular body 150 is not limited in the present invention . after the side rectangular body 148 and the side rectangular body 150 are formed , the lower side plate 108 is folded toward the interior of the bottom plate 102 along the folding lines between the side pieces of the lower side plate 108 to insert the inner side piece 140 of the lower side plate 108 into the embedded slot 118 of the side rectangular body 148 and the embedded slot 128 of the side rectangular body 150 . the side rectangular body 148 is thus separated into a rectangular sub - body 152 and a rectangular sub - body 154 . the side rectangular body 150 is separated into a rectangular sub - body 156 and a rectangular sub - body 158 . a lower rectangular body 160 is formed between the side rectangular body 148 and the side rectangular body 150 , as illustrated in fig3 . after the lower rectangular body 160 is formed , the opening hole 142 is located in the upper side of the lower rectangular body 160 . the opening hole 142 not only has a benefit for opening the lower rectangular body 160 conveniently , but also provides a window for viewing the objects deposed therein when the lower rectangular body 160 is closed . in the embodiment , the portable accessory box 100 is formed by folding a paper material and is one piece , and the portable accessory box 100 provides five independent sections , i . e . the rectangular sub - body 152 , the rectangular sub - body 154 , the rectangular sub - body 156 , the rectangular sub - body 158 and the lower rectangular body 160 , for storing accessories of a product . moreover , the portable accessory box 100 further comprises a hand - held hole 130 . since the portable accessory box 100 is typically packed in the same packaging carton , such as a packaging carton of a notebook , with the product , the hand - held hole 130 is convenient for carrying the portable accessory box 100 . referring to fig4 , fig4 is a diagram showing an unfolded portable accessory box in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention . a material of a portable accessory box 200 is preferably selected from a paper material having a buffer structure , such as corrugated paper . the portable accessory box 200 comprises a bottom plate 202 , a side plate 204 and a side plate 208 fixedly connected to two sides of the bottom plate 202 respectively , a upper side plate 210 fixedly connected to the upper side of the bottom plate 202 , and a lower side plate 206 fixedly connected to the lower side of the bottom plate 202 . the side plate 204 comprises an outer side piece 212 , an upper side piece 214 , an inner side piece 216 and a lower side piece 218 connected in sequence , wherein the outer side piece 212 is connected with the bottom plate 202 . the side plate 204 further comprises an embedded slot 220 , an insertion slot 226 , and hole 222 and hole 224 . the embedded slot 220 is in the inner side piece 216 and the upper side piece 214 . the insertion slot 226 is located between the inner side piece 216 and the lower side piece 218 . the hole 222 and the hole 224 are located in the upper side piece 214 and at two sides of the embedded slot 220 , respectively . similarly , the side plate 208 comprises an outer side piece 228 , an upper side piece 230 , an inner side piece 232 and a lower side piece 234 connected in sequence . the outer side piece 228 is connected with the bottom plate 202 . the side plate 208 further comprises an embedded slot 236 , an insertion slot 242 , and hole 238 and hole 240 . the embedded slot 236 is in the inner side piece 232 and the upper side piece 230 ; the insertion slot 242 is located between the inner side piece 232 and the lower side piece 234 ; and the hole 238 and the hole 240 are located on the upper side piece 230 and at two sides of the embedded slot 236 , respectively . the lower side plate 206 comprises an outer side piece 244 , an upper side piece 246 and an inner side piece 248 connected in sequence , wherein the outer side piece 244 is connected with the bottom plate 202 . the lower side plate 206 further comprises an opening hole 250 , and a lower embedded slot 252 and a lower embedded slot 254 . the opening hole 250 is located in the inner side piece 248 and the upper side piece 246 , and the opening hole 250 also can be directly located in the upper side piece 246 . the lower embedded slot 252 and the lower embedded slot 254 are located in the inner side piece 248 and at two sides of the opening hole 250 , respectively . the upper side plate 210 comprises an outer side piece 256 , an upper side piece 258 and an inner side piece 260 connected in sequence , wherein the outer side piece 256 is connected with the bottom plate 202 . the upper side plate 210 further comprises an opening hole 262 , a hand - taken hole 268 and a hand - taken hole 270 , and a lower embedded slot 264 and a lower embedded slot 266 . the opening hole 262 is located in the inner side piece 260 and the upper side piece 258 , and the opening hole 262 also can be directly located in the upper side piece 258 . the lower embedded slot 264 and the lower embedded slot 266 are located in the inner side piece 260 and at two sides of the opening hole 262 , respectively , and the hand - taken hole 268 and the hand - taken hole 270 are located in the outer side piece 260 and separated by a distance . the hand - taken hole 268 and the hand - taken hole 270 are provided for carrying the portable accessory box 200 . the bottom plate 202 comprises a fixed piece 272 and a fixed piece 274 . the locations of the fixed piece 272 and the fixed piece 274 correspond to the locations of the insertion slot 226 and the insertion slot 242 , respectively , and the fixed piece 272 and the fixed piece 274 can be inserted into the insertion slot 226 and the insertion slot 242 , respectively . referring to fig5 to fig7 , fig5 to fig7 are assembly diagrams showing a portable accessory box in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention , with simultaneous reference to fig4 . the assembly of the portable accessory box 200 is to fold the side plate 204 and the side plate 208 first , and then to fold the lower side plate 206 and the upper side plate 210 . the side plate 204 is folded toward the interior of the bottom plate 202 along the folding lines between the side pieces of the side plate 204 to form a side rectangular body 276 . the embedded slot 220 is in the upper side and the inner side of the side rectangular body 276 , and the hole 222 and the hole 224 are located in the upper side of the side rectangular body 276 . when the side plate 204 is folded inwardly , the fixed piece 272 of the bottom plate 202 can be inserted into the insertion slot 226 between the inner side piece 216 and the lower side piece 218 to fix the side rectangular body 276 . the hole 222 and the hole 224 provide windows for viewing objects stored therein when the side rectangular body 276 is closed . after the side rectangular body 276 is formed , the side plate 208 is folded inwardly by the same method to form a side rectangular body 278 . the embedded slot 236 is in the upper side and a portion of the inner side of the side rectangular body 278 , and the hole 238 and the hole 240 are located in the upper side of the side rectangular body 278 . when the side plate 208 is folded inwardly , the fixed piece 274 of the bottom plate 202 can be inserted into the insertion slot 242 between the inner side piece 232 and the lower side piece 234 to fix the side rectangular body 278 . after the side plate 204 and the side plate 208 are folded , the side rectangular body 276 and the side rectangular body 278 are formed at the two sides of the bottom plate 202 , respectively , such as shown in fig5 . the sequence of folding the side rectangular body 276 and the side rectangular body 278 is not limited to the above description , and the side rectangular body 278 can be folded first , and then the side rectangular body 276 is folded . the hole 238 and the hole 240 provide windows for viewing the objects stored therein when the side rectangular body 278 is closed . after the side rectangular body 276 and the side rectangular body 278 are formed , the lower side plate 206 is folded toward the interior of the bottom plate 202 along the folding lines between the side pieces of the lower side plate 206 to insert the inner side piece 248 of the lower side plate 206 into the embedded slot 220 of the side rectangular body 276 and the embedded slot 236 of the side rectangular body 278 , and to inset the lower embedded slot 252 and the lower embedded slot 254 of the inner side piece 248 of the lower side plate 206 into the embedded slot 220 and the embedded slot 236 , respectively . the inner side piece 248 embedded into the embedded slot 220 and the embedded slot 236 separates the side rectangular body 276 into a rectangular sub - body 280 and a rectangular sub - body 282 and separates the side rectangular body 278 into a rectangular sub - body 284 and a rectangular sub - body 286 , as well as forms a lower rectangular body 288 between the side rectangular body 276 and the side rectangular body 278 , as illustrated in fig6 . after the lower rectangular body 288 is formed , the opening hole 250 is located in the upper side of the lower rectangular body 288 . the opening hole 250 not only allows convenient opening of the lower rectangular body 288 , but also provides a window for viewing the objects stored therein when the lower rectangular body 288 is closed . after the lower rectangular body 288 is formed , the upper side plate 210 is folded toward the interior of the bottom plate 202 along the folding lines between the side pieces of the upper side plate 210 to insert the inner side piece 260 of the upper side plate 210 into the embedded slot 220 of the side rectangular body 276 and the embedded slot 236 of the side rectangular body 278 , and to insert the lower embedded slot 264 and the lower embedded slot 266 of the inner side piece 260 of the upper side plate 210 into the embedded slot 220 and the embedded slot 236 , respectively . an upper rectangular body 290 is formed between the side rectangular body 276 and the side rectangular body 278 , such as shown in fig7 . after the upper rectangular body 290 is formed , the opening hole 262 is located in the upper side of the upper rectangular body 290 . the opening hole 262 not only allows convenient opening of the upper rectangular body 290 , but also provides a window for viewing the objects stored therein when lower rectangular body 290 is closed . in the embodiment , the portable accessory box 200 is formed by folding a paper material and is one piece , and the portable accessory box 200 provides six independent sections , i . e . the rectangular sub - body 280 , the rectangular sub - body 282 , the rectangular sub - body 284 , the rectangular sub - body 286 , the lower rectangular body 288 and the upper rectangular body 290 , for storing accessories of a product . moreover , the portable accessory box 200 further comprises a hand - taken hole 268 and a hand - taken hole 270 . since the portable accessory box 200 is typically packed in the same packaging carton , such as a packaging carton of a notebook , with the product , the hand - taken hole 268 and the hand - taken hole 270 are convenient for carrying the portable accessory box 200 . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the portable accessory box of the present invention can sustain an impact of about 50 g in a drop test when the portable accessory box falls from a height of 107 centimeters while containing accessories having a weight of 4 kilograms . according to the aforementioned description , one advantage of the present invention is that the portable accessory box of the present invention is formed by folding a paper material and is made in one piece . therefore , the portable accessory box is formed easily , thereby reducing production cost . according to the aforementioned description , another advantage of the present invention is that a material of the portable accessory box of the present invention is paper , and thus reducing the environmental burden thereof and meeting the requirement of environmental protection . according to the aforementioned description , still another advantage of the present invention is that the portable accessory box of the present invention is made in one piece and can replace the conventional portable accessory box composed of an outer box and inner spacers . therefore , complicated operation in transportation , control of materiel and supplies , and fabrication manpower in the production line can be left out . according to the aforementioned description , a further another advantage of the present invention is that the portable accessory box of the present invention comprises a hand - held hole or a hand - taken hole , and therefore is conveniently carried . as is understood by a person skilled in the art , the foregoing preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrative of the present invention rather than limiting of the present invention . it is intended that various modifications and similar arrangements be included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims , the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structure .	1
fig1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a washing machine according to the present invention and fig2 illustrates a cross sectional view of fig1 as seen along ii - ii line . with reference to fig1 and 2 , a washing machine 100 according to the present invention comprises a cabinet 110 ; a outer tub 125 disposed inside the cabinet 110 and storing washing water ; an inner tub 122 disposed inside the outer tub 125 and receiving laundry ; a driving apparatus 170 rotating the inner tub 122 in both directions alternately or in one direction by delivering driving force to the inner tub 122 ; a discharge apparatus 150 discharging washing water of the outer tub to the outside ; and a washing water provision apparatus 120 disposed in one side of the cabinet 110 and providing washing water from the outside to the outer tub 125 and the inner tub 122 . a pulsator 140 is disposed in the bottom surface of the inner tub 122 . the pulsator 140 can be formed as a single body with the inner tub 122 ; and at the same time , the pulsator 140 can be formed separately and combined as such therewith . an operation method varied according to the structure of the inner tub 122 and the pulsator 140 will be described in detail later . the cabinet 110 comprises a cabinet main body 111 having an opening ; a base ( not shown ) disposed in a lower side of the cabinet main body 111 and fastened to the cabinet main body 111 ; a cover ( not shown ) fastened to the opening ; and a control panel 126 formed on one side of the cover and fastened to the cabinet main body 111 . a door 123 capable of rotational movement together with the cover is installed at the cover to open and close the opening . meanwhile , the control panel 126 incorporates an input unit 116 which receives input signals from a user . the driving apparatus 170 comprises a motor including a rotor and a stator and generating rotational force ; a rotation axis delivering rotational force of the motor ; and a clutch delivering rotational force of the motor selectively to at least one of the inner tub and the pulsator 140 . fig3 illustrates a block diagram of a control flow of a washing machine 100 of fig1 . with reference to fig3 , a washing machine 100 according to the present invention further comprises an input unit 116 disposed on the control panel and receiving input signals entered by the user ; and a controller 190 controlling the operation of the washing machine 100 according to the input signals entered to the input unit 116 . the input signal is formed in various ways and determines a washing step or a method for handling laundry . for example , the washing step can include a blue jean step , a bedclothes step , and a wool step . also , the treatment method of fabric can include a washing method , a dehydration method , and a rinsing method . when the user enters the input signal , the washing machine 100 performs a washing step . in the washing step , the controller 190 makes washing water flow into the inner tub 122 by operating the washing water provision apparatus 120 . when the washing water provision apparatus 120 begins to operate , washing water is provided to the inner tub 122 from the outside . fig4 illustrates a flow diagram of a washing method of a washing machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention . with reference to fig4 , when provision of the washing water is completed , the controller 190 performs a washing step , removing dirt of fabric while controlling the operation of the driving apparatus 170 . according to a control method of the driving apparatus 170 , the washing step can be classified as described below . the washing step can include a first washing step s 120 forming a circulating water flow fed back to the inner tub after washing water has risen in between the inner tub 122 and the outer tub 125 due to centrifugal force developed as the inner tub 122 is rotated in one direction with a first rotation speed ; and a second washing step s 130 rotating at least one of the inner tub 122 and the pulsator 140 in both directions alternately with a second rotation speed different from the first rotation speed . in the first washing step s 120 , the driving apparatus 170 rotates the inner tub 122 in one direction with the first rotation speed . by centrifugal force generated by accelerated rotation of the inner tub 122 in one direction , a part of fabric put inside the inner tub 122 can be distributed being adhered closely to the inner wall of the inner tub 122 together with washing water . at this time , washing water can make an inclination with a predetermined angle with respect to the inner wall of the inner tub 122 . in other words , the washing water can be so formed that width from the inner wall of the inner tub 122 is thicker in a lower part than that in an upper part . also , the washing water flows out to the outer tub 125 through a plurality of holes formed in the inner tub 122 . if the inner tub 122 continues to rotate , washing water moves from a space between the inner tub 122 and the outer tub 125 to the upper side . washing water which has moved to the upper side of the outer tub 125 runs into the tub cover disposed in the upper side of the outer tub 125 and then drops into the inside of the inner tub 122 . washing water dropping into the inside of the inner tub 122 runs into laundry ; fabric is washed being forced from dropping washing water . at this time , the first rotation speed can be set to exceed a second rotation speed described later s 120 . meanwhile , in the second washing step s 130 , the driving apparatus 170 can rotate at least one of the pulsator 140 and the inner tub 122 in both directions alternately with a second rotation speed different from the first rotation speed . at this time , when the pulsator 140 and the inner tub 122 are combined together being formed separately , the controller 190 , by controlling the operation of the clutch ( not shown ), can rotate selectively at least one of the pulsator 140 and the inner tub 122 in a predetermined direction . the driving apparatus 170 can rotate the pulsator 140 and the inner tub 122 in different directions from each other . at least one of the pulsator 140 and the inner tub 122 can be rotated in clockwise direction and then in counter clockwise direction after a predetermined time . also , the driving apparatus 170 can rotate the other one from the pulsator 140 and the inner tub 122 in counter clockwise direction and then again in clockwise direction after a predetermined time . in case the pulsator 140 rotates , washing water inside the inner tub 122 can form a water flow due to the pulsator 140 . due to the water flow , washing water flows and produces friction against laundry ; and fabric can be washed owing to the friction . meanwhile , in case the pulsator 140 and the inner tub 122 are formed as a single body , the controller 190 , while rotating the inner tub 122 with the second rotation speed , can control the driving apparatus 170 to rotate in both directions alternately . when the inner tub 122 rotates , the pulsator 140 can rotate in the same direction as the inner tub 122 . during the rotation of the inner tub 122 , washing water does not move to the upper side of the outer tub 125 . when the inner tub 122 repeats rotation in both directions , washing water can form a water flow inside the inner tub 122 . washing water inside the outer tub 125 rotates according to the rotation direction of the inner tub 122 . fabric can be washed as washing water and fabric are rotated in the same direction as that of the inner tub 122 , s 130 . at the time , the first washing step s 120 and the second washing s 130 are performed alternately , performing order thereof being allowed to be changed . meanwhile , after a predetermined time , the controller 190 measures a number n of performance of the first washing step s 120 and the second washing step s 130 . s 140 when the number n is less than a predetermined number n , the controller 190 adds one to the number n of performance of the washing steps s 141 . then , the controller 190 repeats performing the first washing step s 120 and the second washing step s 130 sequentially . if the number n of performance of the washing steps is determined to be more than the predetermined number n , the controller 190 terminates the steps . in other words , the controller 190 terminates the washing step . when the washing step is terminated , the controller 190 performs a distribution step s 150 . in the distribution step s 150 , the controller 190 rotates the inner tub 122 in one direction by controlling the driving apparatus 170 while washing water is contained in the inner tub 122 . fabric inside the inner tub 122 can be distributed across a side wall of the inner tub 122 by centrifugal force developed by rotation of the inner tub 122 in one direction . also , the controller 190 operates a discharge pump of a discharge apparatus 150 to discharge washing water of the inner tub 122 to the outside . at this time , the controller 190 can operate the discharge pump not only after the inner tub 122 has been rotated in one direction for a predetermined time but also while the inner tub 122 is being rotated in one direction . as fabrics distributed across a side wall of the inner tub 122 and washing water is discharged to the outside by the operation of the discharge apparatus 150 , unbalance of the inner tub 122 can be minimized . also , moisture of fabric can be removed quickly . moreover , since washing water is not provided to compensate unbalance of the inner tub 122 , amount of water used can be reduced . s 150 when the distribution step s 150 is terminated , the controller 190 , by accelerated rotation of the inner tub 122 with a dehydration speed , performs dehydration step to remove moisture of fabric s 160 . at this time , since the inner tub 122 has been made to rotate in the distribution step s 150 before the dehydration step s 160 , accelerated rotation of the inner tub 122 can be possible without a operation of the clutch in the dehydration step s 160 . therefore , noise due to the operation of the clutch , operation time , and energy can be reduced . since additional washing water is not provided to accommodate unbalance of the inner tub 122 before entering into the dehydration step s 160 , not only amount of water used can be reduced but also amount of washing water to be drained during the dehydration step s 160 is reduced ; therefore , an advantageous effect can be obtained that dehydration time can be reduced . fig5 illustrates a flow diagram of a washing method of a washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention . with reference to fig5 , a washing method of a washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention is described . first , after washing water is supplied , the controller 190 performs washing which removes dirt of fabric while controlling the operation of the driving apparatus 170 . the washing includes a first washing s 220 which rotates the inner tub 122 in one direction and a second washing s 230 which rotates at least one of the inner tub 122 and the pulsator 140 in both directions alternately . since detailed description thereof is the same as in the first embodiment , description associated therewith is not provided further . meanwhile , after a predetermined time is passed , the controller 190 measures a number n of performance of the first washing step s 220 and the second washing step s 230 . s 240 . when the number n is less than a predetermined number n , the controller 190 adds one to the number n of performance of the washing step s 241 . then , the controller 190 repeats performing the first washing step s 220 and the second washing step s 230 sequentially . if the number n of performance of the washing step is determined to be more than the predetermined number n , the controller 190 terminates the steps . in other words , the controller 190 terminates the washing step . after the washing is completed , the controller 190 performs a balancing step s 250 to form a rotating water flow of washing water . at this time , washing water is rotated by rotating at least one of the inner tub 122 and the pulsator 140 selectively . in the balancing step s 250 , employed is rotation speed slower than that in the washing or distribution step s 260 described later . after performance of the balancing step s 250 for a predetermined time , distribution step s 260 is performed . both the distribution step s 260 and the balancing step s 250 aim to remove unbalance by distributing laundry ; the two steps are different by rotation speed , washing water flow , and discharge state . in other words , the distribution step s 260 makes fabric adhere closely to a side wall of the inner tub 122 by centrifugal force developed by rotation of the inner tub 122 with higher speed than in the balancing step s 250 . at this time , the controller rotates the inner tub 122 while washing water is contained in the inner tub 122 . and since a discharge pump of the discharge apparatus 150 is turned on in the distribution step , washing water of the inner tub 122 is discharged to the outer tub 125 through the holes of the discharge apparatus 150 , helping fabric adhere to the inner wall of the inner tub 122 . as fabric is distributed across a side wall of the inner tub 122 and washing water is discharged to the outside by the operation of the discharge apparatus 150 , unbalance of the inner tub 122 can be minimized . also , moisture of fabric can be removed quickly . moreover , since washing water is not provided to compensate unbalance of the inner tub 122 , amount of water used can be reduced . when the distribution step s 260 is completed , the controller 190 determines the degree of unbalance of the inner tub 122 , s 270 . if it is found that unbalance of the inner tub exists , the controller 190 performs the distribution step s 260 again . at this time , even if unbalance is detected , the controller 190 does not provide additional water supply . if it is determined that unbalance of the inner tub 122 does not exist , the controller 190 performs dehydration step s 280 which removes moisture of fabric by accelerated rotation of the inner tub 122 with a dehydration speed . at this time , because the inner tub 122 is rotated in the distribution step s 260 before the dehydration step s 280 , accelerated rotation of the inner tub 122 can be possible without the operation of the clutch in the dehydration step s 280 . therefore , noise due to the operation of the clutch , operation time , and energy can be reduced . since additional washing water is not provided to accommodate unbalance of the inner tub 122 before entering into the dehydration step s 160 , not only amount of water used can be reduced but also amount of washing water to be drained during the dehydration step s 160 is reduced ; therefore , an advantageous effect can be obtained that dehydration time can be reduced . a washing method of a washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention can minimize unbalance of the inner tub 122 by repeating the distribution step s 260 according to the existence of unbalance of the inner tub 122 , thereby improving the user satisfaction owing to the improvement of quietness at the time of spin drying . fig6 illustrates a flow diagram of a washing method of a washing machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention . with reference to fig6 , a washing method of a washing machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention is described . first , after washing water is supplied , the controller 190 performs washing which removes dirt of fabric while controlling the operation of the driving apparatus 170 . the washing includes a first washing step s 320 which rotates the inner tub 122 in one direction and a second washing step s 330 which rotates at least one of the inner tub 122 and the pulsator 140 in both directions alternately . since detailed description thereof is the same as in the first embodiment , description associated therewith is not provided further . meanwhile , after a predetermined time is passed , the controller 190 measures a number n of performance of the first washing step s 320 and the second washing step s 330 . s 340 . when the number n is less than a predetermined number n , the controller 190 adds one to the number n of performance of the washing steps s 341 . then , the controller 190 repeats performing the first washing step s 320 and the second washing step s 330 sequentially . if the number n of performance of the washing step is determined to be more than the predetermined number n , the controller 190 terminates the steps . in other words , the controller 190 terminates the washing step . after the washing is completed , the controller 190 performs balancing step s 350 to form a rotating water flow of washing water . since the balancing step s 350 is the same as in the second embodiment , description associated therewith is not provided further . after performance of the balancing step s 350 for a predetermined time , distribution step s 360 is performed . the distribution step s 360 makes fabric adhere closely to a side wall of the inner tub 122 by centrifugal force developed by rotation of the inner tub 122 with higher speed than in the balancing step s 350 . also , since a discharge pump of the discharge apparatus 150 is turned on in the distribution step , washing water of the inner tub 122 is discharged to the outer tub 125 through the holes of the discharge apparatus 150 , helping fabric adhere to the inner wall of the inner tub 122 . as fabric is distributed across a side wall of the inner tub 122 and washing water is discharged to the outside by the operation of the discharge apparatus 150 , unbalance of the inner tub 122 can be minimized . also , moisture of fabric can be removed quickly . moreover , since washing water is not provided to compensate unbalance of the inner tub 122 , amount of water used can be reduced . when the distribution step s 360 is completed , the controller 190 performs dehydration step s 370 which removes moisture of fabric by accelerated rotation of the inner tub 122 with a dehydration step speed . a washing method of a washing machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention , when the distribution step s 360 is completed , does not determine the existence of unbalance and not readily enter into the dehydration step s 370 ; therefore , operation time of a washing machine can be reduced . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other specific embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit or modifying fundamental characteristics of the invention . thus , it should be understood that the embodiments described above are provided as examples in all aspects and do not limit modifications and variations of the invention . the scope of the invention is specified by the appended claims rather than the detailed description given above . it should be interpreted that the spirit and the scope of the claims and all the modifications or variations derived from their equivalents belong to the scope of the invention .	3
fig1 is a perspective view of an assembled deep water offshore mobile drilling unit as described in the present invention . a deck structure 1 supports the drilling , production , utility systems , and living quarters of the offshore platform . the deck structure is supported by legs 2 on top of buoyant leg structure 3 that is largely submerged . the buoyant leg structure 3 is moored by vertical tethers 4 connected to a disk - shaped gravity base 5 . as can be seen in fig1 the buoyant leg structure 3 has a first surface end 10 that is elevated above the surface of the water in the assembled unit and a second keel end 12 that is submerged underneath the water in the assembled unit . the buoyant leg structure 3 is comprised of multiple tanks or ballast compartments 6 . a buoyant leg structure using different anchoring systems are disclosed in prior u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 443 , 330 and 5 , 118 , 221 to one of the inventors hereof . the disclosures of these patents are incorporated by reference . as shown in fig2 the gravity base 5 is also comprised of multiple ballast compartments 7 . the bottom compartments of buoyant leg structure 3 are ballasted after installation to provide the unit with positive stability . as shown in fig3 the buoyant leg structure 3 contains a centerwell 8 through which the drill string is extended through the keel of the buoyant leg structure during drilling operations . the centerwell 8 is situated along the central ( long ) axis of the buoyant leg structure . the unit is assembled as follows . first the component parts are transported to the drill site . several options exist for transporting the component parts . the buoyant leg structure 3 and the gravity base 5 may be either wet - towed or dry - towed to the site . the buoyant leg structure and gravity base are designed to float horizontally on the water surface when their ballast compartments are empty . the gravity base 5 is connected to the buoyant leg structure 3 with tethers 4 . this step can be done at the drilling site or the gravity base 5 and the buoyant leg structure 3 may be tethered together and wet - towed to the drill site as a unit . referring to fig4 the tethers are connected to the top of the buoyant leg structure by means of hoists 9 such that the tethers can later be extended . the buoyant leg structure is upended by adjusting the ballast tanks of the gravity base and the buoyant leg structure in a series of steps . first , the ballast of the gravity base 5 is increased to achieve near - neutral buoyancy . then , the keel - end ballast compartments of the buoyant leg structure 3 are flooded to achieve a trim angle of the center axis of the buoyant leg structure of approximately 12 to 13 degrees with respect to the water surface . the ballast compartments of the gravity base 5 are then flooded , with the additional force coupled from the gravity base to the buoyant leg structure elevating the surface end of the buoyant leg structure 3 above the water surface and increasing the trim angle of the center axis to a 90 degree angle with respect to the water surface . additional adjustment of the ballast in the ballast compartments 7 is then performed to achieve the desired draft of the buoyant platform and to provide sufficient buoyancy for the platform to support the weight of the work deck above the surface of the water . the top deck structure 1 is then mounted to the top of the buoyant leg structure 3 by attaching the legs 2 of the deck structure to the buoyant leg structure . if desired , heavy mud or other materials can be pumped into the gravity base 5 to increase its mass further . the gravity base 5 is then lowered to the sea floor by means of hoists 9 that let out the tether cables 4 . the length of the tethers 4 is then set and the tethers pre - tensioned by adjusting the ballast of the buoyant leg structure 3 to create a desired tension in the tethers . the unit can be moved short distances in a drilling region by hoisting the gravity base off of the sea floor and using either dynamic - assist thrusters or tugboats to relocate the unit to other sites in a drilling region . for long distance relocation to new oil regions , the unit can be disassembled by reversing the order of the assembly process . the gravity base 5 , can be retracted from the sea floor ; the work deck demounted ; and the gravity base and buoyant leg structure deballasted . the gravity base 5 can then be untethered from the buoyant leg 3 , and the three major components transported separately to the new location . alternatively , the gravity base can remained tethered to the buoyant leg structure for wet - towing of the gravity base and the buoyant leg as a single unit . as in the assembly process , the buoyant leg structure and the gravity base can be either wet - towed or dry - towed to the new site . the unit can then be reassembled , as described above . the present invention is distinguishable over conventional retractable anchoring schemes used to moor ships and retractable anchoring schemes proposed to moor offshore platforms . while ships and floating platforms can be securely moored in shallow waters by using anchors and a multitude of anchor lines , such schemes are not practical for deep water offshore drilling . conventional retractable anchoring schemes only secure a vessel or platform to within some fraction of the anchor line length . conventional retractable anchoring systems with multiple cables and anchors also create elastic systems , that as described above , can suffer from resonance effects , thus leading to unacceptable heaving , pitching , and rolling of a platform in high seas . moreover , these problems are exacerbated in the context of deep water drilling because of the long anchor line lengths and the heavy seas and strong ocean currents often experienced at many deep water sites far away from the shelter of land . conventional retractable anchoring systems are thus not practical ways to secure a drilling platform in a deep water site . the present invention has a combination of design features that make a retractable anchor design practical for deep water drilling . the combination of a buoyant leg structure and a multiplicity of precisely pre - tensioned tethers in the present invention leads to a greatly improved dynamic response over other retractable anchoring designs . the buoyant leg configuration itself minimizes excitational loads on the unit . the unit has positive stability because the bottom compartments of the buoyant leg 3 are ballasted to have a center of gravity below the buoyant leg &# 39 ; s center of buoyancy . that , combined with the semi - compliant pre - tensioned tethering system minimizes the unit &# 39 ; s response to excitational loads . the unit is a positively buoyant floater whose motion is fully restrained in only one ( heave ) of the six degrees of freedom by the pre - tensioned tethers . however , the tethers provide supplemental rotational and lateral restoring forces . the basic buoyant leg configuration has a low applied wave load because a large portion of total displacement is away from the water surface and thus subjected to relatively small water particle accelerations . furthermore , the semi - compliant tethering system minimizes the platform &# 39 ; s response to excitational loads . additional dynamic assist thrusters may be added to supplement the tethering system in severe storm conditions . the present invention is also distinguishable from conventional retractable anchoring systems in its method of installation . if one attempted to increase the tension on the anchor lines in a conventional anchoring system by winching in the anchor cables it would reduce the freeboard of the platform . in the present invention , however , the tethers are tensioned by adjusting the ballast of the buoyant leg structure . this permits the tethers to be tensioned while maintaining a nearly constant freeboard of the platform . the combination of elements in the present invention thus not only permits the tethers to be precisely tensioned but also allows for the simultaneous control of platform freeboard , buoyant leg draft , and ballast distribution . this control enables several key parameters affecting platform stability to be simultaneously optimized . the dynamic response of the unit is a function of such factors as buoyant leg draft , size , and ballasting ; tether number , tension , flexibility , weight , and length ; platform load ; and water depth . the methods of analyzing the dynamic response of such a unit are generally known to those skilled in the art . for a desired platform load and a given water depth , the buoyant leg and tether parameters can be analyzed and selected for optimum dynamic response . the dynamic response of a preferred embodiment was analyzed using conventional modeling and computer analysis . the buoyant leg structure in the preferred mode is as follows . a platform deck area of 46 by 46 m and a payload of 13 , 000 tons ( 11 , 801 metric tons ) was chosen as being consistent with an exploratory and extended production test system . an additional 3000 tons ( 2 , 722 metric tons ) of associated deck and riser steel is assumed . an assumed water depth of 915 m was selected as being consistent with deep water drilling . the corresponding buoyant leg structure has a 23 . 8 m outer diameter , a length of 141 . 8 m , and a 8 . 0 m centerwell . the estimated weight of the buoyant leg and appurtenances is 10 , 600 tons ( 9 , 616 metric tons ). the buoyant leg structure has 9 inner watertight flats separated by approximately 15 . 2 m intervals . of the 9 inner watertight compartments , the lowest three or four tanks are permanently ballasted with a weight of 29 , 900 tons ( 27 , 125 metric tons ) of ballast to provide positive stability to the buoyant leg . additional stiffening of the outer shell with stringers and rings is desirable , with the preferred arrangement consisting of 96 stringers and ringers spaced from 1 . 2 m to 2 . 4 m . the tethers may consist of either wire rope or synthetic materials . initial analysis indicates that eight tethers , each consisting of 43 / 4 inch spiral strand wire ropes with a breaking strength of 12 . 2 mn ( 2 , 750 kips ) is suitable for water depths from 500 to 1 , 500 m . the combined tension and weight of the tethers is 3 , 800 tons ( 3 , 447 metric tons ). in the preferred mode , the hoists would be comprised of synchronized winches to precisely control all of the tether lengths simultaneously . the gravity base is a cylindrical shell with an inner diameter of 25 . 0 m and an outer diameter of 35 . 0 m . eight non - watertight bulkheads on the gravity base serve as structural supports for the vertical tethers . computer modeling for these choices of parameters indicate that the motions of this unit are smaller than a similar free - floating unit with deeper draft due to the beneficial effects of tether stiffness and pretension . the natural heave period in the free - floating mode is 25 . 0 seconds . when tethered to the sea floor at an ocean depth of 915 m by eight 4 . 75 in diameter wire ropes , the heave natural period is reduced to 19 seconds while the pitch / roll natural period is reduced from 83 seconds to 75 seconds . the lateral displacement ( surge and sway ) natural period is 297 seconds . all of the natural periods remain above the energy - intensive wave spectra , which mitigates against resonance effects and the problems of ringing and springing . fig5 illustrates both the free floating and the tethered heave response amplitude operators ( raos ), demonstrating that the tethering substantially reduces the heave raos . as illustrated in fig6 tethering also reduces the pitch and roll motion raos as well . the platform is expected to exhibit desirable motion characteristics even when subjected to severe storms in water depths from 500 to 3 , 000 m . although a particular embodiment has been described , it is apparent that a wide choice in design parameters is possible . the tether tension and the mass and mass distribution of the unit can be adjusted to obtain close - to - optimum pitch / roll raos for a given configuration . other design parameters can be adjusted for particular applications . for example , one or more of the compartments of the buoyant leg can be used for oil storage and the diameter of the buoyant leg increased for greater oil storage capacity . the size and shape of the buoyant leg structure and the anchor configuration may also be varied , such as , for example , the use of multiple buoyant legs or multiple retractable anchors .	4
embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings . referring to fig1 a and 1b , in this embodiment , the wavelength conversion device includes a support structure 104 and two wavelength conversion modules 108 a and 108 b . each wavelength conversion module includes a ceramic carrier 103 , and a phosphor layer and a reflective layer 102 disposed on the ceramic carrier 103 . as shown in fig1 a and 1b , the support structure 104 is a round base plate , preferably formed of a metal , a metal alloy , or a composite material of metal and inorganic materials . the metal may be aluminum , copper , silver , etc . the metal alloy may be brass , aluminum alloy , copper aluminum alloy , etc . the composite material of metal and inorganic material is a composite of metal and inorganic material , such as diamond - copper , boron nitride - copper , etc . the support structure has a ring shaped region which is centered on the center of the round base plate . there are two ceramic carriers 103 , respectively shaped like a half of a ring ; they are arranged together on the ring shaped region of the base plate , to form a matching ring shape . preferably , the ceramic carrier 103 is made of aluminum oxide , aluminum nitride , silicon nitride , silicon carbide , boron nitride , or beryllium oxide , all of which are ceramic plates with a dense structure , and not porous . the thermal conductivities of these materials are above 80 w / mk , and their melting points are mostly above 200 degrees c . thus , these materials have good thermal conductivity and at the same time can withstand high temperature . of course , in applications that do not place a high requirement on the thermal conductivity , other types of ceramic plates may be used as the ceramic carriers 103 . it should be noted that the two ceramic carriers 103 may be made of the same material or different materials . in practice , the bottom surface of the ceramic carriers may be adhered to the ring shaped region of the support structure using a high thermal conductivity adhesive , such as silver adhesive or a silica gel mixed with high thermal conductivity filling particles . the high thermal conductivity filling particles may be aluminum oxide , aluminum nitride , boron nitride , yttrium oxide , zinc oxide , or titanium oxide particles or a mixture of two or more of the above . on the top surface of each ceramic carrier is a reflective layer 102 , to reflect the converted light generated by the phosphor when illuminated by the excitation light . in this embodiment , the reflective layer 102 is a total reflection film , such as silver film , aluminum film , etc . the total reflection film can be formed by electroplating , chemical plating , electron beam sputtering , plasma sputtering , vapor deposition , etc . on the top surface of the ceramic carrier . a phosphor material is provided on the reflective layer to form a phosphor layer 101 , which is used to absorb the excitation light and emit a converted having a different wavelength than the excitation light . examples of phosphor materials include yag ( yttrium aluminum garnet ) phosphor , which absorbs blue light , ultraviolet light etc . to generates a yellow converted light ; a red phosphor , which absorbs an excitation light to generate a red converted light ; and a green phosphor which generates a green converted light , or other phosphors . in this embodiment , the ceramic carrier of one wavelength conversion module 108 a carries a phosphor layer of a red phosphor , and the other wavelength conversion module 108 b carries a yellow phosphor on one half of it and a green phosphor on the other half . of course , combinations of other single color phosphors can be provided on any one of the ceramic carrier 103 . the phosphor layer 101 is an integral piece formed of a phosphor powder sealed by an adhesive . the adhesive may be a silica gen adhesive , which has stable chemical properties and high mechanical strength . but silica gel cannot withstand very high temperature , typically 300 degrees c . to 500 degrees c . for applications of high power light emitting devices , preferably , an inorganic adhesive is used to adhere the phosphor powder to form an integral piece ; for example , it can use sodium silicate , glass powder , etc . which is sintered into a glass body , to obtain a reflective type phosphor wheel that can withstand high temperature . it should be noted that this invention does not exclude using silica gel as the adhesive for the phosphor powder ; this is because due to the presence of the ceramic carrier , the heat generated by the phosphor layer can be rapidly conducted to the ceramic carrier and dissipated . moreover , silica gel does not deform easily , so it has sufficient advantages over the conventional aluminum substrate . preferably , the phosphor layer 101 is formed by sintering a slurry that contains the phosphor powder and a first glass powder , where the first glass powder is sintered to form a first glass body . glass powder is an irregularly shaped , particulate , homogeneous glass substance , which is highly transparent and has stable chemical properties . the glass powder may be one of silicate glass , lead silicate glass , aluminum borosilicate glass , aluminate glass , soda lime glass , or quartz glass , or a mixture of two or more of the above . the first glass powder may be one or more selected from the above glass powders . because the first glass powder is required to have high transmission rate for the incident light and to have good thermal conductivity , preferably , the first glass powder is borosilicate glass powder , which has stable properties and high light transmission rate , and has a relatively high thermal conductivity compared to other glass powders . of course , based on the heat resistance of different phosphors , glass powders of different softening point may be selected accordingly . the drive mechanism 105 is fixed to the support structure 104 , to drive the support structure 104 and in turn the wavelength conversion modules 108 a and 108 b to rotate around the center of the round plate . as a result , the excitation light periodically illuminates the various positions along the ring shaped phosphor plate 101 . in this embodiment , the drive mechanism 105 is a motor . in this embodiment , the ceramic carrier 103 includes two pieces , each piece and the corresponding reflective layer 102 and phosphor layer 101 form a wavelength conversion modules 108 a / 108 b . multiple wavelength conversion modules are arrange together , and adhesively fixed to the support structure 104 . such a modular structure has significant advantages over an integral structure which uses one piece of ceramic material to form the entire substrate and have different phosphor materials on the ceramic substrate . this is because when the entire substrate is formed of one piece of ceramic material , when the phosphor layer is illuminated by a high intensity excitation light , the area of the ceramic substrate that is in contact with the phosphor layer will have a relatively high temperature , while other areas will have a relatively low temperature , so different areas of the ceramic substrate will have different degrees of thermal expansion . because ceramic materials have relatively low toughness and relatively high brittleness , such different degrees of thermal expansion may cause the substrate to crack . in this embodiment , on the other hand , because the ceramic carriers are separate pieces , the interference among different regions due to high temperature is reduced . the heat of each ceramic carrier is separately conducted to the support structure to be dissipated , which prevents the situation where one region has a crack and the entire wavelength conversion device cannot function properly . in addition , by dividing them into pieces , each ceramic carrier is relatively small , so the illumination light spot can approximately cover the entire ceramic carrier , so heating is more uniform . even if one ceramic carrier cracks in a very low probability event , only one carrier needs to be replaced . in the above embodiment , the ceramic carriers include two pieces ; clearly they can be divided into multiple same shaped or different shaped arc shaped pieces , without limitation . here “ multiple pieces ” means two or more pieces . also , the support structure is formed of metal , metal alloy , or a composite material of metal and inorganic materials , which have high toughness and strength . ceramic carriers are only provided in the ring shaped region of the support structure where the phosphor layer is required , and the phosphor is formed on the ceramic carriers , so that each ceramic carrier is uniformly heated , greatly reducing the probability of cracking of the ceramic carriers due to large differences of thermal expansion in different positions . even if the ceramic carrier cracks in a very low probability event , because it still has surface contact with and is adhered to the support structure , the wavelength conversion device can still function even with the crack , thereby extending the life of the wavelength conversion device . further , the base plate has good thermal conductivity , so the contact between the ceramic carriers and the base plate promotes heat dissipation of the ceramic carriers . moreover , because the wavelength conversion device is driven by the drive mechanism to rotate around the central axis , different positions of the phosphor layer periodically pass through the optical path of the excitation light and are excited by the excitation light . thus , the phosphor layer at each position is only momentarily excited by the excitation light when it passes through the optical path of the excitation light , so the illumination time is short , and the temperature of the phosphor layer is greatly reduced and its efficiency is greatly improved . as shown in fig2 , in this embodiment , the support structure 204 , drive mechanism , ceramic carriers , adhesives , reflective layers and phosphor layers are similar to those in the first embodiment and detail descriptions are omitted here . a difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that , there are three wavelength conversion modules 208 a , 208 b and 208 c , each having an arc shape ; they are arranged on and adhered to a ring shaped region of the support structure 204 to form a ring shape . moreover , the phosphor material in the phosphor layer on each ceramic carrier is a monochromatic phosphor that is excited to emit a converted light of one color , and different colored phosphor materials are provided on different ceramic carriers . for example , as shown in fig2 , the phosphor materials on the three wavelength conversion modules 208 a , 208 b and 208 c are respectively red phosphor , yellow phosphor and orange phosphor . the sequence of the three phosphors can be arranged according to need , and the colors of the single color phosphors can be selected and combined as needed . also , one color phosphor material may be provided on two ceramic carriers . more generally , the number of ceramic carriers may be more than three , and different choices of color , sequence and distribution of the phosphors are possible . an advantage of this embodiment over the first embodiment is that different color phosphors are located on different ceramic carriers . different phosphors , along with the same or different first glass powder used for each phosphor , use different processing conditions when sintering to form the phosphor layers . for example , because red phosphor and orange phosphor have poorer temperature resistance , lower temperature glass powders having lower softening point should be used even though they have slightly poorer light transmission rate , so sintering may be done at a lower temperature . yellow phosphor and green phosphor have better temperature resistance , so glass powders having higher softening points and higher light transmission rates may be used , and sintering may be done at higher temperatures . if red phosphor and yellow phosphor layers are sintered onto the same ceramic substrate , the phosphor layers need to be sintered separate times at different sintering temperatures ; thus , the ceramic substrate will be heated multiple times , which is unfavorable for the stability of the ceramic substrate . using this embodiment , on the other hand , because different wavelength conversion modules containing different color phosphors are separately and individually fabricated , and the modules are then adhered to the support structure , production cycle can be shortened significantly . meanwhile , for each module , based on the phosphor it contains and the glass powder , reflective layer , and ceramic carrier of the module , a fabrication process can be designed to achieve optimum results for the module without limitations imposed by the phosphors or other components of the other modules . in this embodiment , except for the reflective layer , the other components are similar to those of the first and second embodiments , and detailed descriptions are omitted here . a difference between this embodiment and the first and second embodiments is that for the reflective layer , a diffuse reflection layer replaces the total reflection film . the diffuse reflection layer is located between the phosphor layer and the ceramic carrier , and includes white scattering particles , which function to scatter the incident light . the white scattering particles are typically a powder of a salt or an oxide , and the particle size ranges from 50 nanometers to 5 microns . examples include aluminum oxide , titanium oxide , aluminum nitride , magnesium oxide , boron nitride , zinc oxide , zirconium oxide , barium sulfate , etc . which are ultra - white single powder particles , or a mixture of two or more of the above powder particles . these white scattering material absorbs virtually no light , and are stable and will not oxidize or decompose under high temperature . considering that the diffuse reflection layer should have good reflectivity and heat dissipation property , a preferred choice is aluminum oxide powder which has desirable properties overall . to achieve sufficient reflection of the incident light , the white scattering material in the diffuse reflection layer should have sufficient density and thickness , and the particle size distribution should be in an appropriate range . the smaller the particle size and the denser the packing , the better the scattering effect . on the other hand , it is easy to understand that , for the same white scattering particles , the higher the ratio of the particles in the layer and the thicker the diffuse reflection layer , the higher the reflectivity . however , when the diffuse reflection layer is too thick , its thermal resistance will be too high ; thus the thickness should be within an appropriate range . the density and thickness can be determined through experimentation . in one example , a diffuse reflection layer of aluminum oxide powder is formed on the surface of an aluminum nitride ceramic carrier , where the thickness of the diffuse reflection layer is 0 . 1 - 1 mm , the particle size distribution is 0 . 1 - 1 μm , and the weight ratio of the aluminum oxide powder to the adhesive agent is 1 : 1 to 10 : 1 . based on experiments , such a diffuse reflection layer has a reflectivity that is up to 99 . 5 % of that of the of mirror - surface aluminum substrate , i . e ., its reflectivity is almost as high as that of mirror - surface aluminum substrate . of course , the particle size of the scattering particles , and the thickness and density of the diffuse reflection layer can be other values , which can be determined by those skilled in the art through routine experimentation . similarly , the white scattering powder is adhered together by an adhesive to form an integral piece . the adhesive may be silica gel , sodium silicate , etc . preferably , the white scattering particles are sintered with a second glass powder , where the second glass powder is sintered into a glass body to adhere the white scattering particles . here , the choices of the second glass powder may be the same as those of the first glass powder in the first embodiment . the second glass powder and the first glass powder may be the same or different glass powders . the diffuse reflection layer may be affixed to the ceramic carrier using an adhesive . however , when using an adhesive , the existence of the adhesive means that there is an intermediate layer between the diffuse reflection layer and the ceramic carrier , which may hinder the heat conduction from the diffuse reflection layer to the ceramic carrier . thus , preferably , the diffuse reflection layer is directly sintered to the ceramic carrier , so that the bonding between the ceramic carrier and the diffuse reflection layer is strong , and thermal conductivity is high . meanwhile , the matching of the thermal expansion coefficients of glass and ceramics is better than the matching of the thermal expansion coefficients of glass and metal . further , because the ceramic carrier has relatively high thermal conductivity coefficient , it can conduct heat well , like a metal substrate . it is noted that when the diffuse reflection layer is first formed on the ceramic carriers and then the phosphor layer is formed on the surface of the diffuse reflection layer by sintering , to prevent the sintering process from adversely impacting the diffuse reflection layer , the sintering temperature for the phosphor layer is preferably lower than the softening point of the second glass powder . thus , the softening point of the second glass powder should be higher than that of the first glass powder . similarly , when the phosphor layer is formed first and then the diffuse reflection layer is formed on the surface of the phosphor layer by sintering , the sintering temperature is preferably lower than the softening point of the first glass powder , and the softening point of the second glass powder should be lower than that of the first glass powder . also , because the softening points of the first and second glass powders should be different , and borosilicate glass powder has a higher softening point , this glass powder may be used as the one of the first and second glass powders that has a higher softening point . an advantage of this embodiment over the first and second embodiments is that it uses a diffuse reflection layer to replace the total reflection film , and uses the diffuse reflection layer combined with the ceramic carrier to replace conventional mirror - surface metal plate . the diffuse reflection layer formed of the scattering particles scatters the incident light and can achieve a similar or even the same result as mirror reflection . further , white scattering particles will not change their color and property due to oxidation , decomposition or other reactions under high temperature so will not reduce its reflection of the incident light . thus , a diffuse reflection layer can withstand relatively high temperatures . meanwhile , because the melting point of the ceramic material is higher than that of metal , it can withstand higher temperatures than metal , so that even after prolonged operation under high temperature , it still does not suffer significant oxidation , softening or other property changes . thus , it can replace conventional metal substrate and reflective surface . in the diffuse reflection layer the second glass powder adheres the white scattering particles ; it can insulate the white scattering particles from the atmosphere , to prevent the white scattering particles from becoming damp in the air . it can also increase the strength and light transmission rate of the diffuse reflection layer . further , when the adhesive of both the phosphor layer and the diffuse reflection layer are glass powders , the phosphor layer can be sintered on the surface of the diffuse reflection layer , or the diffuse reflection layer can be sintered on the surface of the phosphor layer , so that the two layers have a high bonding force and can withstand relatively high temperature . in addition , in a conventional aluminum substrate with a phosphor layer on its surface , the surface of the substrate is smooth , so when the phosphor layer is formed on the mirror - surface of the aluminum substrate , the contact interface between the phosphor layer and the mirror - surface aluminum substrate will shrink , and the phosphor layer may be partially separated from the substrate . this reduces the contact interface area between the phosphor layer and the mirror - surface aluminum substrate , so the thermal resistance between the phosphor layer and the mirror - surface of the aluminum substrate is relatively high . for a wavelength conversion device using ceramic carriers , on the other hand , because both the ceramic carrier and the diffuse reflection layer have a rough surface , the contact interface areas between the phosphor layer and the diffuse reflection layer and between the diffuse reflection layer and the ceramic carrier are relatively large , so the thermal resistance of the interface between the ceramic carrier and the phosphor materials is relatively low , and the heat generated by the phosphor materials can be effectively conducted to the ceramic carrier , so that the wavelength conversion device can withstand higher temperature . as shown in fig3 , this embodiment includes four wavelength conversion modules ( two of them , 408 a and 408 b , are shown in the drawings and the other two are not shown ) and the support structure 404 . the four wavelength conversion modules are arranged in a ring shape and affixed on a ring shaped region of the surface of the support structure 404 . the support structure 404 is similar to that of the first to third embodiments . each wavelength conversion module includes a fluorescent ceramic piece 401 and a reflective layer 403 , and the reflective layer 403 is disposed between the fluorescent ceramic piece 401 and the surface of the support structure 404 . the fluorescent ceramic piece 401 includes a ceramic carrier and a phosphor material dispersed within the ceramic carrier . in other words , the ceramic carrier and phosphor layer in each wavelength conversion module in the first to third embodiments are combined into one component here . the fluorescent ceramic piece 401 is a ceramic body that can be excited by the excitation light to generate a converted light , such as yag glass ceramics , sintered yag ceramics , or other systems of yellow , green or red fluorescent ceramics . the fluorescent ceramic piece 401 of each wavelength conversion module may be the same type of fluorescent ceramic , or different colors or different types of fluorescent ceramic as needed . in this embodiment , the reflective layer 403 is a total reflection film having high reflectivity , such as silver film , aluminum film , etc . preferably , the total reflection film can be deposited on the bottom surface of the fluorescent ceramic piece by a coating technique , such as electroplating , chemical plating , electron beam sputtering , plasma sputtering , vapor deposition , etc . further , a metal protection film may be coated over the reflective layer 403 on the fluorescent ceramic piece 401 , using one of the coating methods mentioned above . the metal protection film may be a metal such as ti , ni , cu , al , or mo , or a mixed film of two or more of the above metals . or , the film may be a composite film formed by alternating coatings of multiple metals . the function of the metal protection film is to protect the reflective layer as well as to facilitate adhesion with the base plate . the coated fluorescent ceramic pieces 401 are arranged and affixed to the base plate of the support structure 404 using adhesion or soldering . if using adhesion , the adhesive may be the same type of adhesive used in the first embodiment to adhere the ceramic carriers to the support structure . if using soldering , preferably , low temperature vacuum brazing is used . this can reduce the air cavities and thickness of the soldering layer , which enhances heat conduction . of course , the reflective layer 403 in this embodiment may also be a diffuse reflection layer containing white scattering particles as described in the third embodiment . when forming a diffuse reflection layer on the surface of the support structure 404 , preferably , the white scattering particles are adhered together using a silica gel , to increase the bonding between the diffuse reflection layer and the support structure 404 . alternatively , the reflective layer 403 may have other structures , as long as it can effectively reflect the incident light . an advantage of this embodiment over the first to third embodiment is that , by using a fluorescent ceramic piece that has a dense structure and high thermal conductivity to replace the structure of a ceramic carrier with a phosphor layer adhered to it , the structure of the device is simpler and the fabrication process is simplified , which reduces material and processing cost . also , because fluorescent ceramics have a dense structure , air cannot penetrate the fluorescent ceramic piece to react with the reflective layer , which improves the stability of the reflective layer . moreover , fluorescent ceramics have very high thermal conductivity , and are more suitable for illumination by a high power excitation light . a difference between this embodiment and the fourth embodiment is that in this embodiment , of the four wavelength conversion modules , three of them are replaced by the module structure of the third embodiment , i . e . a ceramic carrier with a diffuse reflection layer and a phosphor layer sequentially adhered to it . it should be understood that it is also possible to replace only two of the wavelength conversion modules , or the number of replaced modules may be any number above two , and the number of each type of wavelength conversion modules can be any suitable numbers based on need . in the descriptions below , the various components and their structure and relationship with each other are similar to the earlier described embodiments ; only the differences from the earlier embodiments are described here . as shown in fig4 a and 4b , wavelength conversion modules 508 a , 508 b , 508 c and 508 d are affixed to the surface of the support structure 504 using adhesion or soldering . the drive mechanism 505 drives the support structure 504 and the various wavelength conversion modules to rotate together . in this embodiment , each of wavelength conversion modules 508 a , 508 b and 508 d includes a ceramic carrier 503 with diffuse reflection layer 502 and phosphor layer 501 sequentially adhered to its surface , similar to the corresponding structure in the third embodiment . among them , wavelength conversion module 508 a uses an orange phosphor as the color phosphor material , wavelength conversion module 508 b uses a green phosphor , and wavelength conversion module 508 d uses a red phosphor . as mentioned earlier , different color phosphors have different temperature resistance properties ; correspondingly , different first glass powders , ceramic carriers and sintering processes are used for these different wavelength conversion modules based on need . wavelength conversion module 508 c includes a fluorescent ceramic piece 511 with a total reflection film 513 on its surface , similar to the corresponding structure in the fourth embodiment . in this embodiment , the fluorescent ceramic piece 511 is a yag glass ceramic which can be excited to generate a high brightness yellow light . the four wavelength conversion modules are fabricated using their respective optimum processing conditions , and are then respectively affixed on one surface of the support structure , to form a ring shape . an advantage of this embodiment over the first to fourth embodiments is that : in the segmented and modular wavelength conversion device of this embodiment , by combining two types of modules , namely those using ceramic carriers with reflective layers and phosphor layers on the top surface , and those using fluorescent ceramic pieces with reflective layers on the bottom surface , the applications are broadened which can meet higher design requirements . a difference between this embodiment and the first to fifth embodiments is that , a wavelength conversion module in the first to fifth embodiment is replaced with a light transmission segment , or one of them is replaced with a light reflection segment , or both . other aspects of this embodiment are similar to the first to fifth embodiments , except for the following . when one wavelength conversion module is replaced by a light transmission segment , as shown in fig5 a , an arc shaped region of the base plate of the support structure 604 that corresponds to that wavelength conversion module is cut into an arc shaped opening 609 . or , an arc shaped high transmission glass piece is provided in the opening 609 , where the glass piece may be sintered using one of the earlier mentioned glass powders . when the wavelength conversion device is rotated by the drive mechanism 605 to a position such that the excitation light illuminates the arc shaped opening 609 , the excitation light passes through the opening 609 directly and becomes output . thus , the opening is the light transmission region . when one wavelength conversion module is replaced by a light reflection segment , as shown in fig5 b , an arc shaped region of the base plate of the support structure 604 that corresponds to that wavelength conversion module is coated with high reflection particles to form a high reflection layer 619 . preferably , to ensure that the high reflection particles are secured adhered to the surface of the support structure 614 , the high reflection particles are mixed with silica gel to form a slurry , which is coated on the surface of the support structure 614 and then cured . further , to increase the reflectivity , a silver - coated aluminum plate having a matching arc shape is prepared first , and then a slurry of the high reflection particles mixed with silica gel is coated on the surface of the silver - coated aluminum plate and then cured . the aluminum plate is then affixed to the corresponding region of the support structure 614 , to form the reflection segment . when the wavelength conversion device is rotated by the drive mechanism 615 to a position such that the excitation light illuminates the reflection segment , the excitation light is reflected . an advantage of this embodiment over the first to fifth embodiments is that , when the excitation light itself is one of the desired monochromatic light such as blue light , it is not necessary to use wavelength conversion of a phosphor of a wavelength conversion module to generate such monochromatic light . rather , the monochromatic excitation light can be directly transmitted through the transmission segment to be output or reflected by the reflection segment to be collected . this can save materials , simplify fabrication process , and can generate the monochromatic light that has as little light loss as possible . a difference between this embodiment and the first to sixth embodiments is that , the support structure of any of the first to sixth embodiments is modified . this embodiment is similar to the first to fifth embodiments except for the following . as shown in fig6 , the support structure 704 is a round shaped base plate , and a ring shaped groove 707 is formed on the top surface in the ring shaped region that corresponds to where the wavelength conversion modules 708 a and 708 b are mounted . the wavelength conversion modules 708 a and 708 b are affixed on the inner bottom surface of the groove 707 using adhesion or soldering as described earlier . mechanical fastening means may also be used , such as pressing by elastic plates , screws , bolts or other fastening devices , or the wavelength conversion modules can be bucked inside the groove 70 by thermal expansion and contraction of the support structure . the inner and outer side surfaces of the wavelength conversion modules preferably contact the two side surfaces of the groove 707 . an advantage of this embodiment over the earlier embodiments is that , because the wavelength conversion modules are disposed inside the groove , the contact surface areas between the support structure and the wavelength conversion modules are increased , which facilitates heat dissipation of the wavelength conversion modules . further , when the wavelength conversion modules rotate by the drive mechanism , due to centrifugal force , the wavelength conversion modules have a tendency to be spun outwardly ; by placing them inside the groove , the side surface of the groove can protect the modules and prevent them from being spun off , which can improve the structural stability of the wavelength conversion device and increase its life . of course , based on the above descriptions , it should be understood that the groove may have many variations , such as two ring shaped protrusions located respectively just inside and just outside of the ring shaped region of the base plate , so that the wavelength conversion modules are located in the ring shaped region between the two protrusions . or , a number of protrusions may be formed in the ring shaped region of the base plate , and the wavelength conversion modules correspondingly have recesses on their bottoms , such that the protrusions and the recesses engage with each other to form a restraint against radial movements . or the protrusions and recesses may be swapped . all these designs are within the scope of this embodiment . the first to seventh embodiments all use a reflective type wavelength conversion device , so reflective layers are provided on the wavelength conversion modules . the wavelength conversion device of this invention may also be a transmission type , which will not require the reflective layers . their structures are shown in fig7 a and 7b as examples . as shown in fig7 b , the support structure 804 includes two half - circle arc shaped slots , which are arranged facing each other and joined together using detachable mechanical means such as threads on the outside surfaces of the support structure components 804 a and 804 b , elastic snaps , bolting , etc ., or joined together using non - detachable means such as adhesion , soldering , etc . as shown in fig7 a and 7b , the outer edges of the multiple wavelength conversion modules 808 a , 808 b and 808 c are inserted into the slot , and the radial direction side edges of adjacent wavelength conversion modules abut each other and help to keep each other in place . the adjacent modules can also be joined to each other by adhesion , soldering , etc . also , a light transmitting glass plate is provided above and / or below the entire ring shaped combination of wavelength conversion modules , where the edge of the glass plate is inserted into the slot together with the modules . this can improve the overall structural strength of the device and prevent breakage . the choices and combinations of the wavelength conversion modules may be the same as any of the earlier described embodiments . also , one of the wavelength conversion modules may be replaced with a light transmitting glass plate or a light transmitting aperture . to improve the efficiency of the transmitted excitation light and converted light , preferably , a light collection assembly is preferably provided on one side of the round plate formed by the wavelength conversion modules . the light collection assembly may be a flat reflecting mirror , paraboloid reflecting mirror , condensing lens , etc ., to collect the light for utilization . an advantage of this embodiment is that it omits the fabrication step for the reflective layer , and can directly utilize available reflective devices to collect the light . although under current technologies the efficiency of transmission type devices is lower than reflective type devices , in applications that do not imposed a high requirement on light emitting efficiency , or if the light conversion efficiency of the phosphor layers or fluorescent ceramics can be improved by other means , this embodiment can be an acceptable option . a difference between this embodiment and the earlier described embodiments is in the drive mechanism . this embodiment is similar to the first to fifth embodiments except for the following . in this embodiment , the drive mechanism is coupled to the excitation light source , and drives the excitation light sources to move , so that the emitted excitation light sequentially illuminates different wavelength conversion modules , to sequentially generate different colored converted lights . when the wavelength conversion modules are stationary , and are arranged in a ring shape , the drive mechanism drives the excitation light source to move laterally along a corresponding circular path . when the wavelength conversion modules have rectangular shapes and are arranged sequentially in a linear manner , the drive mechanism drives the excitation light source to move laterally along a linear path . in the latter case , the drive mechanism is not necessarily a rotating motor , but can be a moving bar , crankshaft , etc . mechanical structure that can generate a linear movement . it should be understood that the wavelength conversion modules may be arranged in any suitable manner depending on need , and the drive mechanism drives the excitation light source in a corresponding manner . on the other hand , when the excitation light source is stationary , and the drive mechanism is coupled to the support structure and drives the wavelength conversion modules , then depending on the shape of the wavelength conversion modules such as a ring shape , a linear shape , or a wavy shape , the drive mechanism can be provided correspondingly such that the drive mechanism drives the wavelength conversion modules to move in order to sequentially generate different converted lights . in this case , the drive mechanism is not limited to a motor . an advantage of this embodiment over the earlier described embodiments is that it allows the overall wavelength conversion device to have various different structures to suit the need for various permutations and combinations of the wavelength conversion modules . the various embodiments of the invention are described in this disclosure in a progressive manner ; each embodiment is described by focusing on its difference from other embodiments , while identical or similar aspects of the different embodiments can be understood by referring to other embodiments . embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above ; the invention generally relates to a wavelength conversion device that can be illuminated by an incident excitation light to generate converted lights of different wavelengths than the excitation light , which uses a ceramic material as carriers to carry phosphor materials , where the ceramic carriers are divided into multiple segments to reduce and prevent cracking due to high temperature . all such devices are within the scope of this invention . this invention is also directed to a light source system based on any of the above wavelength conversion devices . the light source system includes an excitation light source generating an excitation light , and the above wavelength conversion device , where the phosphor materials of the wavelength conversion device are located on the light path of the excitation light , to convert the excitation light into converted lights for output . this invention is also directed to a projection system for forming images , which includes the above light source system . the projection system may use any suitable projection technologies such as liquid crystal display ( lcd ) and digital light processor ( dlp ) projection technologies . moreover , the light emitting device can also be used in lighting systems , such as stage lighting . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modification and variations can be made in the wavelength conversion device and related systems of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .	6
the ball retriever and storage device of this invention is shown generally by the number 10 in fig1 . the device includes an open metal wire or rod frame which provides the receptacle or storage compartment for the device . a bottom or entrance opening 12 to the storage receptacle is provided by a wire rod 14 bent to form a rectangle . an access opening 16 is provided by a wire rod 18 of rectangular configuration . a u - shaped framing rod 19 , shown most clearly in fig1 includes a first portion 20 , a second portion 22 extending substantially parallel to the first portion and an end joining portion 24 . the open ends of portions 20 and 22 are each secured to a point on the front side of the rectangular wire rod 18 . the ends of portions 20 and 22 adjacent end joining portion 24 are secured to the front side of the rectangular wire rod 14 . a second , like u - shaped wire rod 19 is secured to the wire rods 14 and 18 on the rear or opposite side thereof opposite the locations to which the first rod 19 is secured . a wire rod 26 , which includes first and second portions 28 and 30 respectively which extend parallel to one another is provided as part of the wire frame of the device 10 . an end joining portion 32 interconnects first and second portions 28 and 30 at one end of these portions . portions 34 and 36 extend from the other ends of first and second portions 28 and 30 respectively and converge towards one another . the distal ends of portions 34 and 36 are bent at right angles and fit into an end of handle 40 for carrying the device 10 . the ends are shown in phantom extending into handle 40 in fig1 . portions 28 and 30 are secured to one side of the rectangular rod 18 at the ends adjacent portions 34 and 36 , and are secured to one side of the rectangle formed by wire rod 14 adjacent end joining portions 32 . a second wire rod 26 is secured to wire rods 14 and 18 on the opposite side of the rectangle in the same manner as and at the same locations as described and shown with respect to the above described rod . four additional wire rods 42 each have one end thereof secured to the center of a side of the rectangle formed by wire rod 14 and the other end secured to the center of the corresponding side of the rectangle formed by wire rod 18 . portions 20 and 22 of wire rods 19 , portions 28 and 30 of wire rods 26 , wire rods 42 , 14 and 18 , secured together as described above , form the elongate frame defining a central storage area or receptacle for storing balls . as previously noted , wire rod 14 forms an entrance opening 12 and wire rod 18 forms an access opening 16 . the portions 20 and 22 of rods 19 , 28 and 30 of rods 26 and rods 42 are positioned with respect to another when secured to rods 14 and 18 such that the tennis balls can only enter and exit the central storage area via openings 12 and 16 . that is , the spacings between these rods and rod portions are so small that a tennis ball cannot be squeezed between adjacent rods or rod portions . as preveously noted , portions 20 and 22 of wire rods 19 extend beyond the entrance opening 12 formed by wire rod 14 and terminate at end joining portion 24 . these extensions and end joining portion 24 define support feet for unit 10 . the portions 28 and 30 of wire rod 26 extending below the entrance opening 12 formed by wire rod 14 , and end joining portion 32 of wire rod 26 also form support feet for unit 10 . these support feet , in addition to supporting unit 10 , maintain entrance opening 12 a predetermined distance above the ground as can be seen by reference to fig1 and 2 . with the entrance opening 12 supported above ground , balls which may be stored in unit 10 cannot come in contact with the ground . a closure 44 formed from bent wire has one end 46 bent around the rear section 18a of wire rod 18 . closure member 44 can be pivoted selectively to open or closed positions . closure member 44 includes a pair of parallel portions 48 which extends from bend end portion 46 the width of exit opening 16 and terminates in a latch 50 . when closure member 44 is in its closed position , latch 50 engages against wire rod 18 and rod 42 to releasably lock the closure 44 in position preventing the stored balls from inadvertently escaping from the device 10 . the restraining means for the entrance is provided by a pair of wire rod fingers 54 , shown in fig3 . the wire fingers 54 are v - shaped . the base or wider ends of the fingers are secured to the front and rear sides of the rectangular entrance opening 12 . the fingers are aligned facing one another and extend into entrance opening 12 in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the vertical axis of the storage area . the apices 55 of fingers 54 are spaced apart a short distance or space 56 . fingers 54 and the rod 14 form two entry spaces 57a and 57b into the storage area for retrieving and storing the balls . each of these two spaces has a point of maximum width being slightly less than the width of a tennis ball so that the tennis ball must be squeezed between rod 14 and fingers 54 at space 56 in order to permit entry of the ball into the central storage area of device 10 . when balls are to be retrieved , the device 10 is placed over the tennis balls and pressed downwardly . the support feet 24 and 32 prevent the tennis balls from being deflected away from the entrance opening 12 as the unit is lowered over the balls , as shown in fig4 . the members 54 and side parts of rectangular bar 14 also act as guides or cam means which urge or roll the ball towards the space 56 , thus reducing the pressure necessary to allow the ball to be admitted or squeezed into the the central storage area . with slight downward pressure on the handle 40 , the ball is compressed and forced between fingers 54 and rod 14 into the central storage area of device 10 , thus retrieving a ball . when stored balls are to be removed , closure member 44 is pivoted to an open position and the user may reach into the unit to remove a ball . alternately , the user may lift the entire device 10 and pour all of the balls stored therein into a machine , such as has previously been described . in order to prevent corrosion of the unit 10 and damage to the tennis balls due to sharp edges as the balls are squeezed into unit 10 , all of the rods used in the formation of unit 10 may be coated with a colored plastic material . this material is mar and chip proof in the preferred embodiment thus minimizing the chance of rusting and corrosion to the unit and damage to the stored tennis balls . although the device may have special utility for retrieving tennis balls , other kinds of balls may be retrieved , so long as they have some degree of resilience which will enable them to be squeezed into the device . for instance , balls used in the game of lacrosse can be retrieved with this device .	0
referring now to the drawings , as shown in fig1 reference numeral 10 generally identifies a hand - held , gun - shaped scanner head having a barrel 12 and a handle 14 . the head need not be gun - shaped as any suitable configuration may be used , such as box - like . a manually - operable trigger 16 is situated below the barrel 12 on an upper , forwardly - facing part of the handle 14 . as known from the above - identified patents and application incorporated by reference herein , a light source component , typically , but not necessarily , a laser , is mounted inside the head 10 . the light source emits a light beam along a transmission path which extends outwardly through a window 18 that faces indicia , e . g . bar code symbols , to be read . also mounted within the head is a photodetector component , e . g . a photodiode , having a field of view , and operative for collecting relected light returning through the window 14 along a return path from the symbol . a scanner component is mounted within the head 10 , and is operative for scanning the symbol and / or the field of view of the photodetector . the scanner component includes at least one light reflector positioned in the transmission path and / or the return path . the reflector is driven by an electrically - operated drive to oscillate in alternate circumferential directions , preferably at the resonant frequency of the scanner component . the photodetector generates and electrical analog signal indicative of the variable intensity of the reflected light . this analog signal is converted into a digital signal by an analog - to - digital converter circuit . this digital signal is conducted , according to one embodiment , along an electrical cable 20 to a decode module 22 located exteriorly of the head 10 . the decode module 22 decodes the digital signal into date descriptive of the symbol . an external host device 24 , usually a computer , serves mainly as data storage in which the data generated by the decode module 22 is stores for subsequent processing . in operation , each time a user wished to have a symbol read , the user aims the head at the symbol and pulls the trigger 16 to initiate reading of the symbol . the trigger 16 is an electrical switch that actuates the drive means . the symbol is repetitively scanned a plurality of times per second , e . g . 40 times per second . as soon as the symbol has been successfully decoded and read , the scanning action is automatically terminated , thereby enabling the scanner to be directed to the next symbol to be read in its respective turn . in addition , the head need not be a portable hand held type as fixedly mounted heads are also contemplated in this invention . furthermore , the heads may have manually operated triggers or may be continuously operated by direct connection to an electrical source . the oscillations need only last a second or so , since the multiple oscillations , rather than time ; increase the probability of getting a successful decode for a symbol , even a poorly printed one . the resonating reflector has a predetermined , predictable , known , generally uniform , angular speed for increased system reliability . as shown in fig2 one embodiment 30 of high speed scanning arrangement of the present invention , includes a flexible support member or beam , e . g . a generally planar leaf spring 34 . leaf spring 34 has one end portion 36 fixedly mounted to an upright of an l - shaped bracket 38 which is anchored to base support 40 . spring 34 has an opposite end portion 42 fixedly mounted to an upright of another l - shaped bracket 44 which is anchored to the base support 40 . the uprights are oriented at 90 ° relative to each other . a central portion of the spring 34 is guided around a cylindrical clamping pin 46 . the central portion of the spring 34 is clamped between the clamping pin 46 and a bearing surface of a v - block 48 by means of a set screw 50 . the clamping pin 46 imparts a 90 ° bend to the leaf spring at the central portion . a scanner component , e . g . a light reflector 52 , is fixedly mounted to a rear support 54 which , in turn , is fixedly secured to the v - block . the rear support 54 has a permanent magnet 56 mounted at one of its ends . an electromagnetic coil 58 is mounted adjacent the magnet 56 on an upright of another l - shaped bracket 60 which , in turn , is mounted on the base support 40 . the coil 58 has a central passage 62 through which the magnet enters with clearance each time a momentary , periodic energizing pulse is applied to input leads 64 . the frequency of the energizing pulse is preferably selected at the resonant frequency of 1 / 2π √ k 7 / i where k equals the spring constant of leaf springs 34 , and where i equals the moment of inertia of the magnet / reflector assembly suspended from the leaf spring . the assembly is oscillated about the axis 66 . the spring is advantageously constituted of plastic or metal material . non - metal materials would be more rugged . in operation , each time the energizing pulse is applied to the soil 58 , the magnet 56 is drawn into the passage 62 , thereby pulling the reflector 52 , the rear support 54 , the v - block 48 , the clamping pin 46 , the set screw 50 therealong . at the same time , the leaf spring is bent . in the illustrated rest position , each arm , of the leaf spring is generally planar . upon being displace , each arm of the leaf spring is bent , thereby storing energy therein . an l - shaped step 68 mounted on the base support 40 is located behind the clamping pin 46 to prevent movement of the same past the stop . the pin 46 does not normally engage the step ; it is intended as safety feature in the event that the arrangement is subjected to external shock forces . the flexible support near the center of rotation of the component provides an excellent shock absorber . once bent , the leaf spring 20 releases its stored energy , thereby displacing the magnet / reflector assembly back to and past the rest position . the entire assembly oscillates in a damped manner , until eventually coming to a halt in the rest position . each arm of the leaf spring alternately assumes a concave and then a convex shape during such oscillation . light directed from a source , e . g . a laser 70 , onto the reflector 52 is wept in one direction in a scan across indicia to be read . another embodiment of the same configuration utilizes constant amplitude excitation , with continuous oscillation . in this embodiment , the driving signal is a continuously applied ac signal that caused the magnet 56 to be cyclically drawn into the passage 62 and forced out of the passage 62 . the spring 34 vibrates to oscillate the reflector 40 between scan end positions . by providing a well defined center of rotation at axis 66 that is close to the scan component , image translation is minimized . in addition , in this configuration the scan pattern stays centered regardless of the scan position . it be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together , also may find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above . while the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a power - saving scanning arrangement , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that , from the standpoint of prior art , fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and , therefore , such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims . what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended claims .	6
for purposes of describing the preferred embodiment , the terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the drawings is as follows : 1 . clothes hanger , generally 2 . first side of clothes hanger 3 . second side of clothes hanger 4 . center of clothes hanger 5 . horizontal angle 6 . apex 7 . rod hanging hook 8 . strap hanging hook 9 . rear surface of clothes hanger 10 . front surface of clothes hanger 11 . bottom surface of clothes hanger 12 . top surface of clothes hanger 13 . vertical angle 14 . base 15 . elongated arm 16 . top end of elongated arm 17 . bottom end of elongated arm 18 . top surface of base 19 . bottom surface of base 20 . perimeter edge of base 21 . panel 22 . aperture 23 . joint with reference to fig1 - 4 , a perspective side view , a front view , a rear view and a top view , respectively , of a clothes hanger 1 of the present invention are illustrated . the clothes hanger 1 comprises a first side 2 and a second side 3 meeting at a center 4 of the clothes hanger 1 and extending away from each other a predetermined distance . the first side 2 and second side 3 may be parallel to each other or the first side 2 and second side 3 of the clothes hanger 1 may angle downward from the center 4 to create a horizontal angle 5 and a substantially boomerang - like shape having an apex 6 . a rod hanging hook 7 extends upward from the center 4 of the clothes hanger 1 . the rod hanging hook 7 is used to hang the clothes hanger 1 in a closet from a hanging rod . at least two strap hanging hooks 8 are located on the first side 2 and at least two strap hanging hooks 8 are located on the second side 3 . each strap hanging hook 8 located on the first side 2 is preferably located to mirror the location of each strap hanging hook 8 located on the second side 3 . for example , each strap hanging hook 8 is an equal distance from the center 4 of the clothes hanger 1 as compared to the countering strap hanging hook 8 located on the opposite side of the clothes hanger 1 . the placement or location of the strap hanging hooks 8 allows for the clothes hanger 1 to be counterbalanced so the clothes hanger 1 remains in a level position while hanging in a closet . the strap hanging hooks 8 located on the first side 2 may also be located on a surface that is opposite to a surface the strap hanging hooks 8 located on the second side 3 are located on . as illustrated here , the strap hanging hooks 8 located on the first side 2 are located on a rear surface 9 of the clothes hanger 1 and the strap hanging hooks 8 located on the second side 3 are located on a front surface 10 of the clothes hanger 1 . this further allows for the clothes hanger 1 to be counterbalanced so the clothes hanger 1 remains in a level position while hanging in a closet . however , although the strap hanging hooks 8 are illustrated as being located on the front surface 10 and the rear surface 9 of the clothes hanger 1 , the strap hanging hooks 8 may also be located on a bottom surface 11 of the clothes hanger 1 , a top surface 12 of the clothes hanger 1 and / or be notches located on a top surface 12 of the clothes hanger 1 . in addition , the first side 2 and second side 3 may angle outward from each other in the same or opposite directions to create a vertical angle 13 at the center 4 of the clothes hanger 1 . this vertical angle 13 provides for a further counter balance to the clothes hanger 1 . the hanger 1 of the present invention may also comprise at least one joint 23 located thereon , such as a hinge , locking hinge , male / female interlocking locking joint , pivot point or other type of engagement means that allows the hanger 1 to be collapsible for travel as illustrated in fig2 . with reference to fig5 and 6 , a perspective side view and a front view , respectively , of a clothes hanger 1 of the present invention having a base 14 are illustrated . an elongated arm 15 having a top end 16 and a bottom end 17 extends downward from the center 4 of the clothes hanger 1 a predetermined distance where the bottom end 16 connects to a base 14 having a top surface 18 , a bottom surface 19 , and at least one perimeter edge 20 . at least one panel 21 may extend upward from the perimeter edge 20 and have at least one aperture 22 located thereon . a user may store earrings on the at least one panel 21 by connecting the earrings to the apertures 22 . it is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated , it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings .	0
referring to the drawings and initially to fig1 there is shown an apparatus for evaluating manual dexterity and object manipulation in humans indicated generally by the reference numeral 1 . the apparatus 1 comprises a hand held unit 2 and a control unit 3 . the control unit 3 is connected to the hand held unit 2 by electrical cable 4 . the hand held unit 2 comprises a pair of handles 5 and a joining member 6 . the handle 5 on the left hand side of the unit 2 has parallel grip surfaces 7 and the handle 5 on the right hand side of the hand held unit 2 has tapered grip surfaces 8 . transducers ( not shown ) are fitted to the grip surfaces 7 and 8 and additionally on or about the connection between the handles 5 and the joining member 6 . straight and curved arrows indicate examples of directions of forces and torques measured by fitted transducers . the control unit 3 comprises a computer 9 having a monitor 10 and speakers ( not shown ). referring now to fig2 there is shown a handle 5 of the hand held unit 2 . the grip surfaces 12 of the handle 5 are provided by longitudinally extending hemi - cylindrical ridges 11 . the ridges 11 are co - axial with the longitudinal axis of the joining member 6 when the handle 5 is mounted on said member 6 . the handle 5 is pinched on grip surfaces 12 between a thumb 13 and an index finger 14 of a subject &# 39 ; s hand 15 . the distance between grip surfaces 12 is typically between 10 mm and 40 mm . in fig3 there is shown a hand held unit 31 having a pair of handles 32 , a joining member 33 and a display screen 34 . the handles 32 have parallel grip surfaces 35 and the display screen 34 is mounted on the joining member 33 of the hand held unit 31 . referring now to fig4 there is shown a hand held unit 41 having a pair of handles 42 and a joining member 43 . the joining member 43 has two sections 44 and 45 and a coupling 46 mounted between the two sections 44 and 45 . the two sections 44 , 45 are inter - engaged to allow compression and extension of the hand held unit 41 about the longitudinal axis of the joining member 43 . the coupling 46 is designed to oppose the extension and compression of the hand held unit 41 and is also designed to allow a momentary removal of the opposing force and subsequent latching . fig5 shows a further embodiment of the invention wherein a hand held unit 51 has a pair of handles 52 , a joining member 53 , a display screen 54 and a shield 55 . in this example , the shield 55 is mounted between the hand held unit 51 and the display screen 54 in order to prevent a subject from seeing the shape of the handles 52 on the hand held unit 51 . fig6 to 9 each show a hand held unit indicated generally by the reference numeral 61 . the units 61 each have a joining member 62 and a pair of handles with various geometries . fig6 shows a hand held unit 61 with both the left handle and the right handle having parallel grip surfaces 64 . fig7 shows a hand held unit 61 with the left handle having grip surfaces 74 tapered at 30 ° to the horizontal and the right handle having parallel grip surfaces 75 . fig8 shows a hand held unit 61 with the right handle having grip surfaces 84 tapered at 30 ° to the horizontal and the left handle having parallel grip surfaces 85 . fig9 shows a hand held unit 61 with both the left handle and the right handle having grip surfaces 94 tapered at an angle of 30 ° to the horizontal . referring to the drawings and now to fig1 there is shown a representative graph of pull force on the x - axis versus grip force on the y - axis . line 101 represents a handle with parallel grip surfaces and line 102 represents a handle with tapered grip surfaces . finally , fig1 shows one possible visual display generated by the computer 9 when configured by the control program and output via a display screen 111 . an image of an electronic stick - man 112 holding a hand held unit 113 demonstrates what a subject is required to do . a visual display of a scale 114 is marked with vertical lines 115 and displays force . this scale 114 shows a subject the zero force marker 116 and the target force marker 117 by highlighting the relevant line 115 along the scale 114 . the dot 118 shows the current force . a target for maximum pull force 119 is located at the right end of the scale . in use , a subject or an examiner starts a test by striking any key on a keyboard of the computer 9 . this initiates the demonstration on the display screen 34 , 54 , 111 or initiates an audible demonstration . the audible demonstration includes a list of verbal instructions output via speakers connected to the computer 9 and is useful for a subject with impaired vision or blindness . when a visual demonstration is used , a pull or push prompt is displayed on the computer screen 34 , 35 , 111 and in response the stick man 112 stretches or compresses the electronic hand held unit 113 in order to show a subject the correct action to take in response to a specific prompt . within the same display screen 34 , 54 , 111 , the scale 114 shows the effect of the stick man 112 stretching or compressing the electronic units 113 by simultaneously moving the current force marker 118 between the zero force marker 116 and the target force marker 117 . once a subject is satisfied with the demonstration , they can proceed with the test by striking any key on the keyboard of the computer 9 . the hand held unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 is held by a subject by the grip surfaces 7 , 8 , 12 , 35 , 64 , 74 , 75 , 84 , 85 and 94 between digits of their hands . the subject then follows a list of prompts displayed on the display screen 34 , 54 , 111 or a list of verbal instructions output via speakers which are connected to the computer 9 . the display also includes the scale 114 which shows the effect of the subject stretching or compressing the hand held unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 by simultaneously moving the current force marker 118 between the zero force marker 116 and the target force marker 117 . the visual display may also include a prompt for the subject to maintain the target force for a predetermined period of time . once the target force has been attained , the computer 9 monitors the quality of the data received from the transducers ( not shown ) comparing it with control data . the computer 9 outputs a signal to the display screen 34 , 54 , 111 informing the subject to release the applied force if the data received is acceptable . alternatively , these prompts can be output via the speakers . the subject follows the audible or visual instructions until completion of the test . in order to prevent the subject using their vision to alter grip - load force co - ordination a shield 55 is placed between the hand held unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 and the subject for certain parts of the test . the hand held unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 is grasped bimanually and manipulated according to a pre - defined ( standardized ) protocol . an automated test protocol combined with automated data analysis allows efficient assessment of the subject &# 39 ; s manual status based on the data obtained from the force / torque transducers of units 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 or 61 . there now follows a detailed description of an example of a test protocol and data analysis . 1 . the subject familiarizes themselves with the apparatus 1 by doing a few ramp - and - hold pull forces and push forces to certain target forces ( e . g . + 4 newtons ( n ), − 4n ). before the action , the task is demonstrated on the display screen 34 , 54 , 111 by the icon stickman 112 performing the task . the subject &# 39 ; s task is to copy the demonstration . 2 . the subject performs a series of ramp - and - hold pull forces of different magnitudes according to the predetermined protocol ( e . g ., 1 , 4 , 2 , 8 newtons ( n )) three times followed by a series of push forces ( e . g . 4 , 4 , 4 n ). these tests are repeated for the different geometric configurations of the handles , shown in the drawings . quality control of the data occurs on - line and is dependent upon the subject maintaining the target push / pull force ( within a predefined tolerance ) for two seconds . in response to successful completion of the task by the subject , the target marker 118 on the display screen 34 , 54 , 111 is turned off . an audible signal indicating that this section of the test has been successfully completed could also be generated . analysis : the computer 9 configured by the control program automatically reads and stores the measured variables during a 2 second epoch while the subject maintains the target force . the coordination between grip force and the load at each hand ( and at the level of the individual &# 39 ; s digits ) is automatically analyzed . the subject &# 39 ; s capacity to scale the grip force with the load force and to adjust the balance between the grip force and load with changes in geometry of grip surfaces 7 , 8 , 12 , 35 , 64 , 74 , 75 , 84 , 85 and 94 is assessed for each hand . 3 . the subject makes sinusoidal pull forces at different frequencies . the amplitude ( e . g . 4n with approximately +/− 20 % tolerance ) is guided by the display screen 34 , 54 , 111 . a metronome sound guides the pace . the frequency range to be explored is 0 . 5 - 3 hz . again , quality control of the data occurs on - line . before changing to the next frequency , a certain number of cycles with an accepted amplitude and frequency are collected . ( the grip surfaces 7 , 12 , 35 , 64 , 75 , 85 are parallel on all handles .) analysis : the phase between grip force and the load is analysed ; normally there is no phase lag , which indicates that the grip force predicts adequately the self - generated load forces ( for grip stability ). the depth of grip force modulation is assessed as a function of frequency ; normally there is a steep decrease in the modulation with increased frequency , starting at about 1 . 5 - 2 hz . 4 . the subject makes sinusoidal pull - push forces at different frequencies ( 0 . 5 - 1 . 5 hz ) and at constant push - pull amplitudes ( e . g . − 4n ( push ) to + 4n ( pull )). ( the grip surfaces 7 , 12 , 35 , 64 , 75 , 85 are parallel on all handles .) in this task , the absolute value of the tangential load increases and decreases with twice the frequency of the sinusoidal load . normal subjects respond to this “ frequency doubling ” by generating two grip force increases per load cycle i . e . the grip force predicts the actual load although it does not match the frequency of the load cycles . analysis : the phase between grip force and the absolute value of the load and the depth of grip force modulation is analyzed ( cf . above ). this analysis assesses the subject &# 39 ; s ability to generalize the directional consequences of self - generated fingertip loads in terms of grip force requirements ( and thus grip force predictions ). 5 . the subject produces their maximum bimanual pull force . normally , a subject &# 39 ; s right hand is stronger than their left — yet subjects never allow the left hand to slip off the unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 during bimanual operations because the knowledge of their musculoskeletal system is incorporated as a control constraint in the neural networks of the brain . to assess asymmetries of force generating capacity by the two hands , the maximum grip force is assessed for each hand separately . 6 . finally , by imposing the transient load impact at a few unpredictable points during the test protocol numbered 2 ( see above ) the reflex status of the reactive grip force control of the two hands is assessed . normally , with two healthy hands , the load impact triggers automatic grip force increases at both hands with similar amplitudes and onset latencies . 1 . a weakened or lost capacity of the impaired hand to adjust the balance between the grip forces and the load forces in response to changes in geometry of the grip surfaces 7 , 8 , 12 , 35 , 64 , 74 , 75 , 84 , 85 and 94 . 2 . with sensory impairment of one hand , the accompanying healthy hand also controls the grip - load force coordination of the numb hand . likewise , the healthy hand uses strategies that reflect constraints imposed by the impaired hand during bimanual actions . 3 . the impaired hand generates increased internal forces upon the hand held unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 or 61 due to asymmetric grip force applications at the opposing grip surfaces 7 , 8 , 12 , 35 , 64 , 74 , 75 , 84 , 85 and 94 . this causes unnecessary / uneconomical load of the grasp . 1 . a temporal mismatch between the grip and load force changes and is revealed during the test with sinusoidal load changes . 2 . a reduced modulation of grip forces with load force changes compared to healthy conditions . one or several of the following items revealed impaired reactive grip force control : ( 1 ) no response to the transient load impact . ( 2 ) a prolonged onset latency of the reactive grip force increases . ( 3 ) smaller amplitudes than normal of the reactive grip force increases . with unilateral impairments , asymmetries between the hands in these respects are important . with impaired proprioceptive knowledge concerning one diseased hand the healthy contralateral hand shows incompetence in controlling its actions based on constraints imposed by the diseased hand during bimanual tasks . impaired proprioceptive knowledge is assessed in the present protocol by an inability of the healthy hand to limit the application of pull force to the hand - held unit as to match the capacity of the companion diseased hand . this is critically revealed during the test of maximum voluntary bimanual pull along the hand - held unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 . with proprioceptive knowledge the hand - held unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 does not slip at the diseased hand , whereas with loss of proprioceptive knowledge the unit 2 , 31 , 41 , 51 , 61 slips from the subjects grip .	0
fig1 depicts a side view of one embodiment of the present device . in some embodiments , as shown in fig1 , the present device can comprise a rotating generator 104 and a controller 106 . a generator 104 can have a rotor 103 that can be attached to a hub 101 , and an exterior shell that can be fixed to a controller 106 . a stator 102 and rotor 103 can have an interior plurality of indentations and protrusions that can serve as poles . the controller 106 can lock onto generator 104 with a plurality of dual purpose quick - release snap fittings 112 containing system control electrical and electronic input / output devices . a controller 106 can convert the energy flow into streamable electricity and flow it to the electrical control system using capacitors 107 , seed coils 105 , transfer bars 112 , and regulators 108 . a controller 106 can further comprise a seed coil 105 that can be first energized by electrical flux from a generator 104 . a seed coil 105 can then electrify a transfer bar 112 . an embedded card 110 and a rf transmitter 109 are part of a real - time system to act upon a generator 104 . stabilizer lines 111 , which can be flexible , can connect a controller 106 to a vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical control system from a generator 102 . a controller 106 utilizing an embedded card 110 as part of a real - time system to act upon a generator 104 and a controller 106 . in some embodiments of the present device , real - time deadlines and operations can be accomplished in an inverse peer - to - peer manner . while the controller can over - ride instructions from the generator , the generator can perform functions autonomously while monitored by controller so that function speed is optimized . in some embodiments of the present device , as shown in fig2 control of on / off and regulation of heat and power in a motor / generator can be accomplished by a shape - adaptive mechanism . although depicted in fig2 as a 3 - phase motor with a four - pole rotor and a six - pole stator , the motor can have any other known and / or convenient configuration . a rotational generator 104 can have an inner and outer housing allowing expansion 203 . this space of any known and / or convenient geometry can exist between these housings to allow for radial expansion and contraction of a stator 201 . a rotor 211 can be connected to a hub 217 . a stator 201 can be comprised of a plurality of radially separated plates 204 . although depicted in fig2 as having six plates 204 , a stator 201 can have any known and / or convenient number of plates 204 . expansion shields 214 can be housed in expansions shield pockets 215 , which can be located at the interior edges of seams of plates 204 to cover the seams when open . a plate 204 can have a linear motion controller 219 positioned in a substantially central location on a surface of a plate 204 . a linear motion controller 219 can employ a ball - and - screw mechanism , as shown in fig2 or any other known and / or convenient mechanism . a linear motion controller 219 can also further comprise of a rechargeable battery 212 and an embedded card 213 . at least one wire 218 can connect a linear motion controller 219 to an output / input device 210 . to operate the embodiment shown in fig2 , a user can switch on a generator 104 via a dashboard control system or any other known and / or convenient device . an embedded card 213 can analyze speed , temperature , braking , acceleration / deceleration , and / or any other desired parameters . this data is fed into an algorithm that can best determine the pole position in a generator 104 . when system data indicates a “ normal ” range , as determined by an embedded card 213 , the plates 204 can be moved via linear motion controllers 219 to a position of maximum charge for a 3 - mm air gap , for example . however , if less than optimal conditions are detected , plates 204 can be moved to create a 3 . 04 - mm , or any other known and / or convenient spacing between the rotor and stator poles , for example . assuming that a 3 - mm air gap is optimal for harvesting the maximum amount of energy in a generator 104 , any air gap greater than 3 - mm can yield less energy , but prevents heat build - up and frequent on / off cycling , which can smooth the waveform , and , therefore power efficiency of a motor . in a “ full - on ” position , as depicted in fig2 , plates 204 can be in the maximum radially inward position , with no gaps between the plate seams , to give an air gap on 3 - mm , for example . when a generator 104 is running at less than “ full - on ” capacity , plates 204 can be moved radially outward such that gaps between plate seams would open up . in this situation , expansion shields 214 can slide out of expansion - shield pockets 215 and be attached to neighbor poles to shield these gaps . when a generator 104 is in an “ off ” position , creating a 7 - mm air gap , for example , no power can be generated and expansion shield 214 can be fully deployed if plates are fully deployed outward . when “ full - on operation resumes , plates 204 can move radially inward to close the gaps , while expansion shields 214 can slide back into expansion - shield pockets 215 . by controlling power at the source , i . e . flux levels directly in the generator , if desired , a user can choose various power - generating need / settings . for example , using lower desired range preset algorithms , a generator 104 can deactivate after a recharging goal is achieved ( i . e . charging on - demand ), thus extending the life of the device . an algorithm can control a generator 104 by using parameters such as potential , velocity and geometric progression to predict speed , braking , acceleration , or deceleration similar to that in anti - lock braking systems ( abs ). the success of a generator 104 can be predicated on the waveform of the power output . an algorithm &# 39 ; s primary function can be to matched against a waveform preset allowing optimal waveforms by prediction of the rotation of a hub 217 so that an algorithm can then signal linear motion controllers 219 to radially move plates 204 , and therefore , stator poles , to accomplish a desired task , that is to deliver clean and usable power to a controller 104 and subsequent output to batteries or directly to the electrical system . the embodiment depicted in fig2 , the device can include a primary / secondary coil wire 205 , a primary coil 209 , secondary coil 206 , a transfer bar 207 , and a plate movement track 208 . the transfer bar 207 can be located proximate to the edge of a stator plate 204 and can be coupled with a plate movement track 208 adapted to allow radial , rectilinear motion of the transfer bar relative to the device . in some embodiments , any desired number of transfer bars 207 can be incorporated . a primary coil 209 can be coupled with the stator plate and located adjacent to the transfer bar 207 and the transfer bar 207 can be coupled with a secondary coil 206 via a primary / secondary coil wire 218 . in some embodiments , the secondary coil 206 can be located in any other known and / or convenient location within the device and / or may be coupled in any other known and / or convenient manner . introduction of the primary and secondary coils 209 206 and transfer bar 207 can result in generation of a greater amount of heat than would be anticipated from the device . the configuration can increase the energy generated by the device at the source and increase the energy supplied to the controller 104 . heat generation can be mitigated and / or controlled by appropriate control of the stator plates 201 and design factors including the number of poles including primary and / or secondary coils 206 209 . in operations , the device can include any number of desired paired and / or unpaired primary and / or secondary coils 206 209 which can be located in any desired and / or convenient location within the device . depicted in fig4 , electrical generation can be switched on / off by radio - frequency ( rf ) receiver 409 from signal sent by controller 104 deactivating rotor rotation by slip - ring 405 ( bearings 407 ) via controller 408 . while hub 402 speed is constant , rotor 403 rotation works with toggle 404 ( depicted engaged ) by tilt mechanism 406 or any other known and / or convenient mechanism . fig3 depicts a front view of another embodiment of the present device . in this embodiment , which can be used in circumstances , where limited space is not an impediment , such as in some industrial applications , an idler rim 306 can be attached to a spinning axle or hub 305 via a collar 304 . idler rim 306 can have a plurality of indentations on the outer perimeter edge or one or both surfaces of an idler rim 306 with attached rotor poles 303 . heat vents 300 / 302 assist cooling . depicted in fig3 a side view detail is a single rotor / stator embodiment 309 on the idler rim perimeter edge 310 . in a vehicular application , only one side of an idler rim 310 or the idler rim perimeter edge 310 ( depicted ) are available where space may be limited . a linear motion controller 308 on track 313 can regulate the optimal distance ( air gap ) of the stator poles 312 from rotor poles 311 formed by indentations 316 in an rotor pole 309 . a seed coil 307 than can be first energized by electrical flux from rotor poles 311 passing through stator poles 312 . a seed coil 307 can then electrify a transfer bar 315 , which can ramp the wattage potential approximately by a factor of 10 when a secondary coil 314 is energized . a secondary coil 314 can then generate electricity . fig3 c side view depicts a detail drawing of an integrated dual - sided controller / generator 320 . in dual embodiments , a plurality of stators can be on both sides of an idler rim 324 . a plurality of rotor posts 322 , on each side of an idler rim ( wheel ) 324 , can be directly fixed , attached , or part of an idler rim 324 . stator pole 321 , depicted in a full - outward position or maximum air gap via linear motion controller 325 . secondary coil then streams electricity at no or minimal levels . in use , the embodiments shown in fig3 operates similarly to that shown in fig1 and 2 . an algorithm can signal linear motion controllers 325 to regulate power . by increasing or decreasing the air gap and regulating the distance between stator poles 321 and rotor poles 322 , power generation efficiencies and deficiencies regulate the power efficiencies demanded by the integrated controller caliper 320 . although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof , it is evident than many alternative , modifications , and variations will be apparent t those skilled in the art . accordingly , the invention as described and hereinafter claimed intended to embrace all such alternative , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the claims .	7
in the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure , reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements , and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the present disclosure may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present disclosure , and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical , mechanical , electrical , functional , and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure . the following detailed description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense , and the scope of the present disclosure is defined only by the appended claims . as used in the present disclosure , the term “ or ” shall be understood to be defined as a logical disjunction and shall not indicate an exclusive disjunction unless expressly indicated as such or notated as “ xor .” as used herein , the term “ real time ” shall be understood to mean the instantaneous moment of an event or condition , or the instantaneous moment of an event or condition plus short period of elapsed time used to make relevant measurements , optional computations , etc ., and communicate the measurement , computation , or etc ., wherein the state of an event or condition being measured is substantially the same as that of the instantaneous moment irrespective of the elapsed time interval . used in this context “ substantially the same ” shall be understood to mean that the data for the event or condition remains useful for the purpose for which it is being gathered after the elapsed time period . as used herein , the term “ compressible member ” shall be understood to mean devices that cause a gas or fluid to be compressed when a gas or fluid is placed into a chamber where the compressible member is disposed . examples of compressible members include , for example , closed cell foams , elastomeric diaphragms , pistons , and secondary chambers charged with a fixed volume of gas , wherein when a gas or fluid is placed into the chamber in which the compressible member is disposed , the gas or fluid in the compressible member compresses . the present inventor has discovered a device and method for preventing inadvertent flow of flow materials from a pump . the device comprises a stopcock having a chamber built in that is charged with aliquots of flow material . the stopcock is moved from a first position that is used for charging ( filling ) the stopcock into at least a second position that is configured for dispensing the stored aliquots of flow material . one or more pressure sensors are disposed to measure , in real time , the pressure of the chambers holding the flow materials , thereby deriving the volume of flow material dispensed from the stopcock device . because flow volumes and the elapsed time are also know , the flow rate of the dispensed flow material may be calculated , according to embodiments . temperature sensors may similarly be disposed to improve the accuracy of the calculations used to measure the flow volume or rate . according to embodiments , stopcock device 100 is illustrated generally in fig1 . stopcock device 100 comprises first chamber 110 , stopcock 150 , and conduits placing first chamber 110 and stopcock 150 into fluid communication and allowing for dispensing of the flow material . stopcock is connected to positioning device 158 , which positions stopcock 150 into one of a plurality of positions for at least charging chambers within stopcock with flow material and into position for dispensing flow material . within stopcock 150 is at least one second chamber 152 and corresponding second chamber conduit 154 . according to embodiments , first pressure sensor 120 and second pressure sensor 122 are disposed at locations in stopcock device 100 that allow for the accurate measurement of the pressure of first chamber 110 and second chamber 152 , thereby allowing calculation of flow volume and flow rates of flow materials based on change of pressure calculations , as described in detail below . a computer performs the relevant calculations . the computer comprises at least a timing device for measuring elapsed time , which may comprise a clock or a timer , for example ; devices to receive input from the pressure sensors , temperature sensors , and users ; and a processor for performing the calculations disclosed herein . first chamber 110 is a chamber of known volume . according to embodiments , first chamber 110 volume comprises first chamber 110 and first chamber / stopcock conduit 132 . according to embodiments , first pressure sensor 120 is disposed such that it is in at least gas communication with first chamber 110 or first chamber / stopcock conduit 132 , depending on the components of the present disclosure comprising first chamber 110 . fill conduit 130 comprises a conduit for filling first chamber 110 with a flow material . conduits may comprise any conventional device used to sealably transport gases or flow materials , for example pipes , tubes , or other conduits defined by a sealed body terminating in one or more open ends through which a flow material or gas enters and exits the interior of the sealed body . according to embodiments , first chamber 110 comprises a chamber having a quantity of gas contained in a compressible member . filling of first chamber 110 does not displace gas ; in other words , the net number of gas molecules remains constant as flow material fills first chamber 110 , thereby pressurizing the gas as the volume of the gas decreases . this may be accomplished by installing a one way valve , such as a check valve , as part of fill conduit 130 . the exact amount of gas does not need to be known , provided the differential pressure can be measured and the total volume of first chamber is known . according to embodiments , gas in first chamber 110 may be contained in a secondary chamber ( i . e ., the compressible member ). the secondary chamber comprises , according to various embodiments , a gas “ pillow ” formed from a flexible diaphragm that compresses when flow material fills first chamber 110 ; a movable , sealed divider ( e . g ., a piston ) that compresses when flow material fills first chamber 110 , etc . according to embodiments , gas may also be contained in a closed cell foam that occupies substantially all or part of first chamber 110 . in each of these embodiments , the compressed gas will exert pressure on the flow material whereby flow material will flow into second chamber 152 , as described below . according to embodiments , in addition to , or instead of pressure , gravity or a pump such as a lead screw may be used to move flow material from first chamber to second chamber 152 , as described below . according to embodiments and as illustrated in fig1 , first chamber 110 has disposed therein compressible member 112 . according to embodiments , compressible member 112 comprises closed cell foam . compressible member 112 may also comprise rubber or another compressible material that effects a differential gas pressure in first chamber 110 when first chamber 110 is charged with flow material verses when first chamber 110 is not charged with flow material . according to embodiments , compressible member 112 comprises a pocket of air contained within a compressible bag or “ pillow .” according to embodiments , compressible member is disposed in first chamber 110 to ensure sufficient pressure to move the last amount of flow material from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 . according to other embodiments , compressible member is not used , as described above . indeed , as flow material is put into first chamber 110 , the flow material is under pressure or delivered through a one - way valve . thus , flow material will naturally flow from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 due to the pressure exerted by the gas that is pressurized as first chamber 110 is filled . because the gas or closed cell foam will tend to equalize as flow material moves out of first chamber , the last amount of flow material will be difficult to remove . removal of this last amount of flow material may be accomplished by placing the gas in first chamber 110 under pressure initially , according to embodiments . according to other embodiments , closed cell foam will mechanically tend to remove this last amount of flow material in much the same way as the foam relaxes into substantially the entire chamber as the flow material flows out . finally , gravity or a pumping mechanism may be used to remove the last amount of flow material . according to embodiments , stopcock device 100 is disposed along a flow path to prevent flow of a flow material except in pre - determined configurations . stopcocks are well known and understood by artisans , and include any generic two - or three - way valves , for example . according to embodiments , stopcock 150 comprises second chamber 152 , which is a cavity disposed within stopcock 150 and second chamber conduit 154 , which provides fluid communication between second chamber 152 and other components of stopcock device 100 , as detailed herein . according to embodiments , second chamber conduit 154 comprises a plurality of conduits or chambers , whereby the fluid / gas communication features of the present disclosure connect with the different conduits or chambers . according to other embodiments , second chamber conduit 154 is a single conduit wherein each connecting conduit is situated to articulate with second chamber conduit 154 in substantially the same location relative to stopcock 150 depending on the position of stopcock 150 . within second chamber 152 , the amount of gas is constant like with first chamber 110 , and need not be known . the same devices may be used in second chamber with respect to the gas compressible member or secondary chambers may be configured with one or more one - way valves for the filling and dispensing of flow material to prevent back flow , as would be known and understood by artisans . for example , and according to embodiments , second chamber 152 likewise has disposed therein compressible member , such as a closed cell foam . like compressible member 112 , compressible member compresses when charged with flow material , thereby creating a pressure differential in second chamber 152 when second chamber 152 is charged with flow material versus when second chamber 152 is not charged with flow material . according to other embodiments and as shown in fig2 , second chamber 152 comprises flow material reservoir 152 a and a pressurized reservoir 152 b separated by a flexible or movable separator , such as an elastomeric membrane or piston . as flow material reservoir is charged , the membrane or piston stretches or moves , thereby compressing gas in the pressurized reservoir . the same gas in pressurized reservoir is used as the gas from which second pressure sensor 122 takes measurements . second pressure sensor 122 is disposed to be in gaseous communication with second chamber 152 . for example , second pressure sensor 122 is disposed immediately adjacent to second chamber 152 , as shown in fig1 . according to alternative embodiments , second pressure sensor 122 is separated from second chamber 152 by a pressure sensing conduit . according to embodiments , dispensing conduit 134 serves as a conduit from second chamber 152 to a target , for example a patient , where the flow material is intended . according to embodiments , flow regulator 160 may be disposed to modulate flow rate . flow regulator 160 comprises flow restrictors , for example . according to embodiments where it is used , a pressure sensing conduit serves as a conduit between second pressure sensor 122 and second chamber 152 when stopcock 150 is positioned so as to be in gaseous communication with pressure sensing conduit . according to embodiments , pressure sensing conduit comprises a small cavity having a pressure sensor ; according to other embodiments , pressure sensing conduit comprises a tube , pipe , or other conduit with second pressure sensor 122 disposed somewhere therein to measure the pressure . in all cases , the total volume of second chamber 152 , second chamber conduit 154 , and pressure sensing conduit is a known volume . positioning device 158 connects to stopcock 150 and effects repositioning of stopcock 150 . according to embodiments , positioning device 158 is a motor that rotates stopcock 150 . according to embodiments , positioning device 158 may also be a device that moves a slideable stopcock back and forth . according to embodiments , stopcock 150 occupies one of three positions : a fill position ( fig3 ) where second chamber 152 is in fluid communication with first chamber 110 , but not in communication with dispensing conduit 134 ; a closed position ( fig4 ) where second chamber 152 it is not in fluid communication with either first chamber 110 or dispensing conduit 134 ; and a dispense position ( fig5 ) where second chamber 152 is in fluid communication with dispensing conduit 134 , but not first chamber 110 and in which second pressure sensor 122 is in gaseous communication with second chamber 152 . according to embodiments and as illustrated in fig3 - 5 , when stopcock 150 is in a fill position ( fig3 ), an aliquot of flow material is moved from first chamber 110 into second chamber 152 , wherein second chamber 152 is filled with a flow material . once filled , flow material is ready to be dispensed to a target , according to embodiments . after second chamber 152 is filled with an aliquot of flow material , stopcock 150 is positioned in a closed position ( fig4 ) wherein second chamber 152 is sealed . according to embodiments , the pressure is measured in first chamber 110 or second chamber 152 to determine the volume of the aliquot transferred from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 . artisans will note that pressure cannot be sensed for first chamber while first chamber 110 and second chamber 152 are in fluid or gas communication . when stopcock 150 is positioned in a closed or dispensing position ( fig4 and 5 ), second chamber 152 is in gaseous communication with second pressure sensor 122 , but not with first chamber 110 . in these positions , the pressure of the gas in second chamber 152 is sensed with second pressure sensor 122 . the total volume of second chamber 152 is known , thereby allowing the amount of flow material dispensed or remaining in second chamber 152 to be calculated based on the change in pressure of second chamber 152 . according to embodiments , after filling second chamber 152 with an aliquot of flow material or after dispensing flow material , stopcock 150 is positioned in the closed position , the pressure is measured , and the flow material volume calculated ( because the total volume of second chamber 152 when stopcock 150 is in the pressure sensing position is known ). to dispense flow material , stopcock 150 is positioned in its dispense position ( fig5 ) for a period of time . according to embodiments , stopcock 150 is then rotated to the closed position ( fig4 ) for a period of time that is used to measure the pressure . according to embodiments , pressure measurements are taken in the dispense position ( fig5 ) to determine the flow rate in about real time without changing the position of stopcock 150 . because the volume of the aliquot of flow material that filled second chamber 152 is calculated from the pressure in first chamber 110 or second chamber 152 , and because the total volume and initial values for the pressure of second chamber 152 are known , according to embodiments , stopcock need not be positioned in the closed position prior to dispensing the flow material , according to embodiments . according to alternate embodiments , stopcock 150 occupies one of four positions : a fill position ( fig3 ) wherein second chamber 152 is in fluid communication with first chamber 110 , but not in communication with dispensing conduit 134 ; a closed position ( fig4 ) where second chamber 152 is not in fluid communication with either first chamber 110 or dispensing conduit 134 ; a pressure sensing position , wherein second chamber 152 is in gaseous communication with second pressure sensor 122 and the pressure of second chamber may be measured ; and a dispense position where second chamber 152 is in fluid communication with dispensing conduit 134 , but not first chamber 110 . according to embodiments and as illustrated in fig6 , a method is disclosed for effecting flow of flow material from a source and through stopcock device 100 . during the fill operation , according to embodiments , stopcock 150 is initially positioned into the closed position ( fig4 ), wherein it is not in fluid communication with either first chamber 110 or second chamber 152 . in this position , an initial pressure measurement of first chamber 110 is made in operation 702 . according to alternate embodiments , no initialization is necessary as the system will be in a known state prior to filling ( for example , known volume of flow material in first chamber 110 and known initial volume of first chamber 110 ). in operation 704 , first chamber 110 is filled with flow material to a desired level and a second pressure measurement is taken in operation 706 , from which the total amount of flow material in first chamber 110 is calculated . after charging first chamber 110 with flow material , fill conduit 130 is closed and substantially sealed . according to embodiments , the filling of first chamber 110 may be omitted where the device comprises a disposable that is discarded when the flow material in first chamber is spent . in operation 704 , according to embodiments , flow material enters through fill conduit 130 and into first chamber 110 . flow of flow material into first chamber 110 via fill conduit 130 may be effected from any conventional pump , including specialized infusion pumps , for example those disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 7 , 008 , 403 ; 7 , 341 , 581 ; and 7 , 374 , 556 , which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . as flow material enters first chamber 110 , compressible member 112 or gas is compressed . thus , compressible member 112 or the gas stores the energy that will later be used to effect movement of an aliquot of flow material from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 . after first chamber 110 is filled , flow material is ready to be dispensed from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 . prior to filling second chamber 152 with and aliquot of flow material , an initial pressure measurement of second chamber 152 is taken , according to embodiments in operation 708 . stopcock 150 is positioned into the fill position in operation 710 , whereby flow material flows from first chamber 110 , through first chamber / stopcock conduit 132 and second chamber conduit 154 , and into second chamber 152 . as flow material enters into first chamber 110 , it compresses compressible member , according to various embodiments . according to embodiments , only a small aliquot of flow material moves from first chamber 110 into second chamber 152 as second chamber 152 charges . for example , first chamber 110 may have a volume of 3 ml and second chamber 152 may have a volume of 0 . 3 ml . the small aliquot of flow material transferred is the max amount of flow material that can be inadvertently delivered in the event of an error . after second chamber 152 is charged with flow material , the pressure of second chamber 152 is measured in operation 712 . the volume of the aliquot transferred to second chamber may be calculated either from the change in pressure from first chamber 110 or by measuring the change in pressure in second chamber 152 . for example , first pressure sensor 120 again measures the pressure of first chamber 110 . because flow material has been removed from first chamber 110 into second chamber 152 , the volume of compressible member 112 or the gas is increased , thereby reducing the pressure . thus , because the total volume of first chamber 110 is known , the amount of flow material transferred to second chamber 152 may be calculated , as shown below . similarly , the volume of the aliquot of flow material in second chamber 152 may be calculated from the difference in pressure in second chamber measured before the aliquot of flow material is transferred and after the aliquot of flow material is transferred to second chamber 152 . according to embodiments , both calculations may be used and an average value taken . once the volume of flow material in second chamber 152 is known , according to embodiments , stopcock 150 is positioned in its dispense position in operation 714 . because second chamber 152 also has disposed therein compressible member 112 or gas that is pressurized , flow material in second chamber 152 is dispensed due to the pressure exerted on it by compressible member 112 or the gas . according to embodiments , dispensing conduit 134 has disposed therein flow regulator 160 , which is , for example , a flow restrictor or clamping device designed to regulate the flow rate of flow material . second pressure sensor 122 , according to embodiments , measures the change in pressure as flow material is dispensed in operation 716 . according to embodiments in which stopcock 150 has a pressure sensing position , stopcock 150 is alternated between a dispensing position ( fig5 ) and a pressure sensing position to determine the volume of flow material that has been dispensed . according to embodiments in which stopcock does not have a pressure sensing position , the pressure changes are sensed in real time in the dispense position ( fig5 ). thus , the pressure change of the gas in second chamber 152 is gradual and predictable , allowing for a flow rate to be calculated . because the volume of second chamber 152 is known , the rate of flow may be calculated , as shown below . according to embodiments , the aliquot of flow material in second chamber 152 is small enough that determination of the flow from second chamber 152 is not required . in other words , because the aliquot size is so small , a flow rate with an acceptable level of error may be determined from the number of aliquots delivered over a period of time . according to embodiments , gas from first chamber 110 and second chamber 152 is not dispensed with the flow material . thus , the number of gas molecules in each respective chamber remains constant , as is required for the exemplary equations below to be true . artisans will readily appreciate that these exemplary equations illustrate the principles by which the volume of flow material dispensed is calculated . according to embodiments , stopcock device 100 is configured as an accessory to other pump devices whereby sterility of the flow material is maintained , but volumes of flow material are determined in about real time accurately . for example , the present disclosure is provided as an accessory to infusion pumps . the pumps may be conventional or nonconventional pumping devices . specialized pumps may also be used , including those with two , three , or more chambers , for example as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 7 , 008 , 403 ; 7 , 341 , 581 ; and 7 , 374 , 556 , and u . s . utility patent application ser . nos . 11 / 744 , 819 filed may 4 , 2007 and 12 / 020 , 498 , filed jan . 25 , 2008 ( the contents of each above listed patent and patent application are incorporated by reference ). indeed , the devices of the present disclosure may be provided as accessories for pumps that are able to measure flow rate in about real time . the devices of the present disclosure are also useful as safety devices for any pump , whereby upon an error state the maximum flow material that can be delivered to a patient upon a given error state is the small volume contained in second chamber 152 at the time of the error . according to embodiments and as illustrated in fig7 , stopcock device 100 also comprises computer 810 for controlling and performing the functions disclosed herein . computer may be any computer that is capable of being configured to receive input from users 822 or pressure sensors or temperature sensors 824 . computer also calculates flow volumes and flow rates 832 , checks for and detects error states 836 , and repositions stopcock 834 , and output audiovisual content 836 . according to embodiments , the ideal gas law is used to calculate the dispensed volumes of flow material . generally , the ideal gas law is expressed as : where p is the pressure of the gas in the chamber , v is the volume of the chamber , t is the temperature of the chamber , n is the number of moles of gas , and r is the universal gas constant . according to embodiments , first chamber 110 is of known total volume , containing a volume of gas . similarly , second chamber 152 is of known total volume , containing a volume of gas . as disclosed earlier , first and second chambers 110 , 152 may not have gas according to some embodiments , but other mechanical devices such as closed cell foam having therein a known volume of gas and a known compression profile , whereby the pressure readings of first chamber 110 are useful for the purposes of calculating a volume of flow material held in first chamber 110 . the following exemplary calculations may be adapted for such embodiments without undue experimentation . according to embodiments , because the total volume of first chamber 110 is known , the volume of flow material filling first chamber 110 , as well as the volume of aliquots of flow material dispensed into second chamber 152 may be calculated . likewise , because the total volume of second chamber 152 is known , the volume of flow material dispensed out of stopcock device 100 may be calculated . the exemplary calculations illustrate an embodiment whereby the volume of flow material dispensed is calculated . assuming constant temperature , the initial pressure of first chamber 110 is known or measured using first pressure sensor 120 . additionally , the total volume of first chamber 110 ( v 1 ) and second chamber 152 ( v 2 ) are known . accordingly , an initial volume of flow material is placed in first chamber 110 , thereby increasing the pressure of first chamber 110 . the amount of flow material in first chamber 110 ( v flowmaterial ) is calculated : where the volumes here measuring the initial and final gas volume , not flow material volume . if first chamber 110 is empty , then v 1initial = v 1 . otherwise , the computer will keep track of the initial volume of first chamber 110 for each successive aliquot . according to embodiments , where closed cell foam is placed in first chamber 110 , the calculation for pressure will account for the physical characteristics imparted by compression of the foam , as well . after filling first chamber 110 with a flow material and calculating the volume of flow material that is in first chamber 110 , fill conduit 130 is sealed . flow material may then flow from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 . according to embodiments , stopcock 150 is rotated whereby it is in its fill position , as illustrated in fig3 . the pressure within first chamber 110 causes flow material to move from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 , according to embodiments . according to other embodiments , gravity or mechanical devices can effect flow material movement from first chamber 110 to second chamber 152 . the volume ( v aliquot ) of flow material that fills second chamber is calculated : after second chamber is charged with an aliquot of flow material , stopcock is changed from its fill position ( illustrated in fig3 ) to another position , for dispensing , pressure measurement , or closed for accurate measurement of the pressure in first chamber 110 . to determine an amount of flow material dispensed at a given point , according to embodiments , similar calculation are performed for second chamber 152 to determine the amount of flow material dispensed . the gas volume of second chamber 152 after having receiving an aliquot is first determined : when stopcock 150 is positioned in its dispense position , flow material is dispensed from stopcock 150 by virtue of the pressure within second chamber 152 , gravity , or other mechanical forces , according to embodiments . accordingly , as flow material is dispensed out of second chamber 152 , the volume dispensed is calculated . the dispensed flow material volume is determined exactly opposite of the method by which the volume filled into first chamber 110 is calculated , according to embodiments . for example : according to embodiments , stopcock 150 is alternated between its dispense position and its pressure sensing position to make pressure measurements . according to other embodiments , stopcock 150 remains in its dispense position and the pressure of second chamber 152 is periodically assayed to determine the volume of flow material dispensed . a shortened version of the equations follows , where it isn &# 39 ; t necessary to determine the gas volume in second chamber 152 . v dispensed = v 2 ⁢ filled - v 2 ⁢ dispensed v dispensed = v 2 ⁢ filled - p 2 ⁢ filled ⁢ v 2 ⁢ filled p 2 ⁢ dispensed v dispensed = p 2 ⁢ dispensed ⁢ v 2 ⁢ filled p 2 ⁢ dispensed - p 2 ⁢ filled ⁢ v 2 ⁢ filled p 2 ⁢ dispensed v dispensed = v 2 ⁢ filled ⁡ ( p 2 ⁢ dispensed - p 2 ⁢ filled ) p 2 ⁢ dispensed v dispensed = v 2 ⁢ filled p 2 ⁢ dispensed ⁢ δ ⁢ ⁢ p 2 v dispensed = v 2 - v aliqout p 2 ⁢ dispensed ⁢ δ ⁢ ⁢ p 2 . according to embodiments , temperature sensors may be disposed in substantially the same locations as each pressure sensor to improve the accuracy of the calculations . the application of temperature into the exemplary calculation shown below are will within the skill and understanding of a person of ordinary skill in the art . according to embodiments , the above equations are adaptable to a single pressure sensor 122 in second chamber 152 . such a configuration is possible when knowing the initial volume in first chamber 110 is not necessary or desirable , or when the volume of first chamber 110 is known , for example when the device disclosed herein is a disposable . according , only the volume of each aliquot of flow material is calculated by measuring the pressure differentials in the second chamber 152 . for example , the volume of each aliquot ( p 2filled ) may be calculated independent of any calculations related to first chamber 110 : knowing the p 2filled value allows for the calculation of the dispensed volume as disclosed above . according to embodiments , because stopcock 150 eliminates direct fluid communication between the pump and the target of the flow material , it provides a safety mechanism for the pump . if a malfunction of the pump or stopcock device 100 occurs , the maximum unintended amount of flow material that can possibly be dispensed to the target is the small aliquot in second chamber 152 . in certain applications , for example in the delivery of insulin , these types of safety mechanisms are important for preventing unintended delivery of insulin due to malfunction . while the apparatus and method have been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the disclosure need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments . it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims , the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures . the present disclosure includes any and all embodiments of the following claims .	0
the apparatus of fig1 comprises a frame 1 , a vacuum turbine 2 , a drive motor and reduction gear assembly 3 , a first drive shaft 4 , a second drive shaft 5 , a clutch 6 , a third drive shaft 7 , a left side brush 11 , a bevel gear 9 , a toe brush 10 , a bevel gear 8 , a left sole brush 12 , a left instep brush 13 , a right sole brush 14 , a right instep brush 15 , a right side brush 16 , a train of gears 17 which receive power from shaft 7 and drive all the sole and side brushes , a bevel gear 19 , a heel brush 21 , a drive shaft 20 , and a bevel gear 18 which engages the bevel gear 19 to drive the heel brush 21 through the drive shaft 20 . in the operation of the system shown in fig1 the drive motor 3 is directly connected to the vacuum turbine 2 by means of shaft 4 . the direct connection to the motor without an intervening reduction gear operates at a speed that is sufficiently high to directly drive the vacuum turbine and produce a suction . the suction is applied through ducts , not shown , in the lower portion of the system , to draw the dust produced by the cleaning operation downward into a collection tray 22 located beneath the brushes as shown in fig2 and 3 . within the motor and reduction gear assembly is a reduction gear train and right angle drive that actuates shaft 5 at a lower speed than is obtained from the direct drive connection of shaft 4 used to power the vacuum turbine . power from the shaft 5 is applied to all brushes by way of clutch 6 , which is designed to slip in the event the brushes are jammed . shaft 7 is the drive shaft for the left side - brush 11 . this shaft also supports the bevel gear 9 . bevel gear 9 drives the bevel gear 8 which in turn drives toe brush 10 . shaft 7 continues through the brush 11 where it powers gear train 17 and bevel gear 18 . bevel gear 18 drives heel brush 21 by way of the bevel gear 19 and the shaft 20 . the gear train 17 comprises a gear on shaft 7 which drives in turn a first idler gear , a gear on the shaft of the left sole brush , second and third idler gears , a gear on the shaft of the right sole brush 14 , a fourth idler gear and finally a gear on the shaft of the right sole brush 16 . as a result of this arrangement of gears , all the side and sole brushes are driven in the direction shown by the direction arrows in fig1 . the upper surfaces of the left and right sole brushes turn towards the center of the apparatus and the heel and toe brushes also turn towards the center of the apparatus . to clean the lower portions of the shoe , the shoe is placed into the center of the apparatus with the rear of the heel touching the heel brush and the tip of the toe touching toe brush . the left and right instep brushes clean the instep area while the sole brushes clean the soles . the left and right side brushes clean the ledge of the sole at the connection to the vamp , while the toe and heel brushes accomplish the same task in their respective regions of the shoe . shoes smaller than the length of the sole brushes may be cleaned by the apparatus of fig1 by moving the shoe forward and back to contact the toe and heel brush and from side to side to contact the side brushes . an alternate method of accommodating various size shoes , not shown in the drawings , is to alternately drive each set of brushes against the shoe . for example , side brushes 11 and 17 are moved towards the center of the apparatus until they contact the shoe . these brushes remain in contact with the shoe for a predetermined time and then are withdrawn . the toe and heel brush are then drawn toward the shoe in the same manner and are also withdrawn after a predetermined period . the mechanism to drive this system is similar to that of fig1 with the exception that instead of direct gear drive to the brushes , belt and pullies are applied to permit the rollers to move and the brushes are slideably mounted to the frame . the slideable mounting is achieved by mounting the brush bearings in slotted portions of the frame which are designed to guide the brushes over a path to the shoe and back to a rest position away from the shoes . spring bias is applied to the brushes to keep the brushes at the rest position until they are to be applied to the shoe . the brush sets are advanced toward the shoe by means of a cam coupled to the brushes by way of a spring linkage . the spring linkage prevents the brushes from advancing beyond the part of the shoe first contacted by a brush . returning now to the configuration shown in fig1 and 2 , it should be noted that although a single sole brush may be used , a pair of counterrotating brushes , such as brushes 12 and 14 , provide several advantages . this can be understood by first noting that a support plate 24 , shown in fig2 is used as a support for the shoe in the areas where there are no sole brushes . the direction of rotation of the pair of sole brushes tend to move the shoe towards the center of the apparatus and away from the side brushes , thereby preventing the shoe from becoming jammed between the side brush and the support plate . the use of two or more sole brushes permits lowering the profile of the equipment . to cover the relative wide area of the sole of the shoe with a single brush would require a large diameter brush . such a brush requires a relatively high profile apparatus to accommodate its large diameter and the high profile would be generally unsatisfactory from an aesthetic point of view . it is easier to clean shoes with two or more sole brushes . the larger diameter brush would be more difficult to use because its larger size would result in a relatively high protrusion of the brush above the support plate . if the shoe were forced to the side by the brush rotation , the shoe may be twisted appreciably before it touched the support plate . the drop from top of the brush to the support plate for the smaller diameter brushes is considerably less than that of a single large diameter brush and therefore the smaller brushes provide a safety advantage . fig2 is a cross sectional end view of the system shown in fig1 and comprises the frame 1 , a dust shield 55 , and a removable collection tray 22 located in the lower portion apparatus . the sole brushes are shown located in the lower portion of the equipment . the left and right side brushes are located adjacent to the sole brushes in the upper portion of the equipment . a portion of the dust shield 23 extends over the side brushes to expose only one edge of the brushes . in a similar manner , the supporting plate , which contains a number of openings to permit the debris from the shoes to fall through , also contains two larger openings corresponding to and aligned with the sole brushes to expose the upper portion of these brushes , while protecting the shoe from the gears and other drive mechanisms located below the plate . a comb 25 comprised of two rectangular bars or a single &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; shaped bar is oriented to extend a longitudinal edge of each bar into the sole brushes to dislodge accumulated debris from the brushes . the combs are located with respect to the brushes at a position which causes the debris on the brush to be sprayed into the collection tray . although not shown , similar combs are installed in each brush in appropriate position to direct the spray of debris away from the shoe and preferably downward towards the collection tray comb bars 60 and 61 for brushes 11 and 16 are typical examples . fig3 shows a side cross sectional view of the system of fig1 with a shoe placed on the sole brush . in this figure , the way in which the toe the heel brushes clean and shoe can be seen . the instep brush is designed to remove the debris collecting in front of the heel . the instep brush may be a separate brush or a raised portion of the brushing surface on the sole brush . fig4 shows a plan view of an alternate arrangement for the side brushes . rather than a single side brush for each side of the shoe , a plurality of small vertical brushes is used . the advantage of this arrangement is that the vertical brushes are better able to enter the crevice between the sole and vamp . the drive mechanism for this arrangement comprises a cam 31 , a linking member 32 , a rack 35 , and a series of pinion gears 36 connected to the shaft of each of the vertical brushes , such as brushes 33 and 34 . the rack and pinion drive is designed to cause the brushes to make at least a complete revolution for each revolution of cam 31 . in this way , the brushes are scraped against their respective combs over their complete periphery so that the brushes are completely cleaned during each revolution . fig5 is a side cross sectional view of the alternate side brush arrangement shown in fig4 . fig6 is an alternate arrangement of the sole brush . this arrangement comprises a drive motor 4 , an alternate form of toe brush 43 and heel brush 48 produced by extending a portion of the sole brush above the level of the main section , an alternate arrangement for the instep brush 46 , wherein a taper is employed to conform to the contour of the shoe between the heel and sole , and a vacuum turbine , all coupled to a single drive shaft 42 . the alternate arrangement shown in fig6 represents a low cost version of the invention . cost savings are made possible by mounting all the components on a single shaft to eliminate all the gears and many of the bearings required in the embodiment of fig1 and by using a single brush to replace all the brushes in the previously described systems . the cleaning of the side of the shoe is achieved by pressing the side to be cleaned into the brush . for the purposes of safety , the brush may be run at a low speed from a reduction train within the motor housing , while the vacuum turbine may be driven directly at higher speed from the motor shaft as was done in the system of fig1 . to automatically actuate all variations of the invention , a light source 53 located beneath the dust shield as shown in fig3 is directed at a light receiver 54 . whenever the light beam between the light source and light detector is broken , such as occurs when a shoe is placed through the port 50 in the dust cover , outlined by the dashed line in fig1 the equipment is actuated . located outside the equipment is a manual switch indicated by drawing numeral 52 , on fig3 . as a safety feature , this switch can be used to shut off the equipment manually thereby overriding the automatic system . although not shown , combination of known additional apparatus with the invention is contemplated as being within the spirit of this invention , such as combining with the present invention additional brushes to clean and polish the upper portion of the shoe at the same time or immediately after the cleaning of the lower portion .	0
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 gesture could be termed a second gesture , and , similarly , a second gesture could be termed a first gesture , without departing from the scope of the present invention . 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 “ 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 . embodiments of the system and method of customer detection are described . for purposes of explanation , the “ computer system ” means a computer system that has the means to utilize some embodiments of the present invention , for example , personal computer with windows , mac or linux ; portable multifunction device , such as cellphone , smartphone , pda , tablet pc ; laptop . fig1 illustrates the method for customer detection according to some embodiments of the present invention . the method 101 comprises the following steps : creating , on a first computer system , one or more filters 102 . the first computer system can be represented by a desktop computer , laptop , tablet pc , portable multifunction device , cellphone , smartphone , music player , gps navigator . for purposes of explanation , the term “ filter ” means an array of one or more objects . in some embodiments of the present invention , the term “ geographical filter ” will be used . in some embodiments of the present invention , the term “ geographical filter ” means an array of one or more geographical objects . in some embodiments of the present invention , the geographical filter comprises one or more areas . in some embodiments of the present invention , the area can be set by absolute coordinates . in some embodiments , the area can be set using gps coordinates or a like system , for example , glonass . in some embodiments of the present invention , the area can be set using relative coordinates . in some embodiments of the present invention , the area can be set by a user of the one or more computer systems with one or more programs launched . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more programs comprise a graphical user interface with a map where a user of the one or more computer systems can select one or more areas and add it to the filter . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more programs comprise means for input coordinates of the area , or title of the place , or address of the area or company name . in some embodiments of the present invention , the filter comprises a set of one or more geographical objects . in some embodiments of the present invention , the filter comprises a set of one or more geographical objects along with a parameter that indicates a radius . this parameter might be applied to part or all geographical objects in the set and used for covering an area around the geographical object ; application of the one or more filters 103 to the one or more objects . in some embodiments of the present invention , one or more filters can be applied to one object . in some embodiments of the present invention , one filter can be applied to one or more objects . in some embodiments of the present invention , the object can be represented in the form of a promo - campaign . for purposes of explanation , the term “ promo - campaign ” means an offer for one or more goods and / or services promotion . typically , a promo - campaign comprises information about sale conditions , discounts and geographical location of the place where the potential customer can purchase one or more goods and / or services . however , the present invention is not limited to typically used promo - campaigns and can be used with any possible promo - campaign . in some embodiments of the present invention , the object can be represented in the form of an offer . for purposes of explanation , the term “ offer ” means information about one or more goods and / or services and purchasing conditions . in some embodiments of the present invention , the object can be represented in the form of one or more links . in some embodiments of the present invention , the link comprises an address to the one or more websites . in some embodiments of the present invention , the link comprises one or more e - mail addresses . in some embodiments of the present invention , the link comprises an itunes ® address to the one or more software applications , or games , or pass - cards , or coupons . in some embodiments of the present invention , the link comprises a google play ® address to the one or more software applications , or games , or coupons ; one or more objects , having one or more filters , distribution 104 . in some embodiments of the present invention , both the one or more objects with the one or more filters that were applied on the previous step , and one or more objects with one or more filters that were applied at the moment of part or whole object creation , are subject for the distribution . in some embodiments of the present invention , only one or more objects with the one or more filters that were assigned on the previous step will be distributed . in some embodiments of the present invention , in case of error in distribution , the one or more objects with the one or more filters will not be distributed . in some embodiments of the present invention , in case only part of the filters raise one or more errors , the one or more objects having one or more filters applied , including those that raise an error in the distribution process , will be distributed only to those objects that don &# 39 ; t raise one or more errors . additionally , in some embodiments of the present invention , in case one or more objects from the one or more filters raise one or more errors in the distribution process , the one or more objects having one or more filters applied , including those that comprise one or more objects that raise one or more errors in the delivery process , will be distributed in accordance with the filter with the exception of those objects in the filter that raise one or more errors in the distribution process . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more errors raised in the distribution and / or creating process , which have an informative nature , for example , an error that notifies that there are one or more potential vulnerabilities and , therefore , don &# 39 ; t affect the creation and / or distribution process . this means that one or more objects with one or more filters that raise one or more above - mentioned errors with informative nature , will be delivered and / or distributed with accordance to the one or more elements from the one or more filters as it will be delivered and / or distributed in case of no error with informative nature raised while in the distribution and / or creation process . according to the present invention , the object can be represented by one or a combination of the following elements : promo - campaign ; advertisement ; image ; text ; sound record ; video record ; sms ; ems ; mms ; web page ; script ; personal information ; public information ; payment information ; coupon ; credit card information ; news ; private information ; book ; magazine ; journal ; weather ; protocol ; request ; cad drawing ; contract ; legal document ; hotel check - in and / or check - out information ; taxi order ; order ; bill ; government form ; beauty shop information ; beauty shop request ; beauty shop order . distribution and / or delivery of the one or more objects can be implemented immediately and / or after a period of time that has been set preliminarily by one or more users manually and / or automatically or by one or more computer systems automatically . in some embodiments of the present invention , one part of the objects can be distributed immediately after filter application , another part after the period of time that was set preliminarily . fig2 illustrates the system that implements the method shown in fig1 , according to some embodiments of the present invention . the computer system 201 comprises at least one or more processors 202 and one or more devices for storing data 203 . the one or more devices for storing data 203 comprise at least one or more programs 204 , which can be executed by the one or more processors 202 . the one or more programs 204 comprise instructions for : creation of one or more filters ; application of the one or more filters to one or more objects ; distribution of the one or more objects in accordance with the filters . fig3 illustrates the graphical user interface of promo - campaign creation according to some embodiments of the present invention . in this exemplary embodiment , the object is represented by a promo - campaign . the filter is represented by a geographical coordinate of the point of sale location and by a radius parameter , which defines an area ( in this exemplary embodiment — a circle ) around the geographical coordinate of the point of sale location . the graphical user interface ( gui ) 301 comprises the following elements : the brand name of the company and / or software application 302 which implements the present invention . in this exemplary embodiment , the brand name of the software application is “ askedon food .” in some embodiments , the gui 301 does not comprise the element 302 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the element 302 comprises one or combination of the following elements : text , image , sound record , video record , link . the title of the operation 303 . in this exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the gui 301 is used to create a new promo - campaign for a food restaurant and / or coffee shop . this is why the element 303 has the title : “ promo - campaign creation .” in some embodiments , the gui 301 does not comprise the element 303 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the element 303 comprises one or more combinations of the following elements : text , image , sound record , video record , link . the title of the promo - campaign 304 . in this exemplary embodiment , the title comprises only text . in some embodiments of the present invention , the title comprises text , images , sound and video record ; the short description of the promo - campaign 305 . in this exemplary embodiment , the short description is limited to 140 characters . in some embodiments of the present invention , the short description does not have any size limitation . in some embodiments of the present invention , the short description 305 comprises one or combination of the following elements : text , graphical image , sound record , video record , link , web link , link to itunes ® store ; the description 306 . in this exemplary embodiment , the element 306 is similar to element 305 with the exception of character limitation — there is no limitation in size ( amount of characters ) of the element 306 . however , in some embodiments of the present invention , the gui 301 does not comprise the field 306 at all as the present invention can reach the declared technical result without the element 306 ; the means for choosing the geographical location 307 . in this exemplary embodiment , the element 307 is represented by a map ( for example , google ® map ), where one or more users of the computer system on which gui 301 is running can find the exact location of the point of sale and mark it . marking ( or choosing ) of the geographical location using element 307 means getting the geographical coordinates for the chosen place on the map . in some embodiments of the present invention , the means for choosing the geographical location is represented by not only the map of the city and / or other outside area , but also by an inside map . in terms of the present invention , the “ inside map ” means a map of the interior of the building . for example , the inside map of the shopping mall shows the location of shops and allows the user to make a route from one place to another . in some embodiments of the present invention , the user of the computer system on which the gui 301 is running can choose two or more points of sale location where the promo - campaign will be distributed and available . in some embodiments of the present invention , each chosen geographical location of the point of sale has an individual radius parameter . for example , a point of sale on a street normally has a one mile radius around it . this means that the promo - campaign is only visible for people who are physically located in this designated area . if the point of sale is located in a mall , then typically the radius parameter is reduced to 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 miles , because of the large number of messages that can be delivered to potential customers located within the designated area ; the means for choosing responsible person ( s ) 308 . in this exemplary embodiment , the responsible persons are chosen from the list of preliminarily invited one or more persons . in some embodiments , the one or more preliminarily invited persons are employees of the company who have access to the application and / or service . in some embodiments , the one or more software applications and / or services comprise a list of one or more persons who are not employees of the company , who have access to the application and / or service . typically , such persons are called “ freelancers .” the button 309 is used to add additional responsible persons for the promo - campaign management and processing . in some embodiments , the gui 301 comprises means for responsible persons ( managers ) management , which functionality comprises , but is not limited to : deleting a manager from the promo - campaign , adding a person to the promo - campaign , editing information about a person , assigning working time , activity management ; the means for choosing and / or assigning the one or more images that will be associated with the promo - campaign . in this exemplary embodiment , these means are represented by text field 310 and button 311 , which is used for choosing the one or more images from the computer system . in some embodiments , the gui 301 comprises the means for choosing and / or assigning the one or more video records . in some embodiments of the present invention , the gui comprises the means for downloading and / or choosing the image from one or more remote computer systems and / or cloud services ( for example , amazon ® web services ). in this exemplary embodiment , the gui 301 comprises means for previewing the one or more chosen and / or assigned images 312 . in some embodiments , the promo - campaign comprises one gui . in this situation , the one or more chosen and / or assigned images will be placed to the gui . if user of the gui 301 chooses more than one image , then the computer system which shows the promo - campaign to the potential customer will have the means for scrolling the images and / or means for randomly selecting the chosen and / or assigned images , and / or means for changing images periodically ( for example , every five seconds ). in some embodiments , the one or more images comprise one or more additional elements . in some embodiments , the one or more additional elements are used to get more information about the promo - campaign and / or company that created it . in some embodiments , the one or more additional elements are used for advertisement and / or marketing purposes ( for example , location of the point of sale , feedback from customers of the company that created the promo - campaign ); the means for setting a time period of promo - campaign availability . in this exemplary embodiment , the means for setting a time period of promo - campaign availability is represented by the following elements : 313 , 314 , 315 , 316 . it should be noted that elements 313 , 314 , 315 , 316 are only one example of the means for setting a time period of promo - campaign availability representation and the present invention should not be limited to only the above - mentioned representation . the elements 315 and 316 are used for correspondingly increasing and decreasing the amount of time of promo - campaign availability . typically , elements 315 and 316 are buttons , but in some embodiments of the present invention , elements 315 and 316 can be represented by other elements . in some embodiments , the gui 301 does not comprise elements 315 and 316 ; and elements 313 , 314 are editable . in order to set the time period of promo - campaign availability , the one or more users of the gui 301 enter information into the fields 313 and 314 directly . in this exemplary embodiment , the gui 301 comprises only fields for hours ( 313 ) and minutes ( 314 ). in some embodiments , the gui 301 comprises one editable field where the user of the gui 301 can type in the amount of hours of the promo - campaign availability . in this exemplary embodiment , the promo - campaign will become available right after clicking on the button 322 . however , in some embodiments of the present invention , the gui 301 comprises means for setting the date and / or time of promo - campaign start along with duration of promo - campaign availability . for purposes of explanation , the term “ duration of promo - campaign availability ” means the time period which begins from the start date when the potential customer can see the promo - campaign , interact with it , use it and purchase one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign ; the term “ active time of the promo - campaign ” means the time period which in some embodiments is longer than the duration of promo - campaign , where the potential customer and / or customer can redeem a coupon in the company that created the promo - campaign and in which the potential customer and / or customer participated , and / or read conditions of the promo - campaign and / or purchasing and / or redeeming of the coupon and / or code generated by the one or more programs . the means for area designation . in this exemplary embodiment , the means for area designation is represented by elements 317 , 318 , 319 . for purposes of explanation , “ the area of designation ” or “ designated area ” or “ chosen are ” means the one or more geographical areas where the one or more promo - campaigns are available . it should be noted that in some embodiments of the present invention , the promo - campaign will not be visible for users of computer systems that are located outside the chosen area . in some embodiments of the present invention , the user of the computer system specifies one or more geographical locations where he wants to get information about advertisement and / or promo - campaign and / or events and / or special events . by clicking on the buttons 318 or 319 , the user of the computer system that shows the gui 301 changes the radius of the designated area for the promo - campaign . for purposes of explanation , the term “ promo - campaign ” means a promo - campaign and / or an event and / or a special event and / or an advertisement . in some embodiments of the present invention , the user can choose the exact area where the promo - campaign should be available by clicking on the map and drawing the area on it . in some embodiments , the means for area designation is represented by one or more text fields . by using the above - mentioned one or more text fields , the user of the computer system that shows the gui 301 inputs the coordinates of places where the promo - campaign will be available . the availability of the promo - campaign , in terms of the present invention , means that one or more users with one or more computer systems that are geographically located within the designated area for the promo - campaign , will be able to see and / or review and / or send one or more messages and / or purchase one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign . if there are no computer systems within the designated area , then nobody will see it . however , in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more users of the one or more computer systems can set the location where one or more users want to see and / or review and / or send a message and / or purchase one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign . but when the one or more users with one or more computer systems enter the designated area , they will immediately be able to see and / or review and / or send a message and / or purchase one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign . accordingly , when one or more users leave the area designated for the promo - campaign , the promo - campaign will disappear from the one or more computer systems of one or more users who left the designated area for promo - campaign , unless the one or more have already begun browsing and / or reviewing the promo - campaign , chatting with the promo - campaign &# 39 ; s one or more representative persons and / or purchasing goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign ; the management buttons . in this exemplary embodiment , the management buttons are represented by buttons 320 , 321 and 322 . in terms of the present invention , the “ management button ” represents means for changing the status of the one or more promo - campaigns , for example , changing the status from “ draft ” to “ work ,” which , in this exemplary embodiment , can be made by clicking on the button 322 “ create & amp ; distribute .” additionally , in this exemplary embodiment , the user can change the status of the promo - campaign from “ draft ” to “ new , not distributed ” by clicking on the button 321 . it should be noted that the titles of all statuses are used only for explanation purposes . the button 320 , in this exemplary embodiment , is used for cancelling the operation of the promo - campaign creation . the button 321 , in this exemplary embodiment , is used to change the status of the promo - campaign from “ draft ” to “ created .” it should be mentioned that before the gui 301 appears , the one or more users of the one or more computer systems sent a command to the one or more computer systems for one or more promo - campaign creation , for example , by clicking on the button “ create a new promo - campaign ” ( not shown on fig3 ) or by touching a touch - sensitive display . it should be mentioned that the present invention should not be limited to the methods of sending one or more commands for the one or more promo - campaign creations mentioned above . fig4 illustrates one of the embodiments of the present invention . fig4 comprises a part of the map of the city . the element 402 represents the point of sale of the company whose one or more employees have successfully created and distributed the promo - campaign for point of sale 402 promotion and / or goods and / or services that can be purchased at the point of sale 402 promotion . the circle 403 represents the area of designation . the one or more users with one or more means for promo - campaign receiving , viewing and interaction , for example computer systems , within the area marked by the circle 403 , will be able to receive and participate in the promo - campaign . in this exemplary embodiment , the following persons will be able to receive , view details of the promo - campaign , send one or more messages to the person responsible for the promo - campaign and / or participate in the promo - campaign and / or purchase one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign and / or promoted by a promo - campaign representative and / or one or more other persons who have the ability and rights to offer goods and / or services to the potential customers and / or customers : 408 , 405 , 404 and person in car 410 . in this exemplary embodiment , the following persons will not be able to receive , view details of the promo - campaign , send one or more messages to the person responsible for the promo - campaign and / or participate in the promo - campaign and / or purchase one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign and / or promoted by a promo - campaign representative and / or one or more other persons who have the ability and rights to offer goods and / or services to the potential customers and / or customers : 407 , 406 , persons in car 409 , 412 , unless : the above - mentioned persons were located within the area designated by circle 403 in the previous moments in time when the promo - campaign was available for all users with one or more computer systems located within the area designated by circle 403 ; and the users 406 , 407 , 409 and 412 opened the promo - campaign and / or sent one or more messages to the one or more persons responsible for the promo - campaign and / or purchased one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign and / or promoted by a promo - campaign representative and / or one or more other persons who have the ability and rights to offer goods and / or services to the potential customers and / or customers . in some embodiments of the present invention , the radius 411 of the circle 403 which designates the area where one or more promo - campaigns will be available , can be changed by the one or more persons who create a new promo - campaign . additionally , in some embodiments of the present invention , the radius 411 of the circle 403 which designates the area where one or more promo - campaigns will be available , can be changed by the one or more persons who have rights to do so , on - the - fly , i . e ., when one or more promo - campaigns are available . it can be done in the following situations : 1 the radius 411 of the circle 403 is very small for the particular one or more promo - campaigns which are available within part or all of the designated area . for purposes of explanation , the term “ small designated area ” or “ small radius of circle ” means the area where a small amount of potential customers and / or customers are be able to review and / or send one or more messages to the one or more promo - campaign representative and / or one or more other persons who have the ability and rights to offer goods and / or services to the potential customers and / or customers and act of behalf of one or more organizations and / or companies to which the one or more point of sale belongs and / or which have rented the one or more points of sale mentioned in the promo - campaign . “ small amount of customers ” is a very specific term and it is determined in each case individually . it should be noted that the present invention should not be limited to the specific numbers of the terms “ small amount of customers ” and / or “ small area ” and / or “ small radius of circle .” in this exemplary embodiment , it is presumed that one or more organizations and / or companies to which the one or more points of sale belong and / or which have rented the one or more points of sale mentioned in the promo - campaign already determined in percents and / or numbers corresponding to and / or describing the “ small amount of customers ” and / or “ small radius of circle ” and / or “ small area ” and the current numbers and / or percents are equal or smaller preliminarily determined amounts and / or percents . for example , the above - mentioned situation can appear when the manager of the one or more points of sale is not satisfied with the amount of people who opened and / or purchased the goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign . so , in this case , the area can be increased by increasing the radius parameter . in this exemplary embodiment , the area can be increased by one or combination of the following ways : a manually by one or more users of the one or more computer systems and / or one or more remote computer systems which have the means for changing promo - campaign parameters directly or indirectly , by changing one or more parameters responsible directly and / or indirectly for the area size of the one or more promo - campaigns ; b automatically by one or more computer systems and / or one or more remote computer systems which have the means for changing promo - campaign parameters directly or indirectly , for example , by comparing preliminarily defined one or more parameters , which indicate and / or define “ small amount of customers ” with current parameters of the available promo - campaign . 2 the radius 411 of the circle 403 is very big for the particular one or more promo - campaigns which are available within part or all designated area . for purposes of explanation , the term “ big designated area ” or “ big radius of circle ” means the area where a large amount of potential customers and / or customers will be able to review and / or send one or more messages to the one or more promo - campaign representatives and / or one or more other persons who have the ability and rights to offer goods and / or services to the potential customers and / or customers and act on behalf of one or more organizations and / or companies to which the one or more point of sale belongs and / or which have rented the one or more point of sale mentioned in the promo - campaign . “ large amount of customers ” is a very specific term and it is determined in each case individually . it should be noted that the present invention should not be limited to the specific numbers of the terms “ big amount of customers ” and / or “ big area ” and / or “ big radius of circle .” in this exemplary embodiment , it is presumed that one or more organizations and / or companies to which the one or more points of sale belongs and / or which have rented the one or more points of sale mentioned in the promo - campaign already determined in percents and / or numbers corresponding to and / or describing the term “ big amount of customers ” and / or “ big radius of circle ” and / or “ big area ” and the current numbers and / or percents are equal to or bigger than preliminarily determined amounts and / or percents , corresponding to and / or describing one or more parameters and / or terms which affect directly and / or indirectly the characteristics determined by the one or more above - mentioned terms . for example , the above - mentioned situation can arise when the amount of people who opened and / or purchased the goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign is very big and one or more points of sale are not able to service all customers who want to purchase one or more goods and / or services sold by the company which created the one or more promo - campaigns or sent a request to third party one or more companies to create one or more promo - campaigns . so , in this case , the area can be decreased by decreasing the radius parameter . in this exemplary embodiment , the area can be decreased by one or a combination of the following : a manually by one or more users of the one or more computer systems and / or one or more remote computer systems which have the means for changing promo - campaign parameters directly or indirectly by changing one or more parameters that are responsible directly and / or indirectly for the area size of the one or more promo - campaigns ; b automatically by one or more computer systems and / or one or more remote computer systems which have the means for changing promo - campaign parameters directly or indirectly , for example , by comparing preliminarily defined one or more parameters which indicate and / or define “ big amount of customers ” with current parameters , responsible directly and / or indirectly for the area size of the available promo - campaign . in this exemplary embodiment , the present invention works in the following way : the one or more employees of the point of sale 402 and / or one or more persons who have rights to create one or more promo - campaigns for point of sale 402 ( for purposes of explanation , such persons will be called “ creating person ”), create one or more promo - campaigns for the point of sale 402 and set the radius 411 with the center in the point of sale 402 , where the one or more promo - campaigns have been planned to be available . optionally , the one or more creating persons can set the time period and the date when the one or more new promo - campaigns will be available . after all the promo - campaign parameters are set , for example , those that are displayed in the gui 301 , the one or more creating persons submit the promo - campaign . if date and time were explicitly set , then the newly created promo - campaign will remain idle until the date and time which were explicitly set during the promo - campaign creation . if date and time were not explicitly set , then the newly created promo - campaign will be published and / or distributed immediately . when one or more persons enter the designated area ( in this exemplary embodiment , the designated area is circle with radius 411 and center in the point of sale 402 ), while the promo - campaign is available and request one or more promo - campaigns , then such persons will be able to see , review , ask one or more questions ( for example , by using an invention described in the u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 689 , 763 filed nov . 30 , 2012 , entitled “ system and method of interaction ,” first named inventor : “ mikhail leonidovich liubachev ”), purchase one or more goods and / or services ( for example , by using an invention described in the u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 680 , 123 filed nov . 19 , 2012 entitled “ system and method for goods and services promotion ”, first named inventor : “ mikhail leonidovich liubachev ”), mentioned in the promo - campaign and / or promoted by one or more salespersons of the point of sale 402 and / or other goods and / or services related to the one or more companies which create the one or more promo - campaigns . if , while interacting with one or more promo - campaigns , the one or more users with one or more means for interacting with one or more promo - campaigns leave the designated area , the promo - campaign will be available for one or more users until the one or more users close one or more promo - campaigns . after closing one or more promo - campaigns ( in some embodiments of the present invention , closing one or more promo - campaigns is made in the form of “ back ” button ), the one or more users with one or more means for interacting with one or more promo - campaigns will be able to see and / or interact with those one or more promo - campaigns which are available at the geographical location of the one or more users with one or more means for interacting with one or more promo - campaigns . if one or more users purchased one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the promo - campaign and / or promoted by one or more salespersons of the point of sale 402 and / or other goods and / or services related to the one or more companies which created the one or more promo - campaigns , the information about purchase is saved to the one or more storage of the one or more computer systems which have the means to interact with one or more computer systems of the one or more companies which created and / or used the one or more promo - campaigns . in some embodiments of the present invention , the information about purchase is saved to the one or more computer systems on which the purchase and / or request for purchase was made . in some embodiments of the present invention , the information about purchase comprises one or a combination of the following elements : identification of the one or more computer systems from which the purchase was made ; identification of the one or more users of the one or more computer systems ; terms of the purchase ; conditions of the purchase ; list of the purchased goods and / or services ; categories of the purchased goods and / or services ; geographical location from which the purchase was made ; one or more geographical locations , indicating the path of the one or more users &# 39 ; movement during interaction with one or more promo - campaigns ; one or more actions which were made by the one or more users during the interaction with one or more promo - campaigns ; one or more actions which were made by the one or more representatives of the one or more companies during communication with one or more users ; information about previous purchases of the one or more users ; information about bonus points and / or money balance ; information about one or more friends of the one or more users ; information about one or more friends of the friends of the one or more users . fig5 illustrates the description of the promo - campaign according to some embodiments of the present invention . according to some embodiments of the present invention , the gui 501 comprises the following elements : the title of the company 502 which sells the products mentioned in the promo - campaign ; the image 503 associated with the promo - campaign ; the brief description 504 of the promo - campaign ; block of interaction 518 , which is used for interaction between a company representative or salesperson with the potential customer . the block of interaction comprises the following elements : the company representative or salesperson &# 39 ; s full name and company name 505 ; time stamp ( date and time ) 506 of message delivery ; the message 507 from the company representative or salesperson . in this exemplary embodiment , the message 507 comprises additional promotion of goods and / or services which company 502 sells to customers ; time stamp 508 of reply delivery prepared by the user of the computer system on which the gui 501 is running ; the reply 509 , prepared by the user of the computer system , on which the gui 501 is running . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more replies are prepared by one or more persons who have the means to establish a network connection to one or more computer systems which have one or more programs executed on one or more processors and stored in the one or more devices for storing data , with instructions and / or commands for sending a reply to one or more computer systems which have the means for receiving replies from one or more computer systems and to which one or more potential and / or existing customers have an access ; the order confirmation section 519 , which , in this exemplary embodiment , comprises the following elements : the full name of the sales manager and company title 510 . it should be noted that in some embodiments of the present invention , the element 510 comprises one or more full names of the sales managers . in some embodiments of the present invention , the element 510 comprises one or more full names of the persons who are responsible for communication with customers and potential customers , and one or more companies &# 39 ; identification information ; the information about date and / or time of the message delivery 511 . in this exemplary embodiment , the element 511 comprises the date and time when one or more messages were received at one or more computer systems which show the gui 501 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the element 511 comprises only time of the delivery ; the title of the receipt 512 ; the list of purchased goods and / or services 520 which comprises the product 513 and product 514 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the list of purchased goods and / or services comprises one or more goods and / or services . in some embodiments of the present invention , the list of the goods and / or services comprises one or a combination of the following elements : title of the goods and / or services , amount of goods and / or services , price of the one item of goods and / or one service , total price of all goods and / or services as stated in the list 520 , information about taxes , discount rate of each product , total discount rate of goods and / or services as stated in the list 520 , contact information of the one or more company representative , means for payment , means for receiving information about payment , means for adding additional goods and / or services , means for editing the contents of the list 520 ; the means for one or more orders confirmation . in this exemplary embodiment , the means for one or more orders confirmation is represented by the button “ approve ” 516 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the means for order confirmation is represented by one or more graphical elements which are used for payment for the order ; the means for one or more orders termination . in this exemplary embodiment , the means for one or more orders termination is represented by button “ decline ” 517 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more orders are terminated after some period of time , for example , 5 minutes , started from one or more orders delivery to the one or more users . in some embodiments of the present invention , the user will be hidden to the one or more promo - campaign representatives until the reply 509 is sent . in some embodiments of the present invention , in order to avoid spam , the one or more users of the one or more computer systems are invisible by default . if the one or more users of the one or more computer systems want to receive one or more offers from the one or more companies , they can mark themselves as visible on the map . by changing the state from the invisible to visible , the one or more computer systems become visible for one or more companies . the one or more employees of the one or more companies can immediately begin interaction with the one or more users of the one or more computer systems that became visible . it should be mentioned that in some embodiments of the present invention , the terms “ visible ,” “ invisible ,” “ visible mark ,” “ invisible mark ,” “ visible state ,” “ invisible state ” have other titles . fig6 shows the graphical user interface according to some embodiments of the present invention . fig6 illustrates a graphical user interface ( gui ) 601 , which comprises the following elements : the title of the application 602 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the title of the application has graphical and / or sound and / or video elements . in some embodiments of the present invention , if the title contains more characters than can be displayed on the top of the gui 601 , then one or more software applications cut the last part of the title 602 and replace the cut characters with , for example , “ . . . ” characters . in case of graphical elements in some embodiments of the present invention , the size of one or more images is adjusted to fit the space designated for the title 602 ; the first advertisement 603 , which comprises a link to the part or full promo - campaign description . in this exemplary embodiment , the first advertisement 603 comprises part of promo - campaign description , as follows : discount rate and information about apartments at askplat hotel . it should be noted that in some embodiments of the present invention , the first advertisement 603 comprises another element related to the promo - campaign description and / or terms ; the second advertisement 604 . in this exemplary embodiment , the second advertisement 604 comprises the following elements related to the advertisement description : an ellipse 607 , which represents graphical information about one or more products and / or services related to the promo - campaign , a very precise discount rate , and part of the terms of the advertisement ; the third advertisement 605 . in this exemplary embodiment , the third advertisement 605 comprises the following elements related to the advertisement description : a discount rate , part of the service description and video record 608 ; the check - box and description of the check - box 606 . in this exemplary embodiment , if a user clicks or taps on the check - box , the one or more programs change the state of the check - box to the “ checked ” status ( check appears in the check - box ) and the user of the one or more computer system becomes visible to the one or more employees of the nearby point of sale and / or companies which rent or own the one or more nearby points of sale . in some embodiments of the present invention , if the one or more users appear on the map of the one or more sales managers and / or other one or more companies representatives who have means to create , control and / or manage the one or more promo - campaigns , these employees , as stated above , can get additional information about the one or more users who are shown on the map , send one or more messages to the one or more users who are shown on the map , change the offer mentioned in the promo - campaign . in some embodiments of the present invention , after the one or more users clicked and / or tapped on the 606 check - box , the one or more programs which comprise one or more commands which when executed on the or more processors , displays the gui 601 , can change the gui 601 and add a list of the one or more messages and / or offers and associated promo - campaigns . in this exemplary embodiment , the list is sorted by time , which means that the most recent proposal will appear on top of the list . in some embodiments of the present invention , the message which appears in the list is represented by one or a combination of the following elements : text ; image ; one or more special characters ; sound record ; video record ; bill ; terms of the promo - campaign ; conditions of the promo - campaign ; contact information ; time period of the promo - campaign availability ; time period of the code availability ; full name of the representative of the company which sells the one or more goods and / or services mentioned in the one or more promo - campaign ; one or more elements for payment ; status of the advertisement ; path to the one or more points of sale ; amount of people who have already accepted and / or reviewed part or full promo - campaign description ; amount of customers who are located near the one or more users ; address of the one or more points of sale ; link to the one or more internet resources . fig7 shows the method of changing the state of the user according to some embodiments of the present invention . according to fig7 , when one or more users change the state of visibility to one or more representatives of the one or more companies , the one or more systems perform the following actions : a portable multifunction device receives one or more requests from the one or more users of the portable multifunction device to change the state to visible 701 . in this exemplary embodiment , the one or more users of the portable multifunction device click on the check - box 606 in order to change the state to visible . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more users change the state to visible by sending one or more voice commands to the speech recognition module of the portable multifunction device and / or to the one or more speech recognition systems including remote speech recognition systems . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more users change the state to visible by using one or more gestures . in some embodiments of the present invention , the gestures can be inputted to the gesture recognition module of the portable multifunction device , for example , a touch - screen . in some embodiments of the present invention , information about one or more gestures is sent to the one or more computer systems which have means for gesture recognition . in some embodiments of the present invention , the state is changed automatically by a portable multifunction device , for example , after a period of time and / or upon reaching a specific geographical location ; sending one or more parameters 702 , from the portable multifunction device , to the one or more computer systems . in this exemplary embodiment , the portable multifunction device sends the following parameters : the information about current geographical location of the portable multifunction device and / or the one or more users of the portable multifunction device ; the identification information of the portable multifunction device and / or the one or more users of the portable multifunction device . in some embodiments of the present invention , the portable multifunction device sends one or combination of the following elements : one or more users &# 39 ; authentication information ; one or more images associated with the portable multifunction device ; one or more images associated with the one or more users of the portable multifunction device ; one or more video records associated with the portable multifunction device ; one or more video records associated with the one or more users of the portable multifunction device ; one or more sound records associated with the portable multifunction device ; one or more sound records associated with the one or more users of the portable multifunction device ; geographical location of the portable multifunction device ; geographical location of the one or more users of the portable multifunction device ; one or more geographical locations of the portable multifunction device and / or one or more users of the portable multifunction device which was determined before sending one or more parameters ; information about friends and / or friends of the friends of the one or more users of the portable multifunction device ; information about payment methods which is registered in the one or more applications to which the portable multifunction device has access ; information about one or more goods and / or services which were purchased before sending one or more parameters ; text ; price requirements ; discount requirements ; one or more promotional messages ; terms and / or conditions of the offer . upon receiving at the one or more computer systems , the one or more parameters , the one or more computer systems compares the one or more parameters which were received with one or more parameters of the one or more promo - campaigns and / or one or more points of sale . if part or all received parameters are equal to the part or all and / or in the preliminary determined range of the one or more promo - campaigns and / or points of sale parameters , the one or more points of sale representatives who have access to the one or more promo - campaigns which parameters are equal to the part or all and / or in the preliminarily determined range of the one or more promo - campaigns and / or points of sales parameters , will be able to see the one or more users of the portable device as persons who wish to receive one or more offers . such one or more promo - campaigns and / or points of sale are considered , according to some embodiments of the present invention , as a place near the one or more users of the portable device . in all other situations , according to some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more points of sale representatives will not see information about one or more persons who wish to receive one or more offers as all other points of sale are considered as places which are located far from the current geographical location of the one or more users of the portable multifunction device . after the nearest one or more points of sale , to the one or more users of the portable multifunction device , are identified , the one or more computer systems “ connects ” the portable multifunction device with the one or more nearest points of sale representatives who have access to the one or more promo - campaigns which applied to at least one of the nearest , to the one or more users of the portable multifunction device , points of sale by sending 704 information about one or more users of the portable multifunction device who wished to receive one or more offers , and / or the portable multifunction device to the one or more computer systems of the one or more representatives of the one or more points of sale and / or promo - campaigns . in some embodiments of the present invention , the information could be sent to the one or more computer systems to which the one or more representatives of the one or more points of sale and / or promo - campaigns have access . it should be mentioned that the point of sale representative and / or promo - campaign representative ( in some embodiments , it is the same person ) can be located not only at the point of sale , but also anywhere in the world . additionally , in some embodiments of the present invention , one or more computer systems which have launched one or more promo - campaigns , could be located not only at the point of sale , but also anywhere in the world . in some embodiments of the present invention , one or more computer systems which have means for promo - campaigns management and means for establishing a network connection with one or more other computer systems , connects to the one or more computer systems which have launched the one or more promo - campaigns . in some embodiments of the present invention , one or more computer systems which have launched one or more promo - campaigns additionally have means for one or more promo campaign management and vice versa . also , it should be mentioned , according to some embodiments of the present invention , one or more persons can have access to the one or more promo - campaigns and / or points of sale . in some embodiments of the present invention , after one or more places nearest to the one or more users of the portable multifunction device are identified , the one or more users of the portable multifunction device receive information about one or more promo - campaigns which correspond to the nearest one or more places and / or points of sale and / or shops and / or places . in some embodiments of the present invention , one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices have one or more choices regarding visibility for the one or more companies and / or persons who wished to communicate about and / or promote one or more goods and / or services . fig8 shows gui 801 ( however , in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more portable multifunction devices comprise one or more guis , which comprises gui 801 ), which comprises the following elements : the first circle 802 , which indicates that there are two offers from the nearest one or more places and / or points of sale . typically , in some embodiments of the present invention , before receiving offers and / or messages from the nearest one or more places and / or points of sale and / or persons , the one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices should mark themselves as visible for one or more persons and / or representatives of the one or more points of sale and / or places . by default , typically , all users are marked invisible in order to avoid spam . however , in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction device can have the means for changing the default settings for visibility . according to some embodiments of the present invention , if one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction device want to choose the visibility and begin to receive one or more messages and / or offers from the one or more nearest persons and / or representatives of the nearest one or more points of sale and / or places , the one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices need to click on the first circle 802 and identify what the one or more users and / or other persons ( in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices and / or computer systems can search for goods and / or services and / or messages , for example , for their friends , wives , husbands , babies . in some embodiments of the present invention , friends and / or relatives of the one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction device also become the users of the one or more portable multifunction devices ) want . for example , if the user wants to buy snacks at the nearest shop , he needs to click on the first circle 802 and input the following string to the text field 805 with title “ i want ”: “ i want snacks ,” or “ i want to buy snacks for 0 . 5 usd .” typically , the text field 805 appears near the circle 802 after interaction , for example , after one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices clicks on the first circle 802 . in some embodiments of the present invention , after interaction with the first circle 802 , the one or more software applications change the gui which comprises only the element 805 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the element 805 additionally comprises the means to submit wishes to the one or more persons and / or representatives of the one or more points of sale and / or shops . typically , according to some embodiments of the present invention , the means for submitting wishes is represented by a button . in some embodiments of the present invention , the means for submitting wishes is invisible to the one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices , and this means is activated by one or more events that appear on the one or more portable multifunction devices and / or computer systems . for example , most of the software applications don &# 39 ; t have a submit button , instead , the software application tracks the activity of the user ( idle is an activity too ) and when , for example , the one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices has finished writing one or more wishes to the element 805 , the software application submits it automatically . the second circle 803 , which indicates the nearest one or more points of sale and / or shops and / or places and / or persons which published one or more promo - campaigns and in which one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices can participate and / or purchase one or more coupons and / or purchase one or more goods and / or services . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more nearest points of sale and / or shops and / or places and / or persons don &# 39 ; t need to create and submit one or more promo - campaigns to be visible for the nearest one or more users of the one or more portable multifunction devices and / or computer systems . according to said embodiments , the one or more software products which implement part or entire present invention , have one or more instructions to make one or more companies and / or personal accounts visible for any person and / or company within the designated area . in order to designate one or more areas for the one or more companies and / or persons profiles , the one or more persons , which have rights and means for company &# 39 ; s profile management , click on the map and / or write the value of the radius parameter . radius parameter designate the area around the particular point of sale . the means for area designation are similar to those described above . the third circle 804 , which indicates the number of the nearest one or more points of sale and / or shops and / or places and / or persons which have a company and / or personal profiles in the one or more software which implements part or entire present invention . in some embodiments of the present invention , the third circle indicates only those companies and / or persons which have limited access to the one or more software which implements part or entire present invention , for example , companies with limited access can &# 39 ; t send and / or reply to the messages from the customers . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more users of the one or more computer systems creates a group and invites other one or more users of the one or more computer systems to join the group . also , in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more companies and / or persons creates one or more promo - campaigns for the groups of users and / or one or more promo - campaigns comprises one or more special offers for the group of the users . according to said embodiments , a user of the one or more computer systems who wishes to create a group needs to be located within the designated area of the one or more promo - campaigns ( in order to see the promo - campaign , according to some embodiments of the present invention ). after choosing the promo - campaign ( even without special offer for the group of the users . it should be mentioned that the present invention should not be limited to the promo - campaigns which have a special offer or which are specially designed for the group of users in which the group of users can participate and / or purchase one or more coupons and / or purchase one or more goods and / or services . the present invention allows , in some embodiments of the present invention , the group of users to participate in any promo - campaign and / or interact with one or more representatives of the one or more points of sale and / or companies . ), the user creates a group by inviting other one or more users . it should be mentioned that the group of users comprises two or more users of the one or more computer systems . however , in some embodiments of the present invention , a group of users comprises one or more users of the one or more computer systems . it can happen , for example , after all users left the group except one . after the group was created , the user who created the group interacts with one or more promo - campaigns bound to the nearest one or more points of sale and / or shops and / or companies and / or persons . the group creator purchases one or more coupons and / or one or more goods and / or services corresponding to the one or more promo - campaigns . in some embodiments of the present invention , the group creator has the means to assign one or more roles to the group members . in some embodiments of the present invention , the one or more group members have the means to get information about one or more actions and / or interactions of the group creator and / or other one or more members of the group . in some embodiments of the present invention , the group members have means to interact ( for example , ask a question about the promo - campaign and / or company and / or person ) and / or purchase one or more coupons and / or goods and / or services . in some embodiments of the present invention , the group creator and / or other group members have the means to review promo - campaigns which are visible within the area where at least one of the group members is located . big cities have a very complicated traffic organizing system , for example , in some cities , the car driver needs , in order to get to the shop , located within 50 meters of the car &# 39 ; s driver current geographical location , to ride for more than one kilometer , because of the traffic system . so , in some embodiments of the present invention , the term “ radius ”, which is used to designate area around one or more points of sales , means a set of one or more paths from one or more places to the one or more points of sales , with the value not more than the value of the radius . if the value of the path from the current geographical location to the one or more points of sales , to which one or more promo - campaigns are applied , with the specific radius parameter value , will be equal or less than the value of radius , the car &# 39 ; s driver will be able to see above - mentioned one or more promo - campaigns . disclaimer . the example companies , organizations , products , people , places , and events depicted herein are fictitious . no association with any real company , organization , product , person , places , or events is intended or should be inferred . 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
embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing a general configuration of a course creation support system according to the present embodiment . a social networking site ( sns ) 10 including a server 11 is connected to members &# 39 ; smartphone terminals 1 - 1 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 3 , wrist terminals 2 - 1 , 2 - 2 , 2 - 3 , and a personal computer ( pc ) 3 - 1 via the internet 500 . the wrist terminals 2 - 1 , 2 - 2 , 2 - 3 are of a watch type that can be worn on the wrist . the wrist terminals 2 - 1 , 2 - 2 , 2 - 3 can also be connected by radio to the smartphone terminals 1 - 1 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 3 . the number of terminals and pc is not limited to that shown in fig1 . an application program is installed on each of the smartphone terminals 1 - 1 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 3 so that the smartphone terminals 1 - 1 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 3 perform an operation of cooperating with the sns 10 . a relatively lightweight application program is also installed on each of the wrist terminals 2 - 1 , 2 - 2 , 2 - 3 so that the wrist terminals 2 - 1 , 2 - 2 , 2 - 3 operate to cooperate with the smartphone terminals 1 - 1 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 3 . furthermore , the wrist terminals 2 - 1 , 2 - 2 , 2 - 3 and the server 11 are directly connected together to provide a route through the wrist terminals 2 - 1 , 2 - 2 , 2 - 3 and the server 11 can exchange information without communicating with the smartphone terminals 1 - 1 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 3 . fig2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a course creation support system according to the present embodiment . the wrist terminals 2 - 1 and 2 - 2 worn by training members , the smartphone terminal 1 - 1 , and the pc 3 are connected together via the sns 10 . thus , a course created by the sns 10 can be transmitted to a member who is training with the wrist terminal 2 - 1 on or to another member who is training with the wrist terminal 2 - 2 on , or to another member &# 39 ; s smartphone terminal 1 - 1 or pc 3 . cloud services may be used as the sns 10 . fig3 is a block diagram showing a general configuration of the server 11 . in fig3 , a cpu 102 controls the whole system . a program memory 104 stores various control programs . the cpu 102 carries out various processes by executing the programs in the program memory 104 . a course setting program 1041 is a program for setting a course as described below . the course may be set by a user by tracing a course the user has actually run with the wrist terminal 2 - 1 on the arm or tracing on a map with the user &# 39 ; s finger or the like . alternatively , several landmarks may be specified to allow setting of a 5 - or 10 - kilometer course that circles around or passes the landmarks . any error between an actual map and a specified course can be corrected by a well - known map matching technique . a member management module 106 manages the members as an sns system . the member management module 106 also manages the friendships among the members . furthermore , profile images p 1 are stored and managed for the respective members . a history memory 120 stores a history of training so that the user can train a plurality of times and subsequently compare the results of the training with one another . a course memory 130 stores various courses . the various courses include a plurality of existing predefined courses pre - created by the server 11 , for example , a tokyo marathon course ( first predefined course ) 130 a , a honolulu marathon course ( second predefined course ) 130 b , an imperial palace jogging course ( third predefined course ) 130 c , . . . and a first custom course 1301 , a second custom course 1302 , a third custom course 1303 , . . . which are set and recorded by the user . fig4 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 . the other wrist terminals are similarly configured . a display unit 40 includes an lcd and a drive circuit that drives the lcd . a display controller 254 controls a display status of the display unit 40 . an input unit 256 includes various keys and switches . a course memory 230 stores various courses , for example , a plurality of courses pre - downloaded from the server 11 . as is the case with course memory 130 of the server 11 , for example , the tokyo marathon course , the honolulu marathon course , and the imperial palace jogging course may be stored in the course memory 230 . a gps module 250 utilizes a well - known gps ( global positioning system ) to measure the current position . that is , the gps module 250 receives , via an antenna 2 a , radio waves transmitted by a plurality of positioning satellites ( gps satellites ) to acquire position data including latitude and longitude , which are indicative of the current position , and supplies the acquired position data to a cpu 202 as location information indicative of the location of the user &# 39 ; s action . a sensor 252 includes a triaxial magnetic field sensor , a uniaxial acceleration sensor , and a uniaxial gyroscope . thus , the advancing direction of the wrist terminal 1 - 1 can be measured using , in addition to the gps module 250 , the sensor 252 including the triaxial magnetic field sensor , the uniaxial acceleration sensor , and the uniaxial gyroscope . this enables a further increase in accuracy . the cpu 202 controls the whole wrist terminal 2 - 1 . a program memory 204 pre - stores a control program 2041 , an application program 2042 , and the like . the control program 2041 is a basic program that controls the whole wrist terminal . the application program 2042 is a program for cooperation with the smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and the server 11 . the wrist terminal further includes an interface 258 for establishing a bluetooth ( registered trademark ) link with a cellular terminal and an interface 260 for establishing a wi - fi link or the like with the server . fig5 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of the smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and the pc 3 . the other smartphone terminals are similarly configured . the smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and the pc 3 differ from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 only in that neither of the smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and the pc 3 includes the gps module 250 or the sensor 252 . the remaining parts of the smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and the pc 3 are similar to the corresponding parts of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 . that is , a display unit 340 includes an lcd and a drive circuit that drives the lcd . a display controller 354 controls a display status of the display unit 340 . an input unit 356 includes various keys and switches for the smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and includes a mouse in addition to various keys and switches for the pc 3 . a course memory 330 stores various courses . the various courses include a plurality of courses pre - downloaded from the server 11 . the cpu 302 controls the whole smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and pc 3 . a program memory 304 pre - stores a control program 3041 , an application program 3042 , and the like . the control program 3041 is a basic program that controls the whole smartphone terminal 1 - 1 and pc 3 . the application program 3042 is a program for cooperation with the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the server 11 . the smartphone terminal further includes an interface 258 for establishing a bluetooth ( registered trademark ) link with a cellular terminal and an interface 260 for establishing a wi - fi link or the like with the server . a first embodiment of the present invention relates to a course creation support system using the member &# 39 ; s wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the server 11 of the sns 10 which are connected together via the internet 500 . fig6 is a flowchart showing a process procedure of the server 11 according to the present embodiment . in step s 100 , the server 11 allows the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to display a map on the display unit 40 . the member operates the input unit 256 of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to specify coordinates corresponding to a finishing point on the map displayed on the display unit 40 . then , information indicative of the finishing point is transmitted to the server 11 via the internet 500 , and the server 11 sets the finishing point for the member ( step s 101 ). on the other hand , the wrist terminal 2 - 1 detects , by means of the gps module 250 , the current position at regular time intervals to transmit the current position to the server 11 . the server 11 determines at step s 102 whether or not the member has started running depending on whether or not the current position has changed since the setting of the finishing point . upon determining that the member has started running , the server 11 sets the last current position received from the gps module 250 to be a starting point ( step s 103 ). when the member has thus started running , the server 11 checks , by the gps module 250 , whether or not the current position transmitted at the regular time intervals has been received as described above ( step s 104 ), and every time the current position is received , records the received position and the time ( step s 105 ). the server 11 also compares the received current position with the finishing point to determine whether or not the member has reached the finishing point ( step s 106 ). if the member has reached the finishing point , the server 11 joins together the positions recorded at the regular time intervals in step s 105 to generate a movement locus along which the member has run ( step s 107 ). the server 11 displays the movement locus on the map to create a course and calculates the distance of the course . the server 11 transmits the course and the distance to the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to allow the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to display the course and the distance on the display unit 40 ( step s 108 ). upon viewing the course and distance displayed on the display unit 40 , the member operates the input unit 256 of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the course and the distance . the server 11 determines whether or not the ok signal has been received from the member &# 39 ; s wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 109 ). if the ok signal has been received , the server 11 records the created course with the corresponding distance as one of the member &# 39 ; s custom courses 1301 to 1303 ( step s 110 ). thus , as shown in fig7 , when a member 503 performs an ok operation via the wrist terminal 2 - 1 after running 3 . 45 km ( 0 . 45 + 2 . 55 + 0 . 45 = 3 . 45 ) from a starting point 501 to a finishing point 502 , the 3 . 45 - km course from the starting point 501 to the finishing point 502 is recorded as the member 503 &# 39 ; s custom course . fig7 is a diagram conceptually showing how the course setting program 1041 of the server 11 sets a course . the above - described course is favored by the member 503 as a result of the member &# 39 ; s actual running and thus reflects the member 503 &# 39 ; s intension . furthermore , what course is set for running varies among the members , and thus , the set course is one of various courses . hence , any of the various courses which reflects the user &# 39 ; s intension can be created . furthermore , if the server 11 determines in step s 109 that the ok signal has not been received , the server 11 determines whether or not an instruction to change the starting point has been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 111 ). if the instruction to change the starting point has been received , the server 11 changes the starting point in accordance with the content of the change subsequently transmitted by the wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 112 ). thus , as shown in fig7 , when the member 503 specifies a corrected starting point 504 corresponding to a 0 . 45 - km reduction in distance , a 3 - km course from the corrected starting point 504 to the finishing point 502 is created . furthermore , in this state , performing an ok operation allows the 3 - km course from the corrected starting point 504 to the finishing point 502 to be recorded as a custom course . in step s 113 subsequent to step s 112 , the server 11 determines whether or not an instruction to change the finishing point has been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 . if the instruction to change the finishing point has been received , the server 11 changes the finishing point in accordance with the content of the change subsequently transmitted by the wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 114 ). thus , as shown in fig7 , when the member 503 also specifies a corrected finishing point 505 corresponding to a 0 . 45 - km reduction in distance , a 2 . 55 - km course from the corrected starting point 504 to the corrected finishing point 505 is created . furthermore , in this state , performing an ok operation allows the 2 . 55 - km course from the corrected starting point 504 to the corrected finishing point 505 to be recorded as a custom course . that is , the present embodiment enables one of the following courses to be recorded as a custom course . ( 1 ) 3 . 45 - km course from the starting point 501 to the finishing point 502 ( 2 ) 3 - km course from the corrected starting point 504 to the finishing point 502 ( 3 ) 3 - km course from the starting point 501 to the corrected finishing point 505 ( 4 ) 2 . 55 - km course from the corrected starting point 504 to the corrected finishing point 505 a second embodiment of the present invention relates to also a course creation support system using the member &# 39 ; s wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the server 11 of the sns 10 which are connected together via the internet 500 . fig8 is a flowchart showing a process procedure of the server 11 according to the present embodiment . steps s 201 to s 210 in this flowchart are the same as steps s 101 to s 110 according to the first embodiment shown in fig6 . if the determination in step s 209 is no and the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 , then the server 11 receives a subsequently transmitted corrected distance ( step s 211 ). upon receiving the corrected distance , the server 11 creates and transmits a pattern 1 to a pattern x that are x corrected courses including the corrected distance , to the wrist terminal 2 - 1 so that the patterns 1 to x can be displayed on the display unit 40 ( step s 212 ). that is , as shown in fig9 , it is assumed that the member 503 transmits , for example , 5 km as a corrected distance after running 3 . 45 km ( 0 . 45 + 2 . 55 + 0 . 45 = 3 . 45 ) from the starting point 501 to the finishing point 502 . then , to change the 3 . 45 - km course into a 5 - km course desired by the member , the server 11 creates a 4 . 1 - km course shown by an illustrated dashed line and passing illustrated points in the following order : 504 , 506 , 507 , 508 , 509 , 505 . moreover , the server 11 allows the display unit 40 to display a 5 - km ( 4 . 1 + 0 . 45 + 0 . 45 = 5 ) corrected course : pattern 1 obtained by adding a distance of 0 . 45 km from the starting point 501 to the point 504 and a distance of 0 . 45 km from the point 505 to the finishing point 502 to the 4 . 1 - km course passing the illustrated points in the following order : 504 , 506 , 507 , 508 , 509 , 505 . fig9 is a diagram conceptually showing how the course setting program 1041 of the server 11 sets a course . furthermore , although not shown in the drawings , courses with pattern 2 , . . . , and pattern x which are similarly 5 km in distance but which involve different paths are displayed on the display unit 40 in a switchable manner . then , with one of the courses with the pattern 1 , . . . , and pattern x displayed on the display unit 40 , an operation of selecting this course is performed on the wrist terminal 2 - 1 . a select signal is then transmitted from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to the server 11 , resulting in an affirmative determination in step s 213 . hence , the server 11 advances the processing from step s 213 to step s 210 to record the selected corrected course as a custom course for the member . thus , the present embodiment allows various courses including a common actual starting point and a common actual finishing point but having a distance desired by the member and different paths to be recorded as custom courses . a third embodiment of the present invention relates to a course creation support system using any of the members &# 39 ; wrist terminal 2 - 1 , smartphone terminal 1 - 1 , and pc 3 ( hereinafter collectively referred to as a member terminal ) and the server 11 of the sns 10 which are connected together via the internet 500 . fig1 is a flowchart showing a process procedure of the server 11 according to the present embodiment . the server 11 transmits map data in accordance with a request from the member terminal to allow the member terminal to display a map ( step s 301 ). while referencing the displayed map , the member uses the closed loop 510 to specify an area in which a circuit course is to be set as shown in fig1 . then , the member terminal side transmits area information indicative of the specified area , which is received by the server 11 ( step s 302 ). fig1 is a diagram conceptually showing how the course setting program 1041 of the server 11 sets a course . subsequently , the server 11 creates a circuit course inside the closed loop 510 and transmits the created circuit course and the corresponding distance to the member terminal to allow the member terminal to display the circuit course and the distance ( step s 303 ). upon viewing the displayed course and distance , the member operates the input unit 256 of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the course and the distance . the server 11 determines whether or not the ok signal has been received from the member wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 304 ). if the ok signal has been received , the server 11 records the created course with the corresponding distance as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 ( step s 305 ). if the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the determination in step s 304 is no , the server 11 receives a subsequently transmitted corrected distance ( step s 306 ). upon receiving the corrected distance , the server 11 creates a pattern 1 to a pattern x that are x corrected circuit courses including the corrected distance , to the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to allow the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to display the patterns 1 to x on the display unit 40 ( step s 307 ). that is , as shown in fig1 , if the member specifies 5 km as a corrected distance , the server 11 presents a 5 - km circuit course shown by an illustrated dotted line and passing illustrated points in the following order : 501 , 511 , 512 , 513 , 514 , 515 , 516 , 517 , 501 . furthermore , although not shown in the drawings , corrected circuit courses with pattern 2 , . . . , and pattern x which are similarly 5 km in distance but which involve different paths are displayed on the display unit 40 in a switchable manner . then , with one of the corrected circuit courses with the pattern 1 , . . . , and pattern x displayed on the display unit 40 , an operation of selecting this course is performed on the member terminal . a select signal is then transmitted from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to the server 11 , resulting in an affirmative determination in step s 308 . hence , the server 11 advances the processing from step s 308 to step s 305 to record the selected corrected circuit course as a course for the member . thus , the present embodiment allows recording of various circuit courses located inside the area desired by the member and having the desired distance and different paths . of course , in this case , if such a closed loop as includes the member &# 39 ; s house shown in fig1 is set , a circuit course including the member &# 39 ; s house can be recorded as a custom course . a fourth embodiment of the present invention relates to a course creation support system using the member terminal and the server 11 of the sns 10 which are connected together via the internet 500 . fig1 is a flowchart showing a process procedure of the server 11 according to the present embodiment . the server 11 transmits map data in accordance with a request from the member terminal so that the member terminal can display a map ( step s 401 ). while referencing the displayed map , the member specifies a landmark 512 desired to be the center of a circuit course as shown in fig1 . then , the member terminal side transmits information indicative of the landmark 512 . the server 11 receives the information and sets the central landmark ( step s 402 ). fig1 is a diagram conceptually showing how the course setting program 1041 of the server 11 sets a course . moreover , while referencing the displayed map , the member uses the closed loop 510 to specify an area in which a circuit course is to be set as shown in fig1 . then , the member terminal side transmits area information indicative of the specified area . the server 11 receives the area information and sets the area ( step s 403 ). at this time , the member terminal may transmit a maximum distance to specify the maximum distance for circuit courses to be created . subsequently , the server 11 creates a circuit course inside the closed loop 510 which is centered around the landmark 512 and which includes the maximum distance , and transmits the created circuit course and the corresponding distance to the member terminal for display ( step s 405 ). upon viewing the displayed course and distance , the member operates the input unit 256 of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the circuit course and the distance . the server 11 determines whether or not the ok signal has been received from the member wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 406 ). if the ok signal has been received , the server 11 records the created course with the corresponding distance as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 ( step s 407 ). if the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the determination in step s 406 is no , the server 11 receives subsequently transmitted information indicative of a closed loop for a corrected area ( step s 408 ). upon receiving the information indicative of the closed loop for the corrected area , the server 11 creates a circuit course centered around the landmark 512 again , and transmits the created circuit course and the corresponding distance to the member terminal for display ( step s 405 ). furthermore , if no corrected area has been set and the determination in step s 408 is no , the server 11 receives subsequently transmitted information indicative of a corrected distance ( step s 409 ). upon receiving the information indicative of the corrected distance , the server 11 creates a circuit course including the corrected distance and centered around the landmark 512 again , and transmits the created circuit course and the corresponding distance to the member terminal for display ( step s 405 ). upon receiving the ok signal , the server 11 records the created course with the corresponding distance as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 ( step s 407 ). thus , the present embodiment allows a member &# 39 ; s desired circuit course to be selected from a plurality of circuit courses centered around a landmark desired by the member and having different paths and distances so that the selected circuit course can be recorded . in a modification of the fourth embodiment of the present invention , steps s 401 and s 402 in the flowchart in fig1 are performed . subsequently , the member further specifies the distance or duration of the circuit course . then , the member terminal side transmits information on the specified distance or duration , and the server 11 receives and sets the distance or the duration . the server 11 subsequently creates a circuit course centered around the landmark and including the specified distance or duration , and transmits the created circuit course and the distance to the member terminal for display . that is , if the distance is specified , a course circling the landmark and having the specified distance is calculated and created on the map . thus , for example , a 10 - or 20 - km course circling the landmark can be created . furthermore , if the duration is specified , a course circling the landmark and having the specified duration is calculated and created on the map so that when the user moves at an average speed or a specified speed or a speed suitable for the user , the movement takes the specified duration . thus , for example , a 30 - minute or one - hour course circling the landmark can be created . for adjustment of the distance or duration , the same path may be taken a plurality of times or a turn may be included in the course . upon viewing the displayed course and distance , the member operates the input unit 256 of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the circuit course and the distance . the server 11 determines whether or not the ok signal has been received from the member wrist terminal 2 - 1 . upon receiving the ok signal , the server 11 records the created course with the corresponding distance as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 . if the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the determination is no , the server 11 receives subsequently transmitted information indicative of a corrected distance or duration . upon receiving the corrected information , the server 11 creates a circuit course centered around the landmark 512 again , and transmits the created circuit course and the corresponding distance to the member terminal for display . then , upon receiving the ok signal , the server 11 records the created course with the corresponding distance as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 . thus , the present modification allows a member &# 39 ; s desired circuit course to be selected from a plurality of circuit courses centered around a landmark desired by the member and having different paths and distances or different durations so that the selected circuit course can be recorded . a fifth embodiment of the present invention relates to a course creation support system using the member terminal and the server 11 of the sns 10 which are connected together via the internet 500 . fig1 is a flowchart showing a process procedure of the server 11 according to the present embodiment . the server 11 transmits map data in accordance with a request from the member terminal to allow the member terminal to display a map ( step s 501 ). when the member specifies the distance ( for example , 3 km ) of a circuit course , the member terminal side transmits information indicative of the specified distance . the server 11 receives the information ( step s 502 ). moreover , while referencing the displayed map , the member uses the closed loop 510 to specify an area in which a circuit course is to be set as shown in fig1 . then , the member terminal side transmits area information indicative of the specified area . the server 11 receives the area information ( step s 503 ). fig1 is a diagram conceptually showing how the course setting program 1041 of the server 11 sets a course . the server 11 subsequently creates a plurality of circuit courses inside the closed loop 510 which are referred to as a first recommended course , a second recommended course , a third recommended course , and which include the circuit course with the specified distance . the server 11 transmits the created plurality of recommended courses and the distances to the member terminal for display ( step s 504 ). the processing in step s 504 allows the first recommended circuit course to the third recommended circuit course to be displayed as shown in fig1 . furthermore , the first recommended course to the third recommended course include the circuit course including the distance specified by the member ( first recommended course ). upon viewing the displayed courses and distances , the member operates the input unit 256 of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to select one of the first recommended course to the third recommended course and transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the selected recommended course . the server 11 determines whether or not a recommended course number and the ok signal have been received from the member wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 505 ). if the ok signal has been received , the server 11 records the selected recommended course and the distance thereof as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 ( step s 506 ). if the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the determination in step s 505 is no , the server 11 receives a subsequently transmitted corrected distance ( step s 507 ). upon receiving the corrected distance , the server 11 creates and transmits a corrected circuit course including the corrected distance , to the member terminal for display ( step s 508 ). then , with the corrected circuit course displayed , an operation of selecting the corrected circuit course is performed on the member terminal . a select signal is then transmitted from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to the server 11 , resulting in an affirmative determination in step s 505 . hence , the server 11 advances the processing from step s 505 to step s 506 to record the selected corrected circuit course as a custom course for the member . thus , the present embodiment not only allows one of a plurality of recommended circuit courses including different distances to be selected and recorded as a custom course but also allows the member to specify a distance and record a desired course as a custom course if the member favors none of the plurality of recommended circuit courses . in this case , when such a closed loop as includes an illustrated hotel where the member is staying is set , a circuit course including the member &# 39 ; s hotel can be recorded as a custom course . a sixth embodiment of the present invention relates to a course creation support system using the member terminal and the server 11 of the sns 10 which are connected together via the internet 500 . fig1 is a flowchart showing a process procedure of the server 11 according to the present embodiment . the server 11 transmits map data in accordance with a request from the member terminal so that the member terminal can display a map ( step s 602 ). while referencing the displayed map , the member specifies a plurality of landmarks such as a park 518 , a riverside 519 , and a post office 520 which are to be included in a circuit course . the server 11 receives this information and sets the plurality of central landmarks ( step s 602 ). fig1 is a diagram conceptually showing how the course setting program 1041 of the server 11 sets a course . when the member further specifies the order in which the member desires to pass the specified landmarks , the server 11 receives this information and sets the order in which the member passes the specified landmarks ( step s 603 ). thus , for example , the order of the landmarks is set as follows . the server 11 subsequently creates a recommended circuit course along which the member passes the landmarks in the above - described order , and transmits the created recommended circuit course and a distance ( 12 . 7 km ) to the member terminal for display ( step s 604 ). upon viewing the displayed course and distance , the member operates the input unit 256 of the wrist terminal 2 - 1 to transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the recommended circuit course and the distance . the server 11 determines whether or not the ok signal has been received from the member wrist terminal 2 - 1 . if the ok signal has been received , the server 11 records the recommended circuit course with the corresponding distance as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 . if the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the determination in step s 606 is no , the server 11 determines whether or not information indicative of a corrected distance has been received ( step s 607 ). upon receiving information indicative of a corrected distance , the server 11 creates a corrected circuit course having the corrected distance and along which the member passes the landmarks in the above - described order , and transmits the created corrected circuit course and distance to the member terminal for display ( step s 604 ). thus , according to the present embodiment , when 10 km is specified as a corrected distance as shown in fig1 , distance correction is carried out as shown by a dotted line in fig1 . then , a corrected circuit course can be recorded which includes the distance desired by the member and which passes a plurality of landmarks desired by the member in the desired order . a seventh embodiment of the present invention relates to a course creation support system using the member terminal and the server 11 of the sns 10 which are connected together via the internet 500 . fig1 is a flowchart showing a process procedure of the server 11 according to the present embodiment . the server 11 determines whether or not a time priority mode has been selected ( step s 701 ). when the member operates the member terminal to select the time priority mode , information indicating that the time priority mode has been selected is transmitted to the server 11 , which then determines that the time priority mode has been selected ( step s 701 : yes ). thus , the server 11 advances the processing from step s 701 to step s 702 to create a 60 - minute course , a 30 - minute course , and a 15 - minute course , and transmits the created plurality of circuit courses and the corresponding distances to the member terminal for display ( step s 702 ). the processing in step s 702 allows display of a first recommended circuit course ( 60 - minute course ), a second recommended circuit course ( 30 - minute course ), and a third recommended circuit course ( 15 - minute course ) as shown in fig1 . fig1 is a diagram conceptually showing how the course setting program 1041 of the server 11 sets a course . in this process , a starting point may be pre - specified . in this case , a first recommended course to a third recommended course having the member &# 39 ; s house or hotel as a starting point are created and displayed . upon viewing the displayed courses and distances , the member operates the member terminal to select one of the first recommended course to the third recommended course and transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the selected recommended course . the server 11 determines whether or not a recommended course number and the ok signal have been received from the member wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 703 ). if the ok signal has been received , the server 11 records the selected recommended course and the distance thereof as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 ( step s 706 ). if the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the determination in step s 703 is no , the server 11 automatically sets a distance priority mode instead of the time priority mode , creates a 7 -, a 5 -, and a 3 - km course , and transmits the created plurality of circuit courses and the corresponding distances to the member terminal for display ( step s 704 ). upon viewing the displayed courses and distances , the member operates the member terminal to select any of the recommended courses and transmit an ok signal if the member is satisfied with the selected recommended course . the server 11 determines whether or not a recommended course number and the ok signal have been received from the member wrist terminal 2 - 1 ( step s 705 ). if the ok signal has been received , the server 11 records the selected course and the distance thereof as one of custom courses 1301 to 1303 ( step s 706 ). if the ok signal has not been received from the wrist terminal 2 - 1 and the determination in step s 705 is no , the server 11 corrects the duration based on correction information subsequently transmitted by the member terminal ( step s 707 ). the server 11 then creates a corrected course including the corrected duration , and transmits the corrected course to the member terminal along with the duration of the course for display ( step s 708 ). thus , if the member favors none of the first recommended course ( 60 - minute course ), the second recommended course ( 30 - minute course ), and the third recommended course ( 15 - minute course ) and corrects the duration to 20 minutes , a corrected course 521 ( 20 - minute course ) that is different from the first recommended course ( 60 - minute course ), the second recommended course ( 30 - minute course ), and the third recommended course ( 15 - minute course ) is created and displayed , as shown in fig1 . then , when the member selects the corrected course 521 ( 20 - minute course ) and performs an ok operation , the corrected course 521 ( 20 - minute course ) is recorded as a custom course . thus , according to the present embodiment , a plurality of courses with different durations are created in the time priority mode and a plurality of courses with different distances are created in the distance priority mode , so that the desired one of these courses can be recorded as a custom course . moreover , a course with a duration desired by the member may be automatically created . while the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention , it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof . the accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention . the presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims , rather than the foregoing description , and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . for example , the present invention can be practiced as a computer readable recording medium in which a program for allowing the computer to function as predetermined means , allowing the computer to realize a predetermined function , or allowing the computer to conduct predetermined means .	6
now , embodiments according to the present invention will be explained in accompanying with the attached drawings . throughout the following description , the same reference numerals or marks are used to denote and identify corresponding or identical components . fig1 shows a basic structure of an atm switching system employing a relief method of billing data according to the present invention . more particularly , it shows a basic concept for collecting the billing data . in fig1 the atm switching system includes an atm switch 1 , atm terminators 2 and 3 , a call controller 4 and a billing data collector 5 . the atm switch 1 , the atm terminators 2 and 3 , and a call controller 4 are duplicated . the billing data collector 5 is connected to a charging center 6 . the atm terminators 2 and 3 are further connected to subscriber terminals or other switching system 7 through a data path 8 . in the structure shown in fig1 the atm terminators 2 and 3 charges , i . e ., counts the number of the passed cells for charging , and the atm terminators 2 and 3 are independent from a call controller 4 which controls the atm switch 1 , so that the switching speed in the atm switch 1 becomes first . a cell counter 20 for counting the number of the passed cells is provided on each of the atm terminators 2 and 3 . on call termination , the billing data collector 5 edits the billing data according to a cell count value in the atm cell counter 20 and call control data stored in a call control memory 40 in the call controller 4 , i . e ., dates of call establishment and call termination and calling or called telephone numbers . the edited billing data is sent to the charging center 6 . in regard to fig2 a to 2c , operational flowing charts of operations for collecting the billing data will be now explained . fig2 a shows an atm termination processing executed by the atm terminator 2 , fig2 b shows a call control processing executed on the call controller 4 , and fig2 c shows a storing processing of the billing data . when the call controller 4 detects the call termination ( step sb - 1 ), the controller 4 leads connection data from the call control data ( step sb - 2 ). the call controller 4 requests to read the value counted in the charged cell counter 20 to the atm terminator 2 according to the led connection data ( step sb - 3 ). the atm terminator 2 receives a request for reading the count value of the charged cells ( step sa - 1 ), and reads out the cell data corresponding to the connection data in the cell counter 20 ( step sa - 2 ). the atm terminator 2 transfers the read cell data , i . e ., the cell count value , to the call controller 4 ( step sa - 3 ). the call controller 4 receives the cell count value ( step sb - 4 ). the call controller 4 sends a notification for confirmation of receiving the cell count value ( step sb - 4 ), and the atm terminator 2 receives them to confirm transmission of the cell count value ( step sa - 4 ). accordingly , the atm terminator 2 resets and initializes the count value in the charged cell counter 20 by the transmission of the cell count value ( step sa - 5 ). on the other hand , the call controller 4 releases path connection data due to the call termination ( step sb - 6 ). then , the controller 4 edits the billing data according to the call control data in the subscriber table and the cell count value ( step sb - 7 ), and transfers the edited billing data to the billing data collector 5 ( step sb - 8 ). therefore , the call controller 4 initializes the billing data and the call control data in the call control memory 40 ( step sb - 9 ). the billing data transferred from the call controller 4 is stored in the data collector 5 ( step sc - 2 ), and is sent to the charging center 6 at predetermined intervals . by the above - described procedure , the call controller 4 collects the cell count value from the atm terminator 2 every time of the call termination on a normal status . thereby , it becomes possible to edit the billing data . by the way , the initialization is executed when failures occur , and the call controller 4 resets the atm terminator . the cell counter , i . e ., a counter function included in the atm terminator 2 , is normally initialized by this reset operation . therefore , the counted value of the cells is unconditionally aborted on initialization . thereby , it becomes impossible to edit the billing data . it is a key of the present invention to overcome the above - described shortage . fig3 a to 3c are operational flowing charts of one embodiment according to the present invention . those are corresponding to the operational flowing charts for collecting the billing data shown in fig2 a to 2c . they show an operation for collecting the billing data by removing only the cell counter 20 from the parts to be reset on the reset operation in the atm terminator 2 on initialization . fig3 a shows an atm termination processing executed by the atm terminator 2 , fig3 b shows a call control processing executed by the call controller 4 , and fig3 c shows a billing data storing processing , which are the same as those shown in fig2 a to 2c . an operation in the call controller 4 is executed according to a processing program stored in the memory area 401 shown in fig4 and the controller 4 detects the initialization at first ( step sb - 10 ). when the initialization is detected , the controller 4 initializes operation and administration data stored in the data memory 402 of the call control memory 40 except the call control data ( step sb - 11 ). then , the controller 4 requests the atm terminator 2 to reset all the parts except the cell counter 20 ( step sb - 12 ). in reply to this request , the atm terminator 2 resets statuses of all the parts except the cell counter 20 ( step sa - 10 ). the call controller 4 leads connection data from the call control data ( step sb - 2 ). the controller 4 request the atm terminator 2 to read the count value of the billing cell counter 20 according to the led connection data ( step sb - 3 ). the atm terminator 2 receives the request for reading the billing cell count value ( step sa - 1 ), and reads the cell data corresponding to the connection data in the cell counter 20 ( step sa - 2 ). the atm terminator 2 transfers the read cell data , i . e ., the cell count value , to the call controller 4 ( step sa - 3 ). the call controller 4 receives the cell count value ( step sb - 4 ). then , the call controller 4 sends a notification for confirming to receive the cell count value from the call controller 4 ( step sb - 4 ), and the atm terminator 2 receives the cell count value to confirm the transmission of the cell count value ( step sa - 4 ). then , the atm terminator 2 resets and initializes the count value of the billing cell counter 20 according to the confirmation of transmitting the cell count value ( step sa - 5 ). on the other hand , the call controller 4 releases the connection data due to the call termination ( step sb - 6 ). then , the controller 4 edits the billing data according to the call control data in the subscriber table and the cell count value ( step sb - 7 ), and sends the edited billing data to the billing data collector 5 ( step sb - 6 ). at last , the call controller 4 initializes the billing data and the call control data in the call control memory 40 ( step sb - 9 ). the billing data transferred from the call controller 4 is stored in the data collector 5 ( step sc - 2 ), and is transferred to the charging center 6 at regular intervals . the cell count value for editing the billing data in the reset operation on initialization is removed from the values to be reset on the step sb - 12 , as mentioned above . this means that the cell counter value is saved in the atm terminator 2 , which is switched to a standby group . thereby , it becomes possible to create the billing data with the same procedure as that on the call termination . that is , the billing data is not created by the data evacuated by the call data save function on the initialization . it is possible to obtain the billing data that has high reliability on resuming and create the billing data by freezing the data included in the atm terminator 2 and the call controller 4 in a real time . fig4 shows other embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 the atm terminator 2 and the call controller 4 are shown as extracted from the structure shown in fig1 . the atm terminator 2 and the call control memory 40 in the call controller 4 are duplicated as active ( act ) and standby ( sby ) groups . fig4 shows a status that the active atm terminator 2 is switched to a standby group because of a fiber failure . in the embodiment shown in fig4 it is possible to use the data frozen as temporary call data for collecting and charging the data frozen on the standby group side by switching the duplicated device from the active group to the standby group . in the active group , a normal service can be resumed , and the standby group executes the relief processing of the billing data on the initialization . thereby , it becomes possible to relieve the billing data without losing the service . fig5 shows a structure of the call controller 4 including a call control processor 41 and a call control memory 40 . the memory 40 further includes a processing program memory area 401 and a data memory area 402 . the call control processor 41 executes the processing program stored in the processing program memory area 401 in order to freeze the cell count value on the initialization , and read the frozen cell count value sent from the standby group as well as to execute call control processing on a normal state . the data memory area 402 stores the call control data corresponding to each subscriber , and also stores the cell count value read out and transferred from the atm terminator 2 . the operational flowing chart will be explained here . the active atm terminator 2 in which the cell count value is frozen is switched to the standby group , and the call control memory 40 in which the call control data in the call controller 4 is frozen is switched to the standby group . after switching the groups in this way , the call controller 4 retrieves a call employed on the initialization from the call control data stored in the call control memory 40 at first and extracts the control data ( step 1 ). the cell count value corresponding to the cell counter 20 in the atm terminator 2 is read according to the call control data extracted on the step 1 ( step 2 ). further , the cell count value read on the step 2 is combined to the call control data to form the billing data ( step 3 ). further , the billing data formed on the step 3 is transferred to the charging center 6 through the billing data collector 5 ( step 4 ). after collecting the billing data from the sby groups in this way , the cell count value frozen in the sby group and the call control data can be initialized . in this way , it is possible to execute a normal service employing the act group on the call processing after resuming , because the standby group is employed on the relief processing of the billing data executed in the duplicated system according to the present invention . as described above , there is a case where a call on initialization is double charged according to a status of the appropriate call after creating the billing data and before the cell count value is initialized in a system for initializing the atm terminator after creating the billing data on the call termination . fig6 is an explanatory diagram for showing the status . in fig6 to 6 respectively show statuses when generating each call . further , i means that the data exists in the corresponding device , and ii means an idle status . therefore , for example , in fig6 the status 1 shows the cause where only the cell count value in the cell counter 20 of the atm terminator 2 and the call control data in the call control memory 40 of the call controller 4 exist . in fig6 the billing data has been already created and transferred to the billing data collector 5 on statuses 4 to 6 . when initialization is executed in this point , the cell count value is frozen , and the billing data is created again . this means double charging . however , on the status 6 , even if the billing data is constructed , the billing is not charged double because there is no more call control data so that there is no link to the call control data . then , the call control data is masked until becoming to the status 6 in order to prevent the charge from being double on the statuses 4 to 6 . thereby , it becomes possible to prevent the charge from being double similar to the status 6 because there is no call control data . a program stored in the processing program memory area 401 shown in fig5 can execute the mask control . fig7 shows a case before creating billing data for cells on the initialization and after initializing the cell count value in fig6 . the atm terminator 2 has been already initialized , and there is no data . in this case , the read out cell count value is treated as call control data . even if there is no cell count value in the cell counter 20 of the atm terminator 2 , the cell count value is secured on the initialization . fig8 a to 8c show diagrams explaining a case where a communication failure occurs between the atm terminator 2 and the call controller 4 so that it becomes difficult to read the cell count value . when a communication failure occurs between the atm terminator 2 and the call controller 4 , it becomes impossible to read the cell count value . then , the atm terminator 2 on which the cell count value is collected on restoring the communication is switched to the standby group . in here , the call control data is frozen on the call controller side and forms the billing data by reading the cell counter on the standby group from the data . thereby , it becomes possible to relieve the billing data on encountering the communication failure . fig8 a shows a normal status before the communication failure occurs . then , the active atm terminator 2 and the call controller 4 count the number of the cells in a real time . on the contrary , fig8 b shows a disconnected status . in this status , the call is disconnected by the failure of a communication path 8 , and therefore , the cell count value can not be read out . then , the corresponding call control data is frozen until restoring the path failure . further , the cell counted act group on the path failure is switched to the sby group . therefore , it is possible to execute a normal service if the act group and construct the billing data according to the call control data frozen in the sby group . in here , there is a possibility to loose the billing data when an operator switches the duplicated device under relief processing of the billing data as other problem . then , it is possible to inform the problem and warn the risk . for example , the operator requests to switch the group of the atm terminator 2 while relieving the billing data . when the system can confirm that the relief processing of the billing data is now executed , the system inquires the operator whether or not the group should be switched even while relieving the billing data before switching . when the operator still requests to switch the group , the group is switched and the billing data of the switching system is initialized . when the operator stops switching the group according to the warning , the group is not switched and the relief processing of the billing data is continued . it is possible to execute the above - described processing by the processing program stored in the processing program memory 401 of the call controller 4 . it is also possible to output the status for relief processing of the billing data according to the request of the operator . however , while executing the relief processing of the billing data , the status on relieving the billing data can be indicated . the outputted data is as follows : ii . when requesting the indication of the billing data while relieving the billing data , a ratio for performing the above described i or the relieving processing is calculated and outputted . iii . when finishing to relieve the billing data , the date when the cells are finished to relieve is pooled . iv . when requesting the indication , the above described data pooled in i and iii are outputted . furthermore , it is possible to inform the above - described pooled data on completing to relieve the billing data . then , the date of the completion of the relief processing is pooled and the pooled data is edited and informed , simultaneously . as described according to the embodiments employing the present invention , a relief system of the billing data in which the billing data can be relieved on resuming in the atm switching system is provided . it is possible to provide a relief method of the billing data in which the billing data can be relieve don initialization in the atm switching system composed of an exclusive device for collecting the billing data , i . e ., the number of the cells , and a call controller . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .	7
fig1 a to 1d show a fluid storage space 1 that is designed as a round basin , with an inlet 2 to the fluid storage space 1 and an opposite - positioned outlet 3 of the fluid storage space 1 the high point 4 of the basin floor 5 of the fluid storage space 1 is located in the middle of the round basin . along the outer wall 6 of the round basin runs a rinsing sump with a dry weather guttor 7 . in the middle of the basin , i . e ., in the region of the high point 4 of the floor , is a vertical pole 8 connected to the basin floor 5 , the pole bearing a container 9 that is open above and below , i . e ., is designed as a circular ring wall . on the inside the container has bearing supports 10 , that are connected to a bearing bushing 11 leading to the pole 8 . a latching element 12 , whose specific construction will be described later . is located on pole 8 and , with the container lowered , grasps from behind the bearing bushing 11 , as is shown in fig1 a to 1e . a controlling float 13 located in the region of the outlet 3 and of the rinsing sump with dry weather gutter 7 controls the latching element 12 via a hydraulic arrangement 14 along with hydraulic conduit 15 . fig1 a shows the condition in dry weather . in dry weather the accumulating water runs through the basin 16 along the rinsing sump with dry weather gutter 7 . for better recognition this is represented as a dashed line in the drawings of fig1 a to 1d in the region of inlet 2 and outlet 3 and of the rinsing sump with dry weather gutter 7 . as is to be inferred from the representation of fig1 a , the container 9 rests with its lower edge an the basin floor 5 and the controlling float 13 in lowered . with a slight accumulation of fluid in the fluid storage space 1 , i . e ., before the fluid gets up to the region of the container 9 , the controlling float 13 is slightly lifted and it activates latching element 12 . which consequently holds the container 5 firmly in this position . with a further accumulation of water as shown in fig1 b , storage fluid flows through a check valve 17 in the lower region of the container 9 and flows into it , whereby the storage fluid in the storage fluid space and the rinse fluid in the container 9 adjust themselves to the same fluid level . the controlling float 13 is lifted further and is flooded over . if the fluid state in the storage space again sinks , for example after a rain event , the fluid storage space 1 empties , and the fluid in the container 9 is retained , since the container was held back during the rise by the latching element 12 . fig1 c shows the conditions in nearly dry weather and with the again lowered controlling float 13 . if the controlling float 13 is in its lowered position , it controls the latching element 12 by means of the hydraulic arrangement 14 , by which this element is shifted into its unlatched position , and the container 9 is abruptly raised up . this occurs because the container displays at its lower region a steplike extended flat section 18 , from which an upward force component results that raises the container 9 . the result is that the contents of the container 9 abruptly gush out radially as a rinsing torrent toward the surrounding container wall 6 . finally the container 9 sinks again and with a new inflow of fluid it is latched in the fluid storage space 1 . fig2 a to 2d show a variant in which a damping element 20 is provided for , that hinders the abrupt sinking of the container 9 from its maximum raised position , so that the outflow of the contents of the container can occur at the optimal rinsing flood . fig2 a shows the filled container 9 shortly before emptying . the damping element 20 is attached between the upper end of the pole 8 and one of the bearing supports 10 . fig2 b shows the raised container 9 and the rinsing flood 19 released form it . the construction of the damping element 20 is illustrated in detail in fig2 c and 2d . a piston shaft 21 connected to the bearing support 10 passes through an opening in the cylinder 22 connected with the upper end of the pole 8 . the piston 23 arranged in the cylinder 22 is formed as two wings , where the two wings 24 are pivoted at the upper end of the piston shaft 21 and are swingable in the direction of the piston shaft 21 , a plate 25 arranged in the region of the end of the piston shaft 21 represents a stop for the wings 24 . this design 1a conditioned on the fact that with the raising of the container 5 the wings fold up , and the damping element 20 does not function . while with the lowering of the container 9 the wings 24 swing into their tended position whereby the container 9 can only sink slowly since only a low - volume stream can flow between the free ends of the wings 24 and the cylinder wall . in principle any kind of damping elements are possible , for example , shock absorbers , springs fig3 shows a plan view of the round basin 16 . the implementation form represented there is supposed to illustrate in particular that the container 9 can show any cross - section whatever , for example rectangular . fig4 illustrates the hydraulic arrangement 14 in the fluid storage space 1 in an enlarged representation depicting only the edge and the middle . there the motion of the controlling float 13 is transferred via its float arm 25 , shown in two positions , to a piston shaft 26 of a hydraulic cylinder 27 , by which , by way of the hydraulic conduit 15 , the hook - form latching elements 12 connected to the floor of the basin 5 are opened , to which elements the hydraulic cylinder 28 are assigned . the hook - form latching elements 12 in their latching position grasp from behind hook - form upward - oriented extensions 29 that are arranged in the lower region of the container 9 , at the basin floor 5 in the region in contact with the lower edge of the container 9 iron plate 30 or similar are introduced to form a flat surface intended for the dealing components . in this variant , in contrast to the implementation form according to fig2 a and 2b , the container is not provided with pressed - out buoyancy - generating sections 19 , but instead of this a float 31 surrounding the bearing bushing 11 is attached to the bearing bushing 11 placed on the bearing support 10 , which float produces the bouyancy of the container 9 . in principle , a pneumatic control can likewise be used in place of a hydraulic control . fig5 a and 5b show the container depicted in fig4 in an enlarged representation and for two operational states . fig5 a illustrates the filled container 5 with latching elements 12 positioned in the latched position . fig5 b illustrates the latching elements 12 in their un - latched position and the container 9 raised by means of the float 31 , with the rinsing flood 19 coming forth from this container . in the representation in the preceding figures and likewise in the following figures , the marking in of the means for the filling of the container 9 is mostly dispensed with . in the explanation of the representation in fig1 a through 1d , it was already pointed out that this filling can take place in each case via a checking shutter 17 located in the lower region of the container 9 which will yet be explained in detail below . the filling can also come about through the fact that upon the accumulation of fluid in the fluid - storage space 1 the container 9 is flooded over , so that the stored fluid enters this container 9 through its open top side . it is also conceivable to fill the container from above by means of a supply conduit , as far as possible in a free fluidfall . fig6 a and 6b show a container variant modified with respect to the implementation form according to fig5 a and 5b . here the container 9 in of a two - piece design with an upper container section 32 , which is situated stationary on the basin floor 5 by means of supports 33 , an well as with a lower container section 34 ; a bellows 35 joins the two container sections 32 and 34 together , as was previously described for the implementation form according to fig5 a and 5b , in the implementation , form according to fig6 a and 6b the lower container section 34 is guided via supports 10 and the bearing bushing 11 on the pole 8 connected to the basin floor 5 so as to be raisable and lowerable , and shows the same latching mechanism . fig6 a shows the filled container 9 . with an emptied fluid - storage space 1 the latching elements 12 are swung into their open position and the float 31 surrounding the bushing 11 raises the lower container section 34 until the bellows 35 is fully compressed , whereupon , in consequence of the abrupt lifting of the container section 34 , the rinsing flood 19 is again discharged underneath the container 9 , as illustrated in fig6 b . the implementation form according the fig7 a and 7b illustrates a container 9 that is round or angular in cross - section and is hinged on one side and can thus be tipped . the container 9 is swingably seated on one side on a bearing 36 connected to the basin floor 5 . at the opposite side are arranged one or several latching elements 12 for the latching of the container 9 . the latching elements are formed in a manner corresponding to those of the implementation form according to fig6 a and 6b and are correspondingly controlled . inside , the float 31 is attached to the container 9 in the region of the latching element or elements 12 at the greatest possible distance from the bearing 36 . this implementation form thus requires no poles 0 for the seating of the container 9 , fig7 a shows the filled container with the latching element 12 in the latched position . fig7 b shows the opened latching element 12 and the container 9 swung around the axis of the bearing 36 by means at the float 31 . as well as the rinsing flood 19 coming forth from the container 9 . fig8 a and 8b show a configuration modified with respect to the implementation form according to fig7 a and 7b . the container has lateral shutters 38 . fig8 a shows the filled container 9 with the lateral shutters 32 . fig8 b illustrates the unlatched , upward - swung container with the corresponding shutter 38 , which rest with their lower edges on the basin floor 5 and cover over the side opening of the container 9 . with such a swingable arrangement of the container 9 the rinsing flood discharges in a controlled manner in one direction . in principle the possibility could exist of dispensing with one of the shutters 38 . fig9 a through 99 illustrate a variant of the container 9 guided by means of a pole 8 , which variant has no float 31 and also in not controlled by means of a control float 13 . and likewise required no latching elements 12 . here the container wall of the container 9 has a double - walled design , so that between the two container walls 41 and 42 a ballast tank 43 is formed . this rank is provided above with an opening , into which a check valve 44 is inverted that permits an outflow from the ballast tank 43 , lead through the ballast tank in its lower region is a connecting piece 45 , whose opening , projecting into the container interior , in closable by means of a checking shutter 17 . the filling of the container with storage - space fluid takes place via the connecting piece 45 , just an this filling was described for the implementation form according to fig1 a through 1d . from the lower end of the ballast tank a water conduit 46 and above this an air duct 47 lead to a rinsing sump with dry weather gutter 7 in the region of the outlet 3 . fig9 b illustrated that with this implementation form the ballast tank 43 has a ring - shaped cross section . fig9 c shows the relationship of stored fluid in the storage - fluid space 1 to that in the container 9 when accumulation has taken place . the storage - space fluid enters into the container 9 through the connecting piece 45 and the checking shutter 17 , and at the same time the storage - space fluid enters into the ballast tank 43 through the water conduit 46 , the air located in the ballast tank being able to escape upward through the check valve 44 . in this way the same fluid level appears in the fluid - storage space 1 , in the container 9 , and in the ballast tank 43 upon accumulation . if the fluid level in the fluid - storage space 1 sinks , then the rinse fluid in the container 9 and the fluid in the ballast tank 43 are held back , since neither the water conduit 46 nor the air duct 47 is it contact with air and the check valve is closed . only when the fluid level in the fluid - storage space 1 has sunken far enough that it is below the level of the air duct 47 , as it shown in fig9 d , does air reach the ballast tank 43 via the air duct 47 , whereupon the fluid can flow out of the ballast tank via the water conduit 46 . with this the container 9 becomes as a whole lighter and the fluid located in the container 9 can raise the container above the surface section 18 arranged in the region of the lower end of the container 9 and already described for the implementation . form according to fig2 a and 2b , as shown in fig9 e . with this the rinse fluid held back in the container 9 can run out as a rinsing flood 19 . with the implementation form according to fig1 a and 10b the container is formed by a cylindrical , thin - walled container wall 90 and a container bottom 91 . the container bottom 91 is designed as a circular plate with a surrounding edge section 92 that rests upon the storage - space floor . positioned centrally in the container floor 91 it the pole 8 extending perpendicular to this , on which pole is guided the sliding bearing bushing 31 , which takes up the container wall 90 via the supports 10 the implementation form according to fig1 a and 10b thus differs from the implementation form according to fig5 a and 5b only by the fact that , instead of the sealing of the container 9 through the basin floor 5 , a container bottom 91 is now arranged . with the implementation form according to fig1 a and 10b the extensions 29 are accordingly attached to the container wall 90 and the latching elements 12 are situated with the hydraulic cylinders 26 on the container bottom , which also accepts the iron plate 30 that produces the sealing effect . fig1 a shows the container wall 90 in the lowered position with the container filled . fig1 b shows the container wall 90 in its position raised form the container bottom 91 in the end phase of the rinsing process . fig1 a and 11b show an implementation form in which the container 9 is not raised for rinsing , but is lowered . here the begin floor 5 shows a pedestal - like elevated point 4 that serves to support the container 9 . arranged on the pedestal 48 at its upper region are latching elements 12 that can be extended out radially towards the outside , as was described , for example , for the implementation form according to fig1 a through 1d . the container 9 supports itself on these elements in their extended position . the container in surrounded in the region of its upper edge with a ring - shaped float 31 . with a fluid accumulation in the fluid - storage space , the container 9 . situated in fig1 a in its sunken position , is raised up , and when the container 9 reaches the raised - up position reproduced in fig1 b the latching elements 12 disengage , for examples in consequence of spring force . stops , not shown in detail , prevent the container 9 from rising yet further upon a further accumulation of fluid in the fluid - storage space 1 . the rising fluid enters the container 9 over its upper edge . if the fluid level in the fluid - storage space 1 sinks to the level of the float 13 , which is illustrated in fig4 by dashed lines , the latching elements 12 are then moved into their opened position shown in fig1 a and with this the rinse fluid located in the container 9 streams outward radially as a rinsing flood . during this , the lower region of the container 9 in its sunken position enters into a depression formed as a ring in the basin bottom 5 . if the fluid level in the fluid - storage space 1 rises , then , at the point the the float 13 reaches the position drawn in solid lines in fig4 the unlatched position of the latching elements 12 is canceled , so that these elements , under the force of the springs , press against the inner wall of the container 9 and then , when the container 9 in raised far enough , those elements rest under the container . the cross section of the container pedastal 48 is , for example , of circular form , as is that of the interior container space . fig1 a and 12b show , similarly to the representation in fig1 a and 11b , a container 9 with which the rinsing fluid held inside is let out by means of a sinking of the container . here the container 9 is designed as a bellows connected to the float 31 in the region of its upper end , the float 31 being guided vertically outside or inside by guide rods 49 , in the region that does not serve for guiding , the guide rods are provided with support extensions for latching elements 12 . which grasp the float 31 underneath in its raised position , in which position the bellows container 9 is extended . fig1 a shows the float 31 sunken with the bellows container 9 arranged sealed between this and the basin floor 5 , which container is collapsed . in the sunken position of the container 9 , the container surrounds the container pedestal 48 , which by virtue of the bellows form of the container 9 has a lower height than the container pedestal 48 according to the implementation form in accordance with fig1 a and 11b . with a fluid accumulation in the storage space 1 the float 31 rises and extends the bellows container 9 . as soon as the float 31 reaches the level shown in fig1 b , the latching elements 12 , which are controlled by the hydraulics , grasp the float 31 underneath . since the container 9 is firmly connected to the container pedestal 48 , no stop is necessary to limit the extending motion of the container 9 . with an adequate fluid accumulation in the fluid - storage space , the container is flooded over and , as was described for the implementation form according to fig1 a and 11b , fluid enters into the container 9 . if the level in the fluid - storage space 1 sinks in the above - described sense , then the latching elements become unlatched and the float , together with the collapsing bellows container 9 , falls suddenly downward , no that the rinse fluid flown out in a rinsing flood . it is within the scope of the invention that the features described for the individual variants be combined with each other . the possibility of combination is valid in particular with respect to the hydraulic control of the container or its parts , to the damping of the movement of the container sinking towards its closing , and to the possibility that variants in which the container or parts of the container are raised up in order to discharge the rinsing flood can , instead of this , as well a be sunken in order to discharge the rinsing flood . the invention is not limited to round or curved implementations of the container or of its parts , but includes also angular configurations .	4
the drill bit shown partially in fig1 , 2 and 3 comprises a shaft 90 , with geometric axis of rotation 10 , there only being shown an end portion thereof which includes a pocket 50 in the form of a forwardly - open , i . e . in the direction of the bottom of fig1 , diametrical slot . unless otherwise stated , in this description , references to axial or radial orientation are with reference to axis 10 . similarly , the “ forward ” direction herein is the functional direction of the drill bit , in other words a direction running from its rear end towards its forward end , that includes pocket 50 . as can be seen better in fig2 and 3 , pocket 50 of fig1 is limited by two major lateral clamping surfaces 61 and 62 which are parallel and here axial , respectively belonging to two slightly flexible cheeks or jaws 63 , 64 , symmetrically opposed with respect to axis 10 . when fitting a cutting insert 9 into shaft 90 , the user will typically employ clamping surface 61 as a bearing surface , or base , against which the user will slide insert 9 to bring it to the desired registration position . in this embodiment , jaw clamping is achieved using a radial screw 18 , with geometric axis 80 a , the body of which passes freely through a passage 66 in jaw 64 , and a central hole 8 in cutting insert 9 , for engagement with a threaded hole 65 in cheek 63 . cutting insert 9 is consequently held in the diametrical plane defined by the two clamping surfaces 61 and 62 , but its orientation and position in this plane need to be set in advance , this corresponding to two degrees of freedom in translational motion and one degree of freedom in rotation . for practical purposes , we shall call the radial direction in this diametrical plane “ x ” and the axial direction , rearward directed , “ y ”. to facilitate flexing and bringing together of the two jaws 63 , 64 , an axial slot 92 , nevertheless optional , is provided in registering wall 53 delimiting the rear of pocket 50 , this slot extending widthwise between the two lateral walls of the rear registering wall 53 , whereby the two jaws 63 , 64 are functionally lengthened backwards by a corresponding amount thereby forming two elastically yielding gripping jaws , the anchor point or a point at which they pivot when flexing , being thus axially backward of pocket 50 . cutting insert 9 has one major supporting face 1 which can bear slidingly against clamping surface 61 , opposed to a major supporting face 2 , facing clamping surface 62 . abutment faces 1 and 2 each include a substantially axial groove 9 g with a rounded transverse profile for chip removal , groove 9 g of abutment face 2 extending over a rear registering nose portion member 39 , which consequently has a lesser thickness than the thickness of pocket 50 . shaft 90 similarly includes , in the rear extension of the two chip removal grooves 9 g , two flutes , respectively 90 g , 91 g running helically backwards . fig2 is a front view of the drill bit showing its shaft 90 and a larger diameter base rear portion for mounting into a tool . it will be seen that as a result of opposing flutes 90 g , 91 g substantially occupying two respective approximately 90 ° sectors which each “ bite into ” a lateral edge of clamping surfaces 61 and 62 at each chip removal groove 9 g , the solid part remaining of the end portion of shaft 90 occupies two angular sectors , the radial direction of extension of one edge of which is inclined by about 30 ° with respect to a normal to the clamping surfaces 61 , 62 . this inclination arises through the fact that screw axis 80 a is located in the back part of pocket 50 meaning that the two remaining solid material sectors , at the level of screw axis 80 a , have undergone rotation , as a result of the helical shape of the flutes 90 g , 91 g . axis 80 a of screw 80 is directed in this latter direction so as to be substantially in the center of the remaining material . for registration purposes , the rear ends of the two clamping surfaces 61 , 62 are united by the axially rearward registering wall 53 , constituting a rear abutment here extending in a radial plane with an overall direction of extension 40 . it will nevertheless be noted that , generally speaking , it is sufficient for registering wall 53 to have two mutually radial spaced portions which are at the least somewhat directed forwardly . provision could indeed have been made for registering wall 53 to have a lengthwise and / or thickness - wise direction of extension which is inclined on a radial plane . additionally , it could have been provided for registering wall 53 to be of any desired shape , in other words non - rectilinear and , for example , with a sequence of two mutually oblique segments , as its abutment function is limited to two remote portions . registering wall 53 includes a first portion for guiding registration comprising a radial and axial registering relief which here is formed by a relieved undercut portion or recess 49 in the form of a v - shaped notch or groove , i . e . female , with , here , branches which are concave when looking from the inside of the v . registering recess 49 forms a forwardly - open cradle and , in this example , has symmetrical branches i . e . their mean axis is axial , with thus branches that are generally inclined radially at two angles of the same value and opposite signs , and with a baseline 48 , here oriented thickness - wise in a circumferential direction , i . e . perpendicular to the plane in fig1 . the distance separating the peaks of the branches of the female v - shape represent the length of the first guiding registering portion . alternatively , baseline 48 can be oriented obliquely , in other words , in fig1 , the baseline can be tilted towards axis 10 and / or forwardly . the branches of the female v - shape respectively include first and second guiding registering lateral surfaces 41 , 42 generally situated at a radial distance d , starting from baseline 48 , from a third guiding registering lateral surface 43 which is part of a second portion of the registering wall 53 , at a diametrically opposed side . the first guiding registering surface 41 , which is the radially outer , is thus partially directed forwardly and partially towards axis 10 , in the direction of arrow 41 f , while the second guiding registering surface 42 , which is also partially turned forwardly , is partially directed away from axis 10 , in the direction of arrow 42 f , i . e . somewhat towards the first guiding registering surface 41 in this example . it will be noted that it is sufficient here for the two guiding registering surfaces 41 , 42 to be slightly turned one towards the other , meaning that it could be provided , alternatively , for one of the two surfaces to be axial , or even directed backwardly . in the latter case , the upward axial movement involved in bringing cutting insert 9 against guiding registering surface 41 or 42 would , if this surface were partially directed backwardly , be accompanied by a radial movement , for example by sliding over the forwardly directed guide registering surface 41 or 42 . we have called the first , second and third guiding registering surfaces , 41 , 42 , 43 , “ guiding surfaces ” as it is they which will bring the insert 9 up to its operating position . an intermediate , non - functional , lateral surface 44 which here is rectilinear and radial , joins the forward end edge of the second , radially inner , guiding registering surface 42 to a radially inner edge of third guiding registering surface 43 . registering wall 53 is limited radially by an optional radially outer lateral surface 45 , here radial , bearing in mind that the forward end edge of radially outer guiding registering surface 41 , could constitute an end portion of registering wall 53 . in this example , third guiding registering surface 43 extends right up to an opposite end . the major support faces 1 a 2 of insert 9 are linked by a rear positioning lateral registering face 3 adapted to co - operate with registering wall 53 , and by two diametrically opposed axial side faces 4 and 5 , as well as by two front side faces 6 , 7 at axially symmetric positions and including two respective cutting edges 6 a , 7 a forming a male v , in the plan view of fig1 , with the tip thereof on axis 10 . the two cutting edges 6 a and 7 a are respectively delimited by the two major support faces 1 and 2 , both being active for a predetermined direction of rotation about axis 10 , and linked by a short radial cutting edge of the forward tip 76 of insert 9 . it will be noted that we are dealing with a non - limiting example as the precise form of cutting insert 9 is not relevant to the invention . thus , the axial side faces 4 , 5 could be omitted or could delimit axial or axially inclined cutting edges for conical drilling , and the forward cutting edges 6 and 7 could for example together constitute a cutting nose with a rounded profile . similarly , when applied to a cutting tool of the milling type forming a wheel with a series of peripheral cutting inserts at the periphery thereof driven in circular translational motion and in which they would consequently not themselves be rotating about a virtual axis passing through them , the cutting edges would be all limited by one common major support face 1 or 2 . lateral positioning face 3 , extending generally in a radial direction of extension 30 has , close to one end , a first portion comprising a registering relief made up by v - shaped male nose portion 39 , here rounded , pointing backwardly with a back limiting curve 38 and , once in the registered position , having the same angle of opening and the same orientation as registering recess 49 . for the purposes of this description of the relative orientations of the various parts of cutting insert 9 , we have supposed that the latter has already become appropriately orientated , in other words that registering face 3 is backward and the direction of extension thereof , 30 , is radial . it can in particular be provided for the inclinations , i . e . angles of tilt in the direction of axis 10 , of limiting curve 38 defining the nose portion summit and line 48 at the pocket bottom not to be normal to the plane of the major support surfaces 1 and 2 , whereby the reaction force of registering nose portion 39 and its force of contact in registering recess 49 will set up a couple tending to cause insert 9 to pivot about a virtual axis parallel to axis 10 and passing through registering nose portion 39 , thereby tending to flatten a radially - opposite region of major support face 1 or 2 , close to lateral surface 5 , against the associated support surface 61 or 62 , the twisting couple thus set up ensuring better stability . registering nose portion 39 is radially limited , outwardly and inwardly , by first and second guided registering lateral surfaces 31 and 32 spaced along an extension direction 30 which is both local and general in this example , forming two radially separate branches of a male v - shape with its mean plane axial , the surfaces being directed at least partially in opposing senses with respect to direction of extension 30 , the radius of curvature of their convexity being substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the concavity of guiding registering surfaces 41 , 42 thereby coupling with them . what is now constituted is a cradle - shaped bearing facilitating eventual slight pivoting of insert 9 upon registration thereof . registering nose portion 39 thus constitutes an axis for pivoting . the distance separating the end of curvature of the arms of the male v - shape 31 , 32 , corresponds to the length of the first guided registering portion . the respective concave and convex shapes of registering recess 49 and registering nose portion 39 are such that there is only abutment at the facing registering surface branches 31 , 41 and 32 , 42 , meaning that a gap is left between line 38 defining the top of the relief and line 48 defining the base of the pocket . similarly , the forward lateral surfaces of registering recess 49 only constitute a widened mouth portion for facilitating placement of registering nose portion 39 , i . e . the two corresponding lateral surfaces , at the base of registering nose portion 39 are at a certain distance from the above mouth portion surfaces once the position of registration is achieved . registering face 3 further comprises a second registering portion constituted by a third lateral registering surface 33 generally situated at a distance d from registering nose portion 39 , in a radial direction in this example . the third registering surface 33 which should be directed at least partially forwardly to act as a rear abutment , is here of purely radial extension ( 30 ), in other words totally directed forwards . it could nevertheless be provided for the third registering surface 33 to extend obliquely with respect to radial direction 30 , i . e . functionally replacing one of the first and second lateral registering surfaces 31 , 32 , this surface then acting solely as a front abutment , in other words providing locally a clearance distance with respect to registering wall 53 . under these conditions , the choice of the precise relative position , on lateral registering surface 3 and / or the increased axial size , resulting from the heel portion , of third registering surface 33 , now oblique , makes it possible to determine also a local clearance distance opposite thereto . an intermediate lateral surface 34 , which here is rectilinear and radial , having no functional purpose , connects the radial inner edge of registering nose portion 39 to a facing radial inner edge of third registering surface 33 . registering face 3 is here bounded by an end lateral surface 35 , which here is rectilinear and radial , of small radial extension , in other words the distance “ d ” is preferably chosen to be relatively large with respect to the width of cutting insert 9 , typically at least 50 %, even 70 % or possibly even 80 %, to ensure good rear seating counteracting tilting . further , the possible presence of debris on one of registering surfaces 31 - 33 or 41 - 43 will not have the effect of axially amplifying , at the radial extremity 35 of registering face 3 , an error in axial positioning which the above registering abutment areas might exhibit . we can consider the first , second and third registering surfaces 31 , 32 , 33 as being “ guided ” since they will be guided by the surfaces 41 , 42 , 43 for “ guiding ” registering up to their desired operating position . in operation , cutting insert 9 is forced up against registering wall 53 by a reaction force transmitted by cutting edges 6 a , 7 a and 76 bearing on a workpiece , meaning that insert 9 acts like a transverse beam member supported at one end by registering nose portion 39 against first and second guiding registering surfaces 41 , 42 of recess 49 , and opposite thereto in the radial sense , by third guided surface 33 bearing against the third guiding registering surface 43 . to ensure axial clearance between the surfaces of each pair of facing nonfunctional surfaces 34 , 44 and 35 , 45 , one of either the third guided registering surface 33 or the third guiding registering surface 43 slightly projects axially with respect to the remainder of the relevant registering face or guiding registering wall , 3 or 53 , in other words is offset forwardly or backwardly , with respect to its general direction of radial extension 30 or 40 , in the direction of the other , here , it is the third guided registering surface 33 which is offset backwardly through a plateau - like extension forming a registering heel portion 33 t of which the rear surface forms the third guided surface . symmetrically , registering nose portion 39 is slightly longer than the axial depth of registering recess 49 , to ensure at least a minimum axial clearance . as discussed earlier , cutting insert 9 can be readily positioned by pushing it in the backward sense so as to cause registering nose portion 39 to enter somewhat into registering recess 49 . registering nose portion 39 now constitutes , in radial direction x , a radial centering pin so that third guided registering surface 33 comes up against third guiding registering surface 43 and occupies , at the opposite end , exactly the desired radial position when the first and second guided registering surfaces of registering nose portion 39 are respectively in contact with the first and second guiding registering surfaces 41 , 42 , and against which they bear . in particular , one useful manner of operation consists in forcing the registering nose portion 39 as far as possible into registering recess 49 even if cutting insert 9 is still not perfectly oriented ( axially ), after which insert 9 is pushed backwardly for instance at its forward pointed region 76 so that it is caused to pivot about registering nose portion 39 up until the third registering surfaces 33 and 43 come into contact . during this rotation , the orientation of registering nose portion 39 will approach the desired axial orientation so that registering nose portion 39 terminates its penetration movement as far as the bottom 48 of registering recess 49 . in this example , contact between registering nose portion 39 and registering recess 49 is established over a certain length of each branch of the female or male v - shape , with the exception of the region situated at the base of the registering nose portion which guarantees clearance . alternatively , contact at first and second registering surfaces 31 , 41 and 32 , 42 can be designed for a more punctual contact , for example along two respective lines generating a surface which are substantially parallel to the baseline of registering recess 48 , in other words perpendicular to the major supporting faces 1 and 2 . it will be also noted that it is not necessary for registering recess 49 , as in this example , to be a groove extending over a distance corresponding to the thickness of insert 9 . in other words , it is not essential for registering nose portion 39 to occupy the whole thickness of cutting insert 9 . generally speaking , the first , second and third registering surfaces 31 , 32 , 33 have a total registering surface which only makes up a small proportion of the surface of registering surface 3 of which they constitute a part . preferably , this proportion is less than 20 %, more preferably less than 10 % and even more preferably less than 5 %. when measuring each lateral guided registering surface 31 - 33 , in other words that surface region which is functional , we can suppose that the corresponding registering guiding wall 41 - 43 does have registering reliefs with surfaces with shapes and relative positions that exactly match those of the guided lateral registering surfaces 31 - 33 . additionally , as two of the lateral registering surfaces 31 , 32 are grouped together , the first registering portion that includes them preferably makes up less than 20 % of the total length of lateral surface 3 ( or alternative embodiments thereof ), and more preferably less than 10 %. intermediate lateral surface 34 linking the radial inner edge of second registering lateral surface 32 ( or alternative embodiments thereof ) with its facing radially inner edge of third registering surface 33 is of a length ( slightly less than overall distance d ) preferably making up at least 50 %, more preferably at least 70 % of the total length of lateral surface 3 of which they are a part , even more preferably at least 80 %. it is thus this length which mutually separates the first and second guided registering portions . the cutting insert of fig4 , 5 , 6 and 7 is an alternative embodiments which differs from that of fig1 to 3 by the fact that the securing screw 80 with head 81 and body 82 only passes through shaft 90 a , behind cutting insert 9 a , with the result that the latter insert is shorter than cutting insert 9 . those functional parts which are unchanged here carry the same reference numerals as those in fig1 to 3 and those the shape of which has been modified carry the same reference numeral as originally , followed by the suffix a . the various functions remain unchanged and for the sake of conciseness , we shall not repeat the explanations regarding general shape , function and operation of the various parts . we shall here only discuss differences with respect to fig1 to 3 . the central hole 8 in insert 9 is here omitted with the result that cutting insert 9 a is now axially shorter than cutting insert 9 . in effect , as insert 9 or 9 a forms a beam supported at the back at two extremities of its lateral positioning face 3 or 3 a and gets pushed backwards by its tip i . e . at the midpoint of the beam , a central hole 8 would constitute a region of weakness , requiring a relatively long ( in the axial sense ) insert 9 . to avoid having to provide a central hole 8 in insert 9 , rear end axial slot 92 is here necessary . the jaw portions 63 a , 64 a now form two levers one opposite to the other of which it suffices to bring their two respective base portions together to bring the two free end portions defining pocket 50 a together , thereby clamping cutting insert 9 a . nose portion 39 a defined by the line 38 a has a rounded top profile , with first and second guided lateral registering surfaces 31 a and 32 a , for co - operation with the first and second lateral guiding registering surfaces 41 a , 42 a of the mounting cradle or recess 49 a in the form of an open - armed u - shaped recess or groove . the third lateral registering surface 33 a co - operates with the third lateral guiding registering surface 43 a provided in registering wall 53 a . fig7 is a front view of the drill bit with its shaft 90 a showing the pocket 50 a and the rear axial slot 92 , together with two flutes 90 g , 91 g .	1
while the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions , certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail . it should be understood , however , that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed , but , on the contrary , the invention is to cover all modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims . a general description of the equipment necessary to cut and process raw potatoes into a desired shape is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 807 , 503 ( mendenhall ), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . as shown in that patent &# 39 ; s fig1 raw whole potatoes ( 17 ) are dumped into a water filled receiving tank ( 13 ). a food pump ( 14 ), usually a single impeller centrifugal pump , draws its suction from receiving tank ( 13 ), and pumps water and the suspended potatoes ( 17 ) from the tank into nozzle gun ( 11 ). the nozzle gun ( 11 ) functions as a venturi , which is used to accelerate and align potatoes ( 17 ) immediately prior to impinging upon the knives of a cutter blade assembly ( 10 ). the cutter blade assembly ( 10 ) thus cuts the potatoes into the desired shapes and sizes . the cut pieces ( 19 ) then enter into deceleration loop ( 18 ) which in effect is the second half of the venturi . the deceleration loop returns to a point above receiving tank ( 13 ) where the water and cut pieces ( 19 ) are deposited onto chain separator ( 20 ). the water passes through chain separator and returns to receiving tank . chain separator is typically an endless loop chain or dewatering shaker , which is used to mechanically remove the cut pieces from the hydraulic cutting apparatus assembly . referring initially to fig1 and 2 of the present disclosure , one embodiment of the present invention is shown . the present invention is an improved cutter blade assembly for cutting vegetable products such as potatoes . the cutter blade assembly 10 has a body 12 that defines an axial bore 14 . the body 12 has a first end 6 extending to a second end 8 . between the first end 6 and the second end 8 , the body 12 has a plurality of attachments that are configured to connect with blades ( shown in fig2 ) which cut material passing though the cutter from the first end 6 . in this embodiment , the body 12 is made up of pairs of tensioning trees 16 , 16 ′. the first end 6 of the device is configured for attachment to a product source such as a nozzle gun shown in the prior patent (&# 39 ; 503 ). the second end 8 is configured for attachment to a venturi cap 120 , which leads material from the cutting assembly into the deceleration loop described in the &# 39 ; 503 patent . fig2 shows an exploded , perspective view of the embodiment shown in fig1 . the cutter blade assembly 10 is shown resting upon a front inlet adapter plate 125 . in use , the cutter blade assembly 10 and the adapter plate 125 would be connected and oriented so as to receive vegetable matter in a carrier medium through a receiving opening 126 in the front inlet adapter plate 125 . after passing through the receiving opening 126 in the front inlet adapter plate 125 , the vegetable matter travels generally along the longitudinal centerline of the cutter blade assembly 10 through a staggered array of cutting knives 40 before exiting the cutter blade assembly 10 in pieces near the second end 8 of the cutter assembly 10 ( fig1 ). in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the cutter blade apparatus (“ cutter ”) 10 has a body 12 , which is configured for placement about the opening 126 in the front adapter plate 125 and defines a first axial bore 14 there through . in use , vegetable matter to be cut passes through this axial bore 14 . a number of elongated blades 40 are mounted to the body 12 and are configured and placed so as to intersect a path of travel of a product through the axial bore 14 . the blades 40 are preferably arranged in a crisscrossing pattern and provide spaces between the blades 40 that define a desired cross - sectional pattern for the vegetable pieces to be produced . as vegetable material passes through the cutting assembly 10 , the impact of the vegetable material against the blades 40 results in the vegetable material being cut into pieces having the cross section defined by the spaces between the blades 40 . in the embodiment shown , the blades 40 do not interlock , but obtain rigidity and cut integrity through tensioning . the preferred blades 40 are relatively thin having a thickness of only 0 . 008 inches . this reduces the amount of material wasted by the cutting blades 40 and improves the overall functioning of the device . by stacking without interlocking , there is no unequal friction to cause separation of vegetable matter at the junction of the blade intersection . thus , the blades 40 cut rather than tear the material . this results in a higher quality product without the problems of so - called shattering or feathering . it is preferred that the elongated blades 40 be oriented generally perpendicular to the axial bore 14 , however angular intersections are also envisioned within the scope of this invention . the body or “ blade - mounting device ” 12 of the cutter 10 is configured to attach to the front inlet adapter plate 125 . this front inlet adapter plate 125 is configured for mounting the cutting blade assembly 10 within the processing equipment used to process and cut the vegetable matter . preferably , this is done by connecting the front adapter plate 125 to a nozzle gun . the front adapter plate 125 is also configured to connect with the blade mounting device 12 . in the embodiment shown , the blade mounting device 12 comprises a plurality of tension trees 16 , 16 ′ attaching to and extending generally perpendicular from the adapter plate 125 . these tension trees 16 , 16 ′ are configured to be mounted to the adapter plate 125 through the use of a fastener such as a plurality of screws or bolts which attach to the bottoms or bases 26 of the trees 16 , 16 ′. in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 , four tension trees 16 , 16 , 16 ′, 16 ′ are provided . these tension trees comprising two sets of opposing pairs . parallel sides of opposing pairs of tension trees provide first blade mounting surfaces 20 and second blade mounting surfaces 30 for mounting the elongated blades 40 there between . the blades 40 are connected to the first blade mounting surfaces 20 and the second blade mounting surfaces 30 through use of first blade clamps 90 and second blade clamps 100 , which are held in place by fasteners such as screws and / or bolts . detailed views of the connection between the blade 40 and the first and second blade mounting surfaces 20 , 30 are shown in fig3 , 5 , and 6 and will discussed later in detail . a tension cap or “ anti - compression stabilizer ring ” 108 interconnects the tops of the trees 16 , 16 ′ thereby holding the tops of the trees 16 , 16 ′ a fixed or spaced distance apart . this keeps the tops of the tension trees 16 , 16 ′ from tilting in towards the center of the axial bore 14 when tension is applied to the blades 40 , and when the blades 40 are impacted by the vegetable being cut by the blades . it is preferred that the tops 24 of the tension trees 16 , 16 ′ be configured to connect with the stabilizer ring 108 through the use of a fastener , i . e . a screw or bolt . the flow of material through the cutter 10 is enhanced by a flow control sleeve or “ flow alignment control tube ” 112 having a plurality of blade insertion slots 114 defined within it . the flow alignment control tube 112 is inserted within the axial bore 14 to increase the laminar flow of material through the tension cutter 10 and to reduce the amount of turbulence and interference that occurs therein . the blade insertion slots 114 are configured to allow portions of the elongated blades 40 to pass there through and to form a cutting pattern within the axial bore 14 . by containing the flow of liquid and material to be cut within the flow tube 112 , the amount of turbulence within the liquid is reduced as is the amount of tension against the blade 40 caused by turbulence . the flow tube 112 also assists the vegetable material being cut to be funneled and channeled in the same direction thus allowing the cutting blade assembly 10 to function more efficiently . it is also preferred that a venturi cap 120 be mounted to the top of the trees 16 , 16 ′ to compress the flow of liquid and material out of the cutting assembly 10 . the venturi cap 120 also assists to keep the cut strips of vegetable matter together in a mass as they exit the cutter 10 . this reduces the number of vegetable pieces that are off - cut , broken , or damaged , and keeps these pieces together as they exit the cutter 10 . this translates into a reduction in the number of less commercially valuable pieces and an increase in the number of high quality and commercially valuable pieces being produced . referring now to fig3 - 6 , detailed views of the connection between the blades 40 and the tension trees 16 , 16 ′ is shown . the preferred elongated blade 40 has a width 17 , a first end portion 44 , and a second end portion 46 . the first end portion 44 is configured for connection with the first blade mounting surface 20 of the first tree 16 and the second end portion 46 configured for mounting to the second blade mounting surface 30 of the second tree 16 ′. as shown in the figures , some trees 16 , 16 ′ may contain both first and second blade mounting surfaces . likewise , any combination of first and second blade mounting surfaces may be present on any given tree . a first end 44 of a blade 40 is configured to be connected to a first blade mounting surface 20 by a first blade clamp 90 . a mounting fastener 94 is utilized to attach the first blade clamp 90 and the first end portion 44 of the blade to the first mounting surface 20 through a mounting hole 50 located in the first end portion 44 of the elongated blade 40 . likewise , a second mounting fastener 94 is utilized to attach a second blade clamp 100 and a second end portion 46 of the elongated blade 40 to the second mounting surface 30 through a second mounting hole 50 located in the second end portion 46 of the elongated blade 40 . the mounting fastener 94 is configured to be adjustable so as to compress the end portions of the elongated blade 44 , 46 between the blade clamps 90 , 100 and the mounting surfaces 20 , 30 . when the first end portion 44 of the elongated blade 40 is pressed between the first blade clamp 90 and the first mounting surface 20 , the blade 40 is deformed and anchored in place by compression between a first crimping flange 92 on the first blade clamp and a correspondingly configured first recess 70 on the first mounting surface 20 . likewise , when the second end portion 46 of the elongated blade 40 is pressed between the second blade clamp 100 and the second mounting surface 30 , the blade 40 is deformed and anchored in placed by compression between a second crimping flange 102 and correspondingly configured second recess 80 defined within the second mounting surface 30 . then , after such a connection , the end portions 44 , 46 of the elongated blade 40 are crimped so as to form a first crimp 52 on the first end portion 44 and a second crimp 54 near the second end portion of the blade 46 . a perspective assembly view of the blade 40 with the resulting crimps 52 , 54 is shown in fig4 and a detailed , top view of the resulting crimps in the blade is shown in fig5 . these crimped portions 52 , 54 provide for increased surface area and interaction between the clamping mechanism 20 , 30 , 90 , 100 and the end portions of the blade 44 , 46 . by providing increased area and support to the blade 40 , the force of impact from vegetable matter along the blade 40 is dispersed along a broader area and less impact is absorbed by the blade portions nearest the mounting holes 50 , 50 ′. as a result , less fatigue of the blade 40 results , particularly in the area nearest the mounting holes of the blade , and the blade 40 remains tighter and in a desired position for a longer period of time . the ability of the blade 40 to maintain tension can be further facilitated by the presence of a blade tensioner 110 formed and configured for connection with the first mounting surface and the first mounting clamp 90 . while the following description is described in the context of the first mounting clamping 90 and surface mounting portions 20 , it is to be distinctly understood that such a description is not to be limited thereto but may be equally applied to the second clamping 100 and mounting structure 30 and surfaces . the blade tensioner 110 functions to maintain tension upon the blade 40 by providing an adjustable tensioning bolt 96 that is configured to pass through a first clamping device 90 and engage a tensioning dowel pin 48 . this dowel pin 48 is configured to interfit with a tensioning recess 60 that is formed within the first mounting surface 20 . by tightening the adjustable tensioning bolt 96 , the dowel pin 48 pushes blade 40 into the tensioning recess 60 and increases the tension on the elongated blade 40 between the first and second clamps 90 , 100 , and the first and second mounting surfaces 20 , 30 . this procedure enables a user of the device to adjust and maintain the cutting blades 40 on a cutting apparatus 10 in proper tension and alignment in order to provide maximum results . referring specifically now to fig5 and 6 , the preferred embodiment of the present invention , in use , clamps down the end portion of the blade 44 , 46 thereby inhibiting the ability of the blade to stretch when impacted , thus reducing the likelihood that the blade &# 39 ; s mounting holes will be deformed from their original circular shape . the result is a blade that maintains its tension better , thereby resulting in less chatter and less feathered product . while in the preferred embodiment , a right angled step that extends the entire width of the blade is formed into each of the ends of the blade , any and all other manner of deforming portions of the blade so as to laterally lock the blade are equivalents . fig6 shows a preferred embodiment of the blade tensioning mechanism 110 . when engaged , the tensioning bolt 96 is manipulated inwardly against a roll or “ dowel ” pin 48 , which in turn urges blade 40 around blade tension anvils 64 and 66 and into the tensioning recess 60 of the first blade mounting surface 20 . blade tension roll pin 48 preferably extends the full width of the blade 40 , and is of a sufficiently large radius to avoid unduly high bending stresses in the blade 40 at the point of contact with the roll pin 48 . blade tension anvils 64 , 66 are also rounded in the preferred embodiment to minimize stress concentrations in blade 40 , which if unchecked could lead to premature failure of the blade . although rounded roll pins 48 and tension anvils 64 , 66 tend to extend blade life , the invention is not limited thereto , and other profiles could be employed for the roll pin 48 and tension anvils 64 , 66 without departing from the scope of the invention . through utilization of the present invention , a first crimp 52 is created within the first end portion 44 of the blade by contact with a first anvil portion 76 of the first mounting surface 20 and a second crimp 54 is created within the second end portion 46 of the blade by contact with the second anvil portion 86 . in doing so , the mounting holes 50 , 50 ′ are less likely to be elongated through use thereby helping the blade maintain its original length , thereby reducing chatter . when used in combination with a blade tensioner 10 , as shown , the tension upon the blades can be maintained and feathering and chatter reduced . while there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention , it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims . from the foregoing description , it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims .	8
fig1 illustrates casing 10 which defines an annulus 12 around a valve housing 14 that is connected to production tubing that is not shown . the valve assembly 16 is shown in the closed position . the housing 14 has inlets 18 . primary seal 20 and backup seal 22 are disposed between the inlets 18 and the slots 24 on the sliding sleeve 26 . seals 20 and 22 are fixed in the housing 14 so that as the sliding sleeve 26 is moved either mechanically with a shifting tool ( not shown ) or hydraulically using control lines ( not shown ) the slots 24 will move past seal 20 so that the fluid can flow from the annulus 12 into inlets 18 and to or past the diffuser assembly 28 and into slots 24 of the sliding sleeve 26 and on up to the surface . the diffuser assembly 28 is axially retained between radial surface 30 on housing 14 and top ring 32 , a part of which can be seen in fig2 . fig2 is a close up view of the diffuser assembly 28 shown in fig1 . the assembly 28 is bookended by rings 34 and 36 with each having an exterior radial surface such as 38 shown on ring 34 . once the slots 24 get past seal 20 pressure in the annulus 12 represented by arrow 40 enters the annular gap between the sliding sleeve 26 and the housing 14 . the force from pressure represented by arrow 40 moves all the illustrated components axially so that initially radial surface 38 abuts an opposing and stationary surface 42 on ring 32 . there are pairs of rings 44 and 46 with sloping end walls 48 and 50 that face away from each other . rings 44 and 46 are essentially mirror image trapezoidal shapes in section . adjacent the ring pair 44 and 46 is another ring pair 52 and 54 . rings 52 and 54 have opposed end surfaces 56 and 58 respectively so that on application of an axial force from pressure represented by arrow 40 the diffuser assembly 28 shifts axially and opposed surfaces 48 and 58 on one side and surfaces 50 and 56 on the other side create a net radial outward force on rings 44 and 46 and a net radial inward reaction force on rings 52 and 54 . rings 52 and 54 are essentially mirror image trapezoidal shapes in section . it should be noted that rings 44 and 46 are manufactured to preferably be in an interference fit against the housing 14 on assembly although a clearance fit can also be used . the application of pressure represented by arrow 40 simply pushes rings 44 and 46 harder against the housing 14 . similarly , ring pairs 52 and 54 are fabricated to have an initial interference fit to the sleeve 26 although a clearance fit is also possible . force created by pressure represented by arrow 40 enhances the contact force to the sleeve 26 for the ring pairs 52 and 54 . preferably the pattern on rings that are forced toward the housing 14 is alternated with a ring pair that is forced against the sleeve 26 . it should be noted that ring pair 52 and 54 have opposed contacting radial surfaces 60 and 62 that are preferably perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve 26 . similarly , ring pair 44 and 46 has opposed radial surfaces 64 and 66 that are preferably perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve 26 . the surface pairs 50 and 56 on one side and 48 and 58 on the other side of the pair of rings 44 and 46 are shown at a preferred angle of about 15 degrees to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve 26 but a range of 0 - 45 degrees is contemplates . at 0 degrees there is no radial sliding component of force while at 45 degrees such radial force is maximized . the various rings are preferably made of a softer material than the housing 14 or the sleeve 26 to avoid scoring either of those opposing surfaces . the rings can also be coated with a lubricious material to facilitate radial movement and in that case can also be of a material that is harder than the housing 14 or the sleeve 26 . fig3 illustrates ring pairs such as 44 and 46 or 52 and 54 can be rotationally locked to each other using a combination of a projection 68 on ring 52 mating with a depression 70 on the ring 54 . the locking mechanism of projection with depression can be reversed and other types of rotational locks can be used within the spirit of the invention . the rotational locking serves to keep splits 72 and 74 on adjacent rings circumferentially offset . adjacent splits are preferably kept 180 degrees apart . end rings 34 and 36 are preferably not split but optionally can also have a split . while the figures show rotational locking only between pairs such as 44 and 46 or 52 and 54 , those skilled in the art can appreciate that ring pairs that move toward housing 14 can be optionally rotationally locked to ring pairs that move toward sleeve 26 which in effect locks all the split rings between end rings 34 and 36 together rotationally . as an alternative to having a split 72 or 74 which can incorporate butted ends cut in a plane going through the ring axis or on a skew so that the cut ends overlap , the ring can simply have a flexible portion in a complete ring to achieve the same effect . a part of the ring can have a sinusoidal component or an alternating bend pattern that allows the diameter to increase or decrease without undue resistance . the flexible portions can also be circumferentially offset and maintained in their relative positions in the manner described above . in some respect the locking feature of projection and depression can integrate some diametric flexibility that can allow elimination of the split or use in conjunction with the splits in the rings . if the splits in the rings are eliminated in favor of flexible portions on the rings then the rotational locking can be optionally omitted . as another option the rings can be made of a shape memory alloy which allows rapid assembly but on exposure to well fluids or other heat sources before initially moving the sliding sleeve 26 the rings can revert to an original shape that can have some rings moving toward sleeve 26 and alternating rings moving in an opposite direction toward the housing 14 . in that manner initial clearances on assembly are closed before operation of the sleeve 26 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the described diffuser assembly can slow down or stop migrating fluid that can potentially damage the seal in a sliding sleeve valve . the assembly uniquely has multiple components . more specifically the components can be manufactured with a bias toward the sleeve or the housing and preferably in alternating patterns . the bias can either be created in the manufacture of the rings or the shape can change using shape memory material exposed to a temperature above a critical temperature to gain at least a clearance fit but preferably an interference fit before the valve is opened . if the rings are made of shape memory alloy they may not need to have a split but can have a flexible segment . additionally , ring pairs need not be used as the reconfiguration of each ring can build into that ring movement in the desired direction toward the housing or the sleeve on an alternating basis after the critical temperature is reached . the rings can be shaped to create radial forces toward the sleeve or the housing in response to an axial force created by fluid as the valve is opened . the rings can be split for rapid assembly with the splits circumferentially offset and the relative positions held by a locking feature so that adjacent pairs can be rotationally locked to each other . the split or some flexibility in a whole ring structure also allows the rings to compensate for dimensional tolerances in the moving sleeve during operation of the valve . optionally all the pairs whether urged toward the sleeve or toward the housing can be rotationally locked to each other or to end rings or an internal housing shoulder on opposed ends of the assembly . although ring pairs are illustrated as moving radially in a given direction toward the housing or the sleeve one or more rings can be used to move in a given radial direction instead of the pairs illustrated in the figs . while the application in which the diffuser assembly is discussed in a sliding sleeve valve , other applications where an annular space is sealed and the seal is exposed to fluid flow that can potentially damage the seal can be also situations where the diffuser assembly can be deployed . the above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment and many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention whose scope is to be determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims below :	4
in a broad form of the invention with reference to fig1 there is provided a camper trailer 10 based on an integral chassis platform 11 provided at its forward end 12 with an “ a ” shaped towing hitch frame 13 , hitch mechanism 14 adapted for articulated connection to a towing motor vehicle ( not shown ), wheels 15 and suspension elements 16 at its rear end 17 . in preferred embodiments wheels 15 are placed as far back as practicable so as to leave minimum overhang at the rear of platform 11 . this arrangement facilitates the negotiation of rough terrain and significantly reduces the swaying and bouncing of conventional mid - axle trailers when towed at speed over poor road surfaces . as well , due to the greater length between towing hitch 14 and the wheels 15 , the maneuverability of backing the trailer with a tow vehicle is improved . it is a particular object of the present invention that , in so far as is possible , weight distribution is concentrated in the area overlying wheels 15 and transaxle 18 , with the overall width , height and length comparable to that of mid - sized car for ease of garaging . thus as may best be seen in the plan view of fig2 , all kitchen area 19 equipment such as cooktop 20 , propane gas bottles 21 , refrigerator 22 , water tank 23 , battery storage compartment 24 as well as a spare wheel / s storage 25 are accommodated in this area . battery and spare wheel storage compartments are accessible from separate kitchen area cupboards of the trailer . kitchen area is provided with a benchtop work space fitted with a sink and water tap and a fold - out extension 60 for added bench space . also arranged in this area as best seen in fig1 and 4 is a system of overhead storage cupboards 26 some of which are accessible from the kitchen area 19 and some from the middle portion 27 of the trailer . the placement of the bulk of the weight over the rearward mounted wheels further ads to the stability of the trailer under tow . with reference to fig1 and 2 , in preferred embodiments the forward portion 28 of trailer 10 is provided with a bathroom area 29 having fixed side walls 30 and an openable upper portion 31 . bathroom area 29 is rounded both in plan section as shown in fig2 and at its openable upper portion 31 as shown in side elevation view of fig1 so as to minimize wind resistance when towing . this forward portion of trailer 10 is fitted with chemical toilet 32 , shower 33 and handbasin 34 facilities . additionally , forward portion 28 is provided with cupboard space disposed along rear wall 40 with a portion of this cupboard space being accessible from within middle portion 27 . openable portion 31 is in the form of a hinged access hatch 35 forming the roof and part of the front wall 36 of bathroom area 29 and extending downwardly along the front of the bathroom area sufficient to allow access by a user 37 by stepping over a low fixed front wall 36 . access hatch 35 is adapted to swing forwardly and upwardly into the position shown dashed in fig1 . in this position hatch 35 provides a roof over forward portion 28 at a height allowing a user 37 of the facilities to stand under it . hatch 35 preferably is urged into its open position by suitable gas struts ( not shown ) and is further be provided with attached canvas or other flexible sheeting so arranged as to depend from hatch 35 to provide privacy to a user . this sheeting is provided with a zippered door in the front . towing hitch frame 13 is provided with a small platform area 38 and fold - down steps 39 so as to allow easy entry into bathroom area 29 . it will be appreciated that this arrangement allows the toilet facility to be used without any setting up of the trailer for camping and while still attached to the towing vehicle 56 if required , as shown in fig5 . the middle portion 27 of trailer 10 is closed off from both forward portion 28 and kitchen area 19 by internal walls 40 and 41 respectively , and provides a permanent sleeping area . middle portion 27 is further provided with fixed flexible sheeting with zippered access panels and flyscreen sections at both sides . its roof 42 is fixed , forming a continuous structural element from internal wall 40 and extending to cover kitchen area 19 . middle portion 27 is sufficiently large to accommodate a standard queen - sized mattress 43 ( or two single mattresses ) with optional fold - out bunk - bed 44 suitable for a child . access to middle portion 27 is from either side of trailer 10 by means of swing - up panels 45 . panels 45 are hinged from roof edges 46 and , when urged into fully opened positions as shown in fig3 , provide roofed accommodation annexes 47 and 48 . panels 45 may be assisted into their opened positions by for example gas struts ( not shown ) and are provided with attachable canvas or otherwise flexible sheeting so as to form enclosing side walls 49 during inclement weather , and end walls 50 around accommodation annexes 47 and 48 . entry doors 51 in the form of zippered or otherwise secured flaps are provided in suitable positions in side or end walls to give access to the accommodation annexes 47 and 48 . with reference to fig4 , kitchen area 19 is constructed with fixed side walls 52 joining roof 42 . access to the kitchen area 19 and other equipment at the rear of trailer 10 is provided by hinged panel 53 as shown in fig1 . when in its opened position as shown by dashed lines in fig1 , panel 53 provides a covered work area 54 at the rear of the trailer . being placed at the rear of trailer 10 and accessible by the opening of panel 53 the kitchen area 19 is readily available for use even during short roadside stops . optionally , when set up for camping , flexible sheeting side and end walls may be attached to panel 53 as shown in fig5 so as to form an enclosed kitchen area . kitchen area 19 is provided with drawer slide arrangements 55 for access to refrigerator 22 . propane gas bottles 21 are accommodated in an enclosed drawer , vented underneath , which may be slid rearwardly for access to the bottles . spare wheel / s are accessible via an access door provided in the rear of the middle portion . all panels 45 and 53 and hatch 35 when in the closed position are lockable and , with all equipment contained within the body of the trailer , there is a reduced likelihood of theft or damage . the above describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications , obvious to those skilled in the art , can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention .	1
with reference to fig1 and 2 , a flashlight according to the present invention is shown . the flashlight is shown mounted on rechargeable battery 1 as shown and described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 489 , 484 , hereby incorporated by reference . battery 1 includes cup - shaped positive terminal 1a at the center of the forward open end , and metallic outer casing 1b which defines the open forward end of the battery and serves as the negative terminal . the flashlight includes housing assembly 2 , turning ring 5 , head 7 and bulbholder assembly 8 . housing assembly 2 is disposed directly on the forward end of battery 1 . turning ring 5 is rotatably secured on the forward open end of housing assembly 2 . bulbholder 8 is supported within turning ring 5 . head 7 is secured upon turning ring 5 by screw - threading and is rotatable jointly with ring 5 . the flashlight utilizes conventional flashlight bulb 100 including a bulb base defined by outer cylindrical metallic terminal 102 having integral flange 101 . central terminal 103 extends from a bottom tip of the base and is surrounded by an insulator to isolate it from terminal 102 . with further reference to fig5 and 8 - 8b , housing assembly 2 further includes housing 20 including rearward cylindrical peripheral wall 23 having a rearward opening into which the forward open end of battery 1 fits . the forward end of the opening is defined by inner surface 24 which is contacted by the forward open end of battery 1 . central metallic rivet 22 is secured to and extends rearwardly from inner surface 24 and is received by positive cup - shaped terminal 1a . two peripherally disposed and bent tab - shaped terminals 21 also are secured to and extend rearwardly from inner surface 24 and receive outer metallic casing 1b of battery 1 . rivet 22 and tab - shaped terminals 21 include nubs which extend through openings in inner surface 24 to allow the circuit to be completed from the battery terminals to the opposite side of inner surface 24 . forward of inner surface 24 , housing 20 includes forwardly projecting cup - like flange 26 which has opening 26a formed in the periphery for a predefined arcuate and axial extent . bulb spring 27 is disposed in flange 26 and is linked in electrical contact with the forward nub of rivet 22 . bulb spring 27 forms a positive contact for central terminal 103 of bulb 100 . the extending nub of one of tab - shaped terminals 21 is linked in electrical contact with arcuate contact plate 28 which is disposed about flange 26 . with reference to fig2 a , terminal end portion 28a of contact plate 28 is hook - shaped and is located at the position of opening 26a , adjacent to bulb outer terminal 102 . contact plate 28 is biased radially outwardly such that terminal end portion 28a is out of contact with terminal 102 . contact plate 28 also includes radially outward projecting protuberance 28b disposed between terminal end portion 28a and the location where plate 28 is linked to the nub of tab terminal 21 . housing 20 also includes two vertical posts 30a and 30b disposed outwardly of flange 26 and extending upwardly from inner surface 24 . post 30a is disposed adjacent opening 26a and outwardly of hook portion 28a . post 30b is disposed generally opposite post 30a . vertical wall 29 also extends upwardly from inner surface 24 , and is integral with and extends outwardly from flange 26 . housing 20 includes forward cylinder wall portion 25 flaring outwardly from wall 23 , and extending forward of flange 26 . the forward end of wall portion 25 is open . arcuate undercut tabs 25a extend inwardly at opposite locations along the forward periphery of wall portion 25 . with reference to fig1 - 10c , turning ring 5 includes forward cylindrical wall 52 having outer screw - threading 52a . rearward of wall 52 , ring 5 includes integral larger diameter outer collar 54 and smaller diameter outer collar 55 which are axially spaced from each other so as to define an axial surface therebetween . two spaced arcuate recesses 56 are formed on opposite sides of this axial surface . ring 5 snaps into housing 20 with inward tabs 25a fitting within recesses 56 . recesses 56 extend for a greater arcuate extent than tabs 25a to allow limited rotation of turning ring 5 relative to housing 20 . ring 5 includes inner ledge 63 defining central opening 64 . two oppositely disposed pins 62 protrude into opening 54 from ledge 63 . arcuate rib 58 extends downwardly from ledge 63 on one side of central opening 64 . rib 58 has end surfaces 58a and 58b and includes lower horizontal portion 59 extending inwardly beneath opening 64 . horizontal portion 59 further includes inner vertical wall 60 which extends for a limited arcuate extent and terminates at end 58b . though not shown , a second arcuate rib may extend downwardly along the opposite side of opening 64 . though not visible in fig2 and 3 , rib 58 also is shown in the cross - sectional view of fig4 . as shown in fig2 a , when turning ring 5 is snapped onto housing 20 , rib 58 is disposed between vertical posts 30a and 30b . inner vertical wall 60 is disposed radially outwardly of contact plate 28 . the rotation of turning ring 5 relative to housing 20 is limited in either direction by contact of circumferential end surfaces 58a and 58b of rib 58 with vertical posts 30a and 30b . at one limit of rotation , one circumferential end surface 58a contacts vertical post 30b . at this position , vertical inner wall 60 terminates at a position which is closer to vertical post 30a than protuberance 28a , that is , inner wall 60 is not adjacent to the protuberance . however , rotation of ring 5 causes vertical inner wall 60 to move adjacent and past protuberance 28a , until the inner wall contacts post 30b . with reference to fig7 - 7c and 9a - b , bulb holder 8 is disclosed . bulb holder 8 includes bulb holder base 80 and retainer or locking ring 90 . base 80 includes a surface portion defining a central opening 84 having a radius which is slightly larger than bulb outer contact 102 , but less than the radius of bulb flange 101 . base 80 also includes two raised tabs 82 at opposite locations of the surface portion . tabs 82 include outward overhanging portions 82a at the upper ends . locking ring 90 includes central opening 96 of approximately the same radius as central opening 84 , and two arcuate slots 92 disposed at opposite circumferential locations . arcuate slots 92 have a substantially constant inner diameter , and a stepped outer diameter such that a portion of the slots have a reduced radial thickness . ring 90 also includes two fins 94 extending upwardly from the upper surface at opposite circumferential locations which are approximately 90 ° from the locations of the slots . bulb 100 is secured in holder 8 by inserting the bulb base through opening 84 of base 80 , with bulb flange 101 resting on the surface . ring 90 is disposed upon base 80 , with the bulb lamp fitting within opening 96 , and raised tabs 82 including overhanging portions 82a fitting within the larger radial thickness portions of arcuate slots 92 . ring 90 is twisted relative to base 80 by grasping fins 94 , such that tabs 82 move within the reduced radial thickness portions of slots 92 . overhanging portions 82a are disposed above the surface of ring 90 to secure the ring on the base . ring 90 fits over bulb flange 101 , thereby securing bulb 100 in the axial direction within holder 8 . base 80 includes outer collar 81 extending downwardly from the surface portion and having a radius approximately equal to the radius of opening 64 in turning ring 5 . outer collar 81 includes helical cam slots 85 formed at opposite locations . slots 85 begin at openings in the lowermost surface of collar 81 , and extend laterally upwardly along the collar , terminating at the surface portion of base 80 . slots 85 cause the wall portions of collar 81 to have flexibility in the radial direction . the ends of flexible wall portions include outward tabs 81a . bulb holder base 80 also includes inner collar 83 disposed slightly outwardly of central opening 84 . inner collar 83 includes vertical slot 87 extending to the surface portion of the base . base 8 is secured in turning ring 5 by disposing outer collar 81 through opening 64 . the flexible walls are pressed inwardly to pass collar 81 through the opening . as shown in phantom in fig7 c , pins 62 extend within helical cam openings 85 . tabs 81a of the wall portions extend below ledge 63 of ring 5 . when turning ring 5 is disposed on housing 20 as described above , vertical wall 29 extending from inner surface 24 of the housing fits within vertical opening 87 of base 80 thereby precluding rotation of base 80 and holder 8 . therefore , rotation of turning ring 5 causes pins 62 to move laterally within helical cam slots 85 . since the vertical position of pins 62 is fixed , base 80 must move vertically ( axially ) up or down to accommodate rotation of pins 62 . retainer ring 90 and bulb 100 retained thereby move with base 80 . accordingly , rotation of ring 5 relative to housing 20 causes axially upward or downward movement of bulb 100 . with reference to fig4 and 5 , head section 7 includes screw - threaded bezel 70 , lens 74 and reflector 72 . bezel 70 includes inner recesses 70a and reflector 72 includes tab 72a about the periphery . by insertion of tab 72a in recesses 70a , bezel 70 , lens 74 and reflector are secured together , with the reflector held stationary in the vertical direction . this combined assembly is fixedly secured to ring 5 by the screw - threading . after bezel 70 is secured to ring 5 by rotating the bezel relative to the ring , further rotation of bezel 70 causes joint rotation of ring 5 . therefore rotation of bezel 70 causes axial movement of bulb 100 , as well as rotational movement of rib 58 . bulb fits within a central opening of reflector 72 , and moves axially relative thereto . in operation , as shown in fig2 and 2a , with the flashlight initially off , pins 62 are located near the open ends of helical grooves 85 , which is the lowest - most point in the vertical direction . bulb holder 8 is in the uppermost position relative to turning ring 5 , and bulb 100 is in the uppermost position relative to reflector 72 . bulb spring 27 is in an extended state so as to make contact with central contact 103 of bulb 100 . end 58a of rib 58 abuts vertical post 30b , and vertical wall 60 of rib 58 is disposed out of contact with protuberance 28b . accordingly , hook end portion 28a of contact 28 is biased radially outwardly relative to opening 26a of flange 26 , and therefore is not in contact with outer terminal 102 of bulb 100 . the circuit is open , and bulb 100 is not illuminated . with reference to fig2 b , bezel 70 and turning ring 5 are then rotated relative to housing 20 . the initial rotation causes inner vertical wall 60 of rib 58 to slide over protuberance 28b , thereby pushing protuberance 28b and hook end 28a of contact 28 radially inwardly . hook end 28a moves inwardly relative to opening 26a of flange 26 and contacts outer terminal 102 of bulb 100 to complete the circuit and illuminate the bulb . simultaneously , pins 62 begin to travel along helical groove 85 of base 80 , forcing base 80 to begin traveling downwardly . thus , bulb 100 begins to move downwardly relative to reflector 72 . at the time of initial illumination , bulb 100 is at the maximum spacing above reflector 72 . accordingly , the light is focused in a narrow beam or spotlight pattern . with reference to fig3 and 3a , bezel 70 and turning ring 5 may be further rotated until end 58b of rib 58 contacts opposite vertical post 30a . throughout the extent of this further rotation , vertical wall 60 of rib 58 is maintained in contact with protuberance 28a and bulb 100 remains illuminated . however , the continued movement of pins 62 in helical cam grooves 85 causes continued downward movement of bulb holder 8 and bulb 100 . as bulb 100 moves closer to reflector 72 , the reflected light is dispersed to a wider , unfocussed beam . throughout , the extent of axial movement , bulb spring 27 remains in contact with bulb 100 . the circuit may be opened by rotation of bezel 70 and ring 5 in the opposite direction . further rotation , which is opposite of the direction in which bezel 70 was rotated to secure it on ring 5 , will cause bezel 70 to be unscrewed from ring 5 . bezel 70 may be removed in this manner to allow access to retainer ring 90 of bulb holder 8 . retainer ring 90 may be rotated relative to base 80 by grasping fins 94 until the tabs 82 align with the thicker portions of slots 92 and removed from base 80 , allowing the bulb to be replaced . in the figures , housing wall 21 is shown as truncated , such that the user would hold battery 1 to use the flashlight . of course , the present invention also is applicable to flashlights in which the wall extends further along the battery so as to more completely surround - the battery , and if desired , entirely encase the battery .	5
on the transmit side , skew can be injected on a per - lane basis to compensate for any skew added by the system , such as field programmable gate array ( fpga ) startup conditions . this injected skew achieves compliancy as specified by applicable standards , such as sxi - 5 . to determine how much skew should be injected to meet these standards , the following algorithm is implemented . the present invention consists of n + 1 transceivers for the purposes of data transmission and reception . the system is designed such that a deskewing algorithm can be used to determine the necessary per - lane skew to be added for total lane alignment . the term “ deskewing algorithm ”, as used herein , refers to a calibration method to achieve total lane alignment with respect to a desired lane - to - lane skew goal , usually defined by standards such as sxi - 5 . these standards often specify skew related characteristics in terms of the unit interval , or ui . ui is calculated via 1 /( data bit rate ). the method uses an iterative process to determine the correct combination of skew injection parameters for each transmitting lane . in order to determine this suitable combination , skew is systematically injected into each lane . on the receive side , a feedback signal is necessary to give status updates as to alignment of the lane . this feedback signal may be specific to the particular lane or can be an aggregation of some or all of the lanes . when alignment is successful , the feedback signal will indicate this success , thus indicating that the correct amount of skew has been injected and proper deskewing has occurred . if the feedback signal is particular to a single lane , then the process of injecting skew will have to be performed for each lane . for an aggregated feedback signal , the process of injecting skew will occur on all lanes , as only one combination will satisfy the aggregated status . this process will take much longer as the search space of combinations will be much larger . the system of the present invention enables the deskewing of lanes through the use of a deskewing algorithm . the following examples will illustrate the workings of possible systems in more detail . these examples will deal with smaller 3 transceiver systems . the 3 transceiver example is easily expandable into an sfi - 5 system with 17 transceivers , or any other transceiver - based system . transceivers are herein referred to also as mgts ( multi - gigabit transceivers ). the following examples are set forth to gain a better understanding of the algorithm portion of the invention described herein . these examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and they should not limit the scope of this invention in any way . the system in this case has a feedback signal for each individual lane that reports on the successful , error - free reception of the data stream on that particular lane . error free reception is expected when an appropriate amount of skew has been injected on the individual lane relative to a reference lane . when one lane &# 39 ; s feedback signal reports the correct alignment , the process begins with the next lane , until all lanes have been aligned and thus deskewed . this system is shown in fig1 . in example 1 , there is a plurality of feedback signals — one for each lane as illustrated in fig1 . the variables and constants used in this example are defined as : for the three mgt system , there is an out - of - alignment alarm for each lane , labeled ooa — 0 , ooa — 1 , and ooa — 2 . each alarm will report an error should one occur on its respective lane . these alarms are expected to remain set if the correct alignment has not occurred , and are expected to clear within a specified time ( t ) if correct alignment has been achieved . the search space , s , refers to the maximum ui that a lane may be expected to be out of alignment . with reference to the applicable standard , there is typically a specification as to the maximum allowable skew tolerance in order to achieve compliancy with said standard . for the sxi - 5 standard , that maximum allowable skew tolerance between lanes is set at 5 ui . the search space interval , i , must be set at a value less than this skew tolerance . to achieve the fastest possible search times , it is best to set the search space interval at 1 ui below the skew tolerance level specified in the applicable standard . thus , with reference to the sxi - 5 standard , the search space interval , i , should be set to 4 . for the purposes of this example , the search space , s , will be set at 20 ui , which is an arbitrary choice , with the search space interval , i , set to 4 ui . this gives five possible sets of interval choices for each lane , i . e . from 0 - 4 , 8 - 12 , 12 - 16 , and 16 - 20 . the process begins with lane 0 set in the first interval position . if the out - of - alignment alarm , ooa — 0 , indicates an alarm condition after a specified wait - time ( t ), then the lane realigns to the next interval position . again , the ooa — 0 alarm is checked and if the alarm condition is still active the next interval position is tested . this process continues until the ooa — 0 alarm indicates alignment for a specific interval position or the entire search space has been exhausted . for this reason it is important to choose the search space such that it is large enough to take in the maximum expected lane skew deviation . assuming the ooa — 0 alarm indicates that lane 0 has achieved alignment , the process begins for the next lane , lane 1 . when the alarm for lane 1 , ooa — 1 , indicates successful alignment , the process continues for lane 3 . when the alarms for each lane have achieved alignment , the process ends . the maximum amount of search intervals for this example that have to be traversed through is 15 , i . e . five intervals for each of the three lanes . in order to determine the maximum amount of search intervals for a different system , the following variables need to be known : therefore , the maximum amount of search intervals , c , can be determined through the following formula : in order to determine an approximate maximum time for the searching process , the maximum amount of search intervals must be multiplied by the time , t , necessary to wait for an ooa alarm check . thus the maximum wait time , t , is given by : by following this process , all lanes can be deskewed sequentially to provide total lane alignment in compliancy with relevant standards , such as sxi - 5 . the system in this case has a feedback signal that reports the aggregated status across all lanes , i . e . there is only one feedback signal for the entire system . thus only when every lane has been deskewed will the feedback signal report success . this system is shown in fig2 . in example 2 , there is one aggregated feedback signal , i . e . the combination of all feedback signals as illustrated in fig2 . if there is an out - of - alignment error for either lane , the aggregated signal will report an error . the variables and constants used in this example are defined as : for the three mgt system , there is an aggregated out - of - alignment alarm combining the status for each lane , labeled ooa . the alarm will report an error should one occur on any lane . the search space , s , refers to the maximum ui that a lane may be expected to be out of alignment . with reference to the applicable standard , there is typically a specification as to the maximum allowable skew tolerance in order to achieve compliancy with said standard . for the sxi - 5 standard , that maximum allowable skew tolerance between lanes is set at 5 ui . the search space interval , i , must be set at a value less than this skew tolerance . to achieve the fastest possible search times , it is best to set the search space interval at 1 ui below the skew tolerance level specified in the applicable standard . thus , with reference to the sxi - 5 standard , the search space interval , i , should be set to 4 . for the purposes of this example , the search space , s , will be set at 20 ui , which is an arbitrary choice , with the search space interval , i , set to 4 ui . this gives five possible sets of interval choices for each lane , i . e . from 0 - 4 , 8 - 12 , 12 - 16 , and 16 - 20 . the process begins with all lanes set in the first interval position . if the out - of - alignment alarm , ooa , indicates an alarm condition after a specified wait - time then the first lane realigns to the next interval position . again , the ooa alarm is checked and if the alarm condition is still active the next interval position for the first lane is tested . this process continues for all five interval positions . if the ooa alarm still indicates an alarm condition then the next lane can be iterated through , while still iterating through the first lane . this process can be lengthy as since there is only one global alarm making the range of combinations much larger . the process ends when the ooa alarm indicates alignment for a specific interval position on each lane or the entire search space has been exhausted . for this reason it is important to choose the search space such that it is large enough to take in the maximum expected lane skew deviation . the maximum amount of search intervals for this example that have to be traversed through is 125 , i . e . five intervals for each of the three lanes . in order to determine the maximum amount of search intervals for a different system , the following variables need to be known : therefore , the maximum amount of search intervals , c , can be determined through the following formula : in order to determine an approximate maximum time for the searching process , the maximum amount of search intervals must be multiplied by the time , t , necessary to wait for an ooa alarm check . thus the maximum wait time , t , is given by : by following this process , all lanes can be deskewed to provide total lane alignment in compliancy with relevant standards , such as sxi - 5 . the previously explained deskewing methods are only considered as examples . different configurations of each are possible as long as deskewing is achieved . combined configurations , such as multiple aggregated signals for groups of lanes , are also possible as long as deskewing is achieved . in order to inject the appropriate amount of skew into each lane to traverse the different search space intervals , the unaligned transmit ( tx ) data lines enter a buffer for the purposes of lane deskewing . the skew values to be injected for each lane are supplied to the buffer . the buffer then bit shifts each lane the appropriate amount to move to a different alignment position as specified by the search space intervals . a representation of a possible embodiment of this injection system is shown in fig3 . the output from the buffer is the re - aligned tx data lines , which can then be tested for compliancy against the skew specifications for relevant standards , as per the description of the algorithm .	7
reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter , one or more examples of which are set forth below . each embodiment is provided by way of explanation , not limitation , of the subject matter . in fact , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure . for instance , features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment , may be used in another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment . thus , it is intended that the present disclosure cover such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . in general , the present disclosure is directed to an improved water valve and methods for regulating fluid flow . copending application ser . no . 13 / 804 , 835 , filed contemporaneously herewith , is also directed to valves and fluid regulation and is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference . fig2 illustrates a plan view of one possible embodiment of water valve 100 of this disclosure . fig3 shows a cross sectional view of water valve 100 . as fig3 illustrates , a chamber 102 includes an inlet 101 and an outlet 103 . anchor 104 is disposed in chamber 102 and engages a pull element 106 . a sealing cylinder 108 in chamber 102 engages pull element 106 . membrane 110 is also located in chamber 102 and includes proximal surface 112 facing toward inlet 101 and distal surface 114 facing away from inlet 101 . membrane 110 may define a central cavity 116 . in some embodiments , membrane 110 may only define a single opening or passage extending from the proximal to distal face through membrane 110 , such as central cavity 116 . in other embodiments , membrane 110 may contain additional openings aside from central cavity 116 . however , in a preferred embodiment , membrane 110 only defines a single passage , central cavity 116 , extending through membrane 110 . membrane 110 may define a continuous , unbroken substantially radial surface 118 surrounding and extending from central cavity 116 . membrane 110 may also engage sealing cylinder 108 . engagement between membrane 110 and sealing cylinder 108 may be accomplished by frictional engagement between membrane 110 and sealing cylinder 108 . alternatively , sealing cylinder 108 may include a contoured or shaped geometry to engage , hold or otherwise interface with central cavity 116 . further , various mating configurations such as a male / female arrangement , tooth and slot , dovetail , etc ., may be used for engaging membrane 110 and sealing cylinder 108 . in a preferred embodiment , the inner diameter of membrane 110 may be sized smaller than the outer diameter of sealing cylinder 108 in order to ensure tight engagement between the two . sealing cylinder 108 may engage the main valve seat at a distal portion of sealing cylinder 122 located toward inlet 101 and outlet 103 . this engagement may be enhanced by incorporating flat seal 128 , which can be made from synthetics , rubbers or plastics . flat seal 128 , as well as any ring seal , ring seal rods , or membranes discussed herein , may be formed from rubber such as hnbr , nbr , or epdm . flat seal 128 may also be formed from neoprene , silicone and soft plastics . flat seal 128 may partially or completely surround sealing cylinder 108 and engage main valve seat 124 . flat seal 128 may be circular or otherwise shaped as known to those of skill in the art . flat seal 128 may engage sealing cylinder 122 by frictional engagement , mating geometries , adhesives , welding , etc ., as known to those of skill in the art . in one preferred embodiment , flat seal 128 is held in place by surrounding sealing cylinder 108 and being held in place between flat seal upper engagement surface 132 and flat seal lower engagement surface 134 of sealing cylinder 122 . sealing cylinder 122 may also form the small valve seat 120 as well as define small valve seat opening 130 by defining an opening in the proximal portion of sealing cylinder 108 through which fluid may flow once pull element 106 loses contact with sealing cylinder 108 . sealing cylinder 108 may also define an interior passage 122 through which fluid entering small valve seat opening 130 may flow and eventually escape via outlet 103 . fig4 illustrates water valve 100 with anchor 104 in a first position 200 . movement of anchor 104 may be effectuated by means known to those of skill in the art such as hydraulic activation , pneumatic , piezoelectric , electromagnetic , etc . reversal of the movement may be accomplished by deactivating the motivating means . in a preferred embodiment , electromagnet 202 and spring 204 work together to position anchor 104 within sleeve 206 contained within chamber 102 . anchor 104 is preferably corrosion resistant and formed from magnetic steel . it slides within sleeve 206 and may have specific geometries 208 on proximal surface 209 , closest to inlet 101 , that engages with pull element 106 , for instance , a round mating geometry may be formed on proximal surface 209 , or other shapes as known to those of skill in the art , that enable anchor 104 to engage and pull or push pull element 106 into and out of engagement with sealing cylinder 108 . spring 204 may be placed circumferentially around anchor 104 . a bobbin 208 may surround and enclose spring 204 and anchor 104 . a coil 210 may circumferentially , or otherwise as known to those of skill in the art , engage bobbin 208 surrounding at least a portion of bobbin 208 . in anchor first position 200 , electromagnet 202 is not activated . pull element 106 sits atop sealing cylinder 108 and closes small valve seat 120 and small valve seat opening 130 . water or fluid flowing into inlet 101 , shown by arrow a , flows through filter 126 , shown by arrow b , through fluid passage 212 , shown by arrow c , and engages distal surface 114 of membrane 110 , shown by arrows d . in anchor position 200 , the force generated by pressure on membrane distal surface 114 is greater than the force generated by pressure on membrane proximal surface 112 . small valve seat 120 and small valve seat opening 130 are both closed by pull element 106 , thereby preferably preventing any fluid flow through the interior 122 of sealing cylinder 108 and out via outlet 103 . fig5 illustrates anchor 104 in an anchor second position 300 . activation of electromagnet 202 , or other motivating means as known to those of skill in the art , moves anchor 104 , compresses spring 204 , and thereby moves pull element 106 , which is engaged to anchor 104 , away from sealing cylinder 108 . movement of pull element 106 thus opens small valve seat 120 and small valve opening 130 . based on this movement , water or fluid flowing into inlet 101 , shown by arrow a , flows through filter 126 , shown by arrow b , through fluid passage 212 , shown by arrow c , and engages distal surface 114 of membrane 110 , shown by arrow d . now , with small valve seat 120 and small valve seat opening 130 both open , water can flow through small valve seat 120 and small valve seat opening 130 , shown by arrow e . water or fluid may then pass through the interior 122 of sealing cylinder 108 , shown by arrow f , and exit valve 100 via outlet 103 , as shown by arrow g . in this configuration , pressure is still exerted on distal membrane surface 114 , but this pressure is now lessened due to water or fluid flowing through small valve seat 120 and small valve seat opening 130 and out of valve 100 via outlet 103 . fig6 illustrates anchor 104 in an anchor third position 400 . in anchor third position 400 , electromagnet 202 , or other motivating means as known to those of skill in the art , further moves anchor 104 distally , away from inlet 101 , further compresses spring 204 , and thereby further moves pull element 106 . as shown in fig6 , engagement portion 402 of pull element 106 contacts engagement surface 404 of sealing chamber 108 . this allows pull element 106 to move or displace sealing chamber 108 distally , away from inlet 101 , in order remove sealing chamber 108 from engagement or contact with main valve seat 124 in order to open main valve seat 124 . engagement between sealing chamber 108 and main valve seat 124 may occur directly , whereby a surface of sealing chamber 108 contacts and occludes or blocks main valve seat 124 . alternatively , engagement between sealing chamber 108 and main valve seat 124 may occur via flat seal 128 . flat seal 128 may partially or completely encircle or surround sealing cylinder 108 and may engage main valve seat 124 in order to block or occlude main valve seat 124 . as fig6 illustrates , movement of sealing cylinder 108 distally , away from inlet 101 , removes flat seal 128 from blocking or occluding main valve seat 124 , thereby opening the main valve seat 124 . as fig6 shows , anchor position 400 allows water or fluid to flow into valve 100 via inlet 101 , shown by arrow a . however , because main valve seat 124 and main valve seat opening 406 are open , water now flows and engages filter 126 , the lower portion of sealing cylinder 108 , as well as flat seal 128 , as well as flows toward main valve seat 124 , as shown by arrows h . further , water may then flow out main valve seat opening 406 and exit via the valve 100 outlet 103 , illustrated by arrow i . in anchor position 400 , water or fluid flow through passage 212 of sealing cylinder 108 is substantially reduced and may altogether cease . while some very minimal flow may still be possible , this is unlikely given that the diameter of the flow path created by opening main valve seat 124 and exposing main valve seat opening 406 is much greater than the diameter of the control path formed by fluid passage 212 and small valve set 120 and small valve seat opening 130 . this is also the case for water or fluid flow through small valve seat 120 and small valve seat opening 130 based on the water through inlet 101 now seeking the path of least resistance , escaping through main valve seat 124 and main valve seat opening 406 and exiting via outlet 103 . in the configuration illustrated by fig6 , pressure on membrane distal surface 114 is significantly less than the pressure on membrane proximal surface 112 , facing toward inlet 101 . moreover , membrane 110 , as shown by fig6 , due to the effects of the motivating means , such as , for example , electromagnet 202 , and of the changed pressure differential between the membrane &# 39 ; s proximal 112 and distal 114 surfaces has now “ flexed ” distally , away from inlet 101 , in order to further assist with moving sealing cylinder 108 distally and opening main valve seat 124 and main valve seat opening 406 . this further promotes fluid exiting via outlet 103 as a the movement of membrane 110 further opens the cavity 408 containing main valve seat 124 and thereby allowing a larger volume to flow through and exit via main valve seat opening 406 . as fig6 shows , in the anchor third position 400 , water or fluid flows substantially from the inlet 101 and exits via outlet 103 without flowing through passage 212 and the fluid flow through filter 126 is substantially , or altogether , reduced , as is any flow through small valve seat 120 or small valve seat opening 130 . indeed , this flow arrangement may clean filter 126 as water or fluid will engage the outward facing portion 410 of filter 126 and remove any detritus or debris , not shown , affixed thereto . thus , water passes substantially or predominately from the inlet to the outlet without being filtered and may even clean filter 126 used for water flowing through passage 212 to engage membrane distal surface 114 . while anchor 104 is described by the term “ position ” with respect to fig4 - 6 , those of skill in the art will recognize that a multitude , or range , of positions are possible as described herein based on the disclosure pertaining to a respective figure of a particular anchor “ position .” the disclosure should not be considered or limited to anchor 104 as disposed statically or rigidly or in a particular fixed position via the positions illustrated in fig4 - 6 . variations and various placements of anchor 104 may accomplish the results described in each of fig4 - 6 and multiple such positions are not only possible but are herein fully supported and disclosed as would be recognized by those of skill in the art . fig7 illustrates one possible embodiment of a sealing cylinder 500 engaged with a pull element 502 . fig7 shows sealing cylinder 500 engaged with pull element 502 , which is also engaged with anchor 504 . as explained herein , when the anchor is displaced distally , away from the inlet , this effects movement in pull element 502 due to the mating geometry coupling anchor 504 with pull element 502 . pull element 502 and anchor 504 may have various capture or mating geometries 522 . this may include specific shapes for engaging with one another . anchor 504 and / or pull element 502 may be shaped or formed and may be ridged , curved , include flanges , grooves , struts , supports , or otherwise be formed to securely engage and / or hold to one another and not separate , especially during movement of anchor 504 under influence of motivating means such as electromagnet 202 . the mating geometries may include a male / female arrangement of corresponding structures as known to those of skill in the art . anchor 504 may additionally be shaped , as known to those of skill in the art , to allow water to pass over or around its surface in order to not impede flow during operation . pull element 502 may be formed from rubbers as described herein . in a preferred embodiment , pull element 502 is formed from rubber soft enough to seal small valve seat 120 but hard enough to maintain its shape when effecting movement of sealing cylinder 108 . sealing cylinder 500 may define an engagement chamber 524 for receiving pull element 502 . engagement chamber 524 allows for pull element 502 to initially separate from small valve seat 508 to open small valve seat opening 510 , without effecting movement of sealing cylinder 500 . this may be accomplished , as illustrated in one embodiment shown in fig7 , by having engagement chamber 524 shaped to allow pull element 502 to slidably move , both distally , away from the inlet , not shown , and proximally , toward the inlet , not shown , with respect to small valve seat 508 . thus , pull element 502 is capable of opening small valve seat 508 and small valve seat opening 510 without requiring movement of sealing cylinder 500 . thereby providing access to sealing cylinder interior 514 . further , in order to displace sealing cylinder 500 and / or flat seal 512 from a main valve seat , not shown , pull element 502 may be essentially ‘ t ’ shaped with respect to the portion of pull element 502 enclosed or captured by engagement chamber 524 of sealing cylinder 500 . while shown as ‘ t ’ shaped , one skilled in the art would recognize that other shapes and configurations are also possible . a pull element engagement surface 518 , may be formed on a distal surface 526 , facing away from the inlet , and may engage with a sealing cylinder engagement surface 520 formed on a proximal surface 528 , facing toward the inlet , that may be formed in an upper portion of engagement chamber 524 . by engagement of the respective engagement surfaces 518 and 520 , anchor 504 , via pull element 502 , may effectuate movement of sealing cylinder 500 away from a main valve seat , not shown . filter 516 may partially or full encircle sealing cylinder 500 . in a preferred embodiment , filter 516 encircles a portion of sealing cylinder 500 and covers sealing cylinder fluid passage 506 in order to filter fluid passing through fluid passage 506 . filter 516 may be welded , affixed with adhesives , “ snap fit ” or otherwise engaged with sealing cylinder 500 as known to those of skill in the art . filter 516 may be formed from wire , plastic mesh , perforated metal , or shaped plastic cylinders . in a preferred embodiment , filter 516 may be press - fitted onto sealing cylinder 500 . fig8 illustrates an enlarged , cut - away view of a fluid passage in a sealing cylinder 500 . fluid passage 506 may defined in sealing cylinder 500 either by boring , molding , heat forming , etc ., as known to those of skill in the art . in a preferred embodiment , allowed a slight overlap during molding may be used to form passage 506 . as fig8 illustrates , filter 516 covers fluid passage 506 such that only water or fluid entering passage 506 is filtered prior to exiting passage 506 . this arrangement may help prolong valve life as only a small or “ control ” portion of the water — control in the sense that the water or fluid entering passage 506 helps “ control ” closure of the valve due to exerting pressure on the distal surface 114 , facing away from the inlet , side of membrane 110 — entering the valve , as opposed to all water entering the inlet as discloses in various prior art mechanisms , needs to be filtered in order to maintain the integrity of the valve and prevent occlusion of the small valve seat 508 , small valve seat opening 510 and / or to prevent debris from interfering with the seal between pull element 502 and valve seat 508 or opening 510 . this also protects the membrane , not shown , from abrasion or other physical damage caused by debris or detritus in the water supply as filter 516 removes and screens same prior to water or fluid encountering the membrane . further , in a preferred embodiment , the diameter of fluid passage 506 is less than or smaller than the diameter of small valve seat opening 510 . even further , all openings in the flow line subsequent to water or fluid flowing through fluid passage 506 may be larger in diameter than the diameter of small valve seat opening 510 . fig8 also illustrates membrane engagement surface 525 formed into the exterior of sealing cylinder 500 . membrane 110 , not shown , may engage to sealing cylinder 500 via frictional engagement , mating geometries as described herein or known to those of skill in the art , adhesives , or other means as known to those of skill in the art . as fig8 discloses , lower lip 528 and upper lip 530 may serve to hold membrane 110 in engagement with the exterior of sealing cylinder 500 . fig9 shows a plan view of one embodiment of a sealing cylinder of the present disclosure . fig1 is a top down view of the sealing cylinder of fig9 . sealing cylinder 500 may be shaped to not impede water flow from water entering the control chamber , or membrane influencing , portion of the water valve via fluid passage 506 . this includes forming sealing cylinder 506 with open structures , such as engagement chamber 524 , so that water exiting fluid passage 506 may engage the distal surface of the membrane , not shown without being impeded by sealing cylinder 500 . fluid passage 506 , as shown in fig1 , may be created by allowing a small overlap when an injection molding arrangement is used to form sealing cylinder 500 . fig1 shows a plan view of one embodiment of a pull element of the present disclosure . pull element 502 may be solid or hollow . in a preferred embodiment , pull element 502 is hollow and defines a cavity 532 for containing mating geometry 522 , not shown , for affixing pull element 502 to anchor 504 , not shown . fig1 shows a cross - sectional view of the pull element of fig1 . pull element 502 includes cavity 532 that houses mating geometry 522 to allow for secure engagement between anchor 504 , not shown , and pull element 502 . mating geometry 522 may be shaped to have a specific engagement contour , shape , or geometry with anchor 504 , such as male / female engagement , tongue in groove , twist engagement , or other specific geometries as known to those of skill in the art . pull element 502 may also include engagement surface 520 for contacting and pulling sealing cylinder 500 , not shown . pull element 502 may be formed from various materials . in a preferred embodiment , pull element 502 is formed from rubber as well , including hnbr , nbr , or epdm . epdm ( ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber ) is preferred because of its resistance to chlorine that may be present in water supplies . fig1 illustrates one embodiment for a membrane 960 that may be employed in a valve as disclosed herein . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional view of fig1 . while fig1 and 14 illustrate membrane 960 as having a generally circular appearance , the membrane may be shaped in any manner known to those of skill in the art in order to fit and function within water valve 100 , this includes but is not limited to oblong , ellipses , squares , rectangles , triangles , polygons , etc . the membrane may be constructed from suitable flexible materials , including but not limited to rubbers , silicones , neoprenes , etc . membrane 960 preferably is flexible to accommodate position shifts , as well as flexing under influence by anchor 504 and / or water pressure on the membrane &# 39 ; s proximal surface , facing toward the inlet , during use in water valve 100 . as fig1 illustrates , membrane 960 may have specifically shaped sealing geometries for engaging sealing cylinder 500 , membrane sealing chamber geometry 962 , as well as geometries for engaging sleeve 206 such as membrane sleeve geometry 964 . these sealing geometries render membrane 960 impervious to water flowing through the membrane as well as ensure a water - tight engagement between membrane 960 and sleeve 206 as well as sealing cylinder 500 . membrane 960 is free from openings that would allow water to pass through the membrane 960 , central cavity 116 , as discussed above , engages and seals against sealing cylinder 500 . membrane 960 may also have sleeve engagement features 966 for engaging sleeve 206 . while fig1 illustrates six sleeve engagement features 966 , the disclosure is not so limited and more or less sleeve engagement features 966 may be present ranging from one continuous engagement feature to separated features having one , two , three , four , five , six , or more separate sleeve engagement features 966 . membrane 960 should also be able to withstand pressure . for instance , in a preferred embodiment membrane 960 should be able to withstand a pressure of 24 bar , but lower and higher pressures are also included in this disclosure . for instance , membrane 960 should be able to withstand pressures ranging between 0 - 24 bar , including ranges therein such as 0 - 5 bar , 5 - 10 bar , 15 - 20 bar , and 20 - 24 bar , including individual pressures contained therein . membrane 960 may also be formed with engagements such as 966 to lock the membrane into engagement with connecting members . membrane 960 may also include a pressure ring 961 for engaging with sealing cylinder 500 via exerting pressure for frictional or other contact with membrane engagement surface 526 . fig1 is a cross sectional view of fig1 and shows proximal surface 845 ( inlet facing ) and distal surface 843 ( facing away from the inlet ). membrane 960 serves to seal the portions of water valve 100 containing the distal membrane surface 843 and proximal membrane surface 845 from one another as well as to prevent leakage around sealing chamber 500 . fig1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of membrane 700 that may be employed in the present disclosure . membrane 700 includes engagement members 702 for locking membrane 700 in place with opposing connecting members , not shown . membrane 700 also includes pressure ring 704 for engaging with sealing cylinder 500 via pressure or frictional engagement at membrane engagement surface 526 . membrane 700 has a distal surface 706 facing away from inlet 101 and a proximal surface 708 facing toward inlet 101 . membrane 700 also includes raised protrusions 710 that help prevent sticking between membrane 700 and any features in water valve 100 that may come into contact with membrane 700 in either its “ relaxed ” position in the anchor first position or its “ flexed ” configuration in the anchor third position or for positions between these two . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional view of the membrane of fig1 . the current disclosure presents several advances over the prior art including a membrane free of holes , other than the central cavity 116 , that may become clogged by detritus or require completely filtered water . also , a smaller portion of water entering the valve is filtered , just the portion of water eventually contacting membrane distal surface 114 and / or passing through small valve seat 120 , as opposing to valve mechanisms that filter the entire volume of water entering the valve , thus leading to increased clogs that damage the valve and require periodic maintenance or upkeep , or valve replacement . further , opening of main valve seat 124 is accomplished by dual action of the pressure differential between the membrane proximal and distal surfaces and movement of the anchor . this arrangement also helps maintain the valve in a closed position when the anchor is not activated as pressure on the membrane distal surface 114 keeps sealing cylinder 108 in place on main valve seat 124 . further , filter 126 not only filters only a small portion of water entering valve 100 but it can be cleansed by water or fluid flowing over filter outer facing 410 and sweeping the debris along with the fluid flow out outlet 103 . also , by increasing the diameter of the control water pathway from its initiating point at fluid passage 212 through small valve seat opening 130 and main valve seat opening 406 , this encourages fluid flow from the control portion of the mechanism ( the area containing the membrane distal surface 114 ) as the anchor and membrane open small valve seat 120 and eventually main valve seat 124 . the small diameter of fluid passage 212 also discourages water from entering the control portion when main valve seat 124 is open , thus relieving pressure on the distal membrane surface 114 and reducing the amount of energy required to keep main valve seat 124 open . when small valve seat 120 , and therefore small valve seat opening 130 , are closed , pressure from inlet 101 through passage 212 and surrounding sealing cylinder 108 and both sides of membrane 110 are equal . pressure in sealing cylinder interior 122 through main valve seat 124 and outlet 103 is at ambient pressure . when anchor 104 moves to the anchor first position 200 , pressure in the valve changes . pressure on membrane distal surface 114 is now less than pressure on membrane proximal surface 112 but the pressure on membrane distal surface 114 remains higher than the ambient pressure existing in sealing cylinder interior 122 , main valve seat 124 and outlet 103 . here , fluid exits via small valve seat 120 but flow through passage 212 to enter the control portion of the valve ( the portion of the valve allowing for pressure to be exerted on membrane distal surface 114 ) is significantly reduced or ceases altogether as fluid flows through small valve seat 120 faster than it can enter passage 212 . this pressure differential begins to lift membrane 110 . when main valve seat 124 and main valve seat opening 406 are opened , pressure through inlet 101 , fluid passage 212 , on both sides of membrane 110 , and in main valve seat 124 are equal , while outlet 103 is subject to ambient pressure . as used herein the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural referents . the term “ combination ” is inclusive of blends , mixtures , alloys , reaction products , and the like . unless defined otherwise , technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of skill . compounds are described using standard nomenclature . the term “ and a combination thereof ” is inclusive of a combination of one or more of the named components , optionally with one or more other components not specifically named that have essentially the same function . while the subject matter has been described in detail with respect to the specific embodiments thereof , it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art , upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing , may readily conceive of alterations to , variations of , and equivalents to these embodiments . accordingly , the scope of the present disclosure should be assessed as that of the appended claims and any equivalents thereto .	5
one or more embodiments of the present invention are described . nevertheless , it would be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the claims that follow this detailed description . this detailed description includes methods and means for managing and controlling one or more uv systems . the uvs utilize a networked swarm , or flock , awareness to allow operation of one or more uvs within a personalized augmented reality drone event . the uvs onboard systems may provide vehicle pose , object recognition , environmental interaction capabilities . the rdp parde experience is setup , configured , and initiated , from an operational control system and by a certified control pilot . the cp monitors the parde and all participants throughout for safety and real - time parde parameter modifications to maximize the experience . exemplary configurable event parameters include defining uv operating boundaries in terms of spatial geographical grids , image - triggered events , number of pilots participating , varc flight control sensitivity ( to allow users of varying skill levels to participate ), and ‘ swarm ’ control level between pilots . these functionalities are enhanced both in precision and robustness by an outdoor distributed image network , a network of well - defined images or features which permits calculating vehicle pose to a higher degree than gps alone . during each parde , the cp continuously monitors each pilot from the ocs and controls the experience parameters to ensure optimal safety . the ocs also includes integrated communication systems to interact with current parde participants as well as local safety officials and weather information . control of the uv can be achieved by commands from the remote drone pilot or by the control pilot from the ocs — control and monitoring systems , or autonomously from the ocs based on parde parameters and position of a uv within the configured parde environment . commands from the rdp and associated position of their uv in the parde environment are monitored for safety by an on - board autopilot and processor . the on - board autopilot and processor or on - board uv control system autonomously executes command overrides in event of a communications failure or inappropriate commands from the rdp in the varc . rdp control of the vehicle is additionally constrained by the user &# 39 ; s skill level , ranging from only field of view control to complete vehicle command . the rdp user experiences the parde through a virtual augmented reality cockpit . the varc provides an augmented reality ( ar ) visual and tactile experience tailored to the rdps . the varc , at its most basic embodiment may consist of virtual reality goggles for first person view from the uv and handheld uv remote controls . the full embodiment of the varc may include the following key features : remote piloting of rdps uv of choice within a defined geographical location ( air , land , and water ), a heads up display for remote piloting of the uv via fpv , integrated audio and visual interactive content superimposed on the hud , rdp control of the on - screen interactive content and camera , infrared beam targeting , or other system payload controls , integration of multiple varcs with the same uv allowing daisy chain of varcs so that multiple rdps are connected to the same uv , enjoying the same immersed parde experience , but controlling different payload systems to achieve their objectives . six degrees of cockpit motion and tactile feedback based on rdp &# 39 ; s flight control systems and real - time telemetry being received from the uv itself , and communication systems to interact with a cp when needed and with other rdps or rdcp who may be participating in the current pardes the autopilot unit receives and executes commands , as well as provides low - level environmental interaction such as vehicle stabilization by utilizing data from various sensors residing onboard the uv . this information can also be relayed to both onboard systems and ground - mounted ocs — control and monitoring systems , which may provide correctional control to uvs to allow safe and objective operation . both the ground - mounted and onboard control systems may have the ability to safety check rdp commands to allow overriding a user &# 39 ; s input if deemed unsafe . this determination is based on pre - compiled site and event specific parde libraries , which may define an enforced geo - fence of allowed 3 - d volume , allowed speeds , and emergency obstacle avoidance parameters . the uv may be equipped with sensors and devices such as gps or visual and auditory sensors that provide real - time data to the onboard system and the ocs . either the onboard or gps may provide flight data information to external services such as emergency crews , as well as current parde mission plans and system status including uv condition . the ocs may allow new instructions to be configured during parde events to allow changes to pre - defined operational parde mission plans sent from the ocs . a parde mission plan may include multiple waypoints or destinations along which a uv may experience difficulties , which makes necessary the ability for the uv to receive real - time instructions given to facilitate an efficient and effective management of system conditions such as battery level and heat . to ensure compliance with operation parde mission plans , the ocs may continuously monitor the uvs current pose , speed , and acceleration . fig1 depicts and exemplary parde system including a plurality uvs 102 controlled from a plurality of varcs 101 by remote drone pilots and remote drone co - pilots rdcps 106 . an operational control system 103 communicates with both the uvs 102 and the varcs 101 via a wireless connectivity option 107 . co - located varc and uv deployment options are represented by 105 . the uvs 102 may be air , ground , surface water , or underwater based uv types . each uv type operating within a parde event does so within parde configuration settings which include data and settings such as rdp and rdcp control sensitivity and configuration preferences , all visual , audio , motion and tactile augmented content information , the parde universal geo - fence and each uv &# 39 ; s personal geo - fence . each uvs 102 on - board processing system and the ocs 103 monitor and manage the speed , acceleration , and directional characteristics of each uv within the active parde environment and ensure uv speed , acceleration and directional characteristics and controls remain within parde configuration settings and make autonomous adjustments based on calculated parde configuration setting violations due to rdp or rdcp 106 manual inputs from their varc 101 or other environmental and system factors that cause potential violations . the main components of each uv include a receiver , an on - board processing system , a global positioning system , one or more sensors , a transmitter , an on - board motion system , and an on - board payload and support system . the uvs 102 on - board processing system in combination with the ocs 103 monitor , manage and transmit augmented audio and video content to the varcs 101 , which are being operated by rdps and rdcps 106 . one or more varcs 101 may be bound to a single uv 102 . a single rdp 106 controls the motion and directional control systems of a single uv 102 via their varc 101 . multiple rdcps 106 may be bound to a single uv 102 and may control one or more on - board payload and support systems and provide sensor monitoring management . the varc 101 provides an augmented reality visual , audio and tactile experience tailored to the rdp or the rdcp 106 controlling the system . the varc 101 , in a basic embodiment may be virtual reality goggles for first person view from the uv 102 and handheld uv remote controls . a full deployment of the varc 101 immerses individual users into a sound and light proof environment where the rdp and rdcps 106 experience the parde . the varc 101 in this embodiment enables the user to remotely control their uv 102 while providing a real - time visual and tactile ( 6 degrees of motion ) experience of what the uv 102 they are piloting is seeing and how it is physically oriented and reacting to the environment around it . additionally , the varc system provides user communication options to a control pilot 104 and other users participating in the parde . the varc display includes heads - up - display and receives video and audio content from the ocs 103 and on - board processing systems that with which the rdp and rdcps 106 can interact . hud content may include a variety of information that has been pre - configured via the parde configuration settings , such as land - mark indications and information , flight routes , and may include active gaming information on current game activity , user score , or additional information on rdps and rdcps 106 participating in the parde . varcs 101 include visual , audio , control , tactile and motion feedback along with processing and transmission systems . at a minimum , all varc 101 embodiments include some form of visual , control , processing and transmission systems . the ocs 103 is controlled and operated by a single ( or multiple working in coordination with each other ) control pilot 104 . the ocs 103 enables the cp 104 to pre - configure the parde configuration settings , monitor all rdp and rdcps 106 and associated uvs 102 operating within the mission . the cp 104 can take direct or autonomous over - ride control of any parde active uv 102 and has the ability to modify any parde configuration settings . the cp 104 also communicates with local officials and with any one , multiple , or all rdps 106 within the parde . the ocs 103 receives and augments data from the uvs 102 and passes it to users 106 within the varcs 101 . the ocs 103 also receives user 106 commands and determines whether they violate any mission safety parameters , only passing through approved commands to the vehicles 102 . additionally , the ocs 103 generates pre - configured augmented audio and video content and delivers that information to varc users 106 to enhance the user &# 39 ; s parde environment and / or , increase probability of the user 106 successfully completing the parde objectives . the ocs 103 allows for configuration of all parde configuration settings including , but not limited to : configuration of mission spatial environment through three dimensional geo - coordinates , user accessible augmented audio and visual content tagged to geo - coordinates within a defined space , defined fail - safe return home position within the defined space , number and types of uvs 102 to be controlled within the environment , varc 101 to uv 102 pairing , varc 101 control system configuration ( i . e , pilot or payload system control ), varc 101 control system configuration for pilot experience level and preferences , varc 101 tactile motion level preference , communication with one or more pilots operating in the environment communication systems with faa , regulators , and local officials for pre , during , and post flight communication and includes the ability to visually monitor all pilots 106 operating within their varcs 101 , view each operating uv camera view , shut down varc control and pilot 106 varc experience , take over - ride control of one or more uvs through direct operator 104 control or by pre - defined or new geo - coordinate way points to direct the uv 102 to complete a task . connectivity between the ocs 103 and varcs 101 may be wired or wireless and connectivity 107 between ocs 103 and uvs 102 will be wireless . connectivity protocols from the ocs 103 include sufficient bandwidth to ensure undiscernible lag of uv video feeds or delivery of augmented video and audio content from the ocs to the varcs . based on the connectivity flexibility with the ocs 103 the varc deployment 105 may be central to the uv parde launch site or may be remote and limitless on the distance with the appropriate connectivity and bandwidth availability . as noted above , the ocs may over - ride varc command if safety considerations are violated , if universal geo - fence parameters are violated and if personal geo - fence parameters are violated . there are several variables capable of activating the over - ride if they go above or below a chosen threshold ( e . g ., safety considerations , geofence violations ). examples of such variables are velocity , altitude , proximity , global position etc . exemplary pseudo - code is given below for how two uvs 102 detecting a violation of the universal geofence 1501 and personal geofences 1502 and implement override commands . the illustrative pseudo - code is for a simple box - shaped geofence : include corn putereturncommandfunction include collisionavoidfunction ; float x1 , x2 , y1 , y2 , z1 , z2 . xmin ( 0 ), xmax ( 100 ), ymin ( 0 ), ymax ( 200 ), zmin ( 20 ), zmax ( 100 ), vechilemindist ( 2 ). the “ includes ( compute and collision )” above tells the code where the functions it will need to run are defined . for example , if the uv 102 has gone beyond xmax or ymax ( universalgeofence ), a command in the negative x or y direction would be generated by the computereturncommandfunction . note that if none of the “ if ” statements apply , the command passed is simple varccommand , or the rdps command . the collision avoidance , or personal geofence ) is achieved much the same way , proximity in x or y is detected , and appropriate function called to generated override command . fig2 is a flow chart of an exemplary architecture for use with the embodiment depicted in fig1 . fig2 shows an example architecture for the example parde system in accordance to the embodiments of the invention . fig2 shows the three main parde system architectural components including the uv 102 , with the varcs 101 , and the ocs 103 and includes associated sub - components and interconnectivity and relationships between components . the uvs 102 include a receiver 205 , autopilot 211 , onboard processor 212 , global position system 206 , sensors 207 , transmitters 208 , and onboard motion , payload and support systems 213 . the ocs 103 includes one or more ocs - cpu node 203 , external communication systems 217 , ocs control & amp ; monitoring system ( ocscms ) 218 , transmitters 219 , receivers 220 , and parde configuration and settings 214 . a control pilot 104 , operates the ocs and overall parde event . the varcs 101 , include the varc - centric signal transmission , receiving and varc processing systems ( vop ) 201 and the controls and interface systems 223 . the uvs 102 , varcs 101 , and the ocs 103 each run parde operating system software ( reference numeral 901 in fig9 ) components that when initiated execute commands and manage systems and controls within the defined parde configuration settings 214 . the parde operating system software 901 runs and executes commands on the uv onboard processor 212 , ocs - cpu node ( s ) 203 , and the varc processing component 502 . communication and data transmission between systems is handled by the software components and transmitted between system components via either wireless or wired connectivity . connectivity between the uvs 102 and the ocs 103 is wireless for all audio , video , and control functions between varc 101 and ocs 103 . connectivity between the ocs 103 and varc 101 may be wired or wireless . wireless connectivity options may include , but is not limited to , wi - fi or satellite connectivity and optimal bandwidth will be employed to ensure no lag time or degradation of signal quality for audio , video , or control system transmissions . there is one ocs 103 to execute and manage each parde event . additional ocs systems may be used as long as their use is coordinated . one or more uvs 101 can be associated to each parde event and there may be one or more varcs associated to each uv . the ocs 103 and associated uvs 102 are deployed centrally to the parde event physical location . the varc 101 deployments may be central to the parde launch site or may be remote with limitless distance based on having appropriate connectivity and bandwidth availability . the ocs 103 consists of an ocs - cpu node # n 203 ground based processor , and a cp . the ground based processor may be much more capable than the onboard processor ( op ) 212 due to lack of weight restrictions , and in normal operating conditions is responsible for analyzing received uv data , determining vehicle pose , augmenting content received from uvs , forwarding the content to varcs and rdps , verifying rdp commands , and performing semi - autonomous overrides on rdp commands deemed dangerous . it also has the ability to send alerts to outside authorities in case of emergency . the cp has a manual override and acts as a redundant human safety check on the computers actions and decisions , and also can contact outside authorities . the ocs cpu node # n 203 includes required processing power and data storage necessary to execute the parde operating system software 901 ( fig9 ) and manage all associated processing required for generation and delivery of augmented video , audio , motion and tactile content to the varcs 101 . the ocs cpu node # n 203 may be single or multiple laptops , pc , or server systems with varying cpus and processing power . the combination of ocs cpus may be networked together locally at the parde event location and operating on battery or local power systems . alternately the ocs cpus may be networked together with some of the processing occurring at the parde event location and some of the processing being done at a remote location or with all processing being done remotely and the local parde event system processing is accessing the parde operating system software remotely to execute the parde event and all associated and required cpu processing requirements . the parde operating system software layer of this system is architected to ensure flexible in networking configurability such that all parde operating system software ocs processes may be executed either all centrally , all remotely , or a combination of central and remote processing to the parde event location and associated ocs - cpu node # n 203 . fig3 pictorially depicts exemplary unmanned vehicles 102 with the following sub - categories : unmanned aerial vehicles ( uav ) 301 , unmanned ground vehicles ( ugv ) 302 , unmanned surface water vehicles ( usv ) 303 and unmanned underwater vehicles ( uug ) 304 . unmanned aerial vehicles are categorized based on their primary flight mechanism : unmanned multi - rotor aerial vehicles 305 , unmanned fixed wing aerial vehicles 306 and unmanned aerial animal based robotic vehicles 307 . unmanned ground vehicles are categorized based on the machine to ground interface : unmanned track mounted ground vehicles 308 , unmanned wheel - based ground vehicles 309 , unmanned multi - pod ground vehicles 310 and unmanned humanoid robotic vehicles 311 . one subcategory for unmanned surface water vehicles is shown : unmanned fixed hull surface water vehicles 312 . unmanned underwater vehicles are unmanned fixed shell underwater vehicles 313 and unmanned animal based underwater robotic vehicles 314 . the term ‘ vehicles ’ as used above and throughout this patent means electro - mechanical machines able to transport and move in three dimensional space with control , propulsion and payload systems as described below . as shown in fig3 , primary systems in each uv 102 include receiver ( s ) 205 , a global positioning system ( gps ) 206 , sensors 207 , transmitters and data link systems 208 , an onboard processing system ( ops ) 210 and onboard motion , payload and support systems ( ompss ) 213 . primary onboard motion , payload and support systems include structural and landing systems 409 and propulsion and steering systems 410 . secondary systems include parde dependent and specific onboard payload and support systems ( opss ) 408 . onboard motion systems 407 are the combination of structural and landing systems 409 and propulsion and steering systems 410 . uv 102 movement can be initiated by creating forces leading to movement . propulsion systems can have a source of mechanical power ( some type of engine or motor , muscles ), and some means of using this power to generate force , such as wheel and axles , propellers , a propulsive nozzle , wings , fins or legs . structural components can be metal , plastic or composite materials . landing system components can be vertical take off and landing ( vtol ) components , runway driven , low - impact parachute and / or balloon , airbags or cushions . components should be made of weatherproof and durable material and constructed and assembled to withstand environmental factors . propulsion and steering systems 410 include commercial available components such as electronic speed control ( esc ) motors . wireless receivers 205 can be infrared and ultrasonic remote control devices ; professional land mobile radio ( lmr ), professional specialized mobile radio ( smr ); consumer two way radio including family radio service , general mobile radio service ( gmrs ) and citizen &# 39 ; s band ( cb ) radios ; amateur radio ( ham radio ); consumer and professional marine vhf radios ; air - band and radio navigation equipment used by aviators and air traffic control ; cellular telephone ; wireless usb or bluetooth ; satellite , and / or wi - fi . most embodiments have a gps 206 that records and transmits the latitude and longitude of the uv 102 with an accuracy of less than one meter . the latitude and longitude of the gps unit is typically determined by receiving gps satellite broadcast signals ( carrier frequency with modulation ) that includes a pseudorandom code ( sequence of ones and zeros ) that is known to the receiver . by time - aligning a receiver - generated version and the receiver - measured version of the code , the time of arrival ( toa ) of a defined point in the code sequence , called an epoch , can be found in the receiver clock time scale . the message that includes the time of transmission ( tot ) of the code epoch ( in gps system time scale ) and the satellite position at that time is also received by the receiver . the receiver measures the toas ( according to its own clock ) of four or more satellite signals . from the toas and the tots , the receiver forms four time of flight ( tof ) values , which are ( given the speed of light ) approximately equivalent to receiver - satellite range differences . the receiver then computes its three - dimensional position and clock deviation from the four tofs . the receiver position ( in three dimensional cartesian coordinates with origin at the earth &# 39 ; s center ) and the offset of the receiver clock relative to gps system time are computed simultaneously , using the navigation equations to process the tofs . the receiver &# 39 ; s earth - centered solution location is usually converted to latitude and longitude relative to an ellipsoidal earth model . these coordinates may be displayed ( e . g . on a moving map display ) and / or recorded and / or used by other systems ( e . g ., vehicle guidance ). onboard sensors 207 are for flight or vehicle management and control capturing audio and visual signals from the uv location and field of view for transmission to the ocs — control and monitoring systems 218 . for pardes that require a high level of precision with respect to uv locations , sensors may include the following to augment gps 206 data : laser sensors 401 , optical sensors ( including infrared ( ir )) 402 , altimeters and / or acoustic depth finders 404 . laser sensors 401 field measure in real time uv height and distances from site obstacles and features . as described in more detail later , optical sensors capture real time images of the parde location making sure to specifically locate in their field of view pre - located qr ( quick response ) codes ( or site specific landmarks ) for geo - referencing . there may be separate optical sensors for navigation assistance and for payload support systems . additional onboard sensors 207 include gyroscope ( s ) 403 for flight control , unexpected obstacle avoidance 405 and critical systems 406 for monitoring battery power and emergency maneuvers and notification . lidar ( light detection and ranging ) system sensors 414 can be used to real - time mapping , sonar sensors 415 and pressure sensors 413 may also be used to relay information back to the ocs 103 and rdp or cp . transmitters and data link systems 208 may include a radio controlled transmitter , wi - fi , or satellite wireless systems . a radio transmitter connected to an antenna producing an electromagnetic signal such as in radio and television broadcasting , two way communications or radar . transmitters must meet use requirements including the frequency of operation , the type of modulation , the stability and purity of the resulting signal , the efficiency of power use , and the power level required to meet the system design objectives . transmitters generate a carrier signal which is normally sinusoidal , optionally one or more frequency multiplication stages , a modulator , a power amplifier , and a filter and matching network to connect to an antenna . a very simple transmitter might contain only a continuously running oscillator coupled to some antenna system . more elaborate transmitters allow better control over the modulation of the emitted signal and improve the stability of the transmitted frequency . for transmitter and data link systems 208 relying on wi - fi , the uv has to be equipped with a wireless network interface controller . the combination of computer and interface controller is called a station . all stations share a single radio frequency communication channel . transmissions on this channel are received by all stations within range . the hardware does not signal the user that the transmission was delivered and is therefore called a best - effort delivery mechanism . a carrier wave is used to transmit the data in packets , referred to as “ ethernet frames ”. each station is constantly tuned in on the radio frequency communication channel to pick up available transmissions . wi - fi technology may be used to provide internet access to devices that are within the range of a wireless network that is connected to the internet . the coverage of one or more interconnected access points ( hotspots ) can extend from an area as small as a few rooms to as large as many square miles . coverage in the larger area may require a group of access points with overlapping coverage . electronic signal repeaters may be needed to extend the wireless signal to the entire parde local . onboard processing systems ( ops ) 210 include autopilot hardware and software 211 and an onboard processor ( op ) 212 . autopilot hardware and software can be open - source autopilot systems oriented toward inexpensive autonomous aircraft . an autopilot allows a remotely piloted aircraft to be flown out of sight . all hardware and software can be open - source and freely available to anyone under licensing or applicable agreements . free software autopilots provide more flexible hardware and software . autopilot hardware and software 211 is modified as described below to include special flight control requirements . an onboard processor 212 is a computer processing unit and uninterruptable power supply ( ups ) onboard individual uvs 102 . one function of the onboard processor is to process and compress video signals from optical sensors 402 prior to transmission to the ocs - cpu node # n 203 , processing of gps 206 data and optical sensor 402 data for determining uv 102 location ( s ), and return home fail - safe flight control in the event of loss of signal from the ocs 103 . fig4 illustrates exemplary architecture for an unmanned vehicle for use with embodiments disclosed herein . integral to the architecture is modularity and adaptability to vehicles regardless of their classification ( i . e ., uav 301 , ugv 302 , usv 303 or uuv 304 ). while components such as onboard processing systems 210 and onboard motion , payload and support systems 213 are adapted and designed for compatibility and functionality for the various vehicle classifications , several components including gps 206 , sensors 207 , receivers 205 and transmitters 208 have less need for specialization . on board payload and support systems ( opss ) 408 can include items such high - resolution cameras , ir and thermography imaging systems or other sensory systems . systems to include various camera types with different focal lengths and sensor sizes ( rgb , multi - spectral camera ), gaming accessories ( e . g ., ir beam for targeting , optical sensor / receiver for measuring ‘ hits ’). as shown in fig4 , the uvs are provided approved remote drone pilot ( rdp ) commands or override commands 209 from the ocs 103 . as previously discussed , rdps and rdcps commands are processed and assessed for consistency with the parde mission plan , safety requirements , etc . prior to being transmitted to the uvs 102 . override commands to the uv are implemented at the discretion of the control pilot 104 and parde specific flight rules . data from onboard sensors will be transmitted to the ocs 103 and onboard processor 212 . sensors have flight control and monitoring duties and may be used as the primary flight guidance tools in the event contact to the ocs 103 is lost and / or the gps 206 signal is unavailable . loss of signal and resulting control architecture is presented in more detail in fig1 a , 16 b and 16 c . basic functionality of the uv 102 is presented in table 1 . fig6 presents an exemplary virtual augmented reality cockpit ( varc ) # n 101 in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein . components of the varc can include : varc - centric signal transmission , receiving and varc onboard processing systems 201 , visual systems 602 , audio systems 603 , control systems 604 and tactile and motion feedback systems 601 . a varc can be used by remote drone pilots ( rdp ) s or remote drone co - pilots ( rdcp ) 106 or control pilots ( cp ) 104 . fig6 a through 6d present variations and embodiments of the various components . fig6 a illustrate varc system tactile and motion feedback components 601 such as : motion chair 610 with up to 6 degrees of freedom 625 . a self - enclosed 3d motion pod 611 would also have up to 6 degrees of freedom 625 with respect to motion . during a parde , tactile feedback is provided to the pilot ( s ) including scents delivered using spray nozzles or vaporizers and olfactory inputs 612 such as perfumes . moisture inputs 613 can be integrated through water spray nozzles . heat and air ( wind ) inputs 614 can be incorporated as well . fig6 b shows exemplary varc visual system components 602 including large screen televisions , monitors 615 or flexible wallpaper televisions . virtual reality ( vr ) goggles 616 are available from third party providers such as rift from oculus ( menlo park , calif . ), google glass from google ( mountain view , calif . ), samsung products ( ridgefield , n . j .) or equivalent product . lastly , a simple computer screen , tablet or smart phone 617 could be used to visualize content . fig6 c presents two examples for audio system components 603 delivering and receiving on the varc including a standard earbud and / or headset and microphone 618 and speakers 619 . control systems for the varc include : motion and control systems 605 , environmental interface systems ( speakers , lights , robotic physical and chemical sensors and manipulators ) 606 , payload control systems 607 , gaming systems 608 and sensors 609 . fig6 d presents exemplary varc control system components 604 and control methods that include the use of joysticks , yolks and / or pedals 620 , kinematic and motion sensor controls 621 and neurotelepathic control 622 either wired 623 or wirelessly 624 . variations and combinations of the audio and visual components could be made for instance into a gel - helmet , form fitting to the pilots head . the varc 101 at its simplest may consist of vr goggles 616 and a hand held radio controlled joystick and controllers 620 . a high end version of the varc could include a motion capable chair which will simulate the uv orientation , speakers , and a screen or goggles . a parde may contain one or more users all utilizing a single ocs 103 . a single uv may have multiple varcs 101 and rdps 106 utilizing it . one rdp may be ‘ primary ’ and have vehicular control while the others may be ‘ secondary ’ and may only have control over their field of view . a single varc and rdp may switch between different uv platforms , of either the same type ( uav 301 , ugv 302 , usv 303 or uuv 304 ) or of a different type . the parde experience in the varc 101 for the pilot may include augmented virtual content , overlaid on the uv data by the ocs 103 . this additional content may be visual , auditory , or tactile in nature , such as a virtual guide or the sound and overpressure of a virtual explosion . varc embodiments are listed below but it should be noted that the varc 101 can exist in a wide range of incarnations . the following exemplary combinations of motion and tactile configurations , audio and visual configurations and control configurations can be result several varc embodiments : video display with handheld remote control system , fpv goggles with handheld remote control system , fpv goggles with more realistic integrated seat and control systems , fpv goggles with virtual chair that provides motion and control systems , fpv goggles with virtual chair , full motion and control system tactile force feedback , and high definition , wrap around display in fully enclosed cockpit with full motion and cockpit and control system tactile force feedback . this varc embodiment is a cockpit / capsule ( pod ) that the pilot steps into and that closes completely around the pilot to provide a sound proof and light proof immersed environment . the multiple varcs 101 and rdp / rdcp 106 can interface with a single uv 102 . while only one ‘ primary ’ rdp can give control commands at any given time , an unlimited number of rdcps can interface as ‘ secondary ’ users . these rdps may have control of the field of view presented in their varc , comparable to a passenger in a regular vehicle looking out different windows . uv control may also be passed from the ‘ primary ’ rdp to a ‘ secondary ’. rdps can also switch between interfacing with different uv platforms in a single varc . fig7 illustrates exemplary varc 101 architecture for use with embodiments of the system . each varc # n 101 has two main elements : varc - centric signal transmission , receiving and varc onboard processing systems ( vop ) 201 and controls and interface systems 223 . systems for delivering augmented content to the user , or rdp / rdcp 106 include tactile and motion feedback systems 601 , visual systems 602 and audio systems 603 . motion systems within the tactile and motion feedback 601 include the mechanical , electrical , and software systems that receive the pilot control input information and real - world - environment sensor data and translate the motion of the cockpit to simulate the real - world uv 102 motion . visual systems 602 are the means by which a user views real world images from the uv 101 and overlaid visual augmented content . audio systems 603 are the means by which a user views hear audio files and real time audio from the uv 102 location or communicate with other pilots , including the control pilot 104 . uv 102 control by the rdp or rdcp 106 are performed using specialized and personalized control systems 604 . this includes motion control systems 605 for vehicle motion control , environmental interface systems 606 specific to the parde mission at hand , payload control systems 607 , gaming systems 608 controls and sensors 609 . varc sensors may include gyroscopes , power sensors , temperature sensors , etc . pilots may control uv 102 payload control systems 607 through standard joysticks , buttons , etc . but may using head motion tracking systems ( e . g ., camera views may be controlled through head motion to simulate real - time environment viewing ). also shown on fig7 is exemplary architecture for personalization of rdp or rdcp settings 702 . settings can be set in advance or just prior to a parde event . they can be accessed and set via a user web portal 701 or other means . settings for personalization to the rdp or rdcp 106 include : language 703 , skill level 704 , augmented reality ( ar ) content preferences 705 , and additional settings 706 as needed . an example of personalized audio ar content delivery can as simple as having the rdp or rdcp 106 enter their preferred genre of music to be played in the background during a flight . visual ar content personalization could include wanting to have access to retrieve specific topical information about a location during parde . as for tactile and motion feedback related ar , the user may prefer a jarring experience while others may prefer a smooth and calming ride in the varc . depending on the embodiment , the varc - centric signal transmission , receiving and varc onboard processing systems 201 may be installed or integral to the motion chairs 610 or 3d motion chair pods 611 , vr goggles 616 , headset and microphones 618 , or any of the varc control system components 604 . a varc onboard processor ( vp ) # p will process the data and signals from the ocs 103 via receiver 221 and to the ocs 103 via a transmitter 222 . basic functionality of the varc 101 is presented in table 2 . the operational control system 103 includes control pilot interface 531 systems and components 509 - 520 that make up the computer system ( s ) associated to the ocs . the cp interface 531 includes sub - components that allow the cp to interface with the computer system and control the rde operating system software 901 for parde development and execution and parde launch time . the ocs includes local cpu ( s ) 510 for pre - parde development as well as during parde modifications of settings as and if needed . the ocs is connected to the internet 530 and additional local or regional cpu nodes 203 may be available for additional processing power as needed for execution of parde and delivery of augmented content to rdps in their associated varcs 101 . system components and descriptions associated with the ocs 103 include : ocs control and monitoring systems 218 , transmitters 219 , receivers 220 and local or regional ocs - cpu nodes # n 203 . sub - components of the ocs control and monitoring systems 218 include cp interface 531 , address and data bus 509 , local ocs - cpu 510 , disk controllers 511 , graphic cards 512 , sound cards 513 , network cards 514 , i / o ports 515 , modems 516 , mass memory 517 , rom 518 , ram 519 and clock 520 . cp interface 531 can be for one cp 104 or a network of cps as necessary . cp interface 531 systems include : keyboard 521 , printer 522 , mouse 523 , pen / tablet display input devices 524 , memory sticks 525 , hard drive 526 , dvd / cd drives 527 , monitors 528 , audio speakers 529 and internet 530 . the ocs draws from data parde configuration settings 214 and communicates either directly or through the cp 106 with regulatory , public relations , safety or information sources and entities through the external communication systems 217 . either the onboard processing systems 210 or ocs 103 may provide flight data , parde mission plan information , uv 102 condition , and system status to external and local services such as police , emergency crews , regulatory , public relations and local faa . communication of this information is facility through the external communications 217 systems . the ocs 103 or cp 104 may allow programming or real - time entry of new instructions to modify the pre - defined operational parde mission plans sent from the ocs . a parde mission plan may include multiple waypoints or destinations during the parde mission plan . a uv 102 may experience difficulties , which makes necessary the ability for the uv 102 to receive real - time instructions given to facilitate an efficient and effective management of system conditions such as battery level and heat . additionally , there may be a desire to modify the parde mission plan due to other factors such as environment conditions , cp or rdp preferences . to ensure compliance with operation parde mission plans , the ocs 103 may continuously monitor the uv &# 39 ; s 102 current pose , speed , and acceleration . the ocs 103 to interface with more than one varc at a time . 1 . safety communications and systems — communication system ( s ) with required frequencies to connect to local and regional regulatory , public relations , and safety facilities . cp interface systems may include various types and forms of microphones and audio devices including table mounted , headsets , or other commercially available components . 2 . pilot communications and systems — communication system ( s ) with variability in frequencies and internet connectivity to connect and communicate with local , regional , national , or global rdps and associated varcs and the associated control pilot running the parde . rdp and cp interface systems may include various types and forms of microphones and audio devices including table mounted , headsets , or other commercially available components . 3 . monitoring station and systems — may include one or multiple local or regionally connected computer systems which may be portable , desktop , server , or micro - computer systems . the monitoring system may include one or more monitors to support visual monitoring for safety of pilots and uv activity . cps may view one , multiple , or all active rdps and uvs via the multi - monitor system and control of current view ( s ) for cp monitoring is managed through the rde operating system . basic functionality of the ocs 103 is presented in table 3 . functions are supported through the parde operating system software and executed by the cp via the ocs 103 systems as indicated below . a hierarchic object - oriented design ( hood ) diagram of the ocs 103 parde operating system software 901 is in fig9 . the system is integrated across ocs 103 , varc 101 , and uv 102 . hood diagrams ( fig9 through 13 ) present example hierarchical decompositions of the design into software units based on identification of objects , classes and operations reflecting problem domain entities and objects related to digital programming entities . the diagrams comprise textual and associated diagrammatic representations allowing formal refinement , automated checking , user customizable documentation generation and target language source code generation . an internet web portal for user access and pilot profile configuration may be used . the portal is a secure user portal ( web and mobile ) to support initial setup and configuration by administrative staff and access for profile updates by the users . for rdp and rdcp 106 profiles , the following information may be used : pilot id , demographics ( name , address , credit , etc . ), pilot call sign , pilot secure logon information , and pilot event based content ( audio / visual ). restricted access to the website will include systems management data , information and controls including : certification level , pilot & amp ; control profile settings , autonomy control settings ( over ride control ) ( direct , semi direct , and / or supervised ), direct control settings ( control sensitivity settings ) ( beginner , intermediate , or expert ). universal and personal geofencing computational aspects will be executed in the ocs 103 . a flight or parde mission planning software such as qgroundcontrol ( or similar ) will be loaded and run on the ocs 103 . in general , the parde mission planning software receiver end runs on the receiver version on the autopilot 211 . the ocs - control and monitoring systems 218 will subscribe to gps 206 on uvs 102 . gps will publish data to the ocs . the autopilot 211 will subscribe to the data that the ocs - control and monitoring system 218 processes . current ar ( augmented reality ) technology only uses qr codes and handheld devices to overlay ar content to a real environment ( layar , apple iphone application , 2015 ). embodiments disclosed herein include delivery of ar content to users who are simultaneously driving , flying or “ riding ” as rdcp in uvs in a predetermined 3d environment . fig8 presents an example of parde data and settings 214 architecture . hierarchic object - oriented design ( hood ) diagrams of the visual and audio data and settings are shown in fig1 and 11 , respectively . a hierarchic object - oriented design diagram of the motion and tactile content data and settings is shown in fig1 . fig8 presents data and settings that may require collecting new data , connecting to existing databases or downloading third party software and data for use in the parde whereas fig1 through 12 show primarily the software object hierarchy , some hardware systems interaction and a general , processes representation on the how software and hardware may interact . at least two sets of information , setting and services may be used in the parde system . they are : spatial data , site settings and preferences 215 and augmented content data and settings 216 . all of the information from these are directed to and processed at the ocs 103 — specifically the ocs - cpu node # n 203 and ocs — control and monitoring systems 218 . spatial data 801 includes restricted area and static 3d virtual boundary input data 803 and benchmarks and significant locating features 804 . topographic mapping 805 can be performed by high resolution surveying in the parde area or through 3 rd party satellite imagery and existing databases . similarly , vegetative mapping 806 can be performed by on - site surveys and / or existing databases . flora including trees , underbrush , groundcover mapping will be needed for parde mission planning and control and for augmented content delivery purposes . structure and obstacle mapping 806 could include buildings , poles , overhead utility lines , breakwaters , moorings , pits , signs , etc . this information will be used for parde mission planning and control as may be used to enhance or help deliver augmented content . changes in topography , vegetation , structures and obstacles can occur over time dating back through recent history or projecting and predicting over time . the system will be developed to include and record these changes for mission control , safety , research and educational purposes . this information will be used to develop a 3d point cloud map and to geo - locate mission control points and augmented reality enhancements delivery . specific to uv 102 location components , benchmarks and significant locating features 804 include gps coordinates , quick response , bluetooth beacons , and site monuments 808 that have a unique visual signature and a known or determined 3d location in space ( i . e ., latitude , longitude and elevation ). these can range in size from the 4 cm 2 to the size of a building or significant landscape horizon . the system will include options to have approved launch and landing areas 809 identified and used during pardes in the event of an emergency or cp 104 approved command . launch and landing areas will depend on site specific logistics and structural and landing systems 409 of the uv 102 . site settings and preferences 802 include event category identification ( id ) and information 810 , site contact data and protocols 811 , external traffic feed information 812 , regulatory requirements 813 , position , time and space restrictions 814 , site specific weather information feed 815 . adding to the safety and logistics of a parde , each of these settings and preferences will be configurable . event category id and information 810 may include settings for research protocols , educational system content requirements , health and wellness protocols or other market or user group categorization . site contact data and protocols 811 are easily retrievable and communications protocols for site owners and operators . external traffic feed information 812 may include air traffic , boating and navigational traffic feeds to help parde mission planning and ensure obstacle avoidance . regulatory requirements 813 will include requirements that may impact a parde . for example , allowable flight altitude or local zoning , privacy and noise ordinances might impact planned parde execution . site specific position , time and space restrictions 814 not otherwise accounted for and specific to the parde location will be used in parde mission planning and execution . examples might be no uv 102 flight next to a school during student drop off and pick up times or restrictions on habitat and natural resources . a site specific weather information feed will be available for parde mission planning and execution and to monitor conditions in and around the parde area . augmented reality ( ar ) content includes 2d and 3d graphics , video , audio , and text files , tactile , motion , olfactory and sensory protocols loaded onto ocs - cpu node # n 203 . ar content can be delivered at specific planer markers or gps 206 waypoints . content will be associated to planer markers or gps waypoints and presented visually through the varc 101 to the user when associated marker or waypoint is within the user &# 39 ; s field of view . ar will be superimposed in the real - world view at pre - defined coordinates , at appropriate corresponding gps coordinates , at qr codes or at known vector locations within the real - world view . ar content may be directly visible to the rdp or rdcp 106 or cp 104 or accessible to the users through a visual interactive interface . content can be adjusted in size and proportion in order to look near or far based on distance of uv to marker or waypoint and based on configured size of augmented content within the real world . visual interactive interfaces may also adjust size and proportion based on distance and rdps will interact through voice , mechanical , motion , or other means . augmented content data and settings 216 include , but are not limited to , the following : content category identification ( id ) and information 816 , tactile profile 817 data , olfactory and sensory profile 818 data , animation databases 819 , multimedia partner feeds 820 , site specific augmented reality content 821 , storyboards 822 and production elements 823 . content category id and information 816 is used to categorize and easily retrieve parde ar content from one parde to another . tactile profile 817 data includes the protocols for delivering a motion feedback pattern to the varc 101 and rdp and / or rdcp 106 . for example , a ugv 302 might feel differently to a user if it were moving over sand and rocks as opposed to asphalt . that tactile difference will be programmed to the varc 101 through the ocs 103 using these settings . similarly , olfactory and sensory profile 818 data will include initiating different particular scents perhaps when the uv is passing through a flower patch or pine forest . a usv 303 might participate in a parde that travels near a waterfall at which time these settings would initiate a water mist to the user for example . animation databases 819 include all the necessary software development to provide animation layered over the fpv of the rdp / rdcp 106 or cp 104 . animation will included polygon structures and skins programmed to move , react , and interact with the real environment via the varc 101 and ocs 103 . augmented reality visual content and animation can be achieved through proprietary software or open source object recognition library software such as aruco , for opencv . predetermined gps coordinates , qr visual aids within a parde will be used as anchor points to tie the visual ar content to real environment locations . data from optical sensors 402 will be sent to the ocs - cpu node # n 203 where object recognition software will be run . distinct and unique non - planar markers will be used for positioning reference , though may be possible to use gps waypoints as substitutes depending on type of content and needed location accuracy needed . augmented content can be pushed to or retrieved by the user . the goal is to render ar content to the user at between 27 to 30 frames per second ( fps ). augmented content preferences can be configured . multimedia partner feeds 820 from 3 rd party producers such as book , radio and television or internet based publishers ( e . g ., national geographic , or the history channel ), will provide content for delivery to the varcs 102 and users . site specific ar content 821 could be 2d or 3d graphics , video , text or audio content the parde location and event needs . multi - model , multiuser pardes may be choreographed and planned from beginning to end . as such , storyboards 822 and associated production elements 823 ( lighting , music , and staging ) will be developed and used for re - occurring parde themes and topics . augmented visual content development and delivery 1001 shown in fig1 have pre - programmed display 1002 features , real time display 1003 features prompted , or initiated by triggers 1004 ( e . g ., specific gps coordinate ), and site specific display requirements 1005 . there are common elements between the pre - programmed display 1002 and real time display 1003 to the varc 101 through the ocs . they include but are not limited to : video , animation , graphics , holograms , gps coordinates , speed , altitude , gaming scores or data , environmental interface data , wellness program plans of care and performance , floating icons , and movable maps . site specific display requirements 1005 might be age restricted material , skins and other animated settings , advertising and business - related requirements . information specific to a defined real - world location ( such as landmark information or topology information ) will be presented at the gps coordinates of that real - world location . telemetry associated to other uvs 102 operating within the current parde will be displayed in association with that uvs location as it is visible in the real - world view . augmented audio content development and delivery 1101 shown in fig1 have pre - programmed audio 1102 features , real time audio 1103 features prompted and site specific audio requirements 1104 . there are common elements between the pre - programmed audio 1102 and real time audio 1103 to the varc 101 through the ocs . they include but are not limited to : audio files , gps coordinates , 3 rd party content and services site specific audio requirements 1104 might be age restricted material , local audio files , or advertising and business - related requirements . information specific to a defined real - world location ( such as landmark information or topology information ) will be presented at the gps coordinates of that real - world location . telemetry associated to other uvs 102 operating within the current parde will be transmitted in association with that uvs as it is located the real - world view . augmented tactile and motion content development and delivery 1201 shown in fig1 have pre - programmed motion and tactile features 1202 , real time motion and tactile response 1203 and site specific motion and tactile requirements 1204 . there are common elements between the pre - programmed motion and tactile features 1202 and real time motion and tactile response 1203 to the varc 101 through the ocs . they include but are not limited to : motion signatures and profiles , olfactory profiles , moisture profiles , heat and air profiles , and gps coordinates . real - time motion and tactile response 1203 also includes protocols for setting responses to the uv &# 39 ; s 102 proximity to the universal geofence or its proximity to other uvs . site specific motion and tactile requirements 1204 might be age restricted motion , motion signatures profile settings , and advertising and business - related requirements . motion and tactile feedback specific to a defined real - world location ( e . g ., cold , moist tunnel ) will be presented at the gps coordinates of that real - world location . telemetry associated to other uvs 102 operating within the current parde will be processed and may impact the varc 101 motion and / or tactile feedback if another uv enters the personal geofence boundary as discussed later . a hierarchic object - oriented design diagram of the environmental interface , payload control and gaming systems is shown in fig1 . augmented environmental interface and gaming content development and delivery 1301 have pre - programmed payload requirements 1302 , real time payload 1303 requirements and site specific payload requirements 1304 . there are common elements between the pre - programmed payload requirements 1302 and real time payload 1303 requirements to the varc 101 through the ocs . they include but are not limited to chemical , physical and electrical manipulation profiles , and gps coordinates . real - time payload 1303 features also includes protocols for setting responses to the uv &# 39 ; s 102 proximity to the universal geofence or its proximity to other uvs . site specific payload requirements 1304 might be vibration restrictions , weather conditions , chemical , physical and electrical manipulation profile settings , and advertising and business - related requirements . payload response specific to a defined real - world location ( e . g ., environmental parameter measuring instrument such as a photoionization detector ) will be presented at the gps coordinates of that real - world location . telemetry associated to other uvs 102 operating within the current parde will be processed and may impact the varc 101 payload controls feedback . fig1 shows a generalized personalized augmented reality drone event ( parde ) run flowchart . 1404 shows a conceptual representation of the variable control a rdp 106 may be allowed to have by the ocs 103 and cp 104 based upon the pilot &# 39 ; s past performance and results of user skill level protocol assessment 1403 . the assessment can occur at any time before the parde is started . in - parde modifications can be made to the level of control a pilot is given by the cp 104 . an expert in 1404 may be give full attitude control while a less experience rdp , or beginner will only be give a perceived 1 - st order control . this would be analogous to riding a roller coaster on rails and have the speed controlled by either the ocs 103 or cp 104 . the safety and content override command 1412 are flight control related and ar elements of the approved remote drone pilot ( rdp ) command or override command 209 . controls and ar content are continually reviewed , assessed , processed and transmitted by the ocs 103 and / or cp 104 . as the level of sophistication and programmable protocols are automated in the ocs 103 , less direct control and / or supervision by the cp 104 will be needed . fig1 shows an example parde universal and personal geofencing in accordance with the invention . the parde universal geofence layout 1501 is developed by defined boundary locations of a 3d space . the parde personal geofence 1502 is defined as a sphere of radius “ x ” whereby autonomous behavior of the uvs 102 are initiated to avoid collisions for example . the universal boundaries are defined using universal geofence settings 1503 in cartesian coordinates ( latitude , longitude and elevation ). the accuracy of the grid is less than 1 foot depending on the gps 206 and parde spatial data 801 and point cloud resolution . the location of universal geofence settings 1503 will be such that a 3d space with contiguous sides can be rendered providing the uvs with an “ allowable ” space to execute the desired parde mission plan . the allowable space will be the 3d universal geofence setting boundaries minus some distance , or buffer zone . fig1 shows a typical universal geofence logic flowchart . autonomous corrective behavior of the uv 102 will be initiated to prevent passing through the geofence boundaries . uv 102 on - board gps 206 optimally provides uv 102 localization ; in cases of gps 206 signal loss the onboard processor 212 redundantly provides vehicle localization based on visual processing algorithms . field located visual quick response ( qr ) codes or equivalent 1504 will be placed in areas of the parde visible by the uvs 102 . equivalent visible markers will include some benchmarks and significant locating features 804 . this system of qr codes , markers and benchmarks is used to create an outdoor distributed image network ( odin ). the odin defines network of images which allows high accuracy localization which is important for motion control and stable transmission and delivery of ar . uv 102 on - board gps 206 optimally provides vehicle localization ; in cases of gps signal loss the onboard processor 212 redundantly provides vehicle localization based on visual processing algorithms . in case of command signal loss the autopilot will return the vehicle to its origin point , if gps signal is also lost it will do the same based off the onboard processor visual processing . fig1 a , 17 b and 17 c are visual representations of the safety protocols of this claim for various loss of signal scenarios . gps 206 , sensors 207 , receiver 205 and the onboard processing systems ( ops ) 210 function redundantly to allow for a high degree of certainty with respect to uv 102 location . loss of signal 1601 can occur from these systems . when the gps 206 signal is lost , sensor 207 visual cues can be used with processing by the ocs 103 for safe return to an approved “ home base ”, landing or staging area for example . if the loss of signal 1701 is to the receiver 205 , gps 206 and visual cues 1702 together are processed in the ops 210 to direct a safe return of the uv 102 for example . if the loss of signal is to both the receiver 205 and gps 206 system , visual cues 1702 from the sensor 207 could be processed in the ops 210 to direct a safe return of the uv 102 for example . the personal geofence is a defined 3d sphere around individual uvs which is not allowed to overlap with another uvs individual geofence . any command by a rdp ( s ) to bring uvs close enough to violate this rule will result in the ocs 103 overriding their commands and separating the vehicles to an acceptable distance . uv 1 and uv # m in the figure show the closest proximity two uvs may be allowed before override command 209 prevents a collision . fig1 a and 18b show examples of conceptual pardes for example gaming and eco - touring pardes . both are showing events in to occur in real time in real environments ( e . g ., school football field , forest and ocean ). multi - model uvs include aerial , ground and underwater vehicles . both universal geofences 1501 and personal geofences 1502 are shown . elements of the odin field located qr codes 1504 and universal geofence settings 1503 are shown . site specific augmented content 821 represented by two ar animated castles is visible through the varc 101 . an example 3d point cloud from topographic mapping 805 and vegetative mapping 806 are shown .	6
one object of the invention is to provide a method and a system for production of and use of carbon - isotope monoxide in labeling synthesis that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art devices . this is achieved by the method and system claimed in the invention . one advantage with such a method and system is that nearly quantitative conversion of carbon - isotope monoxide into labeled products can be accomplished . there are several other advantages with the present method and system . the high - pressure technique makes it possible to use low boiling solvents such as diethyl ether at high temperatures ( e . g . 200 ° c .). the use of a closed system consisting of materials that prevents gas diffuision , increases the stability of sensitive compounds and could be advantageous also with respect to good manufacturing practice ( gmp ). still other advantages are achieved in that the resulting labeled compound is highly concentrated , and that the miniaturization of the synthesis system facilitates automation , rapid synthesis and purification , and optimization of specific radioactivity through minimization of isotopic dilution . most important is the opening of completely new synthesis possibilities , as exemplified by the present invention . embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the figures . the term carbon - isotope that is used throughout this application preferably refers to 11 c , but it should be understood that 11 c may be substituted by other carbon - isotopes , such as 13 c and 14 c , if desired . fig1 shows a flow chart over the method according to the invention , which firstly comprises production of a carbon - isotope monoxide enriched gas - mixture and secondly a labeling synthesis procedure . more in detail the production part of the method comprises the steps of : providing carbon - isotope dioxide in a suitable carrier gas of a type that will be described in detail below . converting carbon - isotope dioxide to carbon - isotope monoxide by introducing said gas mixture in a reactor device which will be described in detail below . removing traces of carbon - isotope dioxide by flooding the converted gas - mixture through a carbon dioxide removal device wherein carbon - isotope dioxide is trapped but not carbon - isotope monoxide nor the carrier gas , the carbon dioxide removal device will be described in detail below . trapping carbon - isotope monoxide in a carbon monoxide trapping device , wherein carbon - isotope monoxide is trapped but not said carrier gas . the carbon monoxide trapping device will be described in detail below . releasing said trapped carbon - isotope monoxide from said trapping device , whereby a volume of carbon - isotope monoxide enriched gas - mixture is achieved . the production step may further comprise a step of changing carrier gas for the initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture if the initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture is comprised of carbon - isotope dioxide and a first carrier gas not suitable as carrier gas for carbon monoxide due to similar molecular properties or the like , such as nitrogen . more in detail the step of providing carbon - isotope dioxide in a suitable second carrier gas such as he , ar , comprises the steps of : flooding the initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture through a carbon dioxide trapping device , wherein carbon - isotope dioxide is trapped but not said first carrier gas . the carbon dioxide trapping device will be described in detail below . flushing said carbon dioxide trapping device with said suitable second carrier gas to remove the remainders of said first carrier gas . releasing said trapped carbon - isotope dioxide in said suitable second carrier gas . the labeling synthesis step that may follow the production step utilizes the produced carbon - isotope monoxide enriched gas - mixture as labeling reactant . more in detail the step of labeling synthesis comprises the steps of : providing a high pressure reaction chamber having a liquid / gas reagent inlet and a gas inlet in a bottom surface thereof . the reaction chamber will be described in detail below . providing a substrate solution to be labeled mixed with a transition metal complex . providing h 2 gas , with optional water or hor , where r is independently linear or lower cyclic alkyl or aryl . introducing the carbon - isotope monoxide enriched gas - mixture into the reaction chamber via the gas inlet . introducing , at high pressure , said h 2 gas , with optional water or hor , into the reaction chamber via the liquid / gas inlet . introducing , at high pressure , said substrate solution mixed with transition metal complex into the reaction chamber via the liquid reagent inlet . waiting a predetermined time while the labeling synthesis occurs . removing the solution of labeled compound from the reaction chamber . reducing the labeled compounds to alcohol . substituting with a halogen atom to obtain organohalide compounds . the step of waiting a predetermined time may further comprise adjusting the temperature of the reaction chamber such that the labeling synthesis is enhanced . fig2 schematically shows a [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide production and labeling - system according to the present invention . the system is comprised of three main blocks , each handling one of the three main steps of the method of production and labeling : block a is used to perform a change of carrier gas for an initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture , if the initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture is comprised of carbon - isotope dioxide and a first carrier gas not suitable as carrier gas for carbon monoxide . block b is used to perform the conversion from carbon - isotope dioxide to carbon - isotope monoxide , and purify and concentrate the converted carbon - isotope monoxide gas mixture . block c is used to perform the carbon - isotope monoxide labeling synthesis . block a is normally needed due to the fact that carbon - isotope dioxide usually is produced using the 14n ( p , α ) 11 c reaction in a target gas containing nitrogen and 0 . 1 % oxygen , bombarded with 17 mev protons , whereby the initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture comprises nitrogen as carrier gas . however , compared with carbon monoxide , nitrogen show certain similarities in molecular properties that makes it difficult to separate them from each other , e . g . in a trapping device or the like , whereby it is difficult to increase the concentration of carbon - isotope monoxide in such a gas mixture . suitable carrier gases may instead be helium , argon or the like . block a can also used to change the pressure of the carrier gas ( e . g . from 1 to 4 bar ), in case the external system does not tolerate the gas pressure needed in block b and c . in an alternative embodiment the initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture is comprised of carbon - isotope dioxide and a first carrier gas that is well suited as carrier gas for carbon monoxide , whereby the block a may be simplified or even excluded . according to a preferred embodiment ( fig2 ), block a is comprised of a first valve v 1 , a carbon dioxide trapping device 8 , and a second valve v 2 . the first valve v 1 has a carbon dioxide inlet 10 connected to a source of initial carbon - isotope dioxide gas mixture 12 , a carrier gas inlet 14 connected to a source of suitable carrier gas 16 , such as helium , argon and the like . the first valve v 1 further has a first outlet 18 connected to a first inlet 20 of the second valve v 2 , and a second outlet 22 connected to the carbon dioxide trapping device 8 . the valve v 1 may be operated in two modes a , b , in mode a the carbon dioxide inlet 10 is connected to the first outlet 18 and the carrier gas inlet 14 is connected to the second outlet 22 , and in mode b the carbon dioxide inlet 10 is connected to the second outlet 22 and the carrier gas inlet 14 is connected to the first outlet 18 . in addition to the first inlet 20 , the second valve v 2 has a second inlet 24 connected to the carbon dioxide trapping device 8 . the second valve v 2 further has a waste outlet 26 , and a product outlet 28 connected to a product inlet 30 of block b . the valve v 2 may be operated in two modes a , b , in mode a the first inlet 20 is connected to the waste outlet 26 and the second inlet 24 is connected to the product outlet 28 , and in mode b the first inlet 20 is connected to the product outlet 28 and the second inlet 24 is connected to the waste outlet 26 . the carbon dioxide trapping device 8 is a device wherein carbon dioxide is trapped but not said first carrier gas , which trapped carbon dioxide thereafter may be released in a controlled manner . this may preferably be achieved by using a cold trap , such as a column containing a material which in a cold state , ( e . g . − 196 ° c . as in liquid nitrogen or − 186 ° c . as in liquid argon ) selectively trap carbon dioxide and in a warm state ( e . g . + 50 ° c .) releases the trapped carbon dioxide . ( in this text the expression “ cold trap ” is not restricted to the use of cryogenics . thus , materials that trap the topical compound at room temperature and release it at a higher temperature are included ). examples of suitable material are silica and porapac q ®. the trapping behavior of a silica - column or a porapac - column is related to dipole - dipole interactions or possibly van der waal interactions . the said column 8 is preferably formed such that the volume of the trapping material is to be large enough to efficiently trap (& gt ; 95 %) the carbon - isotope dioxide , and small enough not to prolong the transfer of trapped carbon dioxide to block b . in the case of porapac q ® and a flow of 100 ml nitrogen / min , the volume should be 50 - 150 μl . the cooling and heating of the carbon dioxide trapping device 8 may further be arranged such that it is performed as an automated process , e . g . by automatically lowering the column into liquid nitrogen and moving it from there into a heating arrangement . according to the preferred embodiment of fig2 , block b is comprised of a reactor device 32 in which carbon - isotope dioxide is converted to carbon - isotope monoxide , a carbon dioxide removal device 34 , a check - valve 36 , and a carbon monoxide trapping device 38 , which all are connected in a line . in the preferred embodiment the reactor device 32 is a reactor furnace comprising a material that when heated to the right temperature interval converts carbon - isotope dioxide to carbon - isotope monoxide . a broad range of different materials with the ability to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide may be used , e . g . zinc or molybdenum or any other element or compound with similar reductive properties . if the reactor device 32 is a zinc furnace it should be heated to 350 to 400 ° c ., and it is important that the temperature is regulated with high precision . the melting point of zinc is 420 ° c . and the zinc - furnace quickly loses it ability to transform carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide when the temperature reaches over 410 ° c ., probably due to changed surface properties . the material should be efficient in relation to its amount to ensure that a small amount can be used , which will minimize the time needed to transfer radioactivity from the carbon dioxide trapping device 8 to the subsequent carbon monoxide trapping device 38 . the amount of material in the furnace should be large enough to ensure a practical life - time for the furnace ( at least several days ). in the case of zinc granulates , the volume should be 100 - 1000 μl . the carbon dioxide removal device 34 is used to remove traces of carbon - isotope dioxide from the gas mixture exiting the reactor device 32 . in the carbon dioxide removal device 34 , carbon - isotope dioxide is trapped but not carbon - isotope monoxide nor the carrier gas . the carbon dioxide removal device 34 may be comprised of a column containing ascarite ® ( i . e . sodium hydroxide on silica ). carbon - isotope dioxide that has not reacted in the reactor device 32 is trapped in this column ( it reacts with sodium hydroxide and turns into sodium carbonate ), while carbon - isotope monoxide passes through . the radioactivity in the carbon dioxide removal device 34 is monitored as a high value indicates that the reactor device 32 is not functioning properly . like the carbon dioxide trapping device 8 , the carbon monoxide trapping device 38 , has a trapping and a releasing state . in the trapping state carbon - isotope monoxide is selectively trapped but not said carrier gas , and in the releasing state said trapped carbon - isotope monoxide is released in a controlled manner . this may preferably be achieved by using a cold trap , such as a column containing silica or materials of similar properties , such as molecular sieves . such a cold trap selectively traps carbon monoxide in a cold state below − 100 ° c ., e . g . − 196 ° c . as in liquid nitrogen or − 186 ° c . as in liquid argon , and releases the trapped carbon monoxide in a warm state ( e . g . + 50 ° c .). the trapping behavior of the silica - column is related to dipole - dipole interactions or possibly van der waal interactions . the ability of the silica - column to trap carbon - isotope monoxide is reduced if the helium , carrying the radioactivity , contains nitrogen . a rationale is that since the physical properties of nitrogen are similar to carbon monoxide , nitrogen competes with carbon monoxide for the trapping sites on the silica . according to the preferred embodiment of fig2 , block c is comprised of a first and a second reaction chamber valve v 3 and v 4 , the aforementioned reaction chamber 50 , a reagent valve v 5 , an injection loop 70 and a solvent valve v 6 . the first reaction chamber valve v 3 has a gas mixture inlet 40 connected to the carbon monoxide trapping device 38 , a stop position 42 , a collection outlet 44 , a waste outlet 46 , and a reaction chamber connection port 48 connected to a gas inlet 52 of the reaction chamber 50 . the first reaction chamber valve v 3 has four modes of operation a to d . the reaction chamber connection port 48 is : in mode a connected to the gas mixture inlet 40 , in mode b connected to the stop position 42 , in mode c connected to the collection outlet 44 , and in mode d connected to the waste outlet 46 . the reaction chamber 50 ( micro - autoclave ) has a gas inlet 52 and a liquid inlet 54 , which are arranged such that they terminate at the bottom surface of the chamber . gas inlet 52 may also be used as product outlet after the labeling is finished . during operation the carbon - isotope monoxide enriched gas mixture is introduced into the reaction chamber 50 through the gas inlet 52 , where after the liquid reagent at high pressure enters the reaction chamber 50 through the liquid inlet 54 . fig3 a and 3 b shows schematic views of two preferred reaction chambers 50 in cross section . fig3 a is a cylindrical chamber which is fairly easy to produce , whereas the spherical chamber of fig3 b is the most preferred embodiment , as the surface area to volume - ratio of the chamber is further minimized . a minimal surface area to volume - ratio optimizes the recovery of labeled product and minimizes possible reactions with the surface material . due to the “ diving - bell construction ” of the reaction chamber 50 , both the gas inlet 52 and the liquid inlet 54 becomes liquid - filled and the reaction chamber 50 is filled from the bottom upwards . the gas - volume containing the carbon - isotope monoxide is thus trapped and given efficient contact with the reaction mixture . since the final pressure of the liquid is approximately 80 times higher than the original gas pressure , the final gas volume will be less than 2 % of the liquid volume according to the general gas - law . thus , a pseudo one - phase system will result . in the instant application , the term “ pseudo one - phase system ” means a closed volume with a small surface area to volume - ratio containing & gt ; 96 % liquid and & lt ; 4 % gas at pressures exceeding 200 bar . in most syntheses the transfer of carbon monoxide from the gas - phase to the liquid phase will probably not be the rate limiting step . after the labeling is finished the labeled volume is nearly quantitatively transferred from the reaction chamber by the internal pressure via the gas inlet / product outlet 52 and the first reaction chamber valve v 3 in position c . the second reaction chamber valve v 4 has a reaction chamber connection port 56 , a waste outlet 58 , and a reagent inlet 60 . the second reaction chamber valve v 4 has two modes of operation a and b . the reaction chamber connection port 56 is : in mode a connected to the waste outlet 58 , and in mode b it is connected to the reagent inlet 60 . the reagent valve v 8 , has a reagent outlet 96 connected to the reagent inlet 60 of the second reaction chamber valve v 4 , an injection loop inlet 104 and outlet 98 between which the injection loop 108 is connected , a waste outlet 100 , a reagent inlet 102 connected to a reagent source , and a solvent inlet 106 . the reagent valve v 8 , has two modes of operation a and b . in mode a , the reagent inlet 102 is connected to the injection loop inlet 104 , and the injection loop outlet 98 is connected to the waste outlet 100 , whereby a reagent may be fed into the injection loop 108 . in mode b , the solvent inlet 106 is connected to the injection loop inlet 104 , and the injection loop outlet 98 is connected to the reagent outlet 96 , whereby reagent stored in the injection loop 108 may be forced via the second reaction chamber valve v 4 into the reaction chamber 50 , if a high pressure is applied on the solvent inlet 106 . the reagent valve v 7 , has a reagent outlet 82 connected to the solvent inlet 106 of the reagent valve v 8 , an injection loop inlet 90 and outlet 84 between which the injection loop 94 is connected , a waste outlet 86 , a reagent inlet 88 connected to a reagent source , and a solvent inlet 92 . the reagent valve v 7 , has two modes of operation a and b . in mode a , the reagent inlet 88 is connected to the injection loop inlet 90 , and injection loop outlet 84 is connected to the waste outlet 86 , whereby a reagent may be fed into the injection loop 94 . in mode b , the solvent inlet 92 is connected to the injection loop inlet 90 , and the injection loop outlet 84 is connected to the reagent outlet 82 , whereby reagent stored in the injection loop 94 may be forced via the reagent valve v 8 and the second reaction chamber valve v 4 into the reaction chamber 50 if a high pressure is applied on the solvent inlet 92 . the reagent valve v 5 , has a reagent outlet 62 connected to the reagent inlet 92 of the reagent valve v 8 , an injection loop inlet 64 and outlet 66 between which the injection loop 70 is connected , a waste outlet 68 , a reagent inlet 71 connected to a reagent source , and a solvent inlet 72 . the reagent valve v 5 , has two modes of operation a and b . in mode a the reagent inlet 71 is connected to the injection loop inlet 64 , and the injection loop outlet 66 is connected to the waste outlet 68 , whereby a reagent may be fed into the injection loop 70 . in mode b the solvent inlet 72 is connected to the injection loop inlet 64 , and the injection loop outlet 66 is connected to the reagent outlet 62 , whereby reagent stored in the injection loop 70 may be forced via the reagent valve v 7 , the reagent valve v 8 and the second reaction chamber valve v 4 into the reaction chamber 50 if a high pressure is applied on the solvent inlet 72 . the solvent valve v 6 , has a solvent outlet 74 connected to the solvent inlet 72 of the reagent valve v 5 , a stop position 76 , a waste outlet 78 , and a solvent inlet 80 connected to a solvent supplying hplc - pump ( high performance liquid chromatography ) or any liquid - pump capable of pumping organic solvents at 0 - 10 ml / min at pressures up to 400 bar ( not shown ). the solvent valve v 6 , has two modes of operation a and b . in mode a the solvent outlet 74 is connected to the stop position 76 , and the solvent inlet 80 is connected to the waste outlet 78 . in mode b the solvent outlet 74 is connected to the solvent inlet 80 , whereby solvent may be pumped into the system at high pressure by the hplc - pump . except for the small volume of silica in the carbon monoxide trapping devise 38 , an important difference in comparison to the carbon dioxide trapping device 8 , as well as to all related prior art , is the procedure used for releasing the carbon monoxide . after the trapping of carbon monoxide on carbon monoxide trapping devise 8 , valve v 3 is changed from position a to b to stop the flow from the carbon monoxide trapping devise 38 and increase the gas - pressure on the carbon monoxide trapping devise 38 to the set feeding gas pressure ( 3 - 5 bar ). the carbon monoxide trapping devise 38 is then heated to release the carbon monoxide from the silica surface while not significantly expanding the volume of carbon monoxide in the carrier gas . valve v 4 is changed from position a to b and valve v 3 is then changed from position b to a . at this instance the carbon monoxide is rapidly and almost quantitatively transferred in a well - defined micro - plug into the reaction chamber 50 . micro - plug is defined as a gas volume less than 10 % of the volume of the reaction chamber 50 , containing the topical substance ( e . g . 1 - 20 μl ). this unique method for efficient mass - transfer to a small reaction chamber 50 , having a closed outlet , has the following prerequisites : a micro - column 38 defined as follows should be used . the volume of the trapping material ( e . g . silica ) should be large enough to efficiently trap (& gt ; 95 %) the carbon - isotope monoxide , and small enough (& lt ; 1 % of the volume of a subsequent reaction chamber 50 ) to allow maximal concentration of the carbon - isotope monoxide . in the case of silica and a reaction chamber 50 volume of 200 μl , the silica volume should be 0 . 1 - 2 μl . the dead volumes of the tubing and valve ( s ) connecting the silica column and the reaction chamber 50 should be minimal (& lt ; 10 % of the micro - autoclave volume ). the pressure of the carrier gas should be 3 - 5 times higher than the pressure in the reaction chamber 50 before transfer ( 1 atm .). in one specific preferred embodiment specifications , materials and components are chosen as follows . high pressure valves from valco ®, reodyne ® or cheminert ® are used . stainless steel tubing with o . d . 1 / 16 ″ is used except for the connections to the porapac - column 8 , the silica - column 38 and the reaction chamber 50 where stainless steel tubing with o . d . 1 / 32 ″ are used in order to facilitate the translation movement . the connections between v1 , v2 and v3 should have an inner diameter of 0 . 2 - 1 mm . the requirement is that the inner diameter should be large enough not to obstruct the possibility to achieve the optimal flow of he ( 2 - 50 ml / min ) through the system , and small enough not to prolong the time needed to transfer the radioactivity from the porapac - column 8 to the silica - column 38 . the dead volume of the connection between v 3 and the autoclave should be minimized (& lt ; 10 % of the autoclave volume ). the inner diameter ( 0 . 05 - 0 . 1 mm ) of the connection must be large enough to allow optimal he flow ( 2 - 50 ml / min ). the dead volume of the connection between v 4 and v 5 should be less than 10 % of the autoclave volume . when column 8 is a porapac - column , it is preferably comprised of a stainless steel tube ( o . d .= ⅛ ″, i . d .= 2 mm , 1 = 20 mm ) filled with porapac q ® and fitted with stainless steel screens . the silica - column 38 preferably is comprised of a stainless steel tube ( o . d = 1 / 16 ″, i . d .= 0 . 1 mm ) with a cavity ( d = 1 mm , h = 1 mm , v = 0 . 8 μl ) in the end . the cavity is filled with silica powder ( 100 / 80 mesh ) of gc - stationary phase type . the end of the column is fitted against a stainless steel screen . it should be noted that a broad range of different materials could be used in the trapping devices . if a gc - material is chosen , the criterions should be good retardation and good peak - shape for carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide respectively . the latter will ensure optimal recovery of the radioactivity . below a detailed description is given of a method of producing carbon - isotope using an exemplary system as described above . preparations of the system are performed by the steps 1 to 7 : 1 . v 1 in position a , v 2 in position a , v 3 in position a , v 4 in position a , helium flow on with a max pressure of 5 bar . with this setting , the helium flow goes through the [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide trapping column , the zinc furnace , the [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide trapping column , the reaction chamber 50 and out through v 4 . the system is conditioned , the reaction chamber 50 is rid of solvent and it can be checked that helium can be flowed through the system with at least 10 ml / min . 2 . the zinc - furnace is turned on and set at 400 ° c . 3 . the [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide and [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide trapping columns are cooled with liquid nitrogen . at − 196 ° c ., the porapac - and silica - column efficiently traps carbon - isotope dioxide and carbon - isotope monoxide respectively . 4 . v 5 in position a ( load ). the injection loop ( 250 μl ), attached to v 5 , is loaded with the reaction mixture , or when the substrate is in gas form , a solution of transition metal complex . 5 . v 7 in position a ( load ). the injection loop ( 250 - 1000 μl ), attached to v 7 , is loaded with h 2 gas , when used . 6 . v 8 in position a ( load ). the injection loop ( 250 - 1000 μl ), attached to v 8 , is loaded with a substrate when it is in gas form . 7 . the hplc - pump is attached to a flask with freshly distilled thf ( or other high quality solvent ) and primed . v 6 in position a . production of carbon - isotope dioxide may be performed by the steps 8 to 9 : 8 . carbon - isotope dioxide is produced using the 14n ( p , α ) 11 c reaction in a target gas containing nitrogen ( aga , nitrogen 6 . 0 ) and 0 . 1 % oxygen ( aga . oxygen 4 . 8 ), bombarded with 17 mev protons . 9 . the carbon - isotope dioxide is transferred to the apparatus using nitrogen with a flow of 100 ml / min . synthesis of carbon - isotope may thereafter be performed by the steps 10 to 19 : 10 . v 1 in position b and v 2 in position b . the nitrogen flow containing the carbon - isotope dioxide is now directed through the porapac - column ( cooled to − 196 ° c .) and out through a waste line . the radioactivity trapped in the porapac - column is monitored . 11 . when the radioactivity has peaked , v 1 is changed to position a . now a helium flow is directed through the porapac - column and out through the waste line . by this operation the tubings and the porapac - column are rid of nitrogen . 12 . v 2 in position a and the porapac - column is warmed to about 50 ° c . the radioactivity is now released from the porapac - column and transferred with a helium flow of 10 ml / min into the zinc - furnace where it is transformed into carbon - isotope monoxide . 13 . before reaching the silica - column ( cooled to − 196 ° c . ), the gas flow passes the ascarite - column . the carbon - isotope monoxide is now trapped on the silica - column . the radioactivity in the silica - column is monitored and when the value has peaked , v 3 is set to position b and then v 4 is set to position b . 14 . the silica - column is heated to approximately 50 ° c ., which releases the carbon - isotope monoxide . v 3 is set to position a and the carbon - isotope monoxide is transferred to the reaction chamber 50 within 15 s . 15 . v 3 is set to position b , v 5 is set to position b , v 7 is set to position b , v 8 is set to position 8 , the hplc - pump is turned on ( flow 7 ml / min ) and v 6 is set to position b . using the pressurized thf ( or other solvent ), the reaction mixture is transferred to the reaction chamber 50 . when the hplc - pump has reached its set pressure limit ( e . g 40 mpa ), it is automatically turned off and then v 6 is set to position a . 16 . the reaction chamber 50 is moved into the cavity of a heating block containing a high boiling liquid ( e . g . polyethylene glycol or mineral oil ). the temperature of the heating block is usually in the range of 100 - 200 ° c . 17 . after a sufficient reaction - time ( usually 5 min ), v 3 is set to position c and the content of the reaction chamber 50 is transferred to a collection vial . 18 . the reaction chamber 50 can be rinsed by the following procedure : v 3 is set to position b , the hplc - pump is turned on , v 6 is set to position b and when maximal pressure is reached v 6 is set to position a and v 3 is set to position 3 thereby transferring the rinse volume to the collection vial . 19 . the labeled product obtained in step 18 may then be subsequently reduced and then substituted in the collection vial to obtain desired labeled organohalides . the synthesis of labeled organohalides , such as [ 1 - 11 - c ] ethyl iodide , [ 1 - 11 - c ] propyl iodide and [ 11 c ] aryl halides , prepared from [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide and a grignard reagent has been described in the literature . isotopic dilution originating from carbon dioxide in the environment is a potential drawback of the grignard method . careful preparation and handling of the grignard reagent is required in order to maximize the specific radioactivity of the labeled organohalides . the instant invention utilizes [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide and presents an efficient method to synthesize labeled organohalides . the invention overcomes the limitations of the grignard method in respect to specific radioactivity . the low atmospheric concentration of carbon monoxide compared to carbon dioxide makes it more advantageous to use [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide than [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide when synthesizing labeled products which are aimed to have high specific radioactivity . the syntheses of labeled organohalides from [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide consist of three reaction steps : the precursors used in the carbonylation reaction together with [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide are olefins , acetylenes , alkyl halides and triflates , and aromatic halides and triflates . other reagents , used as nucleophile sources , are selected from a list comprising of : h 2 o , roh and h 2 where r is independently linear or cyclic lower alkyl . h 2 may be used alone or together with h 2 o or roh , since it has shown to increase yield and purity of the labeled organohalide when used as an additive . a base , e . g . tetrabutylammonium hydroxide , may also be added to activate the nucleophiles when alkyl halides and triflates , or aromatic halides and triflates , are used as precursors in the carbonylation reaction . the labeled products obtained in the carbonylation reaction are reduced to alkoxides and subsequently converted to organohalides . when alkyl - or aromatic halide or triflate are used as substrates , the substrates have the formula of r ′ 1 — x ′, and the resultant labeled organohalides have the formula of wherein a is h 2 gas or hor with optional base , b is h or or , r ′ 1 is defined as independently linear or cyclic lower alkyl or substituted aryl with cl , f or — or , x ′ is i , br or otf , x is i or br , m is pd , rh , co , pt or ru , l is phosphine ligand and r is defined as independently linear or lower cyclic alkyl or aryl . when olefin is sued as a substrate , the substrate has the formula of wherein a is h 2 gas or hor with optional base , b is h or or , r 1 is defined as independently linear or cyclic lower alkyl or aryl , x is i or br , m is pd , rh , co , pt or ru , l is phosphine ligand , p - tsoh is p - toluenesulfonic acid , and r is defined as independently linear or lower cyclic alkyl or aryl . when acetylene is used as substrates , there are two reaction schemes . under the first reaction scheme , the substrate has the formula wherein a is h 2 gas or hor and / or h 2 o with optional base , b is h and / or oh , or or and / or oh , r 1 is defined as independently linear or cyclic lower alkyl or aryl , x is i or br , m is pd , rh , co , pt or ru , l is phosphine ligand , p - tsoh is p - toluenesulfonic acid , dibal - h is diisobutylaluminiumhydride , and r is defined as independently linear or lower cyclic alkyl or aryl . wherein a is h 2 gas or hor and / or h 2 o with optional base , b is h and / or oh , or or and / or oh , r 1 is defined as independently linear or cyclic lower alkyl or aryl , x is i or br , m is pd , rh , co , pt or ru , l is phosphine ligand , naoac is sodium acetate , dibal - h is diisobutylaluminiumhydride , and r is defined as independently linear or lower cyclic alkyl or aryl . several applications for synthesizing useful pet tracers may then be accomplished through the use of the labeled organohalides as alkylating agents . some examples are illustrated below . wherein x - r 3 is a 11 c - labeled organohalide , r 2 is defined as independently substituted linear or cyclic alkyl or aryl , r ′ 2 is defined as hydrogen or independently substituted linear or cyclic alkyl or aryl , and x is a halogen . wherein x - r 3 is a 11 c - labeled organohalide , li — r 3 is a 121 c - labeled organolithium compound , r 2 and r ′ 2 are defined as independently substituted linear or cyclic alkyl or aryl , and x is a halogen . they provide valuable pet tracers in various pet studies . in an embodiment of the present invention , it provides kits for use as pet tracers comprising [ 11 c ]- labeled compounds . such kits are designed to give sterile products suitable for human administration , e . g . direct injection into the bloodstream . suitable kits comprise containers ( e . g . septum - sealed vials ) containing the adrenergic interfering agent and precursor of the adrenergic imaging agent . the kits may optionally further comprise additional components such as radioprotectant , antimicrobial preservative , ph - adjusting agent or filler . by the term “ radioprotectant ” is meant a compound which inhibits degradation reactions , such as redox processes , by trapping highly - reactive free radicals , such as oxygen - containing free radicals arising from the radiolysis of water . the radioprotectants of the present invention are suitably chosen from : ascorbic acid , para - aminobenzoic acid ( i . e . 4 - aminobenzoic acid ), gentisic acid ( i . e . 2 , 5 - dihydroxybenzoic acid ) and salts thereof with a biocompatible . by the term “ antimicrobial preservative ” is meant an agent which inhibits the growth of potentially harmful micro - organisms such as bacteria , yeasts or moulds . the antimicrobial preservative may also exhibit some bactericidal properties , depending on the dose . the main role of the antimicrobial preservative ( s ) of the present invention is to inhibit the growth of any such micro - organism in the pharmaceutical composition post - reconstitution , i . e . in the radioactive diagnostic product itself . the antimicrobial preservative may , however , also optionally be used to inhibit the growth of potentially harmful micro - organisms in one or more components of the kit of the present invention prior to reconstitution . suitable antimicrobial preservatives include : the parabens , i . e ., ethyl , propyl or butyl paraben or mixtures thereof ; benzyl alcohol ; phenol ; cresol ; cetrimide and thiomersal . preferred antimicrobial preservative ( s ) are the parabens . the term “ ph - adjusting agent ” means a compound or mixture of compounds useful to ensure that the ph of the reconstituted kit is within acceptable limits ( approximately ph 4 . 0 to 10 . 5 ) for human administration . suitable such ph - adjusting agents include pharmaceutically acceptable buffers , such as tricine , phosphate or tris [ i . e . tris ( hydroxymethyl ) aminomethane ], and pharmaceutically acceptable bases such as sodium carbonate , sodium bicarbonate or mixtures thereof . when the ligand conjugate is employed in acid salt form , the ph - adjusting agent may optionally be provided in a separate vial or container , so that the user of the kit can adjust the ph as part of a multi - step procedure . by the term “ filler ” is meant a pharmaceutically acceptable bulking agent which may facilitate material handling during production and lyophilisation . suitable fillers include inorganic salts such as sodium chloride , and water soluble sugars or sugar alcohols such as sucrose , maltose , mannitol or trehalose . the invention is further described in the following examples which are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention . [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide production was performed using a scanditronix mc - 17 cyclotron at uppsala imanet . the 14 n ( p , α ) 11 c reaction was employed in a gas target containing nitrogen ( nitrogen 6 . 0 ) and 0 . 1 % oxygen ( oxygen 4 . 8 ) which was bombarded with 17 mev protons . [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide was obtained by reduction of [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide as described in the instant application . the syntheses with [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide were performed with an automated module as part of the system “ synthia 2000 ”. [ 11 c ] carbon dioxide was trapped on a column ( porapac q ) at − 196 ° c . and released by heating and reduced during its passage through a zinc filled tube at 400 ° c . hplc analysis was performed with a beckman 126 - gradient pump and a beckman 166 variable wavelength uv - detector in series with a β + - flow detector . the analytical column was a beckman ultrasphere ods c 18 ( 250 × 4 . 6 mm id ). alternatively , when acids are obtained due to small amount of water in the reagents , the reaction scheme becomes : tris ( dibenzylideneacetone ) dipalladium ( 0 ) ( 0 . 80 mg , 0 . 87 μmol ) and triphenylphosphine ( 2 . 7 mg , 10 . 3 μmol , 12 equiv .) were placed in a 0 . 8 ml vial equipped with a rubber septum . thf ( 360 μl ) was added and the resulting solution was degassed with argon . methyl iodide ( 1 . 0 μl , 16 μmol , 18 equiv .) was added . the solution was loaded into an injection valve loop . a second injection valve loop was loaded with hydrogen gas ( 1 . 0 ml , 1 atm .). thf was pumped through the two injection loops and the reagents were pumped into a 200 μl teflon coated stainless steel micro - autoclave containing [ 11 c ] co . the micro - autoclave was heated for 5 min at 120 ° c . the reaction mixture was transferred to a 2 ml septum - equipped evacuated glass vial containing lithium aluminium hydride ( 100 μl , 1 m ). the vial was heated at 120 ° c . for 2 - 3 min during the removal of thf under a stream of nitrogen gas . then the vial was cooled down to sub - zero temperature . hydriodic acid ( 1 . 0 ml , 57 wt . % in water ) was added and the vial was heated for 5 min at 120 ° c . the vial was removed from the heating and [ 1 - 11 c ] ethyl iodide was transferred in a stream of nitrogen gas ( 20 ml / min ) through a drying tower ( phosphorus pentoxide desiccant ) to a trapping vessel . analytical lc was used to assess the identity and radiochemical purity . radiochemical yield of [ 1 - 11 c ] ethyl iodide was 66 ± 6 % with a radiochemical purity of 87 ± 2 %. [ 11 c ] methyl iodide was the only radiochemical by - product . in a 0 . 8 ml glass vial equipped with a rubber septum , ( r )- 3 -( 1 - phenyl - ethyl )- 3h - imidazole - 4 - carboxylic acid ( 1 . 2 mg , 5 . 5 μmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 200 μl ) at room temperature . tetrabutylammonium hydroxide in methanol ( 4 . 8 μl , 1 m , 4 . 8 μmol ) was added . the vial was gently heated and the solvent was thoroughly removed under a stream of nitrogen gas . dimethylformamide ( 300 μl ) was added . [ 1 - 11 c ] ethyl iodide , prepared as described above , was transferred in a flow of nitrogen gas ( 20 ml / min ) to the glass vial and bubbled through the solution . the vial was heated for 5 min at 120 ° c . the reaction mixture was injected onto a semi - preparative hplc column and ( r )-[ o - ethyl - 1 - 11 c ] etomidate was isolated . mobile phase a1 : b2 ( 52 : 48 ). flow 4 ml min 31 1 . r . t 12 . 1 .- 13 . 5 min . analytical lc was used to assess the identity and radiochemical purity . mobile phase a1 : b2 ( 45 : 55 ). flow 1 . 5 ml min − 1 . r . t . 8 . 4 min . radiochemical purity & gt ; 99 %. initial product specific radioactivity yield a amount radioactivity substrate product 11 co ( gbq ) (%) ( nmol ) ( gbq / μmol ) 2 . 5 ± 0 . 5 7 10 45 ± 0 . 5 25 22 31 ± 6 15 15 8 . 4 ± 1 . 2 22 36 a isolated decay - corrected radiochemical yield calculated from the initial amount of radioactivity used in the [ 1 - 11 c ] ethyl iodide synthesis tris ( dibenzylideneacetone ) dipalladium ( 0 ) ( 0 . 7 mg , 0 . 76 μmol ), triphenylphosphine ( 2 . 7 mg , 10 . 3 μmol , 12 equiv .) and p - toluenesulfonic acid ( 3 . 9 mg , 20 . 5 μmol ) were placed in a 0 . 8 ml vial equipped with rubber septum . thf ( 360 μl ) was added and the resulting solution was degassed with argon . the solution was loaded into an injection valve loop . a second injection valve loop was loaded with ethene ( 1 . 0 ml , 1 atm .). a third injection valve loop was loaded with hydrogen gas ( 0 . 7 ml , 1 atm .). thf was pumped through all three injection loops and the reagents were pumped into a 200 μl teflon coated stainless steel micro - autoclave containing [ 11 c ] co . the reagents were contained in the autoclave for 5 min at room temperature . then the reaction mixture was transferred to a 2 ml septa - equipped evacuated glass vial containing lithium aluminium hydride ( 100 μl , 1 m ). the vial was heated at 120 ° c . for 2 - 3 min during the removal of thf under a stream of nitrogen gas . then the vial was cooled down to sub - zero temperature . hydriodic acid ( 1 . 0 ml , 57 wt . % in water ) was added and the vial was heated for 5 min at 120 ° c . the vial was removed from the heat source and [ 1 - 11 c ] propyl iodide was transferred in a stream of nitrogen ( 20 ml / minute ) through a drying tower ( phosphorus pentoxide desiccant ) to a trapping vessel . analytical lc was used to assess the identity and radiochemical purity . radiochemical yield of [ 1 - 11 c ] propyl iodide was 58 ± 4 % based on [ 11 c ] carbon monoxide . the radiochemical purity was 93 ± 2 %. [ 11 c ] methyl iodide was the only radiochemical by - product . the present invention is not to be limited in scope by specific embodiments described herein . indeed , various modifications of the inventions in addition to those described herein will become apparent to these skilled in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying figures . such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims . various publications and patent applications are cited herein , the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties .	2
the subsequent embodiment examples relate to drive arrangement , with which the inner part of the pump is designed as a rotor and is driven in rotation . accordingly , the outer part of the eccentric screw pump is designed as a non - rotating stator . i . e . the relative movement between the rotor and the stator is produced alone by the rotation of the rotor . however , it is to be understood that the principle on which the invention is based may be used for setting the fit between the rotor and the stator , also with arrangement with which the outer part , hereinafter described as a stator rotates , relative to the inner part . the eccentric screw pump represented in fig1 is designed as a submersible pump , which at its lower end comprises an electric drive motor 2 , on which the actual pump unit 4 is flanged in an axial manner . the pump unit 4 comprises peripheral entry openings 6 and a pressure union 8 at its upper , axial end in the direction of the longitudinal axis x . the eccentric screw pump arranged in the inside of the pump unit 4 comprises an annular stator 10 , as well as a screw - like rotor 12 arranged in its inside . in the shown example , the stator inner side is coated with an elastomer material 14 , which comes into contact with the outer surface of the rotor 12 at the contact locations . the rotor 12 is preferably designed of steel , in particular stainless steel or ceramic . the rotor 12 and the stator 10 in the known manner , form an eccentric screw pump or moineau pump , with which the rotor 12 rotates in the inside of the stator 10 about its longitudinal axis . thereby , the longitudinal axis simultaneously describes a circle movement about the stator longitudinal axis , i . e . the rotor rotates eccentrically in the stator 10 . the pump effect is produced by way of the stator inner wall and the rotor inner wall having a different number of helical windings . with the pump assembly shown in fig1 , the eccentric screw pump is designed in a conical manner , i . e . the stator 10 or the inner space of the stator 10 , and the rotor 12 , taper towards an axial end - side 16 . the end - side 16 forms the pressure side of the pump , whilst the opposite end - side 18 of the stator 10 is situated on the suction side of the pump . the rotor 12 , via a rotor shaft 20 connecting to the end - side 18 , at an articulation point 22 , is connected to the driven shaft 24 of the drive motor 2 . the rotor shaft 20 is designed in an articulated manner , such that the rotor shaft 20 on its rotation additionally may carry out an eccentric movement . the flexibility of the rotor shaft 20 is realized by the bellows 30 on the end of the rotor shaft 20 , which faces the drive motor 2 , and which will be described later . this eccentric movement is effected in a manner such that a fictive joint point 23 on the longitudinal axis of the bellows 30 forms the tip of the cone , on whose surface the rotor shaft 20 with the rotor 12 , moves eccentrically , whilst the rotor shaft 20 and the rotor 12 driven by the drive motor 2 , rotate about their longitudinal axis . this means that the rotor 12 together with the rotor shaft 20 in the inside of the stator 14 , carries out an eccentric movement which is effected in a conical manner about the longitudinal axis x and the joint point 23 in the bellows 30 . the eccentricity results on account of the design of the stator 10 and rotor 12 , so that the rotor 12 automatically carries out the described eccentric movement on rotation of the rotor about its own axis . the eccentric movement is effected such that the eccentricity is the greatest , i . e . the diameter of the circle on which the middle axis of the rotor moves on rotation is the greatest , at the end - side 16 . eccentricity is no longer given at the joint point 23 in the bellows 30 . the rotor at the end - side 18 moves with a lower eccentricity than at the end - side 16 , i . e . the diameter of the circle on which the middle axis of the rotor moves on its rotation , is smaller . the eccentric screw pump according to the invention is designed such that the fit between the rotor 12 and the stator 10 is automatically set in dependence on the pressure conditions at the pressure side and the suction side of the eccentric screw pump , and in particular on the pressure difference between the pressure side and the suction side . this means that the pressing pressure at the contact surfaces between the rotor 12 and the stator 10 is adapted automatically in dependence on the fluid pressure . with the example shown in fig1 , this is effected by way of the fluid pressure prevailing on the pressure side , i . e . the end - side 16 , acting on a pressure surface 26 facing the suction side , as is described in more detail by way of fig3 to 4 . the rotor 12 comprises a centrally arranged channel which extends in the longitudinal direction from the end - side 16 up to the pressure surface 26 , which here forms the opposite end - side of the rotor 12 . at the pressure surface 26 , the channel 28 opens into the inside of the hollowly designed rotor shaft 20 . thus the fluid pressure bearing at the end - side 16 , i . e . the pressure side of the eccentric screw pump , may be led through the channel 28 onto the pressure surface 26 which is distant to the end - side 16 , i . e . the pressure side . this leads to force conditions as are represented essentially in fig4 by way of a detailed view . a force f z which is caused by the fluid pressure on the pressure side of the pump acts on the end - side of the rotor 12 which faces the end - side 16 . this force f z is dependent on the size , i . e . the diameter b of the end - side of the rotor 12 . since the fluid pressure is led from the suction side through the channel 28 , into the inside of the rotor shaft 20 , a force f a is produced on the inner surface which faces the rotor 12 and which forms the pressure surface 26 , by way of the fluid pressure bearing on the pressure side of the rotor 12 . this force is moreover dependent on the size of the pressure surface 26 , i . e . on the inner diameter a of the rotor shaft 20 , which corresponds to the diameter of the pressure surface 26 . ideally , the pressure surface 26 is greater than the end - side surface of the rotor 12 at the end - side 16 . this leads to the fact that the force f a is always greater than the force f z , since the same pressure prevails on both sides , so that it is ensured that the rotor 12 is pressed into the stator 10 in the direction towards the end side 16 . the pressing force acting in the axial direction thereby is the difference of the forces f a and f z , i . e . the force which results from the surface area difference of the two end - sides of the rotor 12 , multiplied by the fluid pressure prevailing at the pressure side , as well as the components from pressure conditions in the cavities between the rotor 12 and the stator 10 . from this , it results that the pressing force between the rotor and stator increases with an increasing fluid pressure at the pressure side . the rotor shaft 20 is designed such that an axial displaceability of the rotor 12 is given in the direction of the longitudinal axis w of the rotor 12 and the rotor shaft 20 . this longitudinal displacement ability is likewise realized by the bellows 30 , which forms an elastic wall of the rotor shaft 20 . the bellows 30 may be designed of metal or plastic , in particular of an elastomer . apart from the elasticity in the axial direction w , is must also have a torsional stiffness for transmitting the torque which acts on the rotor shaft 20 , as well as a flexibility for the eccentric movement of the rotor 12 . the rotor shaft 20 with the bellows 30 is designed in a hollow manner , so that a pressure space 32 and 34 is formed in the inside . the pressure space 32 thereby lies in the rigid part of the rotor shaft 20 , the pressure space 34 lies in the part of the rotor shaft 20 which is formed by the bellows 30 . the pressure spaces 32 and 34 are separated from one another by a separating wall 36 . the separating wall 36 is arranged at the axial end of the rigid part of the rotor shaft 20 , adjacent to the part formed by the bellows 30 . the separating wall 38 comprises a channel , which extends between the two end - sides , and which connects the two pressure spaces 32 and 34 adjacent to the end - sides , to one another . the channel 38 forms a throttle location , by way of which the fluid which led through the channel 28 from the pressure side of the rotor 12 , may flow from the pressure space 32 into the pressure space 34 and back . this throttle location periodically damps occurring pressure fluctuations which occur on operation of the eccentric screw pump , which is inherent of the design . in this manner , fluctuations of the pressing force f a on account of the pressure fluctuations are eliminated . only larger pressure fluctuations with a greater period lead to a change in the force f a . the bellows 30 on account of its elasticity , acts as a spring element in the axial direction , which produces a bias between the rotor 12 and the stator 40 . on account of the elasticity of the bellows 30 , the rotor 12 is pressed in the direction of the longitudinal axis w into the inside of the stator . a second embodiment according to the invention is described by way of fig5 . this embodiment differs from the previously described embodiment in that here , the pressure side is situated at the end of the conically designed rotor , which has the largest diameter . inasmuch as this is concerned , the arrangement is exactly the opposite of that previously described . with this embodiment , a pressure channel which is not shown in fig5 is provided , which connects the pressure side to a surface of the stator 40 , which faces the suction side . the eccentric screw pump shown in fig5 comprises a stator 40 , in which a rotor 42 is arranged , wherein the stator 40 and the rotor 42 comprise the spiral - like surface design which is usual with eccentric screw pumps . the stator 40 is arranged in a housing 44 , which at a first axial end comprises a suction opening 46 , through which the fluid to be delivered penetrates into the pump . the suction opening 46 faces the end - side 48 of the stator 40 and the rotor 42 , which has the smallest diameter . at the opposite end - side 50 , the rotor 42 and the inside of the stator 40 have a larger diameter . the inside of the stator 40 and the outer periphery of the rotor 42 are thus designed in a conical manner . the end - side 50 faces the pressure side of the eccentric screw pump which is formed by the stator 40 and the rotor 42 . the rotor 42 , on the axial side , merges into a rotor shaft 52 , wherein here , the rotor 42 and the rotor shaft 52 are designed as an integral component . the rotor shaft 52 at its axial end 54 which is distant to the rotor 42 , is connected to a motor shaft of a drive motor which is not shown here . with this embodiment form too , the rotor shaft 52 with the rotor 42 executes an eccentric movement in the inside of the stator 40 , wherein the rotor shaft 52 on the one hand rotates about its longitudinal axis x , and on the other hand executes an eccentric movement about the longitudinal axis x of the stator 40 . thereby here , the rotor 42 , as described with the first embodiment example , executes a movement with which the longitudinal axis w runs on the cone superficies surface on account of the conical design of the rotor 42 and the stator 40 . thereby , the tip of this cone is situated in the articulation point of the rotor shaft 52 on the motor shaft . this means that the end of the rotor 42 which is situated at the end - side 48 executes an eccentric movement about the longitudinal axis x , with a greater diameter than the end region of the rotor 42 at the end - side 50 . preferably , an eccentricity of the movement is no longer given at the axial end 54 of the rotor shaft which is connected to the motor shaft . at its end which is distant to the rotor 42 , the rotor shaft 52 comprises a seal 56 which seals the space 58 which connects to the stator 40 to the motor on the pressure side . shoulder surfaces 60 are formed on the seal 56 , which are distant to the rotor 42 and thus to the suction side on the end - side 48 . since these shoulder surfaces 60 are situated in the inside of the space 58 , in which the pressure - side fluid pressure acts , the fluid pressure acts onto these shoulder surfaces 60 , and produces a force in the direction of the longitudinal axis w of the rotor shaft 52 , which presses the rotor shaft 52 with the rotor 42 , towards the end - side 48 in the stator 40 . in this manner , a pressing force between the rotor 42 and the stator 40 is produced by the fluid pressure at the pressure side , and this pressing force increases with an increasing fluid pressure on the pressure side of the pump , and reduces with a reducing fluid pressure . this with this embodiment too , an automatic setting of the fit and thus of the pressing force between the rotor 42 and the stator 40 is ensured on operation of the pump . in the shown example , the rotor shaft is designed as one piece with the rotor 42 , of a ceramic material , and in its inside comprises a cavity 62 . the cavity 62 has a polygonal cross - sectional shape and is engaged at it face - end which is distant to the rotor 42 , to a coupling element 64 which has a corresponding polygonal , outer cross - sectional shape . the coupling element 64 forms the axial end 54 of the rotor shaft 52 . the coupling element 64 may be displaced axially in the inside of the cavity 62 in the direction of the longitudinal axis w . in this manner , an axial displaceability of the rotor shaft 52 or the rotor 42 relative to the stator 40 is achieved . moreover , the coupling element 64 permits the eccentric movement of the rotor shaft 52 about a fictive joint point 65 on the middle axis of the coupling element 64 . for this , the coupling element 64 is formed on an elastomer material , preferably rubber , or comprises a coating of an elastomer material or rubber at least on its region which faces the inside of the rotor shaft 52 . this leads to an articulated mounting of the coupling element 64 in the cavity 62 , in the inside of the rotor shaft 52 . thus the rotation shaft executes an eccentric movement about the coupling element 64 and the joint point 65 on account of the flexibility of the connection between the rotor shaft 52 and the coupling part 64 . the pressing force with which the rotor 42 presses into the stator 40 , is sets automatically on account of the pressures at the suction side and pressure side of the rotor 42 , as well as the pressure of the surroundings , and in particular on the basis of the force conditions between the pressure forces acting on the shoulder surfaces 60 as well as on the end - face of the rotor 42 at the axial side 48 , and the pressure of the surroundings acting on the axial end 54 . additionally , here , a spring element 66 is provided in the region of the seal 56 and this produces a biasing of the rotor in the direction of the stator 40 . the stator 40 on its inner surface which faces the rotor 42 , has a coating 68 of an elastomer material . a further embodiment of an eccentric screw pump is described by way of fig6 . with this embodiment , in contrast to the two previously described embodiments , it is not the rotor , but the stator which is axially movably mounted . the rotor 72 is arranged in the inside of a stator 74 as with the embodiment according to fig1 to 4 . the stator 74 is movably guided in a housing 76 on the axial direction x , i . e . in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the stator 72 . the arrangement as is shown schematically in fig6 , is applied in a manner such that the suction side 70 of the pump is situated at the axial end of the conical rotor 72 with the smaller diameter . thus the exit - side pressure of the eccentric screw pump bears on the end - face 80 at the axial side , wherein the rotor 72 is fixed by an axial bearing which is not shown . then the pressure - side pressure may be led through a channel or gap 82 between the housing 76 and the stator 74 , onto an end - face 84 of the stator 74 , which faces the suction side 70 of the pump . thus a pressure force is produce on this end - face 84 , which presses the stator onto the rotor 72 . it is to be understood that for setting the fit or the pressing force between the rotor and stator , it is merely a question of the relative movement between the rotor and the stator . thus the embodiments according to fig6 and fig1 to 5 may be combined with one another , i . e . a rotor as well as a stator may be provided , on which the pressure prevailing on the pressure side of the pump acts in a manner such that the rotor and stator which are designed conically to one another in a complementary manner , are pressed against one another . with the shown embodiment examples , the rotor shaft which drives the rotor , is always arranged at that end of the conical rotor which has the greater diameter . the invention may however also be realized with an arrangement in which the rotor shaft is arranged at the end of the rotor with the smaller diameter . fig7 shows an embodiment with which the rotor 86 driven by the rotor shaft 88 may execute a purely rotational movement . with this embodiment , the occurring eccentricity between the rotor 86 and the stator 90 given a rotation of the rotor 86 is compensated by a movement ability of the stator 90 . thus the stator 90 is part of a stator housing which is extended beyond the axial end - side 92 of the rotor 86 . the extension 94 of the stator housing is designed in a tubular manner , and at its end which is distant to the rotor 86 , merges into a bellows 96 , which is connected to the pressure union 98 of the surrounding pump housing 100 . with the embodiment example shown in fig7 , the pressure side of the pump bears on the side of the rotor 86 and stator 90 , which has the greatest cross section . i . e . the end 102 of the eccentric screw pump which is formed of the rotor 86 and the stator 90 , forms the suction side of the pump which is in connection with the inside of the surrounding pump housing 100 and with a suction connection 104 which runs into this pump housing . on operation of the pump , the rotor 86 executes a rotational movement about its longitudinal axis . the stator 90 with the connecting extension 94 simultaneously carries out an eccentric movement with respect to the longitudinal axis x , wherein the eccentric movement is made possible on account of the bellows 96 which forms a joint . a fictive joint point 106 about which the eccentric movement of the stator 90 is effected , is situated in the inside of the bellows 96 on the longitudinal axis x . thereby , here too , the eccentric movement describes a path along a cone surface , wherein the joint point 106 forms the cone tip . i . e . the eccentricity is greatest at the face - end 102 of the stator 90 , and is equal to zero in the joint point 106 . the inside of the extension 94 forms a pressure chamber in which the pressure - side pump pressure of the eccentric screw pump acts . thereby , the pressure - side pressure on the one hand acts on the end - face 92 of the rotor 86 , and simultaneously on the annular surface 108 which surrounds the bellows 96 and which is arranged in the inside of the pressure space formed by the extension 94 . the rotor 86 thereby is fixed by way of an axial bearing which is not shown . the annular surface 108 thereby is arranged at the side of the extension 94 , which is distant to the end - side 92 of the rotor 86 , and on the rotor 86 , i . e . faces the suction side of the pump . since the suction - side pressure prevails in the inside of the pump housing 100 , the suction pressure also bears on the outer wall of the extension 94 , which is opposite to the annular surface 108 , said pressure being lower than the pressure in the inside of the extension 94 . in this manner , on account of the pressure in the inside of the extension 94 , the stator 90 is pressed towards the pressure union 86 , wherein the longitudinal compensation is effected by the bellows 96 . thus with this embodiment too , one may effect an automatic setting of the fit between the rotor 86 and the stator 90 , in dependence on the pressure difference between the suction side and the pressure side of the eccentric screw pump .	5
the invention provides a light fibre illumination source for plastic light fibres that achieves a high illumination intensity while preventing heat generated by various heating mechanisms from damaging or destroying the light fibres . the main heating mechanisms are : absorption of non - visible radiation by the light fibres ; absorption of radiation by the adhesive retaining the light fibres in the light fibre connector ; and absorption of radiation by the light fibre connector and other components in direct or indirect thermal contact with the light fibres . in the light fibre illumination source according to the invention , absorption of non - visible radiation is reduced by a high - efficiency non - visible radiation filter which removes infra - red and ultra - violet energy from the output of the lamp , and provides an output in which the majority of the energy is visible light energy in the wavelength range of 400 - 700 nm . absorption of radiation by the adhesive retaining the light fibres in the light fibre connector is reduced by using an adhesive that is non - absorbent in the range of wavelengths emitted by the lamp . absorption of radiation by the light fibre connector and other components in direct or indirect thermal contact with the light fibres is reduced by an aperture arrangement that is thermally isolated from the light fibres and the light fibre connector . as an alternative to aperturing , a taper can be used to reduce heat conduction and to increase the amount of light coupled into the light fibres . although primarily intended to operate with plastic light fibres , the light fibre illumination source according to the invention may additionally be used with advantage with glass light fibres . glass light fibres are less susceptible to thermal damage , but the radiation emitted by the light fibre illumination system according to the invention operating with glass light fibres ( and also with plastic light fibres ) is restricted substantially to visible wavelengths . such visible light radiation is clinically preferable to radiation covering a broader range of wavelengths . the optical arrangement of the light fibre illumination source 10 according to the invention is shown in fig3 a . in this , the high - intensity light source 12 typically includes a xenon arc lamp ( not shown ). a suitable lamp is an cermax ™ xenon short arc lamp made by ilc technology . this lamp has an pre - aligned internal parabolic reflector that produces a beam half - angle of about 3 degrees . the lamp is connected to a suitable power supply ( not shown ). the radiation ( i . e ., visible and non - visible light ) from the high - intensity light source 10 passes through the dichroic filter 14 to the condenser lens 16 . alternatively , the internal reflector in the lamp may be dichroic , in which case the external dichroic filter 14 may be omitted . the condenser lens 16 focuses the radiation from the high - intensity light source on the end of a bundle of plastic light fibres 18 . the bundle of light fibres is connected to the light fibre illumination source 10 by the connector 20 . super eska ™ fibres are suitable fibres for the plastic light fibres 18 . the parts thus far described can also be found in a known light fibre illumination source . the radiation leaving the dichroic filter 14 includes considerable non - visible energy , which , when absorbed by the light fibres 18 , heats the light fibres . the radiation falling on the adhesive retaining the bundle of light fibres 18 in the light fibre connector 20 is absorbed , and is turned into heat . the light fibre connector conducts this heat to the light fibres , and the conducted heat additionally contributes to heating the light fibres . the condenser lens 16 focuses the radiation ( i . e ., visible and non - visible light ) from the high - intensity lamp 10 on the proximal ends of the light fibres . stray radiation additionally falls on the light fibre connector 20 and the connector mounting 22 on which the light fibre connector is mounted . the light fibre connector and connector mounting absorb the stray radiation falling on them , turn the radiation into heat , and conduct the heat to the light fibres . this heat additionally contributes to heating the light fibres . with such a known arrangement , the lamp output must be reduced , or the inefficient glass fibre coupler described above must be used if plastic light fibres are to be used . either of these measures results in the light fibre illumination system producing an unsatisfactory illumination level . in the light fibre illumination source 10 according to the invention , the non - visible radiation filter 24 is placed between the dichroic filter 14 and the condenser lens 16 . in the preferred embodiment , the non - visible radiation filter is a piece of a non - visible radiation absorbing glass , such as types kg - 1 and kg - 3 filter glass made by schott glass company . the transmissivity versus wavelength characteristics of the kg - 1 and kg - 3 filter glass is shown in fig4 . a reduction by a factor of three in the residual level of infra - red radiation ( λ & gt ; 700 nm ) passed by a typical dichroic filter has been measured in an embodiment using this type of filter glass as the non - visible radiation filter . the residual level of near infra - red radiation passed by the non - visible radiation filter 24 is insufficient to cause significant heating of the light fibres 18 , even though the light fibres have a high absorption of near infra - red radiation . if the radiation generated by the lamp 12 includes significant levels of ultra - violet radiation in addition to visible radiation and infra - red radiation , the non - visible radiation filter 24 can additionally be made ultra - violet absorbent to attenuate such radiation . the radiation beam downstream of the non - visible radiation filter 24 will be referred to as a &# 34 ; light beam .&# 34 ; the non - visible radiation filter 24 may be placed anywhere in the optical path downstream of the dichroic filter 14 and before the light fibre connector 20 . however , if the non - visible radiation filter operates by absorbing radiation energy at non - visible wavelengths , and therefore heats up , the filter 24 is preferably placed at a point in the optical path where the diameter of the radiation beam is greatest , or is as large as other design constraints allow . this allows the energy absorption to be spread over a relatively large volume of the filter . in the optical arrangement shown , placing the non - visible radiation filter 24 between the dichroic filter 14 and the condenser lens 16 fulfills these requirements . alternative , more complex , filters that combine infra - red reflection and absorption are available from various manufacturers for use as the non - visible radiation filter 24 . however , such filters may require customizing to give good color characteristics in the visible region of the spectrum , and so are less preferable than a glass filter that operates by absorption . in the light fibre illumination source 10 according to the invention , the aperture plate 26 is placed in the light beam between the condenser lens 16 and the proximal end of the light fibres 18 . the aperture plate restricts the extent of the light beam such that the extent of the light beam is similar to the extent of the bundle of light fibres in the light fibre connector . by restricting the extent of the light beam in this way , the aperture plate 26 prevents much of the light beam from spilling onto the light fibre connector 20 and the connector mounting 22 . this prevents the light fibre connector and connector mounting from absorbing a significant amount of the stray light , which , in turn , prevents heat resulting from the absorption of stray light from heating the light fibres by conduction from the light fibre connector . the size and shape of the aperture 25 is chosen so that the extent of the light beam is similar to the extent of the proximal end of the light fibres 18 . for example , if the light fibres are in a circular bundle at the light fibre connector 20 , the aperture 25 is made circular . ideally , the diameter of the aperture should be chosen such that the light beam falling on the bundle of light fibres is circular with a diameter equal to that of the diameter of the bundle of light fibres . however , the aperture 25 does not cast a perfectly sharp shadow on the proximal ends of the light fibres , so if the diameter of the aperture is chosen to make the diameter of the light beam falling on the light fibres equal to the diameter of the bundle of light fibres , the resulting illumination of the light fibres will fall off towards the periphery of the bundle . to illuminate all the light fibres in the bundle uniformly , the diameter of the aperture is chosen to make the diameter of the light beam falling on the light fibres slightly larger than the diameter of the bundle of light fibres . this provides uniform illumination of all the light fibres at the cost of a small amount of light spillage onto the light fibre connector 20 . for example , the aperture 25 with a diameter of about 2 . 5 mm mounted about 1 . 5 mm away from the light fibre connector 20 is used to illuminate a 1 . 5 mm diameter bundle of light fibres . in the arrangement just described , stray light energy is still absorbed , and the absorbed stray light energy is turned into heat . however , nearly all of the stray light energy is absorbed by the aperture plate 26 , and the amount of stray light energy absorbed by the light fibre connector 20 and the connector mounting 22 is minimized . to prevent heat reaching the light fibres 18 from the aperture plate 26 , the aperture plate is thermally isolated from the light fibre connector 20 . thermal isolation is achieved by attaching the aperture plate 26 to the heat sink 28 , which dissipates the heat resulting from the aperture plate absorbing the stray light . the aperture plate 26 and heat sink 28 are mounted at some distance from the light fibre connector 20 so that the heat sink can dissipate heat at a point remote from the light fibre connector 20 . this reduces conduction of heat between the aperture plate and the light fibre connector . mounting the aperture plate and the heat sink remotely from the light fibre connector also reduces heat transfer from the aperture plate to the light fibre connector by secondary radiation . further reductions in heat conduction between the aperture plate 26 and the connector 20 can be achieved by including a thermal insulator in the path from the aperture plate 26 and its heat sink 28 to the light fibre connector 20 . convection cooling or some form of forced cooling , such as a fan , can alternatively or additionally be provided for the aperture plate and / or for the space between the aperture plate and the proximal ends of the light fibres . finally , as shown in fig3 b , radiation absorption by the adhesive retaining the light fibres 18 in the light fibre connector 20 is reduced by using an adhesive that is transparent to visible light is used for the adhesive 21 . the adhesive 21 is also preferably transparent at other wavelengths present in the light beam falling on the proximal end of the bundle of light fibres 18 . preferred adhesives are type lcr 1 . 52 by ici resins , and epotek 301 - 2 . adhesive absorption may be further reduced by customizing the bore 23 of the connector 20 to the shape of the light fibre bundle . if few , large diameter light fibres are used , as shown in fig3 c , the bore of the light fibre connector 20 is formed to profile of the individual fibres . this minimizes the space that must be filled with adhesive . if many small - diameter light fibres are used , the amount of adhesive may be minimized by providing the light fibre connector 20 with a hexagonal bore . the bore of the connector is customized by extrusion , machining , or by some other forming process . in the simple arrangement shown in fig3 a , there is a practical limit to the physical separation between the aperture plate 26 and the light fibre connector 20 . as the distance between the aperture plate and the light fibre connector increases , the sharpness of the shadow cast by the aperture plate on the light fibre connector decreases . a less - sharp shadow requires that a choice be made between increased stray light spillage on the light fibre connector and a fall - off in illumination towards the periphery of the bundle of light fibres . increased light spillage results in increased heating of the light fibre connector ; illumination fall off results in a lower illumination level , and an impaired angular distribution of the light pattern at the distal end of the light fibre . fig5 shows an arrangement in which the physical separation between the aperture plate 26 and the light fibre connector 20 is considerably increased while allowing the aperture plate to cast a sharp shadow on the light fibre connector 20 . this arrangement is similar to that shown in fig3 a , and like components are indicated with the same reference numeral . in fig5 the physical separation , and hence thermal isolation , between the aperture plate 26 and the light fibre connector 20 is increased . the relay optics 30 form a focused image of the aperture 25 on the proximal ends of the light fibres 18 and refocus the light beam diverging from the aperture on the proximal ends of the light fibres . the diameter of the aperture and the focal length of the relay optics are chosen relative to the distance between the aperture and the proximal ends of the light fibres so that the image of the aperture formed on the proximal ends of the light fibres has substantially the same extent as the bundle of light fibres . fig5 shows relay optics 30 made of two simple plano - convex lenses : a more complex lens arrangement could be used if necessary . alternatively , a single , multi - element lens , or more than two lenses may be used . the lenses may be spherical or aspherical . if the relay optics are constructed using two or more axially - separated lenses , all or part of the non - visible radiation filter 24 may be disposed between the lenses of the relay optics 30 . as an alternative to the aperture plate 26 , the taper 32 can be added to the optical path , as shown in fig6 a . this arrangement is similar to that shown in fig3 a , and like components are indicated with the same reference numerals . the taper 32 separates the heat source from the focal point of the light beam , homogenizes the light beam , and provides aperturing . additionally , the taper may concentrate and condense the light beam , similarly to a wide - aperture ( low f - number ) focusing lens . the taper may be provided using a non - tapered glass rod , a tapered glass rod , or a fibre - glass taper . the term &# 34 ; taper &# 34 ; will be understood to apply to at least these types of tapers . the taper 32 shown in fig6 a has opposed , plane , parallel faces 34 and 36 . unless the taper 32 is formed from a non - tapered glass rod , the face 34 through which light enters the taper is larger than the face 36 from which light leaves the taper . the faces 34 and 36 are normally round , as shown in fig6 a , but , alternatively , can be other shapes such as elliptical , square , or rectangular , or may be shaped to match the shape of the bundle of light fibres 18 . the taper 32 also provides a useful amount of homogenization of the light entering the larger face 34 of the taper , as shown in fig6 b . the light beam 31 entering the larger face 34 of the taper can have spatial irregularities 33 due to non - uniform directionality of the arc , or for other reasons . the light beam 35 leaving the taper 32 through the smaller face 36 has the homogeneous intensity profile 37 . because the taper 32 homogenizes light entering it , it can reduce ring artifacts and shading in the illumination provided by the light fibres 18 that would otherwise result from spatial irregularities in the light beam 31 . additionally , homogenizing the light beam prevents localized areas of high light intensity that can cause hot spots in the light fibres . the smaller face 36 of the taper 32 also defines an exit aperture similar to the aperture plate 26 . hence , the taper 32 can reduce the extent of the light beam to that of the bundle of light fibres 18 , and provide the benefits of aperturing described above . the light beam from the smaller face 36 has a uniform , high intensity and can either be directly coupled into the proximal end of the plastic light fibres 18 or can be refocused through relay optics ( not shown ) similar to the relay optics 30 ( fig5 ) onto the proximal end of the light fibres . the preferred embodiment uses a glass taper as the taper 32 . the larger face 34 preferably has a diameter of 5 mm , and the smaller face 36 preferably has a diameter of 2 . 5 mm . the numerical aperture at the larger face is nominally 0 . 66 . the glass taper 32 may be made by heating an optical glass rod to an elevated temperature , stretching the rod over at least part of the length of the rod , and polishing both ends of the rod to provide the faces 34 and 36 . with a glass taper 32 having a taper ratio ( i . e ., the ratio of the diameter of the larger face 34 to the diameter of the smaller face 36 ) of between 2 : 1 and 3 : 1 , a greater net light transmission to the light fibres 18 is measured using the taper than without the taper . this increased light transmission is obtained despite the insertion loss of the taper and its effective aperture . alternatives to using a glass taper as the taper 32 include a fibre - optic taper . a fibre - optic taper would preferably have a light fibre diameter at the larger face of about 100 μm and an open area of the light fibres of at least 80 %. a fibre - optic taper produces less homogenization of the light beam than a glass taper , but is less likely to produce ring artifacts . for optimum homogenization , the fibre - optic taper should use optical fibres without an extramural absorber ( ema ). a further alternative to a glass taper as the taper 32 is a solid glass rod . a solid glass rod provides homogenization and aperturing , but not concentration and condensing . the solid rod could have a circular cross section , but could have other cross - sectional shapes , such as the shape of the bundle of light fibres . fig6 c shows the optical path of a practical embodiment of a light fibre illumination source according to the invention using the taper 32 . in this arrangement , the high - intensity light source 12 , dichroic filter 14 , non - visible radiation filter 24 , condenser lens 16 , and light fibre connector 20 are the same as those described above in connection with fig3 a . the glass taper 32 is mounted in the heat sink 38 with its larger face 34 receiving light from the condenser lens 16 , and its smaller face 36 aligned with the bundle of light fibres 18 . the taper 32 absorbs some light energy , which it turns into heat . thus , the taper 32 is mounted in the heatsink 38 which conducts this heat to a point remote from the light fibres 18 , where it dissipates this heat . this minimizes heat transfer to the light fibres , as described above . the heat sink 38 is thermally isolated from the light fibre connector 20 and the connector mounting 22 , similarly to the heat sink 28 described above . however , since the glass taper concentrates the light beam , instead of absorbing part of the light beam , there is less heat to dissipate from the taper 32 than from the aperture plate 26 shown in fig3 a . to minimize heat transfer between the taper 32 and the light fibres 18 , an air gap is provided between the smaller face 36 of the taper and the proximal end of the light fibres . the separation between the taper and the proximal end of the light fibres is chosen relative to the respective diameters of the smaller face of the taper and the bundle of light fibres so that the extent of the illumination spot formed on the bundle of light fibres is similar to the extent of the bundle . a thermally - isolated aperture plate , similar to the aperture plate 26 , can additionally be interposed between the smaller face 36 of the taper 32 and the proximal end of the light fibres 18 to define further the extent of the light beam falling on the proximal ends of the light fibres 18 . existing light fibre light sources can also be modified to illuminate plastic light fibres with a high intensity without the risk of damaging or destroying the light fibres . fig7 shows the existing light fibre light source 110 with the high - intensity lamp 112 , the dichroic filter 114 and the condenser lens 116 . the existing light fibre light source also includes the light fibre port 142 to which the light fibre bundle would normally be connected by means of a suitable light fibre connector ( not shown ). the existing light fibre light source is unsuitable for use with plastic light fibres because of excessive levels of non - visible radiation in the radiation beam , heating of the light fibre connector by the radiation beam , and radiation absorption by the adhesive retaining the light fibres in the light fibre connector , as described above . the plug - in converter 140 according to the invention plugs into the light fibre port 142 of the existing light fibre light source 110 to enable the existing light fibre light source to operate successfully with plastic light fibres . the plug - in converter provides non - visible radiation filtering and aperturing as in the embodiments of the invention described above . the plug - in converter is additionally be supplied with a light fibre bundle 118 and light fibre connector 120 in which the light fibre bundle is retained in the light fibre connector by a transparent adhesive , as described above . additionally , the light fibre connector may be customized to fit the outer profile of the bundle of light fibres to minimize the amount of adhesive required , as described above . the plug - in converter 140 includes a main body 144 having a shaped portion 146 that is shaped to plug into the light fibre port 142 . opposite the shaped portion 146 , and optically aligned with the shaped portion 146 , is the connector 148 that receives the light fibre connector 120 of the plastic light fibres 118 . the connector 148 is preferably mounted on a portion 149 of a thermally insulating material attached to the thermally - conducting main body 144 . the portion 149 minimizes heat conduction from the main body 144 to the connectors 148 and 120 . the taper 132 , which is preferably a glass taper , is mounted in the shaped portion 146 with its larger face 134 towards the light fibre light source 112 . the fibre - optic taper 132 is similar to the fibre - optic taper 32 described above . light issuing from the smaller end 136 of the fibre - optic taper 132 passes through the non - visible radiation filter 124 mounted in the main body 144 . the non - visible radiation filter 124 is preferably a piece of near infra - red absorbing glass , similar to the non - visible radiation filter 24 described above . alternatively , a more complex non - visible radiation absorbing / reflecting filter can be used for the non - visible radiation filter 124 , also as described above . because the preferred form of the non - visible radiation filter 124 absorbs a considerable amount of infra - red energy , it is mounted in the main body 144 with the face 150 of the filter in thermal contact with the face 152 of the main body 144 . a layer of silicone grease or other heatsink compound is interposed between the faces 150 and 152 to ensure good thermal contact between the faces . this enables heat to pass easily from the non - visible radiation filter 124 to the main body 144 , which then dissipates the heat . also mounted in the main body is the relay optic 130 , which forms a sharply - focussed image of the smaller face 136 of the fibre - optic taper 132 on the proximal end of the light fibres 118 . the size of the smaller face of the fibre - optic taper , the focal length of the relay optics , and the relative mounting positions of the fibre - optic taper , the relay optics and the proximal end of the light fibres are chosen so that the extent of the light beam falling on the proximal end of the light fibres is equal to the extent of the bundle of light fibres . this minimizes the amount of stray light filling on the light fibre connector 120 , and , hence , minimizes heating of the light fibre connector 120 and the light fibres 118 by absorbed stay light . plugging the converter 140 into the light fibre port 142 of the existing light fibre light source 110 , and plugging the light fibre connector 120 of the bundle of plastic light fibres 118 into the port 148 in the converter 140 enables the existing light fibre light source to operate with plastic light fibres without the risk of damaging or destroying them . alternatives to the converter 140 configured to plug directly into the existing light fibre light source 110 are the free - standing converters 160 and 190 shown in fig8 a and 8b , respectively . the free - standing converters 160 and 190 are connected to the existing light fibre light source 112 by a suitable light coupler 162 , which can be a bundle of flexible glass light fibres , or a liquid light guide . one end of the light coupler 162 is plugged into the light fibre port 142 on the existing light fibre light source 112 , the other end of the light coupler is connected to the light fibre port 164 in the free - standing converter . this arrangement makes it possible to make a single , free - standing adaptor that can be connected to different models of light source simply by providing an appropriate light coupler . the existing light fibre light source can then operate with plastic light fibres without the risk of damaging or destroying them . in the preferred embodiment , the light coupler 162 is a 3 mm liquid light guide sourced by oriel . alternatively , a 2 mm glass fibre bundle obtainable from several different sources can be used . the optical arrangement of the free - standing converters 160 and 180 is similar to that of the converter 140 already described , but differs in detail . the non - visible radiation filter of the free - standing converter 160 differs from that of the free standing converter 190 . referring first to fig8 a , the light from the light coupler 162 first enters the taper 166 . the taper 166 is similar to the taper 32 described above , so can be a non - tapered glass rod ( as shown ), a tapered glass rod , or a fibre - glass taper . the action of the taper 166 is the same as that of the taper 32 described above , so will not be described again here . the homogenized and apertured light from the taper 166 enters the relay optics comprising the lenses 168 and 170 . the dichroic filter 172 and the non - visible radiation filter 174 are disposed between the lenses of the relay optics to take advantage of the broadening of the beam caused by the lens 168 . the actions of the dichroic filter 172 and the non - visible radiation filter 174 are the same as those of the dichroic filter 14 and the non - visible radiation filter 24 described above , so will not be described again here . the dichroic filter 172 and the non - visible radiation filter 174 are in thermal contact with the body 176 of the free - standing adaptor 160 . the body 176 dissipates heat resulting from radiation energy absorbed by these filters at a point remote from the light fiber port 178 to prevent this heat being transferred to the light fibres 180 via the light fibre connector 182 . the light fibre port 178 is preferably thermally insulated from the heat - dissipating part of the body 176 . the lenses 168 and 170 of the relay optics form a sharply - focussed image of the exit pupil of the taper 162 on the ends of the light fibres 180 . this sharply - focussed image minimizes the amount of light spillage onto the light fibre connector 182 , and hence minimizes light absorption by the light fibre connector . the light fibre connector 182 is similar to the light fibre connector 20 described above , and is constructed to minimize the amount of adhesive bonding the light fibres to the connector . additionally , a non - absorbent adhesive is used , also as described above . hence the amount of light absorption is minimized , and the transfer to the light fibres of heat resulting from residual absorption is minimized . the optical arrangement of the flee - standing adaptor 190 shown in fig8 b is generally similar to that of the free - standing adaptor 160 , but the free - standing adaptor 190 uses as the dichroic filter and the non - visible radiation filter reflective dichroic filters disposed between the lenses 168 and 170 of the relay optics . components corresponding to components in the free - standing adaptor 160 are marked with the same reference numerals . referring to fig8 b , the light from the light coupler 162 first enters the taper 166 . the taper 166 is similar to the taper 32 described above , so can be a non - tapered glass rod ( as shown ), a tapered glass rod , or a fibre - glass taper . the action of the taper 166 is the same as that of the taper 32 described above , so will not be described again here . the homogenized and apertured light from the taper 166 enters the relay optics comprising the lenses 168 and 170 . the reflective dichroic filters 184 and 186 providing the dichroic filter and the non - visible radiation filter are disposed between the lenses of the relay optics to take advantage of the broadening of the beam caused by the lens 168 . the reflective dichroic filters reflect visible light and transmit infra - red radiation . the transmitted infra - red radiation is absorbed by the body 188 and is dissipated at points remote from the light fibre port 178 to minimize conduction of heat to the light fibres . the light fibre port 178 is preferably thermally insulated from the heat - dissipating part of the body 176 . the lenses 168 and 170 of the relay optics form a sharply - focussed image of the exit pupil of the taper 162 on the ends of the light fibres 180 . this sharply - focussed image minimizes the amount of light spillage onto the light fibre connector 182 , and hence minimizes light absorption by the light fibre connector . the light fibre connector 182 is similar to the light fibre connector 20 described above , and is constructed to minimize the amount of adhesive bonding the light fibres to the connector . additionally , a non - absorbent adhesive is used , as described above . hence the amount of light absorption is minimized , and the transfer to the light fibres of heat resulting from residual absorption is minimized . although this application describes illustrative embodiments of the invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments described , and that various modifications may be practiced within the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims .	6
in this invention , problems are solved that arise when an electromagnetic inductive probe is applied to the measurement of electrostatic capacity . first , the parasitic coupling between primary coil 11 and secondary coil 13 ( as shown in fig1 ) is eliminated by means of an electrostatic shield . fig4 shows the basic structure of the probe pan of the invention . fig4 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the electromagnetic inductive probe , cut by a plane passing through the central axis of the toroidal core . the same reference numbers are used in fig4 for the elements with the same functions as in fig1 ( this is also the case for the following figures ). an impedance meter 1 is composed of a signal source 2 , a resistance 3 , a voltmeter 4 , and an ammeter 5 . resistance 3 is a current - limiting resistance of the signal source . electromagnetic inductive probe 8 includes a primary transformer , formed by a primary coil 11 wound on a toroidal core 10 , a secondary transformer , formed by a secondary coil 13 wound on a toroidal core 12 , a shield 14 , and an outer resin mold 9 . impedance meter 1 and electromagnetic inductive probe 8 are connected by cables 6 and 7 . in order to simplify the diagram , the coils are not drawn as though they are wound spirally . primary coil 11 and secondary coil 13 are separated from each other by shield 14 . shield 14 includes small gaps 15 between it and primary coil 11 and secondary coil 13 , so that shorting does not occur . the structure of fig4 enables parasitic electrostatic capacity to be eliminated . moreover , the stray magnetic flux is made small , compared to the parasitic electrostatic capacity . at high frequencies , the stray magnetic flux is removed by the shield . moreover , there arises a microphonic coupling due to magnetic strain oscillations of the core material . in order to prevent this , a suitable buffer material may be placed between the core and outer resin mold 9 . in measuring solutions on a beaker scale , where the solution is not grounded , there is no problem using probes as shown in fig4 . however , if the solution container is on a tank scale , and the solution is in a state in which it is close to being grounded , a new problem arises . that problem is the existence of an electrical pathway ( of the sort shown in fig5 ) which causes errors . in the probe structure using two coils shown in fig5 the shield structure between the primary and secondary transformers passes through the centers of the ring shapes of the cores of the transformers . it is not symmetrical with respect to a perpendicular plane along the central axis of the rings . therefore , the primary transformer raises the mean potential of the solution above zero . this is due to the fact that a common mode voltage component is produced with respect to the solution . this is because the potentials distributed at various places on the shield plates , as seen from the current supply point where the outer conductor of cable 6 is connected to the shield 14 , and the electrostatic capacity with the solution are not in balance with respect to the aforementioned plane of symmetry . when the solution is grounded , a current 23 flows to ground due to the aforementioned effect , and if the secondary transformer is asymmetrical on the left and right , a signal is detected which corresponds to the magnitude of this difference . in fig5 the secondary transformer , like the primary transformer , does not have a symmetrical shield structure . the resulting difference is observed as an offset electrostatic capacity 22 . current pathway 23 in fig5 shows the pathway of the imbalance in the asymmetrical current . it is probably possible to find a current feed position that would not cause this potential difference . however , this invention solves the problem by making the probe structure symmetrical . that is , the structure of the probe is made symmetrical with respect to a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the rings and passing through the center of the core ring of the secondary transformer . furthermore , for there to be a compensating effect , the symmetrical structure must include the core , the shield structure , and an aperture through which the wiring may be pulled . examples of this embodiment are shown in fig1 , and 3 . fig1 is a structure in which the primary transformer is split in two , and the secondary transformer is placed between the 2 parts . in order to produce symmetry with respect to the secondary transformer , the 2 coils of the primary transformer are connected in parallel . the shield gaps are also made symmetrical . the example of fig2 is a structure in which toroidal cores 10 and 12 have different diameters and are arranged concentrically . for the sake of symmetry , the lead wire from inner coil 13 is passed through a hole 16 in the radial direction , which passes through the center of the cross section of outer core 10 and leads outside the probe . the example of fig3 is a structure in which the cores are arranged concentrically , as in fig2 . in this example , the symmetrical structure is destroyed because the lead wires are taken out from the sides of the coils . the potential difference that results is equilibrated and measured by a balun 18 . the lead cables 6 and 7 of the primary and secondary transformers are passed through balun 18 from opposite directions and are connected to main meter 1 . the outer conductors of the 2 cables are connected to each other by a short - circuiting wire 17 , on the measuring device side of the balun . as can be seen from equivalent circuit 19 in fig3 a ( equivalent to balun 18 ), cables 6 and 7 are equivalent to transformers wound in opposite directions , and since the outer conductors of the cables have the same potential on the meter side , due to short - circuit wire 17 , equilibrium is obtained . in fig1 , and 3 , the same effect can be obtained by structures in which the primary and secondary transformers are exchanged in position . by the means described above , only the current that is induced by the primary transformer and flows through the solution can be detected by the secondary transformer . however , since the probe of this invention is used by extending it by means of cables 6 and 7 from meter 1 , and the probe itself has a residual error that is difficult to calculate , the measurement system as a whole must be calibrated . it is known that impedance meters are ordinarily calibrated through use of three known impedances . for such a calibration method , see japan public patent applications nos . 5 - 85545 and 5 - 352215 . it is conceivable that the three known impedances may be obtained by use of prepared solutions , but a simpler , more accurate and more stable calibration method is used by this invention . since measurement terminals in ordinary impedance meters are used in open , short , and load ( i . e ., a known resistance ) states , it is this concept that is applied to the probe . fig6 a - 6c show diagrams of the principle for applying three - point calibration to the electromagnetic inductive probe . for the &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; state , probe 8 is placed in air , for the &# 34 ; short &# 34 ; state , a conductor 31 with 1 winding is passed through probe 8 , and for the &# 34 ; load &# 34 ; state , part of the conductor with 1 winding of the short state is replaced with a known resistance 32 . furthermore , in the short state , a current limiting resistor 3 is connected in series with signal generator 2 shown in fig1 etc ., so that an over - current does not flow to signal generator 2 . fig7 shows the fundamental structure of an example of a calibration instrument devised to trace the calibration of the measurement system . in fig7 probe 8 is contained in the calibration instrument . fig7 is a diagram of a cross section through a plane that passes through the central axis of the core of probe 8 . the main body 41 of the instrument , made of a conductive material , surrounds the outer surface of probe 8 . a projection 42 on the inside of main instrument body 41 passes through the probe and is connected to internal conductor 43 of a coaxial connector . the outside of main instrument body 41 is connected to outer conductor 44 of the coaxial connector . an opening 45 is provided through which pass cables 6 and 7 . if probe 8 is enclosed in this structure and a resistor is connected to the coaxial connector , a load state results . if the coaxial connector is short - circuited by a short - circuiting plate , a short state results . in order to place the probe into this instrument and remove it , a suitable means for dividing and reuniting the main instrument body may be implemented at a suitable position . since an instrument incorporating this invention can be connected with a standard by means of the coaxial connector , traceability can be obtained . moreover , multipliers for converting from measured impedance values to conductivities and dielectric constants , i . e ., the conversion coefficients intrinsic to the probe dimensions , are constant multipliers that need only be obtained once ( in the developmental stage of the probe ). this is because , if the probe is molded , there are no great variations in its dimensions . moreover , differences in the dimensions of the probe primarily produce errors in the amplitudes of the measured values , but what is important for measuring minute electrostatic capacities with good accuracy , is the phase accuracy rather than the amplitude accuracy . the phase accuracy is determined by the resistance and inductance component of the load calibration ; and it is common knowledge that these can be made extremely stable . fig8 a and 8b show the basic principle of this embodiment and its equivalent circuit . impedance 51 that is the subject of measurement can be regarded as a load on closed circuit current 65 ( produced by electromagnetic induction in part of the solution ). direct - current resistances ( r11 and r12 ) and stray inductances ( l11 and l12 ) are present in the coils and measurement cables . if the exciting impedance of the cores , i . e ., the exciting resistances ( re1 and re2 ) and the exciting inductances ( le1 and le2 ) vary with temperature , etc ., after calibration , differential voltage errors will be produced on the primary side and differential current errors will be produced on the secondary side . fig9 shows a method for dealing with these effects . as shown in the figure , two primary and two secondary coils are provided . exciting coil 52 of the primary transformer is connected to signal source 2 through resistance 3 . coil 53 for detecting voltage is connected to voltmeter 4 . current detecting coil 54 of the secondary transformer is connected to one end of ammeter 5 and the ground terminal . the magnetic flux detecting coil 55 is connected to the input of differential amplifier 56 , and the output of differential amplifier 56 is connected to the other end of the ammeter 5 . by means of this structure , a voltage proportional to the net magnetic flux of core 10 is detected by voltmeter 4 . moreover , since feedback is applied so that the magnetic flux of core 12 of the secondary transformer becomes zero , all of the current flows to ammeter 5 . therefore , stability with respect to temperature changes , etc ., is achieved . this method can , of course , be applied to the examples shown in fig1 , and 3 . furthermore , resistance 3 , besides limiting the current in the short state of the calibration so that an over - current does not flow to signal generator 2 , also serves as a current limiter . when the measured impedance in the circuit of fig9 is small . this prevents the instrument from becoming unstable at such times . examples of this invention have been shown above , but it is not limited to the lay - outs , part forms , arrangements , etc ., of the examples , and , if desired , modifications of the structure may be performed , as long as the essential elements of this invention are not lost . moreover , this invention is not only effective in measuring liquids , but also in so - called &# 34 ; clamp &# 34 ;- type impedance meters for measuring circuits without cutting them . by means of this invention , it is possible to measure very small electrostatic capacities of colloidal solutions . the invention solves the problem of interface polarization , and allows the resistance component to be measured with high accuracy .	6
a set of fibers is aligned on a substrate by placing the fibers across an opening in the substrate and applying an airflow through the opening . a pressure differential created by the airflow causes the fibers to be pulled down onto the substrate . the forces associated with the airflow through the opening enables an operator to adjust the position of the fibers while the airflow holds the repositioned fibers in place . the airflow is continued until a bonding material and a holding cap is applied over the aligned fibers , at which point the airflow is turned off or reduced . referring to fig1 a and 2 , a substrate 100 a includes a set of closely - spaced grooves 130 formed next to an airflow opening 120 and a fan - out area 140 spaced away from opening 120 . an airflow fixture 200 includes an airflow opening 220 formed through the top surface of fixture 200 . airflow opening 220 aligns with airflow opening 120 when substrate 100 a is placed onto the top surface of fixture 200 . fixture 200 also includes a hollow airflow connector 210 attached to a side surface of fixture 200 and an airflow channel 212 , formed within fixture 200 and airflow opening 220 to airflow connector 210 . in use , an operator places substrate 100 a onto the top surface of fixture 200 and then places a set of etched fibers 110 across opening 120 and substrate 100 a . a vacuum source ( an “ airflow source ”- not shown ) is connected to airflow connector 210 to create a downward airflow 230 , through airflow opening 220 and opening 120 , and an outward airflow 215 from fixture 200 . downward airflow 230 creates a differential pressure that pulls fibers 110 down onto the top of substrate 100 a , i . e ., downward airflow 230 from the top of substrate 100 a causes fibers 110 to experience a higher pressure above opening 220 and 120 and a lower pressure below . if required , the final placement of fibers 110 into grooves 130 is performed manually , by an operator who manipulates fibers 110 with a small instrument , such as a small pick or brush ( not shown ) while downward airflow 230 is continued . each of the individual fibers in set 110 has smaller - diameter etched ends 112 and larger - diameter non - etched sections 114 . in use , the operator nudges or brushes the fibers on or near the substrate 100 a . the forces applied by the operator are sufficient to temporarily overcome the airflow forces produced by the airflow through opening 120 . by temporarily overcoming the airflow forces and nudging or brushing the fibers , the operator is able to reposition the etched ends 112 of individual fibers 110 into grooves 130 , while the continued downward airflow 230 causes a downward force to pull fibers 110 toward the substrate and into grooves 130 . sideward airflow forces 240 a and 240 b are also applied to the set of fibers 110 , as a result of the design of the airflow opening 120 and the nature of the flow of air around the opening . sideward airflows 240 a and 240 b cause inward forces to be applied to the fibers 110 , i . e ., causing the application of forces in the same horizontal plane as the top surface of substrate 100 a but perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fibers 110 causing the set of fibers 110 to be pushed toward each other . the sideward airflow forces are controlled by the strength ( amount ) of airflow applied to airflow connector 210 and by the length of channel 120 . the airflow source is left on to hold etched ends 112 of fibers 110 in grooves 130 while the operator positions non - etched sections 114 of fibers 110 into a more widely - spaced row in fan - out area 140 . the airflow is continued after the fibers 110 are positioned and the operator applies a bonding material ( not shown ), e . g epoxy or glue , to fibers 110 and substrate 110 a , and then positions a holding cap 150 over and onto the bonding material , at which point the airflow may be turned off or reduced . holding cap 150 may include a set of grooves formed in the surface contacting fibers 160 that match the alignment pattern of fibers 160 . referring to fig1 b , a second embodiment of a fiber alignment substrate 100 b includes all of features of substrate 100 a , and also includes a second set of grooves 160 b formed in the top surface of substrate 100 b in the fan - out area 140 for holding the non - etched sections 114 of etched fibers 110 in alignment . grooves 160 b are more widely - spaced than grooves 130 and are formed to an appropriate depth to hold non - etched sections 114 of fibers 110 . the placement of etched fibers 110 on substrate 100 b is similar to that described before in connection with substrate 100 a , i . e ., in use , substrate 100 b is placed on airflow fixture 200 , and a flow of air through opening 120 enables an operator to position the etched fiber ends 112 within grooves 130 and then position the non - etched sections 114 of fibers 110 within more widely - spaced grooves 160 b . in the embodiments discussed above the etched fibers 110 were placed on a substrate 100 a or 100 b in a “ fan - out ” pattern , i . e ., a closely - spaced pattern at the etched ends 112 and a more widely - spaced pattern at the non - etched sections 114 of fibers 110 . when placing fibers that have varying outer diameters , or , when placing fiber with varying separation distances across a single substrate , the use of grooves formed in the substrate surface with accurate center - to - center distances between them is necessary to ensure accurate center - to - center distances between the fibers . in contrast , when aligning fibers together that have approximately equal outer diameters , the center - to - center distance between the fibers may be established , in part , by the outer diameter of the fibers and without using grooves . referring to fig3 when aligning a set of fibers 310 that have approximately equal outer diameters , a fiber alignment substrate 300 includes a top surface that is flat ( i . e ., without grooves formed in the surface ). substrate 300 includes an airflow opening 320 , and , in use , substrate 300 is placed on airflow fixture 200 and a downward airflow 360 is passed through opening 320 , that enables an operator to align fibers 310 on substrate 300 . downward airflow 360 causes fibers 310 to be held down on the top surface of substrate 300 while the operator applies a bonding material ( not shown ) and then a holding cap 350 over and onto the bonding material . holding cap 350 may include a set of grooves formed in the surface contacting fibers 310 that match the alignment pattern of fibers 310 . in the embodiments discussed above , the shape of the airflow openings 120 and 320 in the top surface of substrate 100 a , 100 b and 300 , respectively , are rectangular relative to the top surface of each substrate , with the longest sides of openings 120 and 320 being roughly perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the grooves and the fibers being placed . the length of the longer - sides of openings 120 and 320 is slightly longer than the combined width of the diameters of the set of fibers being placed when all of the fibers in the set are placed side - by - side . this longer - side length can be increased to increase the access to manipulate the fibers from the side of or below the set of fibers . as described before in connection with substrate 100 a and 100 b , the placement of etched fibers on a substrate may result in a “ fan - out ” pattern , i . e ., where the etched ends are placed in a more closely - spaced pattern and the non - etched sections are placed in a more widely spaced single row that is spaced away from the etched ends . referring to fig4 a and 4b , an alternative pattern is shown for positioning the larger - diameter section of a set of etched fibers 520 a - 520 n and 530 a - 530 m on a substrate 500 , i . e . placing the non - etched section of fibers 520 a - 520 n and 530 a - 530 m in multiple rows with a first row of fibers 520 a - 520 n placed into a set of grooves 510 a - 510 n formed on a substrate 500 and a second row of fibers 530 a - 530 m placed above the first row 520 a - 520 n . more specifically , the second row of fibers 530 a - 530 m is placed between the grooves formed between the pairs of fibers of the first row of fibers 520 a - 520 n . an airflow 540 is applied next to the fibers through an airflow slot 550 to create a pressure differential above and below fibers 520 a - 520 n and 530 a - 530 n during placement and to hold the fibers in place until bonded together and to substrate 500 . the placement pattern shown in fig4 a and 4b reduces the required width of the substrate 500 for a given number of fibers being placed . referring to fig5 a and 5b , another way of creating airflow openings through a grooved substrate is to drill or form holes 640 in the lower portion of a set of grooves 612 a - 612 f formed in a top surface of substrate 610 . an airflow from the top surface of substrate 610 and into holes 640 causes a pressure differential above and below the holes 640 which may be used to manipulate and hold fibers within the grooves 612 a - 612 f . however , aligning smaller - diameter etched fibers as closely as possible requires grooves that are more closely spaced and shallower than the grooves required when aligning full - diameter fibers . more specifically , in one application , the etched fibers ends may be on the order of 50 um in diameter and require a set of grooves each of which are approximately 50 um wide and 50 um in depth . to avoid removing too much material from these closely - spaced grooves when forming or drilling holes 640 , the maximum diameter of the hole is limited . therefore , the fabrication of the holes is difficult and requires a large number of holes to achieve the desired airflow through the grooves . an alternative way of creating airflow openings through a grooved substrate 610 is to create ( for example , by an etching process ) a recess 620 in the back of substrate 610 that intersects with the lower portion of grooves 612 a - 612 f , thereby creating openings 630 in the lower portion of grooves 612 a - 612 f . by forming recess 620 to a known depth into the back of substrate 610 , openings 630 are created that allow the desired airflow but without causing the removal of an excessive amount of material from grooves 612 a - 612 f . a problem with some bonding materials and methods is that voids may be created and may remain in the cured bonding material , e . g ., air bubbles . typically , following bonding and curing , the substrate and fiber ends are ‘ lapped back ’ to a desired length and / or angle . the lap back procedure uses a grinding material to grind off and polish the fiber ends and the substrate , and , therefore it exposes voids in the bonding materials . lapping back a fiber that is near a void in the bonding material may cause the fiber to shift and / or be damaged . to address the problem of voids in the bonding material , in an embodiment , the airflow is left on during the application of the bonding material and the holding cap or holding substrate . the differential pressures created by the airflow cause the bonding material to be drawn into the grooves and along the fibers to even out the application and reduce the number of voids between the fibers , the holding cap or holding substrate . though we have described specific embodiments , we do not intend to imply there are not other ways to implement some of the features of those embodiments . for example , we mentioned epoxy or glue as the means by which various elements are attached to each other . however , any appropriate method which affixes one element to another could be used , such as fusing or soldering . if the bonding material requires thermal curing , the fiber alignment substrate and / or the airflow fixture may be placed in an oven to speed the curing . the holding cap may be larger or smaller than shown in the attached figures and may contact not only the aligned fibers held within grooves but may also contact the non - etched fiber sections placed in the fan - out areas . also , although a single rectangular slot placed directly behind grooves in the substrate was described , any number of through holes of various shapes , sizes and locations could also be used to hold the fibers against the substrate and to orient the fibers relative to one another . in addition , other hole shapes , sizes and locations may be used to aid in the application of bonding material . also , instead of having an operator manipulate the fibers to position them , an automated mechanical arm with a tool of the appropriate size could be used to manipulate the fibers , for example , from either the side of the fibers or through the airflow opening below the substrate , to raise , and position the fibers . the vacuum source described previously may be implemented as a vacuum pump or as a “ bernoulli effect ” vacuum generator , for example . a number of embodiments of the invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	6
the subject matter of the present invention is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements . however , the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent . rather , the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject matter might also be embodied in other ways , to include different components , steps , or combinations of components or steps similar to the ones described in this document , in conjunction with other present or future technologies . gloves in accordance with the present invention provide padding to protect the hand of a wearer by laminating padding between an outer layer and an inner layer . the inner layer may be oriented between the padding and the hand of a wearer when the glove is worn , and the outer layer may be oriented external to the padding when the glove is worn . in accordance with the present invention , a glove may comprise one or more portions or regions for which padding is retained by laminating an outer layer to an inner layer . the padding may be segmented to permit enhanced flexibility and articulation . other glove portions , which may or may not provide padding for a wearer , may be joined to the laminated portion to form an entire glove to be worn by a user . portions of a glove may be joined together by stitching , gluing or other adhesives , lamination , or any other method . referring now to fig1 , a glove 100 in accordance with the present invention is illustrated . glove 100 may comprise a palm portion 110 that is a first laminated padded portion . palm portion 110 may comprise an outer layer of , for example , a rubber or tpu material laminated to an inner layer to secure between the outer layer and the inner layer a plurality of pads 120 . of course , laminated padded portion 110 of glove 100 may also comprise a plurality of finger extensions and thumb extensions , although a glove in accordance with the present invention may also be partially or entirely fingerless , or a glove in accordance with the present invention may incorporate separate finger and / or thumb portions that are not integral with a laminated padded palm portion . palm portion 110 may be joined to other components of glove 100 by a variety of attachment methodologies , such as seam 130 . other attachment methodologies may also be used , such as adhesives , lamination , etc . by affixing the various portions of a glove in accordance with the invention a cavity may be formed that permits the glove to be detachably retained on the hand of a wearer . glove 100 may include a wrist cuff 170 . wrist cuff 170 may provide an attachment tab 180 that utilizes hook and loop fasteners to secure the glove 100 securely to the hand of wearer 105 . of course , other fastener types may be utilized , such as snaps , buttons , and the like . further , wrist cuff 100 may simply be sufficiently elastic to open to slide over the hand of wearer 105 but still retain a snug fit to retain glove 100 on the hand of wearer 105 . as illustrated in fig1 , palm portion 110 and associated plurality of pads 120 lacks any seam to retain pads 120 within palm portion 110 . by limiting the use of seams to secure padding 120 , a glove in accordance with the present invention reduces the risk of failure by stitching to secure pads during wear and tear incurred naturally during use of glove 100 . further , the lack of stitching to secure pads 120 enable the construction of glove 100 to be simplified and standardized to provide uniform and consistent results . as shown in the example of fig1 , pads 120 may be referred to as heel pads , in that they are positioned so as to protect the heel of the hand of the wearer 105 when the glove 100 is worn . if heel pads 120 are used , their number , arrangement , size , and orientation may vary from that shown in the example of fig1 . referring now to fig2 , an illustration of a glove 100 in accordance with the present invention is illustrated from the back of the hand . fig2 illustrates glove 100 with a pressed and stitched padded back portion 140 comprising a plurality of pads 150 . in the example illustrated in fig2 , back portion 140 extends up each of the four fingers of glove 100 . as shown in fig2 , padding 150 may comprise multiple pads 150 situated along each finger and knuckle when glove 100 is worn to permit the wearer to flex and / or articulate each finger . multiple pads 150 may be formed by compressing a single piece of a compressible material , such as neoprene , to form individual pads separated by grooves 152 . one or more stitch 154 may secure padded back portion 140 to an interior layer of glove 100 . one or more stitch 154 may be used in conjunction with an adhesive to secure padded back portion 140 , although either a stitch or an adhesive may be used individually . if used , stitch 154 may extend through some , all , or none of grooves 152 and / or the perimeter of pads 150 . further , stitch 154 may comprise one or multiple independent stitches . in the example of fig2 , padding comprises three pads 150 situated along each finger , which may be referred to as finger pad ( s ). an additional pad 155 may be situated near the base of each finger to protect the knuckle , which may be referred to as knuckle pad . knuckle pads 155 may comprise a part of padded back portion 140 or may comprise one or more additional portions of glove 100 . knuckle pads 155 may be formed and / or secured to glove 100 similarly to finger pads 150 . in the example illustrated in fig2 , knuckle pads 155 may be contained within knuckle portion 157 . knuckle portion 157 may be situated underneath padded back portion 140 and / or other portions of glove 100 . the exterior of knuckle portion 157 may be any type of material , such as synthetic leather , nylon , etc . optionally , each finger pad 150 and / or knuckle pad 155 may have a size and / or shape suited to the portion of the finger and / or hand protected when glove 100 is worn . the size and / or shape , and even the location , of a pad such as pad 150 may vary based upon the size of the glove 100 , the type of athlete for which glove 100 is intended , the position played by the athlete for which glove 100 is intended , etc . some of the pads 150 and / or knuckle pads 155 illustrated in the example of fig2 may be omitted , while additional pads may be added , without departing from the scope of the present invention . fig2 further illustrates a padded thumb portion 160 . in the example shown in fig2 , padded thumb portion 160 may comprise two thumb pads 165 along the thumb of a wearer of glove 100 . padded thumb portion 160 may be fabricated using materials and / or techniques similar to those described above for back portion 140 . for example , a groove 102 may be pressed into a neoprene pod and a stitch 164 may be used to secure thumb portion 160 to glove 100 . an additional knuckle pad 166 may be located near base of the thumb . knuckle portion 160 , which may be fabricated using materials and / or techniques similar to those described for knuckle portion 157 . the plurality of pads 165 permits enhanced flexibility and articulation of the thumb of an athlete while wearing glove 100 . the number , size , shape , and / or location of pads 165 may vary to suit the likely needs of the intended wearer . non - laminated portion 190 may comprise any type of material , and may be crafted of an elastic material to facilitate flexibility and secure fit of glove 100 when worn by wearer 190 . a plurality of holes 192 may provide ventilation for glove 100 . portion 190 may comprise additional padding 195 that may be secured , for example , using an adhesive or by stitching padding to an inner layer of portion 190 . padding 195 may be formed from compressed neoprene or any other padding material . portion 190 may be secured to other portions of glove 100 using stitched seams 130 , although adhesives or other fastening types may be used . seams 130 may be located well away from pads , thereby reducing unnecessary wear and damage to seams 130 . in the view illustrated in fig2 , seam 130 has been positioned near the center of the back of the hand of wearer 105 , rather than near the knuckles of wearer 105 , thereby decreasing stress on seam 130 when glove 100 is flexed , but still protecting the knuckles and fingers with pads 150 . referring now to fig3 , a view of palm portion 110 and plurality of pads 120 are illustrated . plurality of pads 120 may comprise any number , size , shape , and configuration of padding . as described above , considerations such as hand size , sport , and position of the intended wearer of a glove in accordance with the present invention may render various numbers of pads to be used in varying sizes , shapes , properties , and / or arrangements . the exterior of palm portion 110 may comprise any type of material . a durable , pliable , material with grippability , such as rubber or tpu , may be used as exterior of palm portion 110 . line 4 - 4 in fig3 indicates a cross section of palm portion 110 further illustrated in fig4 . as shown in fig4 , beneath exterior layer 112 pads 120 may comprise a first padding material portion 122 , a second padding material portion 124 , and a third padding material portion 126 to provide cushioning and protection for the hand of the wearer of glove 100 . first padding material portion 122 , second padding material portion 124 , and third padding material portion 126 may comprise the same or different types of material . materials suitable for use as padding material in conjunction with gloves in accordance with the present invention comprise , for example , various types of foam , silicone , rubber , compressible fibers , and the like . padding material may , for example , be cut and / or compression molded to the size and / or shape desired for a particular pad location . exterior layer 112 may be molded to form depressions to receive pads 122 , 124 , and 126 . pads 122 , 124 , 126 may be situated between an outer layer 112 and an inner layer 114 . outer layer 112 may comprise the external material of glove 100 and may be formed of rubber or tpu . however , additional materials may be applied to outer layer 112 to provide a desired feel , water resistance , grip , durability , or other performance characteristic . inner layer 114 may contact the skin of the hand of wearer , but need not . if inner layer 114 contacts the skin of a wearer , a material such as lycra may be used . however , various liners or other materials may be interposed in inner layer 114 and the hand of a wearer when the glove is worn to provide desired comfort , feel , texture , moisture management , or other performance characteristics . adhesive layer 113 may secure pads 122 , 124 , 126 and outer layer 112 to inner layer 114 . any type of adhesive may be used for adhesive layer 113 . adhesive layer 113 may be a thermoplastic polymer that forms bonds with outer layer 112 , inner layer 114 , and / or pads 122 , 124 , 126 through the application of sufficient heat and pressure , thereby joining outer layer 112 , inner layer 114 , and pads 122 , 124 , 126 . alternatively , adhesive layer 113 may be a material that forms bonds through radio frequency or ultrasonic bonding processes , for example . with regard to the use of a thermoplastic polymer as adhesive layer 113 , the amount of heat and pressure applied to form bonds depends upon the specific material used , which may be , for example , polyurethane , polyamide , polyester , polyolefin , or vinyl . suitable thermoplastic polymers formed from these materials may be supplied by bemis associates , inc . of shirley , mass ., united states . in general , heat and pressure induces adhesive layer 113 to soften or melt so as to infiltrate the structure of outer layer 112 , inner layer 114 , and / or pads 122 , 124 , 126 . upon subsequent cooling , adhesive layer 113 becomes securely bonded to outer layer 112 , inner layer 114 , and / or pads 122 , 124 , 126 to form an integrated laminated padded portion , such as palm portion 110 . a laminated portion of glove in accordance with the present invention may be constructed in methods such as method 500 illustrated in fig5 . in step 510 , pads may be formed having the desired size , shape , and / or physical properties for a laminated padded portion of a glove . for example , individual pads may be cut or molded to a desired size and shape from a material possessing the desired compressibility . for example , step 510 may cut pads having a variety of sizes and shapes from a foam material . in step 520 , the inner layer for the laminated padded portion may be cut . inner layer may be cut from lycra , nylon , polyester , cotton , or any type of fabric . in step 530 , the outer layer for the laminated padded portion may be cut . outer layer may be cut from any type of fabric . coatings may be applied to the outer layer to provide desired properties , or outer layer may be cut from a material possessing desired properties itself , for example , rubber , tpu , and / or synthetic leather may be durable , flexible , and grippable . step 520 and step 530 may use die cutting or other techniques to cut the desired amount and shape of fabric , leather , or other type of material from a sheet . steps 510 , 520 , and 530 may be performed in any order , including simultaneously . in step 540 , the outer layer cut in step 530 may be shaped to receive the pads formed in step 510 . step 540 may comprise , for example , molding an outer layer formed of a rubber or a tpu material to form depressions into which pads may be inserted . the size and shape of such a depression formed in step 540 may correspond to the size and shape of pads formed in step 510 . further , step 540 may form depressions of multiple sizes and shapes to receive pads of multiple sizes and shapes . in step 550 the pads formed in step 510 may be inserted into the outer layer shaped in step 540 . for example , in step 550 pads may be inserted into depressions having a shape and size corresponding to the inserted pad . in step 560 an adhesive may be provided for use in assembling the laminated portion . any type or types of adhesive may be provided in step 560 . for example , a heat activated flexible tape adhesive such as is available from bemis ® corporation may be cut to an appropriate size and shape . in step 570 the pads formed in step 510 and the outer layer cut in step 530 may be assembled to be retained to the inner layer cut in step 520 . step 570 may use double sided tape or any type of adhesive . in step 580 , the outer layer may be laminated to the inner layer , thereby retaining the pads between the inner layer and the outer layer to form a laminated padded portion . laminating in step 580 may comprise , for example , applying any heat and / or pressure needed to activate the adhesive provided in step 560 and assembled in step 570 . for example , a glove portion with a portion of heat activated flexible tape used as an adhesive may be heated to approximately 200 ° f . to activate the beamis . in step 590 , the laminated padded portion may be affixed to one or more other glove portions , some or all of which may be laminated padded portions , to form a glove . step 590 may use stitching , adhesives , or any other technique . gloves in accordance with the present invention may provide laminated padded portions in locations other than the palm . further , multiple laminated padded portions may be provided in a single glove in accordance with the present invention . a glove in accordance with the present invention may combine one or more laminated padded portion with any number of additional portions of any type . for example , a glove in accordance with the present invention may combine multiple laminated padded portions with any combination of non - laminated padded portions , non - padded portions , ventilated portions , stretchable portions , etc . further any type of material may be used to fabricate the outer layer , inner layer , and pads of laminated portions of a glove in accordance of the present invention . embodiments of the present invention have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive . alternative embodiments may be practiced that do not depart from the scope of the present invention . certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims . not all steps listed in the various figures need be practiced in methods in accordance with the present invention , nor need all steps be carried out in the specific order described .	0
referring to fig1 and fig2 a vehicle wheel 10 as is used for automotive vehicles includes an inflatable tire 12 which is mounted on a wheel rim 14 having an inner annular surface 16 and an outer annular surface 18 . an inflatable region 20 is disposed between the outer annular surface 18 of the wheel rim 14 and the inner surface of the inflatable tire 12 . the wheel 10 is mounted on an automotive vehicle , bringing the wheel rim 14 in proximity with vehicle components such as the brake rotor 22 and brake caliper support 24 . an electromagnetically activated air pump 30 embodying the present invention is integrated with the wheel rim 14 . the pump 30 extends from the inner annular surface 16 to the outer annular surface 18 . as described more fully below , the pump 30 interacts with an electromagnet 32 mounted on the brake caliper support 24 to force air from the atmosphere through the wheel rim 14 and into the inflatable tire 12 . referring to fig2 a cross - section of the vehicle wheel 10 mounted on a vehicle axle 40 is shown . the radially inner portion 42 of the pump 30 is exposed to atmosphere . the pump 30 passes through the wheel rim 14 and terminates with the radially outer portion 44 in fluid communication with the interior of inflatable tire 12 . an electromagnet 32 is mounted on a vehicular component within the perimeter defined by the inner annular surface 16 of the wheel rim 14 . although the electromagnet 32 as shown is mounted on the brake caliper support 24 , those skilled in the art will anticipate that the electromagnet 32 may be mounted on other proximate vehicular components . likewise , the pump 30 may be mounted elsewhere on the annular portion of the wheel rim 14 . in one possible alternative arrangement , the pump 30 is mounted parallel to the axis of the wheel 10 . in this arrangement , the centrifugal force created by tire rotation has a minimized effect on the performance of the pump 30 . as shown in fig3 the pump 30 includes an air inlet 50 . the air inlet 50 is disposed on the radially inner portion 42 of the pump body 52 . a plunger 54 having a magnet integrated therewith is disposed within the pump body 52 . the plunger 54 may be magnetic , or include a magnetic component fixedly attached thereto . the plunger 54 is shown in the open position , which allows air from the atmosphere to enter the pump body 52 through the air inlet 50 . a biasing element 56 retains the plunger 54 in the open position . as shown , the biasing element 56 is illustrated as a spring . in one possible alternative embodiment , the biasing element 56 may be a permanent magnet disposed within the pump body 52 which retains the magnetic plunger 54 in the open position . the air inlet 50 can be a one - way valve which allows air from the atmosphere through the air inlet 50 into the pump body 52 , but prevents air from within the pump body 52 from entering the atmosphere . referring to fig3 and fig4 the radially outer portion 44 communicates with the inflatable tire 12 . air within the pump body 52 is forced through the radially outer portion 44 as the magnetic plunger 54 moves into the closed position , as shown in fig4 . in the exemplary embodiment shown , the radially outer portion 44 includes a one - way valve 58 which allows air to enter the inflatable tire 12 but prevents air from entering the pump body 52 from the inflatable tire 12 . the shape of the plunger 54 is substantially equivalent to that of the pump body 52 so as to allow the plunger 54 to reciprocate within the pump body 52 . in one embodiment , the plunger 54 and the pump body 52 are cylindrical . the electromagnet 32 is fixedly located so that normal rotation of the wheel rim 14 will move the pumps 30 , and therefore the magnetic plunger 54 , within proximity of the electromagnet 32 . when the magnetic plunger 54 is within a predetermined range of the electromagnet 32 , if the electromagnet 32 is energized a force is exerted on the plunger 54 of sufficient strength to overcome the biasing element 56 , causing the plunger 54 to move to the closed position as shown in fig4 . when normal rotation , of the wheel rim 14 moves the plunger 54 out of proximity with the electromagnet 32 , the resulting absence of magnetic force upon the plunger 54 from the electromagnet 32 allows the biasing element 56 to return the plunger 54 to the open position as shown in fig3 . the electromagnet 32 includes an electric coil 60 . when the electric coil 60 is selectively energized , it provides the magnetic field of the electromagnet 32 . when the electric coil 60 is not energized , no magnetic field is produced , regardless of whether the plunger 54 and electromagnet 32 are in proximity . in an alternative embodiment , the electromagnet 32 is a permanent magnet which is enhanced by the electric coil 60 . when the electric coil 60 is energized , the strength of the resulting magnetic field is added to the strength of the permanent magnet . with this arrangement , the relative size of the electromagnet 32 and the electric coil 60 may be reduced while maintaining sufficient strength to overcome the biasing element 56 . correspondingly , the power delivered to the electric coil 60 may be reduced . when pressure in the inflatable tire 12 is low due to insufficient air such as detected by a tire pressure monitoring arrangement , the electric coil 60 receives an activation command form a vehicle controller ( not shown ). when the coil is activated , the electromagnet 32 and biasing element 56 exert off - step opposing forces upon the plunger 54 due to normal rotation of the wheel rim 14 . the subsequent reciprocating motion of the plunger 54 causes air to be drawn into the pump body 52 through the air inlet 50 and then pumped into the inflatable tire 12 . when pressure within the inflatable tire 12 returns to a sufficient level , the electric coil 60 is deactivated , and the plunger 54 returns to the open position . it is to be understood that the configuration of the pump 30 may be implemented in ways other than those illustrated . in one embodiment , the electromagnet 32 forces the plunger 54 into the open position , and the biasing element 56 returns the plunger 54 to the closed position . alternatively , the radially outer portion 44 of the pump 30 further comprises a valve which allows air to enter the pump body 52 from the inflatable tire 12 when pressure within the inflatable tire 12 is excessive . such a situation may arise due to ambient temperature changes . it is also to be understood that the activation of the electric coil 60 may be achieved using different methods . in one embodiment , the electric coil 60 is activated by a controller . alternatively , the electric coil 60 can be selectively activated by a vehicle operator from within the vehicle . additionally , the tire pressure at which the electric coil 60 is activated may be varied according to operator preference , tire specifications , and environmental conditions . in the case of a leak in the inflatable tire 12 , the electric coil 60 will experience near - continuous activation . in this circumstance , a feedback or other suitable detection arrangement capable of detecting such constant , or near constant , activation of the pump could be provided to notify the operator that such a leak is present . the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and , thus , variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention .	1
the present invention is based on the discovery that lignin , a naturally occurring polymer , is particularly useful for storing electrical energy . as noted above , lignin has been used in batteries in the prior art , but only as fillers , expanders , passivating agents , anti - oxidants , etc . it turns out , however , that lignin can be charged by a charging current so as to store electrical energy which can be used to drive a load . lignin is the major non - cellulosic component of wood . in a broader sense , the term lignin is a generic term which includes other lignin - containing products such as various paper mill products and effluence , black liquor , commercial lignin and even ground - up newsprint . the term lignin as used herein is evident from this context . in general , the present invention operates most efficiently with the purest form of lignin available ; however , one of the advantages of the present invention resides in the fact that it is capable of utilizing almost any form of lignin . due to the broad range of chemical purities in the various aforementioned lignin products , the necessary modifying treatments and resultant electronic characteristics may vary . as expected , performance degrades as the lignin becomes more impure . in its isolated form , lignin includes many randomly bonded and cross - linked units , forming macro - molecules with a formula of the family och 3 c 6 o 2 ( ch ) n sh . lignins are not a chemical compound but a material which is statistically describable in terms of the concentration of functional groups and the kind and frequency of interunit linkages . the average lignin is known to contain aromatic rings with a side chain , one or two methoxyls , a phenolic hydroxyl or phenol ether . prominent configurations in the chemical structure are the quinoid charge transfer complexes . while quinoid materials have been previously explored for use as energy storage materials as described in the aforementioned mcginness patent , it is the source ( i . e . lignin ) and modifications of these materials as part of the present invention which makes them more viable as energy storage devices . the present invention is also based on the discovery of the aforesaid modifications to the polymer materials so as to make them more viable for the intended purpose . one of the principal agents in modifying the polymers according to the present invention is hydrazine . hydrazine has heretofore been widely used for such functions as fuel cell materials and immunology research to bond tyrosine residues to plastic for mechanical adherance . it has been found , however , that hydrazine will bond a variety of quinones to graphite with resulting increase in conductivity . specifically , hydrazine is employed with the oxidation - reduction polymer in accordance with the present invention for two distinct purposes : ( 1 ) the addition of electron - repelling groups to render the base polymer more anodic ; and ( 2 ) as a molecular solder connecting the polymer to an ohmic electrode . more specifically , it has been found that 2 , 4 - dinitrophenyl hydrazine can be mixed with an oxidation - reduction polymer such that the hydrazine functions as an anodic functional group when connected to the conjugated ( phenyl ) ring structure . the activity of the functional groups is enhanced by the double - bond structure in its vicinity . although , in accordance with the present invention , lignin can be employed in the non - barrier and barrier structural embodiments of the aforesaid mcginness patent , and although , in accordance with the present invention , oxidation - reduction polymers in general may be mixed with hydrazine in the non - barrier and barrier structural embodiments of the aforesaid mcginness patent , it has been found that the structure illustrated in the accompany drawing is particularly suitable for electrical energy storage devices . referring to that drawing , an electrical energy storage device 10 includes collector electrodes 11 and 13 which form ohmic interfaces 12 and 14 with respective electron acceptor 15 and electron donor 17 components , respectively . a barrier 19 is disposed between the electron acceptor 15 and the electron donor 17 and is impregnated with an electrolyte . barrier 19 serves to separate the active materials of components 15 and 17 into two compartments while acting as an ion conduit therebetween . an external circuit 20 operates to withdraw or introduce electrons into the active material in components 15 and 17 . specifically , series - connected ammeter 22 and resistor 23 are selectively connected across collector electrodes 11 and 13 by a switch 21 in one of its positions . a charging circuit , including a variable voltage source 24 ., is selectively connected across these electrodes in another position of switch 21 . as noted above , the present invention involves certain modifications which can render an organic semiconducting polymer containing quinoid subunits suitable as an electron donor or acceptor . moreover , as noted above , the present invention recognizes that there is a plentiful and natural source of such polymer , namely lignin . these materials can be made to function as one or both of the components 15 , 17 , depending upon the chemical and physical modifications employed . in addition , these materials can be made so as to acquire characteristics which compensate for some of their shortcomings . the electro - chemical properties of organic semiconducting materials lack adequate theoretical description . general interpretations and understandings arise from a combination of considerations based on solid state physics , chemistry and structure . therefore , the operational theory described hereinbelow is only theory and is intended to be illustrative of the present understanding of the invention operation . in addition , there are simply too many possible variations in the structure , detail and composition of the materials employed in the invention to provide an exact theory which covers all of the possibilities . the discussion which follows inherently includes the role played in the invention by oxygen ( present primarily in the form of lone pair states , such as in quinones ) nitrogen ( present primarily in hydrazine ) and sulfur ( present primarily in sulfimides , sulfonation and sulfhidrals ). moreover , it should be recognized that elements of higher order in the chemical periodic table may function similarly . the polymeric semiconductive materials which may be employed in energy storage devices in accordance with the present invention contain both modifications to the quinone structure and additional sub - units . when an electrical current is passed through the material , certain sites in the material can accept or donate electrons while simultaneously reacting with ions , depending upon the free energy states of the sites before and after the accepting - donating event . when the device is charged from the external circuit 20 , higher energy states are created which can later drive an internal ionic and external electric current when the device is later discharged through a load . in this regard , the standard battery terminology of cathode and anode are most applicable when considering events external to the energy source device . internal events can include charge gradients , counter ions , charge transfer complexes , etc ., which render some terminology unclear . in some contexts the terms anode and cathode are useful , such as the reference to potential voltage levels described below . pure quinones have an electrical potential of 0 . 7 volts with respect to hydrogen making them cathodic - electron acceptors with respect to the standard inorganic battery materials , such as zinc . hydroquinones are anodic toward hydrogen and donate electrons to strong electron acceptors . for a battery to be constructed entirely of quinone and hydroquinone units , the electrical potentials must be changed . the alterations possible are substituents and modifications to the rings and to the non - ring groups . the effect of these can be followed qualitatively as alterations in electron density in the vicinity of oxidizable or reduceable groups . the effect is greatest in alterations of the quinone ring . quinone is ordinarily cathodic and accepts electrons when it is reduced to hydroquinone . the effects of substituents on the ring are that electron - attracting groups decrease electron density in the vicinity of oxygen , rendering the compound a stronger oxidizing agent . electron - repelling groups have the opposite effect . hydroquinone is normally anodic and donates electrons when oxidized to quinone . the effect of ring substituents is that the anodic potential is raised if there is a higher electron density , for example , by adding electron - repelling groups , in the vicinity of an oxidizable group . alternatively , the ring substituents make the compound a stronger reducing agent by rendering the compound more weakly aromatic . finally , the voltage obtained with graphite as the ohmic contact is anomalously high and can exceed 2 . 5 v in contrast to metal ohmic contacts which provide potentials which correlate with the 0 . 7 volt contribution expected from quinones and yields 1 . 4 v with zinc . the general theory of operation within the oxidation - reduction polymer material used for electron acceptor 15 , electron donor 17 , or both , is described in detail in the aforementioned mcginness patent and is not repeated herein . the present invention is best illustrated by means of the following examples which show the preparation of oxidation - reduction polymers for use in electrical storage devices , including the device shown in the accompanying drawing , according to the present invention : an energy storage device was constructed using typical pulp mill black liquor ( lignin ) at 20 % hydration . black liquor paste was spread on a 32 mm graphite disc and was in turn covered with a thin paste of zinc chloride . the combined pastes were then covered with a 32 mm diameter zinc disc , forming a device in the form of a sandwich of graphite / black liquor / salt / zinc . the device was charged at 1 ampere for four ten - second cycles . the decay voltage was monitored and , after the fourth cycle , stabilized . the device was discharged and then charged at 200 ma for one minute . the resultant total efficiency ( available stored energy versus charging energy ) was 12 % and the energy density was 125 m joules / m 3 . the average potential was 1 . 8 volts . the short circuit current was 150ma . an energy storage device was constructed as in example i with the addition of a celgard microporous film ( celanese fibers marketing co .) serving as barrier 19 of the drawing . the liquor / zinc chloride mixture was spread on the zinc disc , covered with the celgard film ; liquor alone was spread on the other side of the film , and covered with a graphite disc . ( devices in which zinc chloride was used without liquor on the zinc disc component did not function as well as a mixture of zinc chloride with liquor .) this energy storage device had energy densities of over 100 m joules / m 3 , with increased total efficiency , typically above 30 %, and a significantly reduced voltage decay rate . an energy storage device was constructed by layering a 0 . 05 mm black liquor coat on a 32 mm graphite disc , placing a celgard film on top , and layering a 0 . 05 mm coat of hydra - zine - monohydrate treated liquor . a 32 mm graphite disc was placed on top of this as an ohmic contact . ( the liquor was treated with hydrazine by mixing 500 mg ( at a ph 10 . 6 ) of liquor with 750 mg of hydrazine and heating the resulting liquor at 60 ° c . for ten minutes .) the charging process evaporated excess liquid ; further , the discharge characteristics showed that the liquor was modified such that it was capable of acting as an electron acceptor toward untreated liquor . the initial polarity of the energy storage device was negative with the liquor at ph 12 . 6 , acting cathodic with regard to the liquor with ph 10 . 5 . ( the addition of hydrazine monohydrate makes the liquor more basic .) the charging current reversed this polarity . however , the energy retention was relatively poor . twenty - four hours later , the sample was tested at the same dynamic impedance ( 125 ohms ) and was found to have increased its energy storage capacity from 2 mj / m 3 to 8 mj / m 3 . the average potential was 1 . 4 volts . furthermore , the discharge curve of voltage versus time was much flatter than is usually observed for quinone - containing polymers , including liquor and other lignins which have not been treated with hydrazine . an energy storage device was prepared as in example iii from one gram of black liquor treated by mixing with hydrazine monohydrate at a ph of 12 . 6 . the liquor was titrated to the desired ph by addition of ten normal naoh . two milliliters of hydrazine were then added . the material was incubated at 60 ° c . for eighteen hours to remove excess water and allow the reaction mixture to reach equilibrium . in this example and in some following , the electronically active polymer was used in a variant form termed a composite material ( abbreviated cm ) which is a combination of polymer with an ohmic contact material , for instance , graphite powder . this composite structure increased surface area and stabilized the electronic properties , as well as improving mechanical behavior . the device was constructed from the combination of a graphite disc , the composite material , and separator in the order : graphite / cm / separator / cm / graphite . the effect of adding graphite was to raise the potential to over 2 volts , lower the internal impedance to 5 . 7 ohms / cm 2 , increase the energy density to over 25 mj / cm 3 , and slow internal discharge . this device ran a transistor radio at 10ma until the voltage dropped below the 2 v cutoff of the radio , at which time the device still contained over 80 % of its charge . short circuit current after charging was 185ma . an energy storage device was constructed using a commercial lignin known as indulin at ( polychemicals department , westvaco ) which is a kraft pine lignin polymer . the device consisted of an zinc electron donor ( 32 mm disc ), a zns04 saturated celgard film , and a 20 % hydration lignin paste 0 . 05 mm thick as the electron acceptor . tantalum discs , again 32 mm in diameter , formed the ohmic contacts . the device was charged and discharged ( three times ) until the voltage was stabilized and energy density raised , a procedure which has been found to be beneficial . the device then had an energy density of 150 mj / m 3 , and an average discharge voltage of 1 . 2 volts . lignin ( indulin at ) was packed in a tantalum foil envelope and heated to 1200 ° c . for three hours . the resulting product was a partly graphitized mass with improved mechanical properties and higher electrical conductivity . when tested as in example v , it acted as an electron acceptor toward zinc and had an energy density of 200 mj / m 3 at an average voltage of 1 . 0 volts . lignin ( indulin at ) was saturated with ammonia and packed in a tantalum foil envelope and heated at 1200 ° c . for four hours . the resultant product was found to function as an electron donor against the material in example vi . tested in the manner of example v , with an electrolyte of naoh , it produced an energy density of 80 mj / m 3 at an average voltage of 0 . 9 volts . an energy storage device was constructed using indulin at as the electron acceptor . the lignin was dissolved in methyl alcohol and a graphite felt was saturated with the solution using a vacuum funnel . the felt was then dried in a vacuum at 60 ° c ., rehydrated , and tested against a zinc electron acceptor with a celgard film impregnated with zinc sulfate as an electrolyte . due to the large increase in surface area for electron transfer , there was a corresponding improvement in charging / discharging kinetics and energy density . the energy density was approximately 200 mj / m 3 , and the average voltage 1 . 2 volts . an energy storage device was constructed as in example vi , charged , and then cooled to 10 ° c . the self - discharge rate decreased by 83 %. discharging the device through an external circuit at 10 ° c . reduced the discharge rate by 32 %. this demonstrates that even though the low temperature charging / discharging characterisitics of lignin are superior to lead - acid systems , for example , there is a temperature dependence which can be used to lower the self - discharging life . a composite material ( cm1 ) was formed by mixing one gram of black liquor with 1 ml of hydrazine monophosphate and incubating the mixture for three minutes . graphite powder ( 500 mg ) was mixed into the black liquor and hydrazine mixture . a second composite material ( designated cm2 ) was formed by first mixing 1 mg of hydrazine monohydrate and 1 ml diethylamine . one gram of hydroquinone was then mixed into the solution and 300 mg of distilled water was added . the resultant chemical reaction raised the temperature from 25 ° c . to 46 ° c . several energy storage devices were constructed with graphite as the ohmic contact and celgard separators with the configuration : graphite / cm1 / separator / cm2 / graphite . the energy content was highest with the cm1 as the cathode and cm2 as the anode . one energy storage device was reverse charged ; that is , with cm1 the anode and cm2 the cathode . in both cases , the storage capacity continued to increase from twenty - four hours after initial charging . the device which was reverse charged was charged twenty - four hours later in the original charge configuration and found to store only approximately 24 % of original capacity . this indicates that initial charging current , therefore , polarizes the energy storage devices which incorporate hydrazine . in the previous descriptions , the results were obtained on developmental devices which used materials such as teflon , tantalum , sealing materials , and so forth . these were used for better control and ease of testing and fabrication ; for this reason they were not detailed , along with the test methods of data gathering and processing , as they are not pertinent to the operation of the devices . one of the advantages of the present invention over the prior art is that both the electron acceptor component 15 and the electron donor component 17 can be made from the same organic semiconducting material . this confers advantages in processing and in stability . cross - contamination is lessened when the anode and cathode are derived from the same material . a further advantage of the present invention is that a readily available material , namely lignin , may be employed as the basis for one series of materials . this material is a by - product of the paper making industry and is frequently thought of as a waste product . in addition , the non - toxicity of lignin , as evidenced by its use in animal feed , is another distinct advantage . the energy storage material which , in the preferred embodiment , is treated in the manner described , is not suitable for use as food ; however , it is clearly safe to handle . the energy storage materials are also chemically stable , lightweight and readily moldable to specific shapes . in addition to the examples described above , experiments were conducted with the device of the present invention by titrating black liquor lignin with hydrochloric acid in order to determine the role of sulfur groups in energy storage devices . a precipitant was formed , along with the release of sulfur gas , as a result of the titration . the resulting polymer was markably reduced in energy storage capacity . furthermore , it was noted that quinone polymers without sulfur or other anodic groups are also low in energy storage capacity . this phenomenon can be prevented by treatments which preserve the sulfur groups in the material . in such cases , titration with sulfuric acid allows protection if an acidic sample is required . finally , the graphite bonded by hydrazine allows the static dielectric constant to be reduced without appreciably lowering the impedence . previously the static dielectric constant was lowered to prevent internal decay . although internal decay could be drastically reduced , only a limited reduction could be achieved before the impedence became too high . it will be appreciated that the structure illustrated in the drawing represents a single cell of an energy storage device and that such cells may be connected in series , in parallel or in any other manner in which individual cells are connected in conventional battery devices . having described several embodiments of a new and improved electrical energy storage device and method , it is believed that other modifications , variations and changes will be suggested to those skilled in the art in light of the above disclosure . it is therefore to be understood that all such variations , modifications and changes are believed to fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	7
while this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms , there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated . referring to fig1 - 6 , the stacking machine is situated beyond an upper conveyor 20 which has a downwardly - sloping rear portion 22 . articles are fed in the direction of the workflow on conveyor 20 , indicated by the arrow , and from portion 22 they are fed to gripping and stacking apparatus generally indicated by reference numeral 23 . this apparatus as illustrated , includes carrier means 25 pivoted on a horizontal pivot axis p parallel to the end of the conveyor 20 . the carrier means has gripping means 24 including upper and lower jaws 26 , 28 , shown in an intermediate open position when the carrier means 25 is in a raised article - receiving position , as shown in fig1 . the leading edge portion of the article is gripped by closing the jaws as the carrier means 25 is swung down about the pivot axis p to a lower release position where the article is placed on a stack on a lower discharge conveyor 30 . this sequence is shown in fig2 and 3 . the jaws 26 , 28 may be horizontally elongated jaw - forming bars where the lower jaw is pivotally supported on a horizontal pivot axis 32 with respect to the upper jaw and is closed by the application of air pressure to a one - way air cylinder assembly 36 . another air cylinder assembly ( not shown in fig1 - 6 ) which is arranged to move the carrier means 25 is attached to the carrier means . when the carrier means is raised to its receiving position , the lower jaw 28 is automatically moved to said intermediate open article - receiving position by the action of a mechanical linkage , to be described later , which cooperates with a fixed stop . thus , the jaws are automatically opened when they reach the receiving position ( fig6 ) and similarly they close to grip the article when air pressure is applied to the cylinder assembly , as will be explained later . as the carrier means is lowered , air streams are generated to push the portion of the article behind the leading edge portion thereof rearwardly in a manner to be explained so the article drops to the rear of the jaws upon a lower conveyor 30 . after each article has been placed on the conveyor 30 , or on top of the stack of articles thereon , the next operation is to open the jaws fully and then reset the mechanism to start a new operating cycle . jaw release is effected by removing the air pressure from cylinder assembly 36 . the lower jaw 28 then drops to a fully open position to allow the article to be left on the conveyor or stack thereon and the carrier means is returned to its upper article - receiving position . fig4 shows the lower jaw fully opened in the lowermost position of the carrier means , fig5 shows the carrier means being returned to its uppermost position , and fig6 shows the carrier means in the uppermost position where the jaws are open to accept the next article . fig7 shows details of the mechanism whereby the lower jaw is withdrawn so that in being raised to the receiving position it does not lift and disturb the top article on the stack . in the preferred design , the up and down movement and the lower jaw release movement are made by suitable air cylinders , valves and an appropriate control systems therefor . however , these operations can be made by other mechanical , hydraulic or electrical devices . as only a predetermined portion of the leading edge of the article is entered into the grip of the jaws , there remains a substantial part of unknown length of the article behind the jaws which must be moved rearward to drop upon the lower conveyor 30 . due to the flexibility of fabric articles , this portion will be in an unstable condition during the downward movement of the carrier means unless a rearward pushing force is then applied thereto . to this end , a stream of air is directed against the article preferably first in a mainly horizontal direction and later at a downwardly inclined direction . initially at least , this horizontal air stream could be obtained by directing a fixed overhead 45 ° angle air stream downward upon a deflector plate on the carrier means above the jaws as described in the parent u . s . application ser . no . 845 , 123 which directs the air stream horizontally for only a portion of the downward movement of the carrier means . this arrangement places the stationary air stream so far from the article most of the time that very high air pressures are needed . the drawings illustrates an improvement wherein a horizontally elongated air jet tube 40 is mounted on the carrier means so that the tube pivots with the carrier means and always directs air at points always near the article in a changing direction initially horizontal but gradually dropping in angle as the carrier means pivots downwardly . fig8 and 9 of the drawings show a preferred embodiment of the stacking machine , constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . the carrier means 25 consists of a main carrier frame 50 that has a pair of arms 52 ( only one being shown in fig9 ) pivotally supported on the frame about the pivot point p , the outer end of the arms have an upper jaw or gripping element 26 supported thereon , and the element 26 is preferably covered with a felt strip 54 . an upper plate 56 extends between the arms and the upper position for the arms is defined by a rubber stop 58 fixed to the frame 50 . the lower jaw or gripping element 28 is fixedly secured to a linkage 60 that is pivoted about a pivot pin 62 on the arms 52 . the fluid cylinder assembly 36 has one end pivotally supported on a cross brace 63 extending between the arms , while the opposite end is pivotally connected to the linkage 60 at 64 . the linkage 60 also has a further arm 66 fixed thereto , and the main frame has an abutment or stop 68 aligned with the end of the arm 66 . the movement of the jaw assembly or gripping means 24 will be described in detail hereinafter . the gripping means 24 is pivoted about pin p through a pneumatic cylinder assembly 70 that has one end pivoted on the frame and the opposite end pivoted on the arm adjacent the pivot point p . a counterbalancing means or spring 72 is also interposed between the frame 50 and the arms 52 to counterbalance the over - hung weight of jaw mechanism which thereby allows for lower operating forces for the air cylinder and also increases cycling speeds . the counterbalancing means 72 provides an upwardly - directed force to move the arms or gripping means 24 toward its uppermost position and thus lowers operating forces thereby producing a safety factor in the event that an operator should get a part of the body into the path of movement of the gripping means 24 . the air jet tube 40 , discussed above , is carried by the arms and is movable therewith and has openings for directing a stream of air towards the plate 56 so that the air flow will be parallel to the arms and above the jaws 26 and 28 . also , the mechanism or the gripping means incorporates an apron in the form of a plurality of cords 74 extending between the front end of the arms 52 and a vertical support 76 which will prevent the trailing portion of the article from falling into the air - blown zone and thereby considerably reducing the air pressure requirements . stated another way , the article support apron will prevent the article from obstructing the flow of the air across the plate 56 . the mechanism so far described operates as follows . the gripping means 24 is initially in the position shown in fig9 and no air is introduced into the cylinder assembly 36 so that the lower jaw or gripping element 28 is held in the position shown in the solid line of the drawing by the arm 66 engaging the stop 68 . this position may be referred to as the intermediate article - receiving position for the gripping means 24 . as an article a passes a sensing device , such as a photocell 78 , the cycling of the stacking device is commenced by circuitry to be described later , and after a predetermined time delay , pressurized fluid is supplied to the one - way cylinder assembly 36 and to the upper end of the cylinder assembly 70 . the cylinder assembly 36 thus moves the lower gripping jaw 28 to a clamping position to clamp the article between the jaws 26 and 28 , as shown in fig2 . as the downward movement of the gripping means 24 is continued , pressurized air is supplied to the tube 40 to produce air flow over the surface of the plate 56 , which in turn directs the tail portion of the article rearwardly or outwardly towards the stack . this movement continues until the end of the gripping means engages the upper article in the stack s , shown in phantom lines in fig9 . because of the relatively low air pressure and forces utilized in the cylinder assembly 70 , the movement of the gripping means will be interrupted by the stack of articles so that the lowermost release position is automatically adjusted to the top of the stack of articles . this eliminates the need for any complicated stack - lowering mechanisms , as is required when the gripping means is moved to a lowermost fixed position . the counterbalancing means also assists in reducing the force necessary to raise the carrier frame . when the article reaches the stack s , the flow of the air jet ensures that the article is straight and lays flat on the stack s . as shown in fig3 the air stream shown is directed across the upper surface of the article at a downwardly - inclined component of force . when the article has been received onto the stack , the pressure of the air on the cylinder assembly 36 is released , thereby allowing the lower gripping jaw to freely pivot counterclockwise as shown about its pivot axis 62 to a fully open position . in so doing , the pivoting action moves the gripping jaws in both a downward direction and a horizontal direction away from the deposited article so that when the carrier frame pivots upwards the lower jaw clears the article without upsetting it . at the same time , the pressurized air is introduced into the lower end of the cylinder assembly 70 to raise the arms 52 towards the uppermost position shown in fig9 . as such upward movement commences , the lower jaw 28 will be free to pivot and slide out from between the uppermost article and the adjacent article without disturbing the position of the article , as clearly illustrated in fig7 . the lowermost jaw 28 is then freely pivoted to the phantom line position , shown in fig9 which is the fully opened or release position for the lower jaw . as the jaw assembly approaches the uppermost article - receiving position , the free end of the arm 66 will engage the abutment or stop 68 and will cause the lower jaw to be pivoted to the intermediate article - receiving position , shown in the solid line in fig9 . thus , the system is ready for a second cycle of operation . several stacking deck arrangements are possible . in one form , the deck can be a simple stop / start conveyor 30 onto which the articles are stacked and when the bundle is complete , the conveyor is momentarily operated to discharge it from the system . in another preferred form , the deck is a simple hinge platform which can be tilted to a steep angle from where the bundle will slide downward onto a discharge conveyor . referring to fig1 , 11 , 12 , there is shown a multi - lane stacking mechanism with a discharge arrangement for discharging the stacks of articles beneath the machine in the opposite direction to the direction of workflow on the conveyor , or alternately bypassing the stacking machine to a second in - line conveyor . the direction of workflow is indicated by the arrow . the elements of the machine described with reference to fig1 - 9 are not shown , but an additional discharge conveyor 80 is shown . the discharge conveyor 30 on which the stack of article is received is driven intermittently by a motor 82 . when the stack has received a predetermined number of articles , motor 82 is energized and the stack is conveyed to a transfer deck 84 . from there , the articles are led away on a discharge conveyor 80 . fig1 and 11 are schematic views of the discharge arrangement of a four - lane machine , it being understood that there are four stacking and discharge conveyor stations exactly as described arranged closely side by side , as shown in fig1 and 11 and the upper conveyor 20 is a common belt conveyor encompassing all four stations . a separate sensing photocell 78 is mounted opposite each station . the close arrangement is made possible by the fact that the various pivot - forming bearings for the lower jaw 28 and the carrier arm 52 for each lane can be readily located within the ends of the horizontally elongated jaws 26 , 28 which are located contiguous to the jaws of the adjacent lane . the transfer decks for the four mechanisms are shown at 84a , 84b , 84c and 84d . each is tilted when full by a mechanism ( not shown ) to allow the stack to slide onto the discharge conveyor 80 . this conveys the stacks to a common collection point at 86 . the tilting mechanisms are interlocked so that tilting is inhibited if another stack is passing beneath a transfer deck . the control means may be arranged so that the adjacent pairs of transfer decks 84a - 84b and 84b - 84c may be operated together . in such case , a manual switch not shown , is moved to a position to connect in parallel the various solenoids of the pair of stations which are to act as one which operate the apparatus in a manner to be described . also , the switch will then disconnect one of the photocells of each pair of gauged stations so each pair is controlled by one photocell . the bypass operation is controlled by a series of guide fingers 100 ( fig1 ) which are movably mounted below the conveyor belts of the process conveyor 20 where they can be raised up and down in the gaps between these belts . when the bypass guide fingers 100 are raised by an air cylinder 102 , the articles will be directed from the process conveyor 20 onto the conveyor 110 . when the fingers are down , the articles will pass under the conveyor 110 to the stacking system . referring to fig1 , a where pneumatic - electric control circuit for each lane is provided using basic electromechanical components . when the leading edge of an article obscures the photosensor 78 , a switch 130 in a circuit is opened . this de - energizes the time delay relay 134 , which in turn energizes time delay relay 135 . then , after a preset adjustable time , time delay relay 135 operates energizing solenoid valves sv1 and sv2 and consequently air cylinders 36 and 70 . the time setting of relay 135 is adjusted to time the leading edge of the article into the jaws of the stacking mechanism , which then close and the arms are pivoted downward to place the article onto the stack . simultaneously , air is applied to the air jet tube 40 to direct the trailing portion of the article onto the stack . when the trailing edge of the article clears the photosensor 78 , the circuit energizes time delay relay 134 and after a preset delay , the relay operates . relay 134 resets the circuit , the jaws are opened and the mechanism is recycled to the receiving position ready for the next article ( fig9 ). two flow control valves 136 are positioned in the lines to cylinder 70 which control and stabilize operating speeds . when an article is stacked , a count signal is recorded by an electronic countdown device 139 . when a preselected number of articles have been stacked , the motor 82 , which drives the stacking - receiving conveyor 30 , is operated for a timed period of sufficient duration to convey the completed stack from the receiving area . to bypass the stacker , a switch 141 is operated . this energizes sv3 solenoid valve and air cylinder 102 , which raises the bypass fingers or diverting means . the described circuit is the basic requirement to operate a stacking mechanism . the preferred system will be microprocessor control , programmed to operate the stacker plus any other equipment in the complete process line . for ease of understanding , the control system has been described in a mechanical / electrical form using relays , microswitches and timers . however , the preferred control system will be fully electronic using a suitable programmed microprocessor system to perform all the necessary functions of counting , sequence and stack discharge and inhibit operations for all lanes . of course , various modifications come to mind without departing from the spirit of the invention . for example , the gripping means could be mounted on a suitable vertical linear track rather than the arcuate movement and the jaws could be moved by springs . also , the cylinder assembly 36 could be a two - way cylinder which would positively move the lower gripping element 28 between gripping and released positions . in this arrangement , the lower jaw 28 would be pivoted to the article - receiving position against the force of the air pressure and would automatically be moved to the gripping position by the air pressure when the arms begin the downward movement . also , the air tube could be fixed on the frame to first direct the air along the jaw plate and then at an angle on to the stack . while specific embodiments have been illustrated and described , numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims .	1
the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 - 6 . the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be hereinafter described with reference to an implementation called the ‘ video encoding system ’. the video encoding system provides the preparation , delivery , pre - processing and presentation functionality described in the preceding sections . as discussed in the background section , the conventional approach for content delivery to mobile devices involves preparing content in accordance with the presentation capabilities of the targeted remote device ( s ), regardless of whether this is the most efficient approach to preparing content for a given delivery size or quality . the present invention overcomes this disadvantage by allowing the content to be prepared optimally even if the resulting form is initially unsuitable for presentation on the remote device . in accordance with the preferred embodiments , after the content is delivered to the remote device , the content may then be combined with other content already on the device , restructured or otherwise composited and then converted to a form that is suitable for effective presentation on the device . in accordance with the preferred embodiment , the pre - processing stage is preferably performed sometime prior to the presentation event such that it does not require use of the limited processing capabilities of the remote device during the presentation stage . in this manner , complex pre - processing may be performed on the delivered content that might take minutes or even hours on a low - powered processor producing simplified content in a form that can be presented effectively . fig1 is a schematic representation of the basic approach in accordance with the preferred embodiment . as shown in fig1 , stage 1 operates on a server 10 that is independent of the remote device 11 and performs the preparation of the original or source content 12 . in the video encoding system , the original content 12 ( i . e ., source content ) is initially provided in the form of high resolution video files such as tv quality advertising video clips ( e . g ., ntsc or atsc encoded video signals ). the original content is then converted into a form suitable for delivery to a remote device , typically a mobile phone . in the case of simple content conversion , the offline content conversion 13 takes the form of a video compression process using the best available compression algorithms for creating highly compact high quality video of suitable dimensions for playback on the remote device . in accordance with one embodiment , a high complexity h264 algorithm is used to convert broadcast quality digitally encoded betacam , pal and ntsc format digital video files into qcif ( 176 × 144 pixels ) size or similar at 25 frames a second . the output dimensions and frame rates are chosen such that they are the maximum parameters for the range of remote devices to which the content is to be delivered . the means for effecting the conversion could be either a dedicated video converter or simply a programmed processor for effecting various different compression algorithms . once the original content is prepared , it is preferably appended , or “ tagged ,” with information about the particular conversion process used so that the remote device receiving the converted content can determine how to interpret the delivered content for pre - processing . the converted content 14 is then delivered ( e . g ., broadcast , multicast , or unicast ) via any one or combination of a variety of transmission means 15 ( e . g . cellular wireless ‘ gprs ’, wired ‘ usb ’, or wireless ‘ bluetooth ’) to one or more remote devices . once the prepared content 14 is delivered to the remote device 11 , it is stored in a content archive ready for pre - processing . in accordance with the preferred embodiment , prior to presenting the received content on the device , a process is first run through an on - device content converter 16 ( which may be a dedicated processor or a programmed general processor ) to convert the desired archived content into a playable content 17 in a video format that can be played on the remote device . the chosen presentation format is typically a low complexity h264 format for higher end mobile phones and 3gpp format for middle range phones that are capable of playing video . due to the simplified nature of these formats , the output of the pre - processing stage typically results in video files that a substantially greater in size than that of the delivered content for the same quality video . in typical results , a 30 second video processed using the video encoding system can be prepared to a size as small as 150 kbytes using a variety of filtering and compression techniques . after delivery and pre - processing on the remote device the resulting video file in a form for effective presentation is typically around 1 . 5 mbytes , a tenfold increase in size . since transmission over cellular wireless networks using gprs is typically charged according to the bandwidth consumed , a tenfold reduction in delivery size equates directly to a tenfold reduction in transmission costs , making it cost effective for example to deliver video advertising to mobile phones . due to its simplified form , the converted larger video content now requires less decompression and decoding processing during playback , making it more presentable on a mobile device that may not otherwise have had sufficient processing power to simultaneously decompress and playback the original content . fig2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention whereby the original content 12 is segmented in a suitable fashion . specifically , each segment of the original content is separately prepared and delivered to the remote device either independently or in aggregated but still segmented form . once the entire segmented content has been received by the remote device along with instructions on how the content is to be composited and converted , the pre - processing stage can be programmed to select appropriate segments for a given presentation and output to a coherent single video file for later presentation . one advantage of this segmentation approach is that each segment could potentially be prepared / formatted using a different method , the particular method being selected in accordance with the nature of the segment . for example , a fast moving action segment might be encoded at a higher frame rate than slow moving or still image segments without noticeable loss of presentation quality . the pre - processing step of the system can then convert the various formatted segments ( e . g ., different frame rates ) to the highest possible frame rate available for effective presentation on the device . by providing the ability to format different segment with different methods of compression , this embodiment increases the content provider &# 39 ; s ability to maximize bandwidth efficiency and / or optimal content presentation . although conventional methods of content delivery , such as variable bit rate encoding , attempt to adapt to the complexity of the content in the video frame sequences being compressed , they are necessarily limited as to the extent of the adaptation possible . using the approach in the present invention , it is possible to use a different compression technique for each segment , for example simple computer graphics or cartoon animation might be compressed more appropriately using a different algorithm from that used for photographic video segments . this is analogous to the appropriate use of gif and jpeg formats for still images where the former is more appropriate for low colour palette graphical images and the latter more effective for photo - realistic images . a further advantage of this alternative embodiment of segmentation approach is that it allows a piece of content to be delivered to a remote device in a form that can be reconfigured for further presentations . for instance , in the case of a video advertisement clip that is to be played on more than one occasion ( e . g ., once a day for three days ), each segment may be modified in some way according to some criteria such as a predetermined configuration schedule , or even the individual preferences and profile of the remote device owner . in another example , the content provider ( or advertiser ) may deliver to remote devices a video clip such as a movie trailer advertisement with different opening sequence segments ( e . g ., “ coming soon to a theatre near you ,” or “ in theatres tomorrow ); in such an example , when the video clip is played for the first time , when the movie is one week from being publicly released in the theatres , the opening sequence segment of “ coming soon to a theatre near you ” can be first presented before replaying the rest of the movie trailer . upon a subsequent presentation of the advertisement , say the day before the movie is to be publicly released , the opening segment of “ in theatres tomorrow ” can be used instead . this results in a powerful and flexible way to deliver content that might be displayed differently on each device without having to uniquely prepare the content for each device . if the content is viewed more than once in different forms , the reused segments are already on the remote device , further saving delivery transmission costs . fig3 is an illustration of one way in which a segmented content sequence 30 can be combined to produce a unique presentation . as shown in fig3 , reusable segments 31 a , 31 b , 31 c , and 31 d are selectively recombined in order to produce a second viewable video clip 32 . for instance , a video clip commercial , when presented for the first time , may be 30 seconds long . upon second presentation , the advertiser may wish to present a 15 second version of the original commercial so as to minimize the intrusion to the user of the mobile device while still accomplishing the objective of reminding the user of the advertised product or service . the ability to shuffle segments allows the content provider / advertiser more versatility to provide different advertisement presentation . fig4 illustrates is yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention . specifically , fig4 schematically illustrates an improved system from fig2 whereby the remote device 12 combines segments of delivered content 40 with segments of content 41 that is already archived on the remote device . in this manner , new and unique content can be pre - processed for presentation , by delivering only the marginal changes to content known to be already archived on the device . as before , the reuse of existing archived segments on the device results in a reduction of delivery transmission costs ( it is noted that , in fig4 only the remote device pre - processing stage is illustrated as the preparation stage is similar to what is shown in fig2 ). in accordance with another embodiment , the pre - processing phase of the system allows for content to be generated programmatically via a content generator 50 ( which may be , inter alia , a specific processor or a programmed general processor ) and combined with delivered and pre - stored segments as before . examples of such generated content may include graphical charts , image slide shows , video filtering of segments and computer generated vector and 3d animation . in each of these cases , the instructions for generating the content along with any necessary static images are preferably significantly smaller in delivery size than had they been delivered as high quality video segments . furthermore , computer generated graphics often require a high level of presentation detail to ensure that they can be presented effectively . for example , text generated on the device and subsequently encoded into a video for presentation is likely to be of higher quality than had they been subject to high compression during the preparation phase . in accordance with the yet another embodiment of the present invention , high quality textual annotation of a video sequence that may be uniquely provided for each unique mobile device receiving the video sequence . specifically , it may be desirable to display unique information associated with the device ( such as the name of the owner of the device , or some time dependent text within the video ). in another example , an advertisement for a movie that includes a trailer may be adapted for presentation to include the number of days remaining until the movie opens at the local cinema . each time the advertisement is presented it will appear to have been uniquely prepared for that moment . in this particular example , in contrast the segmentation example discussed above wherein different opening sequences are used , text annotations may instead be used to achieve the same objective . another advantage of using textual annotation is that it can be performed in the native speaking language of the owner of the remote device , allowing a single piece of content to be delivered to devices of different demographic communities , each customized on the device into their own language . fig5 and 6 further illustrate the process and benefits of the segmentation method illustrated in fig2 whereby an image is segmented by some means prior to preparation and with the appropriate maximum level of compression that delivers adequate high quality results is performed for each segment . specifically , as it is illustrated in fig5 , an entire original content is compressed at each of four compression levels labelled r 1 to r 4 ( 150 kb , 200 kb , 300 kb and 500 kb respectively ). the output content 60 may be comprised of segments selectively combined from the various compressed content . fig6 illustrates the resulting expected encoding size and showing that , in this particular instance , one can achieve a final compressed size of under 250 kbytes for a 32 second video clip , even though 40 % of the video is encoded at a higher rate . in the example described here , the segmentation is performed by a combination of automatic and manual means to ensure a sufficient high quality of the resulting presentation on the remote device . many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims . the words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings , but to include by special definition in this specification structure , material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings . thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning , then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself . the definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are , therefore , defined in this specification to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth , but all equivalent structure , material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result . in this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim . insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art , now known or later devised , are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims . therefore , obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements . the claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above , what is conceptionally equivalent , what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention .	7
the present invention generally comprises an infant bed that is designed for use in co - sleeping , in which the infant bed resides in the bed of a parent or other adult . with regard to fig1 and 2 , one embodiment of the infant bed includes a frame assembly 21 comprised of a rectangular base panel 22 and a head end wall 23 extending upwardly from the head edge of the panel 22 . a pair of side panels 24 and 26 extending upwardly from the opposed side edges of base panel 22 , and join the end wall 23 to form a coffer - like protected space 30 . the panels are provided with reinforcing ribs 27 and lightening holes 28 , as are well known in the prior art . further , the upper panel edges are provided with a tubular lip 29 extending along the upper distal edges of the panels 23 , 24 , and 26 . indeed , the reinforcing effect of end wall 23 joined to the side panels , together with the integral tubular lip , provides a structure that has significant resistance to deflection under vertical force . thus an infant supported within a bed defined by the frame structure 21 is afforded substantial protection from the accidental and incidental impingement by adult bodies that may occur in a co - sleeping situation . the frame structure 21 may be enclosed in a fabric cover 31 , as shown in fig4 . the fabric cover provides a soft surface treatment and may include a mattress pad , side pads , and other such features to enhance the comfort of the infant . such features are described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 370 , 715 mentioned above and incorporated herein by reference . the head end wall , side panels , and base panel may be formed integrally by injection molding of polymer material , stamping of sheet metal or the like , or by assembly of the separate components using adhesive , ultrasonic welding , or the like . in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , the frame structure 21 is depicted as integrally molded polymer material . a salient feature of the infant bed is the provision of a safety bar assembly 41 . in general , the safety bar assembly may comprise any arched or hoped structure that supports a hood - like structural arrangement , such as those common to baby carriages and the like , to divert objects that could impinge on the face or head of the infant within the infant bed . in the embodiment depicted in fig1 - 4 , the safety bar 41 is comprised of a tubular central portion 42 , and a pair of parallel legs 43 extending from opposed ends of the central portion 42 . a pair of mounting brackets 44 is provided , each secured to an outer surface of a respective side wall 24 and 26 . the distal end of each leg 43 is received in a respective one of the mounting brackets 44 . the mounting arrangement is configured so that the central portion 42 of the safety bar may be deployed across the area of the space 30 wherein the head of the infant will be resting . as explained below , the mounting system is designed to enable the safety bar to remain with the legs thereof in a generally vertical position to deflect pillows and other objects that might otherwise fall onto the face or head of the infant within the infant bed . in this regard it may be noted that the mounting brackets 44 are not centered along the length of the respective sidewall 24 or 26 . rather , the brackets 44 are disposed adjacent to the portion of volume 30 in which the infant &# 39 ; s head will be resting . this placement enables the safety bar 41 to be deployed to maximum effect when the legs 43 thereof are extending generally vertically upwardly from the mounting brackets 44 , so that the central portion 42 extends over the head of the infant for protection and the legs are oriented to resist any vertical loads from objects falling onto the safety bar . with regard to fig6 , the mounting bracket 44 comprises a lug protruding from the sidewall and having a slot 47 formed therein generally parallel to the sidewall . a keyway 46 extends generally vertically in the lug in communication with the slot 47 . each leg 43 includes a spade lug 48 at the distal end thereof , the spade being dimensioned to be received in the slot 47 . a key 49 protrudes from the lug 48 , and is formed in complementary fashion to keyway 46 , so that the spade lug and key may be inserted vertically into the slot and keyway . likewise , the spade lug and key may be withdrawn vertically from the slot and keyway . as shown in fig3 , within the bracket 44 there is an interior arcuate space 51 in which the key 49 may pivot after insertion through the keyway 46 . as a result , the legs of the safety bar may rotate within the mounting bracket 44 to permit the safety bar to rotate between the positions shown in fig1 and 2 . in addition , the mounting bracket is provided with a ball detent mechanism 52 which interacts with recesses 53 on the spade lug 48 ( fig6 ), so that the safety bar is maintained at at least one predetermined angular relationship , such as the vertical position of maximum protection . the safety bar may also be provided with a light 54 secured in the middle of the central portion 42 of the safety bar . the light may be actuated selectively so that the parent or other adult may be able to view the face of the infant at rest in the infant bed 21 . the light power supply ( battery or the like ) and switch may be installed within the tubular structure of the safety bar , using techniques well known in the prior art . the safety bar 41 may also be used to suspend a toy or other visually stimulating object within the view of the infant at rest in the bed of the invention . with regard to fig4 and 5 , a further embodiment 21 a of the frame structure includes a rectangular base panel 22 a and a separate head end wall 23 a extending upwardly from the head edge of the panel 22 . a pair of separate side panels 24 a and 26 a extending upwardly from the opposed side edges of base panel 22 a , and join the end wall 23 a to form a coffer - like protected space 30 a . the panels are provided with reinforcing ribs 27 a and lightening holes 28 a as described previously , as are well known in the prior art . further , the upper panel edges are provided with a tubular lip 29 a extending along the upper distal edges of the panels 23 a , 24 a , and 26 a . the safety bar 41 and the mounting brackets 44 are provided as described previously . in this embodiment , the frame components are not integrally formed ; rather , the fabric cover 31 encloses the frame components and secures then in an assembly that provides protection for the infant resting within the infant bed . the fabric cover 31 includes a portion that spans the distal ends of the side panels and the base panel , and so forms an end wall at the foot of the bed . this foot end wall completes the enclosure of the coffer - like space 30 a and secures the infant within the bed . furthermore , the tubular lip 29 a of the head end wall 23 a includes opposite end portions that curve approximately 90 ° to align with the tubular lip portions of the adjacent side panels 24 a and 26 a . indeed , as shown in fig7 , the adjacent tubular lip portions of the side panels and head end wall are disposed to interlock when the panels are assembled , thereby to secure the components and augment the vertical load - bearing strength of the frame assembly . the fabric cover 31 may be joined together with straps ( including velcro or snap fasteners ) or zippers or the like , as shown in fig4 , so that the frame components are joined to act cooperatively in a structure that is very resistant to vertical loads or lateral loads that might otherwise be imparted by the adults sleeping adjacent to the infant bed of the invention . the fabric cover may be opened and separated from the frame components for laundering , or for transporting the infant bed in a knock - down disposition . with regard to fig8 and 9 , a further embodiment of the invention provides a frame structure 21 b that includes a rectangular base panel 22 b and a separate head end wall 23 b extending upwardly from the head edge of the panel 22 b . a pair of separate side panels 24 b and 26 b extending upwardly from the opposed side edges of base panel 22 b , and join the end wall 23 b to form a coffer - like protected space 30 b . the panels are provided with reinforcing ribs 27 b and lightening holes 28 b as described previously , as are well known in the prior art . further , the upper panel edges are provided with a tubular lip 29 b extending along the upper distal edges of the panels 23 b , 24 b , and 26 b . the safety bar 41 and the mounting brackets 44 are provided as described previously . in this embodiment , the frame components are not completely integrally formed ; rather , the side panels 24 b and 26 b are foreshortened , and separate side panel extensions 24 b ′ and 26 b ′ are provided . the side panel extensions are joined to the remaining integral frame structure by any of the methods and structures shown herein . for example , as described before , a fabric cover 31 may be fashioned to enclose the frame components and secure then in an assembly that provides protection and comfort for the infant resting within the infant bed . the integrally formed head end wall , base panel , and foreshortened side panels 24 b and 26 b combine to form a strong structure that is highly resistant to lateral compression and vertical loads , and will protect the infant very well . note also that the mounting brackets 44 extend from the side panels 24 b and 26 b , and the safety bar 41 is secured thereto to further protect the infant . the separate panel extensions 24 b ′ and 26 b ′ permit some yielding of the sides of the infant bed in the area of the legs and feet of the infant , a location that poses far less threat of injury to the infant . referring to fig1 and 11 , a further embodiment of the invention provides a frame structure 21 b that is very similar to the embodiment of fig8 and 9 , and is accorded the same reference numerals for the same components . in this embodiment , the side panel extensions 24 b ′ and 26 b ′ are secured with hinges 61 to the distal side edges of the base panel 22 b . in particular , each side panel extension is provided at its lower edge with at least one hinge component consisting of a separable male hinge half , and each distal edge of the base panel 22 b is provided with at least one hinge component consisting of the separable complementary female hinge component , so that the hinge components may be joined as the confronting edges of the side panel extensions and the base panel are translated together ( fig1 ). the hinged connections enable the side panel extensions to be deflected somewhat by the imposition of lateral force or vertical loads , but the structural effect of the fabric cover secures the side panel extensions in place without collapsing or otherwise threatening the well - being of the infant in repose in the bed . once again the portion of the fabric cover 31 that spans the distal ends of the side panel extensions and base panel defines a foot end wall that secures the infant within the confines of the infant bed . a further embodiment of this concept is depicted in fig1 , including a frame structure 21 b that is very similar to the embodiment of fig8 - 11 , and is once again accorded the same reference numerals for the same components . in this embodiment the side panels 24 b and 26 b are foreshortened , and the side panel extensions 24 b ′ and 26 b ′ are designed to slidably extend from their respective side panels . the tubular lips at the upper edges of each side panel and side panel extension are formed to be slidably telescoped together ( fig1 ), whereby the extension may be slidably moved toward the distal end of the base panel . in addition , the lower edge of each side panel extension is provided with at least one edge clamp fitting 71 ( fig1 ) that is adapted to resiliently clamp onto any portion of the side edge of base panel 22 b . thus each side panel extension may be disposed at any position along the respective side edge of the base panel . thus , for example , when the infant is newborn and rather small , the side panel extensions are disposed proximally , which reinforces the upper area where the infant is located . as the child grows , and more space is required , the side panel extensions may be moved distally , increasing the effective length of the sides and increasing the volume of the protected space 30 b . eventually , the side panel extensions may be fully extended , as shown in fig1 to maximize the capacity of the infant bed . a further embodiment 21 c of the infant bed , shown in fig1 , is notable for the base panel 22 c sloping upwardly between side panels 24 c and 26 c , with head end wall 23 c joining the ends of the side panels and base panel . the slope of the base panel maintains the head of the sleeping infant in an elevated condition , which may be desired to facilitate unimpeded breathing by the infant . the side panels are foreshortened as in previous embodiments , and the side panel extensions are eliminated . the lower edges of the side panels and end wall are disposed in a common nominal plane to engage a supporting flat surface in a stable manner . the safety bar 41 and mounting brackets 44 are provided substantially as described previously to protect the head area of the infant . it should be emphasized that all of the embodiments of frame structures shown herein may be used advantageously with a fabric cover assembly that also supports other features such as pads , mattress , foot end wall , and the like . thus the present invention provides an infant bed that is designed to enhance the safety and protection of the infant , so that it may be used in a co - sleeping arrangement . the strong frame structure , the safety bar , and the fabric cover combine to produce a superior infant bed construction . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed , and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching without deviating from the spirit and the scope of the invention . the embodiment described is selected to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as suited to the particular purpose contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto .	0
with reference to the drawings , the reference numeral 10 refers generally to a pouch which consists of a first panel 12 and a second panel 14 arranged in a face - to - face relationship and bonded to one another at an interface thereof along seal lines 16a , 16b and 16c . the seal lines 16a , 16b and 16c represents the bonded areas of the two panels and are hereinafter collectively identified by the reference numeral 16 . the unbonded area located within the bonded areas 16 serves to form an article receiving pouch 18 . it will be understood that the pouch may be in a form of a plastic bag or any other article receiving container and , as will be described hereinafter , the sealing method of the present invention may be used to secure webs at localized areas for the production of a wide range of items not necessarily in the form of pouches or containers . with reference to fig2 of the drawings , it will be seen that a first web 22 and a second web 24 are guided into a face - to - face overlying relationship with respect to one another between a pair of rollers 26 and 28 . the webs 22 and 24 may be made from a material which is bondable when subjected to electron radiation or from material which is non - bondable when subjected to electron radiation . in either case , a coating is applied to at least one surface of one web so that the bonding characteristics of the coated area of the web are opposite to those of the non - coated area . the coating may serve to make the coated area bondable or it may serve as a screen or resist coating to make an otherwise bondable material non - bondable . examples of a suitable non - bondable web are paper , aluminum foil and cellophane . examples of a suitable bondable material available in web form are polyethylene and polypropylene which are capable of forming a fusion bond but which are more efficiently bondable using e . b . curable adhesive . typical e . b . bondable pouch and bag flexible packaging single ply web materials are : ______________________________________web density thicknessmaterials llbs / cu . inch inches______________________________________paper 0 . 031 0 . 001 - 0 . 004cellulose film 0 . 051 & lt ; 0 . 001 - 0 . 002polyethylene ( pe ) 0 . 033 & lt ; 0 . 001 - 0 . 004polypropylene ( pp ) 0 . 032 & lt ; 0 . 001 - 0 . 002polyester ( pet ) 0 . 050 & lt ; 0 . 001 - 0 . 002polyamide ( nylon , pa ) 0 . 041 & lt ; 0 . 001 - 0 . 004polyvinyldiene chloride ( pvdc ) 0 . 036 & lt ; 0 . 001 - 0 . 003aluminum foil ( al ) 0 . 097 & lt ; 0 . 001 - 0 . 002______________________________________ some of the above webs to form a secure bond with the e . b . adhesive , e . g . polyethylene , require a corona discharge surface treatment which can be done in line up stream of the e . b . adhesive applicator units . single webs are also used in multiply form as laminated , coextruded or coated webs . a typical coated web is , pvdc / paper . typical multiply webs , to a maximum 0 . 008 &# 34 ; thickness are : pe / paper , pe / cellulose film , pe / pp , al / paper , pe / pa , paper / pe / al , pe / pet , pa / al / pe , paper / pe / al / pe , pet / al / pp , pet / pvdc / pp . such webs , single ply or multiply , can be electron radiation pattern bonded in eb 100 % reactive and curable adhesive with adhesive laydown weights of 2 to 3 lbs . per 3000 square foot ream and an electron beam radiation dose of 2 to 3 megarads , which penetrates the top web and depth of adhesive to instantly cure the e . b . adhesive patterns which bond the pouch or bag walls together in their predetermined seal patterns . electron penetration is a function of the &# 34 ; electrocurtain &# 34 ;™ controlled electron acceleration voltage , 300 kv max , and the density of materials . dose is a function of the &# 34 ; electrocurtain &# 34 ;™ controlled current output in milliamperes per inch of web width and the web speed . e . b . curable adhesives and coatings , suitable for forming a bond are available from a number of suppliers such as sun chemical co ., polymer industries , rad - cure corporation , dow corning corporation and celanese chemical company . relatively recent developments have produced 100 % reactive adhesives and coatings of various monomers and oligomers designed for viscosities ( below 200 centipoise ) suitable for rotogravure application and polymerization or curing by electron beam , radiation . a variety of suitable e . b . curable adhesives are known to those skilled in the art . coating materials suitable for e . b . radiation screening purposes are metallic or high denisty coatings having substantial resistance to e . b . transmission , and may be applied by rotogravure process to provide variations in pouch and bag making fusion seals . with reference to fig2 of the drawings , three alternative methods of coating are illustrated at areas a , b and c , respectively . in area a the coating 30 is a coating of bondable material ; in area b the coating 32 is a coating of non - bondable material , and in area c the coating 32 is again a coating of non - bondable material . the coating in area a and area b are applied by either of the rotogravure printing cylinders 34 and 35 ( fig4 ) and the coating in area c is applied by a rotogravure printing cylinder 36 ( fig4 ). the coating applied in area a is applied to a first surface 38 of the first web 22 which is located at the interface between webs 22 and 24 when the webs are brought together between rollers 26 and 28 . the coating at area b is applied to a lower surface 39 of web 24 which is again located at the interface of web 22 and 24 when the webs are brought together . the coating 32 applied in area c is applied to an upper surface 40 of web 24 . when bondable coating is applied as indicated in area a , it is applied to an interface surface in a pattern corresponding to the seal line 16a , 16b and 16c . this pattern is applied by the rotogravure printing device with a plurality of printed areas arranged side by side and closely following one another on the surface 38 . the web 22 with the pattern of area a applied thereto at longitudinal intervals along the length thereof is located in a face - to - face relationship with the web 24 between the rollers 26 and 28 . it will be noted that it is only necessary to apply a pattern as e . b . curable material to one of the webs so that there is no difficulty in aligning the webs 22 and 24 . the webs then pass through a radiation curing device 42 which activates the bondable coating 30 to form a bond at the coated interface . the web is then slit longitudinally along slit lines 44 and cut off along transverse lines 46 to sever the individual pouches 10 from the continous web . when the webs are made from bondable material and the coating is a screening material as illustrated in section b , the coating is again applied by the rotogravure cylinders 34 or 36 and the webs 22 and 24 are located in a face - to - face relationship between rollers 26 and 28 and the composite web is driven through the radiation curtain of the electron beam emitting device 42 . in this instance , the coating 32 screens the areas of the interface to which it is applied so that fusion bonding can only occur at the unscreened portions of the interface . a screen coating may be applied by the rotogravure 36 to the upper surface of the upper web 24 in order to prevent bonding of otherwise bondable webs as previously described . when the rotogravure cylinder 36 ( fig4 ) is used , it is not necessary to use the rotogravure cylinder 34 and it is not necessary to apply any coating to the interface . this method results in a pouch or bag with no coating or adhesive on the pouch or bag interior surfaces which coatings or adhesives or their components can contact or migrate into the subsequent pouch or bag contents when the contents are degradeable by the coating or adhesive or components thereof . it will , of course , be understood that when the rotogravure cylinder 34 is used to apply a coating to the interface , it is not necessary to apply a coating to the upper face of web 24 . when the coating is applied to the upper face of the web 24 , as shown at c in fig2 it may be applied after the webs 22 and 24 are located in a face - to - face relationship . it will , however , be understood that the coating may be also applied before the webs are located in a face - to - face relationship . the coating serves to screen or mask the otherwise bondable areas of the webs at the sealing interface as the web moves through the radiation curtain so that bonding occurs only at the unscreened interface and the pouch is made with no coating or adhesive on either of the pouch interior surfaces adjacent to the contents of the pouch . again , the web may be slit and cut - off as previously described . several forms of a suitable apparatus for high speed pouch and bag making are illustrated in fig4 of the drawings . a simple pouch machine is illustrated in area d of fig4 and a multi - colour printing machine is illustrated at area e in line with the high speed pouch and bag making machine . with reference to fig4 the reference numeral 50 refers generally to a high speed pouch and bag making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention and the reference numeral 52 refers generally to a multi - colour printing machine . the high speed pouch and bag making machine includes a first unwinding reel 54 and a second unwinding reel 56 . the web 22 is unwound from a roll of material supported on the first unwinding reel 54 and the web 24 is unwound from the roll of web material supported on the second unwinding reel 56 . a pair of pull rollers 58 pull the web 22 off reel 54 and a pair of pull rollers 60 pull the web 22 off reel 54 and a pair of pull rollers 60 pull the web 24 off reel 56 . a rotogravure cylinder 34 of a rotogravure printing device 62 applies an adhesive of the type previously described , as being applied to area a of the web 22 ( fig2 ). the webs 22 and 24 are brought together at rollers 26 and 28 with the adhesive applied to the interface . the webs 22 and 24 pass through an electron beam radiation device 42 in which a bond is formed at the interface as previously described . the bonded webs are then longitudinally slit by slitting cutters 64 and transversely cut off by rotary knife 66 . the individual products are then stacked by means of a stacker mechanism generally identified by the reference numeral 68 . as previously indicated , the high speed of operation of the &# 34 ; electrocurtain &# 34 ; electron beam radiation device is compatible with the speed of operation of a multi - colour printing press . consequently , a multi - colour printing press may be arranged in line with the high speed pouch and bag machine previously described , in which case the web 24 is unwound from a reel 70 through any required number of printing press colour units 72 before being directed to rotogravure cylinder 35 or 36 ( fig4 ) depending upon whether the coating is to be an e . b . curable adhesive or a resist coating . when the process of the present invention is to be combined with a multi - colour printing operation , it is desirable to apply the e . b . curable adhesive or the resist coating to the same web to which the printing is applied so that accurate registration of the printed material and the coating may be achieved with ease . in fig4 of the drawings , two rotogravure printing units 35 and 36 are provided for use in applying the coating of the present invention . when the coating is to be applied to a surface , of a printed web , which will ultimately be located at the interface , it is applied by the rotogravure cylinder 35 . when the coating is to be applied to a surface of a printed web , which will ultimately form an upper surface of the webs when they are brought together , it is applied by the rotogravure cylinder 36 . the rotogravure printing unti 35 complete with a dryer may be used to apply a resist coating or an eb curable adhesive , the dryer being necessary only for the resist coating . the rotogravure printing unit 36 complete with a dryer is required only when a resist coating is required on an outside face of a printed or plain ( unprinted ) pouch or bag . should the resist coating interfere with the printing then the standard reverse mode of the printing press colour units is employed via web path 72r and the resist coating applied to web 22 from unwind 56 via web path 22b and the resist coating on web 22 is adjacent to the incident eb radiation when webs 22 and 24 are extended from rollers 26 and 28 . when the rotogravure cylinder 35 is used to apply a coating to a face which will ultimately be located at the interface , unwind 56 supplies web 22 which is extended into contact with the coated side of web 24 via web path 22a prior to the coated side of web 24 contacting web rolls and to ensure that the coated face is located at the interface when the webs 22 and 24 are directed to the rollers 26 and 28 . as will be described hereinafter with reference to fig6 to 11 the pouch may be made from a single web of plastic material which is folded upon itself . in the embodiment illustrated in fig4 the method is achieved by passing the web through a suitable web folding device 25 and then directing the web to the radiation curing device 42 . the folding device may be any suitable folding former capable of making the folds required in fig6 to 11 or the like . from the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a simple and efficient method of high speed pouch and bag making which is readily applicable to the manufacture of products made from roll stock and secured along spaced seam lines . the method and apparatus is capable of operating at high speeds comparable to those of colour printing press units so that the apparatus may be located in line with a multi - colour printing press . a rotogravure printing device is particularly suitable for use in applying the coating to the interface . as is common practice with a rotogravure printing device , the lay down weight of the coating may be determined by the controlled micron engraving depth of the printing roller and as applied to the coating of a bondable material in the present invention , the lay down weight may be such that the bond which is achieved is permanent or peelable . in addition , local areas of the lay down pattern can be of a different lay down weight to that of other areas so that the bond may be permanent in such areas and peelable in other areas , a peelable bond being provided in areas where easy opening of a package may be required with a permanent bond being provided in other areas where a peelable bond must be avoided . as diagrammatically illustrated in fig5 of the drawings , the composite web which is directed through the e . b . radiation device 42 may consist of layers 80 , 82 , 84 and 86 having interfaces 88 , 90 and 92 . e . b . radiation curable coatings 88a , 90a and 92a may be applied to the interfaces 88 , 90 and 92 respectively , so that the coated portions of the various interfaces are simultaneously bonded on passage through the e . b radiation device , while the uncoated portions remain unbonded thus , it will be seen that the present invention provides a method whereby selective interface sealing of a multiple stack of interfaces may be achieved . it will be noted in some instances , the coated areas of one layer overlap the coated areas of another layer , this , however , does not prevent the bonding of the interfaces at both levels . a practical example of selective interface coating of a multi - layer web is described hereinafter as applied to the high speed manufacture of a square bottom bag . with reference to fig6 of the drawings , the reference numeral 100 refers generally to a web of material suitable for use in the manufacture of bags such as coffee bags , air sickness bags and the like . the web may be a web of paper or plastic material or the like . the web is directed through a rotogravure printing device 102 and a coating of e . b . curable adhesive is applied by rotogravure cylinder 104 . for the purposes of describing the pattern in which the e . b . curable coating is applied , the gusset fold lines along which the web 100 is subsequently folded are illustrated in broken lines . the gusset fold lines include central gusset fold lines 106 bounded on either side by outer gusset fold lines 108 . the e . b . curable coating is applied to a marginal edge portion 110 which extends continuously along one free edge of the web 100 as will be described hereinafter the coating which is applied to the marginal edge portion 110 is subsequently used to provide a longitudinal seal when the web is folded upon itself to form a tubular sleeve . the bottom wall portion of each bag which is to be formed from the web is a portion located between the broken lines 112 and 114 which extend transversely of the web 100 . the rotogravure cylinder 104 applies an e . b curable adhesive to the portion 116 . it will be noted that the e . b . curable portion includes a narrow band extending across the width of the bottom wall former portion in the area of the lower edge 112 and triangular shaped portions 118 projecting upwardly therefrom to the intersection of the gusset fold lines 108 and the bottom fold line 114 . it will be noted that an uncoated triangular shaped portion 120 projects downwardly between the triangular portions 118 . fig7 of the drawings shows the web of fig6 in a partially folded configuration . it will be noted that the central gusset fold line 106 is disposed inwardly from the gusset fold lines 108 . the manner in which the multiple interfaces are formed will be apparent with the reference to fig7 of the drawings which also illustrates the location of the various coated portions at preliminary folding . the folding of the web is completed in the relationship indicated in fig7 until the oppositely disposed faces are in intimate contact with one another whereupon the web is directed through an e . b . radiation device as illustrated in fig8 of the drawings . the e . b . radiation device causes curing of the e . b . curable material as the web passes therethrough so that a permanent bond is formed at each of the e . b . curable coated interfaces while the uncoated interfaces remain unbonded . after e . b . radiation the individual bags are cut from the continuous web by severing along the line spaced below the level of the transverse coating 112 so that the bag is preferably cut along an unsealed area so that in forming the transverse cut , the open end of the bag is formed . referring back to fig7 of the drawings , it will be noted that the uncoated triangular areas 120 are located between the coated areas 118 . as previously indicated with reference to fig5 of the drawings , e . b . radiation of this structure will provide a bond at the coated areas while leaving the uncoated areas unbonded . the unbonded triangular portions 120 are important when it comes to the erection of the bag to form a square bottom . the unbonded portions 120 in combination with the bonded portions 118 cause the bottom wall forming portions of the bag to articulate along the boundary lines 124 and transverse hinge line 114 to form a square bottom bag . fig9 a shows an interim stage in the erection of a bag in which it will be seen that the out gusset fold lines 108 extend across the bottom of the bag and the coated portions 118 on either side thereof are bonded together to form a double thickness . the uncoated triangular area 120 being free from attachment with respect to the remainder of the bottom wall so as to permit articulation of the various panels to the required square bottom configuration . various other printing devices may be used for applying the required coating to the web . for example , the coating may be applied by flexographic or letter press printing systems with various degrees of efficiency . as previously indicated while the present invention is particularly suitable for use in the high speed manufacture of pouches or bags or the like , the method and apparatus may be used for the manufacture of any number of pattern bonded structures . for example , in fig3 of the drawings , a tinted coating is applied in the form of a pattern 90 to one transparent web so that after radiation bonding the coated area is bonded while the adjacent areas of the web are unbonded . as a result the bonded areas become clearly visible . the pattern 90 may be in the form of a date , code , trade mark or advertising material . when a pouch or the like is to be manufactured as described in fig1 and 2 , the pattern 90 may be in the form of a continuous script extending around the area which will form the seal lines 16a , 16b and 16c of the pouch of fig1 . thus it will be seen that in the forming of a seal line , the pattern established by the pattern bonding may itself be used to convey a message relating to the package or its contents . fig7 a illustrates the manner in which a satchel type squared bottom bag can be made by the application of an e . b . bondable coating to selected portions thereof . in this embodiment a web is folded along longitudinal extending fold lines 113 and 115 in order to form an inwardly directed gusset . by the application of a bondable coating in the manner previously described an e . b . bondable coating is applied to the areas 117 and to the triangular shaped area 119 and circular areas 123 at corner 121 . it will be noted that in the corner 121 , the bondable coating is applied to each of circular areas 123 while in the coated area 119 the bondable coating is applied to the triangular corner section with circular areas 121a being free of bondable coating . it will be understood that a pattern of e . b . bondable material will be applied to each corner forming portion of the web . thus , when the web is folded to locate the inner faces in a face - to - face relationship and the web is passed through the e . b . radiation device , a bond is formed about the periphery of the bag forming portion of the web and thereafter the web is served along the line 125 to separate one bag from the web . it will be noted that the uncoated areas 121a will be located directly opposite the coated areas 123 when the web is folded to a lay - flat configuration prior to e . b . radiation . similarly it will be noted that the uncoated area at corner 121 will be located directly opposite the coated area 119 . thus , the radiation is able to pass substantially unrestricted through the uncoated areas to the underlying coated areas so that a bond of substantially the same strength may be formed at the coated areas of each interface without requiring any substantially greater power than that required to form the required bond at one interface . in this embodiment , the uncoated areas serve to permit the substantially free passage of the e . b . radiation therethrough . thus , it will be seen that the method of pattern bonding may be such as to provide a discontinuous coating at one interface so that the radiation may pass therethrough to form a bond at an underlying coated interface . fig1 , 10a and 10b , illustrate a further pattern suitable for use in the manufacture of a satchel type square bottom bag . in this embodiment , the bondable coating is applied in the manner previously described to a web 200 along transversely extending longitudinally spaced areas 202 . each area 202 consists of a longitudianl seam forming portion 204 and a pair of generally diamond shaped corner portions 206 . the diamond shaped portions 206 are centered on fold lines 213 and meet one another at the gusset fold line 215 . as shown in fig1 , the web 200 is initially folded along the gusset fold line 215 and as shown in fig1 a the web is subsequently folded along the fold lines 213 to locate the gusset fold line 215 inwardly thereof . the web is irradiated when in the folded position shown in fig1 b to bond the bondable areas and the web is cut along the transverse cut line 216 which extends centrally of the width of the coated areas 202 . the bag formed by this method is illustrated in fig1 of the drawings . a pouch , such as a retort pouch , may be made by the method of the present invention in which one or more of the webs is formed from a laminate consisting of polyester , aluminum foil , and polypropylene ( pet / al / pp ) or pet / pvdc / pp . with specific reference to fig1 - 16 , two alternate embodiments of the present invention are described in greater detail . with reference to fig1 , a modern six color central impression flexographic printing press 300 is shown as being in line with the electron radiation pouch and bag making machine 301 in an arrangement such that the printing press may operate either in line with the radiation pouch and bag making machine or in its normal roll to roll mode . also , by providing a roll unwind unit the pouch and bag making machine can operate separately from the printing press . however , the in line arrangement disclosed is ideal for the manufacturing of flat printed pouches and flat printed bags with the front panel printing in register to the back panel printing and to the cut off line of the pouch or bag top opening . the method and apparatus disclosed in fig1 is designed to operate on a continuous single web from the flexographic printing press with the flow of the single web material being shown in fig1 . as disclosed in fig1 , a single web 302 is printed while continously flowing through the in line arrangement of the printing press and the bag or pouch forming and curing machine . once a web flowing through an adhesive applying bag making machine exceeds approximately 36 &# 34 ; in web width , it becomes difficult to fold the web in half without smearing adhesive patterns and it also becomes difficult to accurately control the lateral position of the running fold line depending on the web machinability , stiff multiple laminations varying to flimsy 0 . 001 &# 34 ; polyfilm . to overcome these problems of applied fluid e . b . adhesive patterns and subsquent wide web folding , without smearing the applied adhesive patterns , the web folding per se has been eliminated in the embodiment shown in fig1 - 14 . in the apparatus shown in fig1 , the single web material 302 is conducted from a supply roll 303 to the printing press 300 wherein a single or multiples of colors and indicia may be printed on the upper surface of the material . the ink applied to the material is thereafter dried by passing through drying chamber 304 after which the material is pulled through a pair of pull rolls 305 . as will be seen from fig1 , the material arriving at the pull rolls 305 is a single width of web material which has printing applied across the entire upper face thereof as is necessary . after the material leaves the pull rolls 305 , it passes through a slitter assembly 306 wherein the web is slit or cut into equal width longitudinal sections or first and second webs 302 &# 39 ; and 302 &# 34 ;. the web 302 &# 34 ; which is to form the back panel of a bag or pouch is conveyed through a web turn over , alignment and collating device 308 and print register compensator device 307 where the web is collated under the other web 302 &# 39 ; which will form the front panel of the bag or pouch . the front panel web 302 &# 39 ; passes through a rotogravure adhesive applicator 309 wherein a 100 % e . b . reactive and curable adhesive is applied to the lower surface of the web . the adhesive pattern applied to the lower surface of the upper web 302 &# 39 ; is applied so as to be in register to the printing on the upper surface of the web while the outer surface of the lower web 302 &# 34 ; is being brought into register with the upper web printing by the compensator device 307 . after the 100 % e . b . adhesive has been applied to the upper web , the upper and lower webs are brought together through a pair of combining rollers 310 so that the pattern of adhesive is sandwiched between the upper and lower webs . the two webs which are combined are thereafter passed through an electron radiation device 311 , such as the &# 34 ; electrocurtain &# 34 ; wherein the adhesive pattern previously described , is subjected to instantaneous curing by the free radical initiating electron radiation emitted from the device . once the adhesive pattern between the webs has been cured , the combined webs are ready to be slit into separate streams of pouches prior to cut off of single pouches or perforated laterally and wound into rolls of pouches which are connected by preforated ( tear off ) connections between the opening of one pouch or bag and the sealed lower edge of the adjacent pouch or bag by by - passing the cutting and stacking assembly 312 to enter a roll rewind unit . as shown in fig1 , the radiation pouch and bag machine 301 is working with web widths which are nominally only one half of the widths of the web passing through the printing press . therefore , an &# 34 ; electrocurtain &# 34 ; for creating a 48 &# 34 ; long radiation zone within the radiation curing unit 311 need only be 48 &# 34 ; long in order to accomodate a printed web of up to 96 &# 34 ; wide to produce multi - streams of pouches or bags that are printed on both sides . by way of example , two streams of department store flat printed bags , size 18 &# 34 ; wide by 30 &# 34 ; deep , are produced from a single 72 &# 34 ; wide web of 0 . 001 &# 34 ; gage polypropylene or high density polyethylene printed at web speeds of up to and exceeding 600 &# 39 ; per minute for an output of 480 bags per minute in a one pass operation . for another example , four streams of similar department store bags but in dimension 9 &# 34 ; by 18 &# 34 ;, produced from the same 72 &# 34 ; web material under the same conditions will result in an output of 1600 bags per minute in a one pass operation . the bags may be delivered in rolls by the use of a transverse web perforated in lieu of the cut off knife and a roll rewind unit at the cutting and stacking station 312 . with reference to fig1 a and 14 - 16 of the drawings , an apparatus for forming printed square bottom bags 350 in which the bags include side gussets 351 each having a center fold fin seam 352 turned inside the bag and a bottom fin seam 352 &# 39 ; extending transverse to and between the sides of the bags . fig1 illustrates such a gusset fin seam square bottom bag with a straight cut top opening 353 whereas fig1 illustrates a gusset fin seam square bottom bag 354 having two carrying handles 355 integrally formed with a top opening . the bag disclosed in fig1 when made with a 0 . 00075 &# 34 ; gage polyethylene makes a typical &# 34 ; t - shirt &# 34 ; grocery bag . fig1 illustrates the web development from a flat single web into the side gusset center fin seam square bottom bag disclosed in fig1 and 16 . the apparatus shown in fig1 a is generally similar to the apparatus shown in fig1 with the exception that in order to form the side gussets in the square bottom bags , the web path is modified so as to include an e . b . adhesive applicator which applies the e . b . adhesive to the bottom inside gusset fold by providing four triangular seal patterns across the full web width and in register to the printing on the opposite side of the web . in this embodiment , the single web material 302 which has been printed in the press 300 is fed from the pull rolls 305 to a full web width e . b . adhesive applicator 320 wherein triangular seal patterns are printed on the bottom surface of the web material as is shown in dotted line at 321 in fig1 . thereafter , the single web material is introduced into a web slitter 322 which severs the web longitudinally into first and second web sections 302 &# 39 ; and 302 &# 34 ;. the severed web sections are thereafter passed through a gusset fold over device 323 wherein the opposite edges of each of the first and second web sections which form the top and bottom panels of a bag to be formed are folded as is illustrated in fig1 and 14a . after the first and second web sections have been folded along their edges so as to enclose the e . b . adhesive triangular gusset seal patterns under the half gusset fold , the first web section 302 &# 39 ; forming the front panel of the bag or pouch to be assembled enters into the e . b . adhesive applicator 309 which is similar to that disclosed in fig1 wherein the e . b . adhesive is applied to the under surface of the web section so that the e . b . adhesive is applied to the two longitudinal side gusset fin seal areas of the bag and along the bottom of the bag , 356 in fig1 , transverse to the seal patterns along the longitudinal sides . the back panel formed by the second web section 302 &# 34 ; passes from the separating roller 324 into the web turnover and lateral web alignment or web collating device 308 wherein the second web is turned over and moved laterally and brought into underlying relationship with the first web section as is illustrated in fig1 . the underlying web thereafter passes through a print register compensating device 307 from which the back or underlying web stream exits in proper underlying relationship with the printing in register to the printing on the upper web prior to the webs being combined by combining rollers 310 . after the webs have been brought into register and combined with one another so that the e . b . curable adhesive is now interfaced between the upper and lower web sections , the combined web is passed through the electron radiation chamber 311 wherein the e . b . adhesive seal patterns are cured at 3 strata levels ( these being the upper and lower bottom inside gusset seals , the longitudinal gusset fin seals and the top inside gusset seals ). the radiation multi - layered pattern bonded web then enters the rotary cut off unit 312 which severs the bags into individual square bottom bags at a cut off line disposed outwardly from the bag bottom tranverse seal line and thereafter delivers the open mouth square bottom bags in their folded flat attitude to the stacking and delivery conveyor . the width of the adhesive seal patterns applied in the embodiments of the invention shown in fig1 and 12a are generally similar to those discussed above with respect to the other embodiments of the invention with the maximum being approximately one quarter of an inch in width along any given side or bottom seal line . with the embodiment of fig1 , the bag bottom transverse seal is made at least double the normal one quarter inch width to provide a top bag seal and a bottom bag seal by making individual bag cut off lines across the transverse center line of the wide seal . in this manner , square bottom bags are created which are sealed across the top and bottom . thereafter , in order to create the &# 34 ; t - shirt &# 34 ; square bottom bag 354 shown in fig1 , in a separate off line operation , the top sealed end of the bag is cut with a deep rectangular center section being removed in order to provide the two integral bag side extensions which are each approximately 2 &# 34 ; wide and extend upwardly about 6 &# 34 ; from the center cut bag opening . these extensions form the two carrying handles 355 of the bag as shown in fig1 . utilizing the processes disclosed with respect to fig1 and 12a , it is noted that a single width of thin heat sealable films may be used wherein the films are initially printed along their entire width and thereafter the web or films severed and re - oriented so that the printed half sections or webs of the film are in opposing relationship with a 100 % e . b . adhesive pattern being applied between the two webs after which the webs are instantaneously bonded by passing through an electron radiation unit . speeds at which the bags of the present embodiment of the invention may be made are well in excess of those of conventional pouch and bag making machines with web speeds of up to 600 &# 39 ; per minute being obtainable while forming a plurality of bags or pouches from a single web of material . various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , it will be apparent that the method of the present invention permits the production of a pouch from webs which are in the form of laminates in which one or more of the webs consists of a laminate of a heat sealable plastic material and an aluminum foil or a heat sealable plastic material and paper or the like . it will also be apparent that the method of the present invention permits a seal to be formed between the bondable webs at temperatures below the heat sealing temperature of the thermoplastic film used to form one or other of the webs . the method of the present invention also permits the production of a pouch in which the seal areas which are coated with bondable material constitute up to 50 % of the total pouch face area . preferably , each web from which the pouch is made has a thickness which does not exceed 0 . 008 &# 34 ;.	1
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout . fig1 and 2 were explained at length in the introduction , so no further description will be provided at this point . a first embodiment variant of the proposals is explained in more detail with reference to fig3 . fig3 shows an image b made up of 352 × 288 pixels . pixels are organized therein into image blocks bb , for example at a size of 4 × 4 pixels . each of the pixels has an image value in each case representing a chrominance value and / or a luminance value , for example in the form of an 8 - bit resolution . each square within the image block bb represents a pixel , such as for example a first pixel , bp 1 and an associated first image value w 1 . for this discussion it is assumed that the image value has a position within the pixel designated by the square , for example a point at which diagonals of the square intersect . fig3 further shows a hatched area containing reconstructed pixels br 1 , br 2 and the associated second pixel values w 21 , w 22 . the reconstructed pixels were coded at an early point in time and are available in their decoded , i . e . reconstructed form , for the purpose of forming the prediction value . in a first step at least two trajectories t 0 , t 1 , t 2 , t 3 , t 4 are formed . in the first exemplary embodiment said trajectories are drawn as quadrants and so do not represent a straight line . an image value along the respective trajectory corresponds to a respective third image value w 31 , w 32 . in the present exemplary embodiment the respective trajectory starts in the second image value which corresponds exactly to the third image value of the respective trajectory . in a second step two auxiliary trajectories ht 1 , ht 2 are determined from the set of available trajectories t 0 , t 1 , t 2 , t 3 , t 4 in such a way that a respective distance a 1 , a 2 between the auxiliary trajectory ht 1 , ht 2 that is to be determined and the position p 1 of the first image value w 1 is minimal , i . e . constitutes a shortest distance in each case . in the present exemplary embodiment the trajectories t 1 and t 2 are the nearest neighbors to the first pixel , such that ht 1 = t 1 and ht 2 = t 2 . fig3 shows the respective distance a 2 of the trajectory t 2 from the position t 1 and a 1 of the trajectory t 1 between trajectory t 1 and position p 1 . since this is the shortest distance , the distance of the respective trajectory forms a 90 ° angle to the position p 1 . in a following step the prediction value prw is formed by weighted averaging of the third image values w 31 , w 32 of the two auxiliary trajectories ht 1 = t 1 , ht 2 = t 2 taking into account the associated distances a 1 , a 2 , as follows : an extension of the proposals is described with the aid of fig4 . fig4 shows a detail from fig3 with the auxiliary trajectories ht 1 and ht 2 , as well as the first image value w 1 and the position p 1 . first the prediction value is formed , as explained with reference to fig3 . the prediction value prw corresponds to a weighted averaging of the third image values w 31 , w 32 of the trajectories t 1 , t 2 . in a further step a new trajectory t 5 , referred to in the following as t 5 , is now generated between the existing trajectories t 1 and t 2 . the new trajectory t 5 runs at least through the first image value w 1 at the position p 1 . furthermore the new trajectory t 5 can run between the auxiliary trajectories ht 1 , ht 2 in such a way that at an arbitrary point on the new trajectories a ratio of the shortest distances between the arbitrary point and the two auxiliary trajectories is identical to a ratio of the distances a 1 , a 2 in the first image value . a third image value w 35 of the new trajectory t 5 is equal to the prediction value prw for the first image value . in an alternative embodiment variant hereto a reconstructed image value wr can also be determined for the third image value w 35 of the new trajectory t 5 . for that purpose a differential value can first be formed from the first image value w 1 and the prediction value prw to yield in the following step the differential value is coded in quantized form , for example by a huffmann coding scheme , decoded and inversely quantized . a plurality of differential values can optionally be transformed in addition prior to the quantization and back - transformed after the inverse quantization . finally a reconstructed differential value res ′( bp 1 ) results which is different from the differential value res ( bp 1 ). the reconstructed image value wr is then formed into this reconstructed image value is used as the third image value w 35 of the new trajectory t 5 in subsequent formations of a further prediction value , e . g . for bpx , see position c 3 . another exemplary embodiment is explained with reference to fig5 . in this case five trajectories t 0 , t 1 , t 2 , t 3 , t 4 are shown , each of the trajectories having a nonlinear shape . the trajectories start in each case in one of the second image values w 22 and therefore have the second image value w 22 as third image value w 32 . in this example the first pixel bp 1 is located on position c 3 . in fig5 the trajectories were constructed in such a way that they lie precisely on a position of the respective image value . in this case only one auxiliary trajectory ht 2 is determined , for which the distance a 2 is zero . it is of course possible for hybrid shapes to occur in which one or more of the positions do not come to lie on a trajectory or auxiliary trajectory . in the present case the trajectory t 2 is chosen as the auxiliary trajectory ht 2 , because the distance a 2 between the auxiliary trajectory ht 2 and the position of the first image value is zero . thus , the prediction value prw is equal to the third image value w 32 of the trajectory t 2 , said third image value w 32 being equal to the second image value w 22 of the reconstructed pixel br 2 . in a third exemplary embodiment a combination of conventional prediction using straight lines and trajectories that are not straight is explained . in the previous examples predefined prediction patterns were presented in some cases with the aid of the trajectories . in the following example an adaptive intra prediction is described . in this case a prediction is performed one step at a time , wherein after a pass through a prediction a prediction direction for a following prediction can be adaptively adjusted . contrary to the previous representation in fig3 to 5 , a trajectory is now formed by a plurality of arrows which represent a continuous connection . in a first step a first row of first image values ( see associated pixels at the positions b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , b 4 in the coordinate system ) is predicted on the basis of the second image values w 21 , w 22 , w 23 , w 24 of the reconstructed pixels pr 1 , pr 2 , pr 3 , pr 4 lying directly above . in a second step a second row of first image values ( see first pixels at positions c 1 , c 2 , c 3 , c 4 in the coordinate system ) is predicted on the basis of a diagonal prediction direction leading from top left to bottom right . this corresponds for example to the prediction direction 4 from fig1 . this prediction direction is implemented in the second step also for the first image values having first pixels at the positions d 1 and e 1 . in a third and fourth step a downward - directed prediction takes place , marked by the numbers 3 and 4 in fig6 . the trajectory t 1 leads from a 1 , b 1 , c 2 , d 2 to e 2 . the trajectories t 2 and t 3 are formed in an analogous manner thereto . as already mentioned in the introduction with reference to fig2 , a second image value of the reconstructed pixel is used for the prediction in fig6 , for example the second image value w 21 of the reconstructed pixel br 1 in order to generate a prediction value for a first image value at position e 2 . thus , only reconstructed pixels according to the hatched pixels in fig6 are used in this case . analogously to the preceding exemplary embodiments , after the prediction value for the first image value has been determined an associated reconstructed image value wr can be determined and used for the following prediction step . for example , a prediction value is determined for the first image value at the position b 1 . after generation of the associated differential value of the coding and decoding a second image value is generated for the reconstructed pixel at position b 1 . this second image value is then used for determining a prediction value for the first image value at the position c 2 , instead of the second image value of the reconstructed pixel from the position a 1 . this procedure can also be applied analogously for other first pixels requiring to be coded along the respective trajectory . this approach can also find application for other embodiment variants . the embodiment variants described can be implemented and executed with the aid of specific devices , see fig7 . the devices vor have units e 1 , e 2 , e 3 , e 4 , ew which realize and perform individual steps of the embodiment variants . in this case the units can be realized and embodied in software , in hardware and / or in a combination of software and hardware . in such an arrangement the units can run on a processor , in which case individual steps of the method can be stored in a memory and loaded into the processor . the image values , such as the first , second and third image values , and other information relating to the image , as well as further operations for coding and decoding image values can also be stored in the memory . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof and examples , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention covered by 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 , 69 uspq2d 1865 ( fed . cir . 2004 ).	7
fig1 a through fig1 d are cross - sectional views of a device to explain manufacturing methods of a flash eeprom cell according to the invention . in fig1 a , a first tunnel oxide ( 2 ) and a first polysilicon film are sequentially formed on a silicon substrate ( 1 ). the first polysilicon is patterned to define the width and one side of a first floating gate , thereby forming a first polysilicon pattern ( 3 ). a dielectric film spacer ( 4 ) is formed at an etched wall of the firt polysilicon pattern ( 3 ). the first polysilicon pattern ( 3 ) is formed in an active region ( a ) as shown in fig1 . referring to fig1 b , a second tunnel oxide ( 5 ) and a second polysilicon are sequentially formed on the resulting structure after forming the dielectric film spacer ( 4 ), and the second polysilicon is then patterned to define the width and one side of a second floating gate , thereby forming a second polysilicon pattern ( 6 ). and also fig1 b is a cross - sectional view taken along line 2 -- 2 of fig2 . as shown in fig2 the second polysilicon pattern ( 6 ) is formed on the remaining area of the active region ( a ) excepting the region in which the first polysilicon pattern ( 3 ) is formed , wherein one side defined by the second polysilicon pattern ( 6 ) is overlapped with one side defined by the first polysilicon pattern . the first and second polysilicon patterns ( 3 and 6 ) extend to a field region ( b ) to cover the active region ( a ) fully . a dielectric film ( 7 ) and a third polysilicon film are sequentially deposited as shown in fig1 c . in fig1 d , a control gate ( 8a ) is formed by etching the third polysilicon film ( 8 ) using a mask for the control gate ( not shown ). at the same time , the dielectric film ( 7 ), the second polysilicon pattern ( 6 ), the second tunnel oxide ( 5 ), the first polysilicon pattern ( 3 ), and the first tunnel oxide ( 2 ) are sequentially etched by a self - aligning etching method using the mask for the control gate . and then a source and a drain ( 10 and 9 ) are formed in the silicon substrate ( 1 ) by an ion implant process . as illustrated above , by the self - aligning etching method using the mask for the control gate , the other side of the first and the second polysilicon patterns ( 3 and 6 ) are defined to become a first and a second floating gate ( 3a and 6a ) that are adjacent parallelly to the active region ( a ). the advantages of the invention are as follows . as the saturation current of a metal oxide semiconductor ( mos ) transistor is varied with the channel length of it , when effective channel length is altered , the saturation current varies accordingly so that different saturation current levels mighe be used for different logic levles . the present invention is capable of three different output levels . for example , if three ( 3 ) cells are required to get eight ( 8 ) kinds of different outputs in a conventional design , only two ( 2 ) cells are needed to get nine ( 9 ) different outputs according to this invention so that the integration of a device can be greatly increased . reference is now made to fig3 a through fig3 c which show the operation of a flash eeprom cell manufactured as shown above to make use of this technical principle . to program the cell , that is , to store charges in the floating gate , a ground potential is applied to a source ( 10 ) and a drain ( 9 ) and a high voltage of about + 12 voltage is set to a control gate ( 8a ). then a first and a second floating gate ( 3a and 6a ) are simultaneously programmed . in an erasing operation , when the source ( 10 ) and the drain ( 9 ) are set to 5 v and the control gate ( 8a ) is set to - 12 volt , charges stored at the first and the second floating gate ( 3a and 6a ) are extracted by tunneling , as shown in fig3 c . to program only one floating gate of the first or the second floating gate ( 3a and 6a ) in similar way , after programming the first and the second floating gate ( 3a and 6a ) in the same way shown in fig3 a , setting the source ( 10 ), the drain ( 9 ), and the control gate ( 8a ) to 0 v , 5 v and - 12 v respectively make the first floating gate ( 3a ) erased as shown fig3 b . inversely , it &# 39 ; s possible to erase the second floating gate ( 6a ). the conditions in which programmed data are read are classified into three types as shown above , ( 1 ) in case both of two floating gates are programmed , ( 2 ) when a floating gate is programmed while the other floating gate is erased , ( 3 ) when both of two floating gates are erased . of above three types , the read operation of the second type ( e . g ., the condition in which said first floating gate ( 3a ) is erased is assumed ) will be explained as follows . if vtp ( threshold voltage for the first type ) is applied to the control gate ( 8a ), a channel under the first floating gate ( 3a ) is sufficiently inversed to form a virtual drain . in this case , the virtual drain produces the same effect that the channel length is reduced as much as the length of the first floating gate , so that more saturation current flows compared with that of the first type . therefore using this principle of the present invention , a flash eeprom cell in which three different outputs may be acquired using above three types can be accomplished . as described above in detail , when the present invention is applied , different saturation current levels can be acquired with the variation of the channel length , and it can produces three different output levels so that there are dominant effects on increasing the integration of a device with no added cost . the foregoing description , although described in its preferred embodiment with a certain degree of particularity , is only illustrative of the principle of the present invention . it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the preferred embodiments disclosed and illustrated herein . accordingly , all expedient variations that may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention are to be encompassed as further embodiments of the present invention .	6
system components with like reference numerals perform the same functions in each of the embodiments of a content aware storage system described below . fig1 a shows one implementation of the hd serial bus camera . the output from imager ( cmos or ccd ) 200 is digitized and provided to a cpu / gpu ( graphic processing unit ) device 360 where the parallel processes used to produce graphics imagery by the gpu are used instead to perform arithmetic calculations . video data is transmitted over superspeed usb or usb3 . 0 port 201 to the cpu bus such as pcie bus and is provided to gpu code that handles video analytics and h . 264 encoding . additionally , one or more gpus 312 and 330 can communicate with the cpu 360 over a bus such as pcie bus to offload processing work from the cpu 360 . the imager 200 , the memory 350 , and a display 340 can communicate over the bus as well . the gpus , working in concert with the system &# 39 ; s cpus accelerate enabled applications beyond traditional graphics and video processing . this enables balanced platforms to run computationally - intensive tasks more efficiently , providing a better application experience to the end user , all at a virtually free cost since the gpu is already in the computer and no additional hardware is required . fig1 b shows another exemplary high definition serial bus camera . the output from imager ( cmos or ccd ) 200 is digitized and the information is transmitted over superspeed serial bus or usb3 . 0 port 201 to the cpu bus such as pcie bus and is provided to an fpga or asic device that has two portions : video analytics dsp 310 and h . 264 encoder 320 . the encoder 320 and a cpu 330 can share memory 350 . the data can be transmitted over ethernet and power can be supplied by the display 340 . the system is cost effective and provides high performance . the fpga version provides field upgradability . in one embodiment , the cpu 330 , dsp 310 and encoder 320 are in one single asic . in another embodiment , the cpu 330 is a separate ic , while the dsp 310 and encoder 320 are in an fpga . any combinations of asic and fpga can be done as well . the system of fig1 a or 1 b provides high performance and field upgradability . in one embodiment , the cpu and gpus are in one single ic device with a heterogeneous multicore microprocessor architecture , combining a general purpose processing core ( s ) and basic graphics core ( s ) into one processor package , with different clocks for the graphics core and the central processing core . in this embodiment , amd &# 39 ; s fusion series processor includes on - chip graphics core that can be changed without re - design of the whole core . in this embodiment , hardware decoders of mpeg2 , vc - 1 and h . 264 video streams are included , while h . 264 encoding is done on the gpus with supported software . in another embodiment , the cpu 360 is a separate ic , while the gpus are in a separate ic . any combinations of cpu , gpu and fpga can be done as well . the implementation of fig1 a uses gpus such as those in video cards from nvidia or ati . the gpus are designed to perform fast execution of integer and floating - point arithmetic . this capability enables the video adapter to quickly compute color , shading , texture , and other aspects of a changing image and render these in real time to the screen — thereby creating lifelike multimedia experiences . on many pcs , especially business pcs , much of this capability remains unused because business graphics only rarely need these full - bore advanced video capabilities , which means that the gpu and related hardware are available to be harnessed for non - video computation such as stream computing . stream computing ( or stream processing ) refers to a class of compute problems , applications or tasks that can be broken down into parallel , identical operations and run simultaneously on a single processor device . these parallel data streams entering the processor device , computations taking place and the output from the device define stream computing . stream computing takes advantage of a simd methodology ( single instruction , multiple data ) whereas a cpu is a modified sisd methodology ( single instruction , single data ); modifications taking various parallelism techniques into account . the benefit of stream computing stems from the highly parallel architecture of the gpu whereby tens to hundreds of parallel operations are performed with each clock cycle whereas the cpu can work only a small handful of parallel operations per clock cycle . fig2 a shows an exemplary block diagram of a hd usb cam . the usb board provides centralized communication between the image sensor and the host pc . the system receives firmware programming from a serial eeprom that configures the board into a synchronous slave fifo mode . the sensor data fills up an internal fifo with data when the elimination of handshake is taking place . the firmware automatically sends data through the usb 2 . 0 interface whenever the fifo becomes full and the frame_valid is polled to determine when a frame is complete . when the frame_valid drops , the host computer is signaled through the usb interface with a frame end packet . the firmware also supplies the necessary code to implement usb vendor commands that allow the host computer to query and modify the system configuration data . commands are used to communicate with the image sensor through the serial host interface protocol built into the sensor head interface . this embodiment works with aptina / micron &# 39 ; s mt9p031 , a 1 / 2 . 5 - inch cmos digital image sensor with an active - pixel array of 2592h × 1944v . it incorporates sophisticated camera functions such as windowing , binning , column and row skip mode , and snapshot mode . it is programmable through a simple two - wire serial interface . the board of fig2 a can communicate over usb 3 . 0 protocol ( superspeed usb ). the theoretical throughput improvement offered by usb 3 . 0 is a 10 × jump over usb 2 . 0 hardware : usb 2 . 0 peaks at a theoretical 480 mbps , while usb 3 . 0 can theoretically handle up to 5 gbps . this is done using transmission over differential transceivers and shielded differential pair cables , the details of which can be found at http :// www . usb . org / developers / ssusb /. two differential pairs are used ( dual / simplex ), and the differential transmission is similar to those used in sata and pcie differential transmission techniques . fig2 b shows an exemplary usb 3 . 0 superspeed controller . this embodiment supports 8 / 16 / 32 bit usb 3 . 0 pipe interface for discrete or integrated usb 3 . 0 phy and 125 / 250 / 500 mhz phy clock for 32 / 16 / 8 bit pipe interfaces . the phy interface supports data scrambling to reduce emi emissions . the controller has a link linker that communicates with a protocol layer . the protocol layer can communicate with a buffer manager , which in turn communicates with a dma engine . fig2 c shows an exemplary usb3 . 0 phy . the phy is compliant with universal serial bus 3 . 0 electrical interface specification . a digital wrapper implements intel pipe specification for usb simplifying integration . automatic digital calibration of key analog circuits is done to ensure reliability . digitally - programmable receive equalization is included to mitigate the harmful effects of isi . a fractional synthesis supports spread - spectrum clocking required by usb 3 . 0 . all usb 3 . 0 power saving modes ( u0 , u1 , u2 , and u3 ) are supported for ultra - low power operation . the cameras in fig1 a - 1b and 6 - 7 can communicate over pcie bus , or can communicate over usb 3 . 0 protocol ( superspeed usb ). the device can theoretically handle up to 5 gbps . this is done using transmission over differential transceivers and shielded differential pair cables , the details of which can be found at http :// www . usb . org / developers / ssusb /. two differential pairs are used ( dual / simplex ), and the differential transmission is similar to those used in sata and pcie differential transmission techniques . fig3 a - 3c shows an exemplary connector used to connect the camera to the processor bus in fig1 a - 1b . fig3 a shows a perspective view of the plug or connector , while fig3 b shows the metal shell and fig3 c shows the connector pins . in one embodiment , the pin assignment is as follows : fig4 a and 4b are similar to fig1 a and 1b , but in place of the usb3 . 0 connector , these embodiments have ultra - wideband ( uwb ) transceiver 203 that communicate with corresponding uwb transceivers on a remote imager 200 . in one embodiment , the transceiver 203 is a uwb chip set from tzero technologies . tzero uses the wimedia flavor of uwb that &# 39 ; s based on an ofdm channel . the consumer can more conveniently locate the cameran and pc with a wireless link . the tzero - based system includes multiple camera hdmi inputs and legacy component hd inputs . thus , the embodiment also functions as an hdmi switch connecting multiple hd sources over the single wireless link . fig5 shows details of an exemplary gpu from amd / ati . fig6 shows one embodiment of gpu based camera 700 . in fig6 , a multi - core processor 708 includes cpus 702 and 706 with shared memory 704 . the processor 708 communicates over a pcie bus 710 with one or more graphics chips 720 which includes a plurality of gpus 722 communicating with shared memory 724 . a camera 740 a also communicates over the pcie bus 710 . fig7 shows another gpu camera embodiment of fig6 . in this embodiment , each of three cameras 740 b , 740 c and 740 d is connected to a gpu device and the gpu device 720 in turn performs video analytics and / or encoder operations on the video captured by the camera . the system of fig7 scalably handles a number of cameras in parallel , while keeping overhead costs low . fig8 shows an exemplary stream computing programming model where programmable stream cores execute application specific programs called stream kernels such as video processing kernels . the stream cores operate with a virtualized simd programming model operating on streams of data . in stream computing , arrays of input video data are mapped onto a number of simd engines which execute kernels to generate video outputs that are written to external memory or to the cloud . each instance of a kernel is called a thread . a specified region of the output buffer to which threads are mapped is the domain of execution . the stream processor schedules the array of threads onto a group of processors until all threads have been processed . subsequent kernels can be executed until the application completes . fig9 shows exemplary stream processor which includes groups of simd engines . each simd engine contains numerous thread processors , which are responsible for executing kernels , each operating on an independent data stream . thread processors in turn contain numerous stream cores , which are programmable computation units that can perform integer , single or double precision floating point and transcendental operations . all thread processors within an simd engine execute the same instruction , and different simd engines can execute different instructions . in one embodiment , the gpus are used to expedite the motion estimation function , which is the most computationally intensive section of h . 264 operations by performing motion estimation in parallel . the term “ parallel ” to refer to processes that generally run concurrently in a coordinated fashion , but does not require a strict step by step , or clock by clock parallelism . the gpu executes parallel instructions that form a video analytic engine . the video analytics engine analyzes the video data produced by imager 200 to detect whether a predefined event or object of interest is being captured by imager which captures high definition video . video analytics engine generates metadata that describe the content of video data . the metadata produced by video analytics engine may be a textual and semantic description of the content of the video . video analytics engines of different cameras may have different analytic capabilities . multiple events of interest may be defined , and more than one event of interest may occur at a particular time . also , the nonoccurrence of one event leaves open the possibility of the occurrence of a second event . the metadata may be supplied to data storage system or the amazon s3 web storage . the metadata representing an arbitrary frame n can be associated with video data representing frame n . thus , the metadata may be searchable to allow a user to efficiently search and semantically browse large video archives . an event of interest that video analytics engine detects may be as simple as motion in the field of view . video analytics engine may also implement blob detection ( e . g . detecting a group of moving pixels as a potential moving object , without identifying what type of object it is ), lighting change adjustment , and geometric calibration based on object size in the field of view to distinguish objects based on types . for example , video analytics engine may be able to classify an object as a human being , a vehicle , or another type of object and be able to recognize an object when the object appears in any portion within the field of view of camera . furthermore , video analytics engine may be able to recognize certain identifiable features of an object such as , for example , human faces and vehicle license plates . video analytics engine may be able to recognize when imager 200 is capturing a new object and assign a unique object id to the new object . video analytics engine may be able to recognize the speed and trajectory at which an object moves . video analytics engine may be able to recognize events such as perimeter intrusion , object movement in a particular direction , objects approaching one another , a number of objects located in a specified area , objects left behind , and object removal . video analytics engine can also recognize specific locations , or coordinates , within the field of view where an event or object of interest is being captured , or a combination of objects and events , as defined by a rule . when video analytics engine detects an event or object of interest within the video data , video analytics engine generates metadata that correspond to the event or object of interest and supplies the metadata to an action engine , which can be rules based in one embodiment . for example , the rules can send an alert ( e . g ., instructions to generate one or both of a visual display and an audible sound ) to central monitoring station or remote user , store video data in amazon s3 for x period of time , among others . for example , a user may define the following rule : when a human being enters a defined perimeter , store high resolution video data representing the intrusion , alert central monitoring station of the intrusion , generate a short video clip of the intrusion and send the video clip to central monitoring station , and store in the web storage s3 the video data representing the intrusion . or , a user may define the following rule : when no event or object of interest is being captured , store low resolution video data and send no video data to central monitoring station . because video analytics engine can detect various objects and events , a wide variety of rules may be defined by a user and each rule can have different storage quality settings . also , because multiple events of interest may occur simultaneously , a rule may correspond to a combination of events . the gpus can also perform video compression . the video compression engine can be a scalable video codec to generate multiple quality levels using h . 264 svc . in operation , imager 200 captures a field of view and generates video data . frames of the video data are time - stamped so that metadata generated by video analytics engine may be synchronized with video data generated by imager . video analytics engine analyzes the video data generated by imager 200 and generates metadata based upon the content of the video data . the video compression engine also receives the video data generated by imager 200 and generates scalable video data that can be subsequently be saved at differing resolution . the metadata is communicated to the server to determine whether a rule has been violated ( i . e ., whether an event or object of interest detected by video analytics engine requires action ). referring now to exemplary h . 264 encoder cores , the initial step is the generation of a prediction . the baseline h . 264 encoder uses two kinds of prediction : intra prediction ( generated from pixels already encoded in the current frame ) and inter prediction ( generated from pixels encoded in the previous frames ). a residual is then calculated by performing the difference between the current block and the prediction . the prediction selected is the one that minimizes the energy of the residual in an optimization process that is quite computationally intensive . a linear transform is then applied to the residual . two linear transforms are used : hadamard and a transform derived from the discrete cosine transform ( dct ). the coefficients resulting from the transformations are then quantized , and subsequently encoded into network abstraction layer ( nal ) units . these nals include context information — such as the type of prediction — that is required to reconstruct the pixel data . the nal units represent the output of the baseline h . 264 encoding process . meanwhile , inverse quantization and transform are applied to the quantized coefficients . the result is added to the prediction , and a macroblock is reconstructed . an optional deblocking filter is applied to the reconstructed macroblocks to reduce compression artifacts in the output . the reconstructed macroblock is stored for use in future intra prediction and inter prediction . intra prediction is generated from unfiltered reconstructed macroblocks , while inter prediction is generated from reconstructed macroblocks that are filtered or unfiltered . intra prediction is formed from pixels that were previously encoded . two kinds of intra predictions are used : intra16 × 16 and intra4 × 4 . in intra16 × 16 , all the pixels already encoded at the boundary with the current block can be used to generate a prediction . these are shown shaded in the figure below . the core can generate the four modes of the intra16 × 16 prediction . in intra4 × 4 , 16 4 × 4 blocks of prediction are generated from the pixels at the boundaries of each 4 × 4 prediction block and boundary pixels are used in intra16 × 16 and intra4 × 4 intra prediction modes . the inter prediction is generated from motion estimation . at the heart of video compression , motion estimation is used to exploit the temporal redundancy present in natural video sequences . motion estimation is performed by searching for a 16 × 16 area of pixels in a previously encoded frame so that the energy of the residual ( difference ) between the current block and the selected area is minimized . the core can search an area 32 × 32 pixels wide , down to ¼ pixel of resolution (− 16 . 00 , + 15 . 75 in both x and y direction ). pixels at ¼ resolution are generated with a complex interpolation filter described in the itu - t h . 264 specification . the hadamard transform and an integer transform derived from the dct and their descriptions can be found in the itu - t h . 264 standard , the content of which is incorporated by reference . both transforms ( and their inverse functions ) can be performed by using only additions , subtractions and shift operations . both quantization and its inverse are also relatively simple and are implemented with multiplication and shifts . h . 264 encoding can be essentially divided into two independent processes : motion estimation and compensation , and variable length encoding . the motion estimation submodule of the core consists of two stages : integer pixel motion estimation followed by a refining step that searches for matches down to ¼ pixel resolution . the integer search unit utilizes a 4 step search and sums of absolute difference ( sad ) process to estimate the motion vector . similar to the case of motion estimation , sads are used to search for the intra prediction mode that best matches the current block of pixels . the resultant bitstream is assembled into nal units and output in byte stream format as specified in annex b of the itu - t h . 264 specification . each nal unit contains context information about the type of prediction , motion vectors , quantisation parameter delta , and the context adaptive variable length coded ( cavlc ) luma and chroma coefficients . most of the encoded bits in each macroblock are devoted to the cavlc coefficients . cavlc coding operates on 4 × 4 blocks and scans the coefficients in zig - zag order . each 4 × 4 block comprises the following elements : the number of non - zero coefficients number of trailing ones ( up to 3 ) sign of each trailing one ( up to 3 ) the level code of each non - zero coefficient the zero run code preceding each non - zero coefficient for high definition video , the core requires an external memory , whose interface can be easily interfaced to the amba ahb with a minimal amount of extra logic . the interface is also designed to be tolerant of latencies and delays typical of a shared bus . the external memory is likely to be , in many cases , a type of sdram rather than sram . one of the characteristics of sdram is for the memory to behave essentially like a sram provided that accesses are confined within a page . only when crossing a page boundary will the penalty of extra cycles be incurred due to a precharge . therefore the core sorts all its memory accesses in a way that minimizes page boundary crossings , achieving performance closer to one that would be obtained if it was connected to sram . the memory controller can postpone precharging as long as accesses are confined to the same page . additionally , the external memory interface can be clocked at a different frequency from the main core . other features include block skipping for lower bit count and multiple slice encoding for error resilience . a deblocking filter is also used in order to improve image quality at low bit rates . the gpu can also implement a cellular neural network ( cnn ) suitable for image processing . cellular arrays are usually defined on a spatially discrete square ( rectangular ) grid ; however , hexagonal and triangular arrangements can also be considered . these grids are the only regular contiguous tessellations of the plain based on congruent polygons alone . other grid - types can also be created based on non - regular congruent polygons or from a regular vertex grid through discrete geometrical transformations : rotations and translations . a number of these grids can be mapped on a typical eight - neighbor rectangular structure with periodic space - variant connections . the cnn has a mixer which contains cell values for the next updates , a memory unit that contains a belt of the cell array , a template memory , and an arithmetic unit . the processors can be connected on a grid . depending on the template size , each mixer unit stores the surrounding cells of the currently processed one , while the memory units store a one or two row - high belt from the given layer . using this structure the i / o requirements of the processor are reduced to p load and p store operations per cell update . the optimized template memory contains only the parameters which are necessary to perform the computations , while the modified arithmetic units make efficient computation of the different type multilayer dynamics possible . in one embodiment , a video frame is broken down into macroblocks ( each macroblock typically covers 16 × 16 pixels ), each macroblock &# 39 ; s movement from a previous frame ( reference frame ) is tracked and represented as a vector , called motion vector . storing this vector and residual information instead of the complete pixel information greatly reduces the amount of data used to store the video . the pyramid ( or hierarchical ) motion vector prediction performs motion estimation on a significant downsampled version of the image . the vectors found in this iteration are used as estimates for the motion vector predictions in motion estimation of a slightly less - downsampled image . this process is repeated until the motion estimation is performed on the full - resolution image . one implementation started at a level of sixteen times downsampling and doubled the resolution to eight times . it continued doubling until the motion estimation is done for the full resolution image . one kernel is executed per level of hierarchy . after the kernel was done executing the motion vectors found are left on the device for the next kernel call to minimize the number of host - device memory transfers needed . in another implementation , the gpus operates in parallel on “ slices ” of video data for h . 264 encoding , each containing a set of blocks that can be decoded without any other neighboring block information ( from outside the slice ). at each slice , the predictors are reset , trading off compression efficiency for error resilience . thus , one slice can be used per line of blocks . if an error is introduced in any given block , the system can recover on the next line of blocks . the video frames are first placed in to the memory from a capture device such as a camera . the gpu then executes various pixel processes of an encoder resulting in coefficients . these processes include intra and inter prediction , mode selection , motion estimation , motion compensation , dct and idct , quantization and inverse quantization . the resulting coefficients and metadata is then processed by gpu . the gpu then takes the coefficient and meta data and encodes using a variable length coding process ( vlc ) resulting in a video stream . if there are multiple slices in the picture , the gpu can process each slice in parallel resulting in higher overall performance . each slice in a video stream can be decoded independently of other slices . slices also contain blocks that are dependent on other blocks in the slice and are best decoded sequentially ; therefore , in a preferred embodiment , each slice is decoded using a sequential processor in the gpu , but more than one slice can be decoded in parallel using a group of sequential processors in the gpu . each sequential processor decodes an assigned slice , and outputs the independent coefficients and metadata into another array for subsequent use . if there are not enough sequential processors for all slices of a frame , slices may be assigned , for example in a round - robin fashion , until all slices are decoded . variable sized slices are packed in a buffer that contains the encoded bits from the video stream with all slices packed together . the data is pre - processed by finding the point in the buffer where each slice begins and the pointers for each slice are stored in an index array which is read by each processor in the gpu to find the location of the slice that each processor is responsible for decoding . once the set of macroblocks in each gpu processor array has been vlc decoded to coefficients and meta data , the resulting ( rle compressed ) coefficients and metadata for each block in a slice is stored in an array . another index table is used to indicate where each macroblock is located in the coefficient buffer . each processor in the gpu array then reads the address offset for the macroblock data for its decoding assignment . once all the slices have been decoded , the decompressed slice data is sent for h . 264 nac assembly and decoding of the next frame of slices can be started on the gpu array . since each macroblock is independent of other macroblocks , the gpu &# 39 ; s parallel processors can be applied to decompressing all of the blocks in parallel . the system allows h . 264 to be encoded / decoded without noticeably slowing the user &# 39 ; s other tasks . since users prefer to be able to use their computers while conferencing , the system avoids consuming all of the cpu in the encode / decode task in such a way that the user can &# 39 ; t do anything else on his or her computer besides encoding . fig1 shows an exemplary process to optimize the speed of encode and cpu utilization . the metrics of success for gpu encoding can be measured on a plurality of axes : resolution , quality of encode , speed of encode , cpu utilization , and power . the code run by the gpu is modifiable to optimize on a given axis . pseudo code of this optimization is as follows : obtain user preference for gpu encoder software on minimum resolution , quality of encode , speed of encode , cpu utilization , and power ( 810 ) start video capture and start gpu avc encoding on cpu and gpu ( 812 ) detect power setting ( 814 ) loop sample cpu utilization ( 816 ) if on a desktop set for high performance or laptop that is plugged in to ac ( 818 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is below a predetermined threshold set by the max cpu utilization preference , encode at highest quality and speed while conforming to other user preference settings ( 820 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is above the predetermined threshold , progressively decrease quality and / or speed of gpu encoding until user preference settings are met ( 822 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is still above the predetermined threshold after decreasing quality / encoding speed , progressively decrease resolution until cpu utilization preference is met ( 824 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is still above the predetermined threshold after decreasing quality / encoding speed / resolution , progressively decrease frame rate until cpu utilization preference is met ( 826 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is still above the predetermined threshold after decreasing quality / encoding speed / resolution / frame rate , switch to voice conferencing mode ( 830 ) else if on a desktop that is set for low power or laptop that is not plugged in to ac ( 850 ) set preferences to medium resolution , medium quality encoding and other parameters optimized for battery life ( 868 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is below a predetermined threshold set by the utilization preference , encode at the set quality and speed settings while conforming to other user preference settings ( 870 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is above the predetermined threshold , progressively decrease quality and / or speed of gpu encoding until user preference settings are met ( 872 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is still above the predetermined threshold after decreasing quality / encoding speed , progressively decrease resolution until cpu utilization preference is met ( 874 ) if cpu utilization excluding video encoding tasks is still above the predetermined threshold after decreasing quality / encoding speed / resolution , progressively decrease frame rate until cpu utilization preference is met ( 876 ) a cpu can &# 39 ; t encode faster if it is maxed out . once processor utilization exceeds a predetermined level , the system inserts sleep states in the gpu based encoder to achieve real time high quality encoding but at a desired cpu utilization . one embodiment also performs scalable video coding using the gpu . other embodiments can perform various high level operations as described below . face detection can be performed on board the camera for autofocus of the camera . additionally , the face detection can be used to identify regions in the video that should be encoded at high resolution for certain applications . a parallelized implementation of convolutional neural networks ( cnns ) is done with parallelizing the detection process using the gpu . the convolutional network , consists of a set of layers each of which contains one or more planes . approximately centered and normalized images enter at the input layer . each unit in a plane receives input from a small neighborhood in the planes of the previous layer . the idea of connecting units to local receptive fields dates back to the 1960s with the perceptron and hubel and wiesel &# 39 ; s discovery of locally sensitive , orientation - selective neurons in the cat &# 39 ; s visual system . the general strategy of a convolutional network is to extract simple features at a higher resolution , and then convert them into more complex features at a coarser resolution . the simplest was to generate coarser resolution is to sub - sample a layer by a factor of 2 . this , in turn , is a clue to the convolutions kernel &# 39 ; s size . the weights forming the receptive field for a plane are forced to be equal at all points in the plane . each plane can be considered as a feature map which has a fixed feature detector that is convolved with a local window which is scanned over the planes in the previous layer . multiple planes are usually used in each layer so that multiple features can be detected . these layers are called convolutional layers . the gpu supports a fast , automatic system for face recognition which is a combination of a local image sample representation , a self - organizing map network , and a convolutional network for face recognition . for the images in the training set , a fixed size window is stepped over the entire image and local image samples are extracted at each step . at each step the window is moved by 4 pixels . next , a self - organizing map ( e . g . with three dimensions and five nodes per dimension ) is trained on the vectors from the previous stage . the som quantizes the 25 - dimensional input vectors into 125 topologically ordered values . the three dimensions of the som can be thought of as three features . the som can be replaced with the karhunen - loeve transform . the kl transform projects the vectors in the 25 - dimensional space into a 3 - dimensional space . next , the same window as in the first step is stepped over all of the images in the training and test sets . the local image samples are passed through the som at each step , thereby creating new training and test sets in the output space created by the self - organizing map . ( each input image is now represented by 3 maps , each of which corresponds to a dimension in the som . the size of these maps is equal to the size of the input image divided by the step size . a convolutional neural network , or alternatively a multilayer perceptron neural network , is trained on the newly created training set . the self - organizing map provides a quantization of the image samples into a topological space where inputs that are nearby in the original space are also nearby in the output space , which results in invariance to minor changes in the image samples , and the convolutional neural network provides for partial invariance to translation , rotation , scale , and deformation . substitution of the karhunen - lo &# 39 ; eve transform for the self organizing map produced similar but slightly worse results . the method is capable of rapid classification , requires only fast , approximate normalization and preprocessing , and consistently exhibits better classification performance than the eigenfaces approach on the database considered as the number of images per person in the training database is varied from 1 to 5 . as discussed above , a parallelized implementation of convolutional neural networks ( cnns ) is done with parallelizing the detection process using the gpu . this can be used for autofocus of the camera . once the face is detected , the gpus can also be used to detect gestures as commands . motion features are first computed on the input image sequence ( stationary camera assumed ). the face detector is then employed to obtain a user - centric representation , and again a classifier to discriminate between gestures is learned using a variant of adaboost . a real - time version of this classifier is deployed using the gpu . to calculate the motion features , the optical flow for each frame is determined . the optical flow vector field f is then split into horizontal and vertical components of the flow , fx and fy , each of which is then half - wave rectified into four non - negative channels fx +, fx −, fy +, fy −. a channel corresponding to motion magnitude f0 is obtained by computing the l2 norm of the four basic channels . these five non - negative channels are then normalized to facilitate gesture recognition in soft - real time where frame rates can be variable , and to account for different speed of motion by different users . given a vector v that represents the optical flow for a given pixel , the system computes v = v /(∥ v ∥+ e ), where e is used to squash optical flow vectors with very small magnitude introduced by noise . next , each of the five channels is box - filtered to reduce sensitivity to small translations by the user performing the gesture . this final set of five channels : ^ fx +, ^ fx −, ^ fy +, ^ fy −, ^ f0 will be used as the motion features for each frame . a gesture is represented as a collection of movements required to complete a single phase of the gesture , rather than just capture a subset of the gesture phase . hence , the system aggregates the motion features over a temporal history of the last k frames , for some k which is large enough to capture all frames from a gesture phase . face detection is used to create a normalized , user centric view of the user . the image is scaled based on the radius of the detected face , and is then cropped and centered based on the position of the face . the frame is cropped and resized to a 50 × 50 pixel region centered around the user . all five motion feature channels described above are flattened into a single vector which will be used to determine the gesture being performed . a multi - class boosting process adaboost is used such as the one at http :// multiboost . sourceforge . net . adaboost takes the motion features as input . the supervised training is based on a set of labeled gestures . a set of weak learners is generated based on thresholding value from a particular component of the motion feature vector . the output of the final strong learner on motion feature v for class label is determined using weights chosen by adaboost . in one embodiment , the video feature tracking and matching described above is used to compress conferencing sessions . typically , in videoconferencing , the background remains the same , but the facial expression can change . the operation is as follows : 1 ) send the first few minutes of video using conventional or compressed video and simultaneously determine predetermine facial and body features ; 2 ) after the start up period , for each frame determine whether the current frame only has facial / body changes and if so look for an updated position of the features and transmit a vector indicating facial and body feature changes to the remote computer the remote computer converts the vector of changed facial features to an image of the user &# 39 ; s face and body position 3 ) otherwise , there are significant changes to the frame and so loop back to ( 1 ) to do a fresh compression cycle . the process achieves a very high compression ratio since only a vector of feature position changes are sent as a vector and the vector is converted back into frame image by the remote computer . moreover , if significant scene changes occur ( such as new participants entering the conference , or participant picks up a book and show book to the camera ), then the system reverts back to h . 264 compression of full image . referring back to the telepresence video conferencing system of fig1 , the gpus can perform panaroma stitching so that 3 inexpensive cameras can be used to provide a 180 degree immersive view . the gpu operations are done pipeline fashion as follows : radial distortion correction . next , the gpus perform keypoint detection & amp ; extraction ( shi - tomasi / sift ). keypoint matching is done , and the gpus recover homography ( ransac ). next , the gpus create a laplacian pyramid . a projective transform is done , and a multi - band blend is the last stage of the pipeline . fig1 shows an exemplary telepresence conferencing system using one or more of the hd usb cameras . the system has a wide field display 150 that provides viewers with an immersive 180 degree view of participants on the other side of the call . a wide view camera 160 captures a 180 degree view of participants and transmits such video to the other side of the conference call . the wide view camera 160 can be one camera fitted with wide angle lens and suitable distortion removing image processor , or can be three separate camera each capturing left , center and right views , respectively . the system can have optional lights 162 to provide lighting to provide high quality images of the physical participants . in one embodiment , the system has desks with a series of surfaces 152 that form an oval physical table space while the display 150 shows the virtual participants . in another embodiment , the system has desks with a series of surfaces 152 that form a semicircular physical table space while the display 150 shows the virtual participants and a matching virtual table space that mirrors the semicircular physical table . the surface 152 includes computers 154 , 158 and 164 such as laptop computers . the table also includes an lcd control panel 156 that allows users to control and operate the conferencing system . in one embodiment , the conferencing system includes a 3d scanner 166 . the scanner allows the participants to share 3d shape information with others . the 3d scanner 166 transmits 3d shape data that can be displayed on the display 150 and manipulated using suitable 3d imaging or cad programs . the purpose of a 3d scanner is usually to create a point cloud of geometric samples on the surface of the subject . these points can then be used to extrapolate the shape of the subject ( a process called reconstruction ). if color information is collected at each point , then the colors on the surface of the subject can also be determined . like cameras , they have a cone - like field of view , and like cameras , they can only collect information about surfaces that are not obscured . while a camera collects color information about surfaces within its field of view , 3d scanners collect distance information about surfaces within its field of view . the “ picture ” produced by a 3d scanner describes the distance to a surface at each point in the picture . together with distance , which corresponds to the r component , these spherical coordinates fully describe the three dimensional position of each point in the picture , in a local coordinate system relative to the scanner . also , more details on the 3d scanner are discussed next . the system can work with a variety of 3d scanners to communicate shape information with remote conferencing participants . the two types of 3d scanners are contact and non - contact . non - contact 3d scanners can be further divided into two main categories , active scanners and passive scanners . there are a variety of technologies that fall under each of these categories . contact 3d scanners probe the subject through physical touch . a cmm ( coordinate measuring machine ) is an example of a contact 3d scanner . it is used mostly in manufacturing and can be very precise . the disadvantage of cmms though , is that it requires contact with the object being scanned . thus , the act of scanning the object might modify or damage it . this fact is very significant when scanning delicate or valuable objects such as historical artifacts . the other disadvantage of cmms is that they are relatively slow compared to the other scanning methods . physically moving the arm that the probe is mounted on can be very slow and the fastest cmms can only operate on a few hundred hertz . in contrast , an optical system like a laser scanner can operate from 10 to 500 khz . non - contact scanners can be active scanners that emit radiation or light and detect its reflection in order to probe an object or environment . possible types of emissions used include light , ultrasound or x - ray . a time - of - flight lidar scanner may be used to scan buildings , rock formations , etc ., to produce a 3d model . the lidar can aim its laser beam in a wide range : its head rotates horizontally , a mirror flips vertically . the laser beam is used to measure the distance to the first object on its path . the time - of - flight 3d laser scanner is an active scanner that uses laser light to probe the subject . at the heart of this type of scanner is a time - of - flight laser rangefinder . the laser rangefinder finds the distance of a surface by timing the round - trip time of a pulse of light . a laser is used to emit a pulse of light and the amount of time before the reflected light is seen by a detector is timed . since the speed of light c is a known , the round - trip time determines the travel distance of the light , which is twice the distance between the scanner and the surface . the laser rangefinder only detects the distance of one point in its direction of view . thus , the scanner scans its entire field of view one point at a time by changing the range finder &# 39 ; s direction of view to scan different points . the view direction of the laser rangefinder can be changed either by rotating the range finder itself , or by using a system of rotating mirrors . the latter method is commonly used because mirrors are much lighter and can thus be rotated much faster and with greater accuracy . typical time - of - flight 3d laser scanners can measure the distance of 10 , 000 ˜ 100 , 000 points every second . a triangulation 3d laser scanner is also an active scanner that uses laser light to probe the environment . with respect to time - of - flight 3d laser scanner the triangulation laser shines a laser on the subject and exploits a camera to look for the location of the laser dot . depending on how far away the laser strikes a surface , the laser dot appears at different places in the camera &# 39 ; s field of view . this technique is called triangulation because the laser dot , the camera and the laser emitter form a triangle . the length of one side of the triangle , the distance between the camera and the laser emitter is known . the angle of the laser emitter corner is also known . the angle of the camera corner can be determined by looking at the location of the laser dot in the camera &# 39 ; s field of view . these three pieces of information fully determine the shape and size of the triangle and gives the location of the laser dot corner of the triangle . in most cases a laser stripe , instead of a single laser dot , is swept across the object to speed up the acquisition process . in a conoscopic system , a laser beam is projected onto the surface and then the immediate reflection along the same ray - path are put through a conoscopic crystal and projected onto a ccd . the result is a diffraction pattern , that can be frequency analyzed to determine the distance to the measured surface . the main advantage with conoscopic holography is that only a single ray - path is needed for measuring , thus giving an opportunity to measure for instance the depth of a finely drilled hole . structured - light 3d scanners project a pattern of light on the subject and look at the deformation of the pattern on the subject . the pattern may be one dimensional or two dimensional . an example of a one dimensional pattern is a line . the line is projected onto the subject using either an lcd projector or a sweeping laser . a camera , offset slightly from the pattern projector , looks at the shape of the line and uses a technique similar to triangulation to calculate the distance of every point on the line . in the case of a single - line pattern , the line is swept across the field of view to gather distance information one strip at a time . modulated light 3d scanners shine a continually changing light at the subject . usually the light source simply cycles its amplitude in a sinusoidal pattern . a camera detects the reflected light and the amount the pattern is shifted by determines the distance the light traveled . modulated light also allows the scanner to ignore light from sources other than a laser , so there is no interference . photometric systems usually use a single camera , but take multiple images under varying lighting conditions . these techniques attempt to invert the image formation model in order to recover the surface orientation at each pixel . this sort of 3d scanning is based on the principles of photogrammetry . it is also somewhat similar in methodology to panoramic photography , except that the photos are taken of one object on a three - dimensional space in order to replicate it instead of taking a series of photos from one point in a three - dimensional space in order to replicate the surrounding environment . alternatively , computed tomography , microtomography , magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) techniques can be used in the 3d scanner . in addition , a rapid prototyping machine can be installed to render the 3d data into a physical model for the participants to touch and feel . rapid prototyping is the automatic construction of physical objects using additive manufacturing technology . the first techniques for rapid prototyping became available in the late 1980s and were used to produce models and prototype parts . today , they are used for a much wider range of applications and are even used to manufacture production - quality parts in relatively small numbers . the use of additive manufacturing technology for rapid prototyping takes virtual designs from computer aided design ( cad ) or animation modeling software , transforms them into thin , virtual , horizontal cross - sections and then creates successive layers until the model is complete . it is a wysiwyg process where the virtual model and the physical model are almost identical . with additive manufacturing , the machine reads in data from a cad drawing and lays down successive layers of liquid , powder , or sheet material , and in this way builds up the model from a series of cross sections . these layers , which correspond to the virtual cross section from the cad model , are joined together or fused automatically to create the final shape . the primary advantage to additive fabrication is its ability to create almost any shape or geometric feature . prototyping technologies base materials selective laser sintering ( sls ) thermoplastics , metals powders fused deposition modeling ( fdm ) thermoplastics , eutectic metals . stereolithography ( sla ) photopolymer laminated object manufacturing paper ( lom ) electron beam melting ( ebm ) titanium alloys 3d printing ( 3dp ) various materials preferably the video data can be operated in parallel using clusters of cloud based processors . video analysis applications from anywhere in the world can , after authentication and security clearance , access and analyze video data that represents video streams in parallel , and annotate portions of the video data ( e . g ., frames and groups of frames ), based on the analyses performed , with information that describes the portion of the video data . from an event stored in the database , the associated frames and / or groups of frames can be replayed for further human - based or application - based analyses . applications plugged into the pipeline , via application program interfaces ( apis ), can perform complex analyses and update the search engine in parallel . the camera , through the network , can store data on a storage cloud such as amazon &# 39 ; s s3 cloud service . the network also includes an elastic compute cloud ( ec2 ) that enables the camera system process the video data and the system can increase or decrease video processing capacity within minutes , not hours or days . the system can commission one , hundreds or even thousands of server instances simultaneously to perform deep searching of images to locate a particular individual captured by the cameras , for example . the system can select a configuration of memory , cpu , instance storage , and the boot partition size that is optimal for its choice of operating system and application . the compute cloud offers a highly reliable environment where replacement processor instances can be rapidly and predictably commissioned . the amazon embodiment runs within amazon &# 39 ; s proven network infrastructure and datacenters and amazon ec2 &# 39 ; s service level agreement commitment is 99 . 95 % availability for each amazon ec2 region . moreover , on - demand instances let security camera users or operators pay for compute capacity by the hour with no long - term commitments . this frees the system operator from the costs and complexities of planning , purchasing , and maintaining hardware and transforms what are commonly large fixed costs into much smaller variable costs . on - demand instances also remove the need to buy “ safety net ” capacity to handle periodic traffic spikes . other features such as auto scaling allow the camera system 100 to automatically scale its amazon ec2 capacity up or down according to predefined conditions . with auto scaling , the system can ensure that the number of amazon ec2 instances needed scales up seamlessly during demand spikes to maintain storage size or video analytic performance , and scales down automatically during demand lulls to minimize costs . auto scaling is particularly well suited for security monitoring applications that experience hourly , daily , or weekly variability in usage . the ec2 also provides elastic load balancing , which automatically distributes incoming application traffic across multiple amazon ec2 instances . it enables the system to achieve even greater fault tolerance in video processing , seamlessly providing the amount of load balancing capacity needed in response to incoming camera video traffic . elastic load balancing detects unhealthy instances within a pool and automatically reroutes traffic to healthy instances until the unhealthy instances have been restored . using the plurality of pcs on the ec2 cloud , each processing application can run in parallel to enhance searching and indexing of videos . although parallel video searching is described above , alternatively , the cloud based processors can be configured as a sequential processing systems where video analysis applications can access and analyze video data that represents video streams flowing through the pipeline , and annotate portions of the video data ( e . g ., frames and groups of frames ), based on the analyses performed , with information that describes the portion of the video data . these annotations flow through the pipeline , possibly along with corresponding frames or groups of frames , to subsequent stages of processing , at which increasingly complex analyses can be performed . analyses performed at the various stages of the pipeline can take advantage of the analyses performed at prior stages of the pipeline through use of the information embodied in the annotations . at each stage of the pipeline , portions of the video streams determined to be of no interest to subsequent stages are removed from the video data , which reduces the processing requirements of the subsequent stages . from an event stored in the database , the associated frames and / or groups of frames can be replayed for further human - based or application - based analyses . generally , as the videos flow down the pipeline , ( 1 ) portions of the videos or frames that are considered uninteresting to all the applications at a given stage are removed , thereby reducing the amount of data that flows further down the pipeline ; ( 2 ) portions of the videos or frames that are considered interesting to an application at a given stage are analyzed , with a goal of identifying features , activities , objects , etc . of interest ; and ( 3 ) analyzed portions of the videos or frames are annotated by the applications with information that describes what the applications identified as interesting in that portion of the video . in one embodiment , the pipeline comprises four different successive stages of processing : ( 1 ) quick frame processing ; ( 2 ) deep frame processing ; ( 3 ) cluster processing ; and ( 4 ) database processing . due to the nature of the pipeline , applications plugged into the pipeline , via application program interfaces ( apis ) associated with each respective stage , can perform increasingly more complex analyses at each successive stage of processing .	7
turning now to fig1 , computer network 100 is shown . source station s 102 transmits data packets to destination stations d 1 104 , d 2 106 , d 3 108 , d 4 110 , d 5 114 , and d 6 112 by means of a multicast session . destination stations d 1 . . . d 6 are the multicast group of destination station . router r 1 120 is the ingress ( or encapsulation ) router , and routers r 3 132 , r 6 137 , r 7 138 , r 8 140 and r 9 142 are the egress ( or destination ) routers . the delivery tree to reach all the destinations ( d 1 to d 6 ) is indicated by the arrows . when r 1 120 receives a packet from source s 102 addressed to the multicast group from source station s , it encapsulates the multicast packet in a unicast packet addressed to the first hop router r 2 and includes in the packet a header which describes the required delivery tree . note that the delivery tree need only include the routers that are either branch points ( r 2 , r 5 , r 8 ) in the tree , or delivery points ( r 3 , r 6 , r 7 , r 9 ). an intervening router , such as router r 4 above , need not be included in the specification of the delivery tree . on receiving such a unicast packet , a router inspects the header to determine the next hop routers and duplicates the packet , adjusting the unicast destination address of each packet to be the next hop ip address . forwarding of packets from router to router proceeds as follows . r 1 120 forwards to r 2 130 r 2 130 forwards to r 3 132 , r 5 136 , and r 8 140 r 5 136 forwards to r 6 137 and r 7 138 r 8 140 forwards to r 9 142 routers actively involved in the small group multicast ( sgm ) delivery tree such as routers r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 5 , r 6 , r 7 , r 8 , r 9 must be sgm capable . by being sgm capable is meant that the routers run software which recognizes sgm packets and take appropriate action based upon parsing the sgm header . router r 2 130 need not forward to r 4 134 , as the packets forward to r 5 136 will be transparently routed by router r 4 134 . on reaching a destination router , the packet is decapsulated and the original multicast packet is forwarded to the final multicast destination ( s ) station ( s ) using normal multicast methods . the details of the packet encoding and forwarding are described with reference to fig2 , where data packet header 200 is shown . only the encapsulating router , r 1 120 , is required to maintain state concerning the delivery tree . the remaining intervening routers merely forward based on the information in the header 200 . the information to build the delivery tree is acquired by the encapsulating router , by each destination router sending a ‘ trace ’ packet , as discussed with reference to fig9 , towards the source . as the trace packet traverses the network it records the address of each sgm capable router traversed . so in the above example , ri would receive the trace packets from destination stations d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , d 4 , d 5 , and d 6 showing delivery tree paths as follows : ( d 1 ) having delivery tree path r 3 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 2 , d 3 ) having delivery tree path r 6 , r 5 , r 4 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 4 ) having delivery tree path r 7 , r 5 , r 4 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 5 ) having delivery tree path r 8 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 6 ) having delivery tree path r 9 , r 8 , r 2 , r 1 by combining the information carried by the trace packets , the delivery tree may be built for inclusion in multicast data packets . the delivery tree may eliminate any redundant , non - branching nodes , such as router r 4 above , even if r 4 is sgm capable . in order to send the trace packets , the destination routers must know the source ( s ) of the group . techniques for destination routers to learn the source of a desirable multicast group are discussed hereinbelow . destination routers handle recovery from failures by re - sending trace packets when no traffic for the group has arrived after some period . in the absence of genuine traffic the encapsulating router sends periodic heartbeat traffic to inhibit the trace packets from still connected nodes . details of these mechanisms are described hereinbelow . turning now to fig2 a , fields of multicast data packet 250 are shown . multicast packets are encapsulated in a standard unicast packet having layer 2 fields 252 and layer 3 fields 254 as follows : protocol 260 = sgm ( a new protocol type value assigned to small group multicast ) following the layer 3 fields 254 is the sgm header fields 200 . turning now to fig2 b , sgm header 200 fields are shown . tos refers to the type of service , or precedence , which is written into a header of a data an ip data packet . this parameter is used , in some instances , to establish a quality of service provided by a network device . this field is copied from the ordinary multicast packet into the sgm packet . the data portion of the unicast packet contains a small group multicast ( sgm ) header shown in fig2 , and as described below , followed by the original multicast packet in data field 264 . sgm type 202 — type of sgm packet ( 1 byte ). the sgm type allows for different sgm packets ( e . g . prune , trace - ack ). an sgm data packet is assigned type = 128 . the high order bit is set to indicate that the packet contains an sgm route and should be processed using sgm forwarding . length 204 , or no . of nodes .— the number of addresses in the address list ( 1 byte ). the offset to the start of the address list ( a ) is therefore ceiling (( 6 + n )/ 4 ) 32 bit words and hence the total length of the sgm header ( i . e . the offset to the start of the encapsulated multicast data packet ) is ( a + n ). using one byte allows 255 nodes . offset 206 — the numerical offset of the receiving node &# 39 ; s entry in the tree list ( 1 byte ). this is initialized to 0 for delivery to the first hop router , since the first hop router &# 39 ; s address does not appear in the list . alternatively , the offset byte could be omitted and the header simply searched for the receiving node &# 39 ; s ip address . doing so would reduce the header size by one byte and remove the need to update the header when forwarding the packet , however omitting the offset byte would make the forwarding decision less efficient . ttl 208 — normally indeterminate , but used when forwarding over a layer 2 multicast capable subnetwork . checksum field 209 . the sgm checksum field covers the original multicast source and destination addresses as well as the preceding sgm header fields . tree lists 210 a , 210 b , 210 c ,— the list describing the delivery tree ( n bytes , where n is the number of entries in the tree list ). padding — padding is represented by fields pad 1 212 , pad 2 214 , pad 3 216 , in order to start the address list on 4 - byte boundary . address list 220 — the list of ip addresses for the delivery tree ( 4n bytes ) there is an address list for each receiving station . address lists 220 represent a list for each receiving station , for example address list 1 , address list 2 , address list 3 , etc . the sgm header is followed by the original multicast data packet 222 . an alternative would be to interleave the tree entries and ip addresses ( so that the corresponding ip address is adjacent to its tree entry ). while this might appear more natural , and may give some slight benefit in localising memory references once a node has been located , the lack of 4 - byte alignment of the ip addresses , coupled with poor localisation of memory references while searching the tree ( the ip address is only referenced once the next hop node has been found ), combine to make this a less efficient structure . turning now to fig3 , route table 300 for the parent encoding method is shown . the tree list may be encoded in one of two forms , “ parent encoding ” or “ depth encoding ”. parent encoding is adopted as the preferred embodiment , and depth encoding is described as an alternative embodiment hereinbelow . in parent encoding form , each entry in the list describes the entry number of that entry &# 39 ; s parent . thus the example tree above would be represented as an entry of zero indicates that this node &# 39 ; s parent is the root of the tree . parent encoding is interpreted as shown in fig3 . the entries are enumerated in column 302 . the router being addressed is listed in column 304 . the parent of the router listed in column 304 is listed in column 306 . the address of the parent is listed in column 308 . as an example , entry 5 310 is for router r 6 132 , the parent of router r 6 132 is router r 5 136 , as is shown in column 308 for entry 310 into table 300 . in operation , it is not necessary to include information about r 1 in the tree , since r 1 is the encapsulation node . similarly it is not necessary to include information about r 2 in the tree , since the packet is unicast addressed to that node . hence the information actually included in the packet would be just . this actual addressing is interpreted as shown in fig4 at table 400 . the addresses of the routers ( i . e . the address list in the packet ) are listed in column 402 , and the entries are enumerated in column 404 . the entry number corresponding to the parent of each listed router ( i . e . the parent list in the packet ) is shown in column 406 . the address of the parent is shown in column 408 . the address of the parent is obtained by taking the entry number of the parent ( listed in column 406 ) and finding the entry in column 404 with that entry number . the entry address in column 402 corresponding to that entry number is then the address of the parent . as an example , the entry marked 410 is the entry number 4 as shown in column 404 , and corresponds to the router with the entry address r 7 as shown in column 404 . the entry number of the parent of r 7 is 2 as shown in column 406 . the entry address shown in column 402 for entry 2 in column 404 is r 5 . hence , the address of the parent of r 7 shown in column 408 is r 5 . turning now to fig5 , a route table 500 is shown for the depth encoding technique . as shown in fig5 , table 500 , the nodes are listed in preorder ( i . e . each node is listed before its children ) and each list entry contains the depth of that node in the tree . thus using the original example , this would be encoded as this depth encoding method is interpreted as shown in fig5 . the address of the entry being considered is shown in column 502 . the depth of the entry is given in column 504 . the entries are enumerated in column 506 . as in parent encoding , it is not necessary to encode r 1 and r 2 , so the actual tree is : on receipt of an sgm encapsulated packet , an sgm capable router performs the following actions . 1 . checks whether it is a delivery point for this multicast group , by examining the multicast destination address in the encapsulated multicast packet , and if so takes a decapsulated copy of the multicast packet , updates the ttl of that packet to be the ttl in the received sgm packet — 1 , and forwards the packet via normal multicast . the multicast destination address can be found easily by indexing ( length from sgm header ) from the header , then using normal ip packet parsing to find the destination address . alternatives would be to include the multicast address in the sgm header , or to include explicit ‘ delivery node ’ information in the encoded tree . neither of these alternatives is as attractive as simply using normal ip packet parsing of the sgm data packet to find the destination address . 2 . determines the next hop forwarding destination if any , and forward a copy of the entire encapsulated packet to each of those destinations with the following changes interpreting the tree list depends on the choice of tree list format , and indeed , the choice of tree list format depends primarily on which of these is most efficient . the children of node n are found by scanning the list looking for the value n . so in the example at the first hop node the offset has the value 0 , so we look for that in the list and find entries 1 ( corresponding to r 3 ), 2 ( corresponding to r 5 ) and 5 ( corresponding to r 8 ). at r 3 the offset has the value 1 , and since there are no entries with the value 1 , we do not forward any further . at r 5 the offset has the value 2 , and we find entries 3 ( corresponding to node r 6 ) and 4 ( corresponding to node r 7 ). at r 6 the offset has the value 3 , and there are no entries with value 3 . at r 7 the offset has the value 4 , and there are no entries with value 4 . at r 8 the offset has the value 5 , and we find entry 6 ( corresponding to node r 9 ). note that while the parent tree does not require any particular ordering , we can improve the algorithm slightly by requiring that it be in preorder form . in that case the search for the offset value can start at entry offset + 1 instead of having to scan the entire list . the depth tree is guaranteed to be in preorder form . hence , we can find the children of node n by scanning the list starting at n + 1 looking for entries with depth exactly one more than the depth of n ( dn ). entries with depth & gt ; dn + 1 are ignored , and the search terminates on finding an entry with depth & lt ; dn + 1 ( or at the end of the list ). at the first hop node the offset has a value of zero . we assume that the depth of the root is also zero , so we start at the first element and find the first two entries ( corresponding to r 3 and r 5 ) have a depth of 1 . we ignore the next two entries with depth 2 and find entry 5 ( corresponding to r 8 ), also with depth 1 . we ignore the final entry with depth 2 . at node r 3 the offset has value 1 , and the depth of entry 1 is 1 . so starting at entry 2 we look for entries with depth 2 . entry two has depth 1 so we terminate the search , with no forwarding . at node r 5 the offset has value 2 , and the depth of entry 2 is 1 . so starting at entry 3 we look for entries with depth 2 . we find entries 3 and 4 ( corresponding to r 6 and r 7 respectively ), but entry 5 has depth 1 so we terminate the search there . . . . and so on . in general ( but not in the worst case ) the depth tree will require fewer elements of the list to be examined , but it requires an additional test to detect early termination . the difference is marginal . the encapsulating node can easily generate either tree encoding for parent encoding or depth encoding , and the distribution tree lengths of the two encoding methods have identical length . given a set of ‘ trace ’ lists such as those in the example above ( d 1 ) r 3 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 2 , d 3 ) r 6 , r 5 , r 4 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 4 ) r 7 , r 5 , r 4 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 5 ) r 8 , r 2 , r 1 ( d 6 ) r 9 , r 8 , r 2 , r 1 a parent tree can be constructed by processing each trace list in turn ( in the order in which they arrived — see below ) and assigning sequential ids to each unique router address encountered . the parent of each node can then be entered by taking the id of the next router in the list . the address of the encapsulating router is not needed , so its id is entered as zero . because trace packets may be processed sequentially , a new receiver can be accommodated merely by ‘ adding ’ its trace packet to the existing tree . to permit correct identification of non - branching and dead nodes ( see below ) it is necessary to record which nodes are terminators i . e . r 3 , r 6 , r 7 , r 8 & amp ; r 9 in the example . in particular for r 8 it is necessary to identify it as a terminator router delivering packets to d 5 to prevent router r 8 from being removed as a non - branching node , and hence failing to deliver packets to d 5 . the algorithm above will always build a tree incorporating the most recent route from the root to any particular node , overriding any previous routes . this seems to be reasonable behavior given that the most recently received trace packet probably reflects the most recent routing information . however , the most recently arrived trace packet may not reflect the most recent , and hence “ best ” routing information since the trace packets could arrive out of order , and the routing may have changed subsequent to the arrival of the last trace packet . when routes change , it is likely that some portion of the tree will no longer reach any destination . such ‘ dead ’ portions must be pruned off to avoid unnecessary bandwidth wastage . there are two obvious ways to deal with this . 1 . detect that the parent of a node was already set and is being changed to a new value , then follow up the chain of old parents until a node is reached with more than one child ( found by scanning the list looking for nodes with parents pointing to this node ). 2 . alternatively , the dead branches can be left in place , then pruned by performing a depth first exploration for the entire tree from the root . the exploration looks for nodes that do not lead to a delivery point . partially looping trace packets ( as a result of dynamic routing changes ) will be dealt with naturally by the above algorithm . when the trace packet crosses its own path the loop will be removed from the tree just as if it had been a new route . clearly , persistently looping trace packets will not arrive at their destination and will be treated as dropped trace packets . it is possible that such a packet may overflow the trace list before the hop count is exhausted . when there is no room in a trace packet to add an sgm entry , the packet should be discarded . the tree built by the above algorithm may include non - branching nodes ( such as r 4 in the example ). these can be removed by performing a depth first exploration of the tree from the root and removing nodes that have exactly one child ( a node which is also a terminator is never removed ). note that node removal must be done after any dead branches have been pruned , since removal of dead branches may generate further single child nodes . it is possible to perform the dead branch removal and non - branching node removal during the same exploration . however , this may not be desirable since a new trace packet can be added to the tree after dead branch removal , but not after non - branching node removal ( since the new path may merge with the old at a node that was previously non - branching ). performing dead branch removal after each ( set of ) trace packet ( s ) may be desirable since it allows the memory used to store the dead nodes to be recovered . packet headers in preorder form ( either parent or depth ) are easily built from the complete parent tree by performing a depth first exploration and reassigning node ids . note that for these purposes the trees are built with the first hop router ( s ) as the root . if there are multiple first hop routers ( i . e . the encapsulating router is a branch point ), there will be multiple distinct trees . turning now to fig6 , fields of a pruning message 600 are shown . field 602 contains the sgm type . field 604 contains the number of group address carried in the packet . field 606 is reserved , i . e . not used . field 608 contains the source address . field 610 contains the first group address . field 612 contains the second group address , etc . field 614 contains the n &# 39 ; th group address . when a destination router detects that it has no more members of the group , it unicasts a ‘ prune - leave ’ message directly to the current source sgm router ( the current_source_sgm_router ) and sets current_source_sgm_router to no_members . the value no_members is returned when there is no record for the group at the destination router , that is the members serviced by that destination router have gone away . that is , there is no need to retain ‘ negative ’ state for the group after its members have gone away . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , a bit is used to distinguish between prune - leave , and prune - change flavours . a prune - change causes the additional action of inhibiting all downstream heartbeats for the source until a new trace has been received for that source . the prune message is carried in an ip packet with protocol type sgm , and has the following data format . sgm type 602 ( 1 byte )— type of sgm packet = 2 ( prune - leave ) or 3 ( prune - change ) n groups 604 ( 1 byte )— number of group addresses source address 608 — multicast source ip address group addresses 610 , 612 , 614 , etc . . . . ( 4 * n groups bytes )— list of group addresses to be pruned . the only information required in the prune message is the source group pair state , [ s , g ] state , and the address of the destination router . the latter is obtained from the source ip address of the ip packet . the encapsulating router can then mark the destination router as no longer being a terminator , and remove the dead branch by either of the techniques outlined above . note that it is not necessary to have access to the original trace packet in order to remove it . prunes , in an exemplary embodiment of the invention , are not acknowledged . if the prune message is lost , unwanted multicast data may still arrive at a destination router . the value of no_members in the current_source_sgm_router is deemed to match no source sgm router address , and hence leads to re - transmission of prune - leave messages , although at a rate which is limited . a destination router may die without being able to send a prune - leave message , or it may become partitioned from the rest of the network . in these circumstances , we want the destination router to be eventually removed from the delivery tree . removal of the destination router from the delivery tree is achieved by the source sgm router maintaining a timer ( n * t1 ) with each destination , and this timing interval , in an exemplary embodiment of the invention , is chosen to be on the order of a few minutes . this timer in the source sgm router is reset by the arrival of a trace packet from that destination router . on expiry of the timer , the destination router is removed as if a prune - leave message had been received . destination routers maintain a timer with the value “ t1 ”, and send a trace packet when it expires . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the timers in the various destination routers are jittered in order to prevent them to come into synchronization . the holding time may be carried in a unicast trace with no difficulty . however , in an alternative embodiment of the invention , multicast trace packets may be used ( mtrace ) and it could be awkward to maintain an identification between a timer interval and the destination router which requested it . there are enough fields defined in the trace packet to carry timer information , however , the trace packet is no longer of identical form for each destination router , that is , it is not a universal trace packet . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the source sgm router determines the value of the timer interval , and passes it in the trace - ack to each destination router . the set of all the unique sgm router addresses mentioned in trace packets it receives . addresses of nodes pruned because they are on dead branches may be safely forgotten , but addresses of non - branching nodes must be retained in case they are subsequently needed . for each group ( identified by [ s , g ] ), a node list of length n , ( where n is the number of unique addresses in the set of trace lists for that group ), consisting of offsets into the address list . in an alternative embodiment of the invention which scales to more than 65 k sgm capable routers for an encapsulating router , then a choice between keeping the 32 bit addresses and accessing them globally through unique offsets is resolved in favor of keeping the 32 bit addresses . note that there is no need to keep the trace lists themselves . an alternative strategy would be to keep just the sets of trace lists for each group , and rebuild the trees from scratch on each change to the set . this strategy may require more storage . sgm encapsulated packets are unicast between branch point sgm routers . changes in unicast topology between sgm routers that do not affect reachability will simply be accommodated by normal unicast routing . sgm encapsulated packets will still be delivered to the next sgm router . where the topology changes such that the existing delivery tree is no longer optimum ( but is still connected ), the old sub - optimal delivery tree will continue to be used until such time as it is re - evaluated as the result of receiving new trace packets . this may occur as a result of new receivers joining the group on destination routers that were not previously receiving the group , or as a result of delivery failure . hence , the maximum time for which a non - optimal delivery topology will persist is t1 , and it will usually be much less , especially in the part of the tree near the root , where multiple traces contribute towards the topology discovery . turning now to fig7 , the fields of heartbeat message 700 are shown . field 702 contains the sgm type . field 704 contains the length . field 706 contains the offset . field 708 contains the first tree list . field 710 contains the second tree list . additional tree lists are contained in fields which are not shown . field 712 , etc . contain the n &# 39 ; th tree list . field 714 , field 716 , etc . contain padding to make the following addresses lists come out on four byte boundaries . field 720 contains the first address list . field 722 contains the second address list . field 724 contains the n &# 39 ; th address list , etc . field 730 contains the multicast source address . field 732 contains the multicast group address . failure of an intermediate sgm router on the delivery tree will cause all destinations below it to stop receiving data . each destination router runs a timer , “ n * t2 ”, where t2 is the expected maximum interval between data packets , and n is the number of lost packets which can be tolerated before recovery is initiated . in an exemplary embodiment of the invention , the value of the time interval for the “ n * t2 ” timer may be set by the application , and the value of t2 carried in the trace packets . the timer “ n * t2 ” is reset by the receipt of data for the corresponding [ s , g ]. on expiry of the timer , a new trace packet is sent towards the source , which will discover a new delivery path ( should one exist ). since trace packet delivery is unreliable it is necessary to allow multiple trace packet attempts to be made until a trace - ack is received . however it may be that the source really is unreachable , and no acknowledgement will ever be received . it would be wasteful to continue trace attempts under those circumstances . a counter c is maintained per [ s , g ] and is incremented on each transmission of a trace packet by a destination router containing g towards s . receipt of a trace - ack referring to [ s , g ] resets the counter in the destination router . if the counter exceeds some limit l , no further trace attempts are made for [ s , g ] until the process is re - initiated by the application and somehow that fact is reported to the application . it is envisaged that t2 would be of the order of a second ( perhaps less ) to allow recovery of a voice over ip connection within a few seconds . however , sending trace packets at this frequency would be expensive . therefore , in the absence of any real data for [ s , g ] for a period t2 , the encapsulating router sends a dummy ‘ heart - beat ’ sgm encapsulated packet carrying no data packet . these have sgm type 130 placed in field 702 , with a standard sgm tree header followed by [ s , g ], as shown in fig7 . receipt of such a packet by the destination router causes the timer to be reset in the same way as a normal data packet and hence inhibits the recovery attempt , but no output multicast packet is generated . if , in an alternative embodiment of the invention , it were required to operate with tight constraints on the recovery time ( of the order of a few seconds ), this operation could result in ‘ heart - beat ’ traffic being sent every second or so during periods of silence . for extended periods of silence , this much heart - beat traffic amounts to a serious waste of resources , so it is desirable to introduce a back - off mechanism controlled by the encapsulating router . if the sgm header includes the value of t2 , the encapsulating router can put progressively longer values in the ‘ heart - beat ’ packets after a period of silence , and hence progressively decrease their frequency . the downside of this would be that there could be a large delay in recovery for the first data packets sent after a prolonged period of silence . sgm router reachability failures are indistinguishable from router failures , and are dealt with by the same mechanism . failure of the destination router causes state for the [ s , g ] to be lost . if there is only one sgm router to which the multicast receiver can join , then recovery is impossible ( until the router in question is re - booted ). the branch of the tree leading to the unreachable destination will eventually be pruned by the expiry of the destination holding timer as described hereinabove . if there are multiple possible destination routers , then normal multicast operation will result in another router receiving the igmp joins , and beginning the trace registration process in its own right . however the source sgm router will treat this trace registration as a completely distinct delivery point , and will continue to attempt delivery to the old destination router until its holding timer expires as above . this delivery attempt will result in a period of unnecessary packet transmission , but this will usually be restricted to the last hop . router reachability failures are dealt with as for intermediate sgm router reachability failures as described above . if another route exists , recovery will be complete . if not , the destination will eventually be pruned by the expiration of the destination holding timer as described above . if the source sgm router fails , then all the tree state is lost . normal recovery mechanisms will result in destination nodes re - sending trace packets towards the source . if another route , that is another encapsulating router , to the source station s 102 exists , this recovery may result in the new router becoming the encapsulating router and building a new tree as usual . if the source sgm router doesn &# 39 ; t fail , but is partitioned from the rest of the network , a new source sgm router may be initiated while the old source sgm router eventually ( n * t1 ) prunes off its delivery tree as a result of the failure of periodic destination refresh . turning now to fig8 , fields of an acknowledgement message 800 transmitted by a source end station in response to receiving a trace message from a hopeful destination end station are shown . field 802 contains the sgm type . field 804 contains the length . field 806 contains the offset . field 808 contains the first tree list . field 810 contains the second tree list , . . . etc . field 812 contains the n &# 39 ; th tree list . field 814 and field 816 contain padding to make the address lists come out on four byte boundaries . field 820 contains the first address list . field 822 contains the second address list , . . . etc . field 824 contains the n &# 39 ; th address list . field 830 contains the multicast source address . field 832 contains the multicast group address . field 834 contains the sequence number . the information for building the delivery tree is obtained from trace packets sent from the destination nodes towards the source of the group . the exact form of the trace packet mechanism is described herein . in the first case we will assume that the source sgm router is the ( single ) router adjacent to the source . that is , the sgm router knows that it is the encapsulating source sgm router by its proximity to the source . later we will discuss how to extend this to permit the source to be separated from the encapsulating router ( s ) by a multicast cloud . a trace packet is sent from a destination when the first member of a group joins , and periodically as described above . there are two possible mechanisms , using unicast trace packets , which is described below , or alternatively using multicast trace ( mtrace ) which is also described below . in either the unicast trace or the mtrace , the trace packet builds a list of sgm capable routers traversed in order to reach the source sgm router . there needs to be a guarantee that an ip address which goes in the list is unique . having a sgm router identified by more than one ip address can cause problems with the distribution tree . a router , for example , may have more than one ip address , for example , a different ip address for different ports . each sgm router must be identified in the list with a unique ( single ) ip address . the source sgm router acknowledges receipt of a trace packet , by sending an sgm encapsulated packet to a sub - tree of the optimized multicast delivery tree , which contains only the relevant destination router . no additional optimization is performed on the tree , which may therefore contain multiple hops . thus the acknowledgement packet is delivered over the same path which will be used for the delivery of multicast traffic and ‘ shares fate ’ with that traffic . note that the acknowledgement of the first trace packet for the group will be delivered directly to the destination router , since the multicast tree will consist entirely of that one hop . as more destination routers are added , the tree will approach the final multicast delivery tree . the sgm type 802 is 129 ( trace - ack — the high order bit indicating that it contains an sgm route and should be forwarded using standard sgm forwarding ) and the ‘ encapsulated data ’ consists only of [ s , g ] and the two byte sequence number of the trace packet being acked . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the heartbeat packet could be used instead of the trace - ack packet . however , using the heartbeat packet is not as desirable as using a specific trace - ack packet . for example , we need explicit acknowledgement that the trace from a particular destination router has successfully reached the source sgm router . it is not sufficient just to know that data is flowing , we need to know that we have found the current ‘ best ’ path for this destination . therefore the trace - ack must be specific to a particular trace packet . as another alternative , we could sgm multicast ( rather than sgm unicast ) the trace - ack packet , but the other recipients can gain nothing from receiving the packet other than confirmation of a working delivery path . that is , the multicast trace - ack packet could be used instead of the heartbeat — sending a trace - ack would reset the t2 timer . this multicast of the trace - ack might actually be slightly preferable , since it would avoid the additional cost on the source sgm router of computing the sgm unicast paths , and the unnecessary delivery is almost free because it replaces the heartbeat . that of course is not true if there is some genuine multicast data . note also that we would have to include the address of the destination whose sequence number we were acking as part of the ‘ encapsulated data ’, which would detract from using a multicast trace - ack . on triggering a trace packet for a group , the destination router sets the value of current_source_sgm_router for that group to zero . the trace packet is re - sent every trace_repeat_interval seconds , incrementing the sequence number on each transmission until a trace ack with the current sequence number is received . the ip address of the source sgm router for that multicast source ( from the ip source address of the trace ack packet ) is then recorded in current_source_sgm_router . this is used to detect changes in the source sgm router . the trace_repeat_interval in seconds may be set equal to n * t2 . the trace_repeat_interval needs to be guaranteed to be greater than the normal round trip time for trace / trace - ack packets between the destination and the source . also a window on the acceptable sequence number range is an aid in distinguishing a trace packet and its trace - ack packet . when an sgm router determines that it is the source sgm router , it performs the actions associated with a member of that group sending an igmp register . that is , the router does a pim join , or whatever action is appropriate , to pull down , that is to receive , the multicast traffic for that [ s , g ]. pim is a standard multicast protocol ( as described in rfc 2362 ) called “ protocol independent multicast ”. other non sgm domain multicast protocols from which a sgm router can receive multicast packets comprise distance vector multicast routing protocol ( dvmrp ) rfc 1075 , multicast extension to ospf ( mospf ) rfc 1584 , core based tree ( cbt ) rfc 2189 , etc . for example , under pim protocol , a pim router sends a join packet towards the source ( or towards a rendezvous point under the pim protocol ). the point is that a source sgm router must do whatever is necessary , under the multicast protocol being used for a desired multicast group , to cause it to receive traffic for the multicast group . in this example , the sgm router sends a pim join message . however , if the non - sgm domain were running a different multicast protocol , then the sgm router must do whatever is appropriate for that multicast protocol in order to receive traffic from that multicast protocol . when the last destination for [ s , g ] is removed from a source sgm router ( either as a result of receiving an sgm prune , or as a result of the destination holding timer expiring ), the router performs the appropriate multicast leave operations and purges all state for [ s , g ]. turning now to fig9 , fields of unicast trace message 900 are shown . field 902 contains the number of group addresses . field 904 contains the offset . field 906 contains a sequence number . field 910 the first group address . field 912 contains the second group address , etc . field 914 contains the n &# 39 ; th group address . field 920 contains the first address list . field 922 contains the second address list , etc . field 924 contains the n &# 39 ; th address list . a unicast packet containing the router alert option ( ra option ) is addressed to the source address . a router alert option is an ip option defined in rfc 2113 . the router alert option , if the flag is set , tells a router that a packet is “ interesting ”, and to examine the packet more closely by parsing more fields . in the event that the router alert option is not set , the router simply routes in response to the layer 2 and layer 3 fields . a unicast packet having the router alert option set is forwarded normally by non - sgm capable routers ( but it will incur the penalty of ra processing to determine that it is not interesting ). sgm capable routers append their ip address to the list , update the offset and re - forward the packet towards the source address . the internet control message protocol ( icmp ) is used for many messaging tasks in computer communications over computer networks , including the internet , and is described , for example , by william stallings in his book data and computer communications , fifth edition , published by prentice hall , copyright date 1997 , all 10 disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference , especially pages 546 - 549 . if the sgm system is not using icmp traces , additionally a checksum may be needed here . n groups 902 ( 1 byte )= number of group addresses offset 904 ( 1 byte )= offset ( in 4 byte units ) of next free position ( initialized to zero ) in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the offset byte can be omitted if the trace packet is allowed to grow at each step ( rather than reserving space a priori ). in that case the next trace element is simply added at the end of the packet , and the length is adjusted accordingly . sequence number 906 ( 2 bytes ) group address 910 , 912 , 914 ( n groups * 4 bytes )= list of group addresses to which this trace refers address list 920 , 922 , 924 ( max trace length * 4 bytes )= list of sgm router addresses ( initialized to zero ) up to now , it has been assumed that the source sgm router is adjacent to the source host and can identify itself as such . details of how an adjacent source is detected are described hereinbelow . the source sgm router : 1 . records the state information from the trace packets , and builds the delivery tree . 2 . sends a trace - ack to the originator of the trace packet . 3 . encapsulates subsequent multicast data packets for [ s , g ]. 4 . performs whatever actions are necessary to pull down , that is to receive , the multicast traffic for the group . an sgm router that is not the source sgm router retains no state from the trace packets it forwards . this requirement allows intermediate routers to handle millions of sgm sessions , as the routers retain no state for any of the sgm sessions . however , this requirement places considerable constraint on the design that all sources must be adjacent to an sgm capable router . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the source may be separated from the ‘ first ’ sgm capable router by a conventional multicast domain ( that is be separated by an ip cloud ) because : 1 . it may not be feasible to deploy sgm capable routers adjacent to every host . 2 . it may be required for administrative reasons to use conventional multicast for that portion of the delivery tree between the source end station and the source sgm router . turning now to fig1 , network 10 , 000 is shown with ip cloud 10 , 002 between source end station s 10 , 001 and the distribution tree of routers . router r 1 10 , 004 is the source sgm router . the remainder of fig1 substantially duplicates fig1 , and the discussion under fig1 relating to source router r 1 120 applies to router sgm 10 , 004 , since it is the encapsulating router illustrated in fig1 . a small modification to the format of the trace packet allows the source end station s 10 , 001 to be across an ip cloud from the encapsulating router 10 , 004 . the data portion of the ‘ trace ’ packet is carried as the data portion of an icmp echo request packet with destination address the group source ip address , source address the destination router ip address ( initially ) and an ra option . the icmp echo request identifier is set to the protocol type assigned to sgm to provide some protection against aliasing with genuine ‘ ping ’ traffic . an sgm router intercepting the packet updates the trace information with its own unique ip address ( including adjusting the offset pointer and the ip header total length field ) and also sets the source ip address of the icmp packet to be its own unique ip address . both the icmp and ip header checksums must be modified as appropriate . any source host receiving the packet acts on it as a normal echo request and returns it to the last sgm router ( i . e . the most recent value inserted as the icmp source ip address ) as an echo reply with the trace data intact . on receiving such a packet , the sgm router establishes itself as source sgm router , builds the initial part of the tree from the enclosed trace list , and sends a trace - ack to the initiator of the trace ( i . e . the first address in the trace list ). note that the icmp sequence number is distinct from the sequence number contained within the trace , where the sequence number contained in the trace is used to increase the confidence in a trace - ack . we can &# 39 ; t use trace sequence number , because the intermediate sgm routers ( which may turn out to be the source sgm router ) cannot retain knowledge of it . that is the sgm router could increment a single ( irrespective of source or group ) 16 - bit sequence number every second and insert that as the icmp sequence number of any sgm trace packets it modifies . by testing this sequence number , the sgm router could then only accept a returned packet that is within a few seconds of the current value . there &# 39 ; s an obscure case that needs discussion . since the returned echo response packet will , presumably , still have the ra option set , it will be examined by all routers between the source and the source sgm router . it is possible , perhaps as a result of dynamic topology changes , or asymmetric routing , that one or more of these routers may be sgm capable . we then have the strange situation that we have found an sgm router that appears to be ‘ closer ’ to the source than the router we had previously identified as the source sgm router . however , this is ‘ closer ’ in the source to destination sense . since multicast routing uses rpf , we prefer the original , which is closer in the destination to source sense . if it turns out that the dynamic routing changes converge such that the second router really is ‘ closer ’ in the required direction , then the source sgm router change procedures described herein will ultimately resolve the situation . hence any echo responses seen by an sgm capable router which are not directly addressed to it can safely be ignored . when the source sgm router is not an immediate neighbor of the multicast source , routing changes may result in a different source sgm router being identified by subsequent trace packets . the new source sgm router will begin to encapsulate data packets down the delivery tree , but the original source sgm router will also continue to encapsulate packets down its delivery tree , until the destination router holding timer expires . thus multicast data will be duplicated for the period of the destination router holding timer . it is undesirable to make the period of the destination router holding timer too short , because it is necessary to send 2 or 3 trace packets during this timer period to keep the destination router holding timer refreshed , and trace packets are relatively expensive . the destination router holding timer is only required to allow failing destination routers to be eventually removed from the delivery tree . for this purpose a period of a few minutes is adequate . periodic trace packets are also required at about this frequency to detect topology changes that would give rise to more optimal delivery paths . detection and recovery from delivery failure is handled by a different mechanism , triggered by failure to receive data . in order to minimize the period of duplication , a destination router checks the source address ( i . e . the address of the encapsulating source sgm router ) of each sgm encapsulated packet received , including heartbeat packets . if it does not match the value of current_source_sgm_router corresponding to the ip source address of the encapsulated multicast packet ( or that of the heartbeat packet ), it indicates that duplicate data may be being received . the data ( if any ) is delivered in any case ( a short duration of duplication is preferable to the risk of dropping data erroneously ), but an sgm prune - change is triggered , to be unicast directly to the unrecognized source sgm router . these prunes are rate limited . a value of zero in current_source_sgm_router ( indicating that the current source sgm router is unknown because a trace is in progress , is deemed to match any source sgm router . no prunes are sent until the correct source sgm router has been identified , by receiving a trace - ack . a value of no_members in current_source_sgm_router ( indicating that the destination router no longer has members for the group ) is deemed to match no source sgm router . hence , rate limited prune - leaves are sent to the source address of the encapsulated packets in response to sgm encapsulated data for the group from any source sgm router . since the source sgm router is sending heartbeats towards the destinations to suppress traces even in the absence of multicast data , we will only ever see periodic traces while the delivery path between the source sgm router and the destinations remains intact . this is true even if there is a multicast delivery failure between the source and the source sgm router ( s ). if the traces from the destinations had not been suppressed , they might have been able to discover a new source sgm router , which had connectivity to the source . it is not possible to use a heartbeat from the source to the source sgm router ( s ) to detect failures in the multicast delivery to the source sgm router . to detect this type of failure with heartbeat packets would require co - operation from the source host , and the present system avoids involving the host computer . similar functionality can be achieved by the use of pings or mtrace as discussed hereinbelow . however , frequent pings from source sgm routers are a considerable overhead . it is instructive to consider whether the gains justify the expense . once a source sgm router has joined the conventional multicast delivery tree , it is the conventional multicast protocols which will ( attempt to ) maintain the delivery path from the source to the source sgm router ( s ). failures of intervening routers and links should ( if connectivity still exists at all ) not affect the reliable delivery of multicast data to the source sgm router ( s ). if multicast routing fails to deliver multicast data to a particular source sgm router , then it is possible that the sgm router has become partitioned from the conventional multicast network . if this is the only feasible source sgm router , then recovery is impossible . but it may be that some other potential source sgm router still has multicast connectivity . each destination router is sending periodic traces at the rate of once per “ t1 ” seconds . in the steady state these will all converge on the source sgm router in question . thus , there are “ m ” opportunities per t1 seconds for a periodic trace packet to discover an alternative source sgm router , where “ m ” is the number of destination routers associated with both the multicast source and the source sgm router in question . when such a trace packet discovers an alternative source sgm router , the mechanisms described herein will cause a prune - change message to be sent to the original source sgm router . on receipt of such a prune - change message , the source sgm router performs the normal prune - leave action of removing the associated destination router from the delivery tree . in addition , it ceases transmitting downstream heartbeat packets to all destination routers associated with the source . sending of heartbeat packets is not resumed until a period of ( n + 1 )* t2 seconds has elapsed and a new trace packet for the source has been received . in the absence of genuine multicast traffic , this will cause the remaining destination routers served by this source sgm router to begin non - periodic tracing , and hence rapidly discover the new source sgm router if appropriate . if , on the other hand , multicast data is still arriving at the source sgm router , then this confirms that the conventional multicast delivery tree is still intact , and there is no harm in the non - periodic trace messages continuing to be suppressed . the effect of these mechanisms is that such a failure in the multicast delivery to the source sgm router will be repaired for the first destination in an average time of about “ t1 / m ” seconds , and the remaining destinations should catch up in a further period of n * t2 seconds . in an exemplary embodiment of the invention where t1 = 60 seconds , t2 = 1 second , n = 3 and m = 3 , we could hope for complete recovery ( if at all possible ) in around 23 seconds . clearly this time is very dependant upon m . in a further exemplary embodiment of the invention , t1 is adjusted with m to give a constant average interval between expected arrival of traces for a particular source at a particular source sgm router . this adjustment of t1 and m could easily be achieved by returning the value of m in the trace - ack packets . this adjustment also has the ( small ) advantage that the trace load scales nicely with increased group size . note that scaling of the trace load with increased group size assumes that the packets are well distributed , while experience shows the converse to be more likely . therefore , in a further exemplary embodiment of the invention , it may be worth attempting to dynamically adjust the suggested t1 intervals to achieve an approximately even distribution in arrival times of trace packets . this dynamic adjustment , may however , create processing overheads which might rule out such dynamic adjustment . the previous sections have identified a number of timers . their use is summarized here for clarity . periodic timer t1 : this timer is used for periodic functions to discover more optimal topology . destination routers send periodic trace packets every t1 seconds , and failure to receive such a packet from a destination router for a period of n * 1 results in the state for the destination being pruned . a plausible value for t1 is 60 seconds . error recovery timer t2 : this timer is used for protocol functions associated with the recovery from errors such as failed routers and links . the source sgm router guarantees to send sgm encapsulated data ( genuine multicast traffic , heartbeats , or track - acks ) at least once per t2 interval . failure to receive such data for a period of n * t2 results in the destination router initiating a trace . in the absence of a trace - ack , such traces are repeated up to trace_failure_count times at an interval of trace_repeat_inverval . once the count has been exceeded , the destination router abandons further attempt to join that [ s , g ] ( until when ?). service interruption as a result of router or link failure will be at least n * t2 seconds , rising in increments of trace_repeat_interval seconds if trace packets are lost . a plausible value for t2 is 1 second . trace repeat interval : the interval between non - periodic trace attempts . in an exemplary embodiment of the invention this timing interval is assigned the value of “ n * t2 ”. turning now to fig1 , computer network 11 , 000 is shown with multicast capable subnetworks and also using pseudo nodes . routers are indicated as follows : router 1 11 , 001 , router 2 11 , 002 , router 3 11 , 003 , router 4 11 , 004 , router 5 11 , 005 , router 6 11 , 006 , router 7 11 , 007 , router 8 11 , 008 , router 9 11 , 009 , router 10 11 , 010 , router 11 11 , 011 , pseudo interface a 11020 , pseudo interface b 11022 , and pseudo interface c 11024 . the algorithms described so far will not take advantage of a subnetwork that has layer 2 multicast capability . a separate copy of the data packet will be unicast to each child router on the subnet . this compares poorly with true ( legacy ) ip multicast which will ( usually ) multicast a single copy of each data packet to all the downstream routers on the subnet . the following sections describe enhancements to permit a similar optimization for sgm . when transmitting a trace packet , the source ip address of the enclosing icmp packet is set , not to the sgm loopback address , but to the actual transmitting interface ip address . the sgm loopback address is still inserted in the trace list as before . note that this causes the trace reply ( icmp reply ) to be returned to the interface address of the source sgm router , and not its sgm loopback address . when receiving a trace packet over a layer 2 multicast capable lan ( only ), a check is made to determine whether the source ip address of the enclosing icmp packet is a direct neighbor over that interface . if so an additional pseudonode identifier is inserted into the trace list before also inserting the sgm loopback address as normal . the pseudonode identifier is assigned uniquely to the interface within the scope of that router , and has the top 3 bits ( i . e . class d ) set to allow it to be distinguished from a genuine node identifier ( since a class d address will never be used as the sgm loopback address ). a pseudonode indicates that a node is special , in that it has a multicast capable lan . the multicast lan must be identified , as a router may have multiple multicast lans connected to its many ports . it is necessary to identify the downstream children which may be reached over which lan . the pseudonode is used to identify those children which have a common parent lan . however , the real parent is the router itself . the pseudonode is used to stand , as a router , as the parent of the downstream tree structures . the pseudonode does not appear in the final delivery tree , but the pseudonode is necessary in order to build the correct tree . an alternative would be to have a bitmap at the start of the trace packet , and set the corresponding bit to indicate that the address in question was a pseudonode identifier . using a bitmap would allow the real interface address to be used as the identifier . the additional cost of using a pseudonode identifier is four ( 4 ) bytes per multicast capable subnetwork traversed by the trace packet . in the worst case this cost could double the number of entries . however a 1500 byte trace packet is capable of containing around 370 ip addresses which are shared between trace list entries and group membership identifiers . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the number of groups per trace packet is limited to ensure that the trace list can grow to maximum length . that is , reserve 255 * 4 = 1020 bytes for a maximum length ( maximum hop count and every router an sgm router ). that limitation would allow around 114 groups in a 1500 byte trace packet . if there are more groups than that , the groups can be split between multiple trace packets . however , splitting the groups between multiple trace packets does not work for the worst case with pseudonodes ( or for that matter for maximum transmission units ( mtus ) less than 1024 , even without pseudonodes ). a mtu is the largest packet size which can be transmitted between source and destination without fragmentation . admittedly , the worst case , 255 hops all of which are sgm capable with multicast capable subnets , is somewhat unlikely . we could probe with a single multicast group , and get the trace ack to return the actual hops and hence allow subsequent traces to fill up the available space . however , that using multiple traces does not allow for topology changes dramatically increasing the hop count . when processing the trace packet the pseudonode identifier is removed ( i . e . it never appears in the tree address list placed in the sgm data packet header .). however its presence is noted . if the set of logical children of a particular pseudonode ( i . e . the children of the parent of the pseudonode whose traces include the pseudonode ) has two or more members , those children are retained even if they themselves have only one child . retaining the children ensures that the routers that receive the multicast sgm data packet will always appear in the address list even if they are not a branch point . this is necessary to enable them to identify their position in the delivery tree , since the multicast packet is of necessity the same for all recipients . in addition , in an exemplary embodiment of the invention , each pseudonode of a particular router is given a unique identifier in the range 1 - 15 . this assignment may or may not correspond to the original interface number , which may or may not be encoded in the pseudonode identifier carried in the trace packet . however , a router may well have more than 15 interfaces , and this assignment of a unique identifier restricts it to not have more than 15 interfaces over which any one data packet requires to be multicast . this identifier is encoded in the top 4 bits of the tree list entry for each child ( the bottom 4 bits being the offset of the parent ). in order to maximize the size of distribution tree which can be accommodated within the 4 bit parent offset restriction , we can observe that no leaf node ( i . e . one with no children , whether or not it is a delivery point ), by definition , is ever referenced as a parent . by arranging that all leaf nodes appear at the end of the trace list ( this can be done without breaking the pre - ordering requirement ), we can ensure that all of the 15 available parent offset identifications are assigned to nodes which are referenced as parents . in a further alternative embodiment of the invention , this limitation of the number of interfaces to 15 can be raised by using more bits in the identifier . we would expect the following trace packets towards router 1 in the exemplary network shown in fig1 . the routers and pseudo interfaces are referred to by their number and letter designations . 5 , 3 , a , 2 , 1 6 , 3 , a , 2 , 1 7 , 4 , a , 2 , 1 10 , c , 2 , 1 8 , b , 2 , 1 9 , b , 2 , 1 11 , 2 , 1 we keep 4 , even though it is not a branch point , because a has multiple children ( 3 and 4 ). the resulting trace list is ( using hex to make the top and bottom 4 bits clearer ) r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , r 6 , r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , r 10 , r 11 when searching for children , only the bottom 4 bits of the trace list entry are compared to the parents index . thus in the above example , r 2 will treat r 3 , r 4 , r 8 , r 9 , r 10 and r 11 all as its children . however , it performs the following additional tests on the set of children . 1 . if the top 4 bits are zero , a copy is unicast to the child as normal . thus r 10 and r 11 receive unicast copies . 2 . if the top 4 bits are non - zero , it performs a next hop lookup on the corresponding ip address , to determine the output interface , and multicasts , to all - sgm routers , a copy over that interface . it then marks all subsequent entries in the children set as having been processed . thus r 3 has an entry of 12 , hence it looks up r 3 , determines that interface a is the output interface , multicasts a copy over that interface and sets the remaining entries for 12 ( r 4 ) as processed . the next child of r 2 is then r 8 , and the process is repeated over interface b . on receipt of a multicast copy , an sgm router needs to find its own position in the address list . this could be achieved by always scanning the address list looking for one &# 39 ; s own address , but that involves n 4 byte compares . the number of compares can be restricted by the following algorithm . note that when sending the multicast copy , the pointer is always adjusted for the first of the children . if the entry corresponding to the pointer has the top 4 bits zero no address check is required and the algorithm works as before . if the top 4 bits are non zero , the address corresponding to the pointer is checked against the receiving router &# 39 ; s own address . if it matches , the current location is correct and forwarding can proceed as normal . if not , it searches along the tree list ( starting from the current location ) looking for the same value ( including the top 4 bits ) as the current entry . if it finds it , it again checks the corresponding address , and if it matches , the search terminates and the packet is forwarded as normal , otherwise the search continues . if the search fails to find an entry the packet is discarded , since this must have been a multicast packet received by virtue of a router which is not a member of the tree being on the same lan as members of the tree . to proceed with the example , when r 3 receives the multicast copy it finds the pointer at 3 , and the top 4 bits of the entry have the value 1 . it therefore checks its own address against 3 , finds a match and forwards normally . when r 4 receives the packet , it performs the same checks , but this time the address doesn &# 39 ; t match , so it searches for the next entry ( 4 ) with the value 12 . the address check of 4 now succeeds and forwarding proceeds normally . if there were another router ( r 12 say ) on lan a , which was not part of the delivery tree , it too would receive the multicast packet , but both checks would fail , and so it would be discarded . the number of checks which a router must perform can become large , for example , in a lan with n downstream members of the tree , not only do each of those routers have to perform up to n checks ( overall a total of n ( n + 1 )/ 2 checks per packet ), but every router on the lan which is not a member of the tree must also perform n ( failing ) checks . further optimizations may be possible , taking advantage of the fact that there may be multiple groups that share the same source or source sgm router ( s ). on balance , they may not be worth the extra complexity they introduce , but they are discussed below for completeness . a destination router may have multiple active groups that share the same multicast source ( and implicitly , the same source sgm router ). in this case a single trace may be sent for the entire set of groups , containing a list of the group addresses to which it refers . however , with mtrace traces there is no space in the trace packet for a list of groups , since the group is encoded in the single mtrace ‘ group address ’ field . not only does sending a list of groups in one trace packet reduce the bandwidth requirements for trace packets , but it may also reduce the memory requirements in the source and destination sgm router ( s ). in this case of a list of groups in one trace packet the destination sgm router need maintain current_source_sgm_router only per source , and not per [ s , g ]. however , separate trace - acks will still be required , since the sgm delivery trees for the groups may be different , owing to their different membership . for similar reasons , it is not possible to use traffic or sgm heartbeats arriving at a destination router for one group to imply correct operation of any other group even though they share the same source and source sgm router . the algorithms described above require the multicast source to process at least one trace packet per periodic time “ t1 ” for every distinct destination router served by all groups to which it is transmitting . under normal conditions the traces will all converge at one ( or more ) source sgm router ( s ). the portion of the trace from the source sgm router to the multicast source and back is only necessary to detect the arrival of a new sgm capable router closer to the source ( once the initial detection of the source sgm router has been accomplished ). limiting the number of such packets can therefore reduce the load on the multicast source . when a router sees a trace packet travelling to the source s , and it already has encapsulation state for [ s , ] ( i . e . it is a source sgm router for [ s , ]) it can ‘ short circuit ’ the delivery of such trace packets provided at least one such packet per “ t1 ” interval is allowed to pass unimpeded . such short - circuited packets must be processed as if they had been received as responses from the source . this reduces the load on the multicast source to one trace packet per t1 interval , but still maintains the possibility of discovery of a closer source sgm router within that interval . note that this optimization does not necessarily conflict with the mechanisms described for recovering from failures which require the detection of a new source sgm router . only those trace packets that actually pass through the current source sgm router are affected . where the path from the destination router to the potential source sgm router does not pass through the existing source sgm router there will still be m opportunities per t1 seconds . multiple groups with the same source sgm router , but different sources since the sources are different , it is necessary to use separate traces , as they may subsequently identify different source sgm routers for the groups . the same arguments as above preclude the use of common trace - acks or heartbeats unless the delivery trees of the groups are identical . turning now to fig1 , an alternative encapsulation of multicast data referred to as a minimal encapsulation multicast packet 12 , 000 is shown . field 12 , 002 contains the sgm type . field 12 , 004 contains the number of nodes in the distribution tree list . field 12 , 006 contains the offset . field 12 , 008 contains the time to live ( ttl ) value taken from the normal unicast ip header . field 12 , 010 contains a checksum . field 12 , 012 contains the prot value ( that is the contents of the protocol field of the ip header ). this field indicates the protocol carried by the original multicast data ( for example udp ). this prot field is needed because in the minimal encapsulation header the prot field in the outer ip header is replaced with a value indicating sgm . field 12 , 014 contains the first tree list . field 12 , 016 contains the second tree list , etc . field 12 , 018 contains the n &# 39 ; th tree list . field 12 , 020 , 12 , 022 contain padding . field 12 , 024 contains the first address list . field 12 , 026 contains the second address list , etc . field 12 , 028 contains the n &# 39 ; th address list . field 12 , 030 contains the original multicast source address . field 12 , 032 contains the original multicast destination address . field 12 , 034 is the first field of the original multicast data . in the existing encoding for an sgm data packet , several fields are duplicated between the original multicast header and the ip header of the sgm data packet . by using similar techniques to rfc 2004 “ minimal encapsulation within ip ”, this duplication can be avoided . the modified sgm data packet is as shown in fig1 . the original multicast source and destination addresses from the multicast packet ( together with the data of course ) are kept intact , but the preceding parts of the original header are stripped out . the original prot is stored in the sgm header field 12 , 012 ( the outer ip header prot , being set to sgm ). tos , ident , frags and ttl are copied into the outer ip header ( and copied back on decapsulation ). the sgm header ttl field 12 , 008 is still required for multicast capable lans as described herein . the sgm checksum field 12 , 010 covers the original multicast source and destination addresses as well as the other sgm header fields . however if all the sgm header fields were covered it would be necessary to incrementally adjust the checksum when the offset ( and ttl ) are changed . therefore , the sgm checksum is defined to start at the checksum field 12 , 010 . omitting the offset exposes the venerability to corruption of the offset but this can only cause the following errors : if it is corrupted to an earlier value , the packet may be returned to a previous point in the delivery tree , causing duplication along the branches not leading to the current router . the branch below the current router will receive a single copy of the packet . no data loss will occur , and a single instance of corruption will only cause a single instance of duplication , since the contents of the offset field will be reset . unlike corruption of an address list value to an address earlier in the list , which can cause repeated duplication ( until ttl runs out ) if we rely on searching the address list to find the current router . use of the offset field protects against repeated duplication . 1 . if it is corrupted to a later ( but still valid ) value , the intervening branches will suffer packet loss ( since the packet will appear to ‘ jump ’ to the later point in the tree ). 2 . if it is corrupted to an invalid value , the branch below the current router will suffer packet loss . benefits : deleting the offset saves 11 bytes ( or thereabouts , because of alignment issues ) compared to the full encapsulation . for example , in what might be a common case of three delivery points from a common fan out ( i . e . 3 addresses in the address list ), the minimal encapsulation would cost a total of 32 bytes encapsulation overhead , compared to 44 bytes with full encapsulation headers . for a typical uncompressed voip packet , which is about 50 bytes , that &# 39 ; s a 64 % overhead compared to 88 %. this should be compared to the ‘ overhead ’ of using separate multicast packets , which in the above case would be 200 %, since 3 unicast packets would be required . costs : this form of encapsulation is less efficient for encapsulation and decapsulation . it also precludes the possibility of using a separate tos value for the sgm encapsulation , since this must be copied from the original multicast packet . fragmentation is an issue with sgm , whatever encapsulation is used , since an sgm packet may be fragmented by intermediate non - sgm routers ( i . e . by performing normal ip fragmentation on the outer ip header ). since not all fragments will contain the sgm header , and hence cannot be sgm forwarded , it is necessary for sgm routers ( i . e . the destination of the outer ip header ) to perform re - assembly before sgm forwarding . the situation is complicated if the “ minimal encapsulation ” sgm header is used , since there is then only one set of fragmentation information . if the multicast packet were already fragmented before sgm encapsulation , it would invoke re - assembly at each sgm hop . presumably , since it required fragmentation in the first place , it would then need to be re - fragmented for transmission . given that ( potential ) re - assembly at every sgm router is highly undesirable , the best solution may be to set the “ don &# 39 ; t fragment ” bit in the outer ip header , and hence never do any re - assembly at an sgm router . ( this would be desirable even with a full header encapsulation ). in the case of ‘ minimal encapsulation ’ it would be necessary to find a single bit somewhere in the sgm header to carry the original value of the df bit . df and mf are flags in the ip header . when df is set , it means do not fragment the packet . when the mf flag is set , it means that there are more fragments . however , if the original multicast packet had previously been fragmented this could result in a packet with df set and non - zero values for either or both of mf and fragment offsets . it is not clear whether this would be treated as an error by any ip implementation . if it would , then it would be necessary to store the whole 16 bits of the fragmentation fields in the sgm header , which makes the ‘ minimal ’ somewhat less attractive . turning now to fig1 , a worst case routing multicast tree 13 , 000 is shown . source computer s 13 , 002 is the source of a multicast transmission . routers comprise : router r 1 13 , 004 ; router r 3 13 , 006 ; router r 5 13 , 008 ; router r 7 13 , 010 ; router r 9 13 , 012 ; router r 2 13 , 020 ; router r 4 13 , 022 ; router r 6 13 , 024 ; router r 8 13 , 026 , etc . multicast destination computer d 1 13 , 031 receives multicast packets from delivery node router r 4 13 , 022 . multicast destination computer d 2 13 , 036 receives multicast packets from delivery node router r 8 13 , 026 . multicast destination computer d 4 13 , 038 receives multicast packets from delivery node router r 9 13 , 012 . multicast destination computer d 5 13 , 030 receives multicast packets from delivery node router r 2 13 , 020 . multicast destination computer d 6 13 , 034 receives multicast packets from delivery node router r 4 13 , 024 . small group multicast is designed to operate with a ‘ small ’ group . however , the limiting factor is not the size of the group ( i . e . number of group members ) per se , but rather the size of the encoded delivery tree . the size of the encoded delivery tree depends on the number of destination routers ( which may each serve multiple group members ) and also on the topology of the delivery tree . an example of a worst case delivery tree is shown in fig1 . n delivery nodes require an encoded tree of length 2n − 1 . the best case ( ignoring the trivial case where the encapsulating router sends a packet directly to each delivery node , requiring a zero length encoded tree ) is where each node on the tree is itself a delivery node , which requires an encoded tree of length n . thus for any set of n delivery nodes , the encoded length may vary between n and 2n − 1 depending on the topology . since the topology may change during the lifetime of the group , the encoded tree length may also change between these limits even if the number of delivery nodes remains constant . equally , the number of delivery nodes may change as nodes join and leave the group . a number of possible strategies for controlling the size of the encoded tree are discussed below . the absolute worst case is when each delivery node serves a single member as in fig1 where delivery node routers r 2 , r 4 , r 6 , r 8 , and r 9 each serve only one destination computer , or group member . the topology of fig1 is close to requiring worst case encoding . for example , if limiting the number of members to a maximum of 5 group members were permitted , the encoded tree would never exceed 9 addresses . this would be a simple strategy to explain to users , but is severely restrictive . it is also hard to police , since the actual number of group members is unknown to the sgm protocols . however , a protocol using source information supplied by members could possibly police a limitation on the number of members . since each destination router is required to perform a trace and receive a trace - ack when it “ joins ” the group , it is possible for the source sgm router to check the current number of destination routers , and reject the join attempt ( by sending a trace - nack ) for a new destination router . a “ hard ” worst case limit can be chosen which will guarantee an upper limit on the size of the delivery tree irrespective of any topology changes . where there are multiple source sgm routers , each sgm router will independently acquire a set of destination routers , and limit the size of only that subset . subsequent topology changes could then make one or more source sgm routers redundant which may in turn cause one or more of the remaining source sgm routers to exceed the limit . 1 . dynamically remove one or more destination routers — not very friendly to existing users , but at least its simple ! we could just use the normal algorithm of rejecting those above the threshold . doing anything else , such as lifo , would be difficult . since the state for the ‘ old ’ source sgm routers will be lost , if the new set of source sgm routers has no overlap with the old set , all the destinations will appear to be new . the first destinations to send traces will then be ( arbitrarily ) accepted and the remainder rejected . 2 . allow the encoded tree size ( and hence the packet size ) to exceed the desirable limit — but since the number of source sgm routers is unbounded , so too is the size of the encoded tree . 3 . adjust the delivery tree to remove one or more intermediate nodes at the expense of making the delivery tree less efficient , since multiple copies of a packet would be sent over some links . in the extreme , data packets could be unicast to each delivery node , which would partially defeat the purpose of using multicast . a similar effect could be obtained by splitting the delivery tree into two ( or more ) parts , each of which is below the critical limit . some intelligence into exactly which nodes to eliminate could be introduced by having the sgm trace message include the current value the icmp message hop count for each entry ( from which we can deduce the number of unicast hops corresponding to each sgm hop .) this could be used as a weighting when evaluating the modified delivery tree . 4 . communicate the number of destination nodes associated with each source sgm router and enforce a limit for the entire set . this could perhaps be done by including the current count in the source sgm router to multicast source mtrace messages . however , this would not allow the election mechanism to be used to minimise the number of such mtrace packets . alternatively , the source sgm routers send the number only when it changes , and it gets acked in the “ designated ” source sgm router &# 39 ; s message . but there may be insufficient number of fields to encode all that in an ordinary mtrace packet . further , there are numerous timing issues , which could give rise to uncertainly about the correct total . even when there is only a single source sgm router , ( or where there exist multiple source sgm routers , but their sub - trees do not become merged ), a topology change can potentially result in a factor of 2 ( actually ( 2n − 1 )/ n ) increase in the size of the encoded tree . this size increase can be contained by limiting the maximum number of destination routers assuming the worst case topology . alternatively , a more optimistic assumption about the topology can be used , and worst cases can be dealt with by using the techniques outlined above . the space required in the sgm header for the encoded tree is unpredictable , and may vary during the lifetime of a group ( as a result of topology changes , or joining and leaving of destinations ). if the header size is kept to the minimum capable of containing the current delivery tree , then the header size , and hence the available mtu , will also vary . conversely , if sufficient space in the header is always allocated to contain the worst case encoded tree , the mtu will remain constant , but there will be significant wasted bandwidth . the variation is approximately 5 ( n − 1 ). so for n = 5 it is about 20 bytes , and for n = 10 about 45 bytes — a significant fraction of the total packet size for small payloads . each node requires 4 bytes for the ip address and one byte for its tree entry , but the total length is rounded up to a 4 - byte boundary . the best compromise is to calculate mtu assuming worst case tree length , but adjust the header length to reflect the current encoded tree length requirements . this compromise would not work if a totally unbounded extension of the header size is adopted , as suggested above to deal with merging source sgm router trees . if a totally unbounded extension of the header size is adopted , a higher upper bound could be enforced to accommodate most situations , and use one of the other techniques if the length of the header attempted to exceed the higher upper bound . the sgm tree information is never required for the final hops ( that is , from the last fan out point to the delivery router — except of course for the cases where the last fan out router is a delivery router ). by stripping final hop information out of the packet before the final forwarding , another 20 bytes could be saved ( for the 3 way example ) reducing the overhead to 24 % for those hops . ( the sgm type , prot , checksum and the sa and da . are still required , giving a 12 byte overhead = 12 bytes ). such a packet shrinking operation is likely to be rather costly , but could perhaps be justified by the fact that the last hop is likely to be at the edge of the network and hence have lower bandwidth capable links . another way of looking at this is to say that for any particular hop , sending a single sgm packet is roughly comparable to sending 2 unicast packets ( for 50 byte packets and small tree lists ). so it is only on the final hops ( where there would be no packet duplication even in the multiple unicast ) that sgm is at a serious disadvantage . on hops which would require 3 or more unicast packets sgm almost always wins . of course sgm can never do better than true multicast . while the ability to carry both topology information and group membership information in the trace mechanism seems attractive at first sight , it leads to some unfortunate complications ( such as limitations on the size of trace lists and numbers of groups reported ). an alternative strategy of separating this information is explored below . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , trace messages are per source only . trace messages contain no group membership information . also , a new group membership notification ( gmn ) message is introduced . the new group membership notification message comes in two flavors . a complete gmn which is simply a complete list of the current group membership at that egress point ( per source ), and an incremental which contains a list of groups to be added and a list of those to be removed either of which may be null ( analogous to a pim join / prune ). a gmn message is normally sent by an egress , or destination , router whenever a trace ack message is received , and the gmn message is unicast to the source router . the gnn is unicast directly to the current_source_sgm_router . if current_source_sgm_router is zero , the unicast transmission must wait until the source sgm router is known . the gnn is always sent as a “ single ” ip data message , fragmenting if necessary so that information about as many groups as desired is included . an incremental gmn is sent whenever the group membership changes . further , a complete gmn is sent whenever current_source_sgm_router changes from zero to some real value , that is whenever a successful trace - ack is received . gmns are not acknowledged , but if one is lost ( assuming it was an add gmn ) we will fail to get data / heartbeats for that group , and hence trigger ( in the first instance ) a new trace , which ( assuming it is successful ) will cause a complete gmn to be sent — hopefully correcting the problem — if not , the sequence repeats . if the lost gmn were a remove gmn , then we will continue to receive data / heartbeats , so this reception of heart - beats will re - trigger a gmn remove ( rate limited of course ). alternatively , we could just let the heartbeat transmission die as a result of no trace packet transmission by the destination router . the trace ack is no longer sgm unicast as in other alternative embodiments of the invention , it is just plain old unicast to the destination . every “ n * t2 ” time period each egress router , i . e . destination router , checks the groups which it receives , and which are associated with each source , and if there is at least one group which hasn &# 39 ; t received a data or heartbeat packet since the last check or if current_source_sgm_router is zero , then the egress router sends a trace for that source , setting current_source_sgm_router to zero . on receipt of a responsive trace ack ( with the right sequence number etc .) the destination , or egress , router sets current_source_sgm_router to the source of the ack as before , and then the destination router sends a complete gmn to current_source_sgm_router . this gmn overrides any group state about this egress router that the source sgm router previously possessed . prune messages ( leave and change ) now only refer to the egress router as a whole and contain no group information . arrival of a prune ( of whatever flavor ) at the source router removes the egress router and all its associated group information from the source sgm router . to simply remove a group , but continue to receive other groups the egress router sends a gmn message to the source router with the group in the prune list . in this alternative embodiment of the invention , instead of including the group list in the trace message ( and hence causing problems with size etc .) this alternative embodiment makes the group list a separate message sent in response to a trace - ack . with this alternative embodiment of the invention , new groups may be added without the need to send a trace message . so if a long “ t1 ” timer is used , and the topology is reasonably stable , short duration groups may be added and removed fairly cheaply . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the multicast source end stations execute software which does all of the tasks attributed hereinabove to the source router , including encapsulating the multicast packet in a sgm packet format . correspondingly , the multicast destination end station executes software which does all of the tasks attributed hereinabove to the destination router , including de - encapsulation the sgm packet when it arrives at the destination end station . in this embodiment of the invention , the trace packets are transmitted by the multicast destination end station and are received and interpreted by the multicast source end station . the multicast source end station builds the multicast delivery tree from addresses of intermediate routers carried in the address lists of the different trace packets received by the multicast source end station from different multicast destination end stations . the multicast source end station places the multicast delivery tree in the header of a sgm packet with the ordinary multicast packet as data in the sgm packet , and then transmits the sgm packet to the first hop router on the multicast delivery tree route to the intended destination end stations for the multicast group . this embodiment of the invention requires modification of software in all multicast destination end stations , both those serving as source end stations and those serving as destination end stations . changing software on all potential destination end stations is a daunting task , and requires either modifying the operating system running on each potential destination end station , or executing special application software to accomplish the necessary tasks . turning now to fig1 , a block diagram of a typical network device 14 , 000 is shown . for example , network device 14 , 000 could be a router operating at layer 3 , a bridge operating at layer 2 , or a switch operating at any layer , including a layer 4 switch , etc . for convenience we refer to network device 14 , 00 as a router . central processor unit ( cpu ) 14 , 002 manages operation of the router . memory 14 , 004 holds data structures , data , and instructions useful to operation of router 14 , 000 . memory 14 , 004 may be any type of electronic memory , random access memory ( ram ), read only memory ( rom ), etc . input / output device 14 , 006 ( i / o device ) for example , may be a disk drive to facilitate operation of router 14 , 000 . i / o device 14 , 006 is optional , and many designs of routers do not use an i / o device 14 , 006 . i / o device 14 , 006 may be , for example , an internal hard disk drive or , for example , a floppy disk drive . or as a further example , i / o device 14 , 006 may represent both a floppy disk drive and an internal hard disk drive . media 14 , 007 may represent a removable disk for use in i / o unit 14 , 006 when it represents a floppy disk drive . media 14 , 007 may be , for example , a standard 1 . 4 megabyte 3½ inch floppy disk , or for example , media 14 , 007 may represent any type of computer readable media . as a further example , i / o device 14 , 006 could also represent a tape input / output device , and media 14 , 007 would then represent a tape readable by the i / o device 14 , 006 . for example , the various tables used by router 14 , 000 may be stored on disk 14 , 006 . that is , the three tables : first , the locally reachable bridge table which the bridge ( or router ) uses to bridge using layer 2 frame information from one of its ports to another port , and which is used when an incoming packet has in its layer 2 destination address an address other than the layer 2 address of the router ; second , a remotely reachable table which a peer router uses to determine which peer router it should forward an incoming frame to as an extension of its bridging function , such as use of dlsw routing protocol for a frame having a layer 2 destination address different from the layer 2 address of the router ; and third , a routing table which the router uses for ordinary layer 3 routing functions and which is used when an incoming packet has in its layer 2 destination address the layer 2 address of the router , may all be stored on a disk in i / o device 14 , 006 . also layer 4 switching tables may be stored to disk in i / o device 14 , 006 . alternatively , the tables may be maintained in memory 14 , 004 in the event that no disk drive is used in the router . in any event , the tables will be in memory 14 , 004 for use by the various bridging and routing functions of router 14 , 000 . network circuit 14 , 008 contains the major bridging and routing circuits of router 14 , 000 . bus 14 , 010 connects the cpu 14 , 002 , memory 14 , 004 , disk ( if any ) 14 , 006 , and network circuits 14 , 008 together so that they can exchange information by use of typical bus protocols . network circuit 14 , 008 contains the circuits responsible for input from local area networks ( lans ), output to lans , circuits for bridging of data packets , and circuits for performing routing , and possibly memory circuits to facilitate fast switching , etc . switching is a general term used for fast transfer of packets from an input lan to an output lan . particularly , bridging of packets using only layer 2 constructs , is accomplished by network circuit 14 , 008 . each port 14 , 012 , 14 , 014 , 14 , 016 of router 14 , 000 connects to a different local area network ( lan ). layer 3 routing may be accomplished either by network circuit 14 , 008 , or by the use of software running in cpu 14 , 002 , or , for example , by a combination of network circuits 14 , 008 and software running in cpu 14 , 002 . for example , port 14 , 012 connects to a lan designated as lan 1 14 , 022 . port 14 , 014 connects to lan 2 14 , 024 . there may be a large number of ports , and the highest numbered port is represented as port n 14 , 016 , where lan n 14 , 026 is shown connected to port n 14 , 016 . the three dots 14 , 030 indicate that network circuits 14 , 008 may serve many router ports . each port is connected to its transmitter and receiver . as an example , one or more of the ports 14 , 012 , 14 , 016 , etc . may connect the router to a tcp / ip network cloud . transmitter and receiver circuit xmit / rcv 14 , 032 serves port 14 , 012 and lan 1 14 , 022 . xmit / rcv circuit 14 , 034 serves port 14 , 014 and lan 2 14 , 024 . there is a transmit and receive circuit for each lan , and so correspondingly xmit / rcv circuit 14 , 036 serves port n 14 , 016 and lan n 14 , 026 . the exemplary network device 14 , 000 shown schematically in fig1 is representative of only a very simple design of a network device . other switching arrangements are often used in modern routers , including crossbar switches , multiple crossbar switches , etc . however , the simple schematic block diagram of fig1 is meant to only represent the general operations of a network device , including a router . the layers of the internet protocol communications model are implemented in various convenient hardware elements as shown in the block diagram of a router of fig1 . the internet communications model is described by andrew tanenbaum in his book computer networks , third edition published by prentice hall publishing company copyright 1996 , all disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference , especially at pages 35 - 38 . for example , depending upon the design of the router , layer 1 and layer 2 may be implemented in hardware in the circuits of network circuits 14 , 008 . alternatively , field parsing and recognition functions may be implemented in software which executes on cpu 14 , 002 in connection with memory 14 , 004 . higher layer functions such as layer 3 network , or layer 4 transport , may be implemented in software executing on cpu 14 , 002 . layer 4 reliable transport implemented in the transport layer is usually implemented in software executing in cpu 14 , 002 , although even layer 4 functions may be implemented in hardware by using an asic semiconductor chip . network device 14 , 000 may alternatively , be referred to as a bridge with a dlsw layer 3 port , or as an alternative network device 14 , 000 may be referred to as a router , or as a still further alternative router 14 , 000 may be referred to as a “ switch ”. the acronym “ dlsw ” stands for data link switch . the term “ switch ” often refers to internal operation of the hardware . a switch may operate in layer 2 , layer 3 , or in layer 4 . alternatively , in hardware having router or bridge functionality , the network device 14 , 000 may function internally as a hardware switch . operations requiring both bridge module and router module operation may function as a software switch , and may use function calls between the different modules . and the internal forwarding structure may be a switch , and both bridge and router modules execute in cpu 14 , 002 . a switched lan is described by andrew tanenbaum in his book computer networks , third edition , published by prentice hall , copyright date 1996 , all disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference , particularly pages 285 - 287 . data structure 14 , 050 is , for example , stored in memory 14 , 040 . data structure 14 , 050 has field 14 , 052 containing tree list 1 210 a , tree list 2 210 b , tree list 3 210 c , etc . as shown in fig2 . these tree lists are written to the header of multicast data packet 200 as shown in fig2 . data structure 14 , 050 also has fields 14 , 054 containing address lists 210 a , 210 b , 210 c , etc . again , address lists 210 a , 210 b , 210 c , etc . are written into the header of multicast data packet 200 by cpu 14 , 002 before the multicast data packet is transmitted by network circuits 14 , 008 . it is to be understood that the above described embodiments are simply illustrative of the principles of the invention . various other modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art which embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof .	7
the systems and methods of the invention can effectively communicate with and manage devices in a local or widely distributed building automation system ( bas ), from a space or building level to an enterprise level , encompassing virtually any structure , cluster , campus , and area in between . a bas according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a dynamically extensible and automatically configurable architecture anchored by an enterprise server engine ( ese ). the bas and ese comprise a versatile and robust control system that operably supports the management of hvac and other subsystems in a building from a central location . the bas can be an automatically and intelligently scalable object - oriented system in one embodiment , providing multi - site management capabilities in a local or widely distributed geographic area . the bas is preferably networked for user accessibility . the systems and methods are particularly suited for a dynamically extensible and automatically configurable bas and architecture , such as those disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 208 , 773 , filed aug . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ dynamically extensible and automatically configurable building automation system and architecture ”; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 687 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ building automation system facilitating user customization ”; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 699 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ building automation system facilitating user customization ”; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 702 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ building automation system facilitating user customization ”; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 695 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ building automation system data management ”; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 697 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ building automation system data management ”; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 698 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ building automation system data management ”; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 703 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ building automation system data management ”; and u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 316 , 410 , filed dec . 22 , 2005 , entitled “ dynamically extensible and automatically configurable building automation system and architecture ,” all of which are assigned to the assignee of the claimed invention , and are herein incorporated by reference . the invention can be more readily understood by reference to fig1 - 5 and the following description . while the invention is not necessarily limited to the specifically depicted application ( s ), the invention will be better appreciated using a discussion of exemplary embodiments in specific contexts . fig1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a process reconnect manager . the reconnect manager is responsible for managing the logical processing steps for re - establishing lost communication connections with individual devices . it can be automatically configured to periodically iterate through all of the end devices or spaces associated with a bas in order to obtain a device &# 39 ; s status . the refresh rate , or the amount of time between communication requests , increases over time to reduce the overhead on the network . if there is no available device information the reconnect manager can set the refresh rate to the minimum value , further reducing the communication load on the bas network . an example of the processing logic in a potential embodiment of a reconnect manager that takes active responsibility in establishing a communication connection with a device is shown in fig1 . in the example embodiment the reconnect manager only begins executing this algorithm upon detecting that a device has stopped communicating 100 , as indicated by the device being placed on an off - line devices list . the later discussion of fig4 illustrates a process of determining when communication with a device has stopped . if there is device collection data available the reconnect manager checks to see if the device associated with that data is on - line ( 101 ). if the device is on - line the process reconnect manager iterates ( 100 ) to the next device with collection data available . in the case where all the devices are on - line , the reconnect manager simply clears the list of any previously off - line devices . when the process reconnect manager detects a device that is off - line the process reconnect manager transmits a verify message to the device via a command link , typically a wired connection . the reconnect manager will then wait for a period of time determined by the amount of time the device has been off - line before attempting to retransmit a subsequent verify message . in the example embodiment shown in fig1 , if the off - line time is less than 10 minutes the refresh rate ( 106 ) is set to 15 seconds . this short interval is based on the relatively short time period that the device has been off - line . as the off - line time increases the refresh rate delay does so as well . these refresh rates and off - line periods can be initially configured during system installation or later modified by a user based on the needs of the bas . the decay algorithm in one potential embodiment can be a hard - coded value that cannot be tuned or changed by the user . if a device has been off - line for less than 10 minutes , the refresh rate ( 106 ) ( or the frequency of the reconnect attempts ) is 15 seconds . if a device has been off - line more than 10 minutes but less than 30 minutes , the refresh rate ( 107 ) is 30 seconds . if a device has been off - line more than 30 minutes but less than 60 minutes , the refresh rate ( 108 ) is 60 seconds . if a device has been off - line more than 1 month the system assumes that the device no longer exists in the system , or has irreversibly failed , and is removed from further processing attempts ( 109 ). if the reconnect manager is able to successfully transition a device from the off - line state into an on - line state then the refresh state is set to the minimum time period for the system ( 111 ). the reconnect manager then proceeds to the next panel in the iteration . once a device is brought back on - line the device is removed from the off - line devices list ( 112 ). fig2 depicts one embodiment of a communication - polling manager . the communication - polling manager iterates through all of the devices provided by a heartbeat manager ( 200 ) and retrieves the current state of each device ( 201 ) through the associated link between the enterprise server engine of the bas and the individual device or module associated with the device . preferably the heartbeat manager only provides the communication - polling manager with devices that are known to be off - line . unlike a simple polling mechanism where all devices are periodically queried , one advantage of this exemplary embodiment is to utilize the normal communications mechanisms for on - line devices and when an off - line condition occurs , the system will dynamically poll the off - line device using a mediated decay - algorithm to bring the device ( s ) back on - line . successful normal communications can also bring devices back on - line as discussed below regarding fig4 . this service allows bas administrators to establish a selective pinging process that checks on the communication state of devices while keeping network traffic to a minimum . if this process brings a device back on - line , or discovers that a device has gone off - line , it is registered with the reconnect manager . alarm conditions can be triggered for both communication loss ( 208 ) and communication restore ( 205 ) based on customer configuration preferences . the separation of the communication polling manager and the reconnect manager provides the system with separate mechanisms for monitoring on - line devices for on - line to off - line transitions , and attempts to bring off - line devices back on - line . messages , flags , signals or other indications can be passed between the communication polling manager and the reconnect manager in order to coordinate the status of the individual devices . if the device is in the on - line state the communication polling manager checks to see if a flag has been set to alarm the transition from an off - line state to the on - line state ( 207 ). if the flag is set then the alarm is raised for that transition ( 208 ). if there is no flag indicating that an alarm should be raised for the off - line to on - line transition , likely due to the fact that the device was already on - line of the user has chosen to suppress the alarm , then no alarm is raised . if the device is in the off - line state the communication polling manager checks to see if a flag has been set to alarm the transition from an on - line state to the off - line state ( 204 ). if the flag is set then the alarm is raised for that transition ( 205 ). if there is no flag indicating that an alarm should be raised for the on - line to off - line transition . fig3 is a flow diagram depicting an embodiment of a smart - communication request . a smart - communication request is one that checks the communication state of the device ( 300 ) before sending a request over the wire , or making a raw - communication ( 301 ). this can be done as a performance optimization due to communication time - outs which can cause delays in processing and degrade the performance of the system . it also can be utilized to limit communication attempts with devices that are off - line to attempts made by the reconnect manager . fig4 is a flow diagram depicting raw - communication requests and expands the raw - communication block ( 301 ) in fig3 . a raw - communication request is one that will be sent over the wire , which is the actual transmission of signals out on the communication link to the device , regardless of the current communication state of the device . if the device is on - line , the reconnect manager is notified that communications is restored if the device was previously off - line ( 402 and 403 ). conversely , if the device is off - line , the reconnect manager is notified that communication to the device has been lost if the device was previously on - line ( 405 and 406 ). typically the reconnect manager should use raw communication requests as opposed to smart - communication requests . fig1 through 4 together depict an embodiment of an active device manager that can be implemented as part of a communication management component in a bas . the normal communication requests can bring a device on - line , or off - line . the “ smart requests ” prevent a barrage of communication requests that can cause performance problems . the reconnect manager implements a mediated re - connection algorithm that has a decaying algorithm that reduces the re - connect attempts over time . this is in recognition that on - line devices have a tendency to stay on - line and recover quickly from a communication loss . and that off - line or disconnected devices have a tendency to stay off - line and not recover as quickly . finally , the connection manager allows a user or bas administrator to establish a customized dynamic polling mechanism for detecting and reporting on the communication state for devices in the network . this polling mechanism works in concert with the rest of the other processes and produces no extra overhead on the network or the end devices . referring to fig5 , a bas 10 embodiment can comprise an enterprise server engine ( ese ) 20 preferably located at a central location 12 , such as a headquarters or control station . ese 20 comprises a single local device in one embodiment . in another embodiment , ese 20 comprises a multiple server configuration operating in a local or distributed environment . “ central ” location 12 , as understood by those skilled in the art , is not necessarily a geographic center but rather a communicative or control - based location in one embodiment from which it is convenient or feasible to manage bas 10 . for example , a user may manage one or more bass at locations nationwide or within a region from a single headquarters location . ese 20 is preferably locally networked at location 12 and communicatively coupled to the internet and / or intranet 30 and therefore can provide access and management control from virtually any location via a computer system , internal or external to a user &# 39 ; s computer system . ese 20 and bas 10 need not be web - based or communicatively coupled to the internet as shown in fig5 , as other options known to those skilled in the art exist . the internet and / or intranet ethernet / ip 30 or another local area network ( lan ) or wide area network ( wan ) facilitate communications between ese 20 and other system components and devices . some or all communications and connections may be either wired or wireless within portions of bas 10 as needed or desired . each implementation of system 10 can vary substantially by size , composition of devices , and balance of present , legacy , and future generation devices . system 10 can also vary by vendor / manufacturer , type , physical layout of building and / or campus , user needs , and other characteristics . therefore , each implementation of system 10 and ese 20 in particular is done on a site - by - site basis . ese 20 can recognize , communicate with , and control a variety of system devices , including present generation and common manufacturer , legacy or previous generation , and competitor controllers and building automation panels . system 10 , via ese 20 , can also expand to integrate next - generation devices . as depicted in fig5 , for example , a present generation supervisory controller 41 , such as a building control unit manufactured by trane ®, or a device 40 , can be directly communicatively coupled to the internet 30 and / or intranet 32 , while legacy unit ( s ) 42 can be directly communicatively coupled to the internet 30 and / or intranet 32 or coupled via a media converter 48 . media converter 48 is preferably a simple translator but may also comprise other more sophisticated devices as needed . media converter 48 is preferably not but may also be used with competitive product ( s ) 44 and / or future product ( s ) 46 in various embodiments . competitive products 44 are also preferably directly coupled to the internet 30 and / or intranet 32 . ese 20 is further able to support future product ( s ) 46 , such as updated versions of current controllers , newly developed products , and the like . ese 20 is also preferably able to coexist and cooperate with other similar but previous generation control and management systems . fig6 depicts a communication management component 56 that includes communication manager 600 , reconnect manager 602 , protocol stack 604 and protocol data unit ( pdu ) 606 . communication manager 600 is an object responsible for managing all the communication ports , threads , protocol stacks and other elements linking the ese 20 to individual devices or equipment . the communication manager 600 and reconnect manager 602 can be implemented as separate sub - components , as shown in fig6 , or in an alternate embodiment the reconnect manager 602 can be implemented as a element of the communication manager 600 . the foregoing descriptions present numerous specific details that provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention . it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various embodiments , having been disclosed herein , may be practiced without some or all of these specific details . in other instances , known components have not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention . it is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments are set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments , this disclosure is illustrative only . other embodiments may be constructed that nevertheless employ the principles and spirit of the present invention . accordingly , this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the invention . it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof . each of the additional figures and methods disclosed herein may be used separately , or in conjunction with other features and methods , to provide improved devices , systems and methods for making and using the same . therefore , combinations of features and methods disclosed herein may not be necessary to practice the invention in its broadest sense and are instead disclosed merely to particularly describe representative embodiments of the invention . for purposes of interpreting the claims for the present invention , it is expressly intended that the provisions of section 112 , sixth paragraph of 35 u . s . c . are not to be invoked with respect to a given claim unless the specific terms “ means for ” or “ step for ” are recited in that claim . all of the patents and patent applications disclosed herein , including those set forth in the background of the invention , are hereby incorporated by reference . any incorporation by reference of documents above is limited such that no subject matter is incorporated that is contrary to the explicit disclosure herein . any incorporation by reference of non - priority documents above is further limited such that no claims included in the documents are incorporated by reference herein and any definitions provided in the documents are not incorporated by reference herein unless expressly included herein .	7
referring now to the drawing , wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same , a schematic diagram of a system for notifying a subscriber of time - critical events is shown , in accordance with an embodiment of the current invention . the exemplary system for notifying a plurality of subscribers comprises : a wireless carrier core ip network 100 , one or more wireless carrier systems 140 , a telematics unit 170 , and alert server 200 . telematics unit 170 may be fixedly installed into a motor vehicle , such as an automobile or truck , or other vehicles . alternatively , the telematics unit may comprise a hand - held device carried by an individual . the telematics unit 170 is preferably equipped with suitable hardware and software for transmitting and receiving voice and data communications . elements of the telematics unit 170 preferably comprise : a digital signal processor connected to a wireless modem ; a global positioning system (‘ gps ’) receiver or gps unit ; an electronic memory ; a microphone ; one or more audio speakers ; an embedded telephone or an email access appliance ; a real time clock ; a display ; and a software monitor for reading a time signal of real time clock . the gps unit provides longitude and latitude coordinates of the device , as well as a time stamp and a date stamp . the telephone preferably comprises a cellular communications device having push - to - talk - over - cellular (‘ poc ’) capability , and is operable to send and receive over - the - air messages , including those originating from the alert server 200 . the telematics unit 170 sends and receives radio transmissions from wireless carrier core ip network 100 via the one or more wireless carrier systems 140 which are operable to communicate using cellular systems . wireless carrier core ip network 100 includes a poc server 110 , a home agent 120 , and mobile contact manager 130 , which work in conjunction with the alert server 200 , to deliver timely and geographic position - appropriate messages to telematics unit 170 . the home agent 120 and mobile contact manager 130 are preferably operable to track and manage information about each subscriber , based upon communications through the wireless carrier systems 140 . wireless carrier core ip network 100 preferably includes services from mobile telephone switching offices , wireless networks , public - switched telephone networks , and internet protocol (‘ ip ’) networks . network 100 comprises a wired network , an optical network , a fiber network , another wireless network , or any combination thereof , and connects to telematics unit 170 via wireless carrier system 140 . wireless carrier core ip network 100 is operable to communicate with various public internet servers 150 to obtain localized location - specific time - critical information , such as traffic reports , road construction updates . wireless carrier core ip network 100 is operable to communicate with private intranet servers 160 to obtain similar information of interest . wireless carrier core ip network 100 sends and receives messages according to established protocols for cellular phone communications such as is - 637 standards for short message service ( sms ), is - 136 air - interface standards for sms , and gsm 03 . 40 and 09 . 02 standards . the alert server 200 may be incorporated as an element of a call center . the call center comprises a virtual location wherein many calls are received and serviced at the same time , or wherein many calls are sent at the same time . in one embodiment of the invention , the call center is a telematics call center , prescribing communications to and from telematics unit 170 . in another embodiment , the call center is a voice call center , providing verbal communications between a communication services advisor in the call center and one or more subscribers . in another embodiment , the call center contains each of these functions . in another embodiment , the call center serves as a fully automated center providing telematics service center data , including execution of the functions of the alert server 200 . communication services advisor may be a real advisor or a virtual advisor . a real advisor is a human being in verbal communication with a user or subscriber . a virtual advisor is a synthesized voice interface responding to requests from user or subscriber . in one embodiment , virtual advisor includes one or more recorded messages . in another embodiment , virtual advisor generates voice messages using a text to speech synthesis engine ( tts ). in another embodiment virtual advisor includes both recorded and tts generated messages . the system presented includes the alert server 200 operable to collect , aggregate , and communicate time - critical information over the wireless carrier core ip network 100 . the alert server comprises a location manager 210 , an alert notification manager 220 , and a message delivery notification manager 230 . the wireless communications system preferably comprises the poc communications system , as previously discussed . the location manager 210 is operable to identify and locate telematics units within a known geographical area . the term ‘ recipient ’ as used herein describes a telematics unit receiving the time - critical information . the time - critical information is communicated to the recipient via communications system described herein . the message delivery notification manager 230 is operable to schedule and format delivery of alert messages to the recipients , consistent with the specific communications system and telematics hardware and operating system . the message delivery notification manager 230 schedules and formats delivery of various time - critical alert messages to each recipient , based upon location and direction of travel of each of the recipients . the alert notification manager 220 receives and aggregates alert messages , including a geographic location of the source of the alert , and prepares the aggregated alert messages for delivery . the alert server 200 works with the alert notification manager 220 to collect time - critical information from various sources which is formed into the alert messages . collecting time - critical information includes identifying available services compatible with network latencies ; and , collecting appropriate time - critical messages consistent with the identified services . exemplary vehicle time - critical information that may be compiled , aggregated and communicated to subscribers in alert messages may include , for example , warning of approaching emergency vehicles ; warnings of approaching sharp curves , low or narrow bridges , or other non - obvious road features ; warnings of road surface changes due to ambient conditions , e . g . fog , ice , drifting snow , water , flooding ; warnings of approaching rail trains for collision avoidance ; amber alert details ; warnings of approaching work zones ; and , warnings of approaching traffic congestion or changed traffic patterns , and warning of vehicle approach to a school zone wherein speed limits are restricted at specific times of the day . other specific information may be developed and implemented according to needs of an individual network , consistent with the communications ability of the network system and the vehicles . other specific services compatible with network latencies currently comprise services able to accept a latency of approximately one second , due to current delay times of the poc cellular system . it is envisioned that additional alert messages may become appropriate for communication to subscribers when delay times of the poc cellular system decrease with the advent of new technology . in operation , the alert server 200 acts to push communications of alert messages to each subscriber , based upon each recipient &# 39 ; s location and direction of travel relative to location of each known time - critical event or location . each recipient &# 39 ; s location and direction of travel can be determinable using information from the gps transponder . the alert messages are preferably pushed to each subscriber through the subscriber &# 39 ; s telematics device 170 , and may take the form of a voice message heard audibly by the subscriber , or in the form of a written message printed on a visual display such as a vehicle information center , or in the form of an audible alert coupled with a written message , or in the form of a bank of lamps viewable by the subscriber , which are associated with various alert messages . the alert server 200 collects and receives time - critical information from a variety of sources , including information available on the internet 150 , and information developed on the server &# 39 ; s private intranet 160 . the information developed on the server &# 39 ; s private intranet 160 may comprise electronically available information , or information collected or captured and interpreted by a human operator who is able to encode the information in a manner suitable for use by the server . the subscriber may desire regular notification of specific events or kinds of events . one example of event notification is traffic conditions . in this case , the network may regularly capture traffic events from public and private sources that are relevant to the subscriber &# 39 ; s geographic location and direction of travel , and provide such information on a scheduled basis , including a notification that there are no incidences for which the subscriber has cause for concern . the invention has been described with specific reference to the preferred embodiments and modifications thereto . further modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the specification . it is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the invention .	7
the following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention . various modifications , however , will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art , since the general principles of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to provide an effective treatment for lupus and other autoimmune and inflammatory joint diseases flavonoids are ubiquitous secondary products found in most land plants . flavonoids are oxygen based rather than nitrogen based like traditional pharmaceuticals plant compounds such as alkaloids . as such they are end terminus electron acceptors rather than electron donors . flavonoids inhibit 5 - lipoxygenase in the cytokine release pathways because hydroxyl groups at 4 ′, 3 , and 7 positions of the flavonoid molecules accept electrons . ( see , effects of flavonoids on arachidonic acid metabolism , a . f . welton , l . d . tobias , the biochemistry of cell activation related to the putative action of flavonoids , s . g . laychock , plant flavonoids in biology and medicine : biochemical , pharmacological , and structure - activity relationships , pg 231 - 242 , 1986 alan r liss , inc .). flavonoids modulate the immune response through sequestration of free radicals , which prevents formation of epoxide diols and subsequent attack on the dna . further , catalytic ion and signal transducers are sequestered by flavonoids ( see , structural dependence of flavonoid interactions with cu 2 + ions : implications for their antioxidant properties , brown j e , khodr h , hider r c , rice - evans c a , biochem . j . 1998 mar . 15 ; 330 ( pt 3 ): 1173 - 8 ). a number of biological effects of flavonoids have been elucidated . for example , flavonoids inhibit deiodinase , which is the enzyme that promulgates thyroid functions . iodothyronine deiodinase is oxygen bound and directly impacts basal oxygenation . flavonoids have the steric binding mimicry of ligands that bind the oxygen transport molecule iodothreonine deiodinase . (“ role of flavonoids in the oxygen - free radical modulation of immune responses ”, b . pignol , et . al ., role of flavonoids in the oxygen - free radical modulation of the immune response , plant flavonoids in biology and medicine ii : biochemical , cellular , and medicinal properties , pg . 173 - 182 , 1988 alan r . liss , inc . ; “ structure activity relationships of flavonoids deiodinase inhibitors and enzyme active site model ”, s . v . cody , plant flavonoids in biology and medicine : biochemical , pharmacological , and structure - activity relationships , 1986 alan r . liss , inc ., pg . 373 - 382 ). flavonoids thus “ turn down the thermostat ” of homeostasis . (“ iodothyronine deiodinase is inhibited by plant flavonoids ”, j . koehrle pg . 324 , structure activity relationships of flavonoids deiodinase inhibitors and enzyme active site model , s . v . cody , plant flavonoids in biology and medicine : biochemical , pharmacological , and structure - activity relationships , 1986 alan r . liss , inc ., pg . 373 - 382 ). it is believed that the effect of flavonoids in the present invention is mediated through the above - discussed effect on ion channels . however , the effect on the thyroid indicates that the flavonoids may be acting on more than one biological system in the present invention . the inventor included bromelain in the present invention because there is some indication that this enzyme can aid in the regeneration of cartilage in a damaged joint . generally , bromelain alone is not effective in ameliorating the joint pain in either osteoarthritis or lupus caused joint inflammation . it is logical that the compound is not effective in lupus because continued lupus - induced inflammation would mask any joint repairing effects of bromelain . it also seems apparent that osteoarthritis , at least in some cases , is mediated by an inflammatory process . this may explain why bromelain treatment of that disease has not been very effective . however , the flavonoid component of the present invention controls inflammation through its effects on ion channels and possibly through other biological effects not yet elucidated . white blood cells are deactivated by the changes in ion channels so that inflammatory attacks on the joints are decreased . down regulation of the immune system ( as 30 mediated by white blood cells ) results in lowered production of auto - antibodies . under these conditions bromelain appears to be able to help in joint repair . it does seem likely that bromelain is in some way synergistic with the flavonoids because treatment with flavonoids but without bromelain is clearly less effective than the combination . many natural foods contain flavonoids ; however , few , if any , contain bromelain combined with effective flavonoids . also , it is not known whether the combination of flavonoids in natural products might decrease the overall effectiveness of the “ correct ” flavonoids . for whatever reasons mere dietary treatments for lupus and related diseases has not been successful . while the present inventor believes that the addition of vitamin c to the flavonoid / bromelain mixture enhances the effect of the mixture , it is apparent that the mixture without vitamin c is also effective . however , because vitamin c is relatively innocuous , it has been used in the vast majority of tests . screening tests by experts in ion channel function have indicated that a number of flavonoids , especially certain flavonols have the correct charge structure to regulate the key ion channels . quercetin , which has been used in the majority of tests of the present invention , is very effective in tests of ion channel function . luteolin is even more effective than quercetin in such tests . limited tests have shown that replacing quercetin with luteolin in the inventive formula is somewhat more effective . however , at this time the inventor lacks a ready source of pharmaceutical grade luteolin to demonstrate whether luteolin is significantly more effective overall . quercetin and luteolin differ by a single hydroxyl group ( which luteolin lacks as compared to quercetin ). a limited number of tests have shown that myricetin is somewhat effective in the present ; this compound varies from quercetin in the addition of one hydroxyl . in addition , rutin is also moderately effective in the present invention . rutin is a glycoside ( rutinoside ) of quercetin so that metabolism of rutin is likely to make quercetin available . it is likely that other flavonoids with structural similarities to quercetin or luteolin , or glycosides of these flavonoids , will also function in the present invention . the results of treating actual patients with the inventive composition have been extremely dramatic . besides the cases described herein literally dozens of patients have shown similar results when treated with the quercetin / bromelain / vitamin c mixture . one of the first tested subjects was , bz , who had been bed ridden for nine months and could neither sit up or turn over . she showed the typical lupus butterfly rash and was diagnosed by a blood test showing a positive ana ( anti - nucleic acid antibody ) titer - criteria indicative of lupus . the subject &# 39 ; s mother had previously tested positive for lupus and has been treated with several medications , including plaquinel and cyclosporin . a second subject , ka , had also tested positive for lupus and had been being treated with plaquinel and cyclosporin . both of these test subjects experienced rapid relief from symptoms of fatigue and depression and pain , elimination of the associated rash and a return to normal life style within one to two months of beginning a regime of one pill ( 500 mg quercetin / 500 mg bromelain / 500 mg vitamin c ) three times per day at the above dosage . kidney flares ceased and pain abrogated . both subjects stated that they felt completely fine with no side effects and maintained a perfect state of health while on the inventive composition . both bz and ka stopped taking the medication after two months , since they reported that they were “ completely recovered .” as might be expected , symptoms begin to reappear within two weeks . upon reestablishment of treatment all symptoms again disappeared . this indicates that the inventive product is solely responsible for the amelioration of sle ( systemic lupus erythematosus ). additional patients have also shown similar positive results . mk was a 65 - year - old woman with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis . she developed side effects from methotrexate treatment at a dose of 22 . 5 mg weekly . her methotrexate was discontinued and she was started on the inventive composition . within one month she showed a dramatic decrease in synovitis . nm was a 37 - year - old woman with an inflammatory polyarthritis and positive ana ( antinuclear antibody ). she had sjogrens syndrome with a positive ssa ( anti - ro ) antibody . after three months of treatment with the inventive composition , she noticed decreased hair loss , and a lessening of joint pain and swellings . her serologies also improved . her initial ana titer was 170 and ssa titer was 584 , and occasionally much , much higher . her most recent serologies show an ana titer of 67 and ssa of 429 . ds was a 57 year old female with sle / sjogrens . her disease manifestations were pulmonary infiltrates and pulmonary effusions . despite high doses of prednisone , plaquenil , and imuran she had continued pulmonary symptoms , fevers , joint swellings , and elevated anti - dna antibody . after one - month treatment with the inventive composition , her anti - dna level decreased from 454 to 186 ( normal less than 30 ). lc was a 46 year old female with sle . her main manifestations have been joint inflammation and recurrent serositis . she has had recurrent chest pain and palpitations . her echocardiogram in 1999 showed valvular changes with trace mitral regurgitation and mild to moderate tricuspid regurgitation . she also had pulmonary hypertension with a rv systolic pressure of 45 . lc started the inventive compositions and after four months was tapered off prednisone of 20 - mg qd and plaquinel . her recent echocardiogram shows improvement - there was no longer any evidence of pulmonary hypertension . at this time more than 50 patients , most with some form of lupus , but others with various inflammatory joint diseases , have been treated with the inventive composition . virtually all patients have demonstrated a measurable amelioration of their disease state . the following claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above , what is conceptually equivalent , what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just - described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope of the invention . the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that should not be taken as limiting the invention . therefore , it is to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein .	0
supercontinuum generation in fibers is well known and has been demonstrated in numerous fiber waveguides . nonlinear interactions in such fibers are greatly affected by fiber properties such as effective area ( a eff ) and waveguide dispersion . waveguide dispersion governs how quickly a launched pulse will spread in the time domain and , as a result , how quickly the peak power of the pulse will decrease as it propagates along the fiber . in addition , the peak intensity of the pulse will be larger for fibers with a smaller a eff , and will determine the magnitude of the nonlinear interactions in the waveguide itself . however , as mentioned above , current supercontinua have limitations that are dictated by the dispersion and nonlinearity of the fiber . various applications currently exist ( for example , frequency metrology ) that would greatly benefit by broadening the continuum . in particular , broadening the supercontinuum would allow for a smaller length of hnlf to span an octave for a given pump power . other limitations in the currently available supercontinuum are associated with the shape of the spectrum , the wavelength range , noise figure , etc . generally speaking , therefore , it would be desirable to find a way to “ enhance ” the supercontinuum generation in fibers , where the enhancement may take the form of one or more of these desirable characteristics . fig1 contains a graph illustrating the relationship between the wavelength of a generating pulse and fiber dispersion for two different prior art supercontinuum - generating structures . the curve on the left is associated with using a ti : sapphire laser as the pulse generating device in conjunction with an air - silica microstructured ( or tapered ) fiber . the curve on the right is associated with using an erbium laser source in conjunction with a section of highly - nonlinear fiber ( hnlf ). numerical models show that the broadest continuum is generated when the wavelength of the laser light pulse is in the anomalous ( positive ) dispersion regime of the fiber . in particular , the pulse initially begins to self - raman split to longer wavelengths ; then , as higher - order solitons start to break up , parametric four - wave mixing causes frequencies to be generated at wavelengths shorter than the zero dispersion wavelength of the fiber , the combination resulting in the supercontinuum profile in the output power . comparing the two curves of fig1 , the curve associated with the hnlf is similar to that of the microstructured / tapered fiber , only shifted to longer wavelengths . indeed , recent experiments with hnlf have shown supercontinuum generation at wavelengths of from 1 . 1 μm to 2 . 1 μm in only a few centimeters of hnlf . in accordance with the teachings of the present invention , as will be discussed in detail hereinbelow , it has been found that continuum generation in hnlf can be enhanced ( for example , extended in bandwidth or improved in terms of spectral shaping ) by modifying the fiber characteristics after fabrication . for example , uv exposure , electromagnetic field treatment and thermal processes may all modify the dispersion characteristics of hnlf in a manner that results in enhancing its supercontinuum output . supercontinuum generation in optical fibers depends on an interplay between nonlinear optical interactions and the linear dispersion of the fiber itself . control of these dispersive properties has , to date , relied exclusively on the careful design and fabrication of an appropriate fiber waveguide , typically with very low dispersion , and a carefully - chosen zero dispersion wavelength value ( in order to maintain a narrow pulse shape and provide appropriate phase matching ). applications operating in the near - infrared regions ( approximately 800 nm to 1 micron ) typically use a high - δ microstructured fiber ( or tapered fiber ) in order to generate the desired supercontinuum ( as evident from the ti : sapphire graph of fig1 ). the use of hnlf in supercontinuum generation has been designed , as indicated by the plot of fig1 , to operate in the mid - infrared region ( around 1550 nm ). the prior art has demonstrated that octave - spanning supercontinua can be generated in fibers only a few centimeters in length . in accordance with the present invention , a section of hnlf is post - processed to be inscribed with at least one bragg grating ( using conventional grating - writing processes ) to modify the generated radiation by having a core - guided , forward propagating mode reflected back into a core - guided mode . bragg gratings ( also referred to as refractive index gratings ) have been used in association with optical waveguides for a number of years . a bragg grating is a structure that has a periodic pattern of alternating high and low optical refractive index values . conventionally , such gratings couple a forward - propagating core - guided mode at a predetermined wavelength in a single mode fiber ( defined by the grating period ) to the back - reflected core mode . supercontinuum radiation generated by a bragg grating / hnlf in accordance with the present invention results in the formation of an extended peak in the supercontinuum near the center wavelength of the grating , as well as enhanced light in a narrow band on the long wavelength side of the grating . fig2 illustrates an exemplary experimental arrangement used to observe the effects on generated supercontinuum for an hnlf that has been post - processed to include one or more bragg gratings in accordance with the present invention . in this example , a femtosecond erbium laser source 10 is coupled through an amplifier 12 and propagates along a section of single mode fiber 14 . a uv - exposed section 16 of hnlf including a bragg grating 18 is spliced to single mode fiber 14 , and the output is measured at an optical spectrum analyzer ( osa ) 20 . for one experiment , uv - exposed hnlf 16 comprised a 20 cm section of fiber that was loaded with deuterium to enhance its uv sensitivity . to create bragg grating 18 , the fiber was exposed to scanned , focused uv light at 242 nm from an excimer - pumped , frequency - doubled dye laser source through a phase mask having a period of 0 . 672 μm . the intensity of the beam was approximately 216 mj / cm 2 per pulse , with the dose at each point on the fiber being approximately 3 . 4 kj / cm 2 . the bragg grating was formed by a 22 mm uniform scan , with a reflectance at 990 nm . while bragg grating 18 is shown in this embodiment as formed within hnlf 16 , in an alternative embodiment a similar resonant structure may be formed at the termination of a section of hnlf , thus still providing the desired reflection back along the hnlf and supercontinuum generation in accordance with the present invention . fig3 contains a graph ( curve a ) of the supercontinuum generated from a uv exposed fiber in the arrangement of fig2 , prior to the inscription of a bragg grating in accordance with the present invention . curve b illustrates the difference in supercontinuum generation associated with the incorporation of a bragg grating in the uv - exposed hnlf structure . each curve has a similar average refractive index change ( with respect to a non - exposed hnlf fiber ) and thus exhibits a similar waveguide dispersion characteristic . in accordance with the present invention , the inclusion of a bragg grating structure in the hnlf results in generating a peak in supercontinuum radiation at the grating resonance ( in this case , at 990 nm ), with an additional large enhancement of the supercontinuum in the region on the long wavelength side of the grating resonance . the grating enhancement is illustrated as peak x on curve b , where peak x is shown as being approximately thirty times greater than the supercontinuum generated from a uv - exposed hnlf without a grating structure . fig4 contains simulation results for supercontinuum radiation generated in response to the resonant dispersion of a bragg grating , with fig4 ( a ) showing the resultant continuum for an hnlf with a 980 nm grating ( compared to a simulation result for an hnlf without a grating ). fig4 ( b ) is an expanded view in the region of the grating resonance . referring to fig4 ( b ), it is evident that a strong feature on the long wavelength side of the grating resonance is produced ( compare with prior art curve ) as a result of including a bragg grating in the structure . advantageously , well - known processing techniques can be used to form bragg gratings with any desired grating resonance ( for example , the period of the phase grating may be adjusted to change the grating resonance ). indeed , multiple bragg gratings may be “ written ” into the same section of fiber ( in this case hnlf ) so as to form multiple resonant wavelengths . bragg gratings with multiple resonances can also be fabricated by imposing a sampling function on a given grating structure . in particular , a sampling function ( usually a periodic function ) is a modulation of the basic grating index modulation and is usually longer in period than the basic grating modulation . the formation of a sampled grating structure results in forming many resonances that are spaced in wavelength by an amount that is inversely proportional to the sampling period . fig5 illustrates a graph of experimental results for supercontinua produced by bragg gratings with other center wavelengths , namely , 1080 nm and 1480 nm . as shown , the generated supercontinuum from such structures will experience an enhancement on the long wavelength side of each inscribed grating resonant wavelength . the possibility also exists , it should be noted , to generate enhancements on the short wavelength side of the resonance , or on both sides , for other grating and laser parameters . it is to be noted that spectrum of light being generated by the hnlf can be monitored as the grating is being inscribed into the fiber . in this way , the spectrum may be trimmed , shifted or shaped to an optimum value , with desired noise reduction figures , through incorporating a feedback mechanism into the grating writing process . moreover , various other well - known bragg grating “ features ” may be incorporated into a grating formed in hnlf . that is , an apodized grating , blazed grating , chirped , etc . may easily be formed and the modifications in the grating structure used to enhance various aspects of the generated supercontinuum generation . moreover , it is to be understood that various other highly - nonlinear waveguiding components , such as a microstructured fiber , may be processed to include the resonant features as discussed above . while the foregoing description represents a preferred embodiment of the present invention , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out by the following claims .	6
the present invention is generally related to embedded memory compilers and read - only memories ( roms ). when a rom is compiled , a rom data file may be prepared , the data may be read into the compiler and the memory programmed accordingly . typically , a storage capacity of the rom exceeds an amount of data to be programmed . therefore , an upper end of an address range within the rom may remain un - programmed by the data . as such , the rom data file may be padded with predetermined data to account for the entire capacity of the rom . the predetermined data is generally selected to draw minimal dynamic power when coupled to pre - charged bitlines ( e . g ., program logical high padded bits for logically high pre - charged bitlines ). at a compile time , the padded data may be seen in the data file . the present invention generally alters a layout and / or fabrication process of the control logic and / or bit cells associated with accessing the padded data to minimize static leakage current . for instance , if a rom layout has many ( e . g ., 128 ) rows and one or more upper rows ( e . g ., 8 rows ) are programmed with only padded data , a row driver module associated with each of the padded rows may be optimized for static leakage current . any increased delay through the optimized row driver modules may be irrelevant as the padded data should never be access , or at least rarely accessed . leakage current optimization may be achieved in a number of ways ranging from completely removing some or all of the devices , lengthening some or all of the gate channel lengths within the control logic and / or changing a substrate doping ( e . g ., a higher threshold implant ) over the region of the control logic associated with the padded data . an overestimation of an anticipated memory size early in a design cycle generally amplifies the static power consumption problem . for example , if a rom design is originally targeted to have 3072 words , but the final rom code uses only ⅓ of the words , a majority of the rom memory adds to a leakage current overhead without storing useful data . to minimize the leakage current , a flag may be passed at compile time for any memory type signifying a maximum address that may be accessed and / or a list of locations that should never be accessed . for example , if an 8192 × 16 dual port memory is compiled for a chip and a system level designer flags that the last 512 words should never be accessed , the memory compiler may act accordingly and replace the control logic modules used to access such locations with lower - leakage - current versions . referring to fig1 , a flow diagram of an example method 100 of creating a leakage optimized memory is shown in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the method ( or process ) 100 may be implemented in hardware and / or software executing on a computer system . the method 100 generally comprises a step ( or block ) 102 , a step ( or block ) 104 , a step ( or block ) 106 , a step ( or block ) 108 , a step ( or block ) 110 , a step ( or block ) 112 , a step ( or block ) 114 , a step ( or block ) 116 , a step ( or block ) 118 and a step ( or block ) 120 . in the step 102 , a register transfer level ( rtl ) design of a circuit having an embedded memory may be created in an initial design file . a preliminary layout of the circuit may be performed in the step 104 and stored in a preliminary layout file . during or after the preliminary layout of the circuit is performed , data to be stored in the memory may be generated in the step 106 and stored in a rom data file . the data may include instructions for one or more processors and / or information to be used within the circuit , such as programmable parameters , offsets , cryptography codes and the like . since the memory capacity is often established before the final programmed data is known , the memory is usually sized to meet a worst - case anticipated situation . after the final capacity of the memory is known , padded data may be included into the rom data file in the step 108 such that the size of data in the rom data file matches the memory capacity of the memory in the preliminary layout file . in the step 110 , the compiler may allocate the data ( both programmed and padded ) from the rom data file to the memory . in compiling the memory , many rows of bit cells within the memory may store the programmed data , some rows may store a mixture of programmed data and padded data , and one or more rows may store only padded data . rows containing only padded data may be flagged in the step 112 for further processing . the additional processing may involve ( i ) modifying a layout of the circuit and / or ( ii ) modifying one or more fabrication steps to be used in manufacturing the circuit . layout modifications may be performed in the step 114 . fabrication process modifications may be performed in the step 116 . after the adjustments to the layout / fabrication process have been made , a completed circuit definition may be generated and stored in a compiled file in the step 118 . the finished circuit , as defined in the compiled file , may be tested in the step 120 . testing may include , but is not limited to , design rule checking , layout vs . schematic check , timing analysis and the like . referring to fig2 , a detailed flow diagram of an example implementation of the layout modification step 114 is shown . the layout modification method ( or process ) 114 generally comprises a step ( or block ) 140 , a step ( or block ) 142 , a step ( or block ) 144 and a step ( or block ) 146 . the method 114 may be implemented in hardware and / or software executing on a computer system . layout modification may be accomplished in the step 140 by replacing one or more original modules in the unused rows of the memory ( e . g ., contain only padded data ) with substitute modules that have fewer components than the original modules . a lower gate count in the substitute modules compared with the original modules generally results in a lower leakage current . the gate count may be lowered by replacing one or more transistors and / or logic gates in the original modules with direct connections to a logical high voltage level and / or a logical low voltage level in the step 142 . by replacing active circuitry with direct connections to power rails , the leakage currents may be reduced even further . layout modifications may be accomplished by replacing one or more original modules in the unused rows of the memory with lower power versions of the original modules in the step 144 . the memory compilers generally build the memory module from tiling leaf cells . swapping in low leakage versions of the control logic and / or row drivers in the unused rows may be easily accomplished . since the lower power replacement modules generally have lower leakage currents than the original modules , the overall static power consumption of the memory may be reduced due to the swapping . another layout modification approach may involve lengthening a gate channel length of one or more transistors in one or more unused rows of the memory in the step 146 . per fig3 , the gate channel length is generally a distance ( e . g ., l ) between a source diffusion 150 and a drain diffusion 152 of the transistor . lengthening a gate channel length may reduce the leakage current of the transistor and therefore lower the static power consumed . referring to fig4 , a detailed flow diagram of an example implementation of the fabrication modification step 116 is shown . the fabrication modification method ( or process ) 116 generally comprises a step ( or block ) 160 , a step ( or block ) 162 , a step ( or block ) 164 and a step ( or block ) 166 . the method 116 may be implemented in hardware and / or software executing on a computer system . a fabrication modification may be accomplished in the step 160 by adjusting a doping level in particular areas of the substrate associated with the unused rows of the memory . the substrate doping adjustment may be adapted to increase a threshold voltage of the transistors formed in the adjusted areas of the substrate . increasing the transistor threshold voltages generally decreases the leakage current of such transistors , leading to a reduction in the overall power consumption of the memory . doping levels may be changed by one or more fabrication techniques , such as ion implantation , ion diffusion and the like . another fabrication modification may be accomplished by creating thicker gate oxides in one or more transistors in the unused rows of the memory per step 162 . per fig5 , the gate oxide thickness is generally a distance ( e . g ., t ) between a substrate 154 and a gate 156 . increasing the gate oxide thickness generally increases the transistor threshold voltage . as mentioned above , increasing the transistor threshold voltage generally decreases the static leakage current . the gate oxide thickness may be increased by one or more techniques , such as increasing a time and / or rate of oxide growth , depositing additional material over thin oxide layers , and the like . fabrication of the transistors in the unused rows of the memory may also be modified by adjusting the permittivity of the thin gate oxides 158 ( with or without increasing the gate oxide thickness t ). varying the permittivity may alter the transistor threshold voltage , and thus alter the static leakage current of the transistor . the permittivity may be adjusted by using different materials for the gate oxide 158 , altering the growth rate of the oxides 158 , altering the atmosphere in which the oxides 158 are grown and the like . the modifications to the fabrication process may result in ( i ) the introduction of one or more new fabrication steps , ( ii ) exposing the areas forming the unused rows of the memory to one or more fabrication steps that the areas would otherwise avoid and / or ( iii ) masking one or more fabrication steps from the unused row areas . to account for the changes in the fabrication , one or more new masking layers may be created and / or one or more existing masking layers may be modified . for example , a single new mask controlling a new ion implantation step may be created to adjust the transistor threshold voltages in the unused rows of the memory . if the ion implantation step is normally performed as part of the chip fabrication , an existing implant mask may be altered to expose the transistors in the unused rows to the ion implantation . referring to fig6 , a diagram of a first example application of an adjustment is shown . a memory 170 may be viewed as multiple columns of core cells ( or bit cells ) disposed around a central column of row driver modules . below each column of core cells , input / output ( i / o ) modules may be created to read / write the data from / to the cells . a control module may be formed below the row driver modules to control which particular row is accessed during a read cycle and a write cycle . after the rom data file has been generated , the padded data may be examined to identify the rows of the memory holding only padded data . a region ( or area ) 172 may be defined that covers all of the unused rows . within the region 172 , the fabrication process and / or layout may be adjusted to decrease the leakage current of some to all of the transistors in the unused core cells and in the unused row driver modules . when fabricated , the unused rows may remain functional . however , access times to the core cells in the region 172 may be slower than the access times to the rest of the core cells . in asynchronous designs incorporating a dummy “ self - timing ” column , the dummy bit cell used to establish the timing may be disposed within an unused row . to maintain proper timing of the dummy column , the region 172 may be modified to avoid the dummy column and the associated row driver module . referring to fig7 , a diagram of a second example application of an adjustment is shown . the leakage current consumed in the unused rows of the memory 170 may be reduced by adjusting the fabrication and / or layout of only the unused row driver modules ( e . g ., area 174 ). the fabrication and / or layout of the unused core cells may remain the same as the fabrication of the active core cells . as such , if the unused core cells are accessed , a response from the unused core cells may be similar to that of the used core cells . the techniques of the present invention may be used to customize the performance of rows in memory arrays holding programmed data . performance variations ( and leakage currents ) across the memory array rows may be used to shrink the data output hold parameter to match a data access time window in non - self - timed memories . for instance , in a memory implementing inverter sense modules , an access to low rows in the array may occur much faster than an access to upper row in the array . by applying the present invention to adjust the channel length and / or the threshold voltages , access to the lower rows may be slowed while access to the upper rows may remain as fast as possible . hence , in the inverter sensed architected memory , the data output hold time may be trimmed to closely match the data access time . the function performed by the flow diagrams of fig1 , 2 , 4 , 6 and 7 may be implemented using a conventional general purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachings of the present specification , as will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art ( s ). appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure , as will also be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art ( s ). the present invention may also be implemented by the preparation of asics , fpgas , or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits , as is described herein , modifications of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art ( s ). the present invention thus may also include a computer product which may be a storage medium including instructions which can be used to program a computer to perform a process in accordance with the present invention . the storage medium can include , but is not limited to , any type of disk including floppy disk , optical disk , cd - rom , magneto - optical disks , roms , rams , eproms , eeproms , flash memory , magnetic or optical cards , or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention .	6
although the disclosure hereof is detailed to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , the embodiments published herein merely exemplify the present invention . [ 0066 ] fig1 depicts a top view of accumulator or accumulation conveyer ( 20 ). as shown in this cutaway view , accumulator ( 20 ) discloses elements of zones ( 200 , 400 and 600 ), but those skilled in the art recognize that accumulation conveyor ( 20 ) can be , as represented in fig1 , engineered with a multitude of zones ( 200 , 400 , 600 , 800 , et cetera ) and their corresponding item carrying rollers ( 30 ). accumulators , within the scope of the present invention , can convey a plethora of items — ranging from such things as boxes , baggage and cartons to any vessel of sufficient size to travel over the item conveying rollers ( 30 ). in fig1 item carrying rollers ( 30 ) have been cutaway above zones ( 200 ) and ( 400 ) while item carrying rollers ( 30 ) are shown , in part , above zone ( 600 ). each zone ( 200 , 400 , 600 , et cetera ) of item carrying rollers ( 30 ) can be defined relative to its corresponding assembly embodiments of the present invention , pivoting tracking rollers may not incorporated into the rack . assembly ( 40 b ) is also provided with idler rollers ( 90 c ) and ( 90 d ). as depicted in zone ( 200 ), along with its pressure rollers ( 60 a ′, 60 b ′, 60 c ′ and 60 d ′), rack ( 50 a ) can include pivoting tracking roller ( 82 ) and idler rollers ( 90 a ′ and ( 90 b ′). upper portion ( 82 ) of pivoting tracking roller ( 82 ) extends above upper surface ( 66 ) of rack ( 50 a ). likewise the upper portions the rack &# 39 ; s ( 50 a ) pressure rollers ( 60 a ′, 60 b ′, 60 c ′ and 60 d ′) can also extend above the upper surface ( 66 ) of rack ( 50 a ) to engage the belt ( not shown ). [ 0069 ] fig2 is an exploded bottom view of assembly ( 40 a ) of zone ( 200 ) which does not show the narrow belt or the item carrying rollers ( 30 ). sidewalls ( 120 and 122 ) depend downward from upper surface or side ( 66 ) of rack ( 50 a ). upper side ( 66 ) has openings ( 68 a , 68 b , 68 c and 68 d ) fitted for pressure rollers ( 60 a ′, 60 b ′, 60 c ′ and 60 d ′). each pressure roller ( 60 a ′, 60 b ′, 60 c ′ and 60 d ′) turns about its corresponding axle ( 72 a , 72 b , 72 c and 72 d ). sidewalls ( 120 and 122 ) of rack ( 50 a ) are provided with apertures ( 74 ) for receiving axles ( 72 a , 72 b , 72 c and 72 d ). sidewall ( 120 ) has aperture ( 124 ) for receiving arm ( 110 a ) of non - pneumatic or electric actuator ( 100 a ) that is mounted to side rail ( 24 ) of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). due to such a configuration , in select embodiments , the combination of aperture ( 124 ) of sidewall ( 120 ) and arm ( 110 a ) can provide support for rack ( 50 a ). as shown in fig2 and 3 , holder ( 86 ) is designed to fit between sidewalls ( 120 and 122 ) of rack ( 50 a ) as well as to hold pivoting tracking roller ( 82 ). pin ( 83 ) and its corresponding counterpart ( not shown ) of holder ( 86 ) protrude though apertures of sidewalls ( 120 and 122 ) to secure holder ( 86 ) to rack ( 50 a ). rack ( 50 a ) includes opening ( 96 ) corresponding to an upper portion of pivoting tracking roller ( 82 ). bolt ( 88 ) attaches rotable bracket ( 92 ) journaling pivoting tracking roller ( 82 ) such that pivoting tracking roller &# 39 ; s ( 82 ) upper portion can pivot substantially in a plane of contact with the narrow belt ( not shown ) and relative to sideways movements of the belt as the belt traverses about pressure rollers ( 60 a ′, 60 b ′, 60 c ′ and 60 d ′) and pivoting tracking roller ( 82 ) of rack ( 50 a ). in other words , upper portion of pivoting tracking roller ( 82 ) pivots in a plane that is substantially horizontal relative to the underneath side of its corresponding item transporting rollers ( 30 ), i . e ., pivoting roller ( 82 ) can move relative to the sideways movement of the belt . as best shown in fig2 and 5 , zone ( 200 ), mounting brackets ( 130 and 132 ) are attached , in any manner acceptable in the art , to side rail ( 24 ) of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). shaft ( 140 a ) extends inward from mounting bracket ( 130 ) relative to side rail ( 24 ) of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ) and shaft ( 140 b ) extends inward from mounting bracket ( 132 ). at first end ( 152 ), movable linkage ( 150 a ) is attached to shaft ( 140 a ) and at second end ( 154 ), pin ( 156 ) hinges movable linkage ( 150 a ) to rack ( 50 a ). in a similar manner , first end ( 158 ) of movable linkage ( 150 b ) is attached to shaft ( 140 b ) and pin ( 155 ) hinges movable linkage ( 150 b ) to rack ( 50 a ). as disclosed , movable linkages ( 150 a and 150 b ) are four - bar linkages . however , those skilled in the art recognize other types of movable linkages or movable supports can also be utilized to maintain upper side ( 66 ) of rack ( 50 a ) in a substantially parallel spatial relationship to the underneath side ( 28 ) of the zone ( 200 ) of item transporting rollers . as shown , idler rollers ( 90 a ′) and ( 90 b ′) also extend inward from mounting brackets ( 130 and 132 ), but other idler roller configurations are can be utilized within the scope of the present invention . with a view toward fig4 zone ( 800 ) of item transporting rollers ( 30 ) is portrayed . assembly ( 40 d ) is attached to side rail ( 24 ) of frame ( 22 ) of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). similar to assembly ( 40 a ) enabled in fig1 and 3 , assembly ( 40 d ), among other elements , has rack ( 50 d ) journaling a plurality of pressure rollers and pivoting tracking roller , actuator ( 100 d ) and arm ( 110 d ). and as will be disclosed more fully below , other embodiments can include one or more flanged pressure rollers . as shown in fig4 the length of rack ( 50 d ) of assembly ( 40 d ) approximates the length of its corresponding zone &# 39 ; s ( 800 ) item transporting rollers ( 30 ). attached laterally of assembly ( 40 d ) is end idler roller ( 172 ). end idler roller ( 172 ) can by supported by side rail ( 24 ) in any manner acceptable in the art . in this view , mounting bracket ( 174 b ) and shaft ( 176 b ) hold end idler roller ( 172 ) in operational relationship with assembly ( 40 d ) of zone ( 800 ) of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). [ 0074 ] fig5 exhibits a belt ( 180 ) that can engage item transporting rollers ( 30 ) of zone ( 200 ). in the embodiment shown , the width of belt ( 180 ) approximates the length of pressure rollers ( 60 a ′, 60 b ′ and 60 c ′). end idler roller ( 170 ) and assembly ( 40 a ) are each mounted to side rail ( 24 ) of frame ( 22 ) of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). cross tie ( 32 ) joins side rails ( 24 ) and ( 26 ). and movable linkages ( 150 a and 150 b ) maintain upper surface ( 66 ) of rack ( 50 a ) in substantially parallel spatial relationship with underneath side ( 28 ) of item transporting rollers ( 30 ) of zone ( 200 ). depending upon activation or deactivation of actuator ( 40 a ), rack ( 50 a ) of assembly ( 40 a ) can be stationary , or moving upward toward , or downward from item transporting rollers ( 30 ). upon engagement of pivoting tracking roller ( 80 ) with the narrow belt ( 180 ), pivoting tracking roller ( 80 ) can pivot relative to the sideways movement of belt ( 180 ) as the belt travels about the assembly &# 39 ; s ( 40 ) pressure rollers . arm ( 110 a ) is received by rack ( 50 a ). as disclosed in fig5 non - pneumatic actuator ( 100 a ) is a direct current electric actuator . however , other types of non - pneumatic actuators , such as solenoids or alternating current electric actuators can be incorporated to the practice of the present invention . and fig6 b shows the deactivated offset shaft ( 310 ). activated offset shaft ( 310 ) and roller bearing ( 312 ) vertically lift the rack to engage the narrow belt . in the deactivated mode , the offset shaft ( 310 ) has vertically lowered the rack away from the underneath side of its corresponding zone of item carrying rollers . with a view toward fig6 and 7 , arm ( 330 ) of actuator ( 300 ) includes housing ( 302 ), offset shaft ( 310 ), roller bearing ( 312 ) and nut ( 314 ). thus , in select embodiments arm ( 330 ) can provide support as well lift for its corresponding rack . however those skilled in the art recognize that offset shaft ( 310 ) alone can function as the actuator &# 39 ; s movable support or arm . lines ( 320 ) supply power to actuator ( 300 ) and connections ( 322 ) are for lines ( not shown ) running to the actuator &# 39 ; s sensor . with a view toward fig8 back ( 306 ) is exploded away from housing ( 302 ) of actuator ( 300 ) to reveal electrical motor ( 350 ) and controller ( 360 ). lines ( 320 ) supply power to stepped electrical motor ( 350 ). in this specific embodiment , stepped electrical motor ( 350 ) can generate a 180 degree rotation of offset shaft ( 310 ) of arm ( 330 ). as shown , controller ( 360 ) is a microprocessor that has been positioned inside housing ( 302 ) of actuator ( 300 ), but it is contemplated other types of controllers as well as their locations in relation to actuator ( 300 ) are within the scope of the present invention . [ 0078 ] fig9 is a close up of a type of pressure roller within the scope of the present invention . pressure roller ( 370 ) has a flanged edge ( 372 ) at its first lengthwise edge and flanged edge ( 374 ) at its opposite lengthwise edge . axle ( 376 ) runs the length of pressure roller and is sized for journaling pressure roller ( 370 ) in a rack such as one of those previously disclosed and enabled above . in select embodiments , one or more flanged pressure rollers can be incorporated into any rack to center the belt &# 39 ; s sideways movements . in other embodiments and as previously enabled , a pivoting tracking roller can be utilized to center the narrow belt . in still other embodiments , a combination of pivoting tracking rollers and flanged pressure rollers can be utilized to center the belt . among other things , along with providing non - pneumatic actuation of the accumulation conveyor &# 39 ; s assemblies and the subsequent elimination of the prior art &# 39 ; s pneumatic compressors , lines , bladders , tubing , et cetera , the practice of the present invention can meet the long felt but unfulfilled need of providing multiple means and / or combinations of structures to center the belt about the accumulation conveyor &# 39 ; s assemblies . as portrayed in fig1 , for zones ( 200 ), ( 400 ), ( 600 ) and ( 800 ), among other elements , each zone includes its corresponding assembly ( 40 a ), ( 40 b ), ( 40 c ) and ( 40 d ), as well as the zone &# 39 ; s sensor ( 190 a ), ( 190 b ), ( 190 c ) and ( 190 d ) for detecting the presence of items in each respective zone ( 200 ), ( 400 ), ( 600 ) and ( 800 ). any type of sensor , such as photoelectric or pressure , is within the scope of the present invention . and as previously set forth , the number of zones for accumulation conveyors in accordance with the present invention are limited only by space and engineering parameters . depending upon a predetermined paradigm , detection of an item or items in any zone can actuate its corresponding zone &# 39 ; s assembly to cause the narrow belt to engage the underneath side of the zone &# 39 ; s corresponding item transporting rollers . as previously enabled , logic can be incorporated on or about the actuators ( 100 a ), ( 100 b ), ( 100 c ) and ( 100 d ) of each zone ( 200 ), ( 400 ), ( 600 ) and ( 800 ) of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). in one embodiment of the present invention , whenever possible , each actuator is linked ( not shown ) by any means convenient in the art with its immediate upstream and downstream actuator . by way of illustration , actuator ( 40 a ) is linked with actuator ( 40 b ); actuator ( 40 b ) is linked with actuators ( 40 a ) and ( 40 c ); actuator ( 40 c ) is linked with actuators ( 40 b ) and ( 40 c ), so forth and so on . in another embodiment , all actuators of the assemblies of accumulator can be linked to a logic circuit ( not shown ) so that each microprocessor can communicate with every other microprocessor of accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). under such a linked actuator concept , the logic circuit and the resultant activation or deactivation of the accumulator &# 39 ; s actuators can be controlled by a central processing unit . [ 0081 ] fig1 is a pictorial top view a type of a type of drive pulley unit ( 500 ) utilized to practice of the present invention . narrow belt ( 180 ) shown in phantom is driven by drive pulley ( 510 ) about accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). drive pulley ( 510 ) extends outward from gearbox ( 512 ) that is powered by electric motor ( 514 ). snub rollers ( 522 ), ( 524 ) and ( 526 ) are aligned with drive pulley ( 510 ) for engaging narrow belt ( 180 ) as the belt winds about accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). drive pulley ( 510 ), gearbox ( 512 ), electric motor ( 514 ) and snub rollers ( 522 ), ( 524 ) and ( 526 ) are attached to drive pulley unit ( 500 ) in any manner acceptable in the art . takeup pulley ( 530 ) is mounted to slide ( 532 ) which can slide along guide ( 540 ). members ( 542 ) and ( 544 ) form guide ( 540 ). as shown member ( 542 ) includes channel ( 548 ) for guiding slide ( 532 ) while member ( 544 ) also includes a channel ( not shown ) for guiding slide ( 532 ). cable ( 550 ) is connected to slide ( 532 ) via connector ( 534 ) and wound about pulleys ( 552 ) and ( 554 ); thereafter , cable ( 550 ) is connected to spring motor ( 560 ) via connector ( 556 ). as portrayed in fig1 , spring motor ( 560 ) is a constant force spring takeup . [ 0082 ] fig1 is a top view representation of a constant force spring takeup spring motor ( 560 ). housing ( 562 ) is cutaway to reveal storage drum ( 564 ) and takeup drum ( 566 ). spring ( 568 ) is wound about storage drum ( 564 ) and takeup drum ( 566 ). [ 0083 ] fig1 is a side view of spring motor ( 560 ) with housing ( 562 ) cutaway . in this specific embodiment , spring motor ( 560 ) includes constant force springs ( 568 a and 568 b ), but depending upon engineering parameters , spring ( 560 ) can comprise one , two , three or more constant force springs . takeup drum ( 566 ) and storage drum ( 564 ) are mounted inside housing ( 562 ) in any manner acceptable in the art . winding ( 570 ) of output drun ( 566 ) extends through aperture ( 572 ) of housing ( 562 ) to connect with cable ( 550 ). in operation , the combination of spring ( 560 ), cable ( 550 ), takeup pulley ( 530 ), slide ( 532 ), guide ( 540 ), etc . applies a constant force takeup to belt ( 180 ) as the belt winds about accumulation conveyor ( 20 ). steps associated with the practice of the methods of present invention utilizing select structural elements enabled above are set forth in fig1 - 19 . having disclosed the invention as required by title 35 of the united states code , applicants now pray respectfully that letters patent be granted for their invention in accordance with the scope of the claims appended hereto .	1
by way of example , the present invention is illustrated in terms of a method and apparatus used in a self - checkout system in a retail store . the example application described herein is only one example application of the present invention and is provided for the purpose of better explaining the present invention . the present invention may be applied to any number of other data collection systems having a number of potential users employing a portable data collection terminal to update a centralized data file . thus , the present invention should not be limited to the specific example described herein . as illustrated in fig1 a customer is provided with a customer loyalty card 10 having encoded customer data stored thereon . corresponding customer information is also placed in a customer data file on a central storage system for the self - checkout system . once a customer loyalty card 10 has been issued and a corresponding customer data file is established on the central storage system , the customer may then use the system to perform self - checkout of merchandise distributed in a facility employing the self - checkout system . to use the system , a customer proceeds to an entrance unit 20 and inserts their customer card 10 into slot 22 . a card reader on the entrance unit 20 reads the information stored on the card and checks with the central storage system to confirm that a corresponding customer data file exists and that the customer is authorized to use the system . once system approval is obtained , a display unit 24 on the entrance unit 20 instructs the user to proceed to a designated area of a dispenser unit 30 to retrieve a designated data collection unit such as a bar code reader with integrated terminal features 40 . although not shown , the system could also be provided with a entry gate which is activated to permit the customer through upon the assignment of the bar code reader 40 and blinking lights 33 on the side of the dispenser and above the dispenser to direct the customer to the proper location . these systems are especially necessary in large stores having a high number of dispenser units . the bar code reader 40 is provided with a flashing light 42 to assist the customer in retrieving it after it has been assigned to the customer . the flashing light 42 is activated by the central processor ( shown in fig2 ) after it has been assigned to the customer and the assignment is recorded in the customer &# 39 ; s data file . in an alternative embodiment , the bar code reader is further provided with an audible signal generator to assist the user in finding it in the terminal dispenser and a visual display for displaying either the customer &# 39 ; s name or some other form of customer identifiable code . the bar code reader 40 is stored in one of a plurality of reader slots 34 in the dispenser unit 30 . each of the slots is physically and electronically marked and may be provided with locking means for locking the bar code reader 40 in place until the bar code reader is assigned for use to a customer . the physical marking is used to direct the customer to the proper location on the dispenser , i . e ., location &# 34 ; a9 ,&# 34 ; and the electronic marking is provide as a means for identifying the location of the bar code reader by the central processor . the electronic means may comprise a bar code located on the terminal dispenser 30 such that when the bar code reader 40 is locked in place , the bar code can be read by the bar code reader 40 and communicated to the central processor . once the bar code reader 40 is assigned to a customer , the locking means is disengaged . in the event the bar code reader is not removed from the slot 34 after a predetermined time period , it is again locked and the customer data file for the customer to whom it was assigned is updated to reflect that the customer did not take possession of the reader within the allotted time period . prior to issuance to a customer , the bar code reader 40 could also be required to scan the bar code located on the terminal dispenser as a self - diagnostic tool . in a preferred embodiment , the bar code is sufficiently degraded to test the outer boundaries of the bar code readers capabilities . thus , if the bar code reader is unable to read the bar code and communicate the bar code symbol top the central processor , it will not be assigned . the central processor will notify the supervising attendant that the terminal is not functioning properly . once a customer has been issued a bar code reader 40 , the customer proceeds through the retail facility and uses the bar code reader 40 to record purchases . preferably each item is either coded with a code which is recognizable to the bar code reader , or in the case of produce which is sold by weight , is provided with a machine for generating an adhesive bar coded ticket after the produce is weighed . upon scanning of the code on a selected merchandise item 60 , a display 44 on the bar code reader 40 displays product information such as price , product name , quantity and nutritional information . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the bar code reader 40 is provided with a processing means for recording all items selected by the customer . alternately , the bar code reader 40 acts as a dumb terminal with radio frequency communication means . in such case , all information is stored in a central location and the bar code reader 40 simply communicates data to the central location . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the reader permits a customer to add a product to their record through the selection of an &# 34 ; add &# 34 ; key 46 , return a scanned product previously selected by selecting a &# 34 ; minus &# 34 ; key 47 or simply to perform a price check or other information check by pressing an &# 34 ; equals &# 34 ; key 48 . in a preferred embodiment , the &# 34 ; equals &# 34 ; key 48 may also be used to provide the customer with a running total of the products selected . once the customer has completed their product selection , the customer returns the bar code reader 40 to the dispenser unit 30 where it is placed in an open slot 34 . upon return of the bar code reader 40 , information collected with the bar code reader 40 is downloaded to a central processing unit and a ticket for the items is issued to the customer from a printer 32 which is located near or on the dispenser . communication between the bar code reader 40 and the central processing unit is completed through a communication network which may consist of either a wired communication bus which coupled through a port on the bar code reader 40 when it is placed in the dispenser unit 30 , or through an rf network which is active when the bar code reader 40 is placed in the terminal dispenser 30 . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , rather than issuing a ticket at the terminal dispenser location , a card reader and data entry device are provided at the cash register the customer may then enter their customer card and pin number at the cash register location . prior to updating any customer data files , the customer is requested to insert the customer loyalty card 10 and / or enter a pin code to ensure that the customer is in fact the same person who initially retrieved the scanner . this is especially important in the event the system provides for electronic fund transfers for payment and information for such transfers are stored wholly or partially in a customer data file . once the central processing system has successfully retrieved the customer information from the bar code reader 40 , the customer then proceeds to a checkout register 50 for payment of the products selected . in the event a debit operation was made at the dispenser unit 30 , confirmation of payment . the checkout system may be an automated system or a manually operated system . the ticket is either scanned or otherwise read at the checkout 50 and the customer is asked to pay for the goods selected if payment has not been previously made . recognizing that some goods may not be scanned due to coding damage or other issues , a customer may proceed to a manned checkout station for the addition of items to their receipt . at such point , additional payment made need to be made using traditional payment schemes , or if the central processing unit is being used to provide a debit function , customer card and pin code information may need to be entered at the checkout facility . after all items are selected and the transaction is complete , the customers data file is updated in the central processing unit to reflect the customer &# 39 ; s shopping activities . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , the customer loyalty card is also used to selectively activate and deactivate the portable bar code reader by scanning the customer loyalty card with the bar code reader . thus , in the event the customer wishes to maintain the bar code reader but does not wish to have it activated , they simply scan their customer loyalty card . this deactivates the bar code reader from updating a session data record of items selected for purchase by the customer which is being generated with the bar code reader . when the customer wishes to reactivate the bar code reader , the customer simply re - scans their customer loyalty card . this function is useful in situations were the customer may not wish to maintain constant supervision over the scanner . for instance , in the event a customer with children wishes to stop at the store cafeteria or try on some clothes in a dressing room , the customer can deactivate the bar code reader in order to prevent the children from accidentally scanning or deleting items into the session data record . turning to fig2 the data processing functions of the system are controlled by a central processing system 100 . this central processing system could be either a single high capacity computer , or a distributed network of computers . the system is coupled to the entrance unit 20 , the dispenser unit 30 and may also be coupled through an rf network to each of the bar code readers 40 which are dispensed through the dispenser unit 30 . alternatively , the dispenser unit 30 is provided with a communication bus for communicating data from the bar code reader 40 the central processing system 100 once the bar code reader 40 is placed in the dispenser unit 30 . the central processing system 100 includes memory having a data file 150 , ( fig3 and 4 ) for each of the customers authorized to use the system . after the entrance unit 20 reads the information on a customer card 10 , the entrance unit 20 communicates the data retrieved from the customer card to the central processing system 100 . the central processing system searches for and confirms that the data on the customer card 10 corresponds to a person authorized to use the self - checkout system and that no blocking information is present which would prevent the user form using the system . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the central processor system maintains a data file 170 , fig3 and 4 for each customer . in a preferred embodiment , the data file 170 includes the following data fields : customer name 171 , address 172 , account information 173 ( such as amounts due ), purchase histories 174 ( last five shopping sessions ) and an account clear field 175 . the account clear field 175 is used to indicate that ( i ) the customer has not previously performed an illegal function such as ( ii ) not returning a bar code reader 40 , ( iii ) generated excessive account debits , or ( iv ) has deceased . the entry of the customer card in the entrance unit 20 results in the communication of the data stored in the customer card to the central processing unit . once the central processing system 100 determines that the customer card entered into the entrance unit 20 belongs to an authorized customer and that the corresponding customer is cleared to use the system , the central processor assigns a bar code reader 40 to the customer , communicates the assignment to the entrance unit 20 where it is displayed and to the bar code reader 40 in the dispenser unit 30 . upon receiving the assignment signal , the designation light 42 on the bar code reader is activated and the locking mechanism in the dispenser unit for the designated bar code reader 40 is disengaged . in addition , the account clear field 175 is changed to reflect that a bar code reader 40 has been issued and not returned . the central processor system 100 updates the customer data file 170 to reflect the time , date and the bar code reader 40 designation for this session . in the event the bar code reader 40 is a batch type system , all customer selections with the bar code reader 40 are stored locally in the memory of the bar code reader 40 . alternatively , the system 100 and the bar code reader 40 may be provided with a wireless communication network such as an rf communication network . if such a system is used , all central processing customer transactions may be stored remotely on a system controlled by the central processor system 100 . once the customer has completed the session and returns the bar code reader 40 to the dispenser unit 30 , the customer is prompted to enter the customer loyalty card 10 which was used to retrieve the bar code reader 40 upon entry and enter an additional credit card , authorization code and / or signature on a signature pad if the transaction requires a debit or eft transaction . once this data is received , the customer data file 170 is updated to reflect changes in the purchase history field 173 and account information field 173 . if the bar code reader 40 is returned to the dispenser and the transaction is completed without incident , i . e ., the payment is received , the account clear field 175 is then cleared permitting the user to permit subsequent use of the system . alternatively , all customer account credit and payment information is stored on a secure server and encoded . the encoding mechanism may be a forty bit key or higher depending on the amount of security required for the system and whether the information will be made available over a public network . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , the locking mechanism of the dispenser 30 is used to engage the bar code reader 40 once it is returned into slot 34 for final processing . if the bar code reader 40 was returned by someone who stole or simply took some other customer &# 39 ; s bar code reader by mistake , the bar code reader 40 is kept in the system until it is released by the authorized person or a customer service employee . in a preferred embodiment , the service desk facility 200 performs three basic functions : ( 1 ) customer management ; ( 2 ) scanner management ; and ( 3 ) report processing . each of these functions is described below : the service desk facility 200 includes a customer service console 210 . the console 210 may comprise a pc having a display terminal , keyboard , data processing unit and a communication bus coupled to the central processing system 100 through either a local or wide area network . the customer service console 210 is used to enter customer information such as new customer information . the entry of such information will generate a customer data file for the new customer and designate a customer loyalty card to the new customer . customer data may be stored on the customer loyalty card using a card writer 230 . in the event a customer has a complaint regarding the record maintained by the bar code reader 40 or is for some reason locked out of the system or if some other hardware problem is presenting itself on the system , the service desk console 210 may also be used to retrieve the relevant customer data file from the central processing system 100 and information from the bar code reader 40 issued to the customer . in order to read the bar code reader 40 , the system console may be provided with a separate bar code receiver for communicating with the bar code reader 40 . the customer service attendant may then clear , correct or otherwise tend to any system malfunction or customer questions using the retrieved data . in order to assist the customer , the service facility 200 is provided with a card reader 220 and , if required , a numeric keypad on the console 210 to receive a security pin code . this will confirm that the customer seeking assistance is in fact an authorized customer . in the absence of such security measures , a person who finds a customer card could easily use the system to purchase items on an authorized customer &# 39 ; s account . the service facility also functions to control the activity of the dispenser unit 30 . the console 210 is connected to the central processing system 100 and may override the locking function of the dispenser so as to lock everyone out after a certain time , i . e ., 10 minutes before closing , and to reopen the system in the morning . in addition , the service console 210 may be used to maintain surveillance over bar code readers 40 which have been issued , returned without receipt of an authorization code and not retrieved after the system has designated a bar code reader for use by a customer , thus providing a mechanism for identifying customer misuse or errors in using the system . in the event a customer should lose a printed receipt or receive an illegible copy ( or require a copy from a prior shopping session ), a customer receipt printer 250 is also provided . in the event a line forms at the entry unit 20 , the service facility can also function as a supplemental entrance unit . the service facility is provided with a card reader 220 and a keypad on the console 210 for entry of a pin code . the customer service facility 200 may also be used to generate reports such as daily , weekly and annual sales report . these reports may be printed on a report printer 240 at predetermined times ( i . e ., every monday at 6 : 00 a . m .) or at the entry of a request on the console 210 . as shown in fig2 the self - checkout system of the present invention may be coupled directly to an existing point of sale ( pos ) system 500 which is connected to and supervises activities on existing checkout registers 50 . the existing pos system 500 could be used to maintain inventory histories , update product information and other system functions . the system requirements for the central processing system 100 are therefore diminished and the necessary system requirements are reduced . this effectively reduces the cost of implementing the self - checkout system in a retail facility having an existing system . in an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention , in the event the existing pos system 500 has sufficient system resources available , the functions of the central processing system 100 are incorporated into the pos system 500 . based on the above disclosure , it would be obvious to those skilled in the art to make numerous modifications to the herein described embodiments without straying from the present invention . for instance , various modifications could be made to the customer data files to record various forms of additional customer information . in addition , various system components could be integrated to provide the same overall functions , i . e ., attaching the entrance unit 20 to the dispenser unit 30 . moreover , although certain embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of an rf network system , it would be understood by those skilled in the art that equivalent systems could be implemented using various wireless communication systems .	6
fig1 a and 1b show the circuit construction of an electronic timepiece with alarm function . an oscillator 1 generates a reference clock signal which is coupled to and frequency divided by a frequency divider 2 to obtain a signal having a period of one second . this one second signal is supplied to a time counting circuit 3 and counted therein . the time counting circuit 3 provides time count data such as hour , minute and second data on the basis of the one second signal mentioned above . the time count data is fed through a display control section 4 to a display section 5 for analog or digital display . this data is also fed to first and second alarm circuits 6 and 7 in which desired alarm time data are preset . the first and second alarm circuits 6 and 7 include respective coincidence circuits ( not shown ) which generate an alarm signal al 1 or al 2 as a single pulse signal when they detect the coincidence of the aforementioned time count data and preset alarm time data . the preset alarm time data in the first and second alarm circuits 6 and 7 are provided through the display control section 4 to the display section 5 for analog or digital display . a switch s 1 is a display mode selection switch , and a signal generated when it is operated is coupled to a scale of 3 mode counter 8 , which changes its content to &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, . . . every time the switch operation signal from the switch s 1 is coupled and provides signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, . . . corresponding to its prevailing content as a display mode signal to the display control section 4 . when the content of the mode counter 8 is set to &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, an ordinary time display mode in which the display control section 4 couples the time count data from the time counting circuit 3 to the display section 5 for display therein is selected . when the mode counter circuit is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, a first alarm time display mode in which the alarm time data in the first alarm circuit 6 is coupled through the display control section 4 to the display section 5 for display is selected . when the mode counter content is set to &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, a second alarm time display mode in which the alarm time data in the second alarm circuit 7 is coupled through the display control section 4 to the display section 5 for display is selected . the signals &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; of the mode counter 8 are coupled as an enable signal through an or gate 9 to an and gate 10 . thus , when a recording switch s 2 is operated in the first or second alarm time display mode , the key operation signal from the switch s 2 is coupled through the and gate 10 to a delay circuit 11 . the delay circuit 11 delays the switch operation signal from the recording switch s 2 for a predetermined period of time . the signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the mode counter 8 is also coupled to and gates 12 and 13 , and the output signal from the delay circuit 11 is coupled directly to the and gate 12 and also coupled through an inverter 14 to the and gate 13 . the output of the delay circuit 11 is further coupled to a delay circuit 15 . the delay circuit 15 delays the output signal of the delay circuit 11 , and its output signal is coupled through an inverter 16 to the and gate 12 and is also coupled directly to the and gate 13 . thus , when the switch s 2 is operated while the mode counter 8 is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, an output of one - shot is provided from the and gate 12 from the rising of the output signal of the delay circuit 11 till the falling of the output signal of the inverter 16 ( i . e ., the rising of the output signal of the delay circuit 15 ). also , since the output signals of one - shot of the delay circuits 15 and 11 are coupled to the and gate 13 , when the switch s 2 is brought from the operated state to the non - operated state an output is provided from the and gate 13 from the rising of the output signal of the inverter ( i . e ., the falling of the output signal of the delay circuit 11 ) till the falling of the output signal of the delay circuit 15 . the output signals of the delay circuits 11 and 15 are also coupled to an and gate 17 , so that an output signal is obtained from the and gate 17 while both the delay circuits 15 and 11 are providing their outputs . when the content of the mode counter 8 is &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, i . e ., in the second alarm time display mode , the signal &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; of the mode counter 8 is coupled to and gates 18 and 19 . to the and gate 18 , like the and gate 12 , the output signal from the delay circuit 11 and the output signal from the delay circuit 15 through the inverter 16 are coupled , so that when the switch s 2 is operated in the second alarm display mode , a single pulse signal is provided from the and gate 18 . to the and gate 19 , like the and gate 13 , the output signal from the delay circuit 11 through the inverter 14 and the output signal from the delay circuit 15 are coupled , so that when the switch s 2 is brought from the operated state to the non - operated state a pulse signal is provided from the and gate 19 . the signal provided from the and gate 12 is coupled through the or gate 20 to an address section 21 including an address counter ( not shown ) to reset the content thereof . the address section 21 is rendered operative when the output signal of the and gate 17 is coupled as an operation command signal through an or gate 22 , and the content of the address counter is incremented by &# 34 ;+ 1 &# 34 ; as each clock pulse signal at a predetermined frequency is provided from the frequency divider 2 while the and gate 17 is providing the output signal . the content of the address section 21 is coupled as address designation data to a ram 23 . thus , the specified address of the ram 23 is progressively shifted every time the content of the address section 21 is changed by &# 34 ;+ 1 &# 34 ;. the content of the address section 21 is preset in an address memory 25 through an and gate 24 . the address data preset in the address memory 25 is preset in the address section 21 again through an and gate 27 , to which the output signal from the and gate 18 is coupled as an enable signal . the output signal from the and gate 19 is coupled as reset signal through the or gate 20 to the address section 21 . the alarm signal al 1 provided from the first alarm circuit 6 mentioned above is coupled through the or gate 20 to the address section 21 to reset the content thereof , and it is also coupled to the set side input terminal s of an rs flip - flop 30 and further through an or gate 28 to the set side input terminal of an rs flip - flop 29 . the set signal of the flip - flop 29 is coupled as an operation command signal through the or gate 22 to the address section 21 . the set signal of the flip - flop 30 is coupled as an operation command signal to a coincidence circuit 31 , to which the address data from the address section 21 and the address data preset in the address memory 25 are coupled . when the coincidence circuit 31 detects the coincidence of the address data in the address section 21 and the address data in the address memory 25 , it generates a single pulse as a coincidence signal which is coupled through an or gate 32 to the reset input terminals r of the flip - flops 29 and 30 to reset these flip - flops . the alarm signal al 2 provided from the second alarm circuit 7 is coupled to the or gate 28 and also coupled as an enable signal through an or gate 26 to an and gate 27 . a carry signal c provided from the address counter of the address section 21 is coupled through an or gate 32 to the reset input terminals r of the flip - flops 29 and 30 . designated at 33 is a microphone provided in the timepiece . a voice signal provided from the microphone 33 is coupled to an a / d ( analog / digital ) converter 34 . the a / d converter 34 converts the voice signal from the microphone into a digital voice signal which is coupled to an encoder 35 . the encoder 35 encodes the digital voice signal into data representing the interval , volume , etc ., and this voice code is coupled to the ram 23 . the a / d converter 34 and encoder 35 are rendered operative when the recording signal from the and gate 17 is coupled as an operation command signal to them . the ram 23 receives the recording signal from the and gate 17 at its read / write input terminal w / r , and it is given a write designation when the recording signal is at a binary logic level &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and a read designation when the signal is at a level &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. the write or read out operation of the ram 23 is done in synchronism to the clock signal ( not shown ) provided from the frequency divider 2 and with respect to a memory region , whose address is specified by the address section 21 . the voice code written in the ram 23 is read out to a decoder 36 . the operation in the decoder 36 is converse to that in the encoder 35 , and the decoded signal output is coupled to an alarm signal synthesizing circuit 37 . the alarm signal synthesizing circuit 37 synthesizes a voice signal from the decoded signal output of the decoder 36 , and the voice signal thus obtained is coupled to a loudspeaker 38 for producing alarm sound . the decoder 36 and alarm signal synthesizing circuit 37 are rendered operative when the set signal of the flip - flop 29 is coupled as an operation command signal to them . now , the operation of the electronic timepiece having alarm function having the above construction will be described . when the content of the mode counter 8 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the time count data obtained in the time count circuit 3 is fed through the display control circuit 4 to the display section 5 for display as ordinary time data . when the mode selection switch s 1 is operated in the ordinary time data display mode , its content is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, so that the signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is provided from the mode counter 8 and coupled to the display control circuit 4 . thus , the alarm time data preset in the first alarm circuit 6 is coupled through the display control circuit 4 to the display section 5 for display . now , the case of recording an alarm voice ( for instance &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ;) corresponding to the alarm time ( for instance &# 34 ; 10 : 30 a . m .&# 34 ;) preset in the first alarm circuit 6 in the first alarm time display mode will be described . when the recording switch s 2 is operated in the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; state of the mode counter 8 , its operation signal is coupled through the and gate 10 , which has been enabled by the signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the mode counter 8 , to the delay circuit 11 , so that the delay circuit 11 provides the output signal after a predetermined delay time . the output signal of the delay circuit 11 is coupled to the delay circuit 15 , which provides a delayed output signal after a predetermined delay time . thus , the single pulse signal is provided from the and gate 12 to clear the address counter in the address section 21 . while the recording switch s 2 is being operated , during which time the output signals of the delay circuits 11 and 15 are coupled to the and gate 17 , the and gate 17 provides the output signal while the delay circuits 11 and 15 are providing the output signals . with the appearance of the output signal from the and gate 17 , the a / d converter 33 and encoder 34 are rendered operative , while the ram 23 is given a write designation . further , the address section 21 is rendered operative to cause counting operation of the address counter which has been cleared as mentioned earlier . in this state , by pronouncing the alarm voice (&# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ;) which is the content to be executed at the alarm time preset in the first alarm circuit 6 , to the microphone 32 , the microphone 32 produces a voice signal which is converted through the a / d converter 34 into the digital voice signal , which is in turn encoded through the encoder 35 before being coupled to the ram 23 . the voice code coupled to the ram 23 is written therein in the memory region thereof , whose address is specified by the address data from the address section 21 . since the content of the address counter in the address section 21 is cleared prior to the recording operation by the output signal from the and gate 12 , at the time of the start of the recording operation the first address of the ram 23 is first specified , and then the specified address of the ram 23 is progressively shifted every time the content of the address counter in the address section 12 is incremented by &# 34 ;+ 1 &# 34 ;, whereby the voice codes representing the voice &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ; are written in the memory region of the specified addresses . when the pronounciation of the sound &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ; is ended , the recording switch s 2 is released , whereupon a single pulse signal is provided from the and gate 13 . by this pulse signal the and gate 24 is enabled , whereby the content of the address section 21 , i . e ., the address data therein at the time of the releasing of the switch s 2 , is coupled through the and gate 24 to the address memory 25 and registered therein . when the mode selection switch s 1 is subsequently operated to set the content of the mode counter 8 to &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, the signal &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; is provided therefrom and coupled to the display control section 4 . thus , the display mode is switched over to the second alarm time display mode , and the alarm time data preset in the second alarm circuit 7 is coupled through the display control section 4 to the display section 5 . if an alarm voice ( for instance &# 34 ; a telephone call for mr . a &# 34 ;) corresponding to the alarm time ( for instance &# 34 ; 3 : 30 p . m .&# 34 ;) preset in the second alarm circuit 7 is to be recorded in the second alarm time display mode , the recording switch s 2 is operated again . the switch operation signal thus provided from the switch s 2 is coupled through the and gate 10 , which has been enabled by the signal &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; of the mode counter 8 , to the delay circuit 11 , and the delay circuit 11 provides the output signal after a predetermined delay time . the output signal of the delay circuit 11 is coupled to the delay circuit 15 . thus , the aforementioned case with the and gate 12 , the and gate 18 provides a single pulse signal , which is coupled as an enable signal through the or gate 26 to the and gate 27 , whereby the address data set in the address memory 25 is coupled through the and gate 27 to the address section 21 and preset therein . the address data that is set in the address section 21 this time is what has been in the address counter in the address section 21 at the time of the end of the recording of the alarm voice (&# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ;) corresponding to the alarm time (&# 34 ; 10 : 30 a . m .&# 34 ;) set in the first alarm circuit 6 . since this address data is coupled to the ram 23 , the ram 23 is given address designation at this time from the address next to the memory region in which the voice codes for the alarm voice &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ; are recorded . with the appearance of the recording signal from the and gate 17 , the ram 23 , a / d converter 34 , encoder 35 and address section 21 are set to the recording enable state as described previously . by pronouncing &# 34 ; a telephone call for mr . a &# 34 ; to the microphone 32 in this state , the voice codes regarding the voice &# 34 ; a telephone call for mr . a &# 34 ; are recorded in the ram 23 in a memory region thereof next to the region in which the voice codes for &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ; are recorded . when the recording is ended , the recording switch s 2 is released , whereupon a single pulse is provided from the and gate 19 and coupled through the or gate 20 to the address section 21 to clear the content thereof . when the alarm time (&# 34 ; 10 : 30 a . m .&# 34 ;) set in the first alarm circuit 6 is reached , the alarm signal al 1 as a single pulse is provided from the first alarm circuit 6 , and it is coupled through the or gate 20 to the address section 21 to clear the content thereof . while the content of the address section 21 is cleared when the recording of the voice corresponding to the alarm time set in the second alarm circuit 7 is ended as mentioned previously , in case if the recording of the voice corresponding to the alarm time of the second alarm circuit 7 is not made , the last address data at the time of the recording of the voice corresponding to the alarm time of the first alarm circuit 6 remains memorized in the address section 21 . with the appearance of the alarm signal al 1 the content of the address section 21 is thus cleared for specifying the first address in the ram 23 . the alarm signal al 1 is also coupled through the or gate 28 to the flip - flop 29 to set this flip - flop . thus , the flip - flop 29 provides the set signal which is coupled through the or gate 22 to the address section 21 , whereby the content of the address counter in the address section 21 is progressively incremented by &# 34 ;+ 1 &# 34 ; after another . since the output of the and gate 17 is at the binary logic level &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the ram 23 is given the read designation , while the address section 21 is given address progressive designation from the first address , whereby the voice codes regarding the voice &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ; are progressively read out from the memory region in which they are recorded . as these voice codes are read out , they are successively coupled through the decoder 36 , alarm signal synthesizing circuit 37 , these circuits being set to the operative state by the set signal of the flip - flop 29 . thus , they are each decoded in the decoder 36 and inverted in the alarm signal synthesizing circuit 37 into a voice signal which is coupled to the loudspeaker 38 for producing sound . in this way , the alarm voice sound &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ; is produced at the alarm time &# 34 ; 10 : 30 a . m .&# 34 ;. the alarm signal al 1 mentioned above is further coupled to the set input terminal s of the flip - flop 30 to set this flip - flop , and the set signal therefrom is coupled as an operation command signal to the coincidence circuit 31 . the coincidence circuit 31 is thus rendered operative for detecting the coincidence of the address data from the address section 21 and the address data from the address memory 25 . when the coincidence circuit 31 detects the coincidence of data , i . e ., when the memory region in the ram 23 in which the voice codes regarding the voice &# 34 ; meeting &# 34 ; has been entirely specified , a coincidence signal is provided from the circuit 31 and coupled through to the reset input terminal r of the flip - flop 29 to reset this flip - flop , thus stopping the sound producing operation . when the alarm time (&# 34 ; 3 : 30 p . m .&# 34 ;) set in the second alarm circuit 7 is reached , the alarm signal al 2 is provided from the second alarm circuit 7 , and it is coupled through the or gate 28 to the flip - flop 29 to set this flip - flop and also coupled through the or gate 26 to the and gate 27 to enable this and gate . with the setting of the flip - flop 29 the address section 21 , encoder 35 and alarm signal synthesizing circuit 37 are set to the operative state , while the address data in the address memory 25 is coupled through the and gate 27 to the address section 21 and preset therein . with the address section 21 rendered operative , the ram 23 is given address designation for addresses after the address specified by the address data preset in the address section 21 . thus , the voice codes regarding the voice &# 34 ; a telephone call for mr . a &# 34 ; are read out from the ram 23 , and the voice sound &# 34 ; a telephone call for mr . a &# 34 ; is produced from the loudspeaker 37 . when the carry signal is provided from the address section 21 , it is coupled through the or gate 32 to the reset input terminal r of the flip - flop 29 , thus stopping the sound producing operation . as has been described in the foregoing according to the invention , what is scheduled to be done at an alarm time is informed of by the voice sound at the alarm time . in addition , since the voice corresponding to the alarm time set in the second alarm circuit 7 can be recorded in a recording region immediately following the recording region in which the voice corresponding to the alarm time set in the first alarm circuit 6 is recorded , that is , since any blank memory region in the ram 23 without any voice codes recorded therein between adjacent memory regions where voice codes are recorded can be eliminated , it is possible to minimize the recording capacity of the ram 23 , that is , make the most effective use of the ram capacity . while in the above embodiment of the electronic timepiece with alarm function two alarm circuits have been provided , it is possible to provide three or more alarm circuits . further , while the above embodiment has applied to the electronic timepiece having the alarm function of producing an alarm sound at a preset alarm time , the invention is also applicable for use in connection with a time informing function of producing a sound at the exact time corresponding to an integral number on a time keeper or a calendar alarm function of producing a sound on a preset day of the month , year , etc .	6
according to fig1 , the system for producing and handling sausage - shaped products s , e . g . sausages s , comprises as main components a schematically shown production unit 10 for producing sausages s and storing them on rod - like elements r , e . g . smoking rods , a robotic device 20 having a control unit 22 for controlling the movement of robotic device 20 and a storage frame 30 , into which the sausages s hung up at the smoking rods r are to be moved . production unit 10 comprises a control unit 12 , a sausage production device 14 and an automatic hanging line 16 . at least automatic hanging line 16 is peripherally arranged inside an operation range 40 of robotic device 20 described below . in production unit 10 , sausages s are produced in a known manner by filling sausage meat through a filling pipe into a tubular casing and closing the casing by a clipping machine attaching and closing clips at both ends . a flexible suspension loop is fed to one of the closing clips to be attached together with said clip to the respective end of the sausages s . thereafter sausages s will be placed in regular intervals at smoking rod r in automatic hanging line 16 . robotic device 20 is positioned in the centre of its operation range 40 to reach all units and stations peripherally arranged inside operation range 40 by its pivotally attached arms 24 , 25 . at front end of arm 25 , a gripping unit 26 is arranged for gripping the rod - like element r with the sausage products s hanging thereon inside production unit 10 , in particular from automatic hanging line 16 , and moving it to movable storage frame 30 . storage frame 30 is positioned in operation range 40 of robotic device 20 . inside storage frame 30 tray rails , e . g . in the form of horizontally aligned bars , are arranged for positioning smoking rods r thereon . in fig2 , an automatic hanging line 110 is schematically and partially shown . amongst others , said automatic hanging line 110 comprises a transportation device in the form of a horizontally arranged conveyor 120 and a clamping device 130 for clamping a smoking rod r on which sausages s are to be hung up . sausages s are transported from sausage production device 14 to automatic hanging line 16 . conveyor 120 includes a conveyor belt or chain 122 which circulates in a vertical plane and on which hook elements 124 are arranged in regular intervals . conveyor chain 122 circulates about two turning points in a direction identified by arrow t . hooks 125 of hook elements 124 at the carrying side of chain 122 are in a delivering position , where hooks 125 are pivoted into an approximately horizontal position parallel to chain 122 . hooks 125 of hook elements 124 at the return side of chain 122 are in a receiving position , where hooks 125 are perpendicularly aligned to chain 122 . below conveyor chain 122 , a smoking rod r is arranged parallel to conveyor chain 122 and in a distance which corresponds almost to the vertical height of a hook element 124 . smoking rod r is held by a holding device 130 at its right end . holding device 130 comprises an only schematically shown clamping unit 132 , which may be known in the art . at the left end of smoking rod r , a further bearing 134 for smoking rod r is shown so that smoking rod r is borne on both ends . it is principle possible to hold smoking rod r only on one end , for example , the right end by a respective clamping unit . in the region of the left end of smoking rod r , a delivery unit 140 can be arranged . delivery unit 140 is part of the mechanism for feeding an actually produced sausage s out of the clipping machine , which is not shown and which may also be known in the art . delivery unit 140 is arranged to be passed by a hook element 124 , whereby a sausage s positioned in delivery unit 140 is caught by hook element 124 . the delivery unit can also be formed by a conveyor belt or a guiding means for the loops of sausages s . between conveyor chain 122 and smoking rod 130 , a weighing device 150 is arranged at the end of transport path , in particular in the region of the right end of smoking rod r which is the distal end of smoking rod r referred to the clipping machine . weighing device 150 is attached to production unit 10 by fasteners 151 ( see fig3 and 4 ) and is positioned in such a way between conveyor chain 122 and smoking rod r that at least one sausage s can be transferred by hooks 125 to weighing device 150 . in particular , a loop of sausage s may abut on a stud - like projection 152 of weighing device 150 , stud - like projection 152 being arranged substantially parallel to smoking rod r and conveyor chain 122 . as can be seen in detail in fig3 and 4 , stud - like projection 152 comprises a circular cross - section and a tapered end 154 facing the clipping machine . projection 152 is attached through an essentially l - shaped beam 155 with a two - part beam 156 being substantially parallel to projection 152 , beam 156 accommodating a sensing element 157 . sensing element 157 is only schematically shown , but corresponds to sensing elements being already known from prior art . the part of weighing device 150 consisting of projection 152 , l - shaped beam 155 and beam 156 is linearly or reciprocally movable in a direction identified by arrow a relative to a fastened part 158 of weighing device 150 . in the following , the part consisting of projection 152 , l - shaped beam 155 and beam 156 is also called movable part 159 of weighing device 150 . movable part 159 , especially the beam 156 , comprises a substantially c - shaped element 163 , c - shaped element 163 interacting with a corresponding rail 163 of fastened part 158 of weighing element 150 . a piston 160 is attached to movable part 159 , in particular to beam 156 , interacting with a cylinder 161 being connected with fastened part 158 of weighing device 150 . the piston - cylinder - assembly allows a limited movement of a part of weighing device 150 , the direction being substantially parallel to a smoking rod r positioned on the holding device 130 . weighing device 150 can take a weighing position in which at least one sausage s is positioned on projection 152 ( see fig3 ) and a retracted position in which no sausage s is positioned on projection 152 ( see fig4 ). in particular , a sausage s is transferred from a hook 125 to projection 152 as it is explained in detail below . sausage production device 14 comprises a filling pipe on which a tubular casing for the sausage s is stored . the tubular casing is closed at its front end at the opening of the filling pipe by a closing clip constituting the first end of the sausage s . filling material like sausage meat is filled into the casing via the filling pipe . if a predetermined length of the sausage s is reached , the clipping machine gathers the filled casing , whereby a plait free from sausage meat is provided , and stacks at least one clip at the plait for closing the second end of the sausage s . together with the clip , a flexible hanging means , like a loop , is secured to the second end of the sausage product s for hanging up the sausage product s thereon . at the same time , a second clip may be stack and closed around to the plait , constituting the first end of the subsequent sausage s . alternatively to the length of the sausage s , the size of the sausage meat portion filled into the casing may be predetermined or the duration of the filling process . upon closing the tubular casing and securing a loop to the second end of the sausage s , the sausage meat free plait is cut between the second clip of the sausage s and the first clip of the first end of the subsequent sausage s . the actually produced sausage is than fed out of the clipping machine by a suitable conveyor like a belt conveyor . the loop is thereby caught by a guide for placing the sausage s at delivery unit 140 . conveyor 120 turns in the direction t , whereby a hook element 124 passes delivery unit 140 . hook 125 of hook element 124 engages the loop of sausage s and transfers sausage s to smoking rod r or to weighing device 150 . at a predetermined position , hook 125 is pivoted from the receiving position into the delivering position ( the receiving position of a hook element 124 is shown with the left lower hook element 124 , whereas the delivery position of a hook element 124 is shown with the middle lower and right hook elements 124 ). thereby , the sausage s is placed on smoking rod r or on weighing device 150 . after passing the second turning point , which is the right one in fig2 , hook element 124 enters the return side , whereby hook 125 is pivoted into the receiving position . in particular , at least the first sausage s which is placed from the left side onto smoking rod r is placed on projection 152 of weighing device 150 when weighing device 150 is in its weighing position ( see fig2 and 3 ). the sausage s placed on projection 152 causes a force . said force is detected by sensing element 157 . based on the position of sausage s on projection 152 , that means based on the distance between sausage s and l - shaped beam 155 , the weight of sausage s is calculated according to the lever principle in a respective calculation device in control unit 12 of sausage production unit 10 . the lever principle allows calculating the weight of a sausage s from its known distance to the sensing element 155 , which , in this case , is the “ lever ”, and the force acting on sensing element 155 via the moment caused by the weight of the sausage s and the length of the “ lever ”. according to the result of said calculation , the size of the actually produced sausage s or the subsequent sausage s may be altered . if the calculated weight exceeds a predetermined value , the length of the following sausages s may be reduced . alternatively , the duration of the filling process may be reduced or a smaller amount of sausage meat is filled into the casing . the calculation device of control unit 12 calculates the weight of the sausage s actually hung up on projection 152 of weighing device 150 and , in the case that the weight of the sausage s exceeds or falls under a predetermined threshold value , control unit 12 acts on the clipping machine and / or the pump of the filling machine and / or other suitable devices , like the casing breaking device , for altering the weight of the sausage s still to be produced . after measurement of sausage s , movable part 159 of weighing device 150 is linearly moved in its retracted position ( see fig4 ) by a drive ( not shown ). thereby , sausage s is urged from projection 152 and rests onto smoking rod r . since weighing device 150 and smoking rod r are close to each other , sausage s is not damaged when it is urged from projection 152 onto smoking rod r . for urging sausage s from projection 152 , a deflector 162 ( schematically shown in fig2 ) can be provided . stud - like deflector 162 is positioned between projection 152 of weighing device 150 and smoking rod r . when projection 152 of weighing device is moved from weighing position into retracted position , loop of weighed sausage s is held by deflector 162 and is not moved together with weighing device , but is urged from projection 152 . in placing sausage s onto projection 152 of weighing device , the position of deflector 162 defines the position of sausage s on projection 152 , as deflector 162 stops the movement of sausage s . that means the lever for calculating the weight of sausage s is always the same . deflector 162 can stationary fixed onto or movably attached to automatic hanging line 16 . then , deflector 162 is for example pivotable . alternatively , not only the first sausage s 1 but also a second sausage s 2 can be positioned onto projection 152 and the weights of both sausages s are measured . after a certain number of sausages s has been placed on smoking rod r , a respective signal is sent from control unit 12 of sausage production device 10 to control unit 22 of robotic device 20 . robotic device 20 controlled by control unit 22 , is moved towards automatic hanging line 16 and grips a smoking rod r . for gripping a smoking rod r , at the front end of arm 25 of robot device 20 , a gripping unit 26 is arranged . gripping unit 26 may comprise at least one jaw for gripping a smoking rod r . in a simplified embodiment , gripping unit 26 may only provided with hook - like elements , in which a smoking rod r rests . robotic device 20 , which may be a so called joined - arm robot , removes a smoking rod r together with the sausage products s hanging thereon from automatic hanging line 16 and moves it towards storage frame 30 . smoking rods r will be placed at predetermined positions on the tray rails inside storage frame 30 according to the size of the sausage products s . for security reason , it is possible to derive safety signals from sensing element 157 , e . g . in the case that the weight of a sausage s exceeds a maximum value or falls under a minimum value . in that case , a weighing error has been occurred and the sausage production may be stopped by control unit 12 . to rise up the productivity and to reduce costs , the present system for producing sausage - shaped products s may be simplified by merging control units 12 and 22 into a common control unit . said single control unit allows an easier and effective data input and a connection between control units 12 and 22 , e . g . by wire , will be redundant .	0
a preferred embodiment of the workpiece holding device for use in a polishing apparatus will be presented in the following with reference to fig1 to 4 . the workpiece holding device comprises a top ring member 10 of an overall disc shape , a drive shaft 12 for supporting the top ring member 10 and transmitting rotational and pressing forces to the top ring member 10 , and a universal joint 14 joining the drive shaft 12 to the top ring member 10 in such a way as to accommodate tilting motion of the top ring member 10 relative to the drive shaft 12 . in the following presentation , horizontal surfaces of various component parts are referenced such that a lower surface closer to the workpiece is the front surface and an upper surface away from the workpiece is the back surface . upper and lower surfaces thus correspond to back and front surfaces , respectively . each of these sections will be explained in more detail in the following . in this embodiment , the top ring member 10 comprises a holder plate 16 of a generally disc shape for holding a workpiece such as a wafer by means of a suction force , a cover plate 18 of a generally disc shape fixed to the holder plate 16 so as to form a space s on the upper side of the holder plate 16 , and a fixing plate 20 of a hollow disc shape for covering the cover plate 18 and fixing the same to the holder plate 16 . a guide ring 22 is attached to the lower outer periphery of the holder plate 16 for surrounding the outer periphery of the workpiece when the holder plate 16 holds the wafer on its lower surface . a depression or depression section 24 is formed in the upper surface ( back surface in relation to the front surface which holds the workpiece ) of the holder plate 16 and a step surface 26 is formed around the outer periphery of the holder plate 16 . on the other hand , a protrusion or protrusion section 28 for fitting into the depression section 24 is formed in the center region of the front surface of the cover plate 18 , and a thin flange or flange section 30 , to be fixed to the step surface 26 with bolts , is provided around the periphery or peripheral section of the cover plate 18 . the upper ( back ) surface of the cover plate 18 has a central depressed area 32 and a ring shaped shoulder or shoulder section 34 surrounding its periphery , and an outer region forms a step surface 36 for attaching the fixing plate 20 . the depth of the depression section 24 in the holder plate 16 is made to be larger than the height of the protrusion section 28 in the cover plate 18 , thereby forming a spacing s of a certain thickness between the depression section 24 and the protrusion section 28 . the holder plate 16 has a large number of flow holes 38 formed vertically through the plate 16 , and they are communicated with a fluid hole 40 in the fixing plate 20 by way of the space s formed between the cover plate 18 and the holder plate 16 . the flow holes 38 are communicated with the back surface of the workpiece held on the front surface of the holder plate 16 . the space s , as described in more detail later , is for retaining a back side pressure therein , and when it is connected to an evacuation device , it produces a suction force , and when it is connected to a pressure fluid source , it produces a pressing force . the drive shaft 12 is supported by top ring head section 42 , which is fixed to the polishing apparatus , so as to be freely rotatable and vertically movable , and is coupled to an output shaft of the drive source ( motor with reduction gears , not shown ) through a pulley belt device 44 . the vertical movement is produced by the action of a piston rod 48a in top ring cylinder 48 disposed between the top ring head section 42 and drive shaft holder 46 ( refer to fig2 ). specifically , the main body of the top ring cylinder 48 is fixed to a shoulder section of the drive shaft holder 46 , and the tip of the piston rod 48a is fixed to the lower surface of the top ring head section 42 . the drive shaft 12 is formed as a hollow member , and a through hole 50 formed in its center section is communicated with an external pressure source apparatus 54 via a rotary joint 52 . a corrosion resistant fluid tube 56 , made of a polymeric resin such as teflon or polypropylene , is inserted inside the through hole 50 . the top end of the fluid tube 56 is connected to rotary joint 52 and the bottom end thereof is divided into separate tubes 56a , 56b ( fig3 ) which are connected to fluid holes 40 in the fixing plate 20 . in this design , the pressure fluid is supplied through the rotary joint 52 to the top end of the through hole 50 so that there is no need to provide a horizontal hole on the lateral side of the drive shaft 12 , thus resulting in a simplified construction and a lower production cost . the external pressure source apparatus 54 , in this embodiment , is provided with an evacuation device 58 , a pressurized air source 60 and pure water supply source 62 , each of which can be selectively connected to the flow holes 38 in the holder plate 16 through selection valves 64a , 64b , 64c , rotary joint 52 , delivery tubes 56 , 56a and 56b . a polishing solution supply nozzle ( not shown ) is disposed above the turntable to enable a polishing solution to be supplied to the surface of the polishing cloth on the turntable . a driver plate 68 having an outwardly extending flange or flange section 66 is fixed to the bottom end of the drive shaft 12 . the universal joint 14 is provided between the driver plate 68 and the cover plate 18 of the top ring member 10 for tiltably supporting the top ring member 10 and transmitting the pressing force thereto . the universal joint 14 has a spherical bearing mechanism 70 and a rotation transmission mechanism 72 for transmitting the rotational force of the drive shaft 12 to the top ring member 10 . the spherical bearing mechanism 70 will be explained first . in the center of the front surface of the driver plate 68 , there is a protruded area 76 formed in such a way that the lower surface makes a gentle spherical surface , and in the center of this protruded area 76 , there is a spherical cavity 80 for freely slidingly retaining a bearing ball 78 made of a high hardness material such as ceramics . the depressed area 32 in the center of the upper surface of the cover plate 18 has width and depth dimensions sufficient to house the protruded area 76 of the driver plate 68 , and in the center of the depressed area 32 , there is also a spherical cavity 82 to pair with the spherical cavity 80 to contain the bearing ball 78 . the bottom end of the bearing ball 78 is positioned inside the depression section 24 of the holder plate 16 , i . e ., below the level of the step surface 26 . by forming the depression section 24 in the holder plate and the protruded area 76 in the cover plate 18 so as to make the top ring thin , and by locating at least a part of the spherical bearing unit within the depression section 24 of the holder plate 16 , it becomes possible to bring the spherical bearing unit close to the turntable . the distance l between the center of the bearing ball 78 and the front surface of the holder plate 16 is designed to be less than 26 mm . as shown in fig1 and 4 , the shoulder section 34 protruding around the depressed area 32 of the cover plate 18 is provided with several pins 84 , 86 ( six in this embodiment ) spaced at equal angles , which are inserted into respective holes 88 , 90 provided at corresponding locations in the flange section 66 of the driver plate 68 . these pins 84 , 86 are distributed such that suspending pins 84 for suspending the top ring member 10 and driven pins 86 for transmitting the torque to the top ring member 10 are placed alternately . the suspending pins 84 are protruded out of the upper surface of the driver plate 68 , and a spring 94 is placed between a stopper plate 92 disposed at the top end of the pin and the driver plate 68 so as to support ( a part of ) the load exerted by the top ring member 10 with the elastic force of the spring 94 . with reference to fig3 and 4 , two parallel driver pins 98 are horizontally embedded in holes 90 of the driver plate 68 on opposite circumferential sides of the driven pins 86 . that is , as shown in fig4 two fine holes 99 are provided in such a way to open at a side surface of the flange section 66 and into hole 90 located on the flange section 66 of the driver plate 68 , and the driver pins 98 are inserted and fixed in these fine holes 99 . as illustrated in fig4 the driven pin 86 is provided with a cushion 96 , made of an elastic material such as rubber , around the periphery , and each cushion 96 has a cushion cover 97 on its periphery . each driver pin 98 touches the outer periphery of the cushion cover 97 . the rotation transmission mechanism 72 thus comprises the driver pins 98 and the driven pins 86 to transmit the torque smoothly and with certainty from the drive shaft 12 to the top ring member 10 . next , the operation of the polishing apparatus having the construction presented above will be explained . by connecting the evacuation device 58 of the external pressure source apparatus 54 to the rotary joint 52 , the workpiece is held on the lower surface of the holder plate 16 by the suction at the flow holes 38 in the holder plate 16 , and drive power is applied to the drive shaft 12 to rotate the holder plate 16 . in this case , because the fluid tube 56 is made of teflon or polypropylene , it is sufficiently strong so as not to collapse under the stress of evacuation . with reference to fig2 the top ring cylinder 48 is operated so that the piston rod 48a is pulled into the top ring cylinder 48 , then , because the top ring head 42 is fixed to the polishing apparatus frame , the top ring cylinder 48 is descended together with the drive shaft holder 46 . the workpiece is made to touch the turntable first , and then , it is further pressed against the turntable . the pulling force exerted by the piston rod 48a is transmitted to the workpiece in the form of a pressing force by way of the drive shaft 12 , bearing ball 78 , flange section 30 of the cover plate 18 and the holder plate 16 . the workpiece is thus pressed onto the polishing cloth on the turntable with a given pressure . in the meantime , when the top ring member 10 begins to descend , the turntable rotation had already been started and the polishing solution is being supplied through the supply nozzle onto the polishing cloth on the turntable . the surface to be polished ( bottom surface ) of the workpiece is polished under the existence of the polishing solution so that the polishing process is commenced . in this polishing operation , because the pressing force from the drive shaft 12 is transmitted through the spherical bearing 70 provided between the drive shaft 12 and the top ring member 10 , even if the vertical alignment of the drive shaft 12 to the cloth surface of the turntable is impaired , for example , the holder plate 16 can tilt about a center at the bearing ball 78 so that the workpiece is kept in close contact with the cloth surface . also , because the depression section 24 and the protrusion section 28 are formed to mate with each other in an opposing manner on the respective holder plate 16 and the cover plate 18 , the thickness of the center region of the holder plate 16 is reduced . also , because a part of the spherical bearing structure resides within the depression section 24 , the distance between the center of the spherical bearing 70 and the workpiece surface is made short . therefore , the rotational moment about the spherical bearing 70 is also reduced so that the attitude of the workpiece is stabilized . the result is that stable polishing can be carried out without sacrificing the stiffness of the holder plate while maintaining all the essential polishing requirements , such as securing the space necessary for supplying the polishing solution to the top ring member 10 and keeping the workpiece in close contact with the polishing cloth on the turntable . furthermore , the distance between the center of the spherical bearing 70 and the workpiece surface is also made short because the bearing ball 78 is provided between the depressed area 32 in the cover plate 18 and the protruded area 76 provided at the bottom end of the drive shaft 12 , which also promotes a stable alignment of the workpiece . further , the peripheral section of the top ring member 10 has been given a sufficient thickness to provide the shoulder section 34 and the step surface 36 , so as not to sacrifice either the stiffness or the space required for fabricating the connection hole 40 or implanting the driven pins 86 . in this design of the workpiece holder device , even if the holder plate 16 becomes tilted , the driven pins 86 and the driver pins 98 are relatively movable in the vertical direction so that the rotational torque of the drive shaft 12 is reliably transmitted to the holder plate 16 by simply relocating the contacting points to each other . also , because the driven pins 86 and the driver pins 98 are in point contact at right angles to each other , friction is low and the freedom of tilting is maintained . in this embodiment , each driven pin 86 is surrounded with an elastic cushion 96 such as rubber to absorb vibration between the drive shaft and the top ring . further , the outer surface of the cushion 96 is covered with a tube shaped cushion cover 97 , and the driver pins 98 contact the cushion cover 97 at opposite peripheral sides . therefore , the driven pins 86 and the driver plate 68 are able to freely move vertically relative to each other while maintaining an elastic contact . also , the bottom end surface of the protruded area 76 of the driver plate 68 is formed as a spherical surface ( flank ) 74 of a large radius of curvature , so that the separation distance from the top surface of the cover plate 18 progressively increases from the center towards the circumference , therefore , even if the spherical cavity 82 is made sufficiently large , there is no mechanical interference between the curved surface 74 and the depressed area 32 , so that the pressing force is transmitted reliably from the drive shaft 12 to the bearing ball 78 . to assure reliable contact of the workpiece to the polishing cloth , the fluid tube 56 may be switched to air pressure source 60 so that compressed air may be supplied to the back surface of the workpiece through the flow holes 38 and the spacing s . when the polishing operation is completed , the drive shaft 12 is raised , and the drive plate 68 integral with the drive shaft 12 is also raised , and the cover plate 18 and the top ring member 10 are elastically supported approximately horizontally by way of the springs 94 and the suspending pins 84 . in this state , the top ring member 10 is retracted away from the turntable , and is operated the pressure source apparatus 54 as needed to hold / detach the workpiece from the top ring member 10 to handle the workpiece between the top ring member 10 and some external device . by connecting the evacuation device 58 of the external pressure source apparatus 54 to the rotary joint 52 , the workpiece is held on the lower surface of the holder plate 16 , and by connecting the pure water supply source 62 of the external pressure source apparatus 54 to the rotary joint 52 , pure water is made to flow through the fluid tube 56 , space s , and the flow holes 38 in the holder plate 16 to push the back surface of the workpiece to detach the workpiece readily from the holder plate 16 . in this embodiment , because the holder device is designed so that the pressing force is transmitted from the flange section 30 of the cover plate 18 to the step surface 26 of the holder plate 16 , a uniform pressure can be applied to the holder plate 16 on the total surface of the workpiece , compared with the conventional arrangement in which the pressure is applied through the center of the holder plate through the bearing ball , because the forces are distributed around the periphery of the holder plate 16 to reduce the amount of deflection of the holder plate 16 . in the present polishing apparatus , the fluid tube 56 is made of a corrosion resistant material , therefore , even when water or air is supplied through the through hole , no rust is formed on its interior . contamination is thus prevented , and polishing precision as well as the final quality of the polished workpiece can be improved . also , in the present embodiment , the driver section and the driven section to transmit the rotational torque from the drive shaft 12 to the holder plate 16 are based on pin contacts . however , the invention is not necessarily limited to such designs . other possible designs such as plate form and other special forms are also employable . also , the driver pins 98 to engage the driven pin 86 are disposed parallel in the present embodiment , but they may not be parallel , nor be limited to two pins . conversely , for example , driver pins may be protruded from the side of a plate 68 and several driven pins may be provided on the top surface of the driven plate 18 so as to hold the driver pin . also , in the present embodiment , the drive shaft 12 has a separate fixed driver plate 68 , but the drive plate 68 may be formed integrally with the drive shaft 12 .	1
2 . 3 programmable state machine , counters , cpu core and off - chip trigger interfaces the present invention may be applied beneficially in a wide variety of different kinds of microprocessors . for purposes of illustration , the invention will be described herein with reference to a particular kind of microprocessor , namely a four - way superscalar reduced instruction set (&# 34 ; risc &# 34 ;) microprocessor . it is believed that this form of description will enable persons having ordinary skill in the art not only to make and use the invention , but also readily to perceive any modifications or adaptations necessary to apply the invention to microprocessors other than the one specifically described herein . this section one will describe the illustrative host microprocessor first without having any of the components of the invention added to it . the remaining sections will describe a preferred implementation of the invention within the context of the exemplary host microprocessor discussed in this section one . fig1 is a block diagram of an exemplary risc microprocessor 100 before the addition of any of the components of the invention . microprocessor 100 is coupled to an instruction cache 102 , a data cache 104 and a system bus 106 . microprocessor 100 includes system bus interface unit 108 , instruction fetch unit 110 , sort unit 112 , instruction queue unit 114 , functional units 116 , data cache interface unit 118 , retire unit 120 , rename register blocks 122 , 124 , architected register block 126 , test access port (&# 34 ; tap &# 34 ;) controller 128 , scan chain 129 and clock generator 146 . functional units 116 include dual integer alus 130 , dual shift / merge units 132 , dual floating point multiply / accumulate units 134 , and dual floating point divide / square root units 136 . instruction queue unit 114 includes alu instruction queue 138 , memory instruction queue 140 , address reorder buffer 142 , and dual load / store address adders 144 . system bus 106 is a 64 - bit multiplexed address / data split transaction bus that uses the same protocol as the system bus of the well - known pa - 7200 microprocessor manufactured and sold by hewlett packard company . system bus interface 108 is provided to implement the protocol necessary for microprocessor 100 to communicate with memory subsystem 208 and input / output subsystem 210 over system bus 106 . instruction fetch unit 110 is provided to retrieve instructions from instruction cache 102 or , in the case of cache misses , from main memory subsystem 208 . during normal operation , instruction fetch unit 110 is capable of retrieving up to four quadword - aligned instructions per cycle from single - level instruction cache 102 . cache lines can also be loaded into instruction queue 114 by sort unit 112 at the rate of four instructions per cycle , thus keeping pace with instruction fetch unit 110 . when instruction fetch unit 110 indicates a cache miss , system bus interface 108 initiates instruction cache prefetches by fetching the next sequential line of instructions from main memory subsystem 208 . high - bandwidth connections are provided both to instruction cache 102 and to data cache 104 to enhance performance . data cache 104 is preferably dual - ported , with each port having access to a double word per cycle . because the overall objective behind the design of a microprocessor such as microprocessor 100 is to enhance performance by reducing the ratio of clock cycles per instruction executed , it is desirable that more than one instruction may be executed concurrently ( thus the nomenclature &# 34 ; super - scalar &# 34 ;). in the example of microprocessor 100 , duplicate functional units are provided so that as many as four separate instructions may be started during any one clock cycle . however , in order to keep these functional units fully occupied , it is necessary to find four instructions that may be executed simultaneously . this task is known as instruction scheduling and sometimes involves executing instructions out of program order . while instruction scheduling may be left to the compiler , any four sequential instructions are likely to contain data dependencies that cannot be resolved at compile time . therefore , in microprocessor 100 , a large instruction queue 114 is provided so that instruction scheduling may be achieved in hardware to extract maximum parallelism from the instruction stream . alu queue 138 and memory queue 140 are each 28 - entries deep . alu queue 138 holds instructions destined for functional units 116 , while memory queue 140 holds memory load / store instructions . certain instruction types such as load - and - modify instructions and branch instructions go into both queues . as a result , microprocessor 100 has the ability to examine up to 56 recently - fetched instructions in order to find four instructions that may be executed simultaneously . once a group of instructions has been fetched , insertion of the instructions into instruction queue 114 is handled by sort unit 112 . specifically , sort unit 112 receives four instructions from instruction fetch unit 110 and determines which of the four were actually requested by the cpu . ( sometimes a fetched bundle of four instructions contains superfluous instructions simply because instructions are fetched four at a time .) this determination is called instruction validation . sort unit 112 then routes the valid instructions to one or both of alu queue 138 and memory queue 140 . each of the queues 138 and 140 can handle up to four instructions per cycle , so an arbitrary collection of four instructions may be inserted into the queues simultaneously . as was mentioned previously , queues 138 and 140 each have entries or &# 34 ; slots &# 34 ; for 28 different instructions . once a new instruction has been placed into a slot within one of the queues , hardware monitors the previous instructions that are then launching from the queues to functional units 116 and address adders 144 . this is done in order to determine whether any of the now - launching instructions will supply an operand needed by the new instruction . once the last instruction upon which the new instruction depends has been launched to functional units 116 or address adders 144 , then the slot containing the new instruction begins to arbitrate for its own launch to functional units 116 or address adders 144 . up to two instructions may be launched simultaneously from each of alu queue 138 and memory queue 140 . because the hardware within functional units 116 and address adders 144 is duplicated , arbitration in each of the queues is handled in two groups . for example , even - numbered slots within alu queue 138 arbitrate for launch to alu0 , and odd numbered slots arbitrate for launch to alu1 . arbitration proceeds similarly among the slots within memory queue 140 . in each queue , the even - numbered slot with the oldest instruction and the odd - numbered slot with the oldest instruction win arbitration and are launched to functional units 116 or address adders 144 . address reorder buffer 142 is provided to help eliminate performance penalties that are associated with load - store dependencies . when a load or store instruction in a slot of memory queue 140 has received all of its operands , it requests to be dispatched just like an alu instruction . the destination of the load / store instruction , however , will be one of address adders 144 instead of one of functional units 116 . address adders 144 are provided so that the effective address for the load / store instruction may be calculated before executing the instruction . once calculated , the effective address is stored into one of 28 slots within address reorder buffer 142 . ( each of the 28 slots within address reorder buffer 142 is associated with one of the slots in memory queue 140 .) the effective address also goes to the translation look - aside buffer ( not shown ), which returns a physical address that is placed into the same slot of address reorder buffer 142 . with its address stored in address reorder buffer 142 , the load / store instruction begins arbitrating for access to one of the banks of synchronous sram that make up dual - ported data cache 104 . the instruction tries again on each successive cycle until it wins access . ( arbitration is based on the age of the original load / store instruction , not the time its address has been in address reorder buffer 142 . priority is given to the oldest instruction .) address reorder buffer 142 also checks for store - to - load dependencies as follows : whenever a store instruction has its effective address calculated , the address is compared to the addresses of any younger load instructions that have completed their cache accesses by executing out of order . if the addresses are the same , then the load and all younger instructions are flushed from address reorder buffer 142 and reexecuted . similarly , whenever a load instruction has its address calculated , the addresses of all older stores in address reorder buffer 142 are compared with it . in the event of a match , the load waits until the store data becomes available . these mechanisms are provided to ensure that out - of - order execution cannot cause stale data to be read . retire block 120 is provided to remove instructions from instruction queue 114 in program order after they have successfully executed or after their trap status is known . up to four instructions may be retired per cycle -- two from alu queue 138 and two from memory queue 140 . if an instruction needs to signal a trap , the trap parameters are recorded in the architected state , and the appropriate trap vector is forwarded to instruction fetch unit 110 , which then begins fetching from the new address . microprocessor 100 employs register renaming to execute ( but not retire ) instructions speculatively . rename register blocks 122 and 124 contain a total of 56 rename registers , one for each slot within alu queue 138 and memory queue 140 . in addition , architected register block 126 contains 32 integer and 32 floating point architectural registers . at retire time , the contents of the rename register associated with a given instruction are committed to the appropriate architectural register , and any store data is forwarded to a buffer ( not shown ) that holds data to be written to data cache 104 . test access port (&# 34 ; tap &# 34 ;) controller 128 is provided to implement a serial off - chip interface in accordance with the well - known institute of electrical and electronics engineers ( ieee ) standard 1149 . 1 , &# 34 ; test access port and boundary scan architecture , &# 34 ; also known as the joint test action group (&# 34 ; jtag &# 34 ;) standard . tap controller 128 is coupled to numerous test nodes located adjacent to the chip pads of microprocessor 100 . such an arrangement of test nodes is commonly called a &# 34 ; scan chain , &# 34 ; as is indicated in the drawing at 129 . tap controller 128 may be commanded to latch the state of the various test nodes constituting scan chain 129 , and the data thus captured may then be shifted serially off - chip via the test access port for analysis by external equipment . further information about the structure and operation of microprocessor 100 may be found in the engineering and user documentation supplied with the pa - 8000 microprocessor manufactured and sold by hewlett packard company . as shown in fig2 a complete computer system may be constructed using one or more microprocessors 100 , 200 coupled via system bus 106 to a memory subsystem 208 and an input / output subsystem 210 . in a multi - processor implementation such as that shown in fig2 each of microprocessors 100 , 200 would preferably have its own instruction cache 102 , 202 and its own data cache 104 , 204 . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating host microprocessor 100 having a preferred embodiment of the invention implemented therein . state machine block 300 includes programmable state machine 302 , counters 304 , off - chip trigger interface 306and cpu core interface 308 . off - chip trigger interface 306 provides a three - bit interface to components external to microprocessor 100 . cpu core interface 308 provides a trig -- trap signal to fetch unit 110 , a control signal i to tap controller 128 , and two control signals j to clock generator 146 . off - chip data interface 310 provides a 63 - bit interface to components external to microprocessor 100 . its data inputs comprise 603 total signals coming from various points located throughout microprocessor 100 . system bus interface 108 is provided with system bus interface comparators 312 and performance signal generation logic 314 . system bus interface comparators 312 take six bits of input from within system bus interface 108 and provide two output bits a to programmable state machine 302 . performance signal generation logic 314 provides six output bits b to programmable state machine 302 . fetch unit 110 is provided with fetch unit comparators 316 . fetch unit comparators 316 take as inputs four instructions i0 - i3 , certain address bits adr and a cache index ci . address bits adr and cache index ci correspond to the virtual address and the cache index for the fetched bundle of four instructions comprising instructions i0 - i3 . fetch unit comparators 316 provide four output bits d to programmable state machine 302 and sixteen output bits 318 to sort unit 112 . sort unit 112 is provided with validate logic 320 . validate logic 320 takes as inputs four bits from within sort unit 112 , and the sixteen bits 318 that were generated by fetch unit comparators 316 . validate logic 320 provides four output bits e to programmable state machine 302 and sixteen output bits 322 to instruction queue 114 . data cache interface 118 is provided with data cache interface comparators 324 . recall that data cache 104 is preferably organized as a dual - port unit . thus , an even and an odd port exist for data loads . in this implementation , data stores share a common 64 - bit data bus . correspondingly , data cache interface comparators 324 have two sets of inputs for loads -- one set for even loads and one set for odd loads . a third set of inputs is provided for stores , as shown . data cache interface comparators 324 provide six total output bits f , g to programmable state machine 302 . the four output bits f are also provided to instruction queue 114 . data flow is provided from validate logic 320 and data cache interface comparators 324 to retire unit 120 via instruction queue 114 . to accomplish this , new bit fields 326 , 328 and 330 are added to each of the slots within alu queue 138 , memory queue 140 and address re - order buffer 142 , respectively . the sixteen output bits 322 from validate logic 320 are stored in bit fields 326 , 328 . output bits 322 include four bits per instruction ( regardless of whether the instruction is an alu - type or a memory - type instruction ), and there is a potential maximum of four instructions entering instruction queue 114 from sort unit 112 during a given clock cycle . thus , output bits 322 comprise a maximum of four different 4 - bit sets . each of the 4 - bit sets is placed in the same slot of instruction queue 114 as the instruction to which it corresponds . similarly , the four output bits f from data cache interface comparators 324 comprise a maximum of two different 2 - bit sets . these 2 - bit sets are stored in bit field 330 in the same slot of instruction queue 114 as the instructions to which they correspond . because results f from data cache interface comparators 324 always pertain to load - type memory instructions , and because even and odd load instructions are allowed to execute simultaneously in the architecture of microprocessor 100 , one of these 2 - bit sets will always correspond to an even load instruction , and the other will always correspond to an odd load instruction . therefore , in order to represent this information properly in address re - order buffer 142 , two bits in each slot of bit field 330 are reserved for one of the 2 - bit sets produced by data cache interface comparators 324 , and one additional bit in each slot of bit field 330 is reserved to indicate whether the 2 - bit set just stored there derived from an even or an odd load instruction . consequently , although outputs f comprise a maximum of four total bits ( two result bits for each simultaneously - executing load instruction ), a maximum of six bits may actually be stored in address - re - order buffer 142 during a given clock cycle . ( in a preferred embodiment , the even / odd indicator need not be independently generated and stored in address re - order buffer 142 with the comparison results . this is because , in such an embodiment , the address of the load instruction will already be stored in address re - order buffer 142 ; therefore , the even / odd bit may be determined from this previously - stored address whenever it is needed .) retire unit 120 is provided with retiring instruction comparator matrix 332 and overall match generation matrix 334 . retiring instruction comparator matrix 332 takes , as its inputs , 24 bits of &# 34 ; retire - time information &# 34 ; from instruction queue 114 . these 24 bits comprise six bits of retire - time information for each of the four instructions retiring during a given clock cycle . ( some of these bits will be null if fewer than four instructions actually retire during that clock cycle .) retiring instruction comparator matrix 332 provides sixteen output bits to overall match generation matrix 334 . overall match generation matrix 334 takes these sixteen bits as inputs , as well as 22 other bits from instruction queue 114 . the latter 22 bits include the 16 bits 322 from validation logic 320 that were previously placed in bit fields 326 , 328 , and the 6 bits deriving from data cache interface comparators 324 that were previously placed in bit field 330 . based on these inputs , overall match generation matrix 334 provides 12 output bits h to programmable state machine 302 . tap controller 128 is provided with sample - on - the - fly circuitry 336 . sample - on - the - fly circuitry 336 takes as an input the control signal i generated by cpu core interface 308 , and is coupled to numerous test nodes 0 - n located throughout microprocessor 100 . its purpose is to latch , in a conventional manner , the state of test nodes 0 - n whenever control signal i is asserted . after the state of the test nodes is so latched , tap controller 128 may then be used to clock the latched information serially off - chip in a conventional manner via the test access port . the information may then be analyzed by components external to microprocessor 100 . staging register circuitry 338 is provided , and is coupled to architected registers 126 via parallel data bus 340 . this enables data to be transferred between architected registers 126 and staging register 338 by executing an instruction on microprocessor 100 . serial data and control lines 342 form a serial loop comprising staging register circuitry 338 , fetch unit comparators control register circuitry 344 , state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 , system bus interface comparators control register circuitry 348 , off - chip data interface control register circuitry 350 , data cache interface comparators control register circuitry 352 and retire unit comparators control register circuitry 354 . staging register circuitry 338 and control register circuitries 344 - 354 , as well as how data communication is achieved between them and architected registers 126 , will now be described with reference to fig4 - 10 . as can be seen in fig4 a serial loop is formed by remote register circuitries 344 - 354 and staging register circuitry 338 . staging register circuitry 338 has a serial data output 400 , a serial data input 402 , and a control signal output 404 . the staging register circuitry control signal output 404 is coupled via control line 406 to a corresponding control signal input 408 of remote register circuitry 344 . likewise , the staging register circuitry serial data output 400 is coupled via serial data line 410 to a corresponding serial data input 412 of remote register circuitry 344 . each of remote register circuitries 344 - 352 has a serial data input 412 , a serial data output 414 , a control signal input 408 and a control signal output 416 . remote register circuitry 354 has a serial data input 412 , a serial data output 414 and a control signal input 408 . thus , the signal on serial data line 410 may be propagated in serial fashion from the serial data output 400 of staging register 338 , through each of remote register circuitries 344 - 354 and back into the serial data input 402 of staging register circuitry 338 . similarly , the signal on control line 406 may be propagated from the control signal output 404 of staging register circuitry 338 to remote register circuitry 354 through each of the intervening remote register circuitries . staging register circuitry 338 is coupled to general purpose register circuitry 126 via parallel data bus 340 . fig5 is a block diagram illustrating staging register circuitry 338 and general purpose register circuitry 126 in more detail . general purpose register circuitry 126 is coupled to staging register 500 via a parallel data bus 340 . data bus 340 is shown in fig5 in the form of conventional switching circuitry appropriate for directing read and write data between staging register 500 and one of the general purpose registers within microprocessor 100 &# 39 ; s general purpose registers 126 . also shown in fig5 is clock generation logic 146 , counter 502 , header generation register 504 , multiplexer 506 , comparators 508 , 510 and 512 , and rom 514 . for the purpose of explaining the concept and preferred implementation of staging register circuitry 338 and control register circuitries 344 - 354 in this section 2 . 2 , we will assume that the control registers contained in remote register circuitries 344 - 354 are each 64 bits deep . it will be apparent with reference to sections 2 . 3 et seq ., however , that the number of actual bits contained in these control registers varies . also , in actual implementations , the staging register need not be the same length as the remote registers . moreover , the remote registers need not all be the same length as one another . ( multiple operations may be used to read and write remote registers that are longer than the staging register .) rom 514 may be implemented simply as hardwired connections to power supply and ground as required to present the binary equivalent of decimal &# 34 ; 77 &# 34 ; to the parallel data load inputs of counter 502 . counter 502 should be configured to count down whenever it receives a clock and its control input indicates count . when its control input indicates load , counter 502 will be reset to the value &# 34 ; 77 . &# 34 ; clock generation logic 146 generates clock signal 516 , which may be used to drive clock inputs throughout the chip . comparator 508 will assert control line 406 whenever the output of counter 502 exceeds decimal 6 . comparator 510 will assert main serial data multiplexer control line 520 whenever the output of counter 502 exceeds decimal 70 . and comparator 512 will assert a signal to control logic 522 within microprocessor 100 whenever the output of counter 502 exceeds 0 . as is indicated in the drawing , the control signals for counter 502 , header generation register 504 and staging register 500 may be provided by control logic 522 within microprocessor 100 . also , the parallel data load inputs of header generation register 504 are provided by instruction decode logic 524 within microprocessor 100 . fig6 is a block diagram illustrating a representative one of remote register circuitries 344 - 354 . ( it should be understood that remote register circuitry 600 is representative of all remote register circuitries 344 - 354 shown in fig3 and 4 , with the exception that remote register circuitry 354 does not include a control signal output .) remote register circuitry 600 includes a header capture register 602 , a remote register 604 , an input multiplexer 606 and an output multiplexer 608 . control signal input 408 is coupled to control signal output 416 through one - bit latch 610 . serial data input 412 is coupled to one input of output multiplexer 608 through one - bit latch 612 . the other input of output multiplexer 608 is coupled to the data shift output of remote register 604 . serial data output 414 is provided by the output of output multiplexer 608 . the control input of output multiplexer 608 is provided by the output of a combinational logic system comprising and gates 614 and 616 , comparator 618 and rom 620 . rom 620 stores the address that remote register circuitry 600 will respond to . ( preferably , each of remote register circuitries 344 - 354 will be configured to respond to a unique address .) comparator 618 compares this address with bits ad0 - 4 from header capture register 602 and asserts one input of and gate 616 if they are the same . a match is indicated on the output of and gate 616 if the output of comparator 618 is asserted and the valid bit in header capture register 602 is also asserted . if match is asserted and the r / w bit in header capture register 602 indicates a read , then the output of and gate 614 will be asserted and the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; inputs of both multiplexers 608 and 606 will be selected ; otherwise , the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; inputs of those multiplexers will be selected . or gate 622 and load control logic 624 are provided to enable input data to be loaded into remote register 604 whenever desired . serial data input 412 is coupled to the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; input of input multiplexer 606 and to the serial input of header capture register 602 . the serial input of remote register 604 is coupled to the output of input multiplexer 606 . the shift input of remote register 604 is coupled to the match signal , while its load input is supplied by load control logic 624 . control input 408 is coupled to a clear input of header capture register 602 via inverter 626 . the shift input of header capture register 602 is driven by the output of and gate 628 , whose first input is coupled to the control input 408 , and whose second input is coupled to the valid bit through inverter 630 . it is contemplated that microprocessor 100 will include within its instruction set certain opcodes for writing data to and reading data from specific remote registers . for example , one instruction may be designed to move the contents of a specified one of general purpose registers 126 into staging register 500 . another instruction may be designed to load header generation register 504 with the address of the desired remote register , to set the r / w bit in header generation register 504 to &# 34 ; r &# 34 ; in the case of a read or to &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; in the case of a write , and to shift the header out onto serial data line 410 . a third instruction might be designed to move the contents of staging register 500 into a specified one of general purpose registers 126 . fig7 illustrates a preferred method for writing a data value to a remote register using the apparatus just described . in step 702 , a microprocessor instruction is executed to load the data into general purpose register grx . in step 706 , using another microprocessor instruction , the contents of grx are loaded into staging register 500 . in step 708 , a &# 34 ; shift to diagnose &# 34 ; instruction is executed . preferably , this instruction should contain the address of the target remote register as immediate information . the effect of the instruction is to load the address into bits ad0 - 4 of header generation register 504 , and to set the r / w bit of that register to w . ( the valid bit in header generation register 504 always loads with valid .) then , after loading counter 502 with the number 77 , the contents of header generation register 504 and staging register 500 are shifted onto serial data line 410 by supplying appropriate control signals to the two registers . the shifting ceases when counter 502 counts down to zero . because , when initially loaded , the value in counter 502 exceeds both 6 and 70 , control signal 406 and multiplexer control line 520 are both asserted ( as indicated at count = 77 in fig8 ). thus , main serial data multiplexer 506 routes the serially shifting output from header generation register 504 onto serial data line 410 . as soon as the seven header bits from header generation register 504 have been shifted onto serial data line 410 , the count in counter 502 will have fallen to 69 . at this time , main serial data multiplexer control line 520 is unasserted ( as shown at count = 69 in fig8 ). thus , the data from staging register 500 is selected and begins to be shifted serially out onto serial data line 410 . at the same time , data from serial data input 402 is shifted serially into staging register 500 . although the write data will have been completely shifted out of staging register 500 when count = 5 ( as shown in fig8 ), the write operation continues for several additional clock cycles until count = 0 . this is necessary because each of remote register circuitries 344 - 354 interposes a one - bit latch on serial data line 410 and on control line 406 . in the example being discussed , there are six remote registers . thus , six additional shifts are necessary to assure that all bits are communicated to the 6th remote register in the serial loop before shifting ceases . activity at the remote registers can best be understood with reference to fig6 . it can be seen that header capture register 602 will have been cleared while control was unasserted . when control is asserted , header capture register will begin clocking bits in serially from serial data input 412 . as soon as the valid bit is clocked in , the shift input is disabled and no further shifting occurs in header capture register 602 . instantaneously , a comparison is then made with address 620 . if the address matches the header address bits , then remote register 604 begins clocking bits in serially from serial data input 412 until control is no longer asserted . the result will be that 64 data bits will have been written into remote register 604 . reading data from a particular remote register is very similar procedurally to writing data to the register , except that microprocessor 100 sets the r / w bit in header generation register 504 to r , and need not load any data value into staging register 500 before executing the read operation . fig9 illustrates a preferred method for reading data from a remote register . in step 902 , a &# 34 ; shift from diagnose &# 34 ; instruction is executed to load counter 506 with 77 , load address bits ad0 - 4 of header generation register 504 with the address specified in the instruction , and set the r / w bit of that register to &# 34 ; r . &# 34 ; the header is then shifted out onto serial data line 410 , and at the same time serial data is shifted back into staging register 500 from serial data input 402 . the shifting ceases when counter 502 counts down to zero . in step 904 , another microprocessor instruction is executed to move the contents of staging register 500 into a specified one of architected registers 126 , thus completing the read operation . as can be seen in fig1 , the 6 - bit latency caused by the latches in the serial loop of remote register circuitries causes the last of the read data to be clocked into staging register 500 from serial data input 402 when count = 0 . as the header is propagated through the loop of remote register circuitries 344 - 354 , each of the remote register circuitries compares bits ad0 - 4 in the header with its own address to determine if it has been selected . if the addresses are the same , then match is asserted . the r / w having been set to r causes read also to be asserted . the result is that multiplexer 608 routes data from remote register 600 onto serial data line 414 , enabling the data to be shifted serially back into serial data input 402 of staging register circuitry 338 as desired . the control inputs of remote register 604 are also controlled so that data shifted out of the register is recirculated to the serial input , thus making non - destructive reads possible if the remote register is either 64 bits long or an evenly divisible submultiple of 64 . when implementing the invention on a die that is already dense with other circuitry , the reader will find that the apparatus and procedures discussed in this section 2 . 2 provide important advantages . for example , the remote registers can be quite large ( on the order of 1 , 000 bits or more ) and very numerous , and yet only two interconnect lines are necessary to access all of them . also , the apparatus can be expanded to include many more or less than the six remote registers used in the example discussed herein , simply by adding to or subtracting from the number of bits used in the header address field ( bits ad0 - 4 ). moreover , addition of a remote register , no matter its size , adds only one bit of latency to the serial loop . 2 . 3 programmable state machine , counters , cpu core and off - chip trigger interfaces programmable state machine 302 , counters 304 , off - chip trigger interface 306 and cpu core interface 308 will now be described with reference to fig1 - 21 . fig1 illustrates the contents of block 300 in detail . block 300 contains programmable state machine 302 , counters 304 , cpu core interface 308 and off - chip trigger interface 306 . programmable state machine 302 includes input conditioning logic 1100 , programmable state machine entries 1102 , multi - bit present state latch 1104 and and gate 1106 . the inputs to input conditioning logic 1100 include thirty - eight bits from on - chip results a - h , four bits from counters 304 ( via counter overflow bus 1108 ), and one bit from off - chip trigger interface 306 . input conditioning logic 1100 provides twenty - three total output bits . eleven of these are provided to programmable state machine entries 1102 as state machine inputs 1110 . the other twelve are provided to counters 304 via increment data bus 1112 . as can be seen in the drawing , the inputs of each of programmable state machine entries 0 - n are coupled to multi - state latch 1104 via present state bus 1114 and also to state machine inputs 1110 . the outputs of each of programmable state machine entries 0 - n are coupled to next state bus 1116 , state machine output bus 1118 and hit bus 1120 . the hit signal is combined with clk by and gate 1106 to derive a signal that is used to control multi - state latch 1104 . fig1 illustrates a representative one of programmable state machine entries 0 - n . it is contemplated that storage elements 1201 - 1210 would be included within state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 . thus , storage elements 1201 - 1210 would be loaded with data by writing to state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . the four bits of present state bus 1114 are provided to one of the inputs of comparator 1212 so that they may be compared with the contents of storage element 1201 , which specifies the present state during which entry 1200 will become active . the four bits that are output from comparator 1212 are anded together at and gate 1216 , yielding a one - bit match result for present state . similarly , the contents of storage element 1202 ( bit - wise select ) are compared with the eleven bits of state machine input bus 1110 by comparator 1214 . or gate 1218 is used to mask the output bits of comparator 1214 with the contents of storage element 1204 ( bit - wise mask ). the results of this masking operation are anded together using and gate 1220 , resulting in a match result for the state machine input bus . exclusive or gate 1221 couples the output of and gate 1220 to one of the inputs of and gate 1222 as shown , and also provides a selectable inversion function . that is , when negate bit 1206 is set to &# 34 ; 0 ,&# 34 ; the output of exclusive or gate 1221 follows the output of and gate 1220 ; but when negate bit 1206 is set to &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; the output of exclusive or gate 1221 is the opposite to the output of and gate 1220 . the match results for present state and for the state machine input bus are anded together by and gate 1222 to produce the hit signal , which is coupled to hit bus 1120 . if hit happens to become asserted as a result of the match results for present state and the state machine input bus , then tri - state buffers 1224 and 1226 are enabled , allowing the contents of storage elements 1208 and 1210 to drive next state bus 1116 and state machine output bus 1118 , respectively . fig1 illustrates counters 304 in detail . as can be seen in the drawing , counters block 304 includes four separate counters labeled counter 0 - 3 . on the input side , each of counters 0 - 3 is coupled to increment data bus 1112 , state machine output bus 1118 and hit bus 1120 . specifically , bits 0 - 2 of increment data bus 1112 are coupled to counter 0 , bits 3 - 5 are coupled to counter 1 , bits 6 - 8 are coupled to counter 2 , and bits 9 - 11 are coupled to counter 3 . bit 7 of state machine output bus 1118 is coupled to counter 0 , bit 8 to counter 1 , bit 9 to counter 2 , and bit 10 to counter 3 . the hit signal is coupled to each counter . each of counters 0 - 3 also generates an overflow bit , labeled ov 0 - 3 in the drawing . these four overflow bits constitute counter overflow bus 1108 . fig1 illustrates counter 0 in detail . ( counter 0 is representative of each of counters 0 - 3 .) it is contemplated that storage elements 1406 and 1407 would be included within state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 . thus , storage element 1406 would be loaded with data by writing to state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . storage element 1407 may be loaded from latches 1414 and 1416 using logic such as load control logic 624 , and may be read by reading from state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 ( section 2 . 2 . 2 in particular ). counter 0 contains a thirty - two bit adder 1400 , which has two addend inputs 1401 and 1403 . addend input 1401 is coupled to the output of multiplexer 1402 . one input of multiplexer 1402 is coupled to a latched copy of the sum output ( rslt ) of adder 1400 , as shown . the other input of multiplexer 1402 is coupled to the output of storage element 1406 ( initial value ). thus , depending on the state of the init signal , addend input 1401 will be coupled either to rslt or to the initial value stored in storage element 1406 . ( preferably , the init signal is generated whenever storage element 1406 is written to .) the least significant three bits of addend input 1403 are coupled to three - bit latch 1404 . the twenty - nine most significant bits are coupled to ground . the input of latch 1404 is coupled to the output of multiplexer 1408 . one input of multiplexer 1408 is coupled to ground , yielding an input value of &# 34 ; 000 .&# 34 ; the other input of multiplexer 1408 is coupled to bits 0 - 2 of increment data bus 1112 . thus , depending on the output of and gate 1410 , the input of latch 1404 is provided either by bits 0 - 2 of increment data bus 1112 or by ground . the former will be selected whenever hit is asserted and bit 7 of state machine output bus 1118 is asserted . thus , counter 0 may be incremented by any value between 0 and 7 depending on the content of increment data bus bits 0 - 2 . &# 34 ; 1 - detector &# 34 ; 1412 ( constructed by conventional means ) is provided to catch asynchronously any assertions of the overflow signal ov by adder 1400 . in turn , this signal is latched by latch 1414 . &# 34 ; 1 - detector &# 34 ; 1412 will be cleared upon the assertion of the init signal . the sum output rslt of adder 1400 is latched by latch 1416 . the contents of latches 1414 and 1416 are preferably stored by storage element 1407 for later retrieval as previously discussed . overflow signal ov is also supplied to counter overflow bus 1108 . referring now to fig1 , cpu core interface 308 includes 4 - bit latch 1500 , whose inputs are coupled to the output of 4 - bit multiplexer 1502 . one 4 - bit input of multiplexer 1502 is coupled to ground , yielding the input value &# 34 ; 0000 .&# 34 ; the other input is coupled to bits 3 - 6 of state machine output bus 1118 . the select input of multiplexer 1502 is provided by the hit signal . when trig -- trap is asserted , fetch unit 110 will preferably begin fetching instructions from the address associated with the trap routine . when trig -- hch ( trig -- hcl ) is asserted , clock generator 146 will hold the system clock high ( low ). when trig -- sof is asserted , sample - on - the - fly logic 336 will latch the state of test nodes 0 - n for later retrieval by an external system via conventional tap controller 128 . referring now to fig1 , off - chip trigger interface 306 includes 3 - bit latch 1600 , whose inputs are coupled to the output of 3 - bit multiplexer 1602 . one 3 - bit input of multiplexer 1602 is coupled to ground , yielding the input value &# 34 ; 000 .&# 34 ; the other input is coupled to bits 0 - 2 of state machine output bus 1118 . the select input of multiplexer 1502 is provided by the hit signal . the outputs of latch 1600 are called ext -- trig -- out a , b and c . ext -- trig -- out a , b and c are coupled to chip pads 1604 , 1606 and 1608 , respectively , via output driver buffers 1610 , 1612 and 1614 . while chip pads 1604 and 1606 constitute output signals for microprocessor 100 , chip pad 1608 is bidirectional by virtue of the fact that it is coupled not only to output driver buffer 1614 , but also to receive buffer 1616 . the output of receive buffer 1616 is designated ext -- trig -- in and constitutes one of the inputs of input conditioning logic 1100 ( which will be discussed next ). fig1 illustrates input conditioning logic 1100 in detail . the chief purpose of input conditioning logic 1100 is to allow the programmer to select which information will be used as inputs to programmable state machine 302 . a secondary purpose of input conditioning logic is to determine which increment values will be used to increment counters 0 - 3 . input conditioning logic 1100 includes conditioning logic blocks 0 - 3 and cmp generation blocks 4 - 6 . signal sets c , d , e , f , g and h are provided to conditioning logic blocks 0 - 3 as shown . signal sets a and b are provided to cmp generation blocks 4 and 5 as shown . the only input for cmp generation block 6 is the ext -- trig -- in signal previously discussed in relation to fig1 . counter overflow bus 1108 is fed straight through to the output of input conditioning logic 1100 without manipulation . each of conditioning logic blocks 0 - 3 provides three of the twelve total bits that comprise increment data bus 1112 , as shown . also , each of input conditioning logic blocks 0 - 3 provides one of the seven total bits that comprise comparator result bus 1700 . the other three bits of comparator result bus 1700 are provided by cmp generation blocks 4 - 6 . together , comparator result bus 1700 and counter overflow bus 1108 comprise state machine input bus 1110 . fig1 illustrates the contents of conditioning logic 0 in detail . ( conditioning logic 0 is representative of conditioning logic 0 - 3 ). it is contemplated that storage elements 1800 - 1812 would be included within state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 . thus , storage elements 1800 - 1812 would be loaded with data by writing to state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . the purpose of the circuitry within sub - block 1814 is to produce one of the four 3 - bit increment values that are placed on increment data bus 1112 . the rom value &# 34 ; 001 &# 34 ; is coupled to the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; input of multiplexer 1818 so that , by storing a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in storage element 1802 , the increment value can be forced to &# 34 ; 001 .&# 34 ; otherwise , the increment value will be determined by the state of overall match generator output bits 0 , 1 and 2 , as shown . these overall match generator output bits are gated by and gates 1820 - 1824 . in this manner , they may be enabled or disabled by setting the value in storage element 1800 as desired . store -- match is also provided to and gates 1820 - 1824 to enable the programmer to focus exclusively on store - type instructions . if this is not desired , then store -- match may be forced to a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in a manner to be explained below in relation to fig3 . as can be seen in fig1 , the programmer is free to generate cmp [ 0 ] by using various combinations of the following : overall match generator results , load match information from data cache interface comparators 324 , validated instruction match information from validate logic 320 , unvalidated instruction match information from fetch unit comparators 316 , and user - selected signals taken from a variety of possible locations within microprocessor 100 by off - chip data interface 310 . these combination possibilities are provided by and gates 1834 , 1836 , 1828 , 1830 and 1832 ; or gates 1831 , 1833 and 1835 ; and the enable bits stored in storage elements 1800 - 1812 . fig1 and 20 illustrate the generation logic for cmp 4 and 5 , respectively . it is contemplated that storage elements 1900 - 1912 and 2000 - 2012 would be included within state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 . thus , storage elements 1900 - 1912 and 2000 - 2012 would be loaded with data by writing to state machine / counters control register circuitry 346 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . once again , the purpose of this circuitry is to enable the programmer to select which information will be used as an input to programmable state machine 302 . as can be seen in fig1 and 20 , the programmer may use and / or gates 1928 - 1934 ( 2028 - 2034 ) and storage elements 1900 - 1912 ( 2000 - 2012 ) to construct an or term using any or all of the following signals : system bus writeback , system bus i - flush , system bus d - flush , system bus private - to - shared , system bus interface prefetch buffer hit , system bus interface misprediction buffer hit , and the outputs from system bus address / data comparators 312 . ( the meaning of the six system bus performance signals just mentioned will be discussed below in connection with fig2 - 25 .) the generation options for cmp5 are identical to those for cmp 4 except that , in the case of cmp5 , the output of system bus address / data comparator 1 is used instead of the output of system bus address / data comparator 0 . ( system bus address / data comparators 0 and 1 are discussed in the next section .) fig2 illustrates the generation logic for cmp6 . latch 2100 is provided to store the state of the ext -- trig -- in signal . cmp6 tracks the state of the output of latch 2100 . system bus interface comparators 312 and performance signal generation logic 314 will now be discussed with reference to fig2 - 25 . as shown in fig2 , system bus interface comparators block 312 includes system bus address / data comparators 0 and 1 . each of system bus address / data comparators 0 and 1 is coupled to the 64 - bit system address / data bus 2200 , an address valid bit 2202 , a master id bus 2204 , a chip id bus 2206 , a transaction id bus 2208 , a data valid bit 2210 and a status register bit 2212 stored in storage element 2214 . the outputs of the two system bus address / data comparators are labeled sba / dcmp 0 and 1 , and are coupled to programmable state machine 302 at a . as was discussed above , system bus 106 operates according to the protocol of the well - known pa - 7200 microprocessor manufactured and sold by hewlett packard company . consequently , address and data pertinent to a given bus transaction may be presented on address / data bus 2200 in non - contiguous bus cycles . thus , a transaction id is associated with each bus transaction and is presented on transaction id bus 2208 in conjunction with each presentation of address or data so that the components interfaced to the bus can determine to which transaction the address or data belongs . in addition , a master id is presented on master id bus 2204 to indicate which microprocessor or other chip in the computer system is initiating the bus transaction . a chip id for microprocessor 100 is stored in a storage element and is communicated to system bus interface 108 via chip id bus 2206 . system bus interface 108 uses the chip id to determine , based on a comparison between the chip id and the information present on master id bus 2204 , whether the information then - present on the bus is intended for microprocessor 100 . fig2 illustrates system bus address / data comparator 0 in detail . it is contemplated that storage elements 2300 - 2308 , as well as storage element 2214 , would be included within system bus interface comparators control register circuitry 348 . thus , storage elements 2300 - 2308 , as well as storage element 2214 , would be loaded with data by writing to system bus interface comparators control register circuitry 348 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . system bus address / data comparator 0 is operable in two different modes , depending on the state of status register bit 2212 . ( status bit 2212 determines the mode by selecting which signal will be presented on the output of multiplexer 2310 .) when status register bit 2212 is &# 34 ; 0 ,&# 34 ; system bus address / data comparator 0 operates in a &# 34 ; normal &# 34 ; mode . when status register bit 2212 is &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; system bus address / data comparator 0 operates in an &# 34 ; alternate &# 34 ; mode . in the normal mode , the output of address / data comparator 0 indicates whether a match has occurred on both the expected address stored in storage element 2300 and the expected data stored in storage element 2304 . to accomplish this , the output of and gate 2312 is presented on the output of multiplexer 2310 . the inputs of and gate 2312 are addr match 2314 and data match 2316 . addr match 2314 is asserted when and gate 2325 is asserted . and gate 2325 is asserted when : ( 1 ) the information present on addr / data bus 2200 matches the expected address information stored in storage element 2300 , as indicated by the output of comparator 2318 which output is bit - wise masked by or gate 2334 , the results of which are anded by multiple - input and gate ( 2323 ); ( 2 ) address valid bit 2202 is asserted , indicating that the information present on addr / data bus 2200 is in fact a valid address ; and ( 3 ) comparator 2320 indicates that there is a match between master id 2204 and chip id 2206 . when all three of these conditions occur , the match is stored by conventional &# 34 ; 1 detector &# 34 ; 2322 for later use by and gate 2312 in determining the overall addr / data match . also , because the data corresponding to the address of interest may not be presented on addr / data bus 2200 on the next bus cycle , the transaction id is stored in latch 2324 for later use by comparator 2326 . once the transaction id is stored in latch 2324 , a recurrence of the same transaction id on transaction id bus 2208 ( which presumably will occur when the awaited data is presented on address / data bus 2200 ) will cause xaction id match 2328 to be asserted by virtue of the fact that the bit - wise outputs of comparator 2326 and anded by multiple - input and gate 2327 . data match 2316 is asserted when and gate 2339 is asserted . and gate 2339 is asserted when : ( 1 ) xaction id match 2328 is asserted ; ( 2 ) comparator 2330 indicates that the information present on addr / data bus 2200 matches the expected data stored in storage element 2304 ; and ( 3 ) data valid bit 2210 is asserted , indicating that the information present on addr / data bus 2200 is in fact valid data . the operations of multiple - input and gate 2337 , bit - wise or gate 2336 and comparator 2330 are analogous to those of and gate 2323 , or gate 2334 and comparator 2318 , discussed above . once both addr match 2314 and data match 2316 are asserted , the overall addr / data match signal 2332 is asserted . when this occurs , &# 34 ; 1 detector &# 34 ; 2322 is cleared . additional flexibility is provided by or gates 2334 and 2336 , which allow the programmer to mask certain of the bits from the comparisons made by comparators 2318 and 2330 , respectively . also , exclusive or gate 2338 is provided , allowing the programmer optionally to negate the output of or gate 2336 . in the alternate mode , expected data is stored not only in storage element 2304 , but also in storage element 2300 , and the output of system bus address / data comparator 0 is indicative of data matches only . moreover , in the alternate mode , no consideration is given to the transaction id . ( in this mode , multiplexer 2310 presents only the data match 2340 signal on the output of system bus address / data comparator 0 .) the out put of and gate 2323 is coupled to one input of or gate 2342 . the output of exclusive or gate 2338 is coupled to the other input of or gate 2342 . one input of and gate 2344 is provided by the output of or gate 2342 . the other input of and gate 2344 is provided by data valid signal 2210 . the output of and gate 2344 is the data match signal 2340 . fig2 illustrates system bus address / data comparator 1 in detail . as is apparent from the drawing , system bus address / comparator 1 is constructed and operates exactly like system bus address / data comparator 0 , except for the following : in the alternate mode , address / data comparator 1 is used for address comparisons only ( as opposed to data comparisons only ). thus , in the alternate mode for system bus address / data comparator 1 , expected address is stored not only in storage element 2400 , but also in storage element 2404 . again , in the alternate mode , transaction id information is disregarded , and address matches are reported on addr match signal 2440 whenever they have occurred in both comparators 2418 and 2430 . fig2 illustrates in detail the signals that are generated by performance signal generation logic 314 . it is contemplated that the generation of the signals shown in fig2 may be accomplished by conventional means , and that numerous alternative methods for doing so will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art based on the following signal descriptions : bus writeback : this signal is asserted when a &# 34 ; dirty &# 34 ; cache line is being written back to main memory 208 . bus i - flush : this signal is asserted when a line from instruction cache 102 has just been flushed in response to a command received over system bus 106 from another component in the computer system . this activity is commonly done in connection with maintaining cache coherency with main memory 208 . bus d - flush : this signal is asserted when a line from data cache 104 has just been flushed in response to a command received over system bus 106 from another component in the computer system . this activity is commonly done in connection with maintaining cache coherency with main memory 208 . bus p & gt ; s : this signal is asserted when a previously - private cache line is changed to shared ( or is flushed , if dirty , to main memory ). bus prefetch buffer hit : system bus interface 108 is equipped with a buffer for instructions that have been prefetched from main memory 208 but not yet requested by fetch unit 110 . once fetch unit 110 does request such a prefetched instruction , a hit occurs on the prefetch buffer , and the bus prefetch buffer hit signal is asserted at this time . bus mispredicted buffer hit : system bus interface 108 is also equipped with a buffer for instructions that have been fetched speculatively , but turn out to have been mispredicted . in the event fetch unit 110 eventually requests such an instruction while it is still in the mispredicted instruction buffer , a hit occurs on the buffer . when this happens , bus mispredicted buffer hit is asserted . all six of the signals generated by performance signal generation logic 314 are coupled to programmable state machine 302 at b . fetch unit comparators 316 will now be discussed with reference to fig2 - 30 . fig2 illustrates the content of fetch unit comparator block 316 . as each bundle of four instructions i0 - i3 is fetched by fetch unit 110 , the instructions are provided to instruction comparator matrix 2600 . simultaneously , the cache index and certain bits of the virtual address for the bundle of four instructions are provided to address comparator matrix 2602 . as will be discussed in more detail below , instruction comparator matrix 2600 contains four instruction comparators called instruction comparators a - d . each of instruction comparators a - d provides one result for each of the four instructions in the bundle ( four results total ). thus , instruction comparator matrix 2600 provides sixteen total results for each bundle of instructions . for convenience , the results for instruction comparator a are called icmpa [ i0 ], icmpa [ i1 ], icmpa [ i2 ], and icmpa [ i3 ]. the four complete sets of results from instruction comparator matrix 2600 are labeled as follows in fig2 : icmpa [ i0 - i3 ], icmpb [ i0 - i3 ], icmpc [ i0 - i3 ] and icmpd [ i0 - i3 ]. address comparator matrix 2602 contains four bundle address comparators a - d . because there is only one address associated with each bundle of four instructions , bundle address comparator matrix 2602 provides only one set of results for each bundle of instructions . in the drawing , these results are labeled bacmp [ a - d ]. as is shown , the result from bacmp [ a ] is anded with all four of the results from icmpa . likewise , the result from bacmp [ b ] is anded with all four of the results from icmpb ; the result from bacmp [ c ] is anded with all four of the results from icmpc ; and the result from bacmp [ d ] is anded with all four of the results from icmpd . the sixteen results from these and operations are provided to validate logic 320 via bus 318 . in addition , each group of four and results is ored together by or gates 2604 - 2610 . the resulting four bits , labeled fetcha - d in the drawing , are provided to programmable state machine 302 at d . fig2 illustrates instruction comparator matrix 2600 in detail . it is contemplated that storage elements 2700 - 2706 would be included within fetch comparators control register circuitry 344 . thus , storage elements 2700 - 2706 would be loaded with data by writing to fetch comparators control register circuitry 344 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . as is shown , instructions i0 - i3 are provided to each of instruction comparators a - d . but each of instruction comparators a - d compares instructions i0 - i3 with different expected instructions a - d stored in storage elements 2700 - 2706 , respectively . for additional flexibility , each instruction comparator is also provided with a separate set of mask , negate and enable bits , as shown . fig2 illustrates in detail a representative one of instruction comparators a - d . instruction comparator 2800 contains four 32 - bit comparators 2802 - 2808 . one 32 - bit input of each comparator 2802 - 2808 is coupled to 32 - bit expected instruction 2810 . the other input of each comparator 2802 - 2808 is coupled to a different one of the four instructions i0 - 3 . a thirty - two bit mask 2812 is provided to each of or gates 2814 - 2820 , allowing the programmer the option of bit - wise masking certain of the bits from each instruction comparison result . a negate bit 2822 is provided to exclusive or gates 2824 - 2830 , allowing the programmer the option of negating each of the instruction comparison results . finally , a set of enable bits 2832 - 2838 is provided to and gates 2840 - 2846 , allowing the programmer the option of individually enabling or disabling each of the instruction comparison results . fig2 illustrates address comparator matrix 2602 in detail . it is contemplated that storage elements 2900 - 2906 would be included within fetch comparators control register circuitry 344 . thus , storage elements 2900 - 2906 would be loaded with data by writing to fetch comparators control register circuitry 344 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . as mentioned above , bundle address comparator matrix 2602 contains four bundle address comparators a - d . each of bundle address comparators a - d is coupled to selected bits 2908 of the virtual address for the bundle of instructions i0 - i3 . each of bundle address comparators a - d is also coupled to the cache index 2910 for the bundle of instructions i0 - i3 . but each of bundle address comparators a - d compares the virtual address bits 2908 and the cache index 2910 with different expected addresses a - d stored in storage elements 2900 - 2906 , respectively . for additional flexibility , each address comparator is also provided with a separate set of mask , negate and enable bits , as shown . fig3 illustrates in detail a representative one of bundle address comparators a - d . bundle address comparator 3000 contains comparators 3002 and 3004 . comparator 3002 is used to compare bundle virtual address bits 2908 with expected bundle virtual address bits 3006 . comparator 3004 is used to compare bundle cache index 2910 with expected bundle cache index 3008 . a mask 3010 is provided to or gate 3012 , allowing the programmer the option of masking certain of the bits from the bundle virtual address comparison . a negate bit 3014 is provided to exclusive or gate 3016 , allowing the programmer the option of negating the result of the bundle virtual address comparison . and a disable bit 3018 is provided to or gate 3020 , allowing the programmer the option of enabling or disabling the result of the bundle virtual address comparison . similarly , a mask 3022 is provided to or gate 3024 , allowing the programmer the option of masking certain of the bits from the bundle cache index comparison . a negate bit 3026 is provided to exclusive or gate 3028 , allowing the programmer the option of negating the result of the bundle cache index comparison . and a disable bit 3030 is provided to or gate 3032 , allowing the programmer the option of enabling or disabling the result of the bundle cache index comparison . finally , the results of the bundle virtual address comparison and the bundle cache index comparison are anded by and gate 3034 , yielding a bundle addr match signal 3036 . this latter signal corresponds to the bacmp signals shown in fig2 . data cache interface comparators 324 will now be discussed with reference to fig3 - 34 . fig3 illustrates the content of data cache interface comparators 324 in detail . as is shown , data cache interface comparators block 324 contains even cache port comparators 3100 and odd cache port comparators 3102 . even cache port comparators block 3100 contains dual load address / data comparators 3104 and store data comparator 3106 . odd cache port comparators block 3102contains dual load address / data comparators 3108 and store data comparator 3110 . sixty - four bit data cache store data bus 3112 is provided to both store data comparators 3106 and 3110 . ( microprocessor 100 is designed to be capable of executing two load operations simultaneously -- one odd and one even . store operations , on the other hand , may only be executed one at a time .) even loads bus 3114 includes even data cache index bus 3116 , even data cache tag bus 3118 and even data cache load data bus 3120 . all three of these busses are provided to dual load address / data comparators 3104 . odd loads bus 3122 includes odd data cache index bus 3124 , odd data cache tag bus 3126 and odd data cache load data bus 3128 . all three of these buses are provided to dual load address / data comparators 3108 . dual load address / data comparators 3104 provide two output signals , eloadmatch0 and eloadmatch1 . dual load address / data comparators 3108 provide two output signals , oloadmatch0 and oloadmatch1 . these four bits are provided to programmable state machine 302 at f . in addition , these four bits are also stored in address reorder buffer 330 , as will be discussed in more detail below in relation to fig3 . store data comparator 3106 provides one output signal , estorematch . store data comparator 3110 provides one output signal , ostorematch . these two bits are provided to programmable state machine 302 at g . fig3 illustrates in detail a representative one of store data comparators 3106 and 3110 . it is contemplated that storage elements 3200 and 3202 would be included within data cache interface comparators control register circuitry 352 . thus , storage elements 3200 and 3202 would be loaded with data by writing to data cache interface comparators control register circuitry 352 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . each 32 - bit word of 64 - bit data bus 3112 is sent to a different one of comparators 3204 and 3206 . comparator 3204 compares word 0 with expected word 0 , and comparator 3206 compares word 1 with expected word 1 . the results of the bit - wise comparison for word 0 are anded by multiple - input and gate 3205 , the output of which may be masked by or gate 3208 and negated by exclusive or gate 3210 , at the option of the programmer . the results of the bit - wise comparison for word 1 are anded by multiple - input and gate 3207 , the output of which may be masked by or gate 3212 and negated by exclusive or gate 3214 , at the option of the programmer . additional flexibility is provided by multiplexer 3216 , or gate 3218 , and gate 3220 and or gate 3222 . select bits 3224 may be set by the programmer so that storematch ( the output of the store data comparator ) reflects any one of the following : ( 0 ) the logical or of store data match 0 and store data match 1 ; ( 1 ) just store data match 1 ; ( 2 ) just store data match 0 ; or ( 3 ) the logical and of store data match 0 and store data match 1 . moreover , by setting disable bit 3226 appropriately , the programmer may choose to override all of the previously mentioned results , effectively &# 34 ; forcing &# 34 ; a match . fig3 illustrates in detail a representative one of dual load address / data comparators 3104 and 3108 . as is shown , dual load address / data comparator 3300 contains load comparators 3302 and 3304 . each is coupled to data cache index bus 3306 , data cache tag bus 3308 and data cache load data bus 3310 . the outputs of load comparators 3302 and 3304 are loadmatch0 and loadmatch1 , respectively . fig3 illustrates in detail a representative one of load comparators 3302 and 3304 . it is contemplated that storage elements 3402 - 3412 would be included within data cache interface comparators control register circuitry 352 . thus , storage elements 3402 - 3412 would be loaded with data by writing to data cache interface comparators control register circuitry 352 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . comparator 3414 compares data cache index 3426 with expected data cache index 3427 . comparator 3416 compares data cache tag 3428 with expected data cache tag 3429 . for additional flexibility , mask bits 3430 are provided to or gate 3432 , allowing the programmer to mask individual bits from the data cache index comparison results . the bit - wise outputs of or gate 3432 are anded by and gate 3433 , and the result is provided to one input of exclusive or gate 3436 . negate bit 3434 is provided to the other input of exclusive or gate 3436 , allowing the programmer to negate the data cache index comparison result . in respect of the data cache tag comparison results , the same flexibility is provided to the programmer by mask bits 3438 , or gate 3442 , and gate 3443 , negate bit 3440 and exclusive or gate 3444 . comparators 3418 and 3422 and multiplexer 3446 are used to produce data match in exactly the same manner as comparators 3204 and 3206 and multiplexer 3216 are used to produce storematch , with one exception : comparators 3420 and 3424 are added to consider whether there is also a match between the parity bits for cache load data words 0 and 1 and the corresponding expected parity bits . the results of the parity comparisons are merged with the data comparisons by and gates 3448 and 3450 . mask bits 3452 and 3454 are provided for parity word 0 and 1 comparisons , respectively , providing the programmer with additional flexibility . the optional masking functionality is provided by or gates 3447 , 3451 , 3455 and 3459 . the optional negating functionality is provided by exclusive or gates 3449 and 3457 . multiple - input and gates 3445 and 3453 are provided to and the bit - wise results of comparators 3418 and 3422 , respectively . or gate 3461 and and gate 3463 are configured to provide several logical permutations of the match w0 and match w1 signals at the inputs to multiplexer 3446 , as shown . the output of multiplexer 3446 may be overridden via the disable signal applied to or gate 3465 . ultimately , indexmatch , tagmatch and datamatch are anded together by and gate 3456 to produce loadmatch . fig3 illustrates validate logic 320 in detail . as was discussed above , one of the functions of sort unit 112 is to determine which of the four instructions in a fetched bundle were actually requested and are therefore &# 34 ; valid , &# 34 ; versus which of them were not requested and are therefore &# 34 ; invalid . &# 34 ; it is contemplated that four bits ( one &# 34 ; valid / invalid &# 34 ; bit for each instruction ) will be produced by conventional means within sort unit 112 in order to convey this information to validate logic 320 . in fig3 , these bits are labeled i0valid , i1valid , i2valid and i3valid . bus 318 carries sixteen result bits from fetch unit comparators 316 over to validate logic 320 . the valid bits are anded with the corresponding fetch unit comparator results , as shown , resulting in the validate logic results . for example , all of the fetch unit comparator results for instruction 0 ( fai0 , fbi0 , fci0 and fdi0 ) are anded with the iovalid bit . the resulting four bits are called vai0 , vbi0 , vci0 and vdi0 . sixteen bits result from this anding operation . they are provided via bus 322 to instruction queue 114 for storage along with the instructions to which they correspond . in addition , the validated results for each fetch unit comparator a - d are ored together , instruction by instruction , by or gates 3502 - 3508 . the outputs of these or gates are provided to programmable state machine 302 at e . a maximum of four instructions may retire from instruction queue 114 during any given clock cycle -- two from alu queue 138 and two from memory queue 140 . for the remainder of this discussion , these retiring instructions will be referred to as alu instructions 0 and 1 , and mem instructions 0 and 1 ( hereinafter denoted alu [ 0 ], alu [ 1 ], mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ]). the reader should note that these retiring instructions do not necessarily correspond to the instructions i0 - i3 discussed previously . rather , during any given clock cycle , a bundle of four instructions i0 - i3 may be fetched , and at the same time a group of four instructions alu [ 0 ], alu [ 1 ], mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] may be retired . fig3 illustrates the components of the invention that reside within retire unit 120 . as was discussed previously , retiring instruction comparator matrix 332 takes , as its inputs , 24 bits of &# 34 ; retire - time information &# 34 ; from instruction queue 114 . retiring instruction comparator matrix 332 provides sixteen output bits 3600 to overall match generation matrix 334 . overall match generation matrix 334 takes these sixteen bits as inputs , as well as 22 other bits from instruction queue 114 . the latter 22 bits include validated instruction comparison results 3602 ( which correspond to the 16 bits 322 from validation logic 320 that were previously placed in bit fields 326 , 328 ), and data cache load comparison results 3604 ( which correspond to the 6 bits deriving from data cache interface comparators 324 that were previously placed in bit field 330 ). based on these inputs , overall match generation matrix 334 provides 12 output bits h to programmable state machine 302 . fig3 illustrates retiring instruction comparator matrix 332 in detail . retiring instruction comparator matrix 332 contains four retiring instruction comparators 3700 - 3706 , one for each of the four possible retiring instructions . because a maximum of two alu - type instructions and a maximum of two mem - type instructions may retire at once , retiring instruction comparators 3700 and 3702 are dedicated to alu - type retiring instructions , while retiring instruction comparators 3704 and 3706 are dedicated to mem - type retiring instructions . six bits of retire - time info are supplied to each retiring instruction comparator . each set of six bits corresponds to one of the retiring instructions , as shown . within each of the four retiring instruction comparators are four retire match generators a - d . ( this will be discussed in more detail below in relation to fig3 and 39 .) thus , each of the retiring instruction generators 3700 - 3706 produces four retire match bits . it follows that the total output for matrix 332 is sixteen total bits of match results presented as four different 4 - bit sets -- one set for each of the possible retiring instructions . in the drawing , these sets are denoted retire -- cmp [ alu0 ] [ a - d ], retire -- cmp [ alu1 ] [ a - d ], retire -- cmp [ memo ] [ a - d ] and retire -- cmp [ mem1 ] [ a - d ]. fig3 illustrates in detail a representative one of alu - type retiring instruction comparators 3700 and 3702 . it is contemplated that storage elements 3800 - 3826 would be included within retire unit comparators control register circuitry 354 . thus , storage elements 3800 - 3826 would be loaded with data by writing to retire unit comparators control register circuitry 354 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . the generation of the six &# 34 ; retire - time info &# 34 ; signals shown in fig3 may be accomplished by any conventional means . numerous alternative methods for doing so will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art based on the following signal descriptions : stores : this bit indicates whether the associated retiring instruction was a store - type memory instruction . ( this information is pertinent only to mem - type instructions .) ptaken : for every conditional branch or jump - type instruction encountered , microprocessor 100 makes a prediction about whether the ( upcoming ) evaluation of the condition will cause the branch or jump to be taken . this bit indicates whether the associated instruction was a branch instruction whose branch was predicted to be taken . dcmiss : this bit indicates whether the associated instruction caused a data cache miss . ( this information is pertinent only to mem - type instructions .) icmiss : this bit indicates whether the associated instruction caused an instruction cache miss . nullified : the instruction set of microprocessor 100 includes the capability to &# 34 ; nullify &# 34 ; certain instructions in the instruction stream based on the outcome of other instructions or conditions within microprocessor 100 . this bit indicates whether the associated instruction was nullified for any reason . takenbranch : this bit indicates whether the associated instruction was a branch instruction whose branch was actually taken . ( this information is pertinent only to alu - type instructions .) bits 3800 - 3826 are provided for the programmer &# 39 ; s flexibility . by setting them appropriately , the programmer may configure the retiring instruction comparator to produce a variety of different kinds of results at its outputs . four stores enable bits 3800 - 3806 are provided . each is coupled to one of the inputs of one of and gates 3836 - 3842 through inverters 3828 - 3834 . ( this is done so that the alu - type retiring instruction comparator will not produce any match indications when the programmer is interested in store - type memory instructions .) storage elements 3808 - 3814 contain ptaken negate and enable bits for each of and gates 3836 - 3842 , respectively . the negate function is achieved by exclusive or gates 3844 - 3850 . the enable function is achieved by or gates 3852 - 3858 ( each of which has an inverted input for the enable bit ). two dcmiss enable bits are provided . one is provided to an input of and gate 3840 through inverter 3860 . the other is provided to an input of and gate 3842 through inverter 3862 . storage elements 3820 - 3822 contain icmiss negate and enable bits for each of and gates 3836 - 3838 , respectively . the negate function is achieved by exclusive or gates 3864 - 3868 . the enable function is achieved by or gates 3866 - 3870 ( each of which has an inverted input for the enable bit ). storage element 3824 contains a nullified enable bit for and gate 3840 . the enable function is performed by exclusive or gate 3872 , which has an inverted input for the enable bit . storage element 3826 contains a taken -- branch enable bit for and gate 3838 . the enable function is performed by exclusive or gate 3874 , which has an inverted input for the enable bit . fig3 illustrates in detail a representative one of mem - type retiring instruction comparators 3704 and 3706 . the same bits contained in storage elements 3800 - 3826 that were provided to comparators 3700 - 3702 are also provided to comparators 3704 - 3706 , as shown . the stores enable bits 3800 - 3806 are used for all four of and gates 3936 - 3942 . the enable function is provided by or gates 3928 - 3934 , all of which have an inverted input for the enable bit . the ptaken negate and enable bits 3808 - 3814 are used in exactly the same manner as they are used in the alu - type comparator shown in fig3 , as are the icmiss negate and enable bits 3820 - 3822 and the nullified enable bit 3824 . the two sets of dcmiss negate and enable bits are used for and gates 3940 and 3942 . the negate function is provided by exclusive or gates 3959 and 3963 . the enable function is provided by or gates 3961 and 3965 , each of which has an inverted input for the enable bit . the taken -- branch enable bit 3826 is provided to one input of and gate 3938 through inverter 3973 . fig4 illustrates overall match generator matrix 334 in detail . overall match generator matrix 334 includes overall match generators a - d . a total of thirty - eight input bits are provided to overall match generator matrix 334 . for each of the four possible retiring instructions mem [ 0 ], mem [ 1 ], alu [ 0 ] and alu [ 1 ], there are the following inputs : 4 bits from retiring instruction matrix 332 , labeled r [ a - d ]; and 4 bits from validated instruction comparison results 3602 , labeled v [ a - d ]. in addition , the 6 bits from data cache load comparison results 3604 are distributed as follows : the load -- match a / b result bits for instructions mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] go to overall match generators a and b . the load -- match c / d result bits for instructions mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] go to overall match generators c and d . the even / odd bits for instructions mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] go to each of overall match generators a - d . based on these inputs , each of the overall match generators produces one overall match bit for each of instructions alu [ 0 ], alu [ 1 ], mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ], as shown . these four sets of overall match results are provided to adders 4000 - 4006 . the purpose of each adder is to determine how many of its four input bits were asserted . thus , sum a indicates how many retiring instructions produced a match at the end of comparator chain a . sum b indicates how many retiring instructions produced a match at the end of comparator chain b , and so on . the twelve bits comprising sums a - d are provided to the input of programmable state machine 302 at h . each of overall match generators a - d is slightly different from the others . fig4 illustrates overall match generator a in detail . it is contemplated that storage elements 4100 would be included within retire unit comparators control register circuitry 354 . thus , storage element 4100 would be loaded with data by writing to retire unit comparators control register circuitry 354 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . overall match generator a contains and gates 4102 - 4108 . the output of each one of these four and gates provides the &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; overall match result for one of the four retiring instructions . thus , these outputs are labeled overall -- match -- a [ alu0 ], overall -- match -- a [ alu1 ], overall -- match -- a [ mem0 ] and overall -- match -- a [ mem1 ]. an inverted version of data cache enable a is provided to and gates 4102 and 4104 directly , and to and gates 4106 and 4108 through or gates 4110 and 4112 . this is done so that , when data cache enable a is asserted ( meaning the programmer is interested in mem - type instructions on comparator chain a ), there will be no overall match results generated for alu - type instructions on comparator chain a . results for mem - type instructions , on the other hand , will be enabled . the even / odd bits for mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] are provided to and gates 4114 and 4116 without inversion . thus , overall match generator a is configured to derive its mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] match results from the load -- match a / b comparison result of even memory load instructions only . fig4 illustrates overall match generator b in detail . as can be seen , its structure is completely analogous to that of overall match generator a . the difference is that overall match generator b is configured to derive its mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] match results from the load -- match a / b comparison result of odd memory load instructions only ( by virtue of the inverted input on and gates 4214 and 4216 ). fig4 illustrates overall match generator c in detail . as can be seen , its structure is completely analogous to that of overall match generator a . the difference is that overall match generator c is configured to derive its mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] match results from the load -- match c / d comparison result of even memory load instructions only ( as opposed to deriving them from the load -- match a / b result for even memory load instructions ). fig4 illustrates overall match generator d in detail . as can be seen , its structure is completely analogous to that of overall match generator c . the difference is that overall match generator c is configured to derive its mem [ 0 ] and mem [ 1 ] match results from the load -- match c / d comparison result of odd memory load instructions only ( as opposed to even ones ), by virtue of the inverted inputs on and gates 4414 and 4416 . fig4 illustrates the contents of off - chip data interface 310 in detail . it is contemplated that storage elements 4500 - 4508 would be included within off - chip data interface control register circuitry 350 . thus , storage elements 4500 - 4508 would be loaded with data by writing to off - chip data interface control register circuitry 350 using the method and apparatus described above in section 2 . 2 . five hundred and seventy - six test nodes from various points within microprocessor 100 are routed to the inputs of multiplexer 4510 in groups of 36 . the programmer uses the value in storage element ( s ) 4508 to select which set of 36 test nodes will be coupled to chip pads 4512 . in addition to the 36 signals so selected , 27 additional signals ( preselected and fixed ) are always routed to chip pads 4512 , as shown , so as to be visible off - chip under all circumstances . of the 36 selected signals 4522 and the 27 fixed signals 4524 , 32 of them ( 4526 ) are routed to multiplexers 4514 - 4520 in four groups of eight , as shown . the programmer uses the values in storage elements 4500 - 4506 to select one bit from each of these four groups to be routed back to programmable state machine 302 at c . fig4 illustrates a second preferred implementation of the functionality just described . in the implementation of fig4 , multiplexer 4510 is replaced by 32 different 16 : 1 multiplexers , indicated generally in the drawing by multiplexers 4602 - 4610 . the various 16 : 1 multiplexers are physically located at various remote locations around microprocessor 100 . each has its inputs coupled to a set of test nodes , indicated generally in the drawing at 4612 - 4620 . each has its select inputs coupled to storage elements , indicated generally in the drawing at s0 - s31 . the outputs of the 16 : 1 multiplexers comprise bus 4522 . bus 4524 is coupled to 27 fixed nodes 4622 . preferably , fixed nodes 4622 are chosen as those nodes that a programmer would most likely want to see at chip pads 4512 under all circumstances . for example , fixed nodes 4622 may correspond to the minimum set of signals from which the state of microprocessor 100 can be reconstructed by external equipment . it is further contemplated that storage elements s0 - s31 would either be included within off - chip data interface control register circuitry 350 , or would constitue a new set of control registers that may be coupled into the serial loop of control registers 344 - 354 . in yet another variation , the same four bits 4508 may be used as select inputs for each of the 16 : 1 multiplexers throughout the chip . one advantage of the implementation of fig4 is that , by multiplexing closer to the test nodes , fewer interconnect traces need to be run across the chip to multiplexers 4514 - 4520 and to chip pads 4512 . in yet another preferred embodiment , any combination of storage elements 4500 - 4508 and s0 - s31 may be implemented as latches whose inputs are coupled to state machine output bus 1118 . in this manner , the selection of which signals are routed to chip pads 4512 and to state machine inputs c may be changed automatically and &# 34 ; on the fly &# 34 ; by state machine 302 in response to user - defined events having occurred . while the present invention has been described in detail in relation to a preferred embodiment thereof , particularly in relation to fig3 and 46 , the described embodiment has been presented by way of example and not by way of limitation . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the form and details of the described embodiment , resulting in equivalent embodiments that will remain within the scope of the appended claims .	6
the present invention provides a shunt system having endoscopic placement features which allow the system to be surgically implanted and easily assembled using minimally invasive techniques . turning now to the drawings and particularly to fig1 a and 1b , a shunt system 10 in accordance with the present invention is shown . in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the shunt system 10 comprises a shunt device 20 contained within a housing 12 . the shunt device 20 includes a valve mechanism 22 for regulating fluid flow into and out of the shunt device 20 . the valve mechanism 22 can comprise any typical valve mechanism , such as the ball - in - cone valve illustrated and as described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 886 , 948 , 4 , 332 , 255 , 4 , 387 , 715 , 4 , 551 , 128 , 4 , 595 , 390 , 4 , 615 , 691 , 4 , 772 , 257 , and 5 , 928 , 182 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference . of course , it is understood that the valve mechanism 22 can also comprise other suitable valves including programmable valves for controlling fluid flow in a shunt device as are known in the art . also included in the shunt device 20 is a pump chamber 24 that is connected to and in fluid communication with the valve mechanism 22 . the pump chamber 24 can comprise a flexible diaphragm 26 that enables selective occlusion of fluid flow into and out of the pump chamber 24 , thereby allowing bidirectional pumping of fluid between the pump chamber 24 and an attached reservoir 30 that is in fluid communication with the pump chamber 24 . the reservoir 30 comprises a top section 32 and a base section 34 which terminates in a catheter connector 36 . a portion of the base section 34 including the connector 36 extends out of the housing 12 as shown in fig1 b . however , it is understood that only the connector 36 need be located outside of the housing 12 for ease of assembly , and the base section 34 itself may be wholly contained within the housing 12 if desired . the top section 32 of the reservoir 30 which connects to the pump chamber 24 serves as a second pump chamber . preferably , the reservoir 30 can be a “ domed ” reservoir . that is , the top section 32 of the reservoir 30 is situated under a domed cap 14 that forms a part of the housing 12 , much like in the prior art rickham pump chamber 2 of fig3 in which there is shown a pump chamber 4 attached to a reservoir 6 seated underneath a domed housing 8 . in the present invention , both the top section 32 of the reservoir 30 and the pump chamber 24 are each configured to handle approximately 0 . 08cc of fluid volume , thereby allowing in total about four times the fluid volume as compared to the rickham pump chamber 2 of the prior art . however , the length of the housing 12 itself is approximately 4 cm so the overall dimensions of the shunt device 20 are still relatively small . to form the complete fluid flow pathway , catheters 40 , 60 are connected to the shunt device 20 of the present invention . provided with the shunt system 10 is an inflow catheter 40 having a first end 42 , a second end 44 , and a channel 46 extending between the first end 42 and second end 44 . the first end 42 of the inflow catheter 40 is configured to attach to the base section 34 of the reservoir 30 by way of the catheter connector 36 , while the second end 44 serves as the fluid uptake end , thereby providing a pathway for fluid to enter the shunt system 10 . in a hydrocephalus shunt system , the inflow , or ventricular , catheter 40 is placed in a ventricle of the patient so that cerebrospinal fluid can enter the shunt device 20 . after the cerebrospinal fluid enters the shunt device 20 , the fluid is regulated by the valve mechanism 22 and , according to the patient &# 39 ; s physiological condition , excess cerebrospinal fluid is released from the shunt device 20 through an outflow , or drainage , catheter 60 . the excess fluid is carried out through a channel 66 extending between a first end 62 of the outflow catheter 60 , which first end 62 is configured to attach to the valve mechanism 22 , and a second , fluid release end 64 where the fluid exits the shunt system 10 . as shown in fig1 b , the catheter connector 36 includes a flange 38 at its free end . the first , attachment end 42 of the inflow catheter 40 has an inner diameter id which is slightly smaller than the largest outer diameter of the flange 38 . this inner diameter id can be the diameter of the channel 46 extending from the first , attachment end 42 to the second , fluid uptake end 44 of the inflow catheter 40 provided the channel 46 has a consistent diameter throughout the inflow catheter 40 . however , it is understood that the inner diameter id of the channel 46 need only be smaller than the largest outer diameter of the flange 38 at a section near the first , attachment end 42 of the inflow catheter 40 . this smaller inner diameter id enables the attachment end 42 to form a tight , interference fit with the connector 36 when the attachment end 42 is urged onto the connector 36 and flange 38 . the inflow catheter 40 can be formed from a resilient and flexible material such as medical - grade silicone to allow the first , attachment end 42 to deform and fit over the connector 36 and flange 38 as the inflow catheter 40 is advanced towards the base section 34 . to secure the first , attachment end 42 of the inflow catheter 40 to the connector 36 , a selectively engageable locking mechanism 50 is provided with the inflow catheter 40 . the locking mechanism 50 can comprise a retaining ring 52 for maintaining the attachment end 42 of the inflow catheter 40 onto the connector 36 . in one exemplary embodiment , the retaining ring 52 is able to move , or slide over the inflow catheter 40 and beyond the flange 38 when the inflow catheter 40 is attached to the connector 36 . as illustrated in fig1 c , the retaining ring 52 can be situated adjacent to the attachment end 42 in an unlocked state . after the attachment end 42 is urged onto the connector 36 and flange 38 , the retaining ring 52 can be moved towards the attachment end 42 such as by sliding , twisting , or other similar advancing action until the retaining ring 52 passes over the flange 38 held within the attachment end 42 . in this locked state as shown , the retaining ring 52 compresses the flexible attachment end 42 over the connector 36 . the retaining ring 52 is configured such that the inner diameter is smaller than the largest outer diameter of the attachment end 42 with the flange 38 therein , thereby preventing the retaining ring 52 from sliding out of its locked state back to its unlocked state . it is contemplated that the retaining ring 52 can be formed of a suitable biocompatible material such as titanium or titanium alloy , while the connector 36 and flange 38 are formed of a semi - deformable material such as nylon to allow enough compression for the retaining ring 52 to slide over the flange 38 . with this locking mechanism 50 , the inflow catheter 40 is able to be assembled to the shunt device 20 quickly and easily , without the need for sutures or adhesives . the retaining ring 52 also provides a more consistent joining force than current suturing methods . the inflow catheter 40 of the present invention also provides features that enable its customization to a particular patient . on the outer surface of the inflow catheter 40 are marks or indicia 54 which correspond to the length of the inflow catheter 40 . these marks 54 can aid the surgeon in pre - sizing the inflow catheter 40 to the individual patient once the specific size of the ventricular tube needed has been determined by either ct scan or other known imaging techniques . this way , the surgeon can adjust the length , i . e ., by cutting the catheter 40 to the required size , intraoperatively . if it is desirable to cut the inflow catheter 40 to size , the retaining ring 52 can be slid away from the area to be cut , near the second , fluid uptake end 44 . alternatively , the retaining ring 52 can be taken off the inflow catheter 42 entirely , and placed back on after the inflow catheter 40 has been cut to size . once the inflow catheter 40 has been cut to the desired size , the retaining ring 52 is advanced near the first , attachment end 42 prior to assembly . in addition , the inflow catheter 40 can have either an open or a closed second end 44 for surgeon modification to allow visualization with an endoscope . if the second end 44 is closed , a pre - formed slit 56 can be provided so as to allow the endoscope to pass through the second end 44 . since the second end 44 serves as the fluid uptake end , a series of apertures 58 can be provided near the closed second end 44 to facilitate fluid entry into the inflow catheter 40 . rather than having a sliding retaining ring 52 on the inflow catheter 40 , fig2 a shows another exemplary embodiment of a locking mechanism 50 ′ comprising a retaining ring 52 ′ that is firmly secured to the inflow catheter 40 of the present system 10 at its attachment end 42 . the retaining ring 52 ′ can resemble the retaining ring 52 of fig1 b and 1c in size , shape , and composition , except that the retaining ring 52 ′ is bonded to the outer diameter of the inflow catheter 40 . fig2 b shows yet another exemplary embodiment of a locking mechanism 50 ″ for use with the inflow catheter 40 of the present system 10 , in which a retaining ring 52 ″ is firmly secured such as by bonding to the inner diameter id of the inflow catheter 40 at its attachment end 42 . the retaining ring 52 ″ can be formed from a semi - deformable material such as nylon . the retaining rings 52 ′, 52 ″ of the present invention can be used with pre - cut fixed length inflow catheters 40 . during assembly , the bonded retaining rings 52 ′, 52 ″ pop over the flange 38 of the connector 36 when the inflow catheter 40 is urged onto the connector 36 , thus retaining the inflow catheter 40 and the connector 36 together without the need for sutures or adhesives . to allow pumping of the valve mechanism 22 distally while preventing occlusion of the shunt device 20 proximally , the base section 34 of the reservoir 30 can include a check valve mechanism 70 as illustrated in fig4 . within the base section 34 are partitions 76 that form a funnel entrance 82 leading into a constricted region or central flow channel 78 that extends into the main chamber 84 . the partitions 76 can be held a distance apart from the base section 34 to thereby create peripheral flow channels 80 as well . the peripheral flow channels 80 lend anti - siphon properties to the check valve mechanism 70 by creating narrow structures that restrict fluid flow distally . a free floating ball 72 is provided with the check valve mechanism 70 to occlude fluid flow into the base section 34 from the inflow catheter 40 during distal pumping or anti - reflux as shown in fig4 . the free floating ball 72 can be pushed aside or manipulated aside by positioning the patient , such as in fig . sa where normal flow conditions are present and fluid flows from the inflow catheter 40 through the base section 34 of the reservoir 30 and to the valve mechanism 22 as indicated by the arrows . the free floating ball 72 can also be pushed aside using an endoscope 90 such as in fig5 b during endoscopic placement of the shunt system 10 or during ventricular injection . to provide the endoscope 90 with access to the check valve mechanism 70 , the domed cap 14 of the housing 12 can include an endoscope port 16 . the endoscope port 16 can comprise a pre - formed slit comprising a resealable silicone and can extend into a portal 18 that connects to the top section 32 of the reservoir . once the endoscope 90 has passed through the portal 18 , the endoscope can continue through the top section 32 and into the base section 34 past the central flow channel 78 . the endoscope 90 can extend all the way out through the catheter connector 36 to facilitate placement of the shunt device 20 with respect to the pre - inserted inflow catheter 40 and allow endoscopic visualization as needed . the endoscope port 16 can also include radiopaque markings to assist the surgeon in locating and targeting the port 16 . additionally , the peripheral flow channels 80 of the base section 34 can be made more tortuous with surface features such as helical ridges 86 as illustrated in fig6 a which shows the flow dynamics during distal pumping or anti - reflux . the helical ridges 86 within the peripheral flow channels 80 provide the shunt system 10 with higher resistance and even more anti - siphoning capabilities . fig6 b shows the flow dynamics during normal erect flow , while fig6 c shows the flow dynamics during anti - siphon flow in which fluid traveling distally is forced through the tortuous path of the peripheral flow channels 80 and is thereby drained from the shunt system 10 at a reduced rate . finally , the flow dynamics during prone flow , or during distal pumping is illustrated in fig6 d , while fig6 e shows the use of an endoscope 90 with the present shunt system 10 during endoscopic placement or ventricular injection . the present invention also provides an instrument 100 for assembling the inflow catheter 40 quickly and easily to the shunt device 20 . the instrument 100 has a first arm 110 having a proximal end 112 and a distal end 114 including a handle portion 118 . pivotally connected to the first arm 110 at pin 130 is a second arm 120 having a proximal end 122 and a distal end 124 including a handle portion 128 . the proximal end 112 of the first arm 110 includes a gripping section 116 that is configured to hold a portion of the housing 12 . as illustrated in fig7 the gripping portion 116 is configured to seat against the domed cap 14 of the housing 12 . the proximal end 122 of the second arm also includes a platform section 126 that is configured to sit around the inflow catheter 40 and against the retaining ring 52 while resting on the patient &# 39 ; s scalp . upon compressing the handle portions 118 , 128 together , the gripping section 116 and platform section 126 advance towards each other , in the process forcing the retaining ring 52 up towards the first , attachment end 42 of the inflow catheter 40 . the platform section 126 is configured to slide along the inflow catheter 40 . the use of the instrument 100 to connect these components enables the retaining ring 52 to slide over the attachment end 42 of the ventricular catheter 40 and over the flange 38 of the connector 36 without over advancement . typically , the outflow catheter 60 can be assembled to the shunt device 20 prior to implantation , while the inflow catheter 40 is assembled to the shunt device after the two components are separately implanted . in one exemplary embodiment of the shunt system 10 , when fully assembled the inflow catheter extends at approximately 90 ° with respect to the outflow catheter . the endoscopic placement features just described for the shunt system 10 of the present invention allow the system 10 to be easily assembled and implanted using endoscopic placement so as to require only minimally invasive surgery . the assembly process for the present invention minimizes surgery time and avoids leakage at the connection sites , since the retaining ring eliminates the need for suturing methods . the endoscopic placement features of the present invention also provides the added benefits of revision on a minimally invasive basis , such as clearing or draining obstacles to improve cerebrospinal fluid flow , without major surgical intervention . finally , the check valve mechanism of the reservoir also provides easy occlusion for distal flushing . all of these features make endoscopic placement more convenient for the surgeon , and provide a better and more effective shunt system for the patient . it will be understood that the foregoing is only illustrative of the principles of the invention , and that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . all references cited herein are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety .	0
referring initially to fig1 a , 1b , and 2 of the drawings , the bed loader of this invention is generally illustrated by reference numeral 10 . the bed loader 10 comprises a front guide 12 , a top forward guide 14 , and a top rear guide 16 . the bed loader 10 may be mounted on a four - wheel recreational vehicle 18 , fitted with a roof 20 , a roll cage 21 , a bed 22 and a winch 24 . the winch 24 is mounted on a front end 23 a of the recreational vehicle 18 , generally on a bumper 23 d , and the front guide 12 , the top forward guide 14 , and the top rear guide 16 are spaced on the recreational vehicle 18 in alignment with a winch line 33 running along a vehicle longitudinal axis 25 running from the front end 23 a to a rear end 23 b of the recreational vehicle 18 as shown in fig2 . the winch line 33 is fitted with a typical cable hook 34 and wound on a winch drum 32 that is as illustrated in fig1 a . the winch line 33 is of a sufficient length to allow the cable hook 34 to engage loads or a game animal , such as a deer 34 a in a bag 34 b , off the rear end 23 b of the recreational vehicle 18 . referring again to fig1 a , the front guide 12 of the bed loader 10 is mounted on the bumper 23 d of the recreational vehicle 18 above the winch 24 and the front guide 12 operates to receive the winch line 33 from the winch drum 32 and guide the winch line 33 to the top forward guide 14 which guides the winch line 33 to the top rear guide 16 when the winch drum 32 a is winding and unwinding the winch line 33 . accordingly , the winch line 33 extends from the winch 24 upwardly to the front guide 12 , and then upwardly across a front view area , such as a windshield 23 c to the top forward guide 14 and then to the top rear guide 16 and then may extend to the rear end 23 b of the recreational vehicle 18 as illustrated in fig1 a , 1b , and 2 . the bed 22 may be placed in a tilted position 22 a as shown by the dashed outline in fig1 b to more easily load the game animal , such as the deer 34 a . accordingly , the winch line 33 may be extended farther rearwardly from the top rear guide 16 by operation of the winch 24 and rotating the winch drum 32 in reverse direction , to lead out the winch line 33 from the winch drum 32 . the winch line 33 is guided downwardly from the top rear guide 16 in position such that the cable hook 34 on the winch line 33 , as illustrated in fig1 a and 1b , is then extended to the game animal , such as the deer 34 a in the bag 34 b . the winch 24 can then be operated to rotate the winch drum 32 in the opposite direction rewinding the winch line 33 on the winch drum 32 to load the game animal in the bed 22 . referring now to fig2 of the drawings , in a preferred embodiment of the invention the front guide 12 , the top forward guide 14 , and the top rear guide 16 each comprise at least a guide means 40 a , a guide support 40 b , and a retaining means 40 b as shown in for front guide 12 . referring to fig3 a , 3b , 4a , and 4b , the guide means 40 a may comprise an hourglass roller 41 a and a shaft bolt 49 . looking again to fig2 and more specifically to the front guide 12 , the guide support 40 b may be two “ l ” brackets 43 , each of the two “ l ” brackets 43 having a first leg 45 a running laterally traverse to the vehicle longitudinal axis 25 opposite the first leg 45 a of the other , and the guide means 40 b , an hourglass roller 41 a , disposed between the second leg 45 b of the one “ l ” bracket 43 and the second leg 45 b of the other “ l ” bracket 43 . referring to fig2 a and 4b , the retaining means 40 b of the front guide 12 , the top forward guide 14 , and the top rear guide 16 may be two retaining bars 42 a with each having a long leg 42 a 1 disposed parallel to the shaft bolt 49 and a short leg 42 a 2 that is parallel and adjacent to the second leg 45 b and perpendicular to the first leg 45 a . looking to fig3 a and 3b , the retaining means 40 c may also be a retaining pin 42 b , such as a ⅝ inch quick - release pin commonly available at vendors like mcmaster - carr . the retaining pin 42 b can easily be removed to place the winch line 33 in the guide , such as the front guide 12 . the retaining pin 42 b is disposed placed through the second leg 45 b of each “ l ” bracket 43 of each guide , such as front guide 12 , to hold the winch line 33 in the guide . looking to fig3 a , 3b , 3c and 3d , the front guide 12 is attached to a front mount 12 a . the front mount 12 a may be rectangular and comprises a top bar 13 a , two identical side bars 13 b , a front plate 13 c , and a bottom plate 13 d . the front plate 13 c and the bottom plate 13 d are rectangular and are attached to each other forming a base channel 13 e that is “ l ” shaped . the side bars 13 b are parallel to each other and run vertically , and are located between the top bar 13 a and the bottom plate 13 d that are running horizontally . looking at fig3 a and 4a , one side bar 13 b forms one side of the rectangular front mount 12 a and the other side bar 13 b forms the opposite side of the rectangular front mount 12 a and the side bars 13 b extend upward from an upper face 13 d 4 of the bottom plate 13 d , and are adjacent to a back face 13 c 3 of the front plate 13 c . the top bar 13 a is mounted to an upper end 13 b 1 of each of the top side bars 13 b . the base channel 13 e is attached to the two side bars 13 b along the back face 13 c 3 of the front plate 13 c and the upper face 13 d 4 of the bottom plate 13 d 4 . the top bar 13 c and the side bars 13 b may be made of square tubing , preferably 1 . 5 inch steel tubing between 0 . 15 and 0 . 25 inches thick , preferably 0 . 125 inches thick . the top bar 13 c is between 1 - 3 feet long , preferably 2 feet long , and the side bars are between 1 - 3 feet long , preferably 1 . 5 feet long . the front plate 13 c an the bottom plate 13 d are equal to the length to the top bar 13 a and generally 0 . 2 to 0 . 75 of an inch thick , preferably 0 . 25 inches , and 2 . 5 inches wide . the front plate 13 c runs horizontally and has a back face 13 c 3 that is oriented vertically and attached , preferably wielded , to the side bars 13 b , and to the upper face 13 d 4 of the bottom plate 13 d is attached , preferably welded , to the two side bars 13 b . the front guide 12 is attached , preferably welded , to a front face 13 a 4 of the top bar 13 a . fig5 a shows an enlarged side view of the top forward guide 14 and the top rear guide 16 on a base plate 44 as shown in fig1 a , 1b , and 2 but without the retaining means 40 c , such as the retaining bars 42 a or the retaining pin 42 b . fig5 b shows an enlarged top view of the top forward guide 14 and the top rear guide 16 of fig2 . fig6 a shows a top view of the top forward guide 14 with an hourglass roller 41 a and without the retaining means 40 c . fig6 b shows an end view of the top forward guide 14 of fig6 a , illustrating the shaft bolt 49 secured by a shaft nut 47 b . the shaft bolt ( 49 ) is inserted though the second leg ( 45 b ) of the each the two “ l ” brackets of the guide support ( 40 b ). looking again to fig6 a , the first leg 45 a of the “ l ” bracket 43 is drilled for a roof bolt 38 that secures the “ l ” bracket 43 to the roof 20 . the roof bolt 38 is 0 . 25 to 5 inches long and 0 . 25 to 0 . 5 inches in diameter allowing the roof bolt 38 to penetrate the first leg 45 a , the base plate 44 where used , and the roof and be secured by a fastener , such as a nut . the second leg 45 b may be a plate 2 to 6 inches long , 1 to 5 inches wide , and ½ inch thick . the first leg 45 a is 2 to 6 inches long , 1 to 5 inches wide and 0 . 25 to 0 . 75 inches thick . the second leg 45 b may be welded to the first leg 45 a . the first leg 45 a and the second leg 45 b may are made of a high strength material such as carbon steel . looking to fig6 c and 6d , the guide means 40 a of the top forward guide 14 may comprise a roller , such as the hourglass roller 41 a , and a shaft bolt 49 , with the hourglass roller 41 a rotating on the shaft bolt 49 that is inserted through the second leg 45 b of the each “ l ” bracket 43 and the hourglass roller 41 a . the shaft bolt 49 is secured on one end by a head 47 a and the other end by shaft nut 47 b , allowing the hourglass roller 41 a to rotate as the winch line 33 in fig2 moves over the hourglass roller 41 a to the rear end 23 b of the recreational vehicle 18 and is retracted back towards the front end 23 a . referring to fig6 a and 6b , the “ l ” brackets 43 can be mounted to a base plate 44 and secured to the roof 20 and the roll cage 21 of fig1 a and 1b by a roof bolt 38 through the first leg 45 a of each ‘ l ” bracket 43 . looking to fig2 , the base plate 44 is centered on the vehicle longitudinal axis 25 and the base plate 44 runs from the roof forward edge 23 e to the roof rear edge 23 f . looking again to fig6 c , the hourglass roller 41 a comprises a first disc portion 70 adjacent to a first portion 72 that is conically shaped and adjacent to a uniform circular middle portion 74 that is adjacent to a conically shaped second portion 76 that is adjacent to a second disc portion 78 ; the middle portion 74 being cylindrical and running from the first portion 72 to the second portion 76 ; the first portion 72 and the second portion 76 configured to cradle the winch line 33 of fig2 onto the middle portion 74 . the first portion ( 72 ) and the second portion ( 76 ) tapering down from the first disc portion ( 70 ) and the second disc portion ( 78 ), respectively , to the middle portion ( 74 ). referring to fig7 , an elongated cylindrical rod , the cylindrical roller 41 b , may be mounted between the two “ l ” brackets 43 of the guide support 40 b of the each guide , such as the top forward guide 14 , and the cylindrical roller 41 b disposed placed to rotate on the shaft bolt 49 . the cylindrical roller 41 b may also be removed and the winch line 33 allows to slide over the shaft bolt 49 . looking to fig8 a , 8b , 9a , and 9b , and more particularly 9 c , the retaining means 40 c may be a two retaining bars 42 a that are “ l ” shaped each having a long leg 42 a 1 , a short leg 42 a 2 and a distal end 42 c . the short leg 42 a 2 is mounted on the “ l ” bracket adjacent to the second leg 45 b and perpendicular to the first leg 45 a . when the retaining means 40 c is two retaining bars 42 a , the retaining bars 42 a can be mounted on the front guide 12 and the top rear guide 16 as shown in the top forward guide 14 in fig9 c disposed placed so that the winch line 33 to be inserted around the distal end 42 c of each retaining bar 42 a to ride on the hourglass roller 41 a of the guide means 40 a . when the two retaining bars 42 a are used , one on each “ l ” bracket 43 as shown in fig9 a and 9c , the retaining bars 42 a are mounted parallel to each other with the distal end 42 c of the each retaining bar pointed opposite the distal end 42 c of the other retaining bar 42 a . this allows the winch line 33 to be inserted around the distal end 42 c of the each retaining bar 42 a . fig1 shows the retaining bars 42 a used with the top forward guide 14 of fig7 . referring again to fig1 a , 1b , and 2 , the bed loader 10 of this invention is made to use of the winch 24 , winch drum 32 a , winch line 33 , and cable hook 34 provided on many recreational vehicles 18 . the winch 24 performs a key role and is an indispensable component for operating the bed loader 10 . it will be further appreciated that the bed loader 10 can be used for many purposes other than loading game animal in the bed 22 . for example , the winch 24 on the front end 23 a of the recreational vehicle 18 can be used with the bed loader 10 to load / pull items such as sacks of sand and the like and other objects , by utilizing the winch 24 and the winch line 33 in combination with the front guide 12 , the top forward guide 14 , and the top rear guide 16 of the bed loader 10 , in the same manner described above with regard to the handling and loading the deer 34 a . since the top rear guide 16 between the front wheels 25 a and the rear wheels 25 b of the recreational vehicle 18 , the recreational vehicle 18 is relatively stable when a heavy load , such as the deer 34 a is attached to the winch line 33 . the recreational vehicle 18 that has four wheels is much more stable and is a preferred vehicle for installation and use of the bed loader 10 , although the bed loader 10 may be mounted on a three wheel recreational vehicle ( not shown ). although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to preferred versions thereof , other versions are possible . therefore , the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein . various deviations and modification may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention without departing from the main theme thereof .	1
the pipeline leak detector is a “ pig ” type device adapted for robotic travel within a fluid pipeline for the detection of fluid leaks in the pipeline wall . the device accomplishes this with a minimal number of sensors . the sensors rotate within the pipe to cover the entire interior surface of the pipe wall as the device travels through the pipe . the pipeline leak detector is particularly well suited for use in water pipelines , but may be adapted for use in pipes carrying oil , gas , and / or other fluids as well . fig1 of the drawings provides an elevation view in section of the pipeline leak detector 10 disposed within a pipe p . the leak detector 10 has a rotationally stationary drive component 12 having a central housing 14 . the drive component and its housing are restrained from axial rotation within the pipe p by a series of supporting wheels , described in detail further below . a rotary driveshaft 16 extends axially from the drive component 12 and its housing 14 . the driveshaft 16 has a drive component end 18 disposed within the housing 14 and an opposite sensor array end 20 . a leak detector component 22 is disposed upon the sensor array end 20 of the driveshaft 16 . the leak detector component 22 has a single leak sensor array 24 extending radially therefrom that subtends a limited arc ( e . g ., thirty degrees , more or less ) about the leak detector component 22 . the sensor array 24 comprises a plurality of pressure sensors 26 extending radially from a sensor array support wheel 46 , which is installed concentrically about the central body of the leak detector component 22 . the sensors 26 are adapted for the detection of minor pressure changes along the wall of the pipe p as the device 10 travels through the pipe . the leak detector component 22 and the sensor array 24 extending radially therefrom are driven in axial rotation within the pipe p as the rotary driveshaft 16 rotates . the leak sensors are force sensors , having either a gate or a membrane that moves and generates an electronic signal when a leak is detected . two different pressure sensor embodiments are described herein , which are illustrated in fig4 and 5 , respectively , and described in detail further below . fig2 and 3 also illustrate sensor arrays 24 . the array of fig2 has four sensors 26 , and the array of fig3 shows three such sensors 26 . the precise number of sensors is adjusted in consideration of the diameter of the pipe p , the diameters of the sensors 26 , and the axial and radial velocities of the sensors as they travel through the pipe p . the drive component 12 and central housing 14 of the leak detector 10 are supported by three radially disposed wheels . the wheels travel along the interior surface of the pipe wall as the device 10 travels through the pipe . the three wheels are distributed evenly about the circumference of the leak detector 10 and are separated by substantially equal angular arcs a of about 120 ° each , as shown in fig2 of the drawings . a rotationally powered drive wheel 28 rolls along the interior surface of the pipe p wall . the drive wheel 28 provides motive power for the leak detector 10 to drive the device 10 through the interior of the pipe p . the drive wheel 28 may be powered by a small electric motor disposed within the wheel hub . the motor receives electrical power from an on - board electrical storage battery disposed within the drive component 12 . such motors and electrical power battery systems are well known , and accordingly are not described in further detail herein . a driven wheel 30 extends radially from the central housing 14 and rolls along the interior of the pipe p . the driven wheel 30 has a concentric first bevel gear 32 a at its hub . the first bevel gear 32 a drives a second bevel gear 32 b disposed upon the distal end portion 34 b of a driven wheel shaft . the shaft has a proximal end portion 34 a disposed within the central housing 12 and extending radially therefrom . the distal end portion 34 b telescopes within the proximal end portion 34 a to allow the driven wheel shaft assembly to lengthen and shorten according to the diameter of the pipe p . the two driven wheel shaft portions 34 a and 34 b are locked rotationally to one another by splines , key and keyway , non - circular sections , or other conventional means . a third bevel gear 36 a is affixed to the proximal end portion 34 a of the driven wheel shaft assembly . a fourth bevel gear 36 b is affixed to the drive component end 18 of the leak detector component driveshaft 16 and meshes with the third bevel gear 36 a , as shown in fig1 . this gear train drives the leak detector component driveshaft 16 and the leak detector component 22 extending therefrom rotationally as the driven wheel 30 rotates due to its frictional engagement with the wall of the pipe p as the leak detector 10 travels through the pipe . alternative means of transmitting the rotary motion of the driven wheel 30 to the driveshaft 16 may be provided , e . g ., a flexible shaft , hydraulics , etc . the third wheel is an idler or stabilizer wheel 38 extending radially from the drive component 12 , or more properly from its central housing 14 , and serves primarily as a third point defining the transverse span of the drive component 12 across the interior of the pipe p . the idler or stabilizer wheel 38 is a passive support wheel with no drive means , i . e ., no means of propelling the leak detector 10 through the pipe p , and has no means of driving the rotation of the driveshaft 16 and its leak detector 12 . however , the stabilizer wheel 38 may include means for transmitting its rotary motion to a central processor ( discussed further below ) for translation to distance traveled by the pipeline leak detector 10 as it travels through the pipe p . this function may alternatively be handled by one of the other two wheels 28 or 30 , particularly the driven wheel 30 , as it is already imparting rotary motion to the driveshaft 16 that is connected to the drive component 18 of the device . the driven wheel shaft can adjust inward and outward to adjust for different pipe diameters by means of its mutually telescoping proximal and distal portions 34 a and 34 b , as noted above . accordingly , the positions of the three wheels 28 , 30 , and 38 may be adjusted for different pipe diameters . each of the wheels is supported by an adjustable length strut that extends radially from the drive component 12 , or more properly , from the housing 14 of the drive component . the drive wheel 28 is supported by a drive wheel strut having a proximal portion 40 a and a distal portion 40 b that telescopes in and out of the proximal portion 40 a to adjust its length . the driven wheel 30 is supported in the same manner by a driven wheel strut having a proximal portion 42 a and a distal portion 42 b that telescopes in and out of the proximal portion 42 a . the idler or stabilizer wheel 38 is also supported in the same manner by a stabilizer wheel strut having a proximal portion 44 a and a distal portion 44 b that telescopes in and out of its proximal portion 44 a . the pipeline leak detector 10 may thus be adjusted for use in different diameters of pipes p by adjusting the lengths of the driven wheel shaft , the three wheel struts , and the radial spans of the sensors 26 of the sensor array 24 . the longitudinal or axial motion of the pipeline leak detector 10 through the pipe p results in a rotary motion of the leak detector component 22 and its sensor array 24 by means of the drive wheel 30 and its driveshaft and gearing , as described in detail further above . the drive component 12 of the leak detector is restricted from rotating about its longitudinal axis within the pipe p due to the alignment of the wheel rotation or tracks parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe . however , the combination of the longitudinal motion of the leak detector 10 and the rotary motion of the leak detector component 22 and its sensor array 24 results in the sensor array 24 describing a helical path h immediately adjacent the inner surface of the pipe wall , as shown in fig6 of the drawings . ( the helical path illustrated in fig6 is shown in its complete appearance through 360 ° of rotation within the inner circumference of the pipe p .) the diameter of the drive wheel 30 and the gear ratios of the first through fourth bevel gears 32 a , 32 b , 36 a , and 36 b are selected to provide complete coverage of the interior of the pipe wall as the sensor array 24 travels along its helical path h . it will be seen that by increasing the rotational speed of the leak detector component 22 relative to the longitudinal speed of the device 10 through the pipe p , it is possible to use only a single leak detector array 24 . the pipeline leak detector 10 is adapted to travel through a pipeline p carrying water , oil , gas , or other fluid in search of leaks l , as shown in fig7 of the drawings . any leak l will result in a pressure drop across the leak , as the fluid flows from the relatively higher pressure within the pipe p to the lower pressure outside the pipe ( or vice versa ) and the flow accelerates through the leak aperture . fig7 provides a representation of this phenomenon . the pressure is represented by a series of isobars i1 through i8 ( with other closely spaced isobars being shown within the leak aperture ). the more closely spaced the isobars are over a given distance or span , the greater the pressure drop over the given distance . the pressure drop within the pipe p , represented by the isobars i1 through i4 , is of primary interest here . it will be noted that in order to detect this pressure drop , the detector or sensor must be quite close to the leak l , as the pressure does not change significantly at some distance from the leak , as indicated by the relatively widely spaced isobars i1 and i2 . accordingly , the helical path h traveled by the sensor array 24 assures that complete coverage of the interior of the pipe wall will occur as the pipeline leak detector 10 travels through the pipe p so that at least one of the pressure sensors 26 passes nearly directly over the leak to register the pressure drop . returning to fig1 of the drawings , it will be noted that each of the pressure sensors 26 is connected to a central processor 48 by a wiring harness 50 . the central processor 48 receives pressure drop signals from each of the pressure sensing elements 26 whenever such a pressure drop is sensed by an individual sensor or sensors . the central processor 48 also communicates electronically with the rotationally stationary drive component 12 , e . g ., via slip rings or other conventional means . the central processor 48 registers both the location of the leak detector 10 within the pipe p by means of the odometer information provided by one of the three wheels 28 , 30 , or 38 , and also registers the angular relationship between the leak detector component 22 and its sensor array 24 relative to the drive component 12 . thus , whenever a leak is detected , the central processor 48 records this information to enable a technician or other person to determine not only the axial location of the leak along the length of the pipe p , but also the circumferential location of the leak about the pipe . this information may be recorded by the central processor 48 , and / or may be transmitted to a remote external receiver 52 by an on - board transmitter 54 communicating with the receiver 52 , if desired . fig4 and 5 illustrate two different pressure differential leak sensors , or more precisely , two different detectors that may be installed within the pressure differential leak sensor 26 . the pressure differential leak sensor 26 essentially comprises a radially disposed tube 56 having a support wheel attachment end 58 and an opposite outer end 60 , with a frustoconical mouth 62 extending from the outer end 60 . in the embodiment of fig4 , a flexible valve 64 extends across the juncture of the mouth 62 and the outer end 60 of the tube 56 . the valve 64 includes a strain gauge 66 thereon . the strain gauge 66 is electrically connected to the central processor 48 by a wiring harness 50 , as shown in fig1 of the drawings . as the mouth 62 of the sensor 26 passes over a leak , the drop in pressure at the leak results in fluid flow through the tube 56 , thus flexing the valve 64 outward as shown in fig4 as the fluid flows therethrough and altering the electrical characteristics of the attached strain gauge 66 to send a signal to the processor 48 . the pressure differential leak sensor 26 of fig5 has an identical outer structure , i . e ., tube 56 with its inboard attachment end 58 and opposite outer end 60 and frustoconical mouth 62 extending from the outer end 60 . however , rather than having an opening valve within the juncture of the outer end 60 of the tube and the frustoconical mouth 62 , a closed or sealed flexible diaphragm 68 is applied across this juncture . a strain gauge 66 , which may be substantially identical to the strain gauge illustrated in the embodiment of fig4 , is installed upon the flexible diaphragm 68 . the strain gauge 66 may be installed either outward or inward on the diaphragm 68 or the valve 64 of the embodiment of fig4 , as desired . as the mouth 62 of the sensor 26 of fig5 passes over a leak , the drop in pressure at the leak results in a differential pressure between the interior of the tube 56 and the mouth 62 of the tube , thus distending the sealed diaphragm 68 outward as shown in fig5 and altering the electrical characteristics of the attached strain gauge 66 to send a signal to the processor 48 . it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above , but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims .	6
it is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention , while eliminating , for purposes of clarity , other elements that may be well known . those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other elements are desirable and / or required in order to implement the present invention . however , because such elements are well known in the art , and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention , a discussion of such elements is not provided herein . the detailed description of the present invention and the preferred embodiment ( s ) thereof is set forth in detail below with reference to the attached drawings . though many hardware and software approaches for implementing the present invention are feasible , a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprising a system for protecting individual stored data objects — at times referred to herein as files — is a software implementation for a general - purpose computing system . referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding structure throughout the views , fig5 illustrates one possible preferred hardware configuration 90 of a general - purpose computing system according to the present invention . the system hardware comprises networking components 100 such as ethernet adapters , non - volatile secondary memory 102 such as magnetic disks , input / output devices 104 such as keyboards and visual displays , volatile main memory 106 , and a processor 108 . all of these system hardware components can be connected via a common system bus 110 . the processor 108 comprises processing units 112 and on - chip storage devices 114 such as memory caches . a preferred embodiment is application software that is stored in non - volatile memory devices 102 while not in use ; when the software is needed , the software is loaded into volatile main memory 106 . after being loaded into main memory 106 , the processor 108 can read software instructions from main memory 106 and perform useful operations by executing sequences of the software instructions on data that is read into the processor 108 from volatile main memory 106 . upon completion , certain data results of the instructions are written to volatile main memory 106 . alternatively , the steps of the present invention might be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the steps , or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components . it is to be understood that various terms and techniques are used by those knowledgeable in the art to describe communications , protocols , applications , implementations , mechanisms , etc . one such technique is the description of an implementation of a technique in terms of an algorithm or mathematical expression . that is , while the technique may be , for example , implemented as executing code on a computer , the expression of that technique may be more aptly and succinctly conveyed and communicated as a formula , algorithm , or mathematical expression . thus , one skilled in the art would recognize a block denoting d + e = f as an additive function whose implementation in hardware and / or software would take two inputs ( d and e ) and produce a summation output ( f ). thus , the use of formula , algorithm , or mathematical expression as descriptions is to be understood as having a physical embodiment in at least hardware and / or software ( such as a computer system in which the techniques of the present invention may be practiced as well as implemented as an embodiment ). fig6 illustrates a preferred logical location of a preferred software program of the present invention in a general - purpose computing system . the boxes in fig6 represent software code modules , and the arrows represent file input / output ( i / o ) operations . as shown in fig6 , a software implementation according to the present invention is preferably contained within a microsoft windows file system filter driver ( or the equivalent of such a filter driver in other operating systems ). a file system filter driver intercepts file system i / o to perform certain operations prior to sending file data to the underlying file system or subsequent to retrieving data from the underlying file system , and such a preferred software implementation and / or a file system filter driver may communicate with other software code modules in the general purpose computing system . furthermore , in many systems in which it is installed , such a preferred software implementation of the present invention does not require changes to the software applications or to the operating system kernel . in reference to fig6 , other preferred software implementations of the present invention may be contained in the software application ( s ), the operating system code , and / or the file system driver . a file f to be protected consists of n bits . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the file is logically divided into m b - bit blocks , as shown in fig7 . the size of b can be adjusted as needed , but in a preferred embodiment , the size of b is 8192 bytes , which equals 65536 bits . if f is not aligned to b bits ( i . e ., the last block consists of a number of bits x that is fewer than b bits because n is not evenly divisible by b ), then the minimal number of zero bits is appended to the logical representation of the file such that the size of the appended file is evenly divisible by b . the last block in fig7 illustrates the appended zeroes . in alternative embodiments of the present invention , the file is not required to be padded with zeroes when n is not evenly divisible by b . in one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention , software is utilized to protect file data and to perform security operations on protected file data . prior to the execution of any of these operations , unprotected file data must be converted into protected file data . given an n - bit b - bit - aligned file f , the file is protected on a block - by - block basis to obtain a protected file f ′ of size n ′ bits . fig8 illustrates the logical structure of the protected file f ′. the initial contents of f ′, which compose the protected file header , contains per - file metadata such as the protected file identifier , access right information , and certain cryptographic key material that is associated with the protected file . the remainder of the protected file consists of m protected blocks that are interleaved with per - block metadata . the jth protected block , where j is an integer between 1 and m , corresponds to the jth block of the file f . the jth protected block of f ′ is simply the jth block of file f in encrypted form . in one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention , a symmetric - key cipher is used to encrypt blocks , and an encrypted block is the same size as an unprotected block , b bits . preferably , a region of per - block metadata may include information such as hash fingerprints and cryptographic key material that is associated with the corresponding protected block . preferably , the per - file metadata and the per - block metadata may be of fixed size or of a size that varies over time or that varies between protected blocks . in one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention , the protected file preferably is structured to interoperate with a preferred cryptographic key hierarchy . a preferred hierarchy for a single file consists of per - block keys ek j and hk j , a file encryption key fek , a file hashing key fhk , and possibly one or more intermediate encryption keys iek x . fig9 illustrates a preferred cryptographic key hierarchy of the present invention . all keys except for the fhk are represented in a logical tree ( henceforth called the “ key tree ”), in which the nodes represent cryptographic keys , and the arrows between nodes represent an encryption operation . for any node in the tree , the key associated with that node is encrypted with the key associated with its parent node , and the encrypted key is stored in either per - block or per - file metadata within the protected file . in a preferred embodiment , both the encryption and decryption algorithms can employ fek to encrypt and decrypt data using a symmetric - key cipher . however , alternative embodiments of the present invention may employ separate encryption and decryption keys in conjunction with other types of algorithms ( such as public - key ciphers ) to perform encryption and decryption operations . similarly , instead of using a single key to perform encryption and decryption steps in various operations described below , alternative embodiments of the present invention may employ separate encryption and decryption keys as well as different types of ciphers ( such as asymmetric - key ciphers ) to implement those steps .” referring to fig8 , each of the m protected blocks is associated with a unique key for encryption and a unique key for keyed hash computation . the encryption key for the jth block is ek j , and the hashing key for the jth block is hk j . ek j is the secret key employed by a symmetric - key cipher to encrypt / decrypt the jth file block . hk j is applied as an input to an hmac generation function along with the encrypted jth block and possibly other identifying information regarding the jth block ( such as the value of j ) to produce an hmac g j . g j and other relevant information associated with the jth block ( such as initialization vectors or counters needed to facilitate the desired encryption mode of operation ) are stored in the per - block metadata in unencrypted ( i . e ., plaintext ) form . preferably , the keys used to encrypt the per - block keys are the intermediate encryption keys iek x , which are stored in a protected file in encrypted form . the plaintext versions of the keys in lowest tree level of intermediate keys are used to encrypt the per - block keys . ek j and hk j are stored in the per - block metadata in encrypted form ( i . e ., encrypted with the keys corresponding to the parent node ). if there are several levels of intermediate keys , then intermediate keys in all levels except for the highest ( topmost ) level are encrypted using other intermediate keys that are their parents in the logical tree . the highest level of intermediate keys preferably are encrypted with the file encryption key fek . in one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention , the intermediate keys may be stored in encrypted form in per - file metadata or per - block metadata . in addition , the intermediate keys may be encrypted and distributed across the per - block metadata associated with multiple protected blocks . depending on the characteristics of access patterns to protected files , a preferred cryptographic key hierarchy of the present invention may comprise a deep tree of intermediate keys , i . e ., a tree with many levels . in addition , another preferred cryptographic key hierarchy of the present invention may comprise a broad tree of intermediate keys , i . e ., a tree where intermediate key nodes have many children . also , in a basic implementation of yet another preferred cryptographic key hierarchy of the present invention , no intermediate keys are employed , and the file encryption key fek would be used to encrypt the per - block keys . preferably , the file encryption key fek and the file hash key fhk , in one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention , are stored in the per - file metadata ( possibly along with other access control information that is modifiable only by an authority ) in encrypted form . in one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention , other system components that interoperate with a system utilizing one or more methods or software implementations according to the present invention may be relied upon to allow only authorized users to successfully obtain the fek and the fhk in unencrypted forms ( for use by such a system utilizing the present invention ) through interaction with an authority . in a preferred embodiment , the fhk is used in concert with the per - block hash keys hk j and a merkle hash tree to provide integrity for the file data and file metadata . however , as known to those skilled in the art , several other methods can be employed to achieve data integrity and data freshness verification goals ; examples of such methods include but are not limited to digital signature schemes , simple per - file or per - block hmacs , and modes of operation for encryption algorithms that provide both confidentiality and integrity capabilities . fig1 illustrates a preferred , simplified structure of a hashing implementation of the present invention . a single root hash for all of the file data is computed using a merkle hash tree , as shown in the left side of fig1 . the leaf nodes of the tree are the per - block hmac values g j ( as described above ), and a given intermediate node ( or the root node ) of the tree represents the output of a hash function computed over the hash values represented by the child nodes of that given node . similarly to the handling of the intermediate keys iek x , the hash values corresponding to the nodes of the merkle tree are encoded and efficiently distributed across the per - block metadata associated with several protected file blocks . preferably , in the per - file metadata for the protected file , a per - file hash g file is stored . the computation of g file , as shown in fig1 , is the output of an hmac function using the file hash key fhk and performed over the root hash of the merkle tree , optionally over the hash of certain bits from the per - file metadata , and optionally over a file version number ver . the value of g file and the intermediate hashes can be used by the operations described below to efficiently verify the freshness and integrity of protected file data blocks and certain file metadata . given the structure of the protected file and the cryptographic key hierarchy , one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention comprise ( s ) the performance of one or a plurality of the following four operations : protected file reading , protected file writing , protected file access modification , and forced expiration of protected files . though the following descriptions of preferred methods of the present invention for protected file reading and protected file writing relate only to a single protected block to be read / written , these operations can be easily modified , within the scope of the present invention , to accommodate multiple protected block reads / writes . a preferred method of protected file reading according to the present invention comprises reading bits from the jth protected file block by an authorized user . given fhk and fek in plaintext form , certain per - file metadata ( including g file and ver ), the entire protected file block , and the corresponding per - block metadata are read from the storage device . additionally , any per - block metadata is read from the storage device that is associated with the nodes in the key tree along the path of the fek to the per - block keys for the desired protected file block . this path is called the key path . also , any per - block metadata is read that is associated with the nodes in the merkle hash tree along the path from the root hash to the desired protected file block hmac . this path is called the hash path . next , the per - block values of ek j and hk j are obtained by decrypting the keys along the key path one by one . this process begins by decrypting the first intermediate key from the key path via a decryption algorithm using the key fek , and the chain of decryption continues along the key path until ek j and hk j are deciphered . then , the protected file block can be decrypted using ek j and possibly certain information from the per - block metadata . now , the integrity and freshness of the desired file block ( and certain other file information ) is verified as follows . the hmac value g j is computed for the desired block using the key hk j over at minimum the ( encrypted ) file data block read from storage . then , the expected value of g file is computed as follows . beginning with the computed value of g j , the nodes read from storage along the hash path are used to compute the root hash of the merkle tree . then , as shown in fig1 , this root hash is inputted to an hmac function along with certain per - file metadata , the version ver read from storage ( or that is obtained from a trusted party or a secured point of reference ), and the key fhk , which enables the generation of an expected value of g file . if this expected value differs from the value of g file read from storage , an error may be reported , as either the file has been modified in an unauthorized manner or certain file data has been rolled back to an earlier version of that data in an unauthorized manner . optimizations can be applied to this process to accelerate the verification process and to distinguish between unauthorized file modification and unauthorized file rollback . a preferred method of the present invention of writing bits to a protected file block by an authorized user comprises one or more of the following methods : overwriting data in an existing file block , writing data to a new protected block to the end of the file , or deleting data from the protected block at the end of a file . a preferred method of overwriting data according to the present invention , wherein bits are to be written to existing protected data block j , comprises the initial steps of reading , decrypting and verifying the protected block j using the steps described above . then , by replacing certain bits in the existing plaintext block with the plaintext bits to be written , a new plaintext block is generated . the new plaintext block is then encrypted with a new , randomly or pseudorandomly generated per - block key ek j , and a new hmac value g j is computed for the protected block is generated using a new , randomly or pseudorandomly generated per - block key hk j . using the values from the key path and the hash path obtained during the protected block reading process , the key tree and the merkle tree are updated from the leaf node to the root node . specifically , for each node in the key tree along the key path between the new ek j and the child of the key fek ( not including ek j and fek ), a new encryption key is randomly generated , and all of the children of that node are encrypted using the new encryption key . each of the updated keys is written to its appropriate location in the file metadata . for each node in the merkle tree along the hash path from the new g j and the root hash ( excluding g j but including the root hash ), new hashes are generated and written to their appropriate locations in the file metadata . next , the value of ver is incremented by 1 and written back to the file ( and possibly transmitted to a trusted party or a secured point of reference ). then , the new value of g file is generated by computing the hmac using the key fhk over certain per - file metadata , the new value of ver , and the root hash . the new value of g file is then written to the protected file . in alternative embodiments of the present invention , depending on the security goals , the initial steps of overwriting protected block data recited above may not require reading , decrypting , and verifying the existing protected block in the event that the entire protected data block is to be overwritten . in a preferred method of writing data to a new protected block at the end of a file , wherein b or fewer new bits are to be appended to the end of the protected file by creating a new protected file block at the end of the file , if the number of bits to be written is fewer than the preferred protected file block size b , then the bits to be written are appended with zeroes such that the number of bits to be written is b . next , the key path and the hash path are read ( as described above ), but no block is decrypted or verified . now , as in the preferred method of overwriting data in existing file blocks as described above , new keys ek j and hk j are created , and the protected file block is encrypted and hashed . the resulting encrypted block and associated per - block metadata are then written to the protected file . the key tree , the merkle hash tree , the value of ver , and the file hash g j are then updated as described with respect to the preferred method of overwriting data in existing file blocks as described above , but depending on the number of blocks in the file , the number of nodes in the two trees may be expanded to ensure that the trees remain balanced . a preferred method of deleting data according to the preset invention , wherein b or fewer bits are to be deleted from the protected block at the end of the protected file , if the number of bits to be deleted is fewer than the number of data bits ( not including zero padding bits ) in the protected block at the end of the file , then a new protected block is written to the file using the preferred method of overwriting data described above . the new protected plaintext block would simply be the original plaintext blocks in which certain bits are replaced with zeroes . if the number of bits to be deleted is equal to the number of data bits in the protected block at the end of the file , the entire block is to be deleted . in this scenario , the key tree and the hash path are read ( as performed in the first preferred operation ). the merkle hash tree , the value of ver , and the file hash g j are then updated as described above with respect to the preferred method of overwriting data described above , but depending on the number of blocks in the file , the number of nodes in the merkle tree and in the key tree may be reduced to ensure that the trees remain balanced . in a preferred method of the present invention for modifying an entity &# 39 ; s access rights to a protected file , given the values of fek and fhk in unencrypted form , the authorized entity requests an access control rights modification from an authority using certain information that may be obtained from the protected file . if the authority grants the request , new keys fek new and fhk new ( and in some cases , new metadata ) are provided to the authorized requesting entity in plaintext and ciphertext forms . if new metadata is provided , the requesting entity writes that metadata to the appropriate location ( s ) with the protected file . in a system utilizing a software implementation according to the present invention , other system components that interoperate with such software implementation may be relied upon to obtain new keys fek new and fhk new in encrypted and unencrypted forms ( for use by such software implementation according to the present invention ). next , the authorized entity reads the following information from the stored file : the root hash of the merkle tree and the existing per - file metadata ( which includes the value of ver ). the authorized entity increments the value of ver by 1 , and then the entity generates a new g file by using the key fhk new to compute the hmac over the root hash of the merkle tree , the incremented value of ver , and certain per - file metadata . furthermore , the children of the key fek in the key tree are read from the file metadata , decrypted with fek , re - encrypted with fek new , and the new encrypted values of those keys are written to the file metadata . next , the new value of g file , the fhk new in ciphertext form , the fek new in ciphertext form , and possibly other per - file metadata ( including the new value of ver ) are written to the file . lastly , new value of ver may be transmitted to a trusted party or a secured point of reference . because of the manner in which the merkle tree and the key tree are updated during a protected file write operation , this access right modification operation may virtually ensure that entities cannot access new data written to a file after their access rights are revoked , and the operation may virtually ensure that entities cannot access data that is not currently stored in the file but was stored in the file prior to the time at which those entities obtained access to that file . a preferred method of the present invention for disabling access allows for the prevention of future access to the plaintext data of a protected file or certain protected file blocks without explicitly deleting all copies the protected file or the protected file blocks . with respect to this preferred method of the present invention for disabling access , a set of possible data classifications exist wherein each classification is associated with a unique encryption key , and all copies of that key are maintained , protected , and tracked by a trusted authority ( such as a centralized administration server ) that may exist inside or outside of the software and supporting hardware of a system in which preferred methods of protected data accesses are performed . at the time when a file is initially protected or at the time when a new protected file is created , the protected file can be associated with one or more classifications . for a file associated with y classifications , the ciphertext versions of the fek and fhk generated by a trusted authority are equivalent to the values of fek and fhk recursively encrypted at least y times , at least once with each encryption key corresponding to any of the y classifications . when an authorized entity requests the decryption of the fek and the fhk in order to read , write , or change access to the file , the trusted authority performs the y recursive decryptions using the y classification keys without releasing the key to the authorized entity or to an untrusted environment . in order to permanently disable access to all files with a particular classification , the authority simply deletes all copies of the encryption key associated with that classification from its volatile and non - volatile storage . by the properties of strong symmetric - key encryption algorithms , if any entity ever requests the decryption of the fek or fhk for a file that possesses a classification associated with a deleted key , then no entity — including the trusted authority — will be able to decrypt the fek and fhk for that file . however , alternative embodiments of the present invention may employ separate encryption and decryption keys in conjunction with other types of algorithms ( such as public - key ciphers ) to perform encryption and decryption operations conducted by the trusted authority , and a preferred embodiment described herein can be easily extended to disable access to both encryption keys and decryption keys associated with data objects . this preferred method of disabling access can be extended as follows to prevent all future access to individual blocks within files instead of only to files as a whole . an individual block may be classified in the same way that a file can be classified . during a protected block write operation , in addition to encrypting the block encryption and hashing keys ek j and hk j corresponding to that block using keys from the key tree , the encrypted results are provided to the trusted authority and are encrypted again using one or more classification keys . the trusted authority then returns the doubly encrypted results , and these results are stored in the protected file . similarly , during a protected block read operation , the relevant block encryption and hashing keys are first provided to the trusted authority for decryption using a classification key prior to being decrypted using keys from the file &# 39 ; s key tree . as in the file classification case , if a classification key is destroyed by the trusted authority , then the encrypted blocks associated with that classification will not be accessible in the future by any entity . additional steps may be added and optimizations may be performed to each of these preferred operations to provide additional security services and improve performance , respectively . while embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described , it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the invention , therefore , is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims .	7
referring now to fig1 a , an expanding liquid barrier 1 is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention . the expanding liquid barrier 1 is substantially flat and low profile when no liquid is present . the barrier 1 preferably has tape - like or narrow sheet - like geometry . when liquid 2 contacts the barrier 1 , the barrier 1 heightens to create a barrier 1 or dyke as shown in fig1 b . according to one embodiment of the present invention shown if fig2 a and 2b , the barrier 1 may include an adhesive layer 10 which holds the barrier to a base surface 3 . the base surface 3 may be any surface which may benefit from a barrier of this type , for example , a floor , walkway , entranceway , lab table , equipment platform or other surface . in one embodiment the adhesive layer 10 is a one - sided tape . the adhesive layer 10 has a bottom face 11 and a top face 12 . the bottom face 11 is adhered to the base surface 3 . the bottom face 11 of adhesive layer 10 prevents horizontal and vertical movement of the barrier 1 . the bottom face 11 also creates a seal preventing liquid from passing under the barrier 1 . the top face 12 is opposite the bottom face on the adhesive layer and is connected to an expanding layer 20 . the expanding layer 20 is affixed to the top surface 12 of the adhesive layer 10 along a longitudinal edge of the barrier at a front end 5 and rear end 6 . the expanding layer 20 may be affixed to the adhesive layer 10 by adhesive or by mechanical seal . the expanding layer 20 may be made of two or more sections , a liquid permeable section 40 and liquid impermeable section 30 . the impermeable layer 30 may be made from any liquid impervious material , for example , vinyl , rubber , acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ( abs ), materials found under the tradename sanoprene , polyethylene and polypropylene . the permeable section 40 may be made of perforated sheet and solid materials and woven and non - woven materials . the permeable layer 40 may be made from a material which allows fluid to pass through like a woven material or the liquid permeable layer 40 may be what is considered an impermeable material with various holes throughout the segment to allow liquid to pass as seen in fig3 . again referring to fig2 a and 2b , an expandable fill 50 may be disposed between the adhesive layer 10 and the expanding layer 20 . the expandable fill 50 is capable of increasing in size or swelling when it comes in contact with a liquid . as the expandable fill 50 swells the expanding layer 20 fills and increases in height . the expandable fill 50 may also absorb some amount of liquid . in one embodiment the expandable fill is a super absorbent polymer . in another embodiment the expandable fill 50 may comprise compressed sponges , foam or any other compressible absorbent . for example , isocyanate - based foams , pyranyl foams , syntactic foams , and / or elastomeric foams may be used . certain absorbents may be compressed through the use of a water - soluble binder , i . e . the absorbent may be wetted with the binder compressed and dried into a thin configuration . referring now to fig3 , a section of barrier 1 is shown . the arrow indicates the direction from which liquid would approach the barrier 1 . in a preferred orientation , the permeable section 40 is positioned nearest the approach of the fluid . in this embodiment , permeable section 40 is typically made from the same material as impermeable section 30 . the permeable section 40 allows fluid to pass by way of apertures 41 . referring now to fig4 , the same preferred arrangement is shown with the permeable section nearest the approach of fluid . however , in this embodiment , the permeable section 40 and impermeable section 30 comprise different materials . the impermeable section 30 comprising a material impervious to the flow of liquid while the permeable section 40 utilizes and inherently permeable material to allow liquid to pass . the impermeable section 30 and permeable section 40 are joined by any common means . in the embodiment shown in fig5 a - 5d , the barrier 1 includes an adhesive layer 10 affixed at one end to an expanding layer 20 . the expanding layer 20 includes only an impermeable section 30 . the expanding layer 20 and adhesive layer 10 open at one end but are connected by flexible members 21 . the flexible members 21 allow the expanding layer to open partially but not fully . for example , the flexible members 21 may restrict opening of the expanding layer 20 to less than 90 °. as seen in fig5 b expandable fill 50 is disposed between the expanding layer 20 and adhesive layer 10 . the expandable fill 50 swells when in contact with a liquid causing the expanding layer 20 to lift at its open end . the expanding layer 20 raises until the flexible members 21 are fully extended , as shown in fig5 c and fig5 d . flexible members 21 may be made of any suitable material , which is flexible yet , substantially inelastic . another embodiment of an expanding liquid barrier according to the present invention is shown in fig6 a and 6b . in this embodiment the barrier 1 has an adhesive layer 10 affixed to the floor and an expanding layer 20 . the expanding layer 20 is made of an impermeable and highly resilient material , for example , rubber , abs , materials found under the tradename sanoprene , polyethylene , and polypropylene . as seen in fig6 a , the expandable layer 20 is held in a generally flat and low profile configuration by being compressed and held together with a water - soluble adhesive 22 . when a water based liquid 2 comes into contact with the barrier 1 the water soluble adhesive 22 dissolves and releases the expanding layer so that the liquid may be contained as seen in fig6 b . the water soluble adhesive 22 may be , for example , cellulose ether , polyvinylpyrrolidone , or polyvinyl alcohol . it is also contemplated that the soluble adhesive 22 may be oil based where the barrier 1 is used to contain oil based liquids . suitable oil soluble adhesives include , for example , ethoxylated nonylphenol and transitions metal alkyl sulfonates . referring now to fig7 a and 7b , an expanding liquid barrier 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown . in this embodiment , the barrier 1 has an adhesive layer 10 affixed to the floor . adjacent the adhesive layer 10 is a contracting portion 25 also adjacent the floor . the expanding layer 20 is affixed at its ends to the contracting portion 25 as shown in fig7 a . in one embodiment the expanding layer 20 may have a front end attached to the contract section 25 and a rear end attached to the adhesive layer 10 . the expanding layer 20 may be wholly made of liquid impermeable material or may have a portion which is permeable nearest the approach of the liquid 2 to be contained . when liquid 2 comes into contact with the contracting portion 25 , the contracting portion 25 shrinks along dimension d is shown in fig7 a and 7b . as the contracting portion 25 decreases along dimension d , the expanding layer 20 raises to contain the liquid 2 as shown in fig7 b . referring now to fig8 a and 8b , a switch 60 may be incorporated with the barrier 1 . the switch may be mounted so that the switch 60 is in one position when no liquid 2 is present and the barrier 1 is in a substantially flat arrangement . when liquid 2 is present the barrier 1 expands and activates the switch 60 as shown in fig8 b . the expanding barrier 1 and associated activation of switch 60 may send a signal to an alarm such as an audible alarm , beacon , strobe light or other indicator to alert personnel that a leak has been detected . it is also contemplated that the switch 60 could be tied into other equipment such as automatic valves , pumps , etc to stop the flow of liquid . this communication may be direct or through a computer or plc . while the switch 60 shown in fig8 a and 8b is a standard limit switch affixed with a metal lever 61 and wheel 62 , it is contemplated that the switch 60 may be of any type suitable for this application . for example , the switch 60 could be a plunger type , proximity switch or other suitable switch . referring now to fig9 , a beneficial aspect of the present invention is illustrated . while it should be apparent that the expanding barrier 1 may provide containment it should also be appreciated that the barrier 1 may also be used as a diverter of liquid . the expanding barrier may be installed around a container 70 or other spill source , such as piping or equipment . under normal conditions the barrier 1 is low profile and not an obstacle or impediment to pedestrian or wheeled traffic . however , it will be appreciated that should a leak in the container develop , the barrier will expand and divert the liquid to the drain 80 or other receptacle . whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration , it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims .	8
fig1 illustrates a view of a deaerator shaft 102 and pump assembly 104 within an integrated drive generator ( idg ) housing 106 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the idg may include the deaerator shaft 102 , a deaerator drive gear 108 , the pump assembly 104 , and pump drive gear 109 . in operation , the pump assembly 104 is driven the pump drive gear 109 . the pump drive gear 109 may be mated with a deaerator drive gear 108 surrounding the deaerator shaft 102 . as the pump drive gear 109 turns , the deaerator shaft 102 may rotate . fluid flowing into the deaerator shaft 102 may be centrifuged , causing a supply of oil to be transferred and siphoned by the pump assembly 104 . in operation , a sufficient amount of oil is processed and flows through the deaerator shaft 102 so that the pump assembly 104 ( in particular a charge pump component of the pump assembly ) may be provided with a full supply of oil . a sufficient amount of oil may be supplied to components of the idg for cooling and lubrication purposes by the charge pump component . fig2 illustrates the deaerator shaft 102 in more detail . the deaerator shaft 102 comprises a plurality of tubular segments that may extend axially along an axis 202 . the axis 202 may extend the length of the deaerator shaft 102 . a tubular intake segment 204 is disposed along the axis 202 , forming an intake end 206 of the deaerator shaft 102 . the tubular intake segment 204 is configured to receive fluid and has a diameter of approximately 1 . 175 in . ( 2 . 9845 cm ). the tubular intake segment 204 has a length of approximately 0 . 684 in . ( 1 . 737 cm ) extending along the axis 202 . the end of the tubular intake segment 206 that forms the intake end 206 is chamfered in one embodiment . the chamfered edge can form a 45 degree angle with respect to an outer wall of the tubular intake segment 204 . the deaerator shaft 102 further comprises a tubular sleeve attachment segment 208 that is adjacent to the tubular intake segment 204 . the tubular sleeve attachment segment 208 extends along the axis 202 and has a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the tubular intake segment . in one embodiment , the diameter of the tubular sleeve attachment segment 208 is approximately 1 . 195 in . ( 3 . 0353 cm ). the tubular sleeve attachment segment 208 has a length of approximately 0 . 684 in . ( 1 . 737 cm ) extending along the axis 202 . the deaerator shaft 102 further comprises a central segment 210 extending along the axis 202 . the central segment 210 may be adjacent to the tubular sleeve attachment segment 208 , and located on an opposite side of the tubular sleeve attachment segment 208 from the tubular intake segment 204 . a protruding ring 212 extends radially from the central segment 210 about a circumference of the central segment 210 . the protruding ring 212 divides the central segment 210 , forming a shortened central segment portion 214 and a lengthened central segment portion 215 . the protruding ring 212 may have opposing flat surfaces 216 on an outer radial surface of the protruding ring 212 . in one embodiment , the shortened central segment portion 214 and lengthened central segment portion 215 measure 0 . 347 in . ( 0 . 881 cm ) and 0 . 69 in . ( 1 . 75 cm ) along the axis 202 , respectively . the diameters of the shortened central segment portion 214 and the diameter of the lengthened central segment portion 215 may be 1 . 3215 in . ( 3 . 355 cm ). the protruding ring 212 may measure 0 . 584 in . ( 1 . 483 cm ) along the axis 202 in one embodiment . the deaerator shaft 102 may further comprise a tubular discharge segment 218 extending along the axis 202 , forming a discharge end 219 of the deaerator shaft 102 . the tubular discharge segment 218 may be adjacent to the shortened central segment portion 214 . the tubular discharge segment 218 has a diameter of approximately 1 . 175 in . ( 2 . 984 cm ), which is approximately equal to the diameter of the tubular intake segment 204 . the tubular discharge segment 218 may comprise a plurality of openings 220 . the plurality of openings 220 is disposed about a circumference of the tubular discharge segment 218 . the plurality of openings 220 may be spaced equally around a circumference of the tubular discharge segment 218 . each opening extends in an axial direction for approximately 0 . 88 in . ( 2 . 2352 cm ) along the axis 202 . as described in more detail below , the plurality of openings 220 can act as a primary discharge point for fluid flowing through the deaerator shaft 102 . the discharge end 219 may act as a secondary discharge point for fluid , and the tubular discharge segment 218 may be chamfered at the discharge end 218 . fig3 and 4 illustrate a rotated view of the deaerator shaft 102 . a plurality of vanes 302 may extend from a radial center of the deaerator shaft 102 to an interior wall 303 of the deaerator shaft 102 . the plurality of vanes 302 may extend axially along a length of the deaerator shaft 102 , forming channels within the interior of the deaerator shaft 102 . the channels may assist with accelerating the fluid from longitudinal flow to rotating flow as the deaerator shaft 102 rotates , and as the fluid travels from the intake end 206 to the discharge end 219 . each channel may terminate at a respective opening of the plurality of openings 220 . in one embodiment , three vanes extend from a radial center of the deaerator shaft 102 , forming three channels of equal capacity . each vane terminates at the inner wall at a point 120 degrees apart from an adjacent vane . the plurality of vanes 302 may be axially recessed within the tubular intake segment 206 and the tubular discharge segment 219 . accordingly , the plurality of vanes 302 may not extend the entire length of the deaerator shaft 102 . as shown in fig3 , the intake edges 304 of the plurality of vanes 302 are recessed with respect to the intake end 206 of the deaerator shaft 102 . the distance from the intake edges 304 of the plurality of vanes 302 to the intake end 206 may be 0 . 125 in . ( 0 . 318 cm ), in one embodiment . in fig4 , the plurality of vanes 302 are axially recessed relative to the discharge end 219 of the deaerator shaft 102 . in particular , discharge edges 402 of the plurality of vanes 302 are recessed with respect to the discharge end 219 of the deaerator shaft 102 . the length of the recess between the discharge end 219 and the discharge edges 402 can vary , but in one embodiment the length of the recess is 0 . 376 in . ( 0 . 955 cm ). furthermore , the discharge edges 402 may be cupped , with a central part of the plurality of vanes 302 further recessed with respect to the discharge edges 402 . fig5 illustrates a cross - sectional view of the central segment 212 . each vane of the plurality of vanes 302 may form a rounded surface 502 with the inner radial wall of the central segment 212 . the rounded surface 502 may promote ease of manufacture of the vanes . the diameter of the protruding ring 212 as measured between outer radial walls of the protruding ring 212 may be 1 . 562 in . ( 3 . 967 cm ) in one embodiment . the distance between opposing flat surfaces 504 , 506 of the protruding ring 212 may be approximately 1 . 374 in . ( 3 . 48 cm ). the opposing flat surfaces 504 , 506 may run parallel to one another . fig6 illustrates a cross - sectional view of the tubular discharge segment 218 . the configuration of the plurality of vanes 302 extending through the tubular discharge segment 218 is illustrated in more detail . in particular , the plurality of vanes 302 is cupped , forming a central discharge opening 602 between fins 604 of the plurality of vanes 302 . the central discharge opening 602 may extend 1 . 183 in . ( 3 . 005 cm ) from the discharge end 219 , and radially 0 . 4 in . ( 1 . 016 cm ). the plurality of vanes 302 may be recessed 0 . 376 in . ( 0 . 955 cm ) from the discharge end . accordingly , each fin 604 of the plurality of vanes 302 may extend 0 . 807 in . ( 2 . 05 cm ) along the axis 202 . although an edge 606 of the fin 604 is squared in fig6 , the edge 606 of each fin 604 may have a rounded edge . referring to fig7 with continuing reference to fig2 and 5 , an isometric view of a gear 700 is shown in accordance with the subject invention . the gear 700 is ring - shaped with opposing tabs 702 , 704 that extend axially from an inner side 706 of the gear 700 . as described in more detail below , the opposing tabs 702 , 704 are configured to lock with the opposing flat surfaces ( not shown ) of the protruding ring ( not shown ). the opposing tabs 702 , 704 are used to provide a positive transfer of torque from the gear 700 to the deaerator shaft . the gear 700 is axially mounted on protruding ring 212 . the opposing tabs 702 , 704 drive on opposing flat surfaces 504 , 506 of the deaerator shaft , transmitting torque to the deaerator shaft . fig8 illustrates a cross - sectional view of the gear 700 . the gear 700 is disposed along an axis 802 . the gear 700 has a central ring 804 with a diameter of approximately 1 . 3254 in . ( 3 . 366 cm ) between inner radial walls of the central ring 804 . the gear 700 has a plurality of teeth 806 circumferentially disposed about an outer radial surface of the central ring 804 . the plurality of teeth 806 extend along the axial length of the central ring 804 . the plurality of teeth 806 provide a thrust surface by which a mating gear ( not shown ) may transmit torque to gear 700 . in one embodiment , the central ring 804 and the plurality of teeth 806 have an axial length of 0 . 35 in . ( 0 . 889 cm ). the gear 700 has a shouldered ring 808 with a diameter between inner radial surface 810 of the shouldered ring 808 of 1 . 195 in . ( 3 . 035 cm ), and a diameter between outer radial surface 814 of the shouldered ring 808 of 1 . 513 in . ( 3 . 843 cm ). the shouldered ring 808 may extend axially from the central ring 804 for a distance of 0 . 84 in . ( 2 . 133 cm ). the shouldered ring 808 also provides a thrust surface when mounted to the deaerator shaft and helps to axially locate the deaerator shaft within the idg . the opposing tabs 702 , 704 of gear 700 extend in a direction opposite to the shouldered ring 808 . the opposing tabs 702 , 704 may extend 0 . 2 in . ( 0 . 508 cm ) in an axial direction . fig9 illustrates an axial view of the gear 700 . the opposing tabs 702 , 704 have a length of 0 . 35 in . ( 0 . 889 cm ) extending along the cross - sectional axis 802 . radially - inward facing surfaces 806 , 807 of the opposing tabs 702 , 704 are flat . however , the radially - outward facing surfaces 808 , 810 of the opposing tabs 702 , 704 may be arced , similar to the circumference of the central ring 804 . while the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments , it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments . rather , the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations , alterations , substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described , but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention . additionally , while various embodiments of the invention have been described , it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments . accordingly , the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description , but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims .	5
referring to fig5 the form of a tooth 28 of an external gear 11 cut by a rack - type tool 16 with straight - sided teeth having a pressure angle α o ( as shown in fig4 ) assumes an involute curve 19 that has a pressure angle α o on a pitch circle 18 . when considering the tooth form of the tool and the external gear , chamfering at the edges of the tooth tip and the corners of tooth root as well as the radius of fillet are excepted . assuming that the involute curve 19 and the pitch circle 18 intersect at point 20 , the length of a circular arc 20 - 20 &# 39 ; is equal to the virtual thickness lo of the tooth 2 of the belt 1 on the pitch line 7 . the virtual thickness lo is a constant value that is determined by belt size expressed by pitch length between adjacent teeth of a belt or the like . there arises a deflection δ 1 k between points 22 and 23 where the tangent 21 of the involute curve 19 at point 20 and the involute curve 19 intersect the outside diameter 25 of the external gear 11 , and a deflection δ 1 f between points 26 and 27 where said tangent 21 and involute curve 19 intersect the bottom land 24 of the external gear 11 . the absolute values δ 1 k and δ 1 f become smaller with an increase in the number of teeth in the external gear 11 ; that is , δ 1 k and δ 1 f become zero when the number of teeth becomes infinite . assuming now that δ 1 k and δ 1 f of an external gear having a minimum number of teeth are dk and df , the values of δ 1 k and δ 1 f become smaller than the absolute values of dk and df as the number of teeth of the external gear increases . δ 1 k and δ 1 f are calculated from the following equations : ## equ1 ## where d = 1 / 2 of the difference between the outside diameter 25 of the external gear 11 and the diameter of the pitch circle 18 dp = the diameter of the pitch circle 18 of the external gear 11 h = the depth of the tooth space 13 of the external gear 11 αo = the pressure angle of the rack - type tool 16 used for tooth cutting it must be additionally noted that , within the range of the practically usable number of teeth on the external gear 11 , a tooth surface 28 of the external gear 11 becomes totally consistent with the involute curve 19 , owing to the tooth form conditions , including a pressure angle αo , of the tool . in fig6 a tooth form 30 of an external gear 11 &# 39 ; cut by a rack - type tool having straight - sided teeth with a pressure angle αo + δα coincides with an involute curve 29 . there arise a deflection δ &# 39 ; 1 k between points 22 and 31 where the tangent 21 of the involute curve 19 and the involute curve 29 intersect the outside diameter 25 of the external gear 11 &# 39 ;, and a deflection δ &# 39 ; 1 f between points 26 and 32 where said tangent 21 and involute curve 29 intersect the bottom land 24 of the external gear 11 &# 39 ;. δ &# 39 ; 1 k and δ &# 39 ; 1 f are calculated from the following equations , with the extent of each deflection being adjustable by δα : ## equ2 ## the involute curve 29 increases its curvature and deviates more and more from the tangent 21 of the involute curve 19 , as it approaches the bottom land 24 of the external gear 11 &# 39 ;. it is therefore effective , for making small the value of δ &# 39 ; 1 f as well as the curvature at the root of the tooth form 30 of the external gear 11 &# 39 ;, to form the greater part of the tooth surface of a rack - type tool 33 shown in fig7 with a straight line 34 and the remaining small part , for instance , about one - third from the tip of the tooth , with a curve 35 . to be more precise , the tooth form of the external gear 11 &# 39 ; generated by the straight - lined portion 34 of the rack - type tool 33 forms the involute curve 29 , whereas the tooth form generated by the curved portion 35 presents a curve deflected in such a direction as to relatively narrow the width 32 - 32 &# 39 ; of the bottom land 24 , compared with the tooth form generated by an all straight - sided rack - type tool . the curved portion 35 of the tool 33 may be substituted by an arc of a circle . assuming that the maximum values which said δ &# 39 ; 1 k can take is d &# 39 ; k and that said δ &# 39 ; 1 f can take is d &# 39 ; f , the maximum amount of relief ε at the tooth tip of the tool 33 must be expressed by ε = d &# 39 ; f - d &# 39 ; k . if the angle formed between points 20 and 20 &# 39 ; on the pitch circle 18 of the external gear 11 in fig5 is 20 , the pressure angle of the involute curve 19 on the pitch circle 18 is αo . therefore , the angle of intersection of the tangents 21 and 21 &# 39 ; of the involute curve 19 and 19 &# 39 ; becomes 2 ( αo + θ ), which is twice as great as the pressure angle αo of the tool , plus 20 . θ is calculated from the following equation : ## equ3 ## in fig8 let us consider two straight - sided tooth forms 36 and 37 , having a pressure angle αo and αo + θ , respectively , at point 20 on the pitch circle 18 . then there arise deflections δ 2 k and δ 2 f between points 38 and 23 and points 39 and 27 where said tooth forms 36 and 37 intersect the outside diameter 25 and the bottom land 24 . δ 2 k and δ 2 f are calculated from the following equations : δ . sub . 2 f = ( d + h ) { tan ( αo + θ ) - tanαo } assuming that the aforesaid δ 2 k and δ 2 f become δ &# 39 ; 2 k and δ &# 39 ; 2 f when the pressure angle αo is changed to αo + δα , δ &# 39 ; 2 k and δ &# 39 ; 2 f are calculated from the following calculation : δ &# 39 ;. sub . 2 k = d { tan ( αo + δα + θ ) - tan ( αo + δα )} δ &# 39 ;. sub . 2 f = ( d + h ) { tan ( αo + δα + θ ) - tan ( αo + δα )} from the above , δ &# 39 ; k and δ &# 39 ; f are defined as follows : 2δ &# 39 ; k shows a difference between tooth thickness l 1 at the root of the tooth of the belt 1 with a straight - sided tooth 2 having a virtual tooth thickness lo and pressure angle αo on the pitch line 7 and tooth space 31 - 31 &# 39 ; on the outside diameter 25 of the external gear 11 &# 39 ; cut by a rack - type straight - sided tooth - cutting tool having a pressure angle αo + δα . 2δ &# 39 ; f shows a difference between tooth thickness l 2 at the tip of the tooth of the same belt and tooth space 32 - 32 &# 39 ; at the bottom land 24 of the external gear 11 &# 39 ;. with the assumption that 2δ &# 39 ; k - 2δ &# 39 ; f - 2δ &# 39 ;, 2δ &# 39 ; is defined as showing a dimensional error permissible for an ideal tooth space ( 31 - 31 &# 39 ; - 2h tanαo ) at the bottom land 24 of the external gear 11 &# 39 ;, which determines the tooth tip thickness of the belt to be cut thereby , with respect to the tooth space 31 - 31 &# 39 ; on the outside diameter 25 of said external gear 11 &# 39 ;. the thickness l &# 39 ; 1 and l &# 39 ; 2 at the tooth root and tip of the belt 46 ( fig9 ) cut by the external gear 11 &# 39 ; having the aforementioned 2δ &# 39 ; k and 2δ &# 39 ; f differ with the number of teeth in the external gear 11 &# 39 ;. at the same time , the tooth surface 47 of the belt 46 made by the external gear 11 &# 39 ; forms a concave involute curve , because the external gear 11 &# 39 ; has a convex involute tooth form 30 . the belt 1 and the toothed wheels 40 and 40 &# 39 ; are considered to engage with each other as in the case of a rack and a pinion . if a belt 46 is considered a rack , the aforesaid 2δ &# 39 ; k is a value affecting the back - lash existing between the tooth 48 of the belt 46 and the teeth 41 and 41 &# 39 ; of the toothed wheels 40 and 40 &# 39 ;. also , 2δ &# 39 ; calculated from equation 2δ &# 39 ; k - 2δ &# 39 ; f = 2δ &# 39 ; and the concave curve on the tooth surface 47 of the belt 46 are considered tooth form errors . the aforementioned δ &# 39 ; k and δ &# 39 ; f were calculated with regard to the belt tooth forms of every pitch specified in british standards 4548 - 1970 , specifications for synchronous belt drives , assuming that δα is approximately one degree . for the belts having great pitch dimensions , the tooth form of external gears cut by a partly curved , straight - sided rack - type tool were considered . it was then found out about the tooth form of every pitch that the amount of change in δ &# 39 ; k ( that is , the range of values which δ &# 39 ; k can take ) with the number of teeth in the external gear was small , and all such values were positive . it was also found that the amount of change in δ &# 39 ; with the number of teeth in the external gear was small too , and , furthermore , the value of δ &# 39 ; could be kept within a range between a very small positive value to a small negative value or between zero and a small negative value , depending on how ε in fig7 was determined . the positive δ &# 39 ; for the tooth tip space of the belt 46 becomes the amount of interference in the engaging mechanism of rack and pinion , while the negative δ &# 39 ; becomes that of relief . in the engagement of the belt 46 and the toothed wheels 40 and 40 &# 39 ;, the presence of a very small positive δ &# 39 ; does not constitute an obstacle to such engagement , because the tooth 48 of the belt 46 , made of rubber - like elastic material , can permit some extent of transformation different from gears of hard metal . if the presence of such positive δ &# 39 ; is undesirable , it can be changed to negative regardless of the number of teeth of the belt , by changing the value of δα or ε of the tool 33 shown in fig7 or the interrelationship therebetween . when the above - described belt 46 , which differs , in tooth tip thickness slightly from the base dimention and has a concave tooth surface 47 , is placed over the wheels 40 and 40 &# 39 ; and moved , the belt smoothly engages the wheels . the moment the teeth 2 and 48 of the belts 1 and 46 , respectively , engage with the wheels 40 and 40 &# 39 ;, the tooth surfaces 3 and 47 of the belts 1 and 46 receive from the tooth surfaces 42 and 43 reactive force originated from power transmission . for the transmission of power , it is more advantageous to engage the belt 46 , having the concave tooth surface 47 , of this invention with the wheels having the convex tooth surface 42 and 43 , than to do so with the belt 1 with the straight - sided teeth 3 , since the former produces less contact stress between both tooth surfaces ( see fig1 and 11 ). its superiority in durability has also been experimentally proven . as described above , this invention permits cutting of external gears for the manufacture of timing belts having various numbers of teeth of the same pitch , using one rack - type gear - cutting tool . this means that one tool is enough for each pitch , thus eliminating the necessity of preparing many costly rack - type tools and facilitating the maintenance and keeping of such tools . because the tooth form of this rack - type tool is straight - sided or partly curved , it can be more easily manufactured than a rack - type tool with totally curved teeth . also the belt is designed with concave teeth so as to properly engage with convex - surfaced wheel teeth , which decreases contact stress during the transmission of power between both teeth and increases the durability of the teeth or the belt . these are the examples of remarkable results expected from this invention . although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes , it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus , including the rearrangement of parts , lie within the scope of the present invention .	5
the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the nonlimiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description . descriptions of well known components and processing techniques are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the invention in detail . it should be understood , however , that the detailed description and the specific examples , while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention , are given by way of illustration only and not by way of limitation . various substitutions , modifications , additions and / or rearrangements within the spirit and / or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description . the entire contents of u . s . ser . no . 60 / 173 , 232 , filed dec . 28 , 1999 , are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if set forth herein in their entirety . the clock recovery scheme can be extended with additional circuitry to ascertain whether the following two events occur . first is the notion of “ excess zeros ”. second is the notion of a rapid phase change in the incoming t 1 reference signal . if t 1 - sig had no missing pulses then there would be ( very approximately ) one rising edge in every 18 clock cycles of the reference local clock signal ( 30 mhz ). a simple counter arrangement , where a counter is clocked by the local oscillator and reset by ( any ) every rising edge of t 1 - sig would never show a count much larger than 18 if the t 1 signal was “ all - 1s ”. a count of about 36 could be observed if the t 1 signal has one isolated “ 0 ”. a count of about 750 would indicate the presence of a string of about 40 “ 0 ” s in the t 1 signal . thus , by setting a suitable threshold it can be ascertained if there has been a long string of “ 0 ” s in the t 1 signal . this mechanism has been used quite widely in symmetricom designs . the technique depicted in fig1 - 2 can be extended to detect a rapid change in the phase / frequency of the incoming signal . this provides an important function in synchronization equipment . this extension was developed to handle the “ unipulse ” problem and a brief exposition of this problem is also provided . detection of a rapid change in the incoming t 1 signal in all synchronization equipment , the clock recovered from the incoming t 1 signal is then used to discipline a stable oscillator using a narrow - band phase / frequency lock technique ( pll is an acronym for phase locked loop ; fll stands for frequency locked loop ). the timing output signal provided by the equipment is derived from the disciplined oscillator . the ( final ) output signal follows the input reference , albeit sluggishly . a phase step in the input signal will be reflected in a phase change ( over time ) of roughly the same magnitude . this behavior is expected and the equipment is not considered to have malfunctioned and in fact if the phase change of the output is less than the phase step introduced in the input signal then the equipment is considered to be well - behaved . now consider the case where the input signal has a rapid phase change of almost + 180 degrees . this is a phase jump corresponding to one - half of a clock cycle or 0 . 5 ui ( ui stands for unit interval and is equivalent to one bit - period in time or 360 degrees in phase ). the output will try to follow this phase step and , after some time , will have moved ( almost ) + 180 degrees . now suppose the input signal phase reverted back to its original phase state via the introduction of a phase step of ( almost ) − 180 degrees . the equipment output is expected to return to its original phase state . this expectation is problematic because an instantaneous phase step of + 180 degrees is indistinguishable from an instantaneous phase step of − 180 degrees . at times the equipment output phase change may thus be a net 360 degrees . this is the “ unipulse ” problem , the nomenclature stemming from the fact that the output seems to have moved 1 ui even though the ( net ) change in the input was 0 ui . to protect against this so - called malfunction , it is necessary to monitor the input signal for a rapid change in phase state . this is achieved by the method described here . this method can be implemented as an extension of the clock recovery scheme described above . to see how this method works , first note the following observations related to the clock recovery method . for convenience we will assume that the incoming t 1 signal was “ all - 1s ” and thus t 1 - sig has no missing pulses ( this assumption can be relaxed later ). the signal q 4 is a mixture of two different frequencies which can be called ƒ 13 and ƒ 14 which are nominally 1 . 538461 . . . mhz and 1 . 547619 . . . mhz , respectively . the feedback arrangement causes the alternation between the two which are present for p 13 and p 14 fractional time , respectively . the feedback is such that the fractional quantities p 13 and p 14 are roughly constant regardless of the time interval over which they are observed providing , of course , that the input frequency is constant . that is , the ff output , which controls the selection of the modulo - 13 or modulo - 14 operation , is quite oscillatory in nature and long strings of high or low will not be present . if there is a slow variation in phase of the input signal then the fractional quantities will change to allow q 4 to “ maintain phase tracking ” of t 1 - sig , but the oscillatory nature will be retained . if the nominal frequency of t 1 - sig is constant but , for some reason or another , one period is shortened by + x ui ( x is a small fraction ) then the mechanism will choose the higher frequency ( modulo - 14 selection ) in a sustained manner till q 4 “ catches up ” with t 1 - sig . similarly , if one period of t 1 - sig is lengthened by + y ui ( again , y is a small fraction ) then the mechanism will choose the lower frequency ( modulo - 13 selection ) in a sustained manner till q 4 realigns with t 1 - sig . a rapid change in phase of the incoming t 1 signal is , roughly , equivalent to the shortening or lengthening of one period of t 1 - sig . in actuality , a few consecutive periods will be shortened / lengthened to get the overall shift corresponding to the phase change introduced . to see how many ui elapse for the mechanism to realign the phase of q 4 and t 1 - sig , note that the “ high ” and “ low ” frequencies ( in fractional units ) are + 2 . 343943e - 3 and − 3 . 587086e - 3 relative to the ( nominal ) t 1 clock frequency of 1 . 544 mhz . if the incoming signal has a precession of x ui , then the “ high ” frequency must be selected for 426 . 6x ui ( approximately ), in a sustained manner , for the phase of q 4 to realign (“ catch up ”) with t 1 - sig . if the incoming signal has a delay of + y ui then the “ low ” frequency must be selected for 278 . 8y ui ( approximately ), in a sustained manner , for phase realignment . the last point provides the basis for the method for detecting a rapid change in phase . referring to fig3 two counters , clocked by t 1 - sig ( or a clock derived from either t 1 - sig or q 4 ), are maintained . a first counter 110 , hi - count , counts ( up ) when modulo - 14 is selected and a second counter 120 , lo - count counts ( up ) when modulo - 13 is selected . hi - count is reset when modulo - 13 is selected and lo - count is reset when modulo - 14 is selected . thus hi - count is reflective of the number of ui that have elapsed since the last time modulo - 13 was selected and lo - count reflects the number of ui since modulo - 14 was selected . if either of these counts exceeds a predetermined threshold then it can be stated that the input t 1 signal included a rapid phase change . a suitable threshold would correspond to about 0 . 25 ui ( use the value 0 . 25 for x and y ). comparing fig3 to fig1 it can be appreciated that in fig1 there is one signal labeled dwn +/ up − which controls the selection of the modulo - 13 or modulo - 14 operation . when dwn +/ up − is high , the modulo - 13 operation is selected . this corresponds to the signal shown in fig3 as sel . mod - 13 being “ true ” or high . when dwn +/ up − is low the modulo - 14 operation is selected , corresponding to the signal sel . mod - 14 of fig3 being true or high . when either the lo - count or hi - count counter value exceeds its threshold , a signal alarm 130 is true , indicative of a rapid phase change detection event . this rapid - phase - change - event detection can be used to supplement the pll / fll arrangement used to discipline the local oscillator such that the oscillator does not “ follow ” the recovered clock during transition phases . techniques for implementing such a “ don &# 39 ; t - follow - during - transients ” scheme have been implemented in several symmetricom products and are not described here . using t 1 - sig as the clock for the counters is advantageous since if there is a missing pulse then the counters do not change reflective of the fact that no decision is made when a pulse is missing . nco is an acronym for numerically controlled oscillator . essentially , as the name would imply , an nco is a device that generates a frequency , derived from a ( hopefully stable ) local oscillator , that can be programmed via a numerical value in a ( control ) register . a “ conventional nco ” is depicted in fig4 . it comprises an accumulator 200 which is the combination of an adder 210 and a register 220 . the local oscillator has a frequency ƒ 0 and is used to load the results of the addition into the accumulator - register . the “ increment ” is what controls the frequency of the output signal . in a simple implementation , the carry - out ( c out from the adder is loaded by ƒ 0 into a flip - flop ( one - bit register ). the flip - flop output will be a pulsed waveform with a pulse repetition rate of ƒ out . the frequency of this output is related to the clock frequency , ƒ 0 , by the simple equation f out ≅ f 0  δ 2 n in this equation the quantity n represents the wordlength of the accumulator ( the register / adder size ) and δ is the numerical value of the increment and is an integer ( often called an unsigned binary number ). typical values of n are between 16 and 48 . the larger the value of n , the more precision can be achieved for the synthesized frequency . the above equation holds when the “ carry - in ” signal to the accumulator is always “ 0 ”. the effective value of δ can be augmented by forcing the carry - in to alternate between 0 and 1 . if the carry - in is 1 for x % of the time , then the impact is similar to increasing δ ( an integer ) by ( x / 100 ) ( a fractional part ). for convenience , it is assumed that the carry - in is held at 0 . referring now to fig5 the nco form can be used quite advantageously to perform the function of clock recovery . to see how , recognize that the prior art achieves clock recovery by alternating between two frequencies . likewise , the nco form can be controlled by having two choices for increment , δ . consider two values for δ , say δ h and δ l , which satisfy the relationship . f 0  δ l 2 n & lt ; f t1 & lt ; f 0  δ h 2 n   or   f l & lt ;  f t1 & lt ; f h then an nco 310 can be controlled in much the same way as the divider scheme in the clock recovery method ( prior art ) described before . to emphasize the relationship , the output signal is labeled as q 4 . as a first implementation , the conventional nco 310 can be modified by making the choice of increment , δ , based on the relative phase of the rising edge of q 4 and t 1 - sig in much the same manner as the conventional method . this is illustrated in fig5 . the output of the flip - flop 320 clocked by t 1 - sig will be high if the rising edge of q 4 occurs before the rising edge of t 1 - sig and will be low if the rising edge of q 4 occurs after the rising edge of t 1 - sig . this explains the nomenclature that the flip - flop 320 , ff , performs the action of a phase detector in terms of an early / late decision . a multiplexer 330 sends either δ h or δ l to the nco 310 . considering the similarity between the conventional scheme and the nco form , the question arises as to which is superior , if at all . the nco form is superior for the following reasons : note that the conventional method requires the selection of three divider modulo quantities , a , n , and m , which depend on the choice of the local oscillator frequency , ƒ 0 , and the t 1 frequency ( 1 . 544 mhz ). in the scenario described , the local oscillator is ( nominally ) 30 mhz and the choices are a = 18 , n = 13 , and m - 14 . it is not uncommon to specify m =( n + 1 ). with this choice , the “ high ” frequency is + 2344 ppm and the “ low ” frequency is − 3587 ppm ( relative to the t 1 frequency ). these are not symmetric about 0 and are quite large . it turns out that there is not much leeway in the choice of the dividers and these large variations are not easily avoided . the drawback of these large variations is the intrinsic jitter in the recovered clock signal . this large jitter is exacerbated if the t 1 signal has an appreciable number of missing pulses ( i . e . data bits =“ 0 ”). the nco form , on the other hand , provides much more leeway in the selection of δ l and δ h that can be tailored to the quality of the local oscillator . consider the case when the local oscillator is nominally 30 mhz and has an intrinsic accuracy of 100 ppm . the t 1 clock recovery specification requires a clock recovery even when the t 1 signal is off - frequency by as much as 50 ppm . clearly , if the high and low frequencies are of the order of ± 200 ppm then there is adequate margin to recover the clock frequency and yet have an intrinsic jitter of much less than if the high and low frequencies were ± 2300 ppm . for example , if the nco wordlength is 16 bits , then one could choose δ h = 3374 and δ l = 3372 and obtain a “ high ” frequency which is + 320 . 4 ppm and a “ low ” frequency which is − 272 . 6 ppm . clearly with a longer wordlength one could obtain frequencies that are more symmetric about the nominal . nevertheless , even with such a short wordlength ( 16 bits ) the jitter performance of the nco form will still be clearly superior to the conventional method described . the frequency of the incoming t 1 signal relative to the local oscillator can be expressed in terms of the percentage of time each of the two frequencies are selected . denote by p l the fraction of time the lower frequency , ƒ l , is selected and by p h the fraction of time the higher frequency , ƒ h is selected . then clearly p l =( 1 = p h ) and or f t1 ≅ f 0  ( p l  δ l 2 n + p h  δ h 2 n ) thus , as in the case of the conventional clock recovery method , the fraction of time the “ low ” frequency ( or “ high ” frequency ) is selected is a measure of the relative frequency difference between the local oscillator and the incoming t 1 signal timebase . because using the nco form allows one to keep the “ high ” and “ low ” frequencies much closer to the nominal , it is clear that the reliability and quality of the estimate of frequency difference is much better than in the conventional case ( prior art ). the addition of a mechanism to detect rapid phase changes to the nco form of clock recovery is quite straightforward . in fact , the same scheme depicted in fig3 is applicable . by replacing the signal named “ sel . mod - 14 ” with “ sel - δ h ” and “ sel . mod - 13 ” with “ sel - δ l ”, the requisite detection mechanism is obtained . that is , the dwn +/ up − signal of fig5 is used as was the signal dwn +/ up − signal of fig1 . however , the calculation of thresholds would be based on 320 . 4 ppm vs . 2344 ppm and − 272 . 6 ppm vs . − 3587 ppm because the high and low frequencies are now closer to the nominal value . the example of the nco form described above used a wordlength of 16 bits for the accumulator and δ h = 3374 and δ l = 3372 to obtain a “ high ” frequency which is + 320 . 4 ppm and a “ low ” frequency which is − 272 . 6 ppm . now suppose a wordlength of 18 bits and δ h = 13496 and δ l = 13488 . one would obtain a “ high ” frequency which is + 320 . 4 ppm and a “ low ” frequency which is − 272 . 6 ppm ( the same as before ). if one modified δ l to 13487 then the “ low ” frequency would be − 347 ppm providing a somewhat more symmetrical operation . clearly , the larger the wordlength , the greater is the freedom of choice to obtain “ high ” and “ low ” frequencies that are reasonably symmetric about the nominal . now with an 18 - bit accumulator one can consider δ to be any ( integer ) value between δ h = 13496 and δ l = 13487 . then the nominal frequency of q 4 will be between + 320 . 4 ppm and − 347 ppm . in contrast with the earlier situation of just two choices , “ low ” or “ high ”, one can now provide 10 choices in the same range and thus one can expect to get a much improved granularity which in turn translates to much reduced jitter in the recovered clock signal . a simple control mechanism to adjust δ is depicted in fig6 . the phase detection scheme is as before and detects whether the rising edge of q 4 is early or late . this controls a multiplexer 330 (“ mux ”) that selects an increment of + 1 or − 1 to be added to the current value of δ . the adder 340 includes circuitry to ensure that the range of outputs is kept to between δ h and δ l . the “ δ register ” 350 is most advantageously clocked by t 1 - sig since if there is no pulse in t 1 - sig the phase detector cannot make a determination of early / late and the current value for δ is “ held ”. thus , the rate of change of the output phase can be increased or decreased . this acceleration or deceleration , as the case may be , can be made available for either advancing or retarding the output phase relative to the incoming signal . when the register 350 is saturated ( i . e ., either δ h and δ l as the case may be ) the rate of change can only be held constant or decreased . the frequency of the incoming t 1 signal relative to the local oscillator can be determined by observing the “ increment ” δ . denote by & lt ; δ & gt ; the average value of δ taken over a reasonable length of time . then the average frequency of the incoming t 1 signal in terms of the local oscillator frequency is given by f t1 ≅ f 0  & lt ; δ & gt ; 2 n the precision of this average is much better than the case where one used just two selections for the instantaneous frequency of q 4 . furthermore , because of the finer granularity of choices for the instantaneous frequency of q 4 , the overall jitter performance is vastly improved . while not being limited to any particular performance indicator or diagnostic identifier , preferred embodiments of the invention can be identified one at a time by testing for the presence of accurate rapid phase shift detection . the test for the presence of accurate rapid phase shift detection can be carried out without undue experimentation by the use of a simple and conventional bench top experiment where sig - t 1 is rapidly shifted in a controlled manner and the response of the system is evaluated . the invention can also be included in a kit . the kit can include some , or all , of the components that compose the invention . the kit can be an in - the - field retrofit kit to improve existing systems that are capable of incorporating the invention . the kit can include software / firmware and / or hardware for carrying out the invention . the kit can also contain instructions for practicing the invention . the components , software , firmware , hardware and / or instructions of the kit can be the same as those used in the invention . the term approximately , as used herein , is defined as at least close to a given value ( e . g ., preferably within 10 % of , more preferably within 1 % of , and most preferably within 0 . 1 % of ). the term coupled , as used herein , is defined as connected , although not necessarily directly , and not necessarily mechanically . the term deploying , as used herein , is defined as designing , building , shipping , installing and / or operating . the term means , as used herein , is defined as hardware , firmware and / or software for achieving a result . the term program or phrase computer program , as used herein , is defined as a sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system . a program , or computer program , may include a subroutine , a function , a procedure , an object method , an object implementation , an executable application , an applet , a servlet , a source code , an object code , a shared library / dynamic load library and / or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system . the terms including and / or having , as used herein , are defined as comprising ( i . e ., open to additional elements ). the terms a or an , as used herein , are defined as one or more than one . the term another , as used herein , is defined as at least a second or more . all the disclosed embodiments of the invention disclosed herein can be made and used without undue experimentation in light of the disclosure . although the best mode of carrying out the invention contemplated by the inventor is disclosed , practice of the invention is not limited thereto . accordingly , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . variation may be made in the steps or in the sequence of steps composing methods described herein . further , although the invention described herein can be a separate module , it will be manifest that the invention may be integrated into the system with which it is ( they are ) associated . furthermore , all the disclosed elements and features of each disclosed embodiment can be combined with , or substituted for , the disclosed elements and features of every other disclosed embodiment except where such elements or features are mutually exclusive . it will be manifest that various substitutions , modifications , additions and / or rearrangements of the features of the invention may be made without deviating from the spirit and / or scope of the underlying inventive concept . it is deemed that the spirit and / or scope of the underlying inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents cover all such substitutions , modifications , additions and / or rearrangements . the appended claims are not to be interpreted as including means - plus - function limitations , unless such a limitation is explicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase ( s ) “ means for ” and / or “ step for .” subgeneric embodiments of the invention are delineated by the appended independent claims and their equivalents . specific embodiments of the invention are differentiated by the appended dependent claims and their equivalents .	7
referring now to the discussion that follows and also to the drawings , illustrative approaches to the disclosed systems and methods are shown in detail . although the drawings represent some possible approaches , the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated , removed , or partially sectioned to better illustrate and explain the disclosed device . further , the descriptions set forth herein are not intended to be exhaustive or otherwise limit or restrict the claims to the precise forms and configurations shown in the drawings and disclosed in the following detailed description . while the device is described with respect to an exemplary cross - track constant velocity joint ( cvj ) for use in a vehicle , the following apparatus is capable of being adapted for various purposes including automotive vehicles drive axles , motor systems that use a propeller shaft , or other vehicles and non - vehicle applications that require cvj &# 39 ; s for torque transmission . an exemplary drive system 10 for a typical four - wheel drive vehicle is shown in fig1 . while a four - wheel drive system is shown and described , the concepts here presented could apply to a single drive unit system or multiple drive unit system , including rear wheel drive only vehicles , front wheel drive only vehicles , all wheel drive vehicles , and four - wheel drive vehicles . the exemplary drive system 10 includes an engine 12 that is connected to a transmission 14 and a power take - off unit ( ptu ) 16 . a front differential 18 has a front right hand side half shaft 20 and front left hand side half shaft 22 , each of which are connected to a wheel 24 and deliver power to the wheels . attached to the ends of the right hand side half shaft 20 and left hand side half shaft 22 are constant velocity joints 26 . a propeller shaft 28 connects the transmission 18 to a rear differential 30 . the rear differential 30 includes a rear right hand side shaft 32 and a rear left hand side shaft 34 , each of which has a wheel 24 attached to one end thereof . constant velocity joints 26 are located on both ends of the half shafts 32 , 34 that connect to the wheels 24 and the rear differential 30 . the propeller shaft 28 may be a two piece propeller shaft that includes several high - speed constant velocity joints 26 and a high - speed shaft support bearing 36 . the propeller shaft 28 includes first and second interconnecting shafts 38 , 40 . the shafts 20 , 22 , 38 , 40 , 32 , 34 may be solid or tubular with ends adapted to attach each shaft to a particular constant velocity joint 26 , as appropriate for the particular application . the constant velocity joints 26 transmit power to the wheels 24 through the propeller shaft 28 even if the wheels or the propeller shaft 28 have changed angles due to steering or raising and lowering of the suspension of the vehicle . the constant velocity joints 26 may be any of a variety of joint types , including but not limited to a plunging tripod , a cross groove joint , a fixed joint , a fixed tripod joint , or a double offset joint , all of which are recognized terms for identifying different varieties of constant velocity joints 26 . the constant velocity joints 26 allow for constant velocity torque transmission within the joint at operating joint angles that are typically encountered in every day driving of automotive vehicles in both the half shafts and propeller shafts of these vehicles . optionally , each constant velocity joint may be replaced with any other types of joint . thus , any of the constant velocity joints identified in fig1 at 26 or 36 may include a constant velocity joint . because the torque transfer capability of the constant velocity joint is influenced by its moment of inertia , which is a function of the maximum radii of the constant velocity joint parts , and is less effected by the mass of the constant velocity joint parts , it may be beneficial to have a cross - track constant velocity joint with optimized ratios that benefits from the torque / radius transfer relationship in order to reduce the mass of the system or to optimize its performance . with reference to fig2 and 3a thru 3 c , an exemplary cross - track constant velocity joint 42 may include an annular outer race 44 having a generally cylindrical inner face 46 defining an inner diameter d bore , and a generally cylindrical outer face 48 defining an outer diameter d or . outer race 44 has a front face 50 and a rear face 52 that define an axial outer race length or l . arranged on inner face 46 of outer race 44 are first and second outer ball tracks 54 and 56 . each outer ball track 54 and 56 has a track depth t d corresponding to a radial distance measured from inner face 46 to a bottom 58 and 60 of outer ball tracks 48 and 50 , respectively . outer ball tracks 54 , 56 have substantially the same track depth t d . outer ball tracks 54 , 56 extend over the entire length or l of outer race 44 from front face 50 to rear face 52 . outer race 44 may be secured to a drive shaft of a drive unit , for example , ptu 16 , front differential 18 and rear differential 30 , as illustrated in fig1 , or any other member capable of transmitting a torque to or from constant velocity joint 42 . various means may be used to attach outer race 46 to the corresponding drive shaft . for example , outer race 46 may be bolted to the drive shaft using a plurality of bolts received in corresponding bolt holes 62 extending lengthwise through outer race 46 from front face 50 to rear face 52 . other connection means may also be employed depending on the requirements of the particular application . referring to fig2 and 5a thru 5 d , arranged within outer race 44 is an inner race 64 having an outer face 66 and inner first and second ball tracks 68 and 70 . outer face 66 of inner race 64 has , as seen in longitudinal section ( fig5 a ), a generally roof - shaped contour that is interrupted by the inner ball tracks 68 , 70 . outer face may also have any of a variety of other contours , including but not limited to circular , elliptical , parabolic , and linear , to name a few . the roof - shaped outer face 66 includes a generally cylindrical midsection region 72 flanked by generally conical surface portions 74 adjoining the latter tangentially . midsection region 72 defines a maximum outer diameter d ir of inner race 64 . inner race 64 has a front face 76 and a rear face 78 that define an axial inner race length ir l . inner ball tracks 68 and 70 have a track depth t d corresponding to a radial distance measured from midsection region 72 of outer face 66 of the inner race to a bottom 80 , 82 of inner ball tracks 68 and 70 , respectively . inner ball tracks 68 , 70 have substantially the same track depth t d . inner ball tracks 68 , 70 extend over the entire length ir l of inner race 64 from front face 76 to rear face 78 . inner race 64 may include a central orifice 86 extending lengthwise through the inner race from front face 76 to rear face 78 . an inner surface of orifice 86 includes a series of longitudinal toothing 88 defining a spline 91 having a length ls . orifice 86 is configured for rotationally fixed insertion of a correspondingly configured drive shaft , such as a journal shaft of a drive unit or any other member capable of transmitting a torque to or constant velocity joint 42 . the contact points between the spline 91 of inner race 64 and the spline of the drive shaft received in orifice 86 define a spline pitch circle diameter pcd spline . the distance from an outer diameter of the spline to the bottom 80 , 82 of inner ball tracks 68 , 70 corresponds to a spline inner distance s ir . referring to fig2 thru 5 d , multiple balls 90 having a diameter “ d ” are guided in pairs of ball tracks consisting in each case of one outer first ball track 54 and one inner first ball track 68 , and one outer second ball track 56 and one inner second ball track 70 . a cage 92 is arranged between the outer race 44 and the inner race 64 , and includes circumferentially distributed windows 94 in which the balls 90 are received . with particular reference to fig4 a and 4b , cage 92 includes a set of long windows 96 and short windows 98 alternately arranged over the circumference of the cage . large windows 96 have a circumferential length lc and receive balls 90 guided in the track pairs consisting of outer second ball tracks 56 and inner second ball tracks 70 . small windows 98 have a circumferential length l s and receive balls 90 guided in the track pairs consisting of outer first ball tracks 54 and inner first ball tracks 68 . long and shorts windows 96 , 98 each have a width w c producing a ball window clearance 100 between a circumferential inside surface 102 of the window and an outer circumference of ball 90 received in the window . cage 92 has an inner face 104 and an outer face 106 . inner face 104 includes , as seen in longitudinal section ( fig4 a ), a generally cylindrical recessed midsection region 108 flanked by generally cylindrically shaped surface portions 110 adjoining the latter tangentially . midsection region 108 defines a maximum cage inner diameter d i and the adjoining cylindrically shaped surface portions 110 define a minimum cage inner diameter d i . outer face 106 of cage 92 has , as seen in longitudinal section ( fig4 a ), a generally peaked contour that is interrupted by the windows 94 . the outer face 106 includes a generally arcuate midsection region 112 flanked by generally conical surface portions 114 adjoining the latter tangentially . midsection region 112 defines a maximum outer diameter do of cage 92 . cage 92 has a front face 116 and a rear face 118 that define an axial cage length b . cage 92 has a side cross sectional area 120 , as seen in longitudinal section ( fig4 a ), bounded by conical region 114 of cage outer face 106 , cylindrical region 110 of cage inner face 104 , window circumferential edge 102 , and front and rear faces 116 , 118 of cage 92 . cage 92 also has a center cross - sectional area 122 , as seen in circumferential section ( fig4 b ), bounded by midsection region 112 of cage outer face 106 , midsection region 108 of cage inner face 104 , and a peripheral end surface 124 of adjacent long and short windows 96 , 98 . continuing to refer to fig3 a thru 5 d , the first pairs of tracks that include outer and inner first ball tracks 54 , 68 , and the second pairs of tracks that include outer and an inner second ball tracks 56 , 70 , are alternately arranged over the circumference of the respective inner and outer races 64 , 44 . multiple webs 126 are formed between each two inner first and second ball tracks 68 , 70 that are arranged adjacent to one another in the circumferential direction . similarly , multiple webs 128 are formed between each two outer first and second ball tracks 54 , 56 that arranged adjacent to one another in the circumferential direction . in each case , two first pairs of ball tracks 54 , 68 and two balls 90 lie diametrically opposite one another with respect to a joint longitudinal mid - axis a - a . likewise , in each case , two second pairs of ball tracks 56 , 70 and two balls 90 lie diametrically opposite one another with respect to the joint longitudinal mid - axis a - a . with the joint aligned , such that a longitudinal mid - axis b - b of the outer race 44 is substantially aligned with a longitudinal mid - axis c - c of the inner race 64 , only the balls 90 guided in the pairs of first ball tracks 54 , 68 transfer a torque , whereas an axial force for controlling ball cage 92 occurs at the balls 90 guided by the pairs of second ball tracks 56 , 70 . when the joint articulates , the balls 90 guided in the pairs of second ball tracks 56 , 70 may also transfer torque . the amount of torque transferred is a function of the articulation angle of the joint . outer first and second ball tracks 54 , 56 have a generally elliptical shaped cross - sectional profile , as shown in fig3 c . the balls 90 guided in the outer first and second ball tracks 54 , 56 engage the tracks at two points 93 , 95 located at a radius r cor . center points 97 of a pair of balls 90 seated in diametrically opposite ball tracks 54 , 56 define an outer race pitch circle diameter pcd o . similarly inner first and second ball tracks 68 , 70 have a generally elliptical shaped cross - sectional profile , as shown in fig5 d . the balls 90 guided in the inner first and second ball tracks 68 , 70 engage the tracks at two points 99 , 101 located at a radius r cir . center points 97 of a pair of balls 90 seated in diametrically opposite ball tracks 68 , 70 define an inner race pitch circle diameter pcd i . for purposes of discussion , the constant velocity joint 42 is shown to include four axially parallel pairs of ball tracks 54 , 68 and four joint axis - intersecting pairs of ball tracks 56 , 70 . the pairs of ball tracks are alternately arranged over the circumference of the respective inner and outer races 64 , 44 , and receive a total of eight balls 90 . it shall be appreciated , however , that constant velocity joint 42 may also be configured to include three or five axially parallel pairs of ball tracks 54 , 68 , and a corresponding number of joint axis - intersecting pairs of ball tracks 56 , 70 that alternate over the circumference of the inner and outer races and receive a total of either six or ten balls 90 depending on the number of pairs of ball tracks employed . with the joint aligned , the outer first ball tracks 54 and the inner first ball tracks 68 have axially parallel center lines 130 , 132 , respectively . the first ball tracks 54 , 68 operate in conjunction with balls 90 to transfer torque between inner race 64 and outer race 44 , while providing little or no control of the ball cage 92 . the outer second ball tracks 56 form an outer track angle ta or with the joint longitudinal mid - axis a - a in a radial view , with the joint aligned . the corresponding opposite inner second ball tracks 70 have , with respect to the joint longitudinal mid - axis a - a , an equal and opposite inner track angle ta ir in a radial view , with the joint aligned . this arrangement results in a centerline 136 , 134 of the respective inner and outer second ball tracks 58 , 50 intersecting one another in a radial view . the balls 90 received by each pair of inner and outer second tracks 70 , 56 have their center points 97 located at the intersection point of the centerlines 134 , 136 of the second pairs of ball tracks 56 , 70 . the second inner ball tracks 70 of the inner race 64 arranged at an inner track angle ta ir relative to the joint longitudinal mid - axis a - a are all obliquely inclined co - directionally with respect to one another . similarly , the corresponding opposite second outer ball tracks 56 of the outer race 44 are all obliquely inclined co - directionally with respect to one another . the balls 90 received in the windows 94 of the ball cage 92 control the positioning of ball cage 92 within constant velocity joint 42 . the centrally symmetrical arrangement of the balls 90 received in the first ball track pair 54 , 68 , and the balls 90 received in the second ball track pair 56 , 70 , results in two torque - transferring balls 90 and two controlling balls 90 lying diametrically opposite one another when the joint is aligned . the operating and performance characteristics of constant velocity joint 42 may be affected by a variety of parameters . several of these parameters are listed in the tables shown in fig6 a and 6b . for example , the torque transfer capability of a cross - track constant velocity joint is a function of its mass , material properties and the maximum radii of the constant velocity joint &# 39 ; s parts . thus , the performance characteristics of constant velocity joint 42 may be enhanced by maximizing the torque transfer to radius relationship in order to reduce the mass of the constant velocity joint . maximizing the performance parameters identified in fig6 a and 6b may provide additional benefits , such as weight reduction , package size control , reduced part envelop and / or part runout , improved vibration deadening , increased strength per package size , and increased torque transfer capability per unit weight . thirty - four parameters are identified in the tables in fig6 a and 6b . each parameter includes an identified range that may maximize one or more of the performance characteristics of constant velocity joint 42 . with regard to the processes , systems , methods , heuristics , etc . described herein , it should be understood that , although the steps of such processes , etc . have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence , such processes could be practiced with the described steps performed in an order other than the order described herein . it further should be understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously or generally simultaneously , that other steps could be added , or that certain steps described herein could be omitted . in other words , the descriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments , and should in no way be construed so as to limit the claimed invention . it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive . many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided would be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the above description . the scope of the invention should be determined , not with reference to the above description , but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims , along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled . it is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the arts discussed herein , and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments . in sum , it should be understood that the invention is capable of modification and variation and is limited only by the following claims . all terms used in the claims are intended to be given their broadest reasonable constructions and their ordinary meanings as understood by those skilled in the art unless an explicit indication to the contrary is made herein . in particular , use of the singular articles such as “ a ,” “ the ,” “ said ,” etc . should be read to recite one or more of the indicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary .	5
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to preferred embodiments and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications of the invention , and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein , being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . as indicated above , the present invention relates to cysteine protease inhibitors which contain heterocyclic leaving groups . in one aspect of the invention , a group of cysteine protease inhibitors which have been shown to be particularly effective for in vivo applications is disclosed . the cysteine protease inhibitors described herein function as the sum of two portions . the first portion defines the specificity of a particular inhibitor to an enzyme by the spacial , hydrophobic or hydrophilic and ionic interactions of a particular composition that either imitates or improves upon the nature of the enzyme &# 39 ; s natural substrate . the second portion is a trap that covalently binds the enzyme in a two - step mechanism : the first step involves the nucleophilic attack of the enzyme thiolate on the carbonyl of the inhibitor to form a hemithioketal . it is then energetically favorable for this intermediate to undergo a 1 , 2 migration of the thiolate in which a heterocyclic leaving group is simultaneously released . the enzyme has now become irreversibly bonded to the inhibitor . with the inhibitors of the present invention the leaving group is a heterocyclic leaving group . accordingly , the cysteine proteinase inhibitors of the present invention are preferably constructed with an activated carbonyl which bears a suitable α - leaving group which is fused to a programmed peptide sequence that specifically directs the inhibitor to the active site of the targeted enzyme . ( for example , z - phe - phechn 2 preferentially inhibits cathepsin l over catheosin b .) once inside the active site , this inhibitor carbonyl is attacked by a cysteine thiolate anion to give the resulting hemiacetal form . if the α - leaving group then breaks off , the bond between enzyme and inhibitor becomes permanent and the enzyme is irreversibly inactivated . the selectivity of the inhibitor for a particular enzyme depends not only on the “ lock and key ” fit of the peptide portion , but also on the reactivity of the bond binding the leaving group to the rest of the inhibitor . it is very important that the leaving group must be reactive only to the intramolecular displacement via a 1 , 2 - migration of sulfur in the breakdown of the hemithioacetal intermediate . the preferred inhibitors of the present invention can be described generally by the formula : wherein b is an amino acid blocking group for the n - terminal amino acid , each ( p ) x is an optionally protected α - amino acid residue , x is an integer between zero and 5 , inclusive , and het is the heterocyclic portion of the leaving group . as is conventional in the art , and as used herein , amino acid residues may be designated as p 1 , p 2 , etc ., wherein p 1 refers to the amino acid residue nearest the leaving group , p 2 refers to the amino acid residue next to p 1 and nearer the blocking group , etc . in dipeptide inhibitors therefore , p 2 is the amino acid residue nearest the blocking group . more specifically , the compounds employed in the present invention are of the formula : b is h or an amino acid blocking group for an n - terminal amino acid nitrogen ; r 1 is the amino acid side chain of the p 1 amino acid residue ; r 2 is the amino acid residue of the p 2 amino acid ; r 3 is the amino acid residue of the p 3 amino acid ; het is the heterocyclic portion of the leaving group ; wherein the heterocyclic leaving group includes a four -, five -, six - or seven - membered ring having at least one c and at least one of n , o or s in the ring . concerning the amino acid blocking group b for the n - terminal amino acid nitrogen , many suitable peptide end - blocking groups are known in the art . for example the end - blocking groups identified in e . gross and j . meienhofer ( eds . ), the peptides , vol . 3 are generally suitable for use in the present invention . preferred blocking groups include n - morpholine carbonyl and derivatives of propionic acid derivatives that have intrinsic analgesic or anti - inflammatory action . examples of blocking groups having intrinsic analgesic or anti - inflammatory action may be found in gilman , goodman , gilman , the pharmacological basis of therapeutics , sixth ed . macmillan , chapter 29 . as defined herein , the peptide end - blocking group is attached to either an amino acid or a peptide chain . one particularly effective blocking group is the 4 - morpholinylcarbonyl (“ mu ”) blocking group shown below : the peptide portion of the inhibitor may include any pep , ide appropriate for targetting a desired cysteine protease . preferably , the side chain on the p 1 amino acid is selected according to the enzyme being targetted . for cathepsin b or l , this might include side chains such that the linked p 1 amino acid is a member of the group consisting of alanyl ( ala ), arginyl ( arg ), aspartic acid ( asp ), glutamic acid ( glu ), histidyl ( his ), homophenylalanyl ( hphe ), phenylalanyl ( phe ), ornithyl ( orn ), seryl ( ser ) and threonyl ( thr ), and optionally substituted analogues thereof such as thiazoles and amino thiazoles . preferably the side chain on the p amino acid is selected so that the linked p 2 amino acid is a member of the group consisting of phenylalanyl ( phe ), leucyl ( leu ), tyrosyl ( tyr ) and valyl ( val ) amino acid residues and substituted analogues thereof , particularly including tyr ( ome ). as indicated above , each of the cysteine protease inhibitors of the present invention includes a heterocyclic leaving group . the heterocycle of the leaving group is a ring of variable size ( 4 - 7 members ) containing one or more heteroatoms and n double bonds where n = 0 - 3 . this ring is bonded through an oxygen atom which becomes part of the leaving group during inhibition of the targeted enzyme . in the absence of the targeted active site , the inhibitor construction is an ether that is very stable in the physiological environments of the stomach , lysosome , or disease state arthritic joint . the heterocycles of the present invention may be derived from the group that includes pyridine n - oxides , uracils , cytosines , pyrones , pyridones , pyrimidines , pyraziznes , furans , thiophenes , pyrroles , oxazoles , thiazoles , pyrazoles , imidazoles , triazoles , tetrazoles and their optionally - substituted derivatives such as benzo - fused derivatives . for oral bioavailability , the most preferred leaving groups have at least one heteroatom for each four carbon atoms in the leaving group . the ability of the leaving group to protonate at physiological ph is directly related to its inability to cross cell membranes which can be advantageous in certain applications . in the same context , the ability of a heterocycle to chelate with a metal ion may ( 1 ) impede crossing of membranes and / or ( 2 ) target metalloproteases such as calpains . in the environment of the active site protonation and / or hydrogen bonding of ring heteroatoms will accentuate its role as a leaving group . it is to be appreciated that the heterocycle may be chosen specifically in accord with the function of the enzyme to be inhibited . for example , the inhibitor would use a derivative of hydroxyproline ( a major constituent of collagen ) to target a collagenase : or the natural substrate ( hydroxyproline ) may be improved upon by a suitable replacement such as a hydroxyfuran which upon displacement from the inhibitor can and does tautomerize to a more stable keto form increasing its efficiency as a leaving group . it is also to be aporeciated that during the course of the reaction of enzyme with inhibitor , the carbonyl of the inhibitor rehybridizes to sp3 and forms a ketal intermediate with the thiol function of the enzyme . under the acid conditions of this reaction , other ketals can exchange with this intermediate either by going through the ketone or by ketal - ketal exchange . accordingly , ketals can be substituted for carbonyls in the peptidyl inhibitors of the present invention . similarly , other compounds such as hydrazones , hemiketals , oximes , imines , cyanohydrins , enolethers , enamines , hemithioketals , and the like are to be considered carbonyl equivalents and may be substituted for a carbonyl or to give a carbonyl under the acidic conditions of these inhibition reactions . utilization of such derivatives can also be vehicles to either improve the bioavailability of the inhibitor drug or keep it from crossing a cellular membrane depending upon the hydrophobic nature of the masking function . finally , it is to be appreciated that the development and synthesis of compounds having isosteric replacements of amide bonds is now a standard practice in the development of biologically active peptides once the optimum peptide sequence has been identified . accordingly , the present invention includes compounds having one or more modified amide bonds in the peptide sequence so long as conformation and binding are maintained while secondary enzymatic hydrolysis is prevented . for a list of such modifications see kaltenbronn , 33 , j . med . chem ., 838 . in addition , inhibitors having a hydrazine replacement for the p 1 nitrogen as reported by giordano for other halogen methyl ketones are also intended to be claimed . reference will now be made to specific examples using the processes described above . it is to be understood that the examples are provided to more completely describe preferred embodiments , and that no limitation to the scope of the invention is intended thereby . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed mu - phe - h ~ he - br ( 1 . 0 g , 1 . 94 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 449 . 5 mg , 7 . 75 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 534 . 9 mg , 3 . 87 mmol )- k 2 co 3 was added to control the acidic environment , and 4 - hydroxy - 6 - methyl - 2 - pyrone ( 488 . 0 mg , 3 . 87 mmol ). about 5 ml of dmf was added to dissolve the solid mixture . the reaction flask was immersed in a 50 ° c . oil bath . the reaction was allowed to run for 40 minutes in order to ensure the completion of the reaction . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a small silican gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was stripped by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow product was recrystallized in hexane : diethyl ether ( 50 %: 50 %). the white precipitate was filtered and a nmp spectrum was obtained . m . p . 94 - 98 ° c . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line as placed mu - phe - hphe - br ( 300 mg , 0 . 581 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 134 . 8 mg , 2 . 33 mmol ) potassium carbonate ( 321 . 4 mg , 2 . 33 mmol )- k 2 co 3 was added to control the acidic environment , and 5 , 6 - dihydro - 4 - hydroxy - 6 - methyl - 2h - pyran - 2 - one ( 298 . 0 mg , 2 . 33 mmol ). about 5 ml of dmf was added to dissolve the solid mixture . the reaction flask was immersed in a 50 ° c . oil bath . the reaction was allowed to run for 40 minutes in order to ensure the completion of the reaction . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a small silica gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was removed by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow product was recrystallized in 50 : 50 hexane : diethyl ether . the white precipitate was filtered and a nmr spectrum was obtained . m . p . 74 - 7 ° c . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed mu - phe - hphe - br ( 1 g , 1 . 94 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 0 . 45 g , 7 . 75 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 1 . 07 g , 7 . 75 mmol )- k 2 co 3 was added to control the acidic environment , and 2 - hydroxy - 3 - methylcarboxypyridine ( 0 . 59 g , 3 . 87 mmol ). about 5 ml of dmf was added to dissolve the solid mixture . the reaction flask was immersed in a 50 ° c . oil bath . the reaction was allowed to run for 40 minutes in order to ensure the completion of the reaction . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a small silica gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was removed by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow product was recrystallized in 50 : 50 hexane : diethyl ether . the white precipitate was filtered and a nmr spectrum was obtained . m . p . 100 - 102 ° c . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed mu - he - hphe - br ( 500 mg , 0 . 969 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 224 . 8 mg , 3 . 876 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 267 . 8mg , 1 . 938 mmol )- k 2 co 3 was added to control the acidic environment , and 3 - hydroxypyridine ( 184 . 3 mg , 1 . 938 mmol ). about 5 ml of dmf was added to dissolve the solid mixture . the reaction flask was immersed in a 50 ° c . oil bath . the reaction was allowed to run for 40 minutes in order to ensure the completion of the reaction . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a small silica gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was removed by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow product was recrystallized in 50 : 50 hexane : diethyl ether . the white precipitate was filtered and a nmr spectrum was obtained . m . p . 112 - 115 ° c . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed mu - phe - hphe - br ( 300 mg , 0 . 581 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 135 . 1 mg , 2 . 33 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 322 . 0 mg , 2 . 33 mmol )- k2co3 was added to control the acidic environment , and 2 - hydroxypyrimidine ( 111 . 7 mg , 1 . 938 mmol ). about 5 ml of dmf was added to dissolve t - he solid mixture . the reaction flask was immersed in a 50 ° c . oil bath . the reaction was allowed to run for 40 minutes in order to ensure the completion of the reaction . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a small silica gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was removed by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow product was recrystallized in 50 : 50 hexane : diethyl ether . the white precipitate was filtered and a nmr spectrum was obtained . m . p . 95 - 100 ° c . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed mu - phe - hphe - ch - br ( 500 mg , 0 . 969 mmol ), potassium 2fluoride ( 224 . 8 mg , 3 . 876 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 535 . 7 mg , 3 . 876 mmol )- k 2 co 3 was added to control the acidic environment , and 2 - furanone ( 275 μl , 3 . 876 mmol ). about 5 ml of dmf was added to dissolve the solid mixture . the reaction flask was immersed in a 50 ° c . oil bath . the reaction was allowed to run for 40 minutes in order to ensure the completion of the reaction . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a small silica gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was removed by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow product was recrystallized in 50 : 50 hexane : diethyl ether . the white precipitate was filtered and a nmr spectrum was obtained . m . p . 90 - 93 ° c . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed mu - phe - hphe - br ( 200 mg , 0 . 388 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 89 . 9 mg , 1 . 55 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 214 . 3 mg , 1 . 55 mmol )- k 2 co 3 was added to control the acidic environment , and 2 - hydroxypyrimidine ( 205 . 5 mg , 1 . 55 mmol ). . bout 4 ml of dmf was added to dissolve the solid mixture . the reaction flask was immersed in a 50 ° c . oil bath . the reaction was allowed to run for 40 minutes in order to ensure the completion of the reaction . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a small silica gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was removed by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow product was recrystallized in 50 : 50 hexane : diethyl ether . the white precipitate was filtered and a nmr spectrum was obtained . m . p . 82 - 85 ° c . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed mu - phe - hphe - br ( 500 mg , 0 . 969 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 224 . 8 mg , 3 . 876 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 535 . 7 mg , 3 . 876 mmol ) was added to control the acidic environment , and boc - l - hydroxyproline - methylester ( 475 . 2 mg , 1 . 938 mmol ). about 6 ml of dmf was added to dissolve the solid mixture . the reaction was left at the room temperature and periodical tlc was checked to monitor the progress of the reaction . according to tlc , the reaction was completed after about one hour . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate , and potassium fluoride was removed by a short silica gel column . the solvent ethyl acetate was stripped by a water vacuum pump , and dmf was removed by an oil vacuum pump . the product was dried under the vacuum pump . the next day the light yellow oily product was recrystallized in hexane . the precipitate was filtered and a nadir spectrum was obtained . de - boc : about 5 ml of methylene chloride was used to dissolve 100 mg of the boc product . then about 5 ml of hcl . dioxane was put into the 50 ml flask , and the reaction was allowed to proceed for about 45 minutes under argon . carbon dioxide was released from the flask ; bubbles came up to the surface of the reaction mixture . after the completion of the reaction , the mixture was slowly dropped into six test tubes filled with diethyl ether . the precipitation came out and was allowed to continue for about half hour . the product was quickly removed through suction filtration and it was put in a dry box overnight . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed nu - phe - hphe - ch 2 - br ( 300 mg , 0 . 582 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 150 mg , 2 . 4 mmol ), and potassium carbonate ( 150 mg , 1 . 2 mmol ), and 8 ml of 200 proof ethanol . the reaction was stirred 3 hours , filtered and the solvents were removed under vacuum and the residue chromatographed on a short silica gel column ( chcl 3 : mleoh 95 : 5 ) and then recrystallized from ether . general procedure for the preparation of hcl - hphe - ch 2 - o - substituted heterocyclic inhibitors . to boc homophenylalanine ( 18 mmol ) in 150 ml distilled thf at − 20 ° c . was added one equivalent of n - methylmorpholine followed by one equivalent of isobutylchloroformate . after 10 minutes , the mixture was poured through filter paper into 200 ml etheral solution of diazomethane which was made according to the suppliers directions from 8 . 6 g of diazald ( aldrich ). the reaction was allowed to stir overnight , and then poured into 100 ml water . the organic portion was washed with nahco3 ( ag ) ( 2 × 50 ml ), brine ( 2 × 50 ml ); dried over mgso 4 ; concentrated to give the diazoketone 5 . 38 9 ( 99 %) of a yellow oil that crystalizes on standing . to the above diazoketone ( 5 . 38 g , 0 . 018 mol ) in 20 ml of methylene chloride at − 5 ° c . is added dropwise 30 % hbr in acetic acid which is diluted three - fold with methylene chloride . the addition is made at a rate that allows the monitoring of the evolved nitrogen and until all yellow color of the starting material has disappeared . the reaction is poured into 50 ml water and diluted with another 100 ml of methylene chloride . the organic layer is separated , washed with nahco 3 ( aq ) ( 50 ml ), brine ( 50 ml ), dried over mgso and concentrated to give a white solid which is characterized by its nmip . in a 100 ml round bottom flask equipped with an argon line was placed boc - hphe - ch br ( 1 . 4 mmol ), potassium fluoride ( 5 . 5 mmol ) and the substituted phenol ( 5 . 6 mmol ). about 1 ml or dmf is added and the mixture is stirred at 50 ° c . for 40 min . the reaction is then diluted with ethyl acetate and run through a silica gel plug to remove the potassium salts . the solvents are removed ( low then high ) vacuum to give a solid product . when purification is needed , a silica gel column is used . in this way the following compounds were prepared : to the boc - phhe ch 2 - o - substituted aromatic ( 2 . 6 mmol ) in 3 ml of methylene chloride was placed 8ml of 2n hcl — dioxane . the reaction was stirred about 40 min and the resulting mixture was added dropwise to about 600 ml of ether and then filtered to give the peptide inhibitor . evaluation of heterocyclic - methyl , peptidyl ethers by the in vitro inhibition of purified enzymes cathepsin b and h enzyme : cathepsin b , purified from human liver , is from enzyme systems products ( dublin , calif .). the activity is 50 mu per ml at 30 ° c ., in 52 mm sodium phosphate , ph 6 . 2 , 31 mm dtt , 2 . 1 mm edta , with 0 . 2 mm z - arg - arg - 7 - amino - 4 - trifluoromethyl - coumarin as a substrate . specific activity is 8330 mu per mg protein . ( 1 mu = 1 nmol per min .) substrate : boc - leu - arg - arg - 7 - amino - 4 - triflouromethyl - coumarin - 2hbr is from enzyme systems products . a 20 mm solution is made in dmf and stored at − 200 c . inhibitors : candidate inhibitors are synthesized by pcrototek , inc ., dublin , calif . 20 mm stock solutions are made in dmf and stored at − 20 ° c . dilutions are made in assay buffer . method : the percent inhibition and the inhibitor concentration at which the enzyme is 50 % inhibited ( ic50 ) are determined as follows : five μl of enzyme are activated by pre - incubation in three 480 μl aliquots and one 485 μl aliquot of assay buffer ( 50 mm potassium phosphate ph 6 . 2 , 2 mm edta , 5 mm dtt ) on ice for 30 min . the inhibition is initiated by the addition of 5 μl or 200 μm , 20 μm , and 2 μm inhibitor each to the 480 μl aliquots . the 485 μl aliquot zenith enzyme is used as a control and thus receives no inhiibitor . the enzyme / inhibitor mixtures are incubated 10 min . on ice and assayed for cathepsin b activity as follows . cathepsin b assay : to 490 μl of ore - incubated inhibitor / enzyme mixtures in assay buffer in 0 . 5 ml cuvette at 37 ° c . is added 10 μl or the s , ubstrate . final inhibitor concentrations become 2000 mm , 200 mm , and 20 mm for the 200 μm , 20 μl and 2 μm stock concentrations , respectively . activity is followed by release of free afc over 5 min . ( where ( fluorescence units at t = 6 )—( fluorescence units at t = 1 )) with a perkin - elmer ls - 5b spectrofluorometer ( ex = 400 nm , em = 505 nm ). the percent inhibition is determined by comparing the change in fluorescence units of the three sample concentrations of inhibited enzyme to the change in fluorescence units off the control enzyme . 100 −( fl . units · of sample / f 1 . units of control × 100 ) gives percent inhibition . the ic50 is ascertained by plotting percent inhibition vs . inhibitor concentration on the log scale . the ic50 is the concentration of inhibitor ( nm ) at which the enzyme is inhibited by 50 %. the materials and methods were as disclosed above for example 12 — cathepsin b kinetics — except as follows : water solutions of inhibitor using either ethanol or dmso as a cosolvent were made at 8000 nm , 800 nm and 160 nm concentrations with a minimum of solvent . each rat was given a dose at time 0 and then individuals were sacrificed at 6 hrs , 12 hrs and 24 hrs . doses were given either by injection or stomach tube . the livers and kidneys were harvested and analyzed for cathepsin b activity . in some individuals the urine was collected at 6 , 12 , 24 hrs and analyzed for the presence of inhibitor . the results for examples 14 and 15 are shown in tables 14 and 15 below . dba / lac mice mere injected with 200 μg of type ii chick collagen emulsified in freund &# 39 ; s complete adjuvant on day 0 and on day 21 . mu - phe - hphe - o - prolite methyl ester was suspended in an ethanol solution which was then diluted to 10 % ( aq ) and administered by garage at a dose of 10 mg / kg / day to day 21 until sacrifice at day 49 . the of joint inflammation was evaluated grossly at seven day intervals beginning on day 21 . the effect of oral administration of nu - phe - hphe - o - proline methyl ester on the severity of bone lesions in adjuvant - induced arthritis was determined by evaluating osseous mineralization , periostat proliferation , bone erosion , joint space narrowing and osseous fragmentation . all lesions were scored on a scale of 0 ( normal architecture ) to 3 ( severe or marked changes ). values calculated were mean values ± std . error of the mean . the “ bone lesion severity ” values of mu - phe - hphe - o - proline methyl ester treated animals were significantly ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) lower than the values of control animals for each parameter tested . the effect of oral administration of mu - phe - hphe - o - proline methyl ester on the histological aspects of adjuvant - induced arthritis was determined by evaluating inflammation , focul ulcers , tibiotarsal joint cartilage destruction , bone destruction and periosteal proliferation . inflammation was scored on a scale of 0 ( no inflammation ) to 3 ( severe ) based on the extent of edema and cell infiltration . focul ulcer cartilage destruction was measured as the percent of articular cartilage surfaces with focal destruction which exposed underlying subchondral bone . tibiotarsal joint cartilage destruction was measured as the percent of articulating surfaces with destruction of the subchondral bone . values calculated were mean values 1 std . error of the mean . the “ histological aspects ” values of mu - phe - hphe - o - proline methyl ester treated animals were significantly ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) lower than the values of control animals for each parameter tested . dba / lac mice were injected with 200 μg of type ii chick collagen emulsified in complete freund &# 39 ; s adjuvant on day 0 and on day 21 . mu - phe - hphe - o - proline methyl ester was suspended in phosohate buffered saline and administered by gavage from day 21 until sacrifice at day 35 . doses of between 3 mg / kg / day and 25 mg / kg / day were used , with the daily dosage being held constant over time for each test . the severity of joint inflammation was evaluated grossly as seven day intervals beginning on day 21 . the effect of oral administration of mu - phe - hphe - o - proline methyl ester on the severity of bond lesions in adjuvant - induced arthritis was determined by evaluating osseous mineralization , periostat proliferation , bone erosion , joint space narrowing and osseous fragmentation . all lesions were scored on a scale of 0 ( normal architecture ) to 3 ( severe oc marked changes ) values calculated were mean values ± 1 std . error of the mean . the “ bone lesion severity ” values of mu - phe - hphe - o - proline ethyl ester treated animals were significantly ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) lower than the values of control animals for each parameter tested . rats were injected with adjuvant on day 0 and were treated with mu - tyr -( ome )- hphe - o - proline methyl ester in ground diet from the time of adjuvant injection until sacrifice at day 32 . over the course of the disease , animals were evaluated in terms of a mean clinical score , a derived series of clinically observed parameters normalized to facilitate graphical presentation . lean paw volumes were also measured using ! normalized units throughout the course of the disease . at the end of the study , the animal groups were sacrificed and evaluated by x - ray analysis . the mean clinical scores of mu - tyr -( ome )- hphe - o - proline methyl ester treated rats were significantly lower than the scores for untreated animals . similarly , mean paw volumes were also significantly reduced . the example demonstrates the beneficial effect of nu - tyr -( ome )- hphe - o - proline methyl ester on adjuvant - induced arthritis . effectiveness of heterocyclic methyl ketones on human and murine malaria paracytes . the effect of the inhibitor on gingival inflammation was studied by investigating its ability to prevent the development of experimental gingivitis . twenty human subjects with healthy gingiva and no periodontal disease were recruited . the subjects received oral hygiene instruction and scaling prior to baseline . the test sites were the mesibuccal crevices on the upper first and second molars and premolars ( bicuspids ). acrylic shields were made to cover the gingival margins of these teeth and were worn during oral hygiene to prevent brushing of the test and control sites . during the test period of three weeks the subjects were told to brush only the lower teeth and upper anteriors and to wear the shields during brushing . the left side was used as the test side and the right was the control side in 10 subjects . the sides were reversed in the other 10 subjects so the subjects could act as their own controls . thirty second gcf samples were taken prior to clinical measurements at baseline and at 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 weeks . these were assayed for cathepsins b and l - like activities . clinical measurements of gingival index ( gi ), gingival bleeding index ( gbi ) and plaque index ( pli ) were taken at test and control sites at zero , one , two , three and four weeks . following the baseline measurements the inhibitor and placebo were placed at test 2nd control sites and sealed in with coe - pak for a week . the inhibitor and placebo were coded so that the study was blind . the gi , gbi and pli and cysteine proteinase levels were compared at test and control sites . it was observed that the use of mu - phe - mphe - o - furan reduced all parameters tested at the test sites . mu - phe - hphe - o - furan can therefore be seen to be effective in treating periodontal diseases such as gingivitis . in the following examples 21 - 27 , the active ingredient is the compound moroholine carbonyl - l - phenylalanyl - l - homophenyl alanyl methyl furanyl ether ( see example 6 ). however , other compounds of the present invention can be substituted thereof . an injectable preparation buffered to a ph of 7 is prepared having the following composition the above ingredients are mixed intimately and pressed into single scored tablets . the above ingredients are mixed and introduced into a hard - shell gelatine capsule . the above ingredients are mixed and introduced ; into a hard - shell gelatine capsule . all of the above ingredients , except water , are combined and heated to 60 ° c . with stirring . a sufficient quantity of water at 60 ° c . is then added with vigorous stirring to emulsify the ingredients , and water then added q . s . 100 g . as previously indicated , the compositions of the present invention may be useful in treating disease states which are associated with cathepsins b , l , h or c . for example , the cathepsin c inhibitors of the present invention may be used to inhibit dipeptidyl peptidase i (“ dpp - i ”) found in cytotoxic t lymphocytes , or to inhibit the processing enzyme of bone marrow serine proteases like elastase and granzyme a . it is to be appreciated that vinylogous homologs of heterocycles ( benzo - derivatives ) would also be considered by those skilled in the art to be reactive in this context . for example , because a hydroxy pyridine derivative works as a leaving group , a hydroxyquinoline ( 5 , 6 , 7 or 8 - hydroxy ) would also work . other examples of this principle of vinylogy in synthetic organic chemistry include : ( 1 ) a michael reaction is a vinylogous analog of an aldol condensation ; and ( 2 ) an sn 2 reaction is a vinylogous analog to an sn 2 reaction . it is also to be appreciated that because sulfur falls below oxygen in the periodic table that s may replace o in the compositions and methods of the present invention and an effective cysteine protease inhibitor would result . finally , it is to be appreciated that the processing of viral proteins by virally encoded proteases plays a central role in the maturation of many viruses . examples of viruses which have been associated with cysteine proteases are polio virus ( 3c proteases ) encephalomycarditis virsu , rhinovirus and foot - and - mouth virus . accordingly , the compositions of the present invention are believed to be useful therapeutic agents for the treatment of viral diseases . while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shorn and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected .	2
the eyewear or eyeglasses of the present invention are particularly useful for athletic activity because they are lightweight and the prescription lenses are inserted and can be impact resistant in accordance with the f803 astm standard and other similar standards , with respect to protective or sport glasses . with respect to sport glasses , many athletes choose less bulky frames that maximize their field of vision with the least amount of frame support around lenses . referring to fig1 and 2 , a pair of eyeglass frames with a mechanical lock lens attachment includes a frame 1 , a nosepiece 4 , and two lenses 3 . the frame includes a horizontal arm 17 positioned between first and second temple pieces 2 , temple pieces 2 extending behind the frame 1 , and a channel 5 formed in the horizontal arm 17 and around the outer edges of the nosepiece 4 . the mechanical lock lens attachment includes a slideable lock clip 7 , a locking pin 8 , and two slots 6 for accommodating the slideable lock clip in the channel 5 . the frame 1 is a conventional winged frame designed so that there are no rims surrounding the lower arcuate surfaces of the lenses 3 . in other words , the lenses 3 look like wings hanging down from the horizontal arm 17 . only the upper sections of the lenses 3 are engaged by the frame 1 . the points of contact between the frame 1 and the lenses 3 comprise a first section of a channel 5 located in the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 and a second section of the channel 5 located in the side wall adjacent to the nosepiece 4 . the nosepiece 4 is located at the center of the horizontal arm 17 . it protrudes below the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 to support the eyeglasses on the user &# 39 ; s nose . the nosepiece 4 is further defined by two channels 5 for receiving the lenses 3 , one on each side of the nosepiece 4 . both the channel 5 of the horizontal arm 17 of the frame and the channels 5 surrounding the nosepiece 4 are of a suitable size to slidably receive and tightly wrap around the sides of the lenses 3 . as seen in fig3 through 6 , the frame 1 further includes the mechanical lock lens attachment . the lock clip 7 is a slidable bar , captured in two inwardly facing slots 6 of the channel 5 of the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 . the lock clip 7 has an i - shaped cross section as seen in fig6 including two outwardly facing rails 9 . the rails 9 arc slidably received in two inwardly facing slots 6 in the channel 5 of the frame 1 to prevent the lock clip 7 from moving vertically relative to the frame 1 . the inwardly facing slots 6 in the channel 5 supports the lock clip 7 and allows the lock clip 7 to move along the channel 5 , once the lens 3 is positioned in the channel 5 . once the lock clip 7 is slid into place over the lens 3 , thereby securing the lens 3 to the frame 1 , a locking pin 8 is secured in the inwardly facing slots 6 between the lock clip 7 and the temple or endpieces . the locking pin 8 thereby prevents the lock clip 7 from sliding away from the lens and releasing it . this process will be described in further detail below . the lenses 3 are located adjacent opposite sides of the nosepiece 4 and below the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 . the lenses 3 are blade - style lenses defined by a first protrusion or tab 20 and a second protrusion or tab 21 on the upper portion of the lens 3 , closest to the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 , as seen in fig2 . the lens 3 is positioned in the frame channel 5 and includes first outwardly protruding tab 20 and second outwardly protruding tab 21 , the tabs facing opposite directions . the first tab 20 is directed towards the interior section of the frame 1 , specifically , towards the nosepiece 4 . the second tab 21 is directed towards the outer portion of the frame , specifically , towards the temple pieces 2 and end pieces . the lenses 3 are secured to the frame via a sliding lock clip 7 and a locking pin 8 received by the slot 6 in the channel 5 that passes along the horizontal arm 17 . the lenses 3 are placed into the channel 5 that passes through the horizontal arm 17 . the first protruding tab 20 of the lens 3 slides into a portion of the channel 5 shaped to receive it , at the top of the frame 1 towards the nosepiece 4 . the second protruding tab 21 is secured to the frame by sliding the lock clip 7 along the channel 5 of the frame 1 and over the second protrusion 21 of the lens 3 to allow room in the channel 5 for receiving the locking pin 8 . the lock clip 7 is prevented from dislodging by the insertion of the locking pin 8 , thereby restricting movement in the assembly , also illustrated in fig2 . as illustrated in fig2 through 6 , to lock the lens 3 to the frame 1 , the protrusions of each lens 3 is placed into the channel 5 of the horizontal arm 17 . the first protruding tab 20 is received in a first recess in the channel 5 . then , the lock clip 7 is slid from the outer edge of the horizontal arm 17 , closest to the temple pieces 2 , towards the nose piece 4 until the recess 10 in the lock clip 7 engages the second tab 21 . finally , the locking pin 8 is placed into the channel 5 between an end of the lock clip 7 and the outer end of the channel 5 . the locking pin 8 engages the lock clip 7 , and securely locks the lens 3 to the frame , thus preventing the lens 3 from being dislodged and preventing the lock clip 7 from moving out of engagement with the second tab on the lens 3 , as seen in fig3 . the lens 3 is secured between the upper section of the frame 1 , the nosepiece 4 , and the lock clip 7 . to aid in rigidly supporting the lock clip 7 in place , it can have a wedge - shaped configuration or can have serrated sides for engagement with corresponding serrated sides of the lock clip 7 and the end of the channel 5 . the lock clip may be shaped to fit into the slots 6 to ensure its stability , but those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are other ways to secure the locking pin 8 in place so that it prevents lock clip 7 from sliding back toward temple or end piece 2 . fig7 - 10 illustrate additional embodiments of the invention wherein the mechanical lock lens attachment can be selected from the group comprising a screw , a pin , or a bar clip , as well as a single bar support or a double bar support . the frame 1 is a winged frame , similar to the frame in the above described embodiments . the lenses 3 are also similar to those in the above described embodiments . they are blade style lenses 3 defined by a first protrusion 20 and a second protrusion 21 on the upper portion of the lens 3 , closest to the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 . only the upper sections of the lenses 3 are engaged by the frame 1 . further , the protrusion includes first outwardly protruding tab 20 and second outwardly protruding tab 21 facing opposite directions . a channel or recess 5 in the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 is shaped to receive the first protrusion 20 and the second protrusion 21 of the lens 3 . the embodiments illustrated show a lens with two protruding tabs . those skilled in the art will recognize that protrusions of different numbers or shapes may also be used . as seen in fig7 and 8 , eyeglasses with a mechanical lock lens attachment includes a frame 1 , a nosepiece 4 , two lenses 3 , and two pivotable bars or levers 18 and 19 . first and second levers 18 and 19 form a double bar support 12 that traps the lenses 3 between the levers 18 and 19 and the frame 1 . the levers are located on opposite sides of the nosepiece 4 , behind the frame 1 . the levers 18 and 19 are pivotally attached to the frame 1 , near the nosepiece 4 , with a screw or pin 23 . the levers or bars may also be affixed in different manners recognizable to a person having ordinary skill in the art , such as a sliding bar or a clip - over bar instead of a pivoting bar . a lever could be a bar or any other suitable means for securing the lenses to the frames . a single bar or lever spanning both lenses could also be used instead of multiple levers . fig7 depicts the double bar support 12 in a closed position . the first 18 and second 19 levers are locked to the outer edges of the frame 1 , furthest from the nosepiece 4 , with an additional screw or pin 11 . fig8 illustrates the structure of the double bar support 12 in an open position . a channel 5 is located in the horizontal arm 17 of the frame to receive the lenses 3 . the channel 5 is shaped to receive the protrusion on the upper portion of the lens 3 . the first and second protruding tabs 20 and 21 of the lenses 3 are received into the channel 5 . once the lenses 3 are placed in the frame 1 , the levers 18 and 19 close over the lenses 3 , creating a wall and layering the lenses 3 between the levers 18 and 19 and the frame 1 . finally , a retaining mechanism 11 such as a screw or pin engages each lever 18 and 19 and frame 1 to mechanically lock the lenses 3 to the frame 1 . the outer edge of each lever 18 and 19 comprises an opening 22 for receiving the retaining mechanism 11 . the inner screw or pin 23 is tightly attached to the frame 1 , enough such that it cannot slip out of the frame 1 , but the inner pin 23 is attached loosely enough to allow the levers 18 and 19 to pivot . this pivoting motion of the levers opens like a drawbridge , each lever pivoting upwardly , away from the lens 3 . this allows enough space for the frame to receive the lens 3 . turning to fig9 through 12 , eyeglasses with a mechanical lock lens attachment include a frame 1 , a nosepiece 4 , two lenses 3 , a single bar support 14 , and a bar clip 15 . a single bar support 14 is a lengthwise bar comprising curved sections that follow the substantially arched sections of the frame . the single bar support 14 comprises first and second protrusions 24 and 25 attached to the inner wall of the bar , each protrusion adjacent to the nosepiece 4 and endpiece . the single bar is shaped to replicate the curvature of the lens , creating the channel that secures the frame and lenses together . additionally , the single bar support comprises of protrusions at the bar ends , and a recess in the nasal area , that allows the bar to slide down and nest into the frame endpieces and a slot in the center of the bar for receiving the bar clip . the nosepiece 4 , located in the middle of the frame 1 , comprises a substantially rectangular shaped recess 27 for receiving a bar clip 15 . the nosepiece 4 is further defined by an inlet on the upper surface of the nosepiece 4 , perpendicular to the bar clip 15 for receiving the single bar support 14 . once the lenses 3 are placed into the frame 1 , as described in the above embodiments , the single bar support 14 is slidably received in the frame 1 and over the lenses 3 thereby securing the lenses to the frame . a bar clip 15 , comprising first and second legs 28 and 29 on each end of the bar clip 15 , engages the recess 27 in the nose piece 4 . the legs 28 and 29 pass through the recess 27 and hook into the slot 26 of the single bar support 14 . the legs 28 and 29 aid to securely lock the bar clip 15 into the single bar support 14 . when the single bar support 14 is in a closed position ( not shown ), overhang the bar support completes the channel for the lens and the securing of the lens to the frame . fig1 illustrates the single bar support 14 as described above with an additional securing or locking mechanism . this embodiment includes the use of double sided adhesive tape 16 to further secure the lenses 3 to the frames 1 , strengthening the connection between the lenses and the front inner wall of the lens channel . other adhesives may be used in addition to double sided adhesive tape . double sided adhesive tape 16 is used to attach the lenses 3 to the inner wall of the frame channel . one side of the tape 16 attaches to the frames 1 , against the channel 5 wall . the opposite side of the tape 16 attaches to the lens 3 . the tape 16 helps to maintain the lenses 3 in place before the single bar support 14 is placed over the lenses 3 and frames 1 and further secures the lens and frame together . the adhesive or double sided tape 16 can be applied to any surface of channel 5 . fig9 through 12 show an embodiment of the invention using lenses 3 having a first notch 20 and second notch 21 . the locking bar or lever , in combination with adhesive or double sided tape , provides sufficient support for a lens with no protrusions to adequately withstand impact . fig1 a shows a pair of eyeglass frames 1 having a horizontal arm 17 and a nose piece 4 . a lens 3 is secured to the frame 1 using double sided tape or other adhesive . the frame 1 is of a conventional winged design . fig1 b shows the eyeglass assembly of fig1 a disassembled . there is a channel 5 in the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 . double sided tape or adhesive 16 is secured to the inside of the channel 5 . the lens 3 has a first protrusion 20 and a second protrusion 21 . double sided tape or adhesive 16 is secured to the lens 3 . the channel 5 is shaped to receive the first protrusion 20 of the lens 3 near the nosepiece 4 of the frame 1 . the channel 5 is also shaped to receive the second protrusion 21 of the lens 3 near the temple or end piece of the frame 1 . the combination of double sided tape or adhesive with the protrusions on the lens received in the recess of the horizontal arm will prevent the lens from ejecting out of the frame or breaking under impact . fig1 a shows another embodiment of the present invention . the frame 1 has a double bar support 12 in an open position . a channel 5 is located in the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 to receive the lenses 3 . the lens 3 has a surface with no protrusions 31 that is received by the channel 5 of the lens 1 . double sided tape or adhesive 16 is used to assist in securing the lens to the frame . once the lenses 3 are placed in the frame 1 , the levers 18 and 19 close over the lenses 3 , creating a wall and layering the lenses 3 between the levers 18 and 19 and the frame 1 . finally , a retaining mechanism ( not shown ) such as a screw or pin engages each lever 18 and 19 and frame 1 to mechanically lock the lenses 3 to the frame 1 . the outer edge of each lever 18 and 19 comprises an opening 22 for receiving the retaining mechanism . the inner screw or pin 23 is tightly attached to the frame 1 , enough such that it cannot slip out of the frame 1 , but the inner pin 23 is attached loosely enough to allow the levers 18 and 19 to pivot . this pivoting motion of the levers opens like a drawbridge , each lever pivoting upwardly , away from the lens 3 . this allows enough space for the frame to receive the lens 3 . fig1 b shows another embodiment of the present invention . fig1 b shows a frame 1 , a nosepiece 4 , two lenses 3 , a single bar support 14 , and a bar clip 15 . a single bar support 14 is a lengthwise bar comprising curved sections that follow the substantially arched sections of the frame . the single bar support 14 comprises first and second protrusions 24 and 25 attached to the inner wall of the bar , each protrusion adjacent to the nosepiece 4 and endpiece . the single bar is shaped to replicate the curvature of the lens , creating the channel that secures the frame and lenses together . additionally , the single bar support comprises of protrusions at the bar ends , and a recess in the nasal area , that allows the bar to slide down and nest into the frame endpieces and a slot in the center of the bar 26 for receiving the bar clip 15 . the nosepiece 4 , located in the middle of the frame 1 , comprises a substantially rectangular shaped recess 27 for receiving a bar clip 15 . the nosepiece 4 is further defined by an inlet on the upper surface of the nosepiece 4 , perpendicular to the bar clip 15 for receiving the single bar support 14 . the lenses 3 have a surface without protrusions 31 that is received in the channel 5 of the horizontal arm 17 . double sided tape or adhesive 16 is used to aid in securing the lens 3 to the channel 5 . the single bar support 14 is slidably received in the frame 1 and over the lenses 3 thereby securing the lenses to the frame . a bar clip 15 , comprising first and second legs 28 and 29 on each end of the bar clip 15 , engages the recess 27 in the nose piece 4 . the legs 28 and 29 pass through the recess 27 and hook into the slot 26 of the single bar support 14 . the legs 28 and 29 aid to securely lock the bar clip 15 into the single bar support 14 . fig1 c shows another embodiment of the present invention . a recess 5 in the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 receives a detached lens 3 . the upper surface of the lens 3 has no protrusions , but does have two recesses 34 for receiving a screw or pin . similar recesses are also present in the channel 5 of the horizontal arm 17 of the frame 1 . fig1 d shows the embodiment illustrated in fig1 c with the lens 3 and frame 1 assembled . screws or pins 33 are used to secure the lens 3 to the frame 1 . fig1 e shows a cross - section of the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in fig1 d . the screw or pin 33 extends through the lens 3 and into the frame 1 to secure the lens 3 to the frame 1 . when a particular embodiment has been chosen to illustrate the invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	6
the invention is hereinafter described in detailed with reference to the accompany drawings and specific embodiments . if ue and a ca adopt different protocols , support and deal with the protocols in different ways , processing procedures of the ue and the ca are different . in the diff - serv model with a separate bearer control layer , the sip is usually adopted . in the following embodiment , a method for forwarding traffic is described , in which the sip is adopted . the following embodiment is described by an example in which bi - directional service connection is established . the edge device in the embodiments of the invention may be an er or a network element device with the function of a label edge router ( ler ). fig2 shows a flow chart illustrating a method for forwarding traffic in a bearer network in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig2 , the processing procedure is included in the process of establishing a service call connection and includes the steps as follows . step 201 : each of cas related to the current call instructs the cm managed by the ca to allocate a qos policy and reserve resources for the current call , and sends a resource reserving success message to other cas related to the current call after successfully allocating the qos policy and reserving the resources . step 202 ˜ 204 : each of the cas determines whether the cms managed by other cas related to the current call successfully allocate qos policies and reserve resources for the current call , that is , determines whether each of the cas receives the resource reserving success messages sent by other cas ; if yes , the cm managed by the ca issues the qos policy to an edge device in the management domain managed by the cm ; otherwise , the cm removes the qos policy and releases the resources . step 205 : the edge device receiving the qos policy starts to forward traffic matching the received qos policy . fig3 shows a flow chart illustrating a method for forwarding traffic in a bearer network in accordance with another embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig3 , the processing procedure is included in the process of established a service call connection and includes the steps as follows : step 301 : each of the cas related to the current call instructs the cm managed by the ca to allocate a qos policy and reserve resources for the current call , and sends a resource reserving success message to other cas related to the current call after the cm managed by the ca successfully allocates the qos policy and reserves the resources . step 302 : each of the cas instructs the cm managed by the ca to issue the qos policy and an instruction forbidding forward traffic to an edge device in the management domain managed by the cm , and the edge device receiving the qos policy and the instruction forbidding forward traffic does not forward traffic matching the received qos policy . steps 303 ˜ 305 : each of the cas determines whether to receive the resource reserving success messages sent by other cas related to the current call ; if yes , the ca instructs the cm managed by the ca to issue an instruction allowing forward traffic to the edge device in the management domain managed by the cm ; otherwise , the ca removes the qos policy and releases the resources . step 306 ; the edge device determines whether to receive the instruction allowing forward traffic ; if yes , starts to forward traffic matching the received qos policy . fig4 shows a flow chart illustrating a process of establishing a service connection and forwarding bi - directional traffic in a bearer network in which the service layer adopts the sip in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig4 , ca 1 is a calling ca , ca 2 is a called ca , er 1 is in the management domain managed by cm 1 and may import the traffic of this call to the bearer network , and cm 1 is the calling cm managed by ca 1 , er 2 is in the management domain managed by cm 3 and may export the traffic of this call from the bearer network , and cm 3 is the called cm managed by ca 2 . cm 2 is a midway cm by which this call request passes . as shown in fig4 , the process includes the steps as follows . step 401 : ca 1 receives a call request ( invite ) sent by ue 1 . step 402 ˜ 403 : ca 1 sends to ca 2 a call request carrying negotiation parameters of the communication capability of the calling side , such as the type of ue , decoding method of traffic and qos parameters . after receiving the call request , ca 2 returns to ca 1 a 200 ok response carrying negotiation parameters of the communication capability of the called side . after receiving the 200 ok response , ca 1 acquires the communications capabilities of the calling side and the called side , that is , ca 1 acquires the resource requirements and qos parameters including a delay parameter , a packet loss rate and a jitter . step 404 : ca 1 sends a forward resource request carrying the negotiated resource requirements and qos parameters to cm 1 . after receiving the forward resource request , cm 1 sends the forward resource request downward hop by hop till the path calculation of this separate operating network is completed or till the home cm of ue 2 , e . g ., cm 3 in this embodiment , is reached . each cm receiving the forward resource request selects a forward qos policy meeting the resource requirements and the qos parameters for the call , e . g ., a forward intra - domain policy route and a forward inter - domain policy route , and reserves the forward path resources . the forward intra - domain policy route is a forward policy route in the management domain managed by the cm while the forward inter - domain policy route is a forward policy route between the management domain managed by the cm and the management domain managed by the cm of the next hop . each of the cms forwards the selected forward qos policy to the cm 1 with a response message after selecting the forward qos policy and reserving the forward path resources . in step 404 , if a cm reserves the forward path resources successfully , the response message includes information of successfully reserving forward path resources ; otherwise , the response message includes information of unsuccessfully reserving forward path resource . in addition , the calculating method for each cm selecting the forward intra - domain policy route and the forward inter - domain policy route in step 404 may be referred to in chinese patents 03126471 . 9 , 03160068 . 9 and 03156821 . 1 , and will not be described herein . step 405 : cm 1 determines whether the received response message includes the information of successfully reserving forward path resources ; if yes , cm 1 issues the forward qos policy and traffic state information to er 1 and performs step 406 ; otherwise , cm 1 returns a resource reserving failure response to ca 1 and step 407 is performed . in the invention , a qos policy gated switch is set in the er in the bearer network for managing the er whether to forward traffic matching the forward qos policy or the backward qos policy . when the qos policy gated switch is turned on , the er forwards traffic matching the qos policy ; when the qos policy gated switch is turned off , the er does not forward traffic matching the qos policy . the traffic state information carries instruction information for managing the qos policy gated switch and a traffic identifier . the instruction information includes an instruction allowing forward traffic and an instruction forbidding forward traffic for turning on and turning off the qos policy gated switch , respectively . the traffic identifier is 5 - tuple information corresponding to the qos policy and the 5tuple information corresponding to the qos policy matches 5 - tuple information of the traffic allowed or forbidden to be forwarded . in step 405 , the traffic state information carries information for turning off the qos policy gated switch , e . g ., the instruction forbidding forward traffic , and the 5 - tuple information corresponding to the qos policy is the 5 - tuple information of the forward qos policy . after receiving the forward qos policy and the traffic state information , er 1 reads the traffic state information and acquires the instruction forbidding forward traffic and the 5 - tuple information of the forward qos policy , and then turns off the qos policy gated switch . thus , even if receiving forward traffic matching the 5 - tuple information of the forward qos policy , er 1 does not forward the forward traffic . alternatively , step 405 may include the steps of : cm 1 does not issue the qos policy but performs step 406 directly . step 406 : cm 1 returns a resource reserving success response to ca 1 . step 407 : ca 1 determines whether the received resource reserving response is a resource reserving success response ; if yes , ca 1 sends to ca 2 a update ( update ) message indicating that ca 1 agrees with the negotiation parameters of communication capability of ca 2 and carrying a forward path resource reserving result , which is equivalent to a resource reserving success message and indicates that ca 1 successfully reserves resources for the current call ; otherwise , ca 1 removes the qos policy and releases the reserved forward path resources . step 408 : after receiving the update message , ca 2 sends a backward resource request carrying the negotiated resource requirements and qos parameters to cm 3 . after receiving the backward resource request , cm 3 sends the backward resource request to the cm of the last hop till cm 1 is reached . each cm receiving the backward resource request selects a backward qos policy meeting the resource requirements and the qos parameters for the current call and reserves the backward path resources . the backward qos policy includes a backward intra - domain policy route and a backward inter - domain policy route . the backward intra - domain policy route is a backward policy route in the management domain managed by the cm , and the backward inter - domain policy route is a backward policy route between the management domain managed by the cm and the management domain managed by the cm of the last hop . each of the cms forwards the selected backward qos policy to the cm 3 with a response message after selecting the backward qos policy and reserving the backward path resources . in step 408 , if the cm reserves the backward path resources successfully , the response message includes information of successfully reserving backward path resources ; otherwise , the response message includes information of unsuccessfully reserving backward path resources . in addition , the calculation method for each cm selecting the backward qos policy in step 408 may be referred to in chinese patents 03126471 . 9 , 03160068 . 9 and 03156821 . 1 , and will not be described herein . step 409 : cm 3 determines whether the received response message includes information of successfully reserving backward path resources ; if yes , cm 3 issues the backward qos policy and traffic state information to er 2 and performs step 410 ; otherwise , cm 3 returns a resource reserving failure response to ca 2 and step 411 is performed . step 410 : cm 3 returns a resource reserving success response to ca 2 . in step 410 , the traffic state information carries an instruction allowing forward traffic for turning on the qos policy gated switch and the 5 - tuple information matching the backward qos policy . if er 2 receives backward traffic matching the backward qos policy , er 2 forwards the backward traffic after receiving the traffic state information . step 411 : ca 2 determines whether the received resource reserving response is a resource reserving success response ; if yes , ca 2 sends to ca 1 a 200 ok message indicating that ca 2 agrees with the negotiating parameters of communication capability of ca 1 and a forward path resource reserving result in the update message and carrying a backward path resource reserving result , which is equivalent to a resource reserving success message , and sends a 200 ok response to ue 2 ; otherwise , ca 2 removes the qos policy and releases the reserved backward path resources , and returns a resource reserving failure message to ca 1 . step 412 : ca 1 receives the response message of ca 2 ; if the response message is a 200 ok message , ca 1 instructs cm 1 to issue to er 1 traffic state information carrying an instruction allowing forward traffic for turning on the qos policy gated switch and the 5 - tuple information matching the forward qos policy , and cm 1 returns an execution response to ca 1 after issuing the traffic state information . after receiving the traffic state information , er 1 forwards forward traffic matching the 5 - tuple of the forward qos policy based on the route of the forward qos policy if er 1 receives the forward traffic . alternatively , if cm 1 does not issue the forward qos policy , ca 1 instructs cm 1 to issue the forward qos policy and traffic state information carrying an instruction allowing forward traffic to er 1 . cm 1 returns an execution response to ca 1 after issuing the forward qos policy and the traffic state information . after receiving the forward qos policy and the allowing forward instruction . er 1 forwards forward traffic matching the forward qos policy based on the forward qos policy if er 1 receives the forward traffic . ca 1 removes the qos policy and releases the reserved forward path resources if ca 1 receives a resource reserving failure response . step 413 : ca 1 sends a 200 ok message to ue 1 to notify ue 1 to start communicating after receiving the execution response of cm 1 , and the traffic sent by ue 1 is forwarded to ue 2 through the bearer network . in the embodiments of the invention , if the resource manager supports applying for bi - directional path resources only once , ca 1 sends a bi - directional resource request to cm 1 in step 404 . after receiving the bi - directional resource request , cm 1 sends the bi - directional resource request downward hop by hop till cm 3 is reached . each cm receiving the bi - directional resource request selects a bi - directional qos policy meeting the resource requirements and the qos parameters for the current call and reserves bi - directional path resources . after selecting the bi - directional qos policy and reserving the bi - directional path resources , each cm forwards the information of the selected forward qos policy and the reserved forward path resources to cm 1 hop by hop with a response message , and forwards the information of the selected backward qos policy and the reserved backward path resources to cm 3 hop by hop . cm 1 performs steps 405 and 406 , cm 3 performs steps 40 i and 410 , and the operation of ca 1 and ca 2 is the same as that in the above process . in the embodiment shown in fig4 , the multiple bearer network resource managers are in a single separate operating network . if a service connection crosses multiple separate operating networks and relates to multiple cas , the level number of cas in the embodiments of the invention increases correspondingly . however , the processing of the cas , the cms and the edge devices in the bearer network is the same as that in the embodiment shown in fig4 . in the embodiments of the invention , after a connection is established for a service call request , a ca may instruct the cm at any moment as demanded by the service to issue to the er traffic state information for managing the qos policy gated switch , and the traffic state information carries an instruction allowing forward traffic or an instruction forbidding forward traffic , and the 5 - tuple information of the traffic allowed or forbidden to be forwarded . after receiving the traffic state information , if the traffic state information carries an instruction allowing forward traffic , the er forwards the traffic based on the qos policy matching the 5 - tuple of the traffic after receiving traffic matching the 5 - tuple information of the traffic allowed to be forwarded . if the traffic state information carries an instruction forbidden forward traffic , the er does not forward the traffic after receiving traffic matching the 5 - tuple information of the traffic forbidden to be forwarded . with the above method of the embodiments of the invention , in an end - to - end service connection , the bearer network may be managed to forward or stop forwarding traffic at any moment . therefore , the embodiments of the invention provides a more flexible resource reserving method for the service layer , and are convenient for the development of an ngn value added service with demand for qos . for example , the call hold service in the ngn allows ue to suspend the current call during the call , initiate a new call , and switch between the two calls after the new call is established . for the call hold service , when keeping the information of the original service connection , ca 1 and cm need to only issue an instruction of turning on or off the qos policy gated switch of the original service connection to the er in the bearer network so as to switch the call of the service connection between being turned on and being turned off and thus meet the demand of the call hold service . with the embodiments of the invention , the qos policy of an original service connection may also be prevented from being usurped . for example , once the 5 - tuple information of a service connection is blabbed , another ue may use the 5 - tuple information to send traffic to a called , and when the traffic reaches an er in the bearer network , the er forwards the traffic based on the original qos policy since the 5tuple information is the same as that of the original service connection . thus , the qos policy of the original service connection is usurped . in the embodiments of the invention , a qos policy gated switch is provided for a qos policy , and the qos policy of the original service connection will not be usurped if the qos policy gated switch is in the state of “ off ”. when the service connection is disconnected for the moment , traffic state information for managing the qos policy gated switch of the service connection is issued to the er in the bearer network to set the qos policy gated switch corresponding to the service connection as the state of “ off ”, and thus the bearer network does not forward the traffic of the service connection . when the service connection is put through , traffic state information for managing the qos policy gated switch of the service connection is issued to the er in the bearer network to set the qos policy gated switch of the service connection as the state of “ on ”, and the bearer network continues to forward the traffic of the service connection using the original qos policy instead of applying a new qos policy , and thus the resource utilization efficiency of the bearer network may be improved . while the qos policy of original service connection is kept , a new service connection may apply for resources based on the process of the embodiments of the invention . the above process is a flow for establishing a bi - directional service connection . for the flow for establishing a unidirectional service connection , if multiple cas reserve resources for the call of the service connection , the above method of the embodiments of the invention may also be applied only if the process of allocating the backward qos policy and reserving the resources is omitted . the foregoing is only preferred embodiments of the invention . the protection scope of the invention , however , is not limited to the above description . any change or substitution , within the technical scope disclosed by the invention , easily occurring to those skilled in the art should be covered by the protection scope of the invention .	7
in various implementations , different blades of the razor have different tip radii and thus different relative sharpness . the blade sharpness may be quantified by measuring cutter force , which correlates with sharpness . cutter force is measured by the wool felt cutter test , which measures the cutter forces of the blade by measuring the force required by each blade to cut through wool felt . the cutter force of each blade is determined by measuring the force required by each blade to cut through wool felt . each blade is run through the wool felt cutter 5 times and the force of each cut is measured on a recorder . the lowest of 5 cuts is defined as the cutter force . the combination and positioning of sharper and duller blades can be selected so as to provide a razor with desired performance characteristics . generally , the sharper the blade the lower the engagement time in the hair . increased engagement time , achieved with relatively duller blades , will result in hairs being pulled from the follicle during cutting . however , the manner in which a particular blade functions will depend on its exposure as well as on its sharpness . the blades may also have different coefficients of friction , which will affect how the blade interacts with the shaver &# 39 ; s skin and hair . for example , a blade having a higher coefficient of friction will tend to pull hair from the follicle while cutting it , as will be discussed in further detail below . these two variables ( tip radius and coefficient of friction ) will be discussed in turn below . referring to fig1 , a blade unit of a razor cartridge includes a frame 1 defining a guard 2 , and a cap 3 . as shown the cap comprises a lubricating strip 4 mounted on the frame . the strip may be of a form well known in the art . carried by the frame are primary , secondary and tertiary blades 11 , 12 , 13 having parallel sharpened edges . the blades may be supported firmly by the frame to remain substantially fixed in the positions in which they are depicted ( subject to any resilient deformation which the blades undergo under the forces applied against the blades during shaving ). alternatively the blades may be supported for limited movement against spring restoring forces , e . g . in a downward direction as viewed in the drawings . in the blade unit of fig1 , the edges of all three blades lie in a common plane p . the blade exposure is defined to be the perpendicular distance or height of the blade edge measured with respect to a plane tangential to the skin contacting surfaces of the blade unit elements next in front of and next behind the edge . therefore , for the three - bladed blade unit shown in fig1 , the exposure of the first or primary blade is measured with reference to a plane tangential to the guard and the edge of the second blade , and the exposure of the third or tertiary blade is measured with reference to a plane tangential to the edge of the second blade and the cap . blade exposure may be neutral , if the tip is in the plane ; positive , if the tip extends beyond the plane towards the user ; or negative , if the tip is recessed behind the plane , away from the user . generally , the greater the exposure , the closer the blade will tend to shave , but also the more likelihood that the blade will nick or cut the user . blades with negative exposures will nonetheless cut hair , due to the deformable nature of skin and thus the tendency of the skin bulge to flow into the recessed area and towards the blade . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , the primary blade 11 has a negative exposure ( e . g ., − 0 . 04 mm ), the exposure of the secondary blade 12 is zero , and the exposure of the tertiary blade 13 is positive ( e . g ., + 0 . 06 mm ), with the edges of all three blades lying in plane p . thus , there is a progressive increase in blade exposure from the leading blade 11 to the trailing blade 13 . razor cartridges having blades with progressively different exposures are described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 212 , 777 , the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein . in one embodiment , the primary blade 11 , which has a negative exposure , has a smaller tip radius and therefore is sharper and exhibits a lower cutter force than the secondary blade 12 . preferably , the tertiary blade 13 has a smaller tip radius than the secondary blade , e . g ., a tip radius approximately equal to the tip radius of the primary blade or in between the tip radii of the primary and secondary blades . in this case , the primary blade will tend to cut hair , and the tertiary blade will cut the hair that is pulled by the secondary blade . the inclusion of the relatively dull secondary blade tends to reduce the incidence of nicks and cuts , without compromising shaving closeness . the primary blade may be quite sharp without significant risk of nicks and cuts due to its negative exposure . in some alternative embodiments , the tertiary blade , which has the highest level of exposure , may have a tip radius that is equal to or greater than that of the secondary blade . this option is advantageous for users who have a high propensity for nicking and cutting . in some instances , the primary blade has a tip radius of less than 300 angstroms , e . g ., about 235 to about 295 , resulting in a cutter force of less than about 1 . 15 lbs , preferably less than about 1 . 05 lbs . this is considered herein to be a relatively sharp blade . if it is desired that the primary blade be sharper than the secondary blade , the tip radius of the primary blade may be selected to provide a cutter force of at least about 0 . 1 lbs lower , preferably at least about 0 . 4 lbs lower , than the cutter force of the secondary blade . in general , the tip radius of the secondary blade may be from about 600 to about 1000 angstroms , if a quite dull secondary blade is desired , or from about 350 to about 450 angstroms , if it is desired that the secondary blade be only slightly less sharp than the primary blade . a tip radius of 600 to 1000 angstroms will generally produce a cutter force of about 1 . 75 to 2 . 0 lbs , whereas a tip radius of 350 to 450 angstroms will generally produce a cutter force of about 1 . 3 to 1 . 6 lbs . the tertiary blade may have a tip radius of about 235 to about 1000 angstroms , depending on whether it is desired that the tertiary blade be relatively sharper or duller than the other blades . in other embodiments , it may be desirable to have the primary blade be less sharp than the secondary blade . if the primary blade is less sharp than the secondary blade , the primary blade will tend to pull the hairs further out of the follicle during cutting than a normally sharp blade , so that after cutting the hairs will be further out of the follicle than with a normally sharp blade and thus be cut further down the shaft by the second blade so that when they retract into the follicles their ends will be beneath the skin surface . for example , the primary blade may have a tip radius of from about 350 to about 450 angstroms , while the secondary blade has a tip radius of from about 235 to about 295 angstroms . in these implementations , the tertiary blade may have the same sharpness as the secondary blade , may be sharper or duller than the secondary blade , or may even be as dull as or duller than the primary blade . having a relatively dull tertiary blade will tend to give a very safe shave , with little danger of nicking or cutting , while having a relatively sharp tertiary blade will provide a very close shave . the tip radius r may be varied by controlling the properties of the coatings applied to the blade tip , for example by adjusting the sputtering conditions . the bias on the blades , prior to and / or during sputter deposition , can be varied to effect the etch rate . generally , blades processed with high bias voltage ( e . g ., greater than − 1000 vdc ) yield smaller tip radii and thus lower cutter forces than blades processed at low bias voltages ( e . g ., less than − 200 volts direct current ( vdc )). the ion to atom ratio can also be varied to control the deposition and etch rates . alternatively , the blades may be ion etched post - sputtering to reduce the tip radius . in this case the sputtering conditions would be controlled to provide a high tip radius and then the tip radius would be reduced to a desired level using ion etching . suitable processes are described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 933 , 058 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . another alternative would be to vary the tip radius by controlling the sharpening process so as to obtain a desired tip radius during sharpening . if desired , the razor can include four , five or more blades . the blades may have various combinations of sharpness . for example , in a razor having four blades , two blades with higher cutter forces may be positioned to alternate with two blades having lower cutter forces . the blades with the higher cutter forces may be the primary and tertiary blades , or in an alternate embodiment may be the secondary and quaternary blades . in these and other embodiments , the blade ( s ) having a higher cutter force may in some cases have a tip radius of from about 350 to about 450 angstroms , while the blade ( s ) having a lower cutter force has a tip radius of from about 235 to about 295 angstroms . in determining the desired degree of sharpness of the various blades , the principles discussed above apply , i . e ., a duller blade generally will provide greater safety and will apply tension to hair and pull it from the follicle allowing it to be cut more closely by subsequent blades , while a sharper blade will cut hair more closely and with less cutter force . generally , providing duller blades in more exposed positions will reduce the incidence of nicks and cuts , while providing sharper blades in these positions will provide a closer , more comfortable shave . it has also been noted by the inventors that for certain women &# 39 ; s razors it is generally desirable to provide a sharp blade in the primary position , regardless of the number of blades used . a desired combination of blades of differing sharpness can be determined based on the desired performance attributes of the razor . referring again to fig1 , primary blade 11 may have a higher coefficient of friction ( measured as a higher cutter force ) than secondary blade 11 . when the razor is in use , the primary blade 11 will contact the hair before the secondary blade 12 . as blade 11 passes the user &# 39 ; s skin , it engages a hair , pulling it and thereby extending the hair outside of the hair follicle , and cutting the hair to a first length . as the secondary blade 12 passes the user &# 39 ; s skin it cuts the hair again , to a shorter length . subsequent to cutting , the hair settles back into the hair follicle below the surface of the skin . the tertiary blade can have any desired cutter force , typically within a 0 . 8 to 1 . 5 pound range . many other combinations of blades having different coefficients of friction may be used , e . g ., a blade having a relatively low coefficient of friction in the primary position , a blade having a relatively higher coefficient of friction in the secondary position , and a blade having a relatively low coefficient of friction in the tertiary position . in some instances , the blade ( s ) having relatively low coefficients of friction have cutter forces ( as measured using a wool felt cutter ) at least about 0 . 1 lbs greater than the cutter forces of the blade ( s ) having relatively high coefficients of friction . in general , the cutter force of the low coefficient of friction blade ( s ) is between about 0 . 1 and 1 . 0 lbs . ( e . g ., at least about 0 . 2 , 0 . 3 , 0 . 4 , or 0 . 5 lbs . and at most about 1 . 0 , 0 . 9 , 0 . 8 , 0 . 7 or 0 . 6 lbs .) less than that of the blades having relatively higher coefficients of friction . providing a blade having higher cutter forces can be accomplished in a variety of ways . in some instances , it is desirable to provide a first blade having a modified polymer coating . for example , the blade may include a teflon coating that is modified , for example using plasma etching , to incrementally increase its surface friction . exposure of the coated blade to plasma under suitable conditions can cause both chemical and physical changes to occur on the polymer coating . the changes can affect a variety of properties of the coating , including but not limited to roughness , wettability , cross - linking , and molecular weight , each of which can affect the cutter force of the blade . suitable methods of modifying the polymer coating are described in u . s . ser . no . 11 / 392 , 127 filed mar . 29 , 2006 and entitled razor blades and razors , the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference . in some instances , a blade can be used that is substantially free of polymer coating . however , a blade without any polymer coating can result in an undesirable decrease in comfort . for example , it may pull the hair too aggressively . many different combinations of these three parameters are contemplated with different combinations yielding different razor performance characteristics . for example , in some cases , it is desirable to have a relatively sharp ( small tip radius ) blade that has a relatively high coefficient of friction ( high cutter force due to the surface characteristics of the blade rather than the tip radius ). such a blade will tend to cut hair comfortably , while also providing a hysteresis effect ( pulling the hair from the follicle so that the next blade can cut it more closely before it retracts into the follicle ). thus , it may be desirable to have the primary blade have a small tip radius and relatively high coefficient of friction . the secondary blade may have a larger tip radius , due to its relatively higher blade exposure , and a lower coefficient of friction , since it is not necessary that this blade pull hair . the characteristics of the tertiary blade may be selected to suit the needs of a particular user group , e . g ., avoidance of nicking and cutting ( large tip radius ) or closeness ( small tip radius ; high coefficient of friction if a fourth blade is used ). a number of embodiments of the invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	1
before the present methods and treatment methodology are described , it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular methods , and experimental conditions described , as such methods and conditions may vary . it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purposes of describing particular embodiments only , and is not intended to be limiting , since the scope of the present invention will be limited only in the appended claims . as used in this specification and the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , references to “ the method ” includes one or more methods , and / or steps of the type described herein and / or which will become apparent to those persons skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and so forth . unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs . although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the invention , the preferred methods and materials are now described . all publications mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference . the terms used herein have the meanings recognized and known to those of skill in the art , however , for convenience and completeness , particular terms and their meanings are set forth below . “ agent ” refers to all materials that may be used to prepare pharmaceutical and diagnostic compositions , or that may be compounds , nucleic acids , polypeptides , fragments , isoforms , variants , or other materials that may be used independently for such purposes , all in accordance with the present invention . the term “ antibody ” as used herein includes intact molecules as well as fragments thereof such as fab and f ( ab ′) 2 , which are capable of binding the epitopic determinant . antibodies that bind the proteins of the present invention can be prepared using intact polypeptides or fragments containing small peptides of interest as the immunizing antigen attached to a carrier molecule . commonly used carriers that are chemically coupled to peptides include bovine serum albumin and thyroglobulin . the coupled peptide is then used to immunize the animal ( e . g , a mouse , rat or rabbit ). the antibody may be a “ chimeric antibody ”, which refers to a molecule in which different portions are derived from different animal species , such as those having a human immunoglobulin constant region and a variable region derived from a murine mab . ( see , e . g ., cabilly et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 816 , 567 ; and boss et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 816 , 397 .). the antibody may be a human or a humanized antibody . the antibody may be a single chain antibody . the antibody may be prepared in mice , rats , rabbits , goats , sheep , swine , dogs , cats , or horses . “ analog ” as used herein , refers to a chemical compound , a nucleotide , a protein , or a polypeptide that possesses similar or identical activity or function ( s ) as the chemical compounds , nucleotides , proteins or polypeptides having the desired activity and therapeutic effect of the present invention ( eg . to inhibit cellular proliferation and to sensitize for , or potentiate chemotherapy or radiation therapy for treatment of mammals having cancer or hyperproliferative disorders ), but need not necessarily comprise a sequence that is similar or identical to the sequence of the preferred embodiment , or possess a structure that is similar or identical to the agents of the present invention . as used herein , a nucleic acid or nucleotide sequence , or an amino acid sequence of a protein or polypeptide is “ similar ” to that of a nucleic acid , nucleotide or protein or polypeptide having the desired activity if it satisfies at least one of the following criteria : ( a ) the nucleic acid , nucleotide , protein or polypeptide has a sequence that is at least 30 % ( more preferably , at least 35 %, at least 40 %, at least 45 %, at least 50 %, at least 55 %, at least 60 %, at least 65 %, at least 70 %, at least 75 %, at least 80 %, at least 85 %, at least 90 %, at least 95 % or at least 99 %) identical to the nucleic acid , nucleotide , protein or polypeptide sequences having the desired activity as described herein ( b ) the polypeptide is encoded by a nucleotide sequence that hybridizes under stringent conditions to a nucleotide sequence encoding at least 5 amino acid residues ( more preferably , at least 10 amino acid residues , at least 15 amino acid residues , at least 20 amino acid residues , at least 25 amino acid residues , at least 40 amino acid residues , at least 50 amino acid residues , at least 60 amino residues , at least 70 amino acid residues , atea amino acid residues , at least 90 amino acid residues , at least 100 amino acid residues , at least 125 amino acid residues , or at least 150 amino acid residues ) of the aapi ; or ( c ) the polypeptide is encoded by a nucleotide sequence that is at least 30 % ( more preferably , at least 35 %, at least 40 %, at least 45 %, at least 50 %, at least 55 %, at least 60 %, at least 65 %, at least 70 %, at least 75 %, at least 80 %, at least 85 %, at least 90 %, at least 95 % or at least 99 %) identical to the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptides of the present invention having the desired therapeutic effect . as used herein , a polypeptide with “ similar structure ” to that of the preferred embodiments of the invention refers to a polypeptide that has a similar secondary , tertiary or quaternary structure as that of the preferred embodiment . the structure of a polypeptide can determined by methods known to those skilled in the art , including but not limited to , x - ray crystallography , nuclear magnetic resonance , and crystallographic electron microscopy . “ derivative ” refers to either a protein or polypeptide that comprises an amino acid sequence of a parent protein or polypeptide that has been altered by the introduction of amino acid residue substitutions , deletions or additions , or a nucleic acid or nucleotide that has been modified by either introduction of nucleotide substitutions or deletions , additions or mutations . the derivative nucleic acid , nucleotide , protein or polypeptide possesses a similar or identical function as the parent polypeptide . it may also refer to chemically synthesized organic molecules that are functionally equivalent to the active parent compound , but may be structurally different . it may also refer to chemically similar compounds which have been chemically altered to increase bioavailability , absorption , or to decrease toxicity . “ fragment ” refers to either a protein or polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence of at least 5 amino acid residues ( preferably , at least 10 amino acid residues , at least 15 amino acid residues , at least 20 amino acid residues , at least 25 amino acid residues , at least 40 amino acid residues , at least 50 amino acid residues , at least 60 amino residues , at least 70 amino acid residues , at least 80 amino acid residues , at least 90 amino acid residues , at least 100 amino acid residues , at least 125 amino acid residues , at least 150 amino acid residues , at least 175 amino acid residues , at least 200 amino acid residues , or at least 250 amino acid residues ) of the amino acid sequence of a parent protein or polypeptide , or a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence of at least 10 base pairs ( preferably at least 20 base pairs , at least 30 base pairs , at least 40 base pairs , at least 50 base pairs , at least 50 base pairs , at least 100 base pairs , at least 200 base pairs ) of the nucleotide sequence of the parent nucleic acid . any given fragment may or may not possess a functional activity of the parent nucleic acid or protein or polypeptide . a “ therapeutically effective amount ” is an amount sufficient to decrease or prevent the symptoms associated with the cancer or hyperproliferative disorders or other related conditions contemplated for therapy with the compositions of the present invention . “ treatment ” refers to therapy , prevention and prophylaxis and particularly refers to the administration of medicine or the performance of medical procedures with respect to a patient , for either prophylaxis ( prevention ) or to cure or reduce the extent of or likelihood of occurrence of the infirmity or malady or condition or event in the instance where the patient is afflicted . “ combination therapy ” refers to the use of the agents of the present invention with other active agents or treatment modalities , in the manner of the present invention for treatment of cancers or hyperproliferative disorders . these other agents or treatments may include drugs such as other anti - cancer drugs such as those that are standardly used to treat various cancers , radiation therapy , anti - viral drugs , corticosteroids , non - steroidal anti - inflammatory compounds , other agents useful in treating or alleviating pain , growth factors , cytokines , or colony stimulating factors . the combined use of the agents of the present invention with these other therapies or treatment modalities may be concurrent , or the two treatments may be divided up such that the agent of the present invention may be given prior to or after the other therapy or treatment modality . “ local administration ” means direct administration by a non - systemic route at or in the vicinity of the site of an affliction , disorder , or perceived pain . “ slow release formulation ” refers to a formulation designed to release a therapeutically effective amount of a drug or other active agent such as a polypeptide or a synthetic compound over an extended period of time , with the result being a reduction in the number of treatments necessary to achieve the desired therapeutic effect . in the matter of the present invention , a slow release formulation would decrease the number of treatments necessary to achieve the desired effect in terms of inhibiting cellular proliferation and decreasing the tumor burden or metastatic potential of a cancer or hyperproliferative disorder . the term “ clonogenic potential ” refers to the ability of single cells to divide and grow into a cluster of cells . this is a characteristic of metastatic cancer cells in the body . in the lab , it is a reflection of many factors , including viability , health of the cell , injury , and ability to divide on the support provided in the tissue culture dish or in suspension “ egf ” is epidermal growth factor ; a protein that binds to cell surface receptors and initiates signals that tell the cell to divide , crawl and survive . “ igf ” is insulin - like growth factor ; a protein that binds to the insulin - like growth factor receptor that initiates signals that tell the cell to do perform a variety of function from cell division survival , depending on the cell type . “ fgf - 2 ” is fibroblast growth factor 2 , basic fibroblast growth factor ; a protein that binds to cell surface receptors that initiates a variety of signals that tell different cells to perform different functions . in breast cancer , it can act as a differentiation factor , inhibiting growth and motility . the term “ hyperproliferative disorders ” refers to diseases that result from the abnormal growth of cells . these can include cancers , pre - malignant states as well as inflammatory states such as rheumatoid arthritis or conditions such as psoriasis . “ integrins ” are intrinsic cell surface proteins . they mediate cell adhesion by binding with components of the extra cellular matrix , such as fibronectin . this adhesion process is closely tied to the cells ability to survive and reproduce . many different integrins have been discovered and most have similar structural features eg . they are heterodimeric transmembrane proteins and contain an alpha subunit and a beta subunit . the major fibronectin receptor on most cells is the alpha 5 , beta 1 integrin , also referred to in the present application as α5β1 . this integrin interacts with the rgd site of the fibronectin molecule . a kinase is a protein that acts as an enzyme to transfer a phosphate group onto another protein . a “ kinase inhibitor ” blocks the action of such a protein a “ transcription inhibitor ” is a chemical or biological that interferes with the synthesis of messenger rna from a dna template . “ atra ” refers to all - trans retinoic acid ; a member of a family of compounds called retinoids that act by binding to nuclear receptors called retinoic acid receptors and retinoid x receptors that , when bound to their retinoid ligands , act as transcription factors . atra inhibits cell proliferation , induces cell death and potentiates chemotherapy agents in breast cancer cells . as used herein , the term “ modified peptide ” may be used to refer to a peptide that is capable of binding to a protein and modulating its activity ( e . g ., a cell surface receptor ). modified peptides may possess features that , for example , modulate ( increase or decrease ) binding , alter the half - life of the peptide , decrease renal clearance , or improve absorption . as used herein , the term “ amino acid ” and any reference to a specific amino acid is meant to include naturally occurring proteogenic amino acids as well as non - naturally occurring amino acids such as amino acid analogs . one of skill in the art would know that this definition includes , unless otherwise specifically indicated , naturally occurring proteogenic ( d ) or ( l ) amino acids , chemically modified amino , acids , including amino acid analogs such as penicillamine ( 3 - mercapto - d - valine ), naturally occurring non - proteogenic amino acids such as norleucine and chemically synthesized compounds that have properties known in the art to be characteristic of an amino acid . as used herein , the term “ proteogenic ” indicates that the amino acid can be incorporated into a protein in a cell through well - known metabolic pathways . the choice of including an ( l )- or a ( d )- amino acid into a peptide of the present invention depends , in part , on the desired characteristics of the peptide . for example , the incorporation of one or more ( d )- amino acids can confer increasing stability on the peptide in vitro or in vivo . the incorporation of one or more ( d )- amino acids also can increase or decrease the binding activity of the peptide as determined , for example , using the binding assays described herein , or other methods well known in the art . in some cases it is desirable to design a peptide which retains activity for a short period of time , for example , when designing a peptide to administer to a subject . in these cases , the incorporation of one or more . ( l )- amino acids in the peptide can allow endogenous peptidases in the subject to digest the peptide in vivo , thereby limiting the subject &# 39 ; s exposure to an active peptide . as used herein , the term “ amino acid equivalent ” refers to compounds which depart from the structure of the naturally occurring amino acids , but which have substantially the structure of an amino acid , such that they can be substituted within a peptide which retains is biological activity . thus , for example , amino acid equivalents can include amino acids having side chain modifications or substitutions , and also include related organic acids , amides or the like . the term “ amino acid ” is intended to include amino acid equivalents . the term “ residues ” refers both to amino acids and amino acid equivalents . as used herein , the term “ peptide ” is used in its broadest sense to refer to compounds containing amino acid equivalents or other non - amino groups , while still retaining the desired functional activity of a peptide . peptide equivalents can differ from conventional peptides by the replacement of one or more amino acids with related organic acids ( such as paba ), amino acids or the like or the substitution or modification of side chains or functional groups . it is to be understood that limited modifications can be made to a peptide without destroying its biological function . thus , modification of a peptides of the present invention that does not completely destroy its activity are within the definition of the compound claims as such . modifications can include , for example , additions , deletions , or substitutions of amino acids residues , substitutions with compounds that mimic amino acid structure or functions , as well as the addition of chemical moieties such as amino or acetyl groups . the modifications can be deliberate or accidental , and can be modifications of the composition or the structure . an exemplary cell surface receptor envisioned for targeting by a peptide or “ modified peptide ” of the invention is a member of the integrin receptor family . in an embodiment of the invention , a “ modified peptide ” may be used to inhibit integrin receptor activity , including , without limitation , the ability of integrin - expressing cells to bind to extracellular matrix proteins and surrounding cells . modified peptides capable of inhibiting integrin binding / activity have been described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 536 , 814 ; 5 , 627 , 263 ; 5 , 912 , 234 ; 5 , 922 , 676 ; 5 , 981 , 478 ; 5 , 912 , 234 ; and 6 , 177 , 542 , the entire contents of each of which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference . retinoids are a class of compounds consisting of four isoprenoid units joined in a head - to - tail manner . all retinoids may be formally derived from a monocyclic parent compound containing five carbon - carbon double bonds and a functional group at the terminus of the acyclic portion . derivatives of retinoids may be generated by means known to skilled artisans to render the retinoid derivative more therapeutically effective . a retinoid derivative may be , for example , an aldehyde derivative , a carboxylic acid derivative , a substituted derivative , a hydrogenated derivative , or it may be derivatized by functional substitution of a basic hydrocarbon . retinoid derivatives may , for example , be generated that are more specifically targeted to hyperproliferative cells . as used herein , the term “ retinoid derivative ” may also be used to refer to a compound or agent having retinoid activity , but which does not necessarily act through a retinoid receptor . as used herein , the term “ biological therapy ” refers to a therapeutic regimen designed to enhance a subject &# 39 ; s or patient &# 39 ; s response to treatment administered to reduce the number of cancer cells and / or symptoms associated with cancer . in general , “ biological therapy ” involves the use of a variety of cytokines , including , but not limited to , growth factors , interferons , colony stimulating factors , tumor necrosis factors , and interleukins . as used herein , the term “ sensitization ” or “ sensitizing ” refers to treating a subject so as to render the subject or cells therein more susceptible to the effects of a therapeutic regimen ; a number of sensitizing agents have been characterized that render cancer cells , for example , more susceptible to therapeutic modalities designed to eradicate cancer from a subject . such sensitizing agents have been previously described in , for example , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 436 , 337 , the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . as used herein , the phrase “ disrupting survival signaling from the microenvironment ” refers to a situation in which interactions between integrins and their ligands are reduced or decreased . such interactions may be physically blocked using antibodies or peptides ; or may be prevented by decreasing the cell surface expression levels of integrins via transcriptional inhibition ; or by blocking survival signaling initiated by integrin receptor ligation by proteins in the microenvironment . the present invention relates to the novel finding that increased expression of the alpha - 5 beta - 1 integrin on metastasized breast cancer cells in the bone marrow transmit a survival signal from matrix proteins in the bone marrow . ligation of the integrin to fibronectin interrupts integrin - mediated cell death signaling and initiates the cell survival signaling that leads to dormancy , protection from chemotherapy and ultimately relapse in the breast cancer patient . the invention provides for a method to inhibit the expression of the integrin and to interrupt specific elements of the survival pathway that will allow traditional chemotherapy or radiation therapy to be utilized to kill the remaining cells in the bone marrow and avoid a relapse and ultimately resistance by the cells and the death of the patient suffering from a hyperproliferative disorder such as but not limited to breast cancer , or prostate cancer . the over expression of alpha - 5 beta - 1 is down regulated through the use of kinase or transcription inhibitors such as demonstrated in fig1 . the schema of fig1 demonstrates the fate of metastatic cells in the bone marrow and the effect of fibronectin ligation through its integrin receptor alpha 5 beta 1 on maintaining survival and chemoresistance . disruption of this interaction by decreasing synthesis of the integrin or disruption of its interaction with its ligand would allow the cells to become sensitive to chemotherapy and undergo cell death . in the present invention , evidence is provided which supports a paradigm in which fgf - 2 initiates a more differentiated , dormant state in well - differentiated micrometastatic breast cancer cells . this encompasses cell cycle arrest and changes in the integrin repertoire . cells with improperly ligated integrins such as α5β1 , upregulated by fgf - 2 in fibroblasts and endothelial cells undergo cell death , likely due to ligand incompatibility . ligation of integrin α5β1 by fibronectin , a component of bone marrow stroma , which can initiate survival signaling ( matter , m . l , & amp ; ruoslahti , e . ( 2001 ) j . biol . chem . 276 , 27757 - 27763 ; lee , j . w . & amp ; juliano , r . l . ( 2000 ) molecular biology of the cell 11 , 1973 - 1987 ), promotes survival of fgf - 2 - responsive cells . in particular , the present invention is directed to methods for disrupting survival signaling from the microenvironment in cancer cells , wherein said disrupting results in sensitizing cells to chemotherapy , biological therapies or radiation therapy of cancer micrometastases and hyperproliferative disorders in a mammal . the method comprises blocking the interaction of an integrin with an extracellular matrix protein of the microenvironment . a preferred embodiment includes the alpha 5 beta 1 integrin and the preferred extracellular matrix protein is fibronectin . the invention is directed to treating primary tumors , tumor metastasis , micrometastases and hyperproliferative disorders . a further preferred embodiment is treating breast cancer or prostate cancer . a further preferred embodiment comprises administration of an antibody specific for an integrin or a blocking peptide or modified peptide that disrupts interaction of the integrin with the extracellular matrix . a yet further preferred embodiment comprises administration of all trans retinoic acid or a retinoic acid derivative . a yet further preferred embodiment comprises decreasing expression of cell surface integrins with a transcription inhibitor . the method also comprises treatment with an inhibitor of a kinase , said kinase selected from the group consisting of mep / map kinase , p38 , rhoa , rho kinase , pi3 kinase , pkc , and pka . the methods further comprise blocking survival signaling initiated by ligation of integrins by microenvironment proteins . the method also comprises use of the inhibitors selected from the group consisting of ly294002 , uo126 , ag82 , y27632 , sb203580 , pd169316 , pd98059 , ro318220 , and a c3 transferase inhibitor . thus , methods of treating primary cancers , metastatic cancers , micrometastases , and hyperproliferative disorders are encompassed by the present invention . combination therapy is also envisioned with other standard forms of chemotherapy , radiation therapy and biological therapies and other anti - neoplastic regimens . it is envisioned that the therapies described in the present invention can be used as adjunct therapy with other anti - neoplastic treatment modalities . the roles of various stromal proteins and growth factors that are relevant to the bone marrow microenvironment in inducing breast cancer dormancy were studied using a panel of breast cancer cell lines . to test the potential role of fgf - 2 in inducing growth arrest of breast cancer cells in the bone marrow microenvironment , the clonogenic potential of mcf - 7 , t - 47d and mda - mb - 231 breast cancer cells on stromal proteins in the presence of fgf - 2 was measured . clonogenic potential is the ability of single cells to grow into multi - cell clusters , that is a hallmark of metastatic growth of malignant cells . the presence of fgf - 2 , but not egf , significantly blocked clonogenic growth of relatively well - differentiated mcf - 7 and t - 47d cells but had no effect on the highly dedifferentiated aggressive mda - mb - 231 cells . fgf - 2 arrested cells failed to survive on collagen - 1 and laminin - 1 , while they survived on fibronectin for many days . to study the molecular basis for the long - term survival of growth arrested cells , a comparison was made between the expression levels of various integrins in breast cancer cells that remained dormant on fibronectin for 3 and 5 days in the presence of fgf - 2 , to that of actively growing cells on fibronectin . microarray analysis showed increased expression levels of the alpha 5 beta 1 integrin , a fibronectin receptor . western blots demonstrated that fgf - 2 induced an increased expression of both the alpha 5 and beta 1 subunits , which together make up the fibronectin receptor in their naturally paired state , in mcf - 7 and t - 47d cells but had no effect on constitutively very high levels of the alpha 5 subunit in mda - mb - 231 cells . the block in growth of fgf - 2 - treated cells on fibronectin was further accentuated by pre - treatment of the cells with an anti alpha 5 subunit antibody , strongly suggesting a role for fibronectin in supporting the survival of dormant breast cancer cells in bone marrow . blocking peptides that disrupt the interaction of fibronectin with its integrin receptor that downregulated the expression of the alpha 5 beta 1 integrin also reversed the survival effects of fibronectin binding to cells in the presence of fgf - 2 . fgf - 2 also induced the phosphorylation of the kinase akt involved in survival signaling . all trans retinoic acid was able to reverse akt phosphorylation induced by egf and reversed fgf - 2 induced increases in total and phosphorylated akt , suggesting an additional mechanisms of disrupting survival in these cells . the administration of kinase or transcription inhibitors or antibodies or blocking peptides or modified peptides as a pre - treatment to sensitize the dormant or metastatic cells for chemotherapy or radiation therapy . the inhibitor could be administered in a variety of methods including but not limited to injectable , oral , liquid , tablet or suppository . the present invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions used in the method of the invention . such compositions comprise a therapeutically effective amount of the agents of the present invention , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . in a particular embodiment , the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable ” means approved by a regulatory agency of the federal or a state government or listed in the u . s . pharmacopeia or other generally recognized pharmacopeia for use in animals , and more particularly in humans . the term “ carrier ” refers to a diluent , adjuvant , excipient , or vehicle with which the therapeutic is administered . such pharmaceutical carriers can be sterile liquids , such as water and oils , including those of petroleum , animal , vegetable or synthetic origin , such as peanut oil , soybean oil , mineral oil , sesame oil and the like . water is a preferred carrier when the pharmaceutical composition is administered intravenously . saline solutions and aqueous dextrose and glycerol solutions can also be employed as liquid carriers , particularly for injectable solutions . suitable pharmaceutical excipients include starch , glucose , lactose , sucrose , gelatin , malt , rice , flour , chalk , silica gel , sodium stearate , glycerol monostearate , talc , sodium chloride , dried skim milk , glycerol , propylene , glycol , water , ethanol and the like . the composition , if desired , can also contain minor amounts of wetting or emulsifying agents , or ph buffering agents . the therapeutic agent , whether it be a polypeptide , analog or active fragment - containing compositions or small organic molecules , are conventionally administered by various routes including intravenously , intramuscularly , subcutaneously , as by injection of a unit dose , for example . the term “ unit dose ” when used in reference to a therapeutic composition of the present invention refers to physically discrete units suitable as unitary dosage for humans , each unit containing a predetermined quantity of active material calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the required diluent ; i . e ., carrier , or vehicle . the compositions are administered in a manner compatible with the dosage formulation , and in a therapeutically effective amount . the quantity to be administered depends on the subject to be treated , capacity of the subject &# 39 ; s immune system to utilize the active ingredient , and degree of inhibition or neutralization of binding capacity desired . precise amounts of active ingredient required to be administered depend on the judgment of the practitioner and are peculiar to each individual . suitable regimes for initial administration and subsequent injections are also variable , but are typified by an initial administration followed by repeated doses at intervals by a subsequent injection or other administration . these compositions can take the form of solutions , suspensions , emulsion , tablets , pills , capsules , powders , sustained - release formulations and the like . the composition can be formulated as a suppository , with traditional binders and carriers such as triglycerides . oral formulation can include standard carriers such as pharmaceutical grades of mannitol , lactose , starch , magnesium stearate , sodium saccharine , cellulose , magnesium carbonate , etc . examples of suitable pharmaceutical carriers are described in “ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ” by e . w . martin . such compositions will contain a therapeutically effective amount of the compound , preferably in purified form , together with a suitable amount of carrier so as to provide the form for proper administration to the subject . the formulation should suit the mode of administration . the compounds of the invention can be formulated as neutral or salt forms . pharmaceutically acceptable salts include those formed with free amino groups such as those derived from hydrochloric , phosphoric , acetic , oxalic , tartaric acids , etc ., and those formed with free carboxyl groups such as those derived from sodium , potassium , ammonium , calcium , ferric hydroxides , isopropylamine , triethylamine , 2 - ethylamino ethanol , histidine , procaine , etc . administration of the compositions to the site of injury , the target cells , tissues , or organs , may be by way of oral administration as a pill or capsule or a liquid formulation or suspension . it may be administered via the transmucosal , sublingual , nasal , rectal or transdermal route . parenteral administration may also be via intravenous injection , or intramuscular , intradermal or subcutaneous . due to the nature of the diseases or conditions for which the present invention is being considered , the route of administration may also involve delivery via suppositories . this is especially true in conditions whereby the ability of the patient to swallow is compromised . the plant compositions or extracts may be provided as a liposome formulation . liposome delivery has been utilized as a pharmaceutical delivery system for other compounds for a variety of applications . see , for example langer ( 1990 ) science 249 : 1527 - 1533 ; treat et al . ( 1989 ) in liposomes in the therapy of infectious disease and cancer , lopez - berestein and fidler ( eds . ), liss : new york , pp . 353 - 365 ( 1989 ). many suitable liposome formulations are known to the skilled artisan , and may be employed for the purposes of the present invention . for example , see : u . s . pat . no . 5 , 190 , 762 . in a further aspect , liposomes can cross the blood - brain barrier , which would allow for intravenous or oral administration . many strategies are available for crossing the blood - brain barrier , including but not limited to , increasing the hydrophobic nature of a molecule ; introducing the molecule as a conjugate to a carrier , such as transferrin , targeted to a receptor in the blood - brain barrier ; and the like . transdermal delivery of the plant compositions or extracts is also contemplated . various and numerous methods are known in the art for transdermal administration of a drug , e . g ., via a transdermal patch . it can be readily appreciated that a transdermal route of administration may be enhanced by use of a dermal penetration enhancer . controlled release oral formulations may be desirable . the plant composition or extract may be incorporated into an inert matrix which permits release by either diffusion or leaching mechanisms , e . g ., gums . slowly degenerating matrices may also be incorporated into the formulation . some enteric coatings also have a delayed release effect . another form of a controlled release of this therapeutic is by a method based on the oros therapeutic system ( alza corp . ), i . e . the drug is enclosed in a semipermeable membrane which allows water to enter and push drug out through a single small opening due to osmotic effects . pulmonary delivery may be used for treatment as well . contemplated for use in the practice of this invention are a wide range of mechanical devices designed for pulmonary delivery of therapeutic products , including but not limited to nebulizers , metered dose inhalers , and powder inhalers , all of which are familiar to those skilled in the art . with regard to construction of the delivery device , any form of aerosolization known in the art , including but not limited to spray bottles , nebulization , atomization or pump aerosolization of a liquid formulation , and aerosolization of a dry powder formulation , can be used in the practice of the invention . ophthalmic and nasal delivery may be used in the method of the invention . nasal delivery allows the passage of a pharmaceutical composition of the present invention to the blood stream directly after administering the therapeutic product to the nose , without the necessity for deposition of the product in the lung . formulations for nasal delivery include those with dextran or cyclodextrins . for nasal administration , a useful device is a small , hard bottle to which a metered dose sprayer is attached . in one embodiment , the metered dose is delivered by drawing the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention solution into a chamber of defined volume , which chamber has an aperture dimensioned to aerosolize and aerosol formulation by forming a spray when a liquid in the chamber is compressed . the chamber is compressed to administer the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention . in a specific embodiment , the chamber is a piston arrangement . such devices are commercially available . the compositions and extracts of the present invention are also suited for transmucosal delivery . in particular , the compositions and extracts are particularly suited for sublingual , buccal or rectal delivery of agents that are sensitive to degradation by proteases present in gastric or other bodily fluids having enhanced enzymatic activity . moreover , transmucosal delivery systems can be used for agents that have low oral bioavailability . the compositions of the instant invention comprise the plant extract dissolved or dispersed in a carrier that comprises a solvent , an optional hydrogel , and an agent that enhances transport across the mucosal membrane . the solvent may be a non - toxic alcohol known in the art as being useful in such formulations of the present invention and may include , but not be limited to ethanol , isopropanol , stearyl alcohol , propylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , and other solvents having similar dissolution characteristics . other such solvents known in the art can be found in “ the handbook of pharmaceutical excipients ”, published by the american pharmaceutical association and the pharmaceutical society of great britain ( 1986 ) and the handbook of water - soluble gums and resins , ed . by r . l . davidson , mcgraw - hill book co ., new york , n . y . ( 1980 ). any transmucosal preparation suitable for administering the components of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof can be used . particularly , the mixture is any preparation usable in oral , nasal , or rectal cavities that can be formulated using conventional techniques well known in the art . preferred preparations are those usable in oral , nasal or rectal cavities . for example , the preparation can be a buccal tablet , a sublingual tablet , and the like preparation that dissolve or disintegrate , delivering drug into the mouth of the patient . a spray or drops can be used to deliver the drug to the nasal cavity . a suppository can be used to deliver the mixture to the rectal mucosa . the preparation may or may not deliver the drug in a sustained release fashion . a specific embodiment for delivery of the components of the present invention is a mucoadhesive preparation . a mucoadhesive preparation is a preparation which upon contact with intact mucous membrane adheres to said mucous membrane for a sufficient time period to induce the desired therapeutic or nutritional effect . the preparation can be a semisolid composition as described for example , in wo 96 / 09829 . it can be a tablet , a powder , a gel or film comprising a mucoadhesive matrix as described for example , in wo 96 / 30013 . the mixture can be prepared as a syrup that adheres to the mucous membrane . suitable mucoadhesives include those well known in the art such as polyacrylic acids , preferably having the molecular weight between from about 450 , 000 to about 4 , 000 , 000 , for example , carbopol ™ 934p ; sodium carboxymethylcellulose ( nacmc ), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose ( hpmc ), or for example , methocel ™ k100 , and hydroxypropylcellulose . the delivery of the components of the present invention can also be accomplished using a bandage , patch , device and any similar device that contains the components of the present invention and adheres to a mucosal surface . suitable transmucosal patches are described for example in wo 93 / 23011 , and in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 122 , 127 , both of which are hereby incorporated by reference . the patch is designed to deliver the mixture in proportion to the size of the drug / mucosa interface . accordingly , delivery rates can be adjusted by altering the size of the contact area . the patch that may be best suited for delivery of the components of the present invention may comprise a backing , such backing acting as a barrier for loss of the components of the present invention from the patch . the backing can be any of the conventional materials used in such patches including , but not limited to , polyethylene , ethyl - vinyl acetate copolymer , polyurethane and the like . in a patch that is made of a matrix that is not itself a mucoadhesive , the matrix containing the components of the present invention can be coupled with a mucoadhesive component ( such as a mucoadhesive described above ) so that the patch may be retained on the mucosal surface . such patches can be prepared by methods well known to those skilled in the art . preparations usable according to the invention can contain other ingredients , such as fillers , lubricants , disintegrants , solubilizing vehicles , flavors , dyes and the like . it may be desirable in some instances to incorporate a mucous membrane penetration enhancer into the preparation . suitable penetration enhancers include anionic surfactants ( e . g . sodium lauryl sulphate , sodium dodecyl sulphate ), cationic surfactants ( e . g . palmitoyl dl camitine chloride , cetylpyridinium chloride ), nonionic surfactants ( e . g . polysorbate 80 , polyoxyethylene 9 - lauryl ether , glyceryl monolaurate , polyoxyalkylenes , polyoxyethylene 20 cetyl ether ), lipids ( e . g . oleic acid ), bile salts ( e . g . sodium glycocholate , sodium taurocholate ), and related compounds . the administration of the compositions and extracts of the present invention can be alone , or in combination with other compounds effective at treating the various medical conditions contemplated by the present invention . also , the compositions and formulations of the present invention , may be administered with a variety of analgesics , anesthetics , or anxiolytics to increase patient comfort during treatment . the compositions of the invention described herein may be in the form of a liquid . the liquid may be delivered as a spray , a paste , a gel , or a liquid drop . the desired consistency is achieved by adding in one or more hydrogels , substances that absorb water to create materials with various viscosities . hydrogels that are suitable for use are well known in the art . see , for example , handbook of pharmaceutical excipients , published by the american pharmaceutical association and the pharmaceutical society of great britain ( 1986 ) and the handbook of water - soluble gums and resins , ed . by r . l . davidson , mcgraw - hill book co ., new york , n . y . ( 1980 ). suitable hydrogels for use in the compositions include , but are not limited to , hydroxypropyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and polyacrylic acid . preferred hydrogels are cellulose ethers such as hydroxyalkylcellulose . the concentration of the hydroxycellulose used in the composition is dependent upon the particular viscosity grade used and the viscosity desired in the final product . numerous other hydrogels are known in the art and the skilled artisan could easily ascertain the most appropriate hydrogel suitable for use in the instant invention . the mucosal transport enhancing agents useful with the present invention facilitate the transport of the agents in the claimed invention across the mucosal membrane and into the blood stream of the patient . the mucosal transport enhancing agents are also known in the art , as noted in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 284 , 657 , incorporated herein by reference . these agents may be selected from the group of essential or volatile oils , or from non - toxic , pharmaceutically acceptable inorganic and organic acids . the essential or volatile oils may include peppermint oil , spearmint oil , menthol , eucalyptus oil , cinnamon oil , ginger oil , fennel oil , dill oil , and the like . the suitable inorganic or organic acids useful for the instant invention include but are not limited to hydrochloric acid , phosphoric acid , aromatic and aliphatic monocarboxylic or dicarboxylic acids such as acetic acid , citric acid , lactic acid , oleic acid , linoleic acid , palmitic acid , benzoic acid , salicylic acid , and other acids having similar characteristics . the term “ aromatic ” acid means any acid having a 6 - membered ring system characteristic of benzene , whereas the term “ aliphatic ” acid refers to any acid having a straight chain or branched chain saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon backbone . other suitable transport enhancers include anionic surfactants ( e . g . sodium lauryl sulphate , sodium dodecyl sulphate ), cationic surfactants ( e . g . palmitoyl dl camitine chloride , cetylpyridinium chloride ), nonionic surfactants ( e . g . polysorbate 80 , polyoxyethylene 9 - lauryl ether , glyceryl monolaurate , polyoxyalkylenes , polyoxyethylene 20 cetyl ether ), lipids ( e . g . oleic acid ), bile salts ( e . g . sodium glycocholate , sodium taurocholate ), and related compounds . when the compositions and extracts of the instant invention are to be administered to the oral mucosa , the preferred ph should be in the range of ph 3 to about ph 7 , with any necessary adjustments made using pharmaceutically acceptable , non - toxic buffer systems generally known in the art . for topical delivery , a solution of the agent of the invention in water , buffered aqueous solution or other pharmaceutically - acceptable carrier , or in a hydrogel lotion or cream , comprising an emulsion of an aqueous and hydrophobic phase , at a concentration of between 50 μm and 5 mm , is used . a preferred concentration is about 1 mm . to this may be added ascorbic acid or its salts , or other ingredients , or a combination of these , to make a cosmetically - acceptable formulation . metals should be kept to a minimum . it may be preferably formulated by encapsulation into a liposome for oral , parenteral , or , preferably , topical administration . the invention provides methods of treatment comprising administering to a subject a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the agents described herein . in one embodiment , the compound is substantially purified ( e . g ., substantially free from substances that limit its effect or produce undesired side - effects ). the subject is preferably an animal , including but not limited to animals such as cows , pigs , horses , chickens , cats , dogs , etc ., and is preferably a mammal , and most preferably human . in one specific embodiment , a non - human mammal is the subject . in another specific embodiment , a human mammal is the subject . the amount of the agent of the invention which is optimal in treating cancers and hyperproliferative disorders can be determined by standard clinical techniques based on the present description . in addition , in vitro assays may optionally be employed to help identify optimal dosage ranges . the precise dose to be employed in the formulation will also depend on the route of administration , and the seriousness of the disease or disorder , and should be decided according to the judgment of the practitioner and each subject &# 39 ; s circumstances . however , suitable dosage ranges for intravenous administration are generally about 20 - 500 micrograms of active compound per kilogram body weight . suitable dosage ranges for intranasal administration are generally about 0 . 01 pg / kg body weight to 1 mg / kg body weight . effective doses may be extrapolated from dose - response curves derived from in vitro or animal model test systems . a subject in whom administration of the agents of the present invention is an effective therapeutic regiment is preferably a human , but can be any animal . thus , as can be readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art , the methods and pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention are particularly suited to administration to any animal ; particularly a mammal , and including , but by no means limited to , domestic animals , such as feline or canine subjects , farm animals , such as but not limited to bovine , equine , caprine , ovine , and porcine subjects , wild animals ( whether in the wild or in a zoological garden ), research animals , such as mice , rats , rabbits , goats , sheep , pigs , dogs , cats , etc ., avian species , such as chickens , turkeys , songbirds , etc ., i . e ., for veterinary medical use . furthermore , the administration of the agent may be given at the time of or after the identification of a cancer or hyperproliferative disorder , alone , or in combination with other agents known to be beneficial for ameliorating the symptoms or decreasing tumor load or enhancing the number or activity of immune cells in patients having cancer or a hyperproliferative disorder . in one embodiment , the subject suitable for treatment by the method of the invention is a subject determined to be suffering from cancer or hyperproliferative disorder . this determination may be made clinically by methods known to one of skill in the art . the following examples are intended to illustrate the invention not limit it . fgf - 2 inhibits single cell growth of well differentiated breast cancer cells mcf - 7 and t - 47d cells incubated with fgf - 2 have markedly diminished clonogenic potential in colony assays in tissue culture on laminin -, collagen i - and iv - coated and uncoated plates ( fig2 , 3 , 4 and 12 ). the clones that did form in the presence of fgf - 2 were arrested in the 8 cell stage . fgf - 2 had no effect on the growth of the highly de - differentiated mda - mb - 231 cells . efg had no effect and served as a negative control in all three cell types . fgf - 2 induces expression of cell integrins including integrin α5 and restricts growth of differentiated single breast cancer cells incubation of well differentiated cells with fgf - 2 induces the expression of a variety of cell adhesion molecule genes , including α5 , α6 , β1 and β3 , that contribute to cell death when expressed in an unligated state ( fig5 , 6 , and tables 1 and 2 ). fig6 is a western blot demonstrating induction of integrin α5 expression in mcf - 7 and t - 47d cells growing on either plastic tissue culture dishes or fibronectin - coated dishes . the increase in integrin α5 expression was assayed for up to five days and remained sustained . no effect is demonstrated on baseline high levels of integrin α5 in mda - mb - 231 cells . inhibition of colony formation by fgf - 2 can be rescued by incubation of cells 6n fibronectin - coated plates ( fig2 b , 4 , 8 , 9 , 15 and 16 ). the protection of colonies in mcf - 7 cells treated with fgf - 2 was sustained by incubation on fibronectin for up to 15 days ( fig8 ). fibronectin is a ligand for integrin α5β1 while collagens i and iv are not . these data suggests an association between unligated integrin α5β1 and inhibition of growth and rescue of clonogenic potential by providing a specific ligand for integrin α5β1 . fibronectin supports long - term survival of fgf - 2 arrested cells , potentially through a p13k pathway antibody to integrin α5 inhibits the clonogenic potential of mcf - 7 cells on fibronectin both with and without fgf - 2 treatments ( fig7 ). antibody to integrin α3 was used as a negative control . to provide a potential mechanism for survival signaling by integrin α5 on fibronectin in the presence of fgf - 2 , initial experiments were conducted to determine the phosphorylation of akt by fgf - 2 in the presence of fibronectin . fig1 demonstrates that fgf - 2 induced phosphorylation of akt in mcf - 7 and t - 47d . phosphorylation was sustained for the five days of assay ; highly de - differentiated mda - mb - 231 cells , however , express constitutively higher levels of integrin α5 and phospho - akt , implicating these molecules in their unlimited growth potential on fibronectin . disruption of fibronectin / integrin α5β1 interaction can reverse protection from cell death our data suggest that stromal proteins in the bone marrow microenvironment , such as fibronectin , provide protection of metastatic cancer cells from cell death induced by physiologic factors in the bone marrow microenvironment and from exogenous toxicity such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy . the ability to disrupt the interaction between fibronectin / integrin α5β1 with blocking antibodies to integrin α5 ( fig7 ) and β1 ( experiments in progress ), peptides to the fibronectin binding site ( fig8 , 9 and 14 ), antisense phosphorothioated oligonucleotides to integrins α5 or β1 or downregulation of integrins α5 or β1 in a dose dependent manner , other transcription inhibitors or retinoids , can result in disruption of the survival signal initiated by fibronectin / integrin α5β1 interaction and thereby become sensitive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy or other biologic therapy - mediated cell death . this approach may sensitize both well - differentiated cells that are non - cycling and dormant in the bone marrow that receive survival protection from ligation to fibronectin in the microenvironment and highly de - differentiated cells that are actively proliferating in the bone marrow that also receive survival signaling from interaction with fibronectin through a constitutively upregulated integrin α5 . disruption of the pi3k / akt signal pathway may disrupt support for breast cancer colony growth by fibronectin fgf - 2 - induced phosphorylation of akt may be disrupted in a number of ways by disrupting the interaction of fibronectin with integrin α5β1 by downregulating the expression of the α5 and β1 subunits , with other transcription factor inhibitors , retinoids , antisense oligonucleotides , disruption of their interaction with blocking antibodies to the integrin α5 β1 or fibronectin , or kinase inhibitors that inhibit activation of pi3k or akt . examples of akt inhibition are shown in fig1 , where incubation of mcf - 7 cells with atra reversed the egf - mediated phosphorylation of akt , as demonstrated on a western blot , and fig1 and 16 where inhibition of akt and pi3k , the upstream activation of akt inhibits survival of dormant clones . this approach may also provide an array of mechanisms for disruptive survival signaling through the pi3k pathway to breast cancer cells at metastatic sites initiated by interaction of integrin α5β1 with fibronectin . disruption of signaling pathways , kinases and gtpases may disrupt signaling initiated by interaction of fibronectin with the integrins alpha 5 beta 1 in cancer cells that can support survival in these cells . examples are included which were conducted with inhibitors of rhp , rho kinase and mep / map kinase , p38 , pkc and pka resulting in the survival of dormant clones on fibronection ( fig1 a and b ). mcf - 7 , sk - br - 3 , mda - mb - 231 , pc - 3 and lncap cells were purchased from the american type culture collection ( atcc ), ( rockville , md .). cells were cultured in dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ) ( gibco brl , gaithersburg , md .) with phenol red 15 mg / l , 2 mm glutamine , 10 % heat inactivated fetal calf serum ( fcs ) and penicillin 50 units / ml and streptomycin 50 micrograms μg / ml ( gemini bioproducts , calabasas , calif .). one to ten thousand cells were incubated on 24 well tissue culture plates that were either commercially coated for tissue culture ( uncoated ) or coated with 20 g fibronectin , laminin i , collagen i or collagen iv , depending on the cell type or experimental conditions described in the figure legends . colonies were manually counted at 100 × magnification after variable days in culture as described in the figure legends after removing the media and staining cells with crystal violet . proliferation kinetics were performed as before 1 using 2 % trypan blue counts on trypsinized cells on the days indicated in the figure in triplicate plates . recombinant human fgf - 2 and egf were purchased from r & amp ; d systems , minneapolis , minn .). atra was purchased from sigma . neutralizing mouse monoclonal antibody to integrin α5 or integrin β3 were purchased from chemicon , inc . ( temecula , calif .). fibronectin - blocking peptide grgdsp and control peptides were purchased from american peptide co ., inc . ( sunnyvale , calif .). cells were harvested and lysates were prepared as described 2 and analyzed as before 3 . mcf - 7 cells were incubated with and without fgf - 2 10 ng / ml for 5 days on tissue culture dishes coated with fibronectin 20 μg . messenger rna was prepared using solutions provided in a nonrad gearray q series kit and analyzed using a human extracellular matrix and adhesion protein chip and a human pathway finder chip ( super array , bethesda , md .). * exoenzyme c3 transferase is an adp ribosyl transferase that selectively ribosylates rho proteins on asparagine residue 41 , it has extremely low affinity for other members of the rho family such as cdc42 and rac1 . adp ribosylation does not appear to affect the gtpase activity of rho , rather , it appears to block downstream funtions of the protein . ribosylation of rho effectively renders rho inactive , hence , c3 transferase is a very useful protein in the study of rho activity .	2
formation of the microjet and its acceleration are based on the abrupt pressure drop associated with the steep acceleration experienced by the gas on passing through the orifice . this results in a large pressure difference between the liquid and gas , which in turn produces a highly curved zone on the liquid surface near the orifice and in the formation of a cuspidal point from which a steady microjet flows provided the amount of liquid withdrawn through the orifice is replenished . the parameter window used ( i . e . the set of special values for the liquid properties , flow - rate used , feeding needle diameter , orifice diameter , pressure ratio , etc .) should be large enough to be compatible with virtually any liquid ( dynamic viscosities in the range from 10 − 4 to 1 kg m − 1 s − 1 ); in this way , the capillary microjet that emerges from the end of the feeding needle is absolutely stable and perturbations produced by breakage of the jet cannot travel upstream . downstream , the microjet splits evenly shaped drops simply by effect of capillary instability ( see , for example , raileigh , “ on the instability of jets ”, proc . london math . soc ., 4 - 13 , 1878 ), similarly to a laminar capillary jet falling from a half - open tap . when the stationary , steady regime is reached , the capillary jet that emerges from the end of the drop at the outlet of the feeding point is concentrically withdrawn into the nozzle . after the jet emerges from the drop , the liquid is accelerated by tangential sweeping forces exerted by the gas stream flowing on its surface , which gradually decreases the jet cross - section . the forces exerted by the gas flow on the liquid surface should be steady enough to prevent surface oscillations . therefore , any turbulence in the gas motion should be avoided : even if the gas velocity is high , the characteristic size of the orifice should ensure that the gas motion is laminar ( similarly to the boundary layers formed on the jet and on the inner surface of the nozzle or hole ). in summary , the gas flow , which effects the liquid withdrawal and its subsequent acceleration after the jet is formed , should be very rapid , but also uniform , in order to avoid perturbing the fragile capillary interface ( the surface of the drop that emerges from the jet ) and hence its breaking . therefore , the dynamic forces exerted by the gas should never exceed the surface tension ( drop and microjet ) at any time during the process . in terms of non - dimensional fluid dynamics numbers , the weber number ( i . e . the dynamic to surface tension force ratio ) should not exceed unity during the process . the weber number for the microjet will inevitably be unity because the pressure drop in the gas is similar in magnitude to the effect of the surface tension : 2  γ d j ∼ 1 2  ρ   v g 2 where γ and ρ are the surface tension and liquid density , respectively ; and d j and ν g are the characteristic diameter of the jet and characteristic velocity of the gas . also , the velocity of the gas around the drop that produces the jet must be related to that across the orifice via the areas , i . e . v g d 0 2 ˜ ν g d 0 2 , where v g is the velocity of the gas around the drop , and d 0 and d 0 are the diameters of the feeding point and orifice , respectively . since the maximum possible gas velocity at the orifice is similar to the speed of sound , one has v g ∼ ( d 0 d 0 ) 2 × 320   m / s and , for the jet diameter , d j ∼ 4  γ ρ g  v g 2 ∼ 4 × 2 × 10 2 1 . 2 × 320 2 ∼ 5   μ   m   ( γ = 2 × 10 2   n / m 2   for   n  - heptane ) at the smallest diameters possible with this system ( similar to the thickness of the boundary layer ), the kinetic energies per unit volume of the liquid and gas should be of the same order . the resulting liquid velocity will be v l ∼ ( ρ g ρ 1 ) 1 / 2  v g ∼ 10   m / s where ρ l is he liquid density . from the previous equation , the liquid flow - rate turns out to be q l ˜ d j 2 ν l ˜ 10 − 11 m 3 / s the gas flow should be laminar in order to avoid a turbulent regime — turbulent fluctuations in the gas flow , which has a high frequency , would perturb the liquid - gas interface . the reynolds reached at the orifice are re = v g  d 0 v g ∼ 4000 where ν g is the kinematic viscosity of the gas . even though this number is quite high , there are large pressure gradients downstream ( a highly convergent geometry ), so a turbulent regime is very unlikely to develop . the essential difference from existing pneumatic atomizers ( which possess large weber numbers ) is that the aim is not to rupture the liquid - gas interface but the opposite , i . e . to increase the stability of the interface until a capillary jet is obtained . the jet , which will be very thin provided the pressure drop resulting from withdrawal is high enough , splits into drops the sizes of which are much more uniform than those resulting from disorderly breakage of the liquid - gas interface in existing pneumatic atomizers . the proposed procedure for atomizing liquids can be used for electronic fuel injection as well as in inhalers for delivery of drugs or anaesthesia and in nebulizers for chemical analyses , among others . also , it affords mass production of ceramic powders and sintering semiconductors used to manufacture ceramic materials , semiconductors , plastics , etc . in order to complement the above description and facilitate understanding the invention , this report includes an illustrative rather than limitative plan for a prototype model . 2 . end of the feeding needle used to insert the liquid to be atomized . 5 . end of the feeding needle used to evacuate the liquid to be atomized . d 0 = diameter of the feeding needle ; d o = diameter of the orifice through which the microjet is passed ; e = axial length of the orifice through which withdrawal takes place ; h = distance from the feeding needle to the microjet outlet ; p 0 = pressure inside the chamber ; p α = atmospheric pressure . the proposed atomization system obviously requires delivery of the liquid to be atomized and the gas to be used in the resulting spray . both should be fed at a rate ensuring that the system lies within the stable parameter window . multiplexing is effective when the flow - rates needed exceed those on an individual cell . the flow - rates used should also ensure the mass ratio between the flows is compatible with the specifications of each application . obviously , the gas can be externally supplied at a higher flow - rate in specific applications ( e . g . burning , drug inhalation ) since this need not interfere with the atomizer operation . the gas and liquid can be dispensed by any type of continuous delivery system ( e . g . a compressor or a pressurized tank the former and a volumetric pump or a pressurized bottle the latter ). if multiplexing is needed , the liquid flow - rate should be as uniform as possible among cells ; this may entail propulsion through several capillary needles , porous media or any other medium capable of distributing a uniform flow among different feeding points . each individual atomization device should consist of a feeding point ( a capillary needle , a point with an open microchannel , a microprotuberance on a continuous edge , etc .) 0 . 05 - 2 mm ( but , preferentially 0 . 1 - 0 . 4 mm ) in diameter , where the drop emerging from the microjet can be anchored , and a small orifice 0 . 05 - 2 mm ( preferentially 0 . 1 - 0 . 25 mm ) in diameter facing the drop and separated 0 . 1 - 2 mm ( preferentially 0 . 2 - 0 . 5 mm ) from the feeding point . the orifice communicates the withdrawal gas around the drop , at an increased pressure , with the zone where the atomizate is produced , at a decreased pressure . the atomizer can be made from a variety of materials ( metal , plastic , ceramics , glass ); the choice is dictated by the projected application . fig1 depicts a tested prototype where the liquid to be atomized is inserted through one end of the system ( 2 ) and the propelling gas in introduced via the special inlet ( 4 ) in the pressure chamber ( 3 ). the prototype was tested at gas feeding rates from 100 to 2000 mbar above the atmospheric pressure p α at which the atomized liquid was discharged . the whole enclosure around the feeding needle ( 1 ) was at a pressure p 0 & gt ; p α . the liquid feeding pressure , p 1 , should always be slightly higher than the gas propelling pressure , p 0 . depending on the pressure drop in the needle and the liquid feeding system , the pressure difference ( p 1 − p 0 & gt ; 0 ) and the flow - rate of the liquid to be atomized , q , are linearly related provided the flow is laminar — which is indeed the case with this prototype . the critical dimensions are the distance from the needle to the plate ( h ), the needle diameter ( d 0 ), the diameter of the orifice through which the microjet ( 6 ) is discharged ( d 0 ) and the axial length , e , of the orifice ( i . e . the thickness of the plate where the orifice is made ). in this prototype , h was varied from 0 . 3 to 0 . 7 mm on constancy of the distances ( d 0 = 0 . 45 mm , d 0 − 0 . 2 mm ) and e − 0 . 5 mm . the quality of the resulting spray ( 7 ) did not vary appreciably with changes in h provided the operating regime ( i . e . stationary drop and microjet ) was maintained . however , the system stability suffered at the longer h distances ( about 0 . 7 mm ). the other atomizer dimensions had no effect on the spray or the prototype functioning provided the zone around the needle ( its diameter ) was large enough relative to the feeding needle .	1
fig1 is a block diagram of a power conversion unit ( pcu ) and permanent magnet generator ( pmg ) that illustrates the electrical interface . the pmg 101 is connected to the pcu 102 by a plurality of pairs of wires 103 . each pair of the wires carries a different phase of voltage between the pmg 101 and pcu 102 . the voltage is derived in the pmg 101 and converted to the desired output voltage by the pcu 102 when the starter / generator subsystem is operating as a generator . the voltage is derived from a power source connected to the pcu 102 output ( labeled “ 28 . 5vdc output ” and “ 28 . 5vdc return ” in fig1 ), converted by the pcu 102 to an ac voltage of the desired form , and provided to the pmg 101 , when the starter / generator subsystem is operating as a starter . the ac voltage derived in the pcu 102 while operating in the start mode , is specifically regulated in amplitude , frequency and phase angle so as to control the speed , direction of rotation and the torque produced by the pmg 101 . one embodiment of a pmg 101 is a general dynamics ( gd ) part number 1209 pmg . the gd part number 1209 pmg 101 is a brushless and bearingless machine . further , the part number 1209 pmg 101 is designed in accordance with the fault tolerant architecture described herein and is constructed with windings that are electrically isolated from machine structure and from the other windings of the pmg 101 . one embodiment of a pcu 102 is a general dynamics ( gd ) part number 1208 pcu and is described below . the gd part number 1208 pcu 102 includes three converter modules 104 , 105 , 106 . each converter module is connected a single phase of the pmg 101 through a single pair of wires . the converter modules each include a transformer which is connected to an output filter 107 . the output filter 107 attenuates high frequency components of the voltage that leaves the pcu 102 and is provided to the aircraft loads . the voltage that leaves the part number 1208 pcu 102 is regulated to 28 . 5 vdc ( but other generator mode output voltages are possible ). the part number 1208 pcu 102 also includes a connection for the 28 . 5vdc output return current that is isolated from the pcu 102 chassis . the converter modules , each operate as a bi - directional converter and each provide an electrically isolated interface to the pmg 101 . when the starter / generator subsystem is operated as a generator , the converter modules 104 , 105 , 106 convert the ac voltage from the pmg 101 , to a dc voltage of the desired form . when the starter / generator subsystem is operated as a starter , the converter modules 104 , 105 , 106 convert a dc voltage , that is derived from a source ( typically a battery ) connected to the pcu 102 output , to an ac voltage of the desired form . the ac voltage is applied to the pmg 101 , to operate the pmg 101 as a motor and cause the engine to rotate and thus begin an engine start operation . the converter modules 104 , 105 , 106 are connected to the pmg by the plurality of pairs of wires 103 . additionally , the pcu 102 typically includes a control module 108 connected to the converter modules 104 , 105 , 106 which provides various control and synchronization functions including monitoring of various operating conditions which enable the pcu 102 to achieve the sensorless control of the pmg 101 during engine starts , as well as performing various fault monitoring and built - in - test functions . the control module 108 is typically configured to monitor various internal pcu 102 operating functions and external system operating functions are performing correctly . fig2 is a functional block diagram of a typical power conversion unit 102 . this block diagram illustrates a more detailed overview of the functional elements of the pcu 102 . the converter modules 104 , 105 , 106 of fig1 are represented by a combination of three blocks in fig2 , the ac / dc bi - directional power factor corrected full wave bridge 201 , the dc / dc isolated bi - directional converter 202 , and the feedback control 203 blocks . the control module 108 of fig1 is represented by five blocks in fig2 , the speed / phase detection and control module 204 , the ground fault detector module 205 , control logic module 206 , the equalizer and phase balance control module 207 , and the auxiliary converters module 208 . the output filter module 107 of fig1 is represented by the emi filter module 209 in fig2 and performs essentially the same function . the interface between the pmg 101 and the pcu 102 is represented by the three signals labeled “ phase a ,” “ phase b ” and “ phase c ” in fig2 . the pmg 101 and pcu 102 interface is a two conductor interface for each phase , as previously described . in the pcu 102 embodiment illustrated in fig2 , the bi - directional power factor corrected full wave bridge ac - dc module 201 performs two functions ; in the generator mode , this module converts the variable ac voltage from the pmg 101 to a regulated dc voltage ( approximately 400 volts in this example ), and in the starter mode , this module inverts a dc voltage to an ac voltage that is provided to the pmg 101 to drive it as a motor . the isolated bi - directional converter dc - dc module 202 of fig2 also performs two functions ; in the generator mode , the dc voltage derived by the bridge module 201 is converted to a dc voltage of the desired form through an isolation transformer , and in the starter mode , the voltage that is present on the pcu 102 output bus (“ the voltage labeled “ 28v bus ” in fig2 , which is the output voltage filtered by the filter module 209 ) is converter to a dc form as desired for proper operation of the bridge module 201 . the dc - dc converter module 202 utilizes a high frequency switching converter with an isolation transformer to ensure that the input / output labeled “ 400v rail ” and the input / output labeled “ 28v bus ” of fig2 are always electrically isolated . the feedback control module 203 of fig2 ensures that dc - dc converter modules 202 operate at approximately the same power level as the converter modules for the other phases . the feedback control module 203 also ensures that each dc - dc converter module 202 is synchronized as desired to enhance pcu 102 performance , improve operating efficiency and reduce electromagnetic interference ( emi ). each bridge module 201 is connected to one phase of the pmg 101 and to the associated dc - dc converter module 202 for that phase of the pcu 102 . each dc - dc converter module 202 is connected to the associated bridge module 201 for that phase of the pcu 102 , and to the common “ 28v bus ” ( note that a 28vdc output for the pcu 102 is just one embodiment , and that other output forms can also exist ). the feedback control module 203 is connected to the dc - dc converter module 202 and to the balance control module 208 . the speed / phase detection and control module 204 of fig2 provides the speed and phase detection of the ac voltage from the pmg 101 . the speed and phase information is needed to properly implement start mode control in the pcu 102 . the ground fault detector module 205 of fig2 monitors the phase voltages of the pmg 101 and the associated circuits in the pcu 102 to detect a fault conduction path from one phase to ground or aircraft structure . a conduction path fault of very low current can be detected by the ground fault module 205 and that information is used to ensure that appropriate action can be taken to correct the fault condition . the control logic module 206 of fig2 ensures that proper start and generator mode operation is performed by the pcu 102 and that appropriate action is taken in the event a fault is detected . the equalizer and phase balance control module 207 of fig2 ensures that each dc - dc converter module 202 provides approximately equivalent power during generate and start mode operation , as well as insuring the converters are synchronized as desired . the auxiliary converters module 208 of fig2 provides general control power to the various pcu 102 subsystems , and may be comprised of one or more converters . the speed / phase detection module 204 is connected to all three phases of the ac voltages from the pmg 101 and to the associated circuits in the bridge module 201 . the speed / phase detection module 204 is also connected to the control circuits of all three bridge modules 201 . the ground fault detector module 205 is connected to all three phases of the ac voltages from the pmg 101 and to the control circuits of all three bridge modules 201 and all three dc - dc converter modules 202 . the control logic module 206 is connected to ground fault detector module 205 , the equalizer control module 207 , all three phases of the ac voltages from the pmg 101 and to the control circuits of all three bridge modules 201 and all three dc - dc converter modules 202 . the auxiliary converter modules 208 are connected to all circuits within the pcu 102 to provide control power . the emi filter module 209 of fig2 is a low pass filter that reduces ripple frequency and high frequency emissions that are a natural result of the switching function within the dc - dc converter modules 202 . in the embodiment of the pcu illustrated in fig2 , two input / output connectors are utilized , j 1 210 and j 2 211 . the j 1 connector 210 and associated cable provides the electrical interface between the pmg 101 and the pcu 102 . this interconnecting cable is typically shielded to reduce high frequency radiated emissions and mechanically protected to reduce the probability of shorts on these conductors to aircraft structure . the j 1 interface 210 is typically not connected to other vehicle systems . the j 2 connector and associated cable 211 provides the input / output electrical interface for control signals from other subsystems on the vehicle , such as a flight control computer , to the pcu 102 . the j 2 interface 211 typically includes control signals that are used to control the various operating modes of the pcu 102 , such as standby , generate and start operating modes . the pcu 102 output bus 212 which is illustrated in fig2 as the “ battery bus ” and associated “ return bus ”. in the pcu 102 embodiment of fig2 , this output is regulated to 28 . 5vdc by the pcu 102 when operating as a generator , and a 24 vdc battery is typically connected directly to this output bus ( hence the title “ battery bus ”). the current return conduction path for the battery bus 212 is typically electrically isolated from the pcu 102 chassis and hence a “ return bus ” is typically provided by the pcu 102 . the “ return bus ” is typically electrically connected to the vehicle structure in a specific location as part of a single point ground design for the vehicle . the various bus voltages within the pcu 102 are typically selected to optimize the overall system performance , including weight , reliability , output voltage regulation and starter torque . in the pcu 102 embodiment of fig2 , the output battery bus 212 voltage is regulated at 28 . 5vdc , the bus voltage labeled “ 400v rail ” is regulated to approximately 400 vdc . this voltage is the output voltage of the bridge module 201 when the pcu 102 is operating in the generator mode , and the output voltage of the dc - dc converter module 202 when the pcu 102 is operating in the start mode . the pmg 101 is designed so that the voltage produced in the generator mode is compatible with the pcu 102 bus voltages . the power stage for each bridge module 201 and each dc - dc converter module 202 is electrically and physically isolated . the pcu 102 when configured in the fault tolerant architecture of this invention , can provide generate mode power even in the presence of faults on the pmg 101 and / or pcu 102 feeder cables or the faults within the bridge modules 201 or dc - dc converter modules 202 . since each phase of the pmg 101 is electrically isolated from the other phases and from the vehicle structure , a feeder cable that has a conductor shorted to the vehicle structure will have no impact upon pmg 101 or pcu 102 operation . in fact , up to three simultaneous conductors or components within the bridge modules 201 or dc - dc converter modules 202 , can be tolerated without any deleterious impact upon the starter / generator subsystem performance . the pmg 101 is also designed so that a shorted phase winding or a short within a phase pair of feeder cable wires will not cause the pmg 101 to overheat or produce an unsafe operating condition . a short condition within a phase of the pmg 101 or within a phase of the pcu 102 bridge modules 201 or dc - dc converter modules 202 , will not result in complete loss of the generator mode output power for this fault tolerant architecture . a loss of one phase will result in an approximate 33 % reduction in generator mode output power capacity and a loss of two phases will result in an approximate 67 % reduction in generator mode output power capacity . fig3 is a flow diagram of the start mode control logic utilized for a typical embodiment of the permanent magnet starter / generator subsystem . the pmg 101 in the diagram of fig3 is designed for a maximum drive speed of approximately 20 , 000 revolutions per minute . the pcu 102 incorporates a sensorless , vector control method for controlling the speed and torque produced by the pmg 101 while operating as a starter , in this embodiment of the permanent magnet starter / generator subsystem . an open loop and closed loop control method are utilized with this embodiment of the pmg 101 start mode control . this method provides for automatic transitions form open to closed loop control in a normal start sequence . the method also allows for the pcu 102 to check for incorrect engine rotation and correct phasing of the pmg 101 output voltage during an engine start . if a fault is encountered during the engine start , the pcu 102 terminates the start sequence and initiates a failed start indication , in this embodiment of the start mode logic implementation . the implementation of start mode control logic is application specific and can be tailored as necessary in the pcu 102 . the torque versus speed profile in start mode typically includes a starter assist to approximately 40 % maximum pmg drive speed which incorporates a soft start characteristic . the starter assist may vary by 20 % of maximum pmg drive speed and can operate in any range from 0 %- 100 % of maximum pmg drive speed . a “ motoring start ” is when the rotational speed of the pmg is measured prior to initiating an engine start and the pcu automatically adjusts the ac control excitation to “ lock - in ” on the initial rotational speed of the pmg and start accelerating from that speed instead of beginning the pmg speed control from a lower speed . fig4 is an illustration of a typical permanent magnet generator 101 . this embodiment of the pmg 101 is an illustration of the gd part number 1209 pmg 101 and is a brushless , bearingless machine . in this embodiment , the pmg 101 includes two assemblies , a stator assembly 401 and a rotor assembly 402 . the stator assembly contains the magnetic core material and the three isolated windings . the rotor assembly contains an array of permanent magnets that are mounted to a bobbin and secured in a suitable fashion to ensure structural integrity at high rotational speeds . the pmg 101 can also be designed for operation as an integral assembly on an engine shaft ( i . e ., pmg rotates at same speed as a main or auxiliary engine shaft ; no bearings are required ) or a shaft mounted , gearbox integrated assembly such as the gd part number 1209 pmg 101 ( i . e ., pmg rotor is mounted directly to driveshaft on engine accessory gearbox ( agb )). further , the pmg may be designed for operation as an agb mounted assembly ( i . e ., the pmg incorporates a spline and bearings so that the assembly interfaces to engine agb in similar or identical fashion to conventional brushed s / gs ). additionally , an optional contactor or circuit breaker can be added in series with the pmg output to remove power from the feeder cables and / or pcu input . the use of this contactor or circuit breaker is optional with the “ fault tolerant ” architecture . other embodiments and uses for the invention also exist . the fault tolerant architecture applications include aircraft and / or automotive applications requiring engine start operation and generation of dc electrical power . the applications also include aircraft and / or automotive applications requiring engine start operation and generation of ac electrical power . further applications include aircraft and / or automotive applications requiring engine start operation and generation of dc and ac electrical power . the pcu 102 can be designed for operation as a single assembly located adjacent to or remote from pmg 101 . the pcu 102 may also be designed for operation as multiple assemblies located adjacent to or remote from pmg 101 . further the pcu 102 and pmg 101 may be interconnected with a low current feeder cable ( i . e ., the pmg 101 is designed to produce a voltage that is greater than the average pcu 102 output voltage ) or interconnected with a high current feeder cable ( i . e ., the pmg 101 is designed to produce a voltage that is equal or less than the average pcu 102 output voltage ).	7
the treadmill assembly of the present invention is shown in fig1 indicated generally at 1 . treadmill 1 is shown in greater detail in fig2 - 4 . referring first to fig1 and 2 it may be seen that treadmill assembly 1 has a front end 2 and a rear end 3 and generally includes as its main components ; a substantially planar trihedral main frame indicated generally at 4 which comprises a left and a right side - rail 5 and 6 , a front transverse mounting bracket 16 and a platform support frame 21 affixed transversely to the side - rails 5 and 6 ; a slider bed 26 ; a front roller 31 ; a rear roller 41 ; an endless tread - belt 49 ; a first flywheel and first pulley arrangement indicated generally at 52 ; a second flywheel and second pulley arrangement indicated generally at 55 ; a flexible endless drive belt 53 ; a one - piece u - shaped tubular rail indicated generally at 61 including a grasp - rail 62 , a left and right tubular arm 63a and 63b respectively and left and right tubular ends 64a and 64b respectively ; a pair of adjustable tubular front legs 70a and 70b and a pair of back legs 75 . referring now more particularly to fig2 - 4 , it may be seen that the main frame 4 of treadmill 1 comprises a left and a right spaced side - rail 5 and 6 respectively , extending generally lengthwise of the treadmill 1 . the side - rails 5 and 6 of the main - frame 4 are formed as a hollow rectangular shaped channel member , preferably made of a suitable metal or plastic material extruded or stamped however , other suitable materials such as wood may be used . more specifically , the side - rails 5 and 6 include a front end 7 , a rear end 8 , a vertical lateral wall 9 , a vertical medial wall 10 , a top wall 11 , and a lower wall 12 . the medial walls 10 of the side - rails 5 and 6 include a central slot 13 which extends approximately six inches from the rear end 8 toward the front end 7 of the left and right side - rails 5 and 6 . a bore 14 is provided through the lateral wall 9 and the medial wall 10 spaced approximately six inches from the front end 7 of the left side - rail 5 . side - rails 5 and 6 are retained in a spaced apart relation at their front ends by the mounting bracket 16 having a top flange 17 and a bottom flange 18 which are screwed , bolted or otherwise rigidly connected transversely to the top walls 11 at the front end 7 of the side - rails 5 and 6 . side - rails 5 and 6 are further retained in a spaced apart relation , along their length , by the platform support frame 21 which includes a front end 22 , a back end 23 and a left and right side 24 . sides 24 are bolted , welded or otherwise rigidly affixed along the length of the medial walls 10 of rails 5 and 6 . side - rails 5 and 6 , bracket 16 and platform support frame 21 provide the main frame 4 with the platform support frame 21 positionally supporting and retaining the slider bed 26 in relation to the main frame 4 . mounting bracket 16 is preferably formed from metal or plastic and includes a left and right spaced threaded boss 19a and 19b respectively , which are bolted or welded to , or integrally formed in , a front wall 20 of the bracket 16 to generally mount , in a spaced apart relation , the left and right arms 63a and 63b respectively , of the u - shaped tubular rail 61 to the main frame 4 . the slider bed 26 substantially supports a upper reach 50 of the endless tread - belt 49 and is preferably formed of a stationary metal , wood or plastic plank having a length extending substantially between the front roller 31 and the rear roller 41 . slider bed 26 is preferably of a width somewhat greater than the width of the tread - belt 49 and extends out beyond a left and a right outer edge 52 of the tread - belt 49 with the outer edges 52 terminating short of a left and a right side edges 29 of the slider bed 26 . a gap b is provided by the slider bed 26 between the outer edges 52 of the tread - belt 49 and a inner left and right edges 15 of the left and right side - rails 5 and 6 to thereby prevent a binding or rubbing of the edges 52 of the tread - belt 49 with the edges 15 of the side - rails 5 and 6 . slider bed 26 is secured by screws 30 to a top surface 25 of the side members 24 of the platform support frame 21 . the slider bed 26 is maintained in close proximity to the upper reach 50 of the tread - belt 49 to thereby prevent sagging or yielding of the tread - belt 49 in response to the user walking or running thereon . alternatively , the slider bed 26 , the platform support frame 21 , side - rails 5 and 6 , and the bracket 16 , or any combinations thereof , may be integrally formed as a unitary plastic injected member . the front and rear rollers 31 and 41 respectively , are preferably formed of a plastic or metal hollow cylindrical tube . the front roller 31 includes a left and a right fitted end cap 33 having a conventional roller - bearing 34 integrally formed , or rigidly affixed , at their centers . the end caps 33 , including the roller - bearings 34 , are press fit , glued , riveted or otherwise rigidly secured in a respective left and right end 32a and 32b respectively , of the front roller 31 . a left and a right front roller mounting angle bracket 34a and 35 respectively , include short shafts 38 which project substantially horizontally and medially from the center of the lower leaf 36 of the brackets 34a and 35 . the shafts 38 are journaled in the roller - bearings 34 mounted in the end caps 33 of the front roller 31 so that the front roller 31 is free wheeling . a upper leaf 37 of the roller mounting angle brackets 34a and 35 is adapted to be bolted , welded or otherwise rigidly affixed forwardly on the top wall 11 of the left and right side - rail members 5 and 6 respectively , to thereby mount the front roller 31 near the front end 7 of the main frame 4 of the treadmill 1 . the front roller 31 is adapted to include a first flywheel 39 integrally formed , or otherwise rigidly connected , to the left end 32 of the roller 31 . the rear roller 41 includes a left and a right fitted end cap 42 having a conventional roller - bearing 43 integrally formed in , or otherwise rigidly affixed , at their centers . the end caps 42 , including the roller - bearings 43 , are press fit , glued , riveted , or otherwise rigidly secured , to a left and a right end 40a and 40b of the rear roller 41 . the rear roller 41 includes a axle 44 projecting substantially horizontally through the length of the rear roller 41 and extending approximately one inch lateral to the left and right roller end caps 42 to form a left and a right mounting shaft 44 , so that the rear roller 41 is free wheeling . a threaded bore 45 is provided in the left and right mounting shafts 44 , and the shafts 44 , are journaled within the slots 13 provided at the rear end 8 of the left and right side - rail members 5 and 6 . a flat roller mounting plate 46 is sized and shaped to fit snugly against the left and right ends 8 of the left and right side - rail members 5 and 6 . the mounting plate 46 includes a threaded bore 47 which engages an adjustment bolt 48 . the adjustment bolt 48 threads through the bore 47 of the mounting plate 46 to engage with the threaded bore 45 of the left and right mounting shafts 44 , of the rear roller 41 . the rear roller 41 may be positionally adjusted to thereby loosen or tighten the tread - belt around the rollers of the treadmill by the simultaneous screwing or unscrewing of the adjustment bolt 48 in a clockwise or in a counter - clockwise direction , respectively . the endless tread - belt 49 is preferably formed of a rubber , vinyl or other suitable flexible material and is entrained around the front and rear rollers 31 and 41 and includes an upper reach 50 and a lower reach 51 . the upper reach 50 moves from front to rear so that a user standing on the upper operative surface of the upper reach 50 of the tread - belt 49 may walk or run in a forward direction , as indicated by arrow a of fig3 and remain stationary relative to the main frame 4 of the treadmill 1 . referring now more specifically to fig4 it may be seen that the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement generally indicated at 52 includes a first flywheel 39 which is integrally formed , but may be otherwise rigidly connected to , the left end 32a of the front roller 31 . the first flywheel 39 is preferably formed from a machined , cast or molded steel plate but may alternatively be formed of a sand filled vinyl casting or of any other suitable material having a weight substantially sufficient to function for the intended purpose of the flywheel . the first flywheel 39 includes a groove 76 about its perimeter so as to function as a flywheel and pulley in combination forming the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement indicated generally at 52 . the flexible endless drive belt 53 is preferably formed from a flexible elastomer or rubber material and is entrained about the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 and about a second pulley 54 of the second flywheel and second pulley arrangement 55 . the second pulley 54 is formed preferably of metal or plastic materials and has a diameter four to five times smaller than the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 . pulley 54 is rigidly connected to an inside projection 57 of the axle 56 and is positionally aligned with the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 to thereby prevent excessive wear of the drive belt 53 , or slippage of the drive belt 53 out from the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 and / or out from the second pulley 54 during use of the device . the axle 56 is preferably formed of a metal or plastic material and is retained in a bushing 58 which is press fit or otherwise rigidly affixed in the bore 14 provided through the lateral and medial walls 9 and 10 respectively , near the front end 7 , forward of the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 , of the left side rail 5 of the main frame 4 . the axle 56 passes through the bushing 58 to form an outside projection 59 of the axle 56 having the second flywheel 60 rigidly connected thereto . the second flywheel 60 is of a similar construction to flywheel 39 . the u - shaped tubular rail 61 is formed from a one - piece bent metal or molded plastic tube and includes ; a substantially horizontal upper u - shaped portion which forms the grasp - rail 62 centrally and extending peripherally to form the left and right arms 63a and 63b respectively which terminate in the left and right tubular ends 64a and 64b respectively . the left and a right tubular arms 63a and 63b include a bore 65a and 65b respectively , through their respective sidewalls . bores 65a and 65b are spaced approximately ten inches proximal to the free ends of the left and right tubular ends 64a and 64b of rail 61 . bores 65a and 65b align and engage with the respective bosses 19a and 19b provided on the front wall 20 of bracket 16 to generally mount the left and right arms 63a and 63b of u - shaped rail 61 , in a spaced apart relation , to the bracket 16 at the front end 2 of the treadmill 1 . nuts 66 are threaded on bosses 19a and 19b and tightened against the arms 63a and 63b to positionally retain u - shaped rail 61 on bracket 16 at the front end 2 of the main frame 4 of the treadmill 1 . u - shaped rail 61 extends approximately thirty - six inches upwardly from the upper edge of bracket 16 at the front end 4 of the treadmill 1 providing the user with the grasprail 62 for stability . bores 67a and 67b are provided in the respective sidewalls of the tubular ends 64a and 64b spaced approximately five inches proximal to the free ends of the tubular ends 64a and 64b of rail 61 . with rail 61 mounted on bracket 16 the tubular ends 64a and 64b project approximately four inches below the lower edge of the bracket 16 of the main frame 4 and bores 67a and 67b project approximately one inch below the lower edge of the bracket 16 of the main frame 4 . a bottom end 68 of the tubular ends 64a and 64b slidingly receives a top end 69 of the tubular front legs 70a and 70b respectively . the tubular front legs 70a and 70b having a overall length of approximately ten inches and formed of a plastic or metal tube of a smaller diameter than the diameter of the tubular ends 64a and 64b of the rail 61 . tubular front legs 70a and 70b include a plurality of spaced bores 71a and 71b through their respective sidewalls , along their respective length . the tubular front legs 70a and 70b and tubular ends 64a and 64b are uniformly secured and retained , with respect to each other respectively , by the alignment of the bore 67a of the left tubular end 64a with one of the bores 71a of left tubular leg 70a and by aligning bore 67b of the right tubular end 64b with the matching bore 71b of right tubular leg 70b having a detachable pin 72a and 72b disposed respectively , therethrough . legs 70a and 70b are uniformly raised or lowered by selecting a particular matching bore 71a and 71b provided in each of the front legs 70a and 70b and aligning the selected bores 71a and 71b with the bores 67a and 67b and securing their alignment with the pins 72a and 72b to thereby selectively raise or lower the front end 4 of treadmill 1 to increase or decrease the intensity of the exercise as desired . as shown in fig5 a plastic or rubber foot 73 is press - fit or otherwise attached to a bottom end 74 of legs 70a and 70b to protect the floor surface . a pair of static back legs 75 , formed of plastic , rubber or other suitable material , are screwed , bolted , glued or otherwise rigidly connected to the lower wall 12 of the left and right side - rails 5 and 6 at the rear end 8 of the side - rails 5 and 6 of the treadmill 1 . back legs 75 and are of a sufficient height so as to ensure that the main frame 4 is substantially horizontally supported above the floor when the front legs 70a and 70b are maximally disposed within the tubular ends 64a and 64b and the front end 4 of the treadmill 1 so that the frame 4 is supported at its lowest height , as best illustrated in fig1 . during operation of the treadmill 1 the user manipulates the tread - belt 49 into a front to back motion by walking or running on the upper reach 50 of the tread - belt 49 . the front to back movement of the tread - belt 49 causes the front roller 31 and the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 to rotate in a clockwise direction . the second pulley 54 , having a diameter smaller than the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 , connected thereto by the drive belt 53 , and further connected by the axle 56 to the second flywheel 60 causes the second flywheel 60 to rotate at a faster speed than the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 rotates . the faster rotating second flywheel 60 generates a centrifugal force which is transmitted back through the first flywheel and first pulley arrangement 52 to impart a controlled inertia and momentum to the tread - belt 49 , thereby improving the momentary reaction of the tread - belt 49 in response to a user increasing or decreasing his or her stride speed thereon . by using an endless belt drive by way of example it is not intended to limit the present invention to driving the second flywheel by way of an endless belt , any conventional means for stepping - up the rotational speed at a driving flywheel is considered to be within the slope of the present invention . for example , use of chains and sprockets are considered to be equivalent means . similarly , use of directly engaging gears or friction drives such as rubber wheels , in which case the second flywheel would counter - rotate with respect to the first flywheel , are considered to be equivalent means . in the foregoing description , certain terms have been used for brevity , clearness and understanding ; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art , because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed . moreover , the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example , and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described . having now described the features , discoveries and principles of the invention , the manner in which the improved treadmill assembly is constructed and used , the characteristics of the construction , and the advantageous , new and useful results obtained ; the new and useful structures , devices , elements , arrangements , parts and combinations , are set forth in the appended claims .	0
certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting . the words “ right ”, “ left ”, “ lower ” and “ upper ” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made . the words “ inwardly ” or “ distally ” and “ outwardly ” or “ proximally ” refer to directions toward and away from , respectively , the geometric center of the fracture mobility testing system and related parts thereof . the words , “ anterior ”, “ posterior ”, “ superior ,” “ inferior ” and related words and / or phrases designate preferred positions and orientations in the human body to which reference is made and are not meant to be limiting . the terminology includes the above - listed words , derivatives thereof and words of similar import . referring to fig2 - 3 , a fracture mobility testing system 100 is provided that includes a first syringe 110 , a second syringe 120 , a three - way stop - cock coupling unit 130 , and a balloon catheter 140 , the balloon catheter 140 further including a shaft 142 , the distal end of which terminates in a balloon 144 . the three - way stopcock coupling 130 provides a selective coupling for fluid or gas communication between the balloon catheter 140 and the first and second syringes 110 , 120 . fig2 - 3 further include a working cannula 150 that provides an access corridor to the interior of a vertebral body . the first syringe is configured for inflating or expanding the balloon while the second syringe is configured for creating a vacuum within the balloon catheter 140 . in some implementations , the first syringe and / or the second syringe may be replaced with a pressure syringe , such as the vertebral body stenting ( vbs ) inflation system , available from synthes . the vbs inflation system may be connected to the three - way stopcock coupling unit 130 to pressurize the balloon 144 or to create a vacuum within the interior of the fracture mobility testing system 100 . in a first embodiment , the balloon 144 is a non - elastic balloon but , in alternate embodiments , may be elastic . the balloon 144 may be essentially spherical or elliptical or may assume a range of alternate geometries that are well - configured for imparting a distraction force to the vertebral endplates , and may include flattened superior and inferior surfaces . balloon 144 may be designed to have particular properties that are beneficial to diagnosing fracture mobility . for example , balloon 144 may be designed to withstand high pressures and large volume increases thereby providing for height restoration , as opposed to conventional curette type cavity creation devices that provide no height restoration . in addition , balloon 144 may have an expansion ratio ( beginning diameter / ending diameter ) much greater than that provided by a curette . balloon 144 may also expand while keeping a large surface contact 360 ° around the circumference ( increasing with continued inflation ) versus the point contact of a curette ( which must be rotated and longitudinally shifted to reliably and completely check for 360 ° all - round fixation mobility ). further , balloon 144 may be designed to create a larger volume than a volume - constant tipped curette (& lt ; 200 %), resulting in a larger and more radiopaque body . in operation , and in continuing reference to fig2 - 4 , a transpedicular access corridor is created using the working cannula 150 ( block 302 ). in a first embodiment , the procedure begins by placing the patient in a prone position . if a general anesthesia is used , the patient can be placed in hyperextension . the surgical field of interest is then checked with a c - arm to ensure free access for the c - arm in the a - p and lateral directions at the level of pathology . the area to be treated is then draped and cleaned . the vertebral body 25 to be augmented is then identified using the c - arm , which is adjusted exactly in the ap projection so that the view is parallel to the endplates and in order that the pedicles appear symmetric . a second c - arm may be used in order to obtain a bi - planar projection and gain control of both planes simultaneously . otherwise , the c - arm can be switched into the other projection when necessary . with the c - arm installed in the ap projection , the incision site is planned . the c - arm is then used to localize a stab incision into the skin . a guide wire is then pushed through the soft tissue until the bony surface of the spine is touched , while the c - arm is used for controlled placement ( block 304 ). a wire holder can be used in order to avoid radiation exposure to the surgeon &# 39 ; s fingers . the orientation of the guide wire is then made with the c - arm in the ap view . once the bony surface is touched , the tip of the guidewire is positioned lateral of the eye of the pedicle at its upper third . at the thoracic spine , the guide wire is made to sit on the costo - transverse process and at the lumbar spine , the guide wire is made to sit in the edge of the lateral facet and the transverse process . the guide wire is then advanced convergent in the projection of the pedicle . guide wires are then preliminarily inserted at all levels where cement augmentation is planned , with each vertebrae &# 39 ; s position stored in the image intensifier of the c - arm display . the working cannula 150 is then placed over the guidewire and the guidewire is removed . a vacuum is drawn within the interior of the fracture mobility testing system 100 by manipulating the stop cock 130 into a position configured for enabling the second syringe 120 to create or maintain a vacuum within the interior of the balloon catheter 140 by manipulating the plunger with respect to the second syringe 120 . the fracture mobility testing system 100 is then utilized by inserting the balloon catheter 140 through the working cannula 150 such that the balloon 144 is placed into the interior of the vertebral body 25 ( block 306 ). with the c - arm in a lateral or a - p position ( or both , if two c - arms are being utilized ), the balloon 144 is then filled ( e . g ., with saline solution , other biocompatible material , contrast agents , combinations thereof , etc .) by manipulating the stop cock 130 into a position configured to enable fluid communication between the contents of the first syringe 110 and the interior of the balloon catheter 140 and plunging the contents of the first ( injection ) syringe 110 through the balloon catheter 140 and into the interior of the balloon 144 , thereby causing the balloon 144 to expand in volume ( block 308 ). mobility of the vertebral body 25 may now be detected ( block 310 ). for example , because no cavity has been created within the interior of the vertebral body 25 , expansion of the balloon 144 will either force one or more of the vertebral body endplates to distract from one another . this may be the case when the cortical surfaces of the vertebral body 25 have not fused to one another over the fracture lines of the collapsed vertebral body 25 ( block 312 : yes ). in such a case , cement augmentation and height restoration of the collapsed vertebral body 25 is achievable using any of a variety of subsequent augmentation steps known in the art and as described in the background section ( block 316 ). in the case in which the mobility of the fractured portions of the vertebral body has been confirmed , the surgeon may elect to deflate and re - inflate the balloon 144 several times after adjusting slightly the position of the balloon ( block 318 ). this may be performed to determine where the fault line ( s ) or hot spot ( s ) for optimal balloon expansion and cancellous bone compression are located in the fractured vertebral body 25 to better plan the next steps of the procedure ( block 320 ). however , when the cortical bone surfaces or cancellous bone portions of a collapsed vertebral body 25 have begun to fuse to one another over the fracture lines , the increasing volume and pressure of the expanding balloon 144 will not be sufficient to force the one or more endplates of the collapsed vertebral body 25 to become displaced with respect to one another ( block 312 : no ). any mobility or lack thereof can easily be perceived by the surgeon by viewing the c - arm images during the injection of contrast agent to expand the volume of the balloon 144 . in the case in which the fracture mobility step has proven that there is no mobility to the fractured portions , the surgeon may elect to perform a simple kyphoplasty , in which cement is injected inside the cavity defined by the access corridor using known techniques through the working cannula 150 without achieving height restoration of the vertebral body , but such that the boney structure is prevented from further collapse and stabilized as is ( block 314 ). alternately , the surgeon may decide to attempt to manually distract the endplates of the collapsed vertebral body 25 using instruments such as curettes or other more resilient cavity creation tools . such a decision may be based upon the age and health and pathology of the patient , as the height of an elderly and osteoporotic patient &# 39 ; s recently collapsed vertebral body may be more readily restored than a young , relatively healthy individual who underwent trauma such as a car accident and whose treatment was neglected for some time , allowing the cortical surfaces of his collapsed vertebral body to begin to heal and fuse over the fracture lines . in an alternate embodiment , an extrapedicular approach may be utilized instead of the transpedicular approach described above . a bipedicular procedure , in which two balloon catheters 140 are inserted , one through each pedicle , may be utilized . the same balloon catheter 140 can further be sequentially utilized through each of the bipedicular access corridors and into the interior of the vertebral body 25 and inflated , deflated , and removed . in the transpedicular and extrapedicular approaches described above , the guide wire or trocar may be initially inserted into a treatment area until they reach a treatment area of the vertebral body . the working cannula 150 may positioned over the guide wire or trocar to for insertion and proper positioning of the balloon catheter 140 . in some embodiments , the fracture mobility testing system 100 may further include sensing elements for determining the volume and / or pressure within the interior or the pressure upon the exterior of the balloon 144 . such a volume and / or pressure sensing element may sense the force applied to the plunger of the first and / or second syringes 110 , 120 . in an alternate embodiment , and in reference to fig4 , the fracture mobility testing system 100 is configured , with or without minor modifications , for use in testing the mobility and healing status of long bone fractures as well , to assist in preoperative planning for the reduction of the long bone fracture . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the preferred embodiment described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof . it is understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed , but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the present description .	0
the present invention is directed to an apparatus to provide cushioning for a cantilevered component mounted to a rigid frame and will be described as being used with a vertical tillage implement , but it is understood that the invention could be used in other agricultural and non - agricultural applications . referring to fig1 , a vertical tilling implement 10 is shown . an agricultural vehicle ( not shown ) pulls the vertical tilling implement 10 in a direction of motion a . the vertical tilling implement 10 includes a main frame 12 . the wing frame 12 has a hitch 14 on the front end that may be used to connect the vertical tilling implement 10 to an agricultural vehicle such as a tractor . additionally , a set of wheels 16 are connected to the wing frame 12 . the set of wheels 16 are oriented in a direction that is in general alignment with the direction of motion a . the set of wheels 16 includes a set of center wheels 18 and a set of pivoting wheels 20 . the set of center wheels 18 is attached across the wing frame 12 at positions , for example , roughly midway between the front and rear ends of the wing frame 12 . the set of center wheels 18 may include a system for adjusting the distance between the main frame 12 and the set of center wheels 18 . this system for adjusting may permit the set of center wheels 18 to be statically fixed during the movement of the vertical tilling implement 10 or to be dynamically adjustable as the vertical tilling implement 10 travels . the set of pivoting wheels 20 are connected to the front distal ends of the wing frame 12 . as will be described , the set of pivoting wheels 20 may include at least two pivoting wheels that reduce the amount of lateral movement of vertical tilling implement 10 as it is pulled . the vertical tilling implement 10 also includes a plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 attached to the main frame 12 . in accordance with one configuration , the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 is indexed . in particular , the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 includes a front left row 24 , a front right row 26 , a rear left row 28 , and a rear right row 30 . when indexed , the front left row 24 and the front right row 26 are aligned with the rear left row 28 and the rear right row 30 such that areas of ground between the blades in the front left rows 24 and the front right row 26 are engaged by the blades in the rear left row 28 and the rear right row 30 as the tilling implement is pulled forward . the fluted - concave disc blades will induce lateral and vertical forces in the vertical tilling implement 10 . the fluted - concave disc blades on the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 have surface features , as will be described below . the rotation of the fluted - concave disc blades and the engagement of the surface features of the blades will displace soil during the tilling operation . however , the engagement of the surface features of the blades with the soil will also apply a force to the blades . the blades engagement with the soil will displace the fluted - concave disc blades in a direction perpendicular to the blades direction of rotation . the front left row 24 is symmetric about a centerline 32 of the vertical tilling implement 10 with the front right row 26 . likewise , the rear left row 28 is symmetric about the centerline 32 of the vertical tilling implement 10 with the rear right row 30 . additionally , the front left row 24 is substantially symmetric about a line perpendicular to the direction of motion a with the rear left row 28 . likewise , the front right row 26 is substantially symmetric about a line perpendicular to the direction of motion a with a rear right row 30 . these general symmetries may involve some of the rows being offset relative to the others to achieve the indexing of the blades as described above . when the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 are arranged in a symmetrical arrangement about the centerline 32 , such as illustrated in fig1 , a gap between each side of symmetrical rows may be created . a center tilling member 34 may be placed in this gap to ensure that all the soil passing under the vertical tilling implement 10 is tilled as the tilling implement is pulled forward . the center tilling member 34 may be a coulter , as shown in fig1 , another fluted disc blade , or the like . it should be observed that although fig1 only shows four rows included in the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 , there may be fewer or more rows of fluted - concave disc blades . additionally , while the illustrated embodiment shows the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 having an x - shaped configuration based on the described symmetry , the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 may have a different configuration . for example , the plurality of rows of fluted - concave disc blades 22 may have a diamond configuration , a k - shaped configuration , or all may be parallel with each other in a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion a . furthermore , it is contemplated that some or all of the rows may be configured in asymmetric arrangements . it should be further observed that the rows may be at oriented at angles of about 18 degrees from a direction perpendicular to the direction of pull . as described above , known tillage implements utilizing typical smooth concave blades would not operate properly under such an aggressive angle and achieve satisfactory results . historically , flat blades mounted in rows at this aggressive of an angle would break as a result of the massive side pressure of the soil as the tillage implement was pulled and would tend to leave large clods of soil that require a second tilling pass . however , in the disclosed embodiments , the fluted blades are unexpectedly capable of one - pass tilling at this aggressive gang angle despite only having a shallow concavity . rolling basket or reel assemblies 36 are connected to the rear end of the main frame 12 to provide downward pressure . although fig1 shows three rolling basket assemblies 32 , two of which having rotational axes which are not collinear with the third , the rolling basket assemblies 32 may include fewer or more members providing downward force . referring now to fig2 , a detailed view of the rear left row 28 and the rolling basket assemblies 36 are shown . the rolling basket assemblies 36 are connected to the main frame 12 by an adjustable pressure assembly 38 . the adjustable pressure assembly 38 includes a set of arms 40 extending rearwardly from the main frame 12 and downwardly to engage the rolling basket assemblies 36 . the set of arms 40 includes a pair of fixed beams 42 which have a set of spring connection points 44 positioned frontwardly on the fixed beams 42 and a set of links 46 that is hingedly connected to the fixed beams 42 near the midpoints of the fixed beams 42 . a set of springs 48 run between the set of spring connection points 44 and the set of links 46 . the set of links 46 also connect in the rearward direction to a set of l - shaped bars 50 . the set of l - shaped bars 50 are positionally adjustable but are also connected to and restricted in movement by a pair of slide bearings 52 located on the set of fixed beams 42 at a point near the rearward ends of the set of fixed beams 42 . the adjustable pressure assembly 38 applies a downward force on the rolling basket assemblies 36 . the set of springs 48 may be selected to apply a desired force on the set of links 46 . this force will cause the set of links 46 to rotate about their hinged connections to the fixed beams 42 such that the set of l - shaped bars 50 exert more or less downward force into the rolling basket assemblies 36 . the rolling basket assemblies 36 includes a frame 54 extending between the set of arms 50 and about the ends of a rolling basket 56 . to this end , the frame 54 engages the rolling basket 56 through a rotational coupling 58 , such that the rolling basket 56 is capable of rotating about a rotational axis 60 . although multiple rolling basket assemblies 36 are not required , in the case where there are multiple rolling basket assemblies 36 , their respective rotational axes , as illustrated , may be non - collinear . however , it is contemplated that in some applications , it may be desirable for the rotational axes to be collinear . the rolling basket 56 is formed by a plurality of bars 62 that extend between end caps 64 and around a set of supporting framework rings 66 . the end caps 64 engage the rotational coupling 58 to allow the rolling basket assemblies 36 to rotate . as illustrated , it is contemplated that the plurality of bars 62 may have a helical configuration , such that the plurality of bars 62 twists around the cylindrical face of the rolling basket assemblies 36 . however , in some configurations , straight or other varied arrangements may be utilized . the plurality of bars 62 may have flat or rounded surfaces . in the illustrated configuration , the plurality of bars 62 has flat surfaces and a rectangular - shaped cross - section . furthermore , the plurality of bars 62 are mounted between the end caps 64 such that the outermost edge of the diameter of the rolling basket assemblies 36 are the sharp corners of the plurality of bars 62 . as such , as the rolling basket assemblies 36 rotate , a sharp corner is designed to impact the ground surface and , thereby , penetrate , and preferably , explode , the clumped soil and / or residue . that is , as the soil passes under the rolling basket assemblies 36 the rolling basket 56 rotates and the edge of the plurality of bars 62 act to both crush the remaining large chunks of earth as well as to level the soil . a section view of the rotational coupling 58 , taken along line 3 - 3 of fig2 , is shown in fig3 . corresponding isometric view of the rotational coupling 58 are shown in fig4 and 5 . the rotation coupling 58 , as noted above , couples the basket 56 to the frame 12 . more particularly , the frame 12 includes an arm 67 that carries a rigid , generally cylindrical shaped member 68 . the rotational coupling 58 includes a spindle 70 that is coupled to the rigid member 68 by a pin 73 . as shown in fig3 , the spindle 70 is cantilevered from the arm 66 via the connection to the rigid member 68 . the spindle 70 carries a hub 74 to which a basket hub mount 76 ( or end cap ) is coupled by fasteners 78 , 80 , such as bolts . the hub 74 is free to rotate around the spindle 70 by interfacing bearings 82 , 84 . as such , the basket hub mount 76 , and thus basket 56 , may passively rotate around spindle 70 as the implement 10 is pulled along the field surface . additionally , as shown in the figure , the hub 74 is carried by the spindle 70 such that a small gap 86 is present between the rigid member 68 and the hub 74 , which allows the hub mount 74 to rotate relative to the rigid member 68 . bushings 88 , 90 are interposed between the shaft of the spindle 70 and the inner surface of the rigid member 68 . the bearings are comprised of a composite material that flexes to provide cushioning for the spindle 70 when the spindle is loaded due to bending moments . thus , when the basket 56 is being operated at higher speeds or increased loads , the spindle 70 will be cushioned by the bushings 88 , 90 to reduce stress placed on the spindle during such operation . additionally , as noted above , the spindle 70 is allowed to float relative to the frame 12 , which also reduces the stress that would otherwise be placed on the spindle during high speed and / or high load conditions . while the rotational coupling 58 for only one of the baskets 56 has been described in detail , it is understood that the other rotational couplings , such as the rotational coupling at the opposite end of the basket 56 is similarly constructed . additionally , while the invention has been described with respect a cantilevered spindle for coupling a reel or a basket to an implement frame , the invention is not limited to such an application . many changes and modifications could be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof . the scope of these changes will become apparent from the appended claims .	0
in the following , a particular embodiment of the invention will be described by way of example only . fig1 is a perspective view of a system unit 10 for use in a rack - mountable system . in a particular example described herein , the system unit is a computer system unit for forming a computer server for a telecommunications application , for example an internet server . as shown in fig1 the unit 10 has a front surface 12 formed by a front wall , a rear surface 14 formed by a rear wall , a left end surface 16 formed by a left side wall , a right end surface 18 formed by a right side wall , a lower surface 20 formed by a base wall and an upper surface 22 , in the present example formed by a cover 30 . as shown in fig1 the system unit 10 is provided with sacrificial transport flanges 24 , which extend above and below the system unit . this optional feature is removed before installation of the system unit 10 in a rack . the system unit 10 is constructed with an extremely robust chassis 11 , with the various walls 12 - 20 and the cover 30 forming the casing of the chassis 11 as well as internal walls ( not shown ) being formed of heavy gauge steel . the walls of the chassis can be made , for example , from electroless nickel - plated mild steel with a thickness of , for example , 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 - mm . the steel chassis 11 is pre - formed with mounting holes for the attachment of mounting flanges or a slide mechanism to enable the system unit 10 to be provided with a wide variety of mounting options and rack sizes . mounting flanges can be provided to suit standard 19 - inch , 23 - inch , 24 - inch or 600 - mm nominal frame widths . ( one inch = approximately 25 . 4 mm ). fig2 a is a plan view of the unit 10 showing the upper surface 22 / cover 30 and various options for flanges 26 with the displacements from the front surface indicated in mm . fig2 b is a front view of the unit 10 showing the front surface 12 and two different examples of mounting flanges 26 . the mounting flange shown to the left ( as seen in fig2 b ) is provided with a handle to facilitate insertion and removal of the unit 10 from the racking system , whereas the flange 26 to the right ( as viewed in fig2 b ) is not provided with a handle . in the present example , the mounting flanges can be attached using screws which pass through the mounting flange into threaded holes in the end walls 14 , 16 at either side of the chassis 11 of the unit 10 . fig2 c is a side view of the system unit 10 , showing the holes in the side of the system unit 10 for the mounting of flanges or a slide mechanism . vertical rows of holes are for the attachment of flanges to be attached to vertical rack components , and horizontal rows of holes provide for the attachment of a runners for permitting a slideable mounting of the system unit in a rack . fig3 is a perspective rear view of the unit 10 showing the cover 30 that forms the top surface 22 of the unit 10 . as can be seen , the cover 30 is provided with front locating flanges 32 that , in use , engage a co - operating front flange 31 of the body of the chassis 11 . side flanges 33 engage either side of the end walls forming the left and right ends 16 and 18 of the chassis 11 . detents 34 on those end walls engage within l - shaped slots 35 in the side flanges 33 so that the cover may be lowered onto the top of the chassis 11 and then moved forwards so as to cause the detents 34 to latch within the slots 35 . at the rear of the cover 30 , a rear flange 36 with a lower lip 37 engages over an abutment 38 at the top of the rear end wall 14 of the casing 10 . the cover can be secured to the remainder of the chassis 11 by means of a screw 39 that passes through this rear flange into a threaded hole in the abutment 38 . fig4 is an exploded perspective view from the front of the system unit 10 . this shows a motherboard 40 that is mounted on a horizontal mounting plane 41 within the chassis 11 . mounted on the motherboard 40 are between one and four processor modules 42 . a riser card 44 can receive a plurality of dual in - line memory modules ( dimms ) 46 . further dimms 46 can be received directly in slots in the motherboard . a slideable carriage 48 is provided for receiving one or more media drives . as shown in fig4 the slideable carriage 48 can receive up to two media drives . in the present instance , two media drives including a digital audio tape ( dat ) drive 50 and a cd - rom drive 52 are provided . appropriately configured metal cover plates 54 and 56 are provided for the media drives 50 and 52 . a disc bay assembly 58 provides a small computer system interface ( scsi ) backplane and cables for receiving one or more scsi media drives , such as a scsi disc drive 60 . although , in the present instance , the drives are controlled via a scsi - type interface , it will be appreciated that another media drive interface ( e . g ., ide ) could be used . a scsi card ( not shown ) is located within the chassis to the front of the motherboard . a bezel ( decor panel ) 62 is provided for covering ventilation holes 63 in the front wall 12 of the chassis 11 . a bezel 64 is provided for covering the media drives 50 , 52 and 60 . a fan control module 66 controls the operation of processor fans 68 and system fans 70 . a power sub - assembly that includes a power sub - frame 72 with a power distribution board assembly , is provided for receiving three separate power supply units 74 . an alarms module in the form of an alarms card 78 enables the signalling of alarms to the outside world , and is also connected to an led card 2 for signalling alarms locally on the front of the unit 10 . a power switch 82 is also provided on the front surface of the unit 10 . fig4 also illustrates one pci card 84 to be received within a pci slot 85 on the motherboard 40 . fig5 is a front view of the unit 10 showing the bezels 62 and 64 , a power and alarm panel 90 which includes the power switch 82 and a number of status light emitting diodes ( leds ) 92 . fig5 also illustrates the slots 86 and 88 for the media drives such as media drives 50 and 52 shown in fig4 . fig6 is a rear view of the unit 10 in a configuration with three dc power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c . each of the power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c is the same , and provides redundant power for the unit 10 . however , as will be seen later , one or more of the dc power supply units could be replaced by ac ( mains ) power supply units . the power supplies are hot swappable ( i . e ., while the system is running ), as long as they are swapped one at a time . with regard to power supply unit 74 a , it can be seen that this is provided with a handle 94 that is used for inserting and removing the power supply unit 74 a . the handle 94 includes a flange portion that is able to receive a screw 95 for securing the power supply unit to the chassis 11 . first and second power cable sockets 96 and 98 are shown . also shown is a grounding plate 100 that is secured by knurled nuts 102 , 104 and 106 to grounding studs 103 , 105 and 107 . grounding stud 103 provides a connection directly to the chassis 11 of the unit 10 . grounding studs 105 and 107 , on the other hand are electrically isolated from the chassis by an insulating board and are instead connected to logic ground ( i . e . the ground of the electronic circuitry ). by means of the grounding plate 100 , logic ground can be connected directly to chassis ground . the provision of this grounding plate provides for optional tying of logic ground to chassis ground . it will be noted that each of the power supply units 74 is provided with a similar grounding plate 100 , for connection to corresponding grounding studs . if it is desired to isolate logic ground from chassis ground , it is necessary to remove the grounding plate 100 from each of the power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c . an isolated ground system is needed in some telco applications when operating in a regional bell operating company ( rboc ) mode . when operating in such a mode , the chassis and logic ground are connected at a remote location to provide , for example , lightning protection . in this case two - hole lugs 101 having a pair of holes 111 to fit over the pair of grounding studs 105 and 107 are provided for each of the power supply units 74 and are secured over the studs using nuts 104 and 106 . a similar two - hole lug 101 is secured to the grounding studs 108 and is secured with similar nuts . earthing wires 109 from each of the two - hole lugs 101 on the power units and the chassis then are taken to the remote , earthing location . the studs 103 105 , 107 and 108 are of a standard thread size ( m 5 ). the studs 105 / 107 and the studs 108 are at a standard separation ( 15 . 85 mm ). the studs 105 / 107 are self - retaining in the insulated board on the power supply units . the stud 103 is self - retaining in the casing of its power supply unit 74 . the suds 108 are also self - retaining in the system unit chassis . in a non - isolated ground situation , chassis ground can simply be tied to a desired ground potential ( for example , to the racking system ) by connecting a grounding cable to grounding studs 108 provided on the rear of the chassis . a further earth connection is provided via the power cables for the power supplies . fig6 also illustrates rear ventilation holes 110 through which air is vented from the system . fig6 also shows the alarms module 78 with a serial connector 112 enabling connection of the alarms module to a network for the communication of faults and / or for diagnostic operations on the unit 10 to be performed from a remote location . fig6 also shows a number of pci cards 84 received within respective pci slots 116 . a number of further external connections 114 are provided for connection of serial connections , parallel connections and scsi connections , and for the connection of a keyboard or a twisted - pair ethernet ( tpe ) connector . fig7 is a plan view of the motherboard 40 shown in fig4 . four cpu module slots 120 are provided . each of these slots is able to receive one processor module 42 , and any number between one and four slots may be occupied by a processor module 42 . a connector arrangement 122 is provided for receiving a riser card 44 as shown in fig4 . also , connectors 124 ( in four banks ) are provided for receiving dimms 46 as mentioned with reference to fig4 . edge connectors 126 are provided for connecting the motherboard to connectors mounted on the mounting plane 41 . also shown in fig7 is the slot 128 for the alarms module 78 and various ports 130 for the connectors 114 shown in fig6 . fig8 is a schematic overview of the computer architecture of the system 10 . as shown in fig8 various components within the system are implemented through application - specific integrated circuits ( asics ). the system is based round a ultrasparc port architecture ( upa ) bus system that uses a peripheral component interconnect ( pci ) protocol for an i / o expansion bus . the cpu modules 40 . 0 , 40 . 1 , 40 . 2 , 40 . 3 , and a upa - to - pci ( u2p ) asic 154 communicate with each other using the upa protocol . the cpu modules 40 and the u 2 p asic 154 are configured as upa master - slave devices . an address router ( ar ) asic 154 routes upa request packets through the upa address bus and controls the flow of data to and from memory 150 using a data router ( dr ) asic 144 and a switching network 148 . the ar asic 154 provides system control . it controls the upa interconnect between the major system components and main memory . the dr asic 144 is a buffered memory crossbar device that acts as a bridge between six system unit buses . the six system unit buses include two processor buses , a memory data bus and to i / o buses . the dr asic 144 provides crossbar functions , memory port decoupling , burst transfer and first - in - first - out ( fifo ) data read functions . clock control for the operation of the processor is provided by a reset , interrupt , scan and clock ( risc ) asic 152 . the pci bus is a high performance 32 - bit or 64 - bit bus with multiplexed address and data lines . the pci bus provides electrical interconnection between highly integrated peripheral controller components , peripheral add - on devices , and the processor - memory system . a one - slot pci bus 155 connects to a pci device 156 . 0 . a three - slot pci bus connects to three pci slots 156 . 1 , 156 . 2 and 156 . 3 . two controllers are also connected to the second pci bus 157 . these include a scsi controller 174 and a pci - to - ebus / ethernet controller ( pcio ) 158 . the scsi controller 174 provides electrical connection between the motherboard and separate internal and external scsi buses . the controller also provides for scsi bus control . the pcio 158 connects the pci bus to the ebus . this enables communication between the pci bus and all miscellaneous i / o functions as well as the connection to slower , on board functions . thus , the pcio enables the connection to an ethernet connection via a transmit / receive ( tx / rx ) module 161 and a network device ( nd ) module 162 . an ebus2 159 provides a connection to various i / o devices and internal components . super i / o 164 is a commercial off - the - shelf component that contains two serial port controllers for keyboard and mouse , an ieee 1284 parallel port interface and an ide disk interface . the super i / o drives the various ports directly with some electromagnetic interference filtering on the keyboard and parallel port signals . the alarms module 78 interfaces with the motherboard and provides various alarm functions . the nvram / tod 168 provides non - volatile read only memory and the time of day function . serial port 170 provides a variety of functions . modem connection to the serial port 170 enables access to the internet . synchronous x . 25 modems can be used for telecommunications in europe . an ascii text window is accessible through the serial port on non - graphics systems . low speed printers , button boxes ( for computer aided design applications ) and devices that function like a mouse are also accessible through the serial port . the serial port includes a serial port controller , line drivers and line receivers . a one - mbyte flash programmable read only memory ( prom ) 172 provides read only memory for the system . fig9 is a perspective rear view of the system 10 showing the withdrawal and / or insertion of a power supply unit 74 in a non - isolated ground situation . in this example , ac power supply units 74 are shown . it can be seen that the power supply unit 74 is provided with the handle 94 . as shown in fig9 the handle 94 is provided with a grip 184 , a pivot 182 and a latch 180 . to insert the power supply unit 74 it is necessary to slide the power supply unit into the power sub - frame 72 with the grip 184 of the handle 94 slightly raised so that the detent 180 can be received under the top 184 of the power sub - frame 72 . as the power supply unit 74 reaches the end of its movement into the power sub - frame 72 , connectors ( not shown ) provided on the power supply unit 74 make connection with a corresponding connector on the power distribution board at the rear of the power sub - frame 72 . also , at this time , the handle can be pushed down into the position shown in fig9 . this causes the detent 180 to latch behind the upper portion 184 of the power sub - frame 72 . the handle 94 can then be secured in place by tightening the screw 95 . the ac power supply unit 74 shown in fig9 has a single power socket 97 , whereas the dc power supply units 74 shown in fig6 have two power sockets 96 and 98 . irrespective of whether the arrangement is as shown in fig6 with two dc power sockets 96 and 98 , or as shown in fig9 with one ac power socket 97 , the configuration of the power socket ( s ) and the lever 94 is such that the lever cannot be moved , and therefore the power supply unit cannot be released from the power sub - frame 72 and the chassis 11 with a plug 186 of a power cable 188 in place in one of the power sockets 96 / 97 / 98 . the removal operation is achieved by releasing the screw 95 , removing the power plug , and lifting and pulling on the handle 94 . in an isolated ground situation , in order to hot - swap a power supply unit 74 , it is merely necessary to remove the two - hole lug 101 with its connecting earth wire 109 from the studs 105 , 107 of the power supply unit to be removed , to remove the old power supply unit 74 , to replace a new power supply unit 74 and then to reconnect the two - hole lug 101 and connecting earth wire 109 to the studs 105 , 107 of the new power supply unit 74 . these operations can all be performed with the system under power from the other power supply units 74 and with the two - hole lugs 101 and earth wires 109 in place over the chassis studs 108 and the studs 105 , 107 of the other power supply units 74 . the isolated ground situation is not shown in fig6 and 9 . in the non - isolated ground situation shown in fig6 and 9 , hot - swapping of a power supply unit is even easier , as it is merely necessary to remove the selected power supply unit 74 and to replace it with the new power supply unit 74 . fig1 a , 10 b , 10 c and 10 d are rear , top , front and perspective views of a power sub - frame for receiving three power supply units : the power sub - frame 72 comprises a rectangular , box - shaped frame 191 , with four exterior walls on four sides ( the top , bottom and two lateral surfaces ), one open side 195 for receiving three power supply units and a power distribution circuit board 190 opposite to the open side . in the present instance , the walls are made of electroless nickel - plated mild steel . fig1 a shows the power distribution board at the “ rear ” of the power sub - frame ( i . e . opposite to the open side ). when inserted in the chassis of the system unit , this “ rear ” of the power sub - frame is actually the forward - most side of the power sub - frame when viewed with respect to the system unit . the power distribution board 190 is formed with ventilation holes 194 and carries circuit tracks and components ( not shown ). fig1 a also illustrates the flanges 198 with screw holes 199 for securing the power sub - frame to the rear chassis wall . fig1 b shows the top of power sub - frame . it will be noted that the power sub - frame body 196 is provided with apertures 197 for lightness and for ventilation purposes . fig1 c shows the open ( front ) side 195 ( see fig1 b ) of the power sub - frame . when inserted in the chassis of the system unit , this “ front ” of the power sub - frame is actually the rear - most side of the power sub - frame when viewed with respect to the system unit . within the power sub - frame 72 , connectors 192 a , 192 b and 192 c for the three power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c , respectively , can be seen . these connectors are mounted on the power distribution board 190 inside the power sub - frame 72 . fig1 c also shows the flanges 198 with screw holes 199 for securing the power sub - frame to the rear chassis wall . fig1 d is a perspective view of the power sub - frame 72 , which shows that this in fact forms part of a power sub - assembly 71 . internal walls 200 separate three compartments , each for a respective one of the three power supply units 74 . cables 202 connect standby power and signal lines from the power distribution board 190 to a connector 204 for connection to an alarms module . cables 206 connect main power and signal lines from the power distribution board 190 to various connectors 208 , 210 , 212 and 214 . fig1 e shows the various connector types 192 , 204 , 208 , 210 , 212 and 214 and the electrical signal connections thereto . fig1 is a schematic representation of some of the logic connections on the power distribution board . for ease of explanation , only those connections relevant for an understanding of the present invention are described . at the left of fig1 , the three connectors 192 a , 192 b and 192 c for the three power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c are shown . for reasons of clarity and convenience only those connections relevant for an understanding of the present invention as shown . for example , as illustrated with respect to fig1 e , the connectors 192 have many pins and pass many signals via respective lines . however , as not all of these lines are necessary for an understanding of the present invention , and as it would be confusing to illustrate all of the signal pathways on a diagram , only selected pathways are shown in fig1 . it is to be noted from fig1 e , that the power supply units output ground , + 3v3 , + 5v , + 12v , − 12v and + 5v standby potentials as well as control signals such as psu ok , psu on , etc . the + 5v standby voltage is used for powering the alarm module 78 . the other voltages are for powering the motherboard and other main system components . the various lines could be configured using bus bars , wires , printed circuit or thick film conductors as appropriate . firstly , the two - of - three circuit 232 will be explained . this circuit is powered by the + 5v standby voltage 231 provided from each of the power supply units 74 . each of the power supply units outputs a psu ok signal via a pin on its respective connector to a corresponding psu ok line 230 a , 230 b and 230 c when the power supply unit is operating correctly . each of these psu ok lines 230 is connected to the two - of - three circuit 232 . this comprises three and gates 234 , 236 and 238 , each for comparing a respective pair of the psu ok signals . the outputs of the and gates are supplied to an or gate 240 . if the output of this or gate is true , then at least two of the power supply units 74 are operating correctly , and power can be supplied to the motherboard of the computer system . this can be achieved by closing the main power line 245 . an output signal 242 could be supplied to a gate 244 ( for example a power fet ) to enable current to pass to the motherboard and other system components . additionally , or alternatively , a power ok signal 246 for controlling some other form of switch mechanism ( not shown ). if alternatively the output of the or gate 242 is false , then this indicates less than two of the power supply units 74 are operative . in this case power is prevented from being passed to the motherboard 40 of the computer system . this can be achieved by interrupting the main power line 245 . an output signal 242 could be supplied to a gate 244 ( for example a power fet ) to prevent current being passed to the motherboard and other system components . additionally , or alternatively , a power fault signal 246 could be passed to the alarms module and / or for controlling some other form of switch mechanism ( not shown ). one - of - three power control is effectively provided by the alarms module 78 to be described later . however , with reference to fig1 , input a / b signals 268 and output sense signals 270 are passed to the alarms module for standby operation , and control signals 272 could be returned for turning off of a power supply unit , if required . fig1 further illustrates a protection circuit 256 that is able to detect an overcurrent representative of a current greater than 2 * imax , where imax is the maximum current that can be output by a power supply , 2 * imax being the maximum current which should be required by the system unit . if a current greater than 2 * imax is detected , this is representative of a fault in the system unit . in accordance with telco requirements , in such a situation the system should be powered down . by providing for overcurrent detection on the power distribution board , where the maximum drawable current should be 2 * imax , it is possible to test for a fault at a lower overall current than if this test were made within each power supply unit . if the test were made in each power supply unit , each power supply unit would need to be tested for an overcurrent in excess of imax , whereby one would be testing for a total current drain of 3 * imax . this could lead to faults not being detected or not detected early enough and the system could incorrectly be drawing up to 3 * imax , which could damage components and traces ( tracks ). thus , as shown in fig1 , each of the main power lines ( e . g ., + 12v ) 250 a , 250 b and 250 c from the power supply units 74 a , 74 b and 74 c , respectively is connected to form a common power supply line 254 . an overcurrent detector 258 detects a current in excess of 2 * imax . if such a current is detected ( for example as a result of a fault represented by the box 266 ), then a signal 261 is provided to the connectors 192 , a , 192 b and 192 c for shutting down the power supplies 74 a , 74 b and 74 c , respectively . also , a signal 262 is passed to a switchable shunt 260 ( e . g ., a silicon controlled rectifier ( scr ), a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor ( mosfet ), an insulated gate bipolar transistor ( igbp ), etc ) to shunt the power supply line 254 to ground . this will cause any energy stored in the power supplies and also in the system ( for example as represented by the capacitor 264 ) to drain to ground , thus protecting the system . the use of the two - of - three circuit described above means that redundant power supply operation is provided in that the system can remain powered even if one of the three power supply units fails . as only two - of - three power supply units are needed to power the system the third power supply unit can be hot swapped while the other two power supply units power the system . fig1 illustrates the location of an alarms card forming the alarms module 78 in the rear of the system unit 10 . fig1 is a functional block diagram for illustrating the alarm sub - system on the alarms module 78 . the alarms sub - system provides lights out management or remote management of the system over a serial connection . the alarms module 78 interfaces with the motherboard through an ebus edge connector slot 298 ( connected to ebus2 as shown in fig8 ). a pci - style bracket is attached to one edge of the alarms module ( as seen in fig1 ) and provides the external interfaces at the rear of the chassis 11 . internal interfaces provide connections to the power supply assembly and to the led card 80 located at the front panel of the system unit 10 . the alarms module is powered by the standby , or reserve , power supply . the alarms module only requires power from a single power supply to remain operable . accordingly , the alarms module can remain operable even in a situation where the system has been powered down due to there being only one power supply unit operable . the alarms sub - system comprises a logic device 280 which receives inputs 298 from the ebus , inputs 286 from the fans , input 290 from general purpose events , input 270 from the power supply unit output rails and inputs 268 from the a and b power inlets . the logic circuit samples , or multiplexes , the inputs to the microcontroller 296 in response to multiplex signals from the microcontroller 296 . the microcontroller 296 processes the sampled ( multiplexed ) inputs . the microcontroller 296 provides power control signals 272 for controlling the power supply units , and alarm outputs for the output of alarm signals . the microcontroller 296 also outputs power supply unit status signals 304 and fault signals 306 . the micro controller 296 can further output a system reset signal 310 , when required . alarm signals to be passed to a remote location can pass via a remote serial connection 112 . diagnostic and remote control signals can be passed from the network via the serial connection 112 to the microcontroller 296 . control signals can thus be provided via the remote serial connection over the network for powering on and powering off the system . examples of other commands that can be sent to the microcontroller via the remote serial connection 112 are to turn alarms off , to reset the monitoring of all failures , to display the status of all fans , power supply units , alarms and fault light emitting diodes ( leds ), to display an event log , etc . the microcontroller is programmed to report any fan failures or changes in power supply units status by means of the leds 92 ( fig5 ) on the system front and optionally to report the faults via the remote serial connection 112 . the microcontroller 296 is programmed to maintain the event log that was referenced above . fig1 illustrates the configuration of the fan control module 66 shown in fig4 . the fan control module is subdivided into two halves 66 a and 66 b . one half 66 a handles one processor fan 68 a and one system fan 70 b and the other half 66 b handles the other processor fan 68 band the other system fan 70 b . the fans are connected to the fan control module 66 by respective power lines 320 so that the fans receive their power via the fan control module . the fan control module receives + 12v power via power lines 324 a / b from the power distribution board 190 and supplies voltages to the fans via the power lines 320 in a controlled manner . for convenience , tacho ( speed ) signals 322 a 1 , 322 a 2 , 3221 b 1 , and 322 b 2 from the fans pass via the fan control module 66 . the speed signals are not processed by the fan control module , but are instead forwarded via tacho sense 326 to the power distribution board 190 . the power distribution board then routes the tacho sense signals to the alarms module 78 to form the signals 286 shown in fig1 . this routing is convenient as it enables simpler wiring looms to be used . also , when replacing a fan unit , the maintenance engineer only needs to remove a single bundle of wires from the fan to the fan control module 66 , rather than having to locate a number of different connectors connected to the fan . the fan control module thus has four fan connectors , each for receiving a connector connected to a bundle of wiring from a respective fan , plus a further connector for receiving a connector with a bundle of wires from the power distribution board . module , but are instead forwarded via tacho sense 326 to the power distribution board 190 . the power distribution board then routes the tacho sense signals to the alarms module 78 to form the signals 286 shown in fig1 . this routing is convenient as it enables simpler wiring looms to be used . also , when replacing a fan unit , the maintenance engineer only needs to remove a single bundle of wires from the fan to the fan control module 66 , rather than having to locate a number of different connectors connected to the fan . the fan control module thus has four fan connectors , each for receiving a connector connected to a bundle of wiring from a respective fan , plus a further connector for receiving a connector with a bundle of wires from the power distribution board . as shown in fig1 , each half 66 a / 66 b of the fan control module receives respective power lines 324 a / b from the power distribution board . each half of the fan control module includes electrical noise isolation circuitry 340 a / b . this electrical noise isolation circuitry 325 a / b , which can be of conventional construction , prevents dirty power signals on the lines 320 a / b caused by electrical noise from the fans being passed back along the power lines 324 a / b and potentially contaminating the otherwise clean power supply to the electronics of the system unit ( e . g ., the components on the scsi bus . the provision of clean power supply signals in a telco application is important in order to ensure reliability of operation . although in the present example the noise isolation circuitry is located in the fan control module , it could be located elsewhere as long as it is effective to isolate the main power lines from fan - related electrical noise . as further shown in fig1 , each side 66 a / b of the fan control module comprises control logic 342 a / b which receives a temperature signal from a temperature sensor 344 and adjusts the speed of the fans by adjusting the voltage supplied thereto in accordance with pre - programmed parameters in order to provide a desired degree of cooling . the control logic 342 a / b can be implemented by an asic , a programmable logic array , or any other appropriate programmable logic . alternatively , it could be implemented by software running on a microcontroller or microprocessor module . it should be noted that the fan control module could be implemented in a unitary manner , rather than being divided into two halves . although in the present instance the fan control module is preferably configured on a single circuit board , this need not be the case . also , although the temperature sensor is also mounted on the same circuit board , it could be mounted elsewhere . moreover , although it is preferred that a single temperature sensor is used , with the advantage that the fan speeds of the respective fans can be ramped up in parallel in a controlled manner , more than one temperature sensor could be used . ideally , in this case they would be located close together and control of the individual fans could be dependent on individual signals but would more preferably be dependent on a function of some or all of the temperature signals . as a further feature , the control logic could be provided with different sets of programmed parameters depending on the number of processors present and could be responsive to the number of processors present . it will be appreciated that although particular embodiments of the invention have been described , many modifications / additions and / or substitutions may be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , the particular example described is intended to be illustrative only , and not limitative .	7
referring in detail to fig1 the novel barbecue cooking apparatus of the present invention is illustrated in the general direction of arrow 10 which includes a fire bowl 11 on which a lid 12 is disposed so as to act as a cover either during the cooking procedure or when the device is not in use . the lid is detachably connected to the upper edge marginal region of the fire bowl 11 and a tether cord 13 movably couples the lid 12 to the apparatus such as at a support brace 14 . therefore , the lid may be released from the fire bowl 11 but cannot be separated therefrom due to the connection by the tethering cord . the apparatus 10 is outwardly cantilevered from a supporting structure by a rod 15 . one end of the rod may be attached to a support while its free end carries a fitting 16 which is coupled to the brace 14 by means of a nut and bolt fastener . also , it is noted that a pipe 17 outwardly radiates from the support brace 14 and includes a band which enters the apparatus at its center . the opposite end of the tube 17 is connected to a gas supply as will be described later . it is to be noticed that immediately adjacent to the bottom of the fire bowl 11 , there is provided a baffle 18 which serves as a wind deflector to prevent gusts of wind from entering the fire bowl from any vent openings . furthermore , the lid 12 includes a knob 20 and a pair of flanges separated by the thickness of the tub of the lid 12 . however , a flange 21 of the pair is spaced from the underside of the lid a sufficient amount to accommodate the thickness of the edge marginal region of the fire bowl . in this manner , the lid may be used as a wind deflector when not covering the entire fire bowl . referring now in detail to fig2 it can be seen that the apparatus 10 is outwardly cantilevered from a support rod or tube 23 which may , for example , be the aft or stern stanchion on a power or sailboat . a coupling 24 of a c - shaped configuration serves to connect the rod 15 to the tube or rod 23 . the extreme end of the rod 15 is threaded as seen at numeral 25 and a flanged member 26 is threadably engaged therewith . by rotating the flanged member on the threads 25 , a portion of the flanged member is drawn against the c - shaped clamp and securement is effected . it is to be understood that the support member 23 may be vertically disposed or horizontally disposed whereby the cooking apparatus 10 can be suitably supported in a cantilevered position . it can also be seen in fig2 that the supply of fuel is carried in a pressurized vessel 26 for holding a sufficient quantity of gas . therefore , the cooking apparatus of the present invention has all of the great features of conventional charcoal versions but adds the convenience of instant gas cooking . the canister or cylinder 26 is refillable or disposable as desired and adapts to existing lpg and cng systems . the cylinder 26 includes a pressure head 27 for dispensing gas into the tube 17 via manual controls 28 that may be readily set at the convenience of the user . a quick disconnect arrangement indicated in general by the numeral 30 releasably couples the cylinder 26 to the end of gas tube 17 and a shield 31 covers a release mechanism for detachably connecting the cylinder to the gas tube . the fire bowl 11 includes an internal cavity which is occupied by a substantially concave liner illustrated in general by numeral 32 that supports a concave screen 33 . the screen is covered by a grill 34 taking the form of a circular rod having crosspieces 35 and 36 which support a plurality of rods arranged in fixed parallel , spaced - apart relationship so that the opposite ends of each of the rods is fastened to a portion of the ring 37 . the grid or grill 34 is releasably coupled to the edge marginal region of the fire bowl by means of clips 38 and 40 which are carried on opposite sides of the fire bowl and include openings which receive selected rods in the midsection of the grid as will be described later . fig2 also discloses that the screen 33 holds a plurality of briquettes such as identified by numeral 41 which may be used to enhance the heating effect of the gas burner . the number of briquettes depends on the user and the manner of cooking . the lid 12 in addition to the flange 21 includes a central plate 42 which is provided with a plurality of holes so that venting is accomplished when the lid is used to cover the fire bowl and the grill as shown in fig1 . referring now in detail to fig3 an exploded view is illustrated of the apparatus where it can be seen that the fire bowl 11 includes a reinforced opening 43 provided in the center of its bottom and an outer ring of openings , such as opening 44 which serve as venting apertures the reinforced opening 43 is used to insertably receive a threaded portion 45 of a base 46 . the base 46 includes a circular portion having the bottom of the fire bowl placed on top thereof while the wind deflector or baffle 18 is located on the underside of the anchor or base portion 46 . a lower threaded portion ( not shown in fig3 ) extends downwardly from the portion 46 of the base and is attached to a nut coupler 47 carried on the end of tube 17 . inasmuch as the threaded connection portions 45 and the lower portion ( not shown in fig3 ) are tubular , gas flow will pass from the tube 17 through the base into a burner portion indicated by numeral 50 . the burner 50 is of conventional design including a plurality of apertures for releasing gas for ignition however , the burner does include an eyelet 51 intended to project through a central opening or hole 52 in the reinforced center of screen 33 . once so disposed , a retaining clip 53 is inserted through the eyelet for retention purposes . fig3 also discloses that the liner 32 is of similar shape and construction to the fire bowl 11 ; however , the liner includes a plurality of openings , such as opening 54 , that are in spaced - apart relationship with respect to a central opening 55 . the openings 54 are vent holes while the central opening 55 is intended to be coaxially disposed with respect to the opening 43 on the fire bowl so as to insertably receive the upper threaded portion 45 of the base 46 . also , it can be seen that the upper edge of the liner includes the clips 38 and 40 and that the center rod identified by numeral 56 of the grill 34 is longer than the other rods so as to outwardly project beyond the perimeter of the ring . the projecting opposite ends of the rod are intended to fit into the retainers 38 and 40 in order to hold the grill in position so that it will not slide or inadvertently move during the cooking procedure . it is to be noted that the wind deflector or baffle 18 includes a central portion which is dome shaped and indicated in general by the numeral 57 . the outer periphery of the deflector includes an upturned lip identified by numeral 58 . therefore , the deflector is substantially dish shaped with a high inner crown or dome . the center portion of the deflector is similar to the screen 33 , liner 32 , and bowl 11 in that the center opening is reinforced in thickness so that ready support on the base 46 can be attained . referring now in detail to fig4 it can be seen that all of the components of the barbecue cooking apparatus 10 are coaxially related and that all the components are substantially mounted on the base 46 which is held on angle member 58 carried on the brace 14 . the base 46 includes the upper threaded portion 45 which mounts the bowl 11 , and the inner liner 32 . it is to be particularly noted that the burner 50 includes a lower plate having a threaded aperture indicated broadly by the numeral 61 which threadably engages with the threaded upper portion 45 . by this means , the burner 50 is rotated and presses the liner downward into engagement with the reinforced central section of the bowl 11 . thus , assembly is achieved . the screen is retained by insertion of the hole over the eyelet 51 so that the clip 53 can be installed . the bottom or underside of the bowl 11 is conical shaped in order to conform and mate with the dome shape 57 of the deflector 18 . such an arrangement ensures that a certain amount of space will be available for airflow through the vents 44 between the underside of the bowl and the outer lip 58 of the deflector . by employing the liner which is of substantial conformal configuration to the configuration of the bowl 11 , the bowl will never receive any of the debris , ash , or food substances that would normally occur in a barbecue situation . the liner 32 serves to catch such ingredients should any pass through the screen 33 . therefore , the liner device is very convenient and clean . referring now in detail to fig5 and the gas supply portion of fig4 it can be seen that a simple pin attachment and release mechanism are provided for attaching the control head 27 of the fuel supply to the tube 17 . in fig4 a nozzle 63 is provided with a reduced groove 64 so that when inserted into a receiver 65 , the groove 64 will be open through a notch 66 . such a circumstance is shown in fig5 and , in this view , a pin 67 is positioned through the opening 66 and through the groove 64 for releasable retention purposes . a cover 31 may be pulled back as shown in fig4 during the installing or removing of pin 67 . however , during the operation of the gas system , the cover 31 is disposed over the entire connection so that the pin cannot be advertently displaced . the cover 31 is manually removed and includes a forward stop indicated by numeral 68 and a rear back - up ring 70 . while particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and , therefore , the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention .	0
since the present invention concerns atomic force microscopy ( afm ) as well as scanning tunneling microscopy ( stm ) and near field scanning optical microscopy ( nsom ), a shod description of the physical apparatus used in afm , stm and nsom is provided for those not familiar with this prior art . referring to fig1 there is shown a conceptual diagram of an atomic force microscope 100 incorporating both afm and near field optical sensors . a microminiature cantilever arm 102 with a sharp tip 104 at its free end is used to probe the surface of a sample 110 . in some preferred embodiments the tip 104 is simply the apex of the cantilever 102 and does not project out from the cantilever . furthermore , as will be described below , the tip 104 may be substantially transparent , or may be doped so as to function as a photodiode . in the preferred embodiments , the sample 110 is mounted on an xyz scanning stage 113 . this is a &# 34 ; piezo scanning tube &# 34 ; type of stage , which uses piezoelectric actuators to precisely move the sample 110 in the x , y and z directions . the cantilever 102 is kept stationary while an xyz scanning stage 113 moves the sample 110 so as to scan the sample &# 39 ; s surface . those ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize that a separate z translator apparatus for moving the probe 102 up and down relative to the sample 110 may also be utilized in lieu of a three axis scanning stage 113 . alternately , the sample &# 39 ; s surface can be scanned using a probe holder 112 that functions as an xyz scanner to move the cantilever 102 while keeping the sample 110 stationary . regardless of whether the sample holder 113 of the probe holder 112 or both are used to move the probe relative to the surface of the sample , scanning is controlled by a programmed microcontroller or computer 114 , which also analyzes measurement data and displays measurement information on display 116 . the afm has a &# 34 ; contacting mode &# 34 ; of operation and a &# 34 ; non - contacting mode &# 34 ; of operation . in the &# 34 ; contacting mode &# 34 ; of operation , the tip 104 rides on the surface of a sample with an extremely light tracking force , on the order of 10 - 5 to 10 - 10 n . profiles of the surface topography are obtained with extremely high resolution . images showing the position of individual atoms are routinely obtained . in the second non - contacting mode of operation , the tip 104 is held a short distance , on the order of 5 to 500 angstroms , from the surface of a sample and is deflected by various forces between the sample and the tip ; such forces include electrostatic , magnetic , and van der waals forces . in either mode of operation , measurements of the sample &# 39 ; s surface topography or other characteristics are obtained by measuring deflection of the cantilever 102 . deflection of the cantilever is usually measured using precisely aligned optical components 120 coupled to a deflection measurement circuit 122 , although other techniques are sometimes used . atomic force microscopy is capable of imaging conductive as well as insulating surfaces with atomic resolution . typical afm &# 39 ; s have a sensitivity of 0 . 1 angstrom in the measurement of displacement . the microscope 100 shown in fig1 combines nsom and afm measurement modalities . near field scanning optical microscopy is an analysis tool that can be used either alone , or in conjunction with afm to analyze the topography and material characteristics of a substrate or other target object . the microscope is operable with both conducting and insulating surfaces , and can be used to detect impurity atoms in a sample near the surface , such as those placed in a sample using ion implantation . as noted above , this microscope assembly 100 has a scanning and measurement controller 114 , a cantilever 102 with a substantially transparent or photosensitive sharp tip probe 104 positioned over a sample 110 , cantilever deflection measurement optics 120 and a cantilever deflection measurement circuit 122 for afm operation . the cantilever 102 in assembly 100 differs from conventional afm cantilevers in that it includes a photodiode 130 ( also herein called a photosensor or photosensitive region of the cantilever ) in the vicinity of the tip 104 and an electrode 132 or equivalent low impedance connector that couples the photodiode 130 to a photodiode current measurement circuit 140 . alternately , the tip can itself be part of the photodiode . referring to fig2 conventional scanning tunneling microscopes ( stms ) are used primarily to monitor the electronic character of the surfaces being scanned . the stm / nsom assembly 200 has a cantilever 202 with a conductive tip 204 . in this example the tip 204 is the apex of the cantilever 202 and is also used as the point at which tunneling current enters the stm probe from the sample 110 . in other embodiments of the present invention the tip can be a projecting , conductive tip that projects away from the cantilever 202 . tunneling currents in conductive or semiconductor samples are induced by placing a conductive tip 204 one to ten angstroms above the sample 110 , and introducing a low voltage electric field ( typically less than one volt ) between a conductive tip 204 and the sample 110 , which is mounted on a metal plate 222 for ease of electrical connection to the sample . tunnelling current , drawn from the tip through the one to ten angstrom gap 150 between the tip 204 and sample 110 , is indicative of the size of the gap 150 . stms typically have two modes of operation . the first is constant height mode , for very flat samples , in which the tip is scanned at a constant height and the tunneling current is measured to determine the topography of the sample . the second mode is constant current mode , in which tunneling current is kept constant by varying the height of the cantilever until a preselected current level is restored . a tunneling current measurement circuitry 220 , coupled to both the tip 204 and the sample 110 , controls the assertion of a current inducing voltage on the tip 204 and measures the magnitude of the resulting tunneling current . the measurement data , or images generated from that data , are displayed on display device 116 after appropriate processing by the controller 114 . the cantilever 202 includes a photodiode 230 at its end . the doping required to form the photodiode 230 also makes the apex of the cantilever conductive . as a result , the photodiode 230 is can be used both as a photodiode for near field scanning optical microscopy and as a conductor for scanning tunneling microscopy . as a result , the photodiode 230 region of the cantilever 202 is coupled to both a tunneling current measurement circuit 220 and a photodiode current measurement circuit 140 , only one of which is used at any one time depending on the type of measurements being taken . referring now to fig3 a , the substantially &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;- shaped afm / nsom cantilever 102 includes an upper surface 300 and lower surface 302 . the cantilever in a first preferred embodiment is made from a silicon substrate in order to take advantage of its transparency and semi - conductor properties . a photodiode 130 is disposed at a first end 306 of the cantilever 102 . in the preferred embodiment , the photodiode is a pn junction diode created by doping a n - type substrate with boron , or by doping a p - type substrate with phosphorous . when a silicon substrate is used to make the cantilever 102 , the photodiode 130 may be formed directly in the silicon substrate . alternatively , a silicon nitride or silicon dioxide substrate ( either alone or formed on top of an underlying glass support substrate ) can be used with a polysilicon or amorphous silicon film on the surface of the cantilever for forming the pn junction of the photodiode 130 . the silicon nitride or silicon dioxide variations can be manufactured less expensively than the pure silicon cantilevers and as such are ideal for manufacturing large arrays of photosensitive cantilevers . disposed on the photodiode 130 and extending away from the cantilever 102 is the probe tip 104 . as shown in fig3 a and 3b , in one preferred embodiment the photo diode 130 encircles and includes an extended region 308 ( see which extends radially beyond the probe tip base region 309 . the probe tip 104 is constructed out of transparent materials and serves to transmit the scattered light induced by the probe &# 39 ; s presence in an evanescent field through the probe 102 to the photodiode 130 directly . the scattered light transmitted through the probe 102 will induce current flow in the photodiode 130 , transforming the optical energy into an electrical signal which may be transmitted through an electrode 132 for processing by a data collection system . those ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize that with the photodiode of the present invention , the adjustment and screening pin - hole configuration of the prior art is not required . this is because of the close proximity between the photodiode and the sample as provided in the present invention . however , if reflections from the optical positioning system result in measurement errors in the photodiode system , means for differentiating the light sources may be employed . the optical cantilever positioning system ( including cantilever deflection measurement optics 120 and a cantilever deflection measurement circuit 122 ) discussed above may utilize a different color light than detectable by the photodiode 130 . in addition , time division or frequency division multiplexing may be utilized to differentiate the light sources . an alternative embodiment cantilever 400 is shown in fig4 . the cantilever 400 includes an offset photodiode 402 adjacent to the probe tip 404 . in this configuration , scattered light is collected due to the probe tip &# 39 ; s interference with the induced surface field over the sample . in this configuration , light is not required to be directly transmitted through the probe tip 404 , and instead is directly collected by means of the photodiode 402 . this offset photodiode configuration is well suited for stm / nsom applications in which the two modes of operation are a scanning tunneling mode and a near field optical mode . thus , in the configuration of fig4 the probe &# 39 ; s tip 404 may be metal coated or doped so as to render the tip 404 semi - opaque and conductive . in this configuration , light scattered by the probe may still be collected due to the close proximity of the photodiode 402 to the sample surface . the photodiode 402 is connected to a photodiode current measurement circuit via an electrode 410 while the conductive probe tip 404 is connected to a tunneling current measurement circuit 220 . fig5 shows a cantilever 500 including a photodiode 501 and electronics 502 formed on the same substrate as the cantilever . electronics 502 include amplifiers and signal conditioning apparatus for pre - processing the photodiode signals generated as the photodiode 501 is exposed to scattered light . in this embodiment , improved signal to noise ratios can be achieved by boosting and / or processing the photodiode signals prior their exposure to extraneous noise , allowing for better system performance . the electronics 502 are disposed in and / or on the cantilever substrate material and are in electrical communication with the photodiode 501 by means of electrode 503 . those ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize that any of a variety of semiconductor devices may be formed in the cantilever structure disclosed thereby maintaining the electronics in close proximity to the photodiode 501 for signal processing purposes . alternatively , other means for detecting the deflections in the cantilever arm in lieu of the optical positioning system disclosed above may be selected . one such means , shown in fig6 a and 6b , includes a piezoresistive sensor 520 embedded into a cantilever 521 as described in pct patent document wo 9212398 , published jul . 23 , 1992 ( pct application no . 91us9759 ) which is incorporated herein by reference . the piezoresistive sensor 520 is coupled to a resistance measurement circuit 522 by a pair of electrodes 524 , while the photodiode region is coupled to a distinct electrode 526 . a second cantilever deflection detection apparatus , shown in fig7 uses capacitive sensing wherein a double level cantilever 550 forms a capacitive sensor for monitoring the deflections in the cantilever . capacitor plates 551 on the two arms are coupled by electrodes to a capacitance measurement circuit 552 . the resistance measurements for the apparatus shown in fig6 a - 6b and the capacitance measurements for the apparatus shown in fig7 correspond directly to deflections of the cantilever by either physical contact with a sample or by van der waals forces . these and other means may be utilized as is known in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention . referring to fig8 a , the first step of the manufacturing process is to provide a substrate 602 , such as a lightly doped p -& lt ; 100 & gt ; silicon wafer . silicon epitaxy is used to grow an etch stop layer 604 as well as a lightly doped epitaxial layer 606 used for fabrication of electronic devices . the etch stop layer is 1 μm thick and doped to 3 × 10 20 cm - 3 with boron and germanium . boron doping in excess of 10 20 cm - 3 reduces the etch rate of silicon in ethylene diamine pyrocatecol ( edp ) by approximately 300 times . germanium is included to reduce the residual stress caused by the mismatch of lattice constants of silicon and boron . a 5 μm thick layer of lightly p - boron doped ( 3 × 10 15 cm - 3 ) silicon is grown over the etch stop layer . a pn junction photodiode is fabricated by ion implanting 10 18 cm - 3 phosphorus into the lightly doped p - type surface epitaxial layer to form an n - region 608 . the cross - section of the photodiode is approximately 50 μm 2 . the wafer is then thermally oxidized to create an oxide film 610 which serves as both an anti - reflection coating for the photodiode as well as a passivation layer . openings in the oxide layer are created and contact vias are formed . after annealing , windows are patterned in the back side of the wafer using a dual - sided aligner . the back side windows are used in the final stages of the manufacturing process to completely etch away the silicon under the cantilevers to yield free - standing structures . then 500 nm of aluminum are sputtered on the wafer and patterned into contact pads 612 and metal lines ( not shown ). this gets us to the configuration shown in fig8 a . next , the actual shape of the cantilever is created by patterning a 6 μm thick film of az 4620 photoresist . the resist is baked for over 2 hours at up to 200 ° c . and acts as a masking material with 5 μm of silicon are etched in a sf 6 plasma . after dry etching , the cantilever shape is completely defined and the photodiodes are fully functional . in order to free the cantilever from the substrate , the front of the wafer is coated with approximately 50 μm of hitachi pix3500 polyimide and baked over six hours at temperatures up to 400 ° c . a cross section view of the wafer at this point in the manufacturing process is shown in fig8 b . the wafer is then etched in edp at 105 ° c . until the etch stop layer 604 is reached , leaving 5 μm thick cantilevers resting on the 1 m thick silicon membranes . this is an anisotropic etch that leaves the remaining portion of the supporting wafer with walls sloped along the ( 100 ) crystallographic plane . fig8 c shows the wafer after the anisotropic etch . the silicon membranes are removed by dry etching from the back side . the polyimide film is removed in an oxygen plasma . individual cantilevers are then broken off the wafer , producing cantilevers as shown in fig8 d . the resulting cantilevers are typically bonded to support posts for ease of mounting to a probe holder . a four inch wafer using the above process yields several hundreds of cantilevers . for simplicity , the tips for the cantilevers produced by the above described process are the apex of the cantilevers themselves . in alternate embodiments , a protruding sharp tip can be manufactured separately and bonded to the cantilevers , or can be fabricated directly on the wafer substrate ( prior to the photodiode doping step of the manufacturing process described above ) at positions that will subsequently become the ends of cantilevers . the cantilever &# 39 ; s tip should have a radius of curvature less than 500 angstroms and preferably less than 250 angstroms . the final sharpness of the tip is typically determined by the sharpening effect of a low temperature oxidation . while the present invention has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments , the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention . various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	8
referring to fig1 returning air from various temperature control zones is drawn into a return duct 10 by a fan 12 for subsequent flow over a cooling coil 14 . the chilled air is thereafter provided to a number of temperature control zones via dampers 16 , 18 , and 20 . these dampers are controlled by a system controller 22 which receives temperature readings from each zone via remote temperature sensors 24 , 26 , and 28 . the system controller 22 also receives a temperature reading of the chilled air leaving the cooling coil 14 via a temperature sensor 30 . referring now to fig2 various elements of a two stage cooling system associated with the cooling coil 14 are illustrated relative to control elements of the system controller 22 . in particular , the cooling coil 14 is seen to include two stages of cooling 32 and 34 which chill refrigerant which subsequently passes through the cooling coil 14 before returning to the cooling stages via a condensing coil 36 . the two stages of cooling 32 and 34 are activated by relay logic 38 receiving appropriate voltage signals from a power source 40 . the relay logic 38 causes the various voltage levels to be applied to the respective stages of cooling 32 and 34 in response to control signals from a microprocessor 42 received via a communication bus 44 . the microprocessor 42 also controls the relay logic 38 so as to provide appropriate voltage activation signals to the fan 12 . the microprocessor 42 also communicates with motor drive circuitry 46 via the communication bus 44 . the motor drive circuitry interfaces with damper motors 48 , 50 and 52 that position the dampers 16 , 18 , and 20 . the microprocessor 42 also communicates with an a / d converter 54 which receives temperature signals from the remote room sensors 24 , 26 , and 28 as well as the temperature sensor 30 downstream of the cooling coil 14 . the microprocessor 42 executes various control processes stored in a memory 56 associated therewith . one such stored process monitors the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor 30 and provides appropriate control signals over the bus 44 to either the relay logic 38 , or the motor driver circuitry 46 so as to thereby control the two stages of compression 32 and 34 as well as the dampers 16 , 18 , and 20 . this stored process executable by the microprocessor 42 is illustrated in fig3 a , 3b , and 3c . referring to fig3 a , the stored process begins with a step 60 wherein the duct temperature t d is read from the sensor 30 . it is to be appreciated that the duct temperature t d is a reading of the temperature of the air leaving the cooling coil 14 . as will be explained in detail hereinafter , this sensed temperature will be compared with three separate threshold temperature conditions stored in memory 56 . these threshold temperatures will be referred to as t a , t b and t c . t a is the lowest threshold temperature whereas t c is the highest . t b is a threshold temperature between t a and t c . normally , the duct temperature sensed by the sensor 30 should be above the highest threshold temperature t c . this will be the assumed initial temperature condition . referring now to step 62 , inquiry is first made as to whether the duct temperature t d is less than t a . since the duct temperature will be above t a , the microprocessor will proceed to a step 64 and inquire as to whether the duct temperature t d is less than the threshold temperature t b . since the duct temperature will be above t b , the microprocessor will proceed to a step 66 and clear a &# 34 ; time 1 &# 34 ; flag . the microprocessor will next proceed to a step 68 and inquire as to whether the duct temperature is less than the threshold temperature t c . since the duct temperature will be above the highest threshold temperature t c , the microprocessor will proceed along the no path to a step 70 and set a &# 34 ; proceed &# 34 ; flag in a step 70 . the microprocessor will next clear a &# 34 ; damper -- offset &# 34 ; variable in a step 72 . another variable &# 34 ; old 13 t d &# 34 ; will be set equal to the threshold temperature t b . the microprocessor next proceeds to clear a &# 34 ; lat -- trip &# 34 ; flag in a step 76 . following the setting of the various variables in steps 70 through 76 , the microprocessor proceeds to a step 78 and inquires as to whether the cooling stage 32 of the two stage cooling system is on . if stage 32 has not been activated by the microprocessor 42 , then an inquiry is made in a step 80 as to whether there is a demand for this cooling stage . this is essentially a check of the results of other programs that may have been run by the microprocessor 42 to ascertain whether there is a demand to activate this stage of cooling . activation of this stage of cooling is subject to the setting of the &# 34 ; lat -- trip &# 34 ; flag . in this regard , the microprocessor proceeds from step 80 to a step 82 to inquire as to whether the &# 34 ; lat -- trip &# 34 ; flag has been set if a cooling demand has been noted in step 80 . since the &# 34 ; lat -- trip &# 34 ; flag was cleared in step 76 , the microprocessor will proceed along the no path to a step 84 and turn on cooling stage 32 . the microprocessor will next proceed to a step 86 and inquire as to whether a &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag is set . it is to be appreciated that this flag will initially not be set when the process is first executed . the microprocessor will accordingly proceed from step 86 to a step 88 and set a zone index &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; equal to one . it is to be appreciated that the zone index is an identifier of the various temperature zones having remote room sensors 24 , 26 and 28 and dampers 16 , 18 and 20 associated therewith . the microprocessor will proceed to a step 90 and read the temperature &# 34 ; t i &# 34 ; for the room sensor identified by the particular numerical value of the zone index . the microprocessor will thereafter fetch the set point for that particular identified zone in step 92 . an inquiry will next be made in step 94 as to whether the thus read zone temperature is greater than the set point temperature for that particular zone . if the zone temperature is less than the zone set point temperature , the microprocessor will proceed to a step 96 and set the damper position for the particular zone d i equal to the value of damper -- offset . since damper -- offset is initially cleared in step 72 this will mean that the damper for the particular zone will be closed since a cleared damper offset is zero . the microprocessor will proceed from step 96 to a step 98 and inquire as to whether the zone index , &# 34 ; i &# 34 ;, equals &# 34 ; n &# 34 ;. it is to be appreciated that &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; equals the total number of zones for a given configuration . assuming another zone is to be checked , the microprocessor increments the zone index &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; in step 99 and returns to read the temperature t i and set point s i for the new zone index value . in the event that the zone temperature t i is above set point , the microprocessor proceeds to a step 100 and calculates a new damper position d i for the particular damper associated with the identified zone . this calculation will include multiplying a constant k times the temperature difference t i minus s i plus adding the damper offset value thereto . the constant k is the number of incremental positions per degree that the dampers 16 , 18 and 20 are to move . the microprocessor proceeds to a step 102 and inquires as to whether the calculated damper position d i is greater than the maximum allowable position . the damper position is set equal to the maximum allowable in step 104 in the event that the calculated damper position is greater than the maximum allowable . the microprocessor proceeds to step 98 and inquires whether all zone indexes have been checked for temperatures and appropriate damper position calculations performed . when all zone indexes have been thus addressed , the microprocessor proceeds to a step 106 and exits the particular process of fig3 a through 3c . it is to be appreciated that the microprocessor will preform other tasks before returning to the process of fig3 a through 3c . the re - execution of the process of fig3 a through 3c will preferably occur within a time period that allows for the process of fig3 a through 3c to be re - executed in a timely manner . it is to be appreciated that this time may vary from system to system . repeating the process every ten seconds is sufficient for the configuration of fig1 and 2 . referring again to step 60 , following the appropriate time interval , the microprocessor will again read the value t d of the sensor 30 . for purposes of discussion , the duct temperature t d will be assumed to be less than the threshold temperature t c but greater than the threshold temperature t b . this will prompt the microprocessor to proceed through steps 62 , 64 and 66 to step 68 . since the duct temperature is less than the threshold temperature t c , the microprocessor will proceed from step 68 to a step 108 and clear a &# 34 ; proceed &# 34 ; flag . the microprocessor will move from step 108 to step 78 and inquire as to whether the cooling stage 32 is on . since the cooling stage 32 is now on , the microprocessor will proceed to a step 110 and inquire as to whether cooling stage 34 is on . since cooling stage 34 is not yet on , the microprocessor will proceed to a step 112 and inquire as to whether a demand is present for cooling stage 34 . this is a check as to whether another control process that has been run by the microprocessor 42 has demanded an activation of cooling stage 34 . assuming a demand to be present , the microprocessor will proceed to a step 114 and inquire as to whether the &# 34 ; proceed &# 34 ; flag has been set . it will be remembered that the &# 34 ; proceed &# 34 ; flag will have been cleared in step 108 since the duct temperature is now less than the threshold temperature t c . since the duct temperature is less than this threshold temperature , the microprocessor will proceed along the no path and not allow the cooling stage 34 to be activated . it is however to be appreciated that if the duct temperature were greater than the threshold temperature t c , then the &# 34 ; proceed &# 34 ; flag would have been appropriately set in step 70 and the microprocessor would proceed from step 114 to a step 116 and turn on cooling stage 34 . the microprocessor proceeds from either step 114 along the no path or from step 116 to step 86 and inquires as to whether the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag is set . since the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag has yet to be set , the microprocessor proceeds to step 88 and reads temperature and set points and updates any damper positions in steps 90 through 104 before exiting in step 106 . the microprocessor again executes other control processes before again returning to step 60 to read the temperature sensor 30 . it will now be assumed that the duct temperature has dropped below the threshold temperature t b . the microprocessor accordingly pursues the yes path out of step 64 and inquires in a step 118 as to whether the present duct temperature t d is greater than an old duct temperature value stored in the variable &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ;. it will be remembered that the value of the variable &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ; is equal to the threshold temperature t b as result of step 74 . since the duct temperature will have dropped below this value of &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ;, the microprocessor will proceed along the no path from step 118 to a step 120 and inquire as to whether a &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag has been set . this particular flag will initially be clear when the microprocessor 42 is first powered up . this means that the microprocessor will proceed from step 120 to a step 122 and set this &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag . the microprocessor will proceed through the various steps that have been heretofore described and eventually exit from the process in step 106 . the process of fig3 a through 3c will again be executed in a timely fashion and the duct temperature t d will again be read in step 60 . assuming that the duct temperature remains below the threshold temperature t b , the microprocessor will proceed along the yes path out of step 64 and along the no path out of step 118 to step 120 . this time , the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag will have been set prompting the microprocessor to proceed along the yes path out of step 122 a step 124 wherein the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag is set . the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag is cleared in step 126 and the variable &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ; is set equal to the current value of duct temperature in step 128 . the microprocessor will next proceed to step 78 and again inquire as to whether the cooling stage 32 is on . in the event that stage 32 is on , the microprocessor will proceed to step 110 and inquire as to whether cooling stage 34 is also on . if the answer is yes , the microprocessor proceeds to a step 130 and inquires as to whether the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag has been set . since &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag was set in step 124 , the microprocessor will proceed to a step 132 and turn off cooling stage 34 . it is to be appreciated that this will only occur when the temperature drops below the threshold temperature t b causing the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag to be set and thereby causing the microprocessor to completely execute the process of fig3 a through 3c an other time before again returning to step 120 . following deactivation of the cooling stage 34 in step 132 , the microprocessor proceeds to step 134 and clears the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag . the microprocessor will again execute steps heretofore described and exit the process of fig3 a through 3c in step 106 . assuming the duct temperature , t d , remains below the threshold temperature t b when the microprocessor again executes the control process of fig3 a through 3c , the microprocessor will proceed along the yes path out of step 64 to step 118 . assuming that the duct temperature has furthermore dropped relative to its previous value stored in &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ; the microprocessor will proceed along the no path out of step 118 and the no path out of step 120 so as to again set the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag . following the setting of the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag , the microprocessor will proceed through the various steps as have been theretofore described and exit from the step 106 . assuming the temperature remains below the threshold temperature t b and also drops relative to &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ;, the microprocessor will again execute the process of reading the duct temperature in step 60 and proceed through step 64 and through step 118 and proceed along the yes path out of step 120 to set the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag in step 124 . the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag will again be cleared in step 126 and the variable &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ; will be set equal to the value of the current duct temperature in step 128 . the microprocessor will proceed through steps 68 through 78 and along the yes path out of step 78 to step 110 wherein it will be noted that the cooling stage 34 has already been turned off . the no path will be pursued to a step 112 and inquiry will be made whether there is a demand for the cooling stage 34 . if demand is present , the microprocessor proceeds to step 114 and inquires whether the &# 34 ; proceed &# 34 ; flag is set . it is to be appreciated that the only way the &# 34 ; proceed &# 34 ; flag would be set is if the temperature t d were equal to or above the threshold temperature t c . the microprocessor will hence proceed along the no paths out of either step 112 or step 114 without turning the cooling stage 34 on . the microprocessor proceeds to step 86 and inquires as to whether the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag is set . since the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag will have been set in step 124 as a result of the second time through of executing the process following the deactivation of the second cooling stage , the microprocessor will proceed to step 136 and first clear the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag . the microprocessor will proceed to step 138 and increment the current value of &# 34 ; damper -- offset &# 34 ;. the increment will preferably be one damper position . inquiry is next made in step 140 as to whether the value of &# 34 ; damper -- offset &# 34 ; is greater than a maximum allowable value . it is to be appreciated that the maximum allowable value for this variable can be any arbitrary number of incremental damper positions . this maximum value should be the amount that the damper is allowed to be opened to compensate for the denoted temperature condition that has prompted the damper offset calculation to be initiated . this maximum value could for instance be set equal to one half of the total incremental damper positions possible for any one of the dampers 16 , 18 or 20 . if this number is exceeded in step 140 , the microprocessor proceeds to a step 142 and sets the &# 34 ; damper offset &# 34 ; variable equal to the maximum allowed value . the microprocessor either proceeds out of step 140 or step 142 with an appropriate offset damper value and proceeds to step 88 wherein the zone index &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; is set equal to one . the temperature for the zone indicated by the particular index setting &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; is compared with the set point temperature for that zone in step 94 . if the temperature t i for the particular zone is below set point , then the damper position will be set equal to the calculated damper offset value in step 96 . on the other hand , if the zone temperature t i is greater than set point , then the microprocessor will proceed to calculate the new damper position based on the noted temperature differential as well as adding the damper -- offset value previously calculated . the microprocessor will proceed to inquire as to whether the damper position is at its maximum allowable open position and make the appropriate correction if necessary in step 104 before inquiring as to whether the last zone has been updated for damper position in step 98 . when each zone has thus been updated , the microprocessor will exit the process in step 106 . it is to be appreciated that the &# 34 ; damper -- offset &# 34 ; variable may be incremented every other time the process of fig3 a through 3c is executed . this is of course due to the necessity of first setting the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag and then subsequently setting the &# 34 ; reduce -- stages &# 34 ; flag the next time through as long as &# 34 ; t d &# 34 ; continues to drop relative to &# 34 ; old -- t d &# 34 ;. providing the above conditions continue , the microprocessor will proceed to calculate a new value for &# 34 ; damper -- offset &# 34 ; in steps 138 through 142 . in this manner , the value of damper -- offset may potentially increment to the maximum allowable damper -- offset value in an attempt to correct the declining temperature condition sensed by the temperature sensor 30 . the thus opened dampers will allow more air to enter each zone than would otherwise be permitted by a normal damper control response to the room temperature versus the set point for that particular room . this damper opening should eventually alleviate the duct temperature condition occurring at the cooling coil 14 . if the duct temperature however continues to drop and more over drops below the threshold temperature t a , then the microprocessor will so note this situation in step 62 . the microprocessor will proceed from step 62 to a step 144 and turn off both cooling stages 32 and 34 . after the cooling stages 32 and 34 have been turned off the microprocessor proceeds to a step 146 and sets a &# 34 ; lat trip &# 34 ; flag in a step 146 before proceeding to the exit step 106 . it is to be appreciated that the process of fig3 a through 3c will be executed repeatedly with no further action taken until the duct temperature rises about the threshold temperature t a . at such time , the microprocessor will implement the various courses of action dictated by the duct temperature being first less and than greater than the threshold temperature t b . if the air temperature finally rises above the threshold temperature t c , the microprocessor will so note in step 68 . the &# 34 ; damper offset &# 34 ; will subsequently be cleared in step 72 and the &# 34 ; lat -- trip &# 34 ; flag will be cleared in step 76 . it is to be appreciated that the two stage cooling system and associated dampers will be allowed to operate in a normal fashion as long as the duct temperature downstream of the cooling coil remains greater than the threshold temperature t c . at such temperatures , the microprocessor will be allowed to turn on the second cooling stage 34 in the event that it is not presently running . if the duct temperature again drops below the threshold temperature t b , the microprocessor will deactivate the second stage of cooling one at a time following at least a second execution of the process due to the &# 34 ; time -- 1 &# 34 ; flag setting routine . the microprocessor will also begin to open the dampers 16 , 18 and 20 after having deactivated the second cooling stage in the event the sensed temperature downstream of the cooling coil continues to drop . if the temperature drops below threshold temperature t a , then the microprocessor immediately deactivates both stages of cooling . it is to be appreciated that a particular embodiment of the invention has been described . alterations , modifications and improvements thereto will readily occur to those skilled in the art . such alterations , modifications and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure even though not expressly stated herein and are intended to be within the scope of the invention . accordingly the foregoing description is by way of example only and the invention is to be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereto .	6
the invention may be more particularly understood by having reference to the following examples wherein examples 1 to 5 and 7 set out methods of preparing particular ion exchangers according to the invention . example 6 relates to the preparation of an exchanger which has not been hydroxy - propylated for comparison as to the degree of sulphation . example 8 relates to the determination of the extent of sulphation . example 9 is an examination of flow rates of the resin according to the invention and examples 10 and 11 relate to adsorptive capacities of the resin according to the invention . granular regenerated cellulose ( 20 g ) ( 75 - 125μ ), with a moisture content of 5 - 7 %, was mixed with cold 30 % ( w / v ) aqueous sodium hydroxide ( 30 ml ), 2 ml epichlorohydrin ( 10 % v / w based on cellulose ) and 10 ml propylene oxide ( 50 % v / w based on cellulose ). the mixture was stirred thoroughly until the cellulose had finished swelling and all the liquid had been absorbed . the damp cellulose was then placed in a container and sealed before heating it at 60 ° without further mixing . after 2 hours the reaction vessel was cooled to room temperature , opened and the contents were transferred into a large volume of stirred water ( 500 ml ). the particles of hydroxylpropyl cellulose were collected on a buchner funnel , washed well with water and finally dried by either method ( i ) or ( ii ) below . the product ( 20 g ) was stored in a closed container until required for sulphation . ( i ) the product was dewatered by solvent exchange into methanol through a graded series of methanol -- water mixtures . excess methanol was removed and then the product was heated at 60 ° c . under reduced pressure . ( ii ) the product was freeze - dried . the last 1 % moisture could be removed by air - drying at 60 ° c . without affecting the reactivity of the product . using this method hydroxypropylated regenerated celluloses can be prepared with a range of swollen volumes . examples of these are given in table 1 . they were measured after the products had been dried by method ( i ). table i______________________________________settled bed volumes of hydroxypropyl regeneratedcelluloses in water ( ml / g ) 6 8 10 20 % epichlorohydrin______________________________________ 30 8 9 8 . 5 % propylene 50 12 . 5 11 . 0 9 . 5 8 . 1oxide 100 17 . 4 16 . 0 11 . 6 8 . 4______________________________________ the yields of water insoluble product decreased as the amount of cross - linking decreased and with 1 % epichlorohydrin only amounted to 40 % of the initial weight of cellulose used . with 6 , 8 and 10 % they amounted to 84 , 94 and 100 % respectively . granular regenerated cellulose ( 10 g ) was suspended in 50 ml of toluene . to the suspension there was then added 10 ml of 60 % aqueous sodium hydroxide followed by 8 ml of ethylene chlorohydrin and 0 . 5 ml of epichlorohydrin . the temperature of the mixture was then raised to 60 ° and the reaction allowed to proceed for 2 hours with agitation . after decanting the toluene , the product was dispersed in rapidly stirred water and collected on a sintered glass buchner funnel . it was washed thoroughly with water , dewatered with acetone and dried under reduced pressure at 50 ° c . the product had a settled bed volume of 8 ml / g in water . hydroxypropyl regenerated cellulose - 10 - 50 ( 1 g ) dried by method ( i ) in example 1 above , pyridine - sulphur trioxide complex ( 1 g ) and dry pyridine ( 10 ml ) were placed in an erlenmeyer flask , protected with a drying tube and heated on an oil bath at 80 ° for 1 . 5 hours . the flask was shaken periodically by hand during the course of the reaction and then cooled before transferring the reaction mixture into 20 ml of deionized water . the sulphated product was collected on a sintered glass funnel and washed thoroughly with more deionized water . to convert it from the pyridinium to the sodium ion form it was titrated in 1 m sodium chloride with 0 . 1 m sodium hydroxide to a phenolphthalein end point and then recollected and washed on the filter again . the hydroxypropyl - regenerated cellulose sulphate had an ion exchange capacity of 2 . 37 meq / g . and a settled bed volume of 8 . 5 ml / g in water . 1 g of freeze - dried hydroxypropyl regenerated cellulose - 8 - 50 , pyridine - sulphur trioxide complex ( 2 g ) and dry dimethylformamide ( 10 ml ) were placed in a tube , stoppered and gently shaken at 20 °- 25 ° for 2 hours . the sulphated product was obtained as described in ( a ) above and had ion - exchange capacity of 4 . 3 meq / g . and a settled bed volume of 12 ml / g in water . capacities up to 5 . 5 meq / g were obtained by this method by using up to 4 g of pyridine - sulphur trioxide complex and reaction times up to 4 hours . the sulphated product was stored in deionized water in the presence of 0 . 025 sodium azide as preservative , for 6 months at 25 ° c . without detachable loss of sulphate groups . the product may also be dewatered by solvent exchange into e . g . methanol and dried under reduced pressure at 20 ° c . without affecting its ability to reswell on wetting and its ability to bind lipoproteins . the yield of product was greater than 98 % allowing for the increase in weight resulting from the introduction of the charged groups (- oso 3 - na + ) in place of hydroxyls . microgranular cellulose ( 20 g ) ( whatman cellulose powder cc31 from w & amp ; r balston ltd ., england ) was mixed with cold 20 % ( w / v ) aqueous sodium hydroxide ( 30 ml ), epichlorohydrin ( 2 ml ) and propylene oxide ( 10 ml ). after the reactants had been thoroughly mixed in , the damp powderly cellulose was enclosed in a container and left at 20 ° c . for 24 hours . it was then transferred into 4 liters of stirred water . the product was washed , dewatered and dried in the same way as the hydroxypropyl regenerated cellulose ( example 1a ) to give 18 . 7 g of product with a settled bed volume of 7 . 6 ml / g in water . this was accomplished in the same way as set out in example 2a using hydroxypropyl cellulose prepared as in example 3 . by using 0 . 5 , 1 and 2 g of pyridine - sulphur trioxide complex products were obtained with ion - exchange capacities of 0 . 56 , 2 . 24 and 4 . 31 meq / g respectively . dry hydroxypropyl cross - linked dextran ( 1 g ) ( sephadex lh - 20 , from pharmacia fine chemicals ab , sweden ), pyridine - sulphur trioxide complex ( 2 g ) and dry pyridine ( 10 ml ) were placed in an erlenmeyer flask protected from atmospheric moisture with a drying tube and heated on an oil bath at 80 ° for 1 . 5 hours . the flask was shaken periodically during the course of the reaction and then cooled before transferring the reaction mixture into 200 ml of deionized water . the sulphated product was collected on a sintered glass funnel and washed thoroughly with more deionized water . it was finally neutralized with 0 . 1 m sodium hydroxide and then recollected and washed again on the filter . the cross - linked dextran matrix after sulphation had an ion - exchange capacity of 4 . 1 meq / g and a settled bed volume of 5 . 0 ml / g in water . dry cross - linked dextran ( 1 g ) ( sephadex g - 25 , from pharmacia fine chemicals ab , sweden ) was sulphated in 10 ml of dry formamide with 2 g of pyridine - sulphur trioxide as described in example 5 . the product has an ion - exchange capacity of 2 . 47 meq / g and a settled bed volume of 8 . 3 ml / g . an aqueous slurry of cross - linked agarose ( sepharose cl - 6b from pharmacia fine chemicals ab , sweden ) was transferred to a sintered glass buchner funnel and the excess water was removed by suction . 15 g of the moist agarose was exchanged into dmf through a graded series of dmf / water mixtures and finally washed with dry dmf . the cl - agarose beads suspended in dmf were then sulphated by adding 1 . 4 g of pyridine - so 3 complex and gently shaking the mixture for 4 hours at 20 °- 25 ° c . the product after dispersion in deionized water was collected on a sintered glass buchner funnel , washed thoroughly with deionized water . on titration it was found to contain 5 . 4 mmoles of sulphate groups ( 3 . 1 meq / g ). this ion exchanger was found to bind 5 . 2 mg of cholesterol / g when tested with lipoprotein solution as described in example 11 below . the extent of sulphation was determined from the volume of 0 . 1 m sodium hydroxide used to neutralize the pyridinium ion displaced from the sulphated matrix and by assuming a 100 % yield of matrix from the reaction . the validity of this was shown in many cases where the product was dried . the yield was greater than 98 % of that calculated from the weight of matrix used and the number of - oso 3 na groups introduced in place of hydroxyl groups . this method of analysis was further verified by a sulphur analysis on the dried product . ______________________________________comparison of analysis methodsmeq / g % sulphur % sulphur ( by titration ) ( calculated ) ( micro analysis ) ______________________________________1 . 42 4 . 55 4 . 653 . 67 11 . 75 11 . 61______________________________________ the flow rates measured for several of the sulphated matrices were as follows : in each case the bed depth was 10 cm and flow was maintained with a 70 cm hydrostatic pressure differential across the columns using 0 . 5 m nacl as eluant . although granular regenerated cellulose itself and ion - exchangers prepared from it u . s . pat . no . 3 , 573 , 277 granted mar . 30 , 1971 ) are known to have excellent flow rates when packed into a column , ( 240 cm / hr under the same conditions as described above ) it is surprising that such high flow rates are still possible after the regenerated cellulose particles have been substituted with hydroxypropyl groups giving rise to softer and more swollen grains . a column was packed with the ion - exchanger , hydroxylpropyl regenerated cellulose - 8 - 50 sulphate ( 1 meq / g ) prepared as herein described in example 2a . it was equilibrated with one column volume of 0 . 5 m magnesium chloride containing 0 . 01 m sodium bicarbonate and adjusted to ph7 . 4 . when serum diluted 1 : 1 with 1 m magnesium chloride and adjusted to ph7 . 4 with 0 . 1 m sodium hydroxide , was passed through the column two of the lipoprotein fractions , the very low density lipoproteins ( vldl ) and the low density lipoproteins ( ldl ) were selectively and quantitatively removed . all other proteins including the third lipoprotein fraction , the high density lipoproteins ( hdl ) passed straight through the column and were washed out with a further column volume of the 0 . 5 m magnesium chloride ( ph 7 . 4 ) solution as used initially to equilibrate the column . the lipoproteins ( vldl and ldl ) bound to the column were eluted with a solution 0 . 25 m in sodium chloride and 0 . 25 m in trisodium citrate which had been adjusted to ph 8 . 4 with 1 m hydrochloric acid . ( alternatively these lipoproteins can be eluted rapidly with 1 m sodium chloride ). the eluted lipoproteins were shown to be uncontaminated with other serum proteins by immunoelectrophoresis and agarose electrophoresis . similarly the serum proteins which passed straight through the column were shown to be devoid of vldl and ldl by immunoelectrophoresis and agarose electrophoresis . the hdl fraction may also be retained on the column if a more highly substituted ion - exchanger is used , e . g . 3 - 5 meq / g but this is not always necessary as it is usually the ldl and vldl which are the main cause of the trouble in serum protein fractionations . the flow rate of serum through the ion exchange column was such that the lipoproteins can be removed from 5 ml of serum inside a 15 minute period and also larger columns can be used still with good flow characteristics . thus quite unexpectedly from previous methods of selectively removing the lipoprotein components from serum , the use of this ion - exchange achieved it quantitatively and with speed . consequently if such a procedure is used first , it can facilitate the isolation of other serum proteins . for example in the preparation of igg from serum , all other proteins are adsorbed onto a column of qae - sephadex leaving igg to pass straight through the column ( protides of the biological fluids ; proceedings of the 17th colloquim , 1969 , p . 511 - 515 ). however the volume of diluted serum loaded onto the column cannot exceed 75 % of the volume of the column or ldl &# 39 ; s and vldl &# 39 ; s also break through the column and contaminate the igg . by removing the ldl &# 39 ; s and vldl &# 39 ; s first on a column of sulphated ion - exchanger and then carrying out the preparation of igg as outlined in the references above , up to three times as much serum may be loaded onto the qae - sephadex column without contamination of the igg being isolated . in order to measure the capacity of the sulphated ion - exchangers for binding lipoproteins each of them was packed in a pasteur pipette to make a small column of volume 1 . 5 ml . their lipoprotein binding capacities were determined using a low density lipoprotein fraction ( vldl plus ldl ) prepared on the ultracentrifuge and thence dialyzed against 0 . 01 m sodium bicarbonate buffer , ph 7 . 4 . the lipoprotein fraction was made up to its original serum volume with the same buffer and then diluted 1 : 1 with a solution containing sodium chloride , magnesium chloride and 0 . 01 m sodium bicarbonate adjusted also to ph 7 . 4 so that the diluted lipoprotein solution has a final salt concentration of 0 . 05 m and a magnesium chloride concentration of 0 . 5 m . the following method was used for each column . the column was equilibrated with 10 ml of solution ( a ) containing 0 . 05 m sodium chloride , 0 . 5 m magnesium chloride , 0 . 01 m sodium bicarbonate and adjusted to ph 7 . 4 . 5 ml of the lipoprotein solution was passed through the column and washed out with 5 ml of solution a followed by 2 ml of 0 . 01 m sodium bicarbonate buffer , ph 7 . 4 . the lipoproteins were then eluted from the column with 1 m sodium chloride and collected in 2 ml . the cholesterol content of this 2 ml was determined as a quantitative measure of the amount of lipoprotein bound to the column . the ion exchanger in the column was finally washed and oven dried at 60 ° c . to determine its dry weight . the results of capacity measurements of selected sulphated ion exchangers made in accordance with this procedure are set out in table ii . table ii______________________________________sulphated ion exhangers lipoprotein capacitymatrix meq / g mg cholersterol / g______________________________________micrograular cellulose10 - 50 2 . 24 25 &# 34 ; 10 - 00 2 . 11 18 &# 34 ; 50 - 00 2 . 06 2regenerated cellulose8 - 50 2 . 11 7 . 5 &# 34 ; 10 - 00 low not tested &# 34 ; 50 - 00 2 . 32 0 . 6 &# 34 ; 100 : 00 1 . 53 0 . 2cross - linked dextran lh - 20 2 . 65 2 . 2 g - 25 2 . 38 0 . 7cross - linked agarose 3 . 1 5 . 2______________________________________ the procedure was repeated using the serum from which the low density lipoproteins had been removed on the ultracentrifuge . this gave a measure of the ion exchanger &# 39 ; s capacity for hdl as none of the other serum proteins bound under these conditions . cellulose was employed in its native fibrous , microcrystalline , microgranular or regenerated forms which was cross - linked and had attached hydroxyalkyl groups . the regenerated cellulose was obtained from either the xanthate or cuprammonium process in a variety of forms such as granular , powder or rounded beads produced by known methods . powder -- by spraying the cellulose solution into the regenerating bath ( n . z . pat . no . 167 , 838 ). bead forms -- by dispersing the cellulose solution into microdrops by vigorous stirring in the presence of an organic solvent immiscible with water before regeneration . ( journal of polymer science : part c 36 , 1971 , page 280 ). ( british pat . no . 1 , 293 , 611 ). the cross - linking agent used can in principle be any bifunctional compound of formula x - r - y wherein x and y are each halo or epoxy groups and r is an aliphatic residue . typical cross - linking agents are set out herein below in table iii . cross - linking was achieved by reacting cellulose or regenerated cellulose in the presence of a base and water . alkali metal hydroxides , primarily sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide , were used for the base . however other alkaline reacting substances such as quanternary ammonium compounds could also be used . the properties of the finished product depended on the degree of cross - linking used . this could be controlled in accordance with the final properties required . the degree of cross - linking was from 1 to 50 %, but more especially from 4 to 20 %, expressed in terms of the volume of cross - linking reagent to the dry weight of cellulose . it will be appreciated that the degree of cross - linking used in any given case will depend on the particular matrix used and the number of activating hydroxy alkayl groups substituted on to it . levels of cross - linking above this range were sometimes required , for example , if the cross - linking was carried out prior to regeneration of the cellulose . the hydroxyalkyl groups could be added to the cellulose or regenerated cellulose at the same time as the crosslinking was carried out by adding an alkylene - oxide or alkylenehalohydrin to the alkali metal hydroxide , water and cross - linking agent . for example hydroxypropyl groups could be added by the use of propylene oxide or propylene chlorohydrin and hydroxyethyl groups by using ethylene oxide or ethylene chlorohydrin . preferably the amount used was between 20 and 200 %. the amount of water present in the reaction was sufficient to dissolve the base and swell the matrix , but not so great as to cause excessive side reactions with the hydroxyalkylating reagent . in order to minimize these side reactions , the reaction could be suitably carried out in the presence of a solvent not miscible with water , e . g . toluene . this solvent may also serve as a heat removing medium , and provide a more uniform distribution of the reactants as well as allow a higher reaction temperature to be used if one of the reactants is of low boiling point . alternatively in the case of regenerated cellulose , the cross - links and / or the hydroxyalkyl groups could be incorporated before the final regeneration of the cellulose by methods known in the art ( n . z . pat . no . 167838 ). the invention may be more fully understood by having reference to the accompanying drawings wherein : the fig1 and 2 are plots of the degree of sulphation expressed in meq / g against time for seven different samples of regenerated cellulose . the number labels , 100 - 0 , etc . have the same meaning as explained in relation to example 1 . fig3 and 4 are plots of the adsorption capacity of the ion exchanger for low density and high density lipoproteins respectively , as explained in example 11 , against the extent of sulphation of the ion exchanger expressed as meq / g . the number labels 6 . 40 etc , have the meaning explained in example 1 . &# 34 ; lh - 20 &# 34 ; refers to sephadex lh - 20 sulphated as described in example 5 . fig1 shows that the reactivity of the cross - linked regenerated cellulose towards sulphation decreases as the amount of cross - linking decreases . conditions of reaction are those given in example 2a using 2 g of pyridine - sulphur trioxide complex . similar reactivities were observed by presoaking in dmf for 16 hours and then carrying out the reaction in dmf at 20 °- 25 ° c . although regenerated cellulose prepared using 50 % and 100 % could be sulphated satisfactorily it has inferior binding capacities for binding lipoproteins , especially when expressed in terms of the dry weight of sulphated ion - exchanger required ( see fig3 and 4 ). fig2 shows how the reactivity of the cross - linked regenerated cellulose towards sulphation is dramatically improved by the presence of added hydroxypropyl groups . conditions of reaction are those given in example 2a using 2 g of pyridine - sulphur trioxide complex . fig3 and 4 show the improved capacity of the sulphated ion - exchangers prepared from hydroxypropylated matrices compared with that obtained using high levels of crosslinking ( 100 %) but no propylene oxide .	2
the following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out their invention . various modifications , however , will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art , since the general principles of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to provide a low aspect ratio flow angle probe for an aircraft with no moving parts . the present invention is shown generally in fig1 to 4 . it comprises a cantilevered airfoil shaped member 10 extending perpendicularly from an arched mounting base 110 . it may be constructed of any suitable material , such as 2024 - t351 aluminum . the span of the airfoil member 10 is approximately 2 inches , although as described below much smaller probes are possible . for the two inch span airfoil member , the chord 120 is approximately one inch and the airfoil member has a thickness 130 of approximately one - eighth of an inch . a suitable wedge angle θ of the airfoil member is approximately twelve degrees ( semi - apex ). in a preferred embodiment , the airfoil member 10 includes a shaped fin 100 comprising a generally flat surface 180 and a parallel flat lower surface 190 which extend to the neck portion 160 . the fin 100 will typically be symmetric with respect to both x and y axes , and comprise leading and trailing edges of two inclined planes 200 a - b , 210 a - b , respectively . the leading edge inclined planes 200 a , b converge to form an apex angle θ , which is preferably symmetric with the apex angle formed by the inclined planes 210 a , b of the trailing edge . the fin 100 narrows at a first end to form a neck portion used to support the strain gauges and to transition from the load bearing surfaces to a mounting base 110 . the neck portion 160 may be rectangular in cross - section and of sufficient thickness to support the cantilevered fin 100 without deformation under the most adverse load conditions . the airfoil member 10 mounts to a base 110 which may have a curved first surface and a flat mounting surface . the flat mounting surface can be used to mount the base 110 flush against an aircraft component or a location on a ship hull . the curved first surface provides thickness to the base 110 to support four holes 220 sized to accept a fastener to secure the base 110 . the holes have a recessed annular shoulder to receive the end of the fasteners to keep the fasteners from interfering with the flow regime . other means for securing the base are possible , such as adhesives . the juncture between the neck portion of the airfoil member and the base include rounded transitions to reduce stress concentrations and promote flow over the neck portion of the probe . the probe includes four strain gauges 150 a - d located on the upper and lower surfaces of the neck portion 160 of the airfoil member 10 . the strain gauges output a voltage signal indicative of the load on the probe . the voltage signals from the strain gauges 150 a - d are conditioned and amplified by a signal conditioning component ( not shown ). a power source ( not shown ) is also preferably cooperating with the strain gauges 150 a - d to provide an excitation voltage . calibration of the flow angle measurement is achieved utilizing in - flight data or wind tunnel data . verification of the present invention has been confirmed with measured angle of flow data acquired by a symmetric angle of flow weather vane probe . fig5 illustrates the conversion from force to angle of attack ( represented in the figure as the greek letter alpha ). aerodynamic loads on the probe due to the movement of air over the probe will produce a stress at the load bearing portion of the probe where the strain gauges are positioned . at a zero angle of attack , the airfoil member will experience a bending stress as the force on the airfoil member is applied to the leading edge of the airfoil member . at a non - zero angle of attack , the aerodynamic force on the airfoil will produce both a bending stress and a torque at the base of the probe , due to the tendency for the airfoil member to twist and bend as a result of the uneven application of aerodynamic forces on the upper and lower surfaces . the strain gauges measure the stresses as a function of millivolts ( mv ), and outputs the signal in millivolts to a first conversion step . in this conversion , which is a thermal calibration , the millivolts are converted to newtons ( n ) for a given temperature ( t 1 , t 2 , t 3 , etc .). the output of this conversion is then provided to a second step where the load in newtons is converted to a flow angle ( α ) for a given dynamic pressure ( q ). fig6 is a composite graph of the steps shown in fig5 correlating strain measured by the probe with angle - of - attack for a given dynamic pressure . to reduce the size of the probe , conventional strain gauges can be replaced with fiber optic wires much more sensitive to strain . the use of fiber optic wires would allow for the fabrication of a very small probe . a probe with strain - detecting fiber optic wires can be used to perform tests on individual streamlines in an airflow , rather than gross airflow behavior . further , the use of a plurality of miniature probes could be used to perform quantitative tufting tests , as opposed to mere qualitative testing by conventional probes . those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just - described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . therefore , it is to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein .	6
referring now to the drawings in detail , and particularly to fig1 , there is shown the present invention , which comprises a method and apparatus for generating , depositing and forming an accurate array of solder bumps on a substrate such as a wafer of for example silicon , or on a layer of plate glass . these solder bumps are utilized to form an array of electrical contacts on that substrate , wafer of plate , for use in the electronics industry . the initial apparatus of the present invention , represented in fig1 thus comprises a solder - loading assembly 20 consisting of a first or lower support compression plate 22 and a second or upper compression plate 24 ( only partially shown , for clarity ). the first or lower support plate 22 of the assembly 20 may be movably supported on lower plate drive 26 and the second or upper plate 24 may be supported by an upper plate drive 28 , wherein each drive 26 and 28 may be movable for compressably advancing the lower and upper plates 22 and 24 toward and apart from one another . the lower plate arrangement 22 of the assembly may be removably disposed within a liquid solder bath 30 or received within a solder deposition application arrangement . one or both of the drives 26 and 28 may have an energy field vibration or agitation generator arrangement therewith , ( not shown for clarity ), to enhance the process of filling the holes 34 , described hereinbelow , with molten solder . a mold plate or pattern plate 32 is arranged in proper alignment on the first or lower plate 22 during operation of the solder - loading assembly 20 . the pattern plate 32 has a plurality of properly aligned “ through - holes ” 34 disposed thereon . the pattern plate 32 is disposed on the first or lower plate 22 in the solder bath 30 or solder - deposition arrangement so as to supply completely void - free molten solder 36 in those through - holes 34 thereon . the first or lower plate 22 and the second or upper plate 24 are then brought pressingly together facing one another with the now solder - filled pattern plate 32 sandwiched therebetween , as represented in fig1 a . during this compression stage between the first or lower plate 22 and the second or upper plate 24 , the excess molten solder 39 is pressed away or “ squeegeed ” off of the pattern plate 32 , that pattern plate 32 then being preferably chilled by a chill means 38 in the lower plate 22 or within the assembly 20 , to a temperature sufficient to solidify the solder 36 in the through - holes 34 in that now “ excess - solder - free ” pattern plate 32 . a vibration means , an ultrasound means or an electromechanical energy field generator 41 may , in a further embodiment , be utilized to help effect void - free solder - filling the through - holes 34 in a step in this process , and also as a further embodiment in the separation of the pattern plate 32 from those solder bumps 36 in a further step in this inventive process . the now solidified , void - free solder 36 in the now excess - solder free pattern plate 32 is transferred to an awaiting substrate 40 such as a silicon wafer , or a plate glass substrate , in proper alignment therewith , as represented in fig2 . the wafer or substrate 40 to which the pattern plate 32 is alignably disposed , may be resting upon or in contact with a wafer supporting base 42 with a heater and / or chill means 44 arranged therewithin . the wafer substrate 40 and pattern plate 32 may then be heated to a temperature above the melting point of the solder 36 within the through - holes 34 of the pattern plate 32 . the now aligned through - holes 34 adheringly deposit their bumps of solder 36 onto the aligned wafer 40 therebeneath , as represented in fig3 . the pattern plate 32 is preferably then liftably removed ( as represented by arrow “ r ”) from the wafer substrate 40 , the through - holes 34 , now empty , and with the solder bumps 36 now adheringly disposed on their particular pads 46 on the now cooled wafer or substrate 40 therebeneath , as is represented in fig4 . that substrate or wafer 40 with the appropriate free - standing solder bumps 36 which are now aligned and secured thereon , and separated from its chill plate base 42 for subsequent further processing , is represented in fig5 . in a further embodiment of the assembly 20 of the present apparatus as shown in fig6 , the first or lower compression plate 22 may have a slightly spherically convex or cylindrically shaped uppermost surface 50 thereon and the second or upper plate 24 may have a corresponding cylindrically or a somewhat convex shaped surface 52 thereon , as represented in figure 6 , so as to provide a rollable or rockable “ squeegee ” effect to a pattern plate 32 supportably compressed therebetween . such a curved upper plate 24 and correspondingly curved lower support plate 22 could be articulated side - to - side by an articulable upper and lower support 54 and 56 to provide a squeezing and excess solder - removal action to a pattern plate 32 with its associated through - holes 34 with temporarily molten solder 36 therein . such articulable excess solder removal would thus shorten the manufacturing process by combining several steps into one operation of filling those through - holes 34 after the “ bath ” 30 , and subsequently compressively and / or squeegingly cleaning the surface of the pattern plate 32 almost simultaneously . a further embodiment of the assembly 20 utilized in the compression operation as applied to a pattern plate 32 , is represented in fig7 , which assembly comprises the advancement of a pattern plate 32 with its respective aligned through - holes 34 therewith being pulled preferably vertically or “ near vertical ” movement from a solder bath 58 , while being rolled or “ squeegeed ” between a pair of compressive roller members 60 and 62 . such compressive members 60 and 62 in one preferred embodiment thereof , would comprise a pair of biasedly - opposed roller 60 and 62 compressing and advancing a pattern plate 32 therebetween , thus compressing each individual through - hole 34 therebetween and simultaneously squeegeeing would thus foreshorten such a through - hole 34 solder filling manufacturing method . the biasedly opposed pair of roller apparatus or squeegee roller members 60 and 62 may be correspondingly chilled by a chill means 66 therein , so as to chill the molten solder 36 in those througth - holes 34 in that particular pattern plate 32 , or by adjacent chill means 69 acting upon the plate 32 upon its movement . the particular through - holes 34 may have various cross - sectional configurations to suit particular wafer requirements . such a pattern plate 32 in one embodiment , may have a straight through - bore or hole 34 therethrough , as is represented in the sectional view shown in fig8 . in another further embodiment of that pattern plate 32 , the through - hole 34 may be a tapered solder - fillable through - hole 70 , so as to create a tapered or conical shape to a solder bump subsequently applied to a substrate . in yet a further embodiment of the through - hole configuration in a pattern plate 32 , as represented in fig1 , a generally hemispherical - shaped depression 72 is arranged on one side of the pattern plate 32 , with a through - hole 74 in the other side of that pattern plate 32 in communication with the hemispherical depression 72 . a yet further embodiment of the through - hole configuration for a pattern plate 32 would be a hour - glass or pinched - waist 76 configuration to the through - hole , as represented in fig1 , wherein that pattern plate 32 may be subsequently etched - away on deposition of that pinched - waist configuration 76 of solder 36 applied to a wafer or substrate . a still further configuration of that through - hole in a pattern plate 32 may be a straight bore 78 therethrough with a slot arrangement 80 disposed on both the top side and the lower side of the patterned plate to provide a “ keyway ” effect therewithin , as is represented in fig1 . alignment of a pattern plate 32 and a wafer or substrate 40 in the prior art is often prior art is often an operation which consumes time and expense . one such apparatus for minimizing the expense , the time and the possible inaccuracies associated therewith , would be to present an apparatus 94 for supporting the patterned plate 32 in a hinged - correspondence to a base 92 for supporting the wafer 40 . pivotably moving the support 91 for the pre - aligned pattern plate 32 and the pre - aligned wafer 40 on a hinged support arrangement 94 , to provide automatic and prompt pivatable self - alignment therebetween , preceding a heating and chilling operation of the pattern plate 32 with its solder 36 filled through - holes 34 therewith for the ultimate deposition of those solder 36 as “ bumps ” onto that wafer 40 is presented herewith , in fig1 .	7
in the following , exemplary embodiments are described of the method and device according to the present invention . these concrete examples are used to explain the realization of the invention , but do not limit the scope of the basic idea of the invention . one aspect of the method according to the present invention is the synchronization of the two circuits on the transmission line , the synchronization taking place via the transmission of a clock signal by the receiver . this is shown as an example in fig1 . in the upper part of the drawing , the signal sent onto the line by the transmitter is shown , and in the lower part the signal sent by the receiver is displayed opposite . the time axes of the two representations agree with one another . as is shown in fig1 , the receiver module sets an approximately rectangular clock signal on the transmission line . the transmitter module detects this clock signal and sets its signal to be transmitted in each of the recessive phases of the clock signal coming in from the receiver . analogously to the can bus , the transmit signals of the two modules are made up of dominant and recessive signals . this means that , when there is simultaneous transmission by a plurality of modules on the line , and thus in the present case simultaneous transmission by the transmitter and receiver , then due for example to the physical boundary conditions of the signal generation the dominant signal “ wins .” the bus remains at the recessive level only if both participants , i . e . transmitter and receiver , send a recessive signal . if at least one participant sends a dominant signal , the bus is at dominant level . if the dominant line level is interpreted as a logical true condition and the recessive line level is interpreted as a logical false condition , then the signal actually present on the line is an or linkage of the two signals sent by transmitter and receiver . in this way , the transmitter sends its data bit - by - bit in the gap between the dominant clock bits of the receiver , these data representing an item of logical information that is to be transmitted to the receiver . as already described , the transmitter observes the transmission line and places its bits to be transmitted in the “ recessive gaps ” of the clock signal . in the recessive phases of the clock signal that the receiver module sends , the receiver module checks the line for a change of edge from recessive to dominant . if the receiver module detects such a change of edge , this is for example interpreted as a logical one . if the receiver does not measure a change of edge up to the beginning of the next dominant clock bit , this is evaluated as a transmitted logical zero . depending on the physical realization of the bus and the particularities of the transmission protocol , recessive bits may also be represented or interpreted as one and dominant bits as zero ( inversion ). the bits transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver can be put together according to any arbitrary method to form data words , can be used to describe registers in the receiver , or can be processed and / or stored in some other way in the receiver . as shown in fig1 , the clock signal can be made up of equally long dominant and recessive phases , but a clock signal is also possible in which the dominant phases are shorter or longer than the recessive phases . an irregular signal having alternating dominant and recessive levels is also suitable for the method , because the receiver always knows whether an observed dominant bus level was set by the receiver or by the transmitter . only this factor is decisive for whether the bit is a bit belonging to the logical item of information or is an element of the clock signal , i . e . a clock bit . fig2 shows , as an example , the schematic configuration of the associated circuit , based on an open - drain interface having pull - up resistors : via the represented pull - down transistors 203 , 206 , transmitter 201 or receiver 204 can pull the transmission line to ground . if this does not happen , at least one pull - up resistor pulls the line to potential vdd 1 . here the state “ potential of the transmission line is ground ” is dominant , and the state “ potential of the transmission line is vdd 1 ” is recessive . receiver 204 produces the clock signal in that digital logic unit 205 that it contains periodically changes pull - down transistor 206 between blocking and transmission . in the blocking phase ( when the transmission line is raised to potential vdd 1 ), transmitter 201 can pull the line to ground by opening its pull - down transistor 203 using digital logic unit 202 . this change of the line level , caused by transmitter 201 , is recognized by receiver 204 as a logical one for example at times during which it interprets the absence of the change of line level in the blocking phase of its pull - down transistor 206 as a logical zero . as already mentioned , the representation of one and zero can also be inverted . the method or the circuit can be used to transmit logical information , in particular configuration information , for initializing a control device or component or a bus connection unit during a system start , the information being transmitted to this device or component or unit . that is , in this case after activation the receiver can begin to continuously specify the clock signal , and can wait for the scattering in of dominant bits by the transmitter . when the expected or required number of bits has been received , the receiver can terminate the transmission of the clock signal . however , the method can of course also be realized in such a way that the receiver continuously transmits a clock signal . also possible is a transmission as needed , i . e . in such a way that the receiver begins to send the clock signal whenever it requires a particular item of information from the transmitter . in the continuous case , the transmitter can begin the transmission of the logical information for example at a time selected by the transmitter itself , or also immediately after having being switched on and having determined the presence of the clock signal from the receiver on the line . if the transmitter does not transmit continuously , but rather for example in packets or in an event - controlled manner , then it makes sense that at the beginning of the transmitted logical information there is transmitted an item of packet start information , for example a leading dominant bit or also a sequence of defined bits , in order to signal to the receiver that a transmission is beginning . it is also conceivable that at the beginning of the logical information there is additionally transmitted an item of length information that indicates how many following logical bits are to be evaluated by the receiver . in the case in which the receiver places the clock signal onto the line only as needed , it makes sense for the transmitter to begin its transmission of the logical information when it has received a number of clock signals that is prespecified , or is prespecifiable , or also is not determined in more detail . it can terminate its transmission when the data provided for transmission have been completely transmitted . in this case , the receiver can resume the sending of the clock signal at a prespecified , prespecifiable , or not more precisely determined point in time or number of clock signals after it has received the last expected datum .	7
the present invention will be understood from the following detailed discussion of the exemplary embodiments which is presented in connection with the accompanying drawings . the present invention provides a method of forming a mosfet transistor , and the resulting structure . in the following description , specific details such as layer thicknesses , process sequences , material compositions , are set forth to provide a complete understanding of the present invention . however , it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the present invention can be employed with variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . the term “ substrate ” used in the following description may include any supporting structure including , but not limited to , a semiconductor substrate that has an exposed substrate surface . semiconductor substrates should be understood to include silicon , silicon - on - insulator ( soi ), silicon - on - sapphire ( sos ), doped and undoped semiconductors , epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductor foundation , and other semiconductor structures . when reference is made to a substrate or wafer in the following description , previous process steps may have been utilized to form regions or junctions in or over the base semiconductor or foundation . in addition , the semiconductor need not be silicon - based , but could be based on silicon - germanium , silicon - on - insulator , silicon - on - saphire , germanium , or gallium arsenide , among others . initially , as shown in fig1 , a gate oxide layer 201 is grown to a desired thickness on a semiconductor substrate 200 , e . g . a silicon substrate . the substrate can be doped to a predetermined conductivity , or as described below , channel region implants may be formed in lieu of or in addition to the substrate doping . the gate oxide layer 201 can be for example , a sio 2 ( silicon dioxide ) layer formed by thermal oxidation of the underlying silicon substrate region 200 or by any other conventional techniques well - known in the art . for purposes of a simplified description , silicon dioxide is employed as the gate oxide layer 201 ; however , other gate oxides well - known in the art can also be utilized . next , a polysilicon conducting layer 202 is formed by deposition on top of the gate oxide layer 201 . then , a first insulating layer 203 , such as a nitride layer is deposited on top of the polysilicon conducting layer 202 . typically , the nitride layer 203 is formed on the polysilicon layer 202 by chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ). however , other techniques well - known in the art can also be utilized , such as sputtering , ald processes , and pecvd to name a few . in addition , alternative - materials besides silicon nitride , possessing the properties of a dielectric can also be utilized for layer 203 . although the gate insulator material is described herein is referred to as silicon nitride , it is to be understood that the present invention also applies to gates that also contain other nitrides , such as oxynitride gate dielectrics , or silicon dioxide , or are solely comprised of nitrides , or that include other possible gate insulator materials , such as , tantalum pentoxide for example . the methods of the present invention can also be employed when high - k ( high dielectric constant ) gate materials are used . in general , the nitride layer 203 acts as an etch stop for later chemical mechanical planarization processes ( cmp ) or any other processes well - known in the art . the gate oxide layer 201 , polysilicon layer 202 , and nitride layer 203 are used to form a gate stack . referring now to fig2 , a gate stack 205 is formed by masking and etching layers 201 , 202 , and 203 . referring now to fig3 a - 3b , self - aligned source / drain implants can then be fabricated . depending on the type of source / drain implants ultimately desired , the source / drain implants can be angled , as shown in fig3 a , to produce angled implant regions 206 a , 206 b , which at this stage , can be of the type that produces ldd implants in the final transistor structure . thus , the doping can partially extend beneath the gate stack 205 , as in fig3 a , or can be vertical 207 a , 207 b , as shown in fig3 b , in which case source / drain regions 207 a , 207 b do not significantly extend beneath the gate stack 205 . for instance , source / drain regions 207 a and 207 b can be self - aligned to the gate stack structure 205 . other well - known ldd implant techniques can also be used in accordance with desired operating characteristics of the transistor under fabrication . alternatively , implanting can also be omitted at this stage if ldd implants are not desired ( not illustrated ). next , as shown in fig4 a , an insulating layer , e . g ., an oxide layer 208 is deposited , for example , by cvd techniques . however , other techniques well - known in the art can also be used to deposit oxide layer 208 ( e . g ., a spacer - forming layer ). for instance , sputtering , ald processes , or pecvd to name only a few . for instance , oxide layer 208 is deposited conformally over the surface of the silicon substrate 200 and gate stack structure 205 . although the present invention utilizes an oxide layer 208 , alternative materials such as tetraethylorthosilicate ( teos ), a high density plasma ( hdp ) oxide , borosilicate glass ( bpg ), phosphosilicate glass ( psg ), borophosphosilicate glass ( bpsg ), or other materials suitable for constructing sidewall spacers adjacent to the gate stack structure 205 can be used in lieu of or in combination with oxide layer 208 . oxide layer 208 ( e . g ., a spacer - forming layer ) is then anisotropically etched , resulting in two oxide sidewall spacers 209 a , 209 b located adjacent to the sidewalls of the gate stack structure 205 as illustrated in fig4 b . after the formation of sidewall spacers 209 a , 209 b , conventional source / drain implants 250 a , 250 b can be formed as illustrated in fig4 b if previous implants were not formed . as noted previously , if earlier ldd implants were formed , as in fig3 a , the source / drain regions 251 a , 251 b , are ldd regions as shown in fig4 c . for purposes of a simplified description , the illustrated structures show source / drain regions 250 a , and 250 b ; however , it should be understood that the invention has equal applicability to transistors having ldd source / drain regions . a second insulating layer 211 is next blanket deposited over the substrate 200 , and gate stack 205 having spacers 209 a , 209 b , as shown in fig5 a . the second insulating layer 211 can also be formed from the group consisting of hdp , bpg , psg , bpsg , teos , and other alternative materials that are well - known in the art which may be used in lieu of or in combination to form the second insulating layer 211 . referring now to fig5 b , the second insulating layer 211 undergoes a chemical mechanical planarization process ( cmp ) down to the first insulating layer 203 , e . g ., nitride layer 203 . as a result , the surface of the second insulating layer 211 becomes substantially planar with the surface of the exposed nitride layer 203 . again , other techniques that are well - known in the art can be used to form the surface of the second insulating layer 211 so that it becomes smooth and substantially planar with the surface of the exposed nitride layer 203 . next , as shown in fig5 c , the nitride layer 203 ( e . g ., first insulating layer ) is etched away using a wet nitride etch , e . g ., h 3 po 5 ( hot phosphoric ), with a good selectivity to oxide . other techniques that are well - known in the art can also be used to etch away the first insulating layer so that the conducting layer 202 is exposed . as a result , the nitride layer 203 is completely etched away exposing the surface of the conducting layer 202 as fig5 c illustrates . after this processing step , if channel implants are desired ( and have not been performed previously ), they can now be formed . thus , optional channel implant region 301 can be formed by implanting dopant through the polysilicon layer 202 and the gate oxide layer 201 of the gate stack structure 205 . the optional channel implant region 301 is formed beneath and is self - aligning to the gate stack 205 . spacers 209 a and 209 b at least in part , define optional channel implant region 301 . it is to be appreciated , that additional channel implant regions can be fabricated if desired . fabrication of additional channel implant regions utilizing the methods of the present invention are described below . many channel implant variations are possible for channel implant regions in addition to optional channel implant region 301 illustrated in fig5 c . for example , another exemplary embodiment is illustrated in fig6 a - 6c . a first implant can be conducted , as illustrated in fig6 a , to form a first channel implant region 301 ( similar to methods described in fig5 a - 5c ). then , a nitride layer 271 ( e . g ., a third insulating layer ) can be blanket deposited as shown in fig6 b , and subsequently etched and planarized as shown in fig6 c , to produce nitride spacers 212 a , 212 b adjacent to the sides of the insulating layer 211 and covering at least a portion of the exposed conducting layer 202 . although the present invention utilizes a nitride layer 271 , other materials well - known in the art that are suitable for constructing spacers adjacent to the sides of the insulating layer 211 and covering at least a portion of the exposed conducting layer 202 , can be used in lieu of or in combination with the nitride layer 271 . a second optional channel implant can then be conducted to produce a channel implant region 303 smaller in size ( e . g ., smaller in width compared to the gate stack &# 39 ; s 205 width and optional channel implant region 301 &# 39 ; s width ) than channel implant region 301 , as depicted in fig6 c . nitride spacers 212 a and 212 b , at least in part , define optional channel implant region 303 . if nitride spacers 212 a and 212 b cover a greater portion of the conducting layer 202 ( e . g ., less surface area of the conducting layer 202 is exposed ), the optional channel implant region 303 will be accordingly smaller in width . if nitride spacers 212 a and 212 b cover a smaller portion of the conducting layer 202 ( e . g ., more surface area of the conducting layer is exposed ), the optional channel implant region 303 will be accordingly wider . further , channel implant region 303 can possess a higher or smaller dopant concentration than channel implant region 301 , depending upon the characteristics of the desired fabricated device . as a result , the construction of nitride spacers 212 a and 212 b can define the width of channel implant region 303 depending upon the desired device &# 39 ; s operating characteristics . alternatively , in another embodiment of the present invention , the processing sequences forming optional channel implant region 301 , shown in fig6 a , can be omitted in which case only channel implant region 303 is formed ( not illustrated ). the optional channel implant region 303 is narrower than the gate stack 205 due to the presence of the optional nitride spacers 212 a , 212 b , as shown in fig6 c , and is self - aligning to the gate stack structure 205 . as described previously , channel implant region 303 is at least in part defined by nitride spacers 212 a and 212 b . as can be appreciated from the various embodiments , optional spacers 212 a , 212 b ( comprised of nitride or other materials well - known in the art ) can be fabricated to any desired size above the conducting layer 202 to create different sizes for channel implant region 303 . even more additional channel implant variations are depicted in fig7 a - 7d . referring now to fig7 a , and as discussed previously in fig5 c , the nitride layer 203 ( e . g ., first insulating layer ) is etched away using a wet nitride etch , e . g ., h 3 po 5 ( hot phosphoric ), with a good selectivity to oxide . then , portions of the second insulating layer 211 adjacent to the gate stack 205 , are selectively etched to produce the structure in fig7 b , which possesses a wider channel implant region 305 than the width of the gate stack 205 . as a result , a first channel implant region 305 can then be implanted as shown in fig7 b . as illustrated in fig7 b , channel implant region 305 is wider than the width of the gate stack structure 205 . thus , the degree of etching of the insulating layer 211 defines at least in part , the width of channel implant region 305 . additionally , if desired , formation of channel implant region 305 can be omitted . assuming channel implant region 305 is provided , following this , a nitride layer 273 , e . g ., an optional third insulating layer , can be blanket deposited as shown in fig7 c , and selectively etched to produce nitride spacers 275 a , 275 b as illustrated in fig7 d . although the present invention utilizes a nitride layer 273 as the insulating layer , other materials well - known in the art that are suitable for constructing spacers adjacent to the sides and covering at least a part of the second insulating layer 211 , and covering at least a - part of the exposed conducting layer 202 , can be used in lieu of or in combination with the nitride layer 273 . a second optional channel implant region 307 can then be formed as shown in fig7 d that is self - aligning to the gate stack 205 . the second channel implant region 307 is at least in part defined by spacers 275 a and 275 b . as a result , the width of the optional channel implant region 307 , illustrated in fig7 d , can be substantially controlled , and it can have a different concentration of dopant when compared to optional channel implant region 305 . the width of the optional channel implant region 307 is controlled by the manner in which the nitride layer 273 ( e . g ., third insulating layer ) is selectively etched . selective etching of the nitride layer 273 , as shown in fig7 c , can result in nitride spacers 275 a , 275 b , shown in fig7 d , which can form an optional channel implant region 307 that is substantially smaller than the width of the gate stack 205 , and can also be self - aligning to the gate stack 205 depending upon the desired device &# 39 ; s operating characteristics . the width of the channel implant region 307 , as illustrated in fig7 d , can be narrower or wider than illustrated . furthermore , the dopant concentration of channel implant region 307 can be greater or less than the dopant concentration found in channel implant region 305 . as can be appreciated from the various embodiments , nitride spacers 275 a , 275 b can be fabricated to any desired size located above the conducting layer 202 or layer 211 , to create different optional channel implant regions 305 and 307 that can be different in width and dopant concentration than depicted in fig7 b . in addition , the step of forming channel implant region 305 , as illustrated in fig7 b , can be omitted if desired . as a result , only channel implant region 307 is formed utilizing nitride spacers 275 a and 275 b . fig7 a - 7d illustrate only a small number of different possibilities that can be achieved when utilizing the methods of the present invention . many different embodiments and variations are possible by creating additional spacers such as 275 a and 275 b . additional spacers can also be used and created in conjunction or in lieu of spacers 275 a , 275 b to create even more different channel implant regions than is illustrated in fig7 a - 7d . for example , an additional insulating could be provided over spacers 275 a , 275 b and subsequently selectively etched to form additional spacers ( not illustrated ). the additional spacers could again define , at least in part , a third channel implant region within channel implant region 307 , assuming that it was previously formed . for instance , a third channel implant region can be formed within channel implant region 307 if desired ( not illustrated ) that possesses a greater or lesser dopant concentration than channel implant implant region 307 . further , even more additional channel implant regions ( e . g ., a plurality of channel implant regions ) are possible with the construction of additional spacers which at least in part , would define the width of the plurality of channel implant regions . another variation of channel implants which can be produced is described below with reference to fig8 a - 8e . in this variant , after removal of the first insulating layer 203 , portions of the second insulating layer 211 adjacent to the gate stack 205 , are selectively etched to produce the structure in fig8 b , which possesses a wider implant area 305 than the width of the gate stack 205 ( similar to the structure disclosed in fig7 b ). in this exemplary embodiment , a clean is conducted after formation of channel implant region 305 . if channel implant region 305 is not formed , a clean is conducted after selectively etching portions of the second insulating layer 211 . an additional optional etch is next conducted on sidewall spacers 209 a and 209 b as shown in fig8 c , recessing them to a pre - determined depth ( e . g ., selectively etching them to a predetermined height ). the depth of the etch should not extend to the gate oxide layer 201 . after the clean and etch , a nitride layer 273 ( e . g ., third insulating layer as described in reference to fig7 a - 7d ) can be blanket deposited as shown in fig8 d , and selectively etched to produce nitride spacers 275 a , 275 b of fig8 e . a second channel implant region 307 can then be formed as shown in fig8 e that is self - aligning to the gate stack 205 at least in part defined by spacers 275 a , 275 b . as discussed previously with respect to fig7 a - 7d , the width of the channel implant region 307 can be narrower or wider than illustrated and possess a higher or smaller dopant concentration than channel implant region 305 . further , a third channel implant region can be formed within channel implant region 307 if desired . still further , a plurality of channel implant regions can be formed within each previously formed channel implant region utilizing the methods of the present invention , at least in part defined by additionally formed spacers . the purpose of conducting an optional etch on sidewall spacers 209 a , 209 b , is to allow a second set of spacers , such as 275 a and 275 b , to protect the edges of the conducting layer 202 from shorts , as illustrated in fig8 e . spacers 275 a and 275 b can also provide further enhancement for future sac ( self - aligned contact ) etching processes . this exemplary embodiment finds particular utility in fabricating dram devices . as described above , additional channel implant regions can also be formed within channel implant region 307 is desired ( not illustrated ). these additional channel implant regions can also possess a different dopant concentration and have different widths than optional channel implant regions 305 and 307 . after the optional channel implants are fabricated , spacers 212 a , 212 b as depicted in fig6 c , or 275 a , 275 b as depicted in fig7 d and fig8 e , are present over or adjacent to the gate stack 205 . referring now to fig9 a - 9b which illustrates spacers 212 a , 212 b following the methods of fig6 a - 6c implantation steps , a thin layer of tungsten nitride ( wn x ) 216 a is first blanket deposited followed next by a layer of tungsten ( w ) 216 b . these metal layers 216 a and 216 b , e . g . refractory metal layers , are planarized using cmp as shown in fig9 b . other techniques that are well - known in the art can also be utilized to create a substantially planar surface for the metal layers 216 a and 216 b . in addition , other conductive layers that are well - known in the art can be used in lieu of the w / wn x layer combination . for example , a w / tin combination can be deposited in place of the w / wn x layer combination . still further , only one conductive layer can deposited if desired rather than a combination of metal layers . after the metal deposition steps , a silicide process is conducted to form a metallic silicide on the polysilicon 202 region of the gate stack 205 . for purposes of a simplified description , the silicide process is not described . the formation of a metallic silicide is well - known in the art . the process described above of layering in w / wn x or w / tin with reference to fig9 a and 9b , can also be applied with equal success to the structures described in reference to fig7 a - 7d or fig8 a - 8e ( or any other variants which are not illustrated ), to form a silicide from the refractory metal in layers 216 a , 216 b and the polysilicon layer 202 . the addition of the refractory metal layers after implantation allows fabrication of a structure that does not etch the metal layers . as described previously , the presence of metal layers during device fabrication can have deleterious effects . since the metal layers are deposited after implantation and etching are completed , the deleterious effects are avoided . accordingly , the methods of the present invention find particular utility anytime a structure is fabricated and one wishes to avoid etching the last formed layers during the fabrication process . referring now to fig9 c , additional insulating layers and other structures can be fabricated over the thus formed transistor . for example , an insulating layer 281 , e . g ., bpsg , can be deposited over the fig9 b structure and openings 291 etched through layers 281 and 211 to the source / drain regions , which are filled with a conductor 293 , e . g ., polysilicon , to provide contacts to source / drain regions 250 a , 250 b . an opening in insulator 281 , can also be etched to conductive layer 216 b which is filled with a conductor to provide contact to the transistor gate . fig1 is a block diagram of a processor system : having many electronic components which may be fabricated as an integrated circuit chip having a transistor structure produced as described above . the processor system 900 includes one or more processors 901 coupled to a local bus 904 . a memory controller 902 and a primary bus bridge 903 are also coupled the local bus 904 . the processor system 900 may include multiple memory controllers 902 and / or multiple primary bus bridges 903 . the memory controller 902 and the primary bus bridge 903 may be integrated as a single device 906 . the memory controller 902 is also coupled to one or more memory buses 907 . each memory bus accepts memory components 908 which include at least one memory device 100 . the memory components 908 may be a memory card or a memory module . examples of memory modules include single inline memory modules ( simms ) and dual inline memory modules ( dimms ). the memory components 908 may include one or more additional devices 909 . for example , in a simm or dimm , the additional device 909 might be a configuration memory , such as a serial presence detect ( spd ) memory . the memory controller 902 may also be coupled to a cache memory 905 . the cache memory 905 may be the only cache memory in the processing system . alternatively , other devices , for example , processors 901 may also include cache memories , which may form a cache hierarchy with cache memory 905 . if the processor system 900 include peripherals or controllers which are bus masters or which support direct memory access ( dma ), the memory controller 902 may implement a cache coherency protocol . if the memory controller 902 is coupled to a plurality of memory buses 907 , each memory bus 907 may be operated in parallel , or different address ranges may be mapped to different memory buses 907 . the primary bus bridge 903 is coupled to at least one peripheral bus 910 . various devices , such as peripherals or additional bus bridges may be coupled to the peripheral bus 910 . these devices may include a storage controller 911 , an miscellaneous i / o device 914 , a secondary bus bridge 915 , a multimedia processor 918 , and an legacy device interface 920 . the primary bus bridge 903 may also coupled to one or more special purpose high speed ports 922 . in a personal computer , for example , the special purpose port might be the accelerated graphics port ( agp ), used to couple a high performance video card to the processor system 900 . the storage controller 911 couples one or more storage devices 913 , via a storage bus 912 , to the peripheral bus 910 . for example , the storage controller 911 may be a scsi controller and storage devices 913 may be scsi discs . the i / o device 914 may be any sort of peripheral . for example , the i / o device 914 may be an local area network interface , such as an ethernet card . the secondary bus bridge may be used to interface additional devices via another bus to the processor system . for example , the secondary bus bridge may be an universal serial port ( usb ) controller used to couple usb devices 917 via to the processor system 900 . the multimedia processor 918 may be a sound card , a video capture card , or any other type of media interface , which may also be coupled to one additional devices such as speakers 919 . the legacy device interface 920 is used to couple legacy devices , for example , older styled keyboards and mice , to the processor system 900 . any or all of the electronic and storage devices depicted in fig1 may employ a transistor constructed in accordance with the invention . for example , the processors 901 and / or memory devices 100 may contain transistors fabricated in accordance with the invention . the processor system 900 illustrated in fig1 is only an exemplary processing system with which the invention may be used . while fig1 illustrates a processing architecture especially suitable for a general purpose computer , such as a personal computer or a workstation , it should be recognized that well - known modifications can be made to configure the processor system 900 to become more suitable for use in a variety of applications . for example , many electronic devices which require processing may be implemented using a simpler architecture which relies on a cpu 901 coupled to memory components 908 and / or memory devices 100 . these electronic devices may include , but are not limited to audio / video processors and recorders , gaming consoles , digital television sets , wired or wireless telephones , navigation devices ( including system based on the global positioning system ( gps ) and / or inertial navigation ), and digital cameras and / or recorders , as well as other electronic devices . the modifications may include , for example , elimination of unnecessary components , addition of specialized devices or circuits , and / or integration of a plurality of devices . although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated herein , many modifications , even substitutions of materials , can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . accordingly , the above description and accompanying drawings are only illustrative of exemplary embodiments that can achieve the features and advantages of the present invention . it is not intended that the invention be limited to the embodiments shown and described in detail herein . the invention is limited only by the scope of the following claims .	7
turning now to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 a vehicle seat assembly 10 is illustrated as comprising a seat cushion assembly 12 , a seat back 14 pivotally mounted to the seat cushion assembly 12 , a support frame 16 , a linkage assembly 18 pivotally mounted between the seat cushion assembly 12 and the support frame 16 , and a latch assembly 20 . the seat cushion assembly 12 necessarily includes a conventional cushion member 22 secured in a known manner to a generally rectangular horizontally positioned frame 24 . the seat cushion frame 24 includes laterally spaced sidewalls 26 , 28 which may be formed of a double - walled construction and front and rear walls 30 , 32 . a laterally extending brace 34 is positioned between the inner sides of the sidewalls 26 , 28 . the seat back 14 , which similarly includes a cushion portion 36 , is pivotally mounted through pins 38 to the sidewalls 26 , 28 . a plurality of journal members 40 extend rearwardly from the inner face 41 of the front wall 30 , as may best be seen in fig2 . the support frame 16 is preferably formed as a pair of laterally spaced upstanding brackets or plates 42 , 44 . each plate 42 , 44 has a flat base portion 46 which is conventionally secured to the floor ( not shown ) of the vehicle by cooperation with known fasteners or the like . the plates 42 , 44 further include generally rectangular imperforate outer shield plates 48 and generally triangular upstanding latch plates 50 spaced laterally inwardly from the shield plates 48 . each latch plate 50 includes at least one latching detent , as indicated by the forwardly positioned hole 52 . the linkage assembly 18 is simply constructed to include a pair of laterally outwardly positioned elongated link members 54 , 56 , each of which is pivotally mounted to the seat cushion frame 24 as indicated at a pivot pin 58 at its top end , and to the latch plate 50 as through a pin indicated at 60 at its bottom end . the linkage assembly 18 further includes a generally u - shaped bar member 62 having laterally spaced legs 64 , 66 positioned laterally inwardly with respect to the rear links 54 , 56 and pivotally mounted as through pins indicated at 68 , 70 and upstanding trunnion mounts 72 , 74 carried with the plates 42 , 44 , respectively of the support frame 16 . a bridge portion 76 joins the leg 64 , 66 being pivotally received through bores 78 in journal members 40 connected to the front wall 30 of the seat frame 24 . the latch assembly 20 consists of an actuator plate 80 rotatably mounted in known fashion such as by a journalled pin as indicated at 81 to the front face of the support brace 34 . a pair of pin guides 82 , 84 carried in depending fashion from the sidewalls 26 , 28 of the seat cushion frame 24 are provided to carry latching pins 86 , 88 . the latching pins 86 , 88 are resiliently biased outwardly in known fashion and are connected to the latch plate 80 by cables 90 , 92 . another cable 94 connects through an eyelet 96 to the latch plate 80 at one end , and at the other end to a ring pull actuator 98 . a coil spring 100 is fixed between the latch plate 80 and the brace 34 to bias the latch plate 80 toward the position shown in fig1 in which the latch pins 86 , 88 are urged outwardly into their latching positions . the operation of the seat assembly 10 to fold down to lowered positions can be readily appreciated by reference to fig2 - 4 . in these views the link pivotally connecting the seat back 14 to the seat cushion assembly 12 through the pin indicated at 38 in fig1 is eliminated to simplify the graphical presentation . it will be understood that any known mounting arrangement that permits pivotal movement of the seat back forwardly into a position in which its front surface f abuttingly engages the top surface t of the cushion member 22 may be employed . it will also be understood that the motion of components only on the left side of the seat assembly as it faces forward are described since the symmetrically positioned components on the other side of the seat operate identically . in the upright position of fig2 the latch pin 88 is biased outwardly to abuttingly engage a rear surface 102 of support plate 42 . this holds the rear link 54 and the front leg 64 , which are illustrated as being arranged in parallel fashion and being of equal length , in the operative position for occupant seating . drawing on the ring pull 98 rotates the latch plate 80 to withdraw the latch pin 88 from abutting engagement with the surface 102 and permits the seat cushion assembly 12 to be moved forward and downwardly as shown in fig3 to a position where the latch pin 88 registers with the hole 52 in the latch plate 50 , the link 54 and the leg 64 pivoting counterclockwise in parallelogram fashion to control this movement . such movement of the seat is particularly useful when it is utilized in a vehicle position in which an occupant entering the vehicle may desire such forward movement of the seat to facilitate ingress or egress to or from the rear of the seat assembly 10 . a subsequent actuation of the latch assembly 20 can withdraw the pin 88 and permit further movement of the seat cushion assembly 12 to the position shown in fig4 . in any of the illustrated positions , the seat back 14 may be moved pivotally to rest upon the seat cushion assembly 12 as shown in fig4 . downward movement of the seat cushion assembly may be stopped by abutting engagement of the latch pin holder 84 with the floor of the vehicle ( not shown ) or by providing other mechanical stop means . it will be particularly noted in fig4 that the fully stowed downward positioning of the seat assembly 10 is enhanced by the arrangement of the link 54 and the leg 64 in laterally spaced positions with respect to the seat cushion frame 24 . the linkage structure effecting the stowing movement of the seat assembly 10 does not obstruct full downward movement of the frame 24 . it will also be noted that the shield plate 48 substantially covers the linkage assembly 18 and provides for direct engagement with the latch pin 88 . in some vehicle applications , it may also be useful to utilize the nonmovable support frame as a mount for components associated with the use of the seat , such as occupant restraints . turning now to fig5 an alternative embodiment 580 of the latch plate is shown in which an offset ramp surface 104 terminating in a detent formed by an abutment surface 106 is positioned extending in arcuate fashion near the top of the plate 550 . a locking notch 108 is positioned at the forward bottom edge of the plate 550 . in this alternative embodiment , no depending latch pin guide members are utilized and a spring loaded guide pin 588 extends directly outwardly from the seat frame 524 . the seat assembly 510 , similar to the seat assembly 10 of fig1 - 4 provides a latch assembly 520 , having a latch plate 580 carried for horizontal rotative movement on a brace member 534 is resiliently biased into position by a return spring 500 carried on the seat cushion frame 524 . cables 590 connect with cable pulls 598 for rotating the actuator plate 580 and withdrawing outwardly spring biased pins 586 , 588 slidably mounted in the seat cushion frame 524 as by brackets 587 , 589 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the number of alternatives to the latch assemblies 20 and 520 disclosed are possible and readily available . any mechanism for selectively withdrawing and replacing a latch pin from the seat cushion frame 24 or 524 or guide structure associated with it , such as the guide members 82 , 84 may be employed with the stowable seat assembly of the present invention . when the pin 588 is withdrawn by operation of a pull , such as 598 , the outer end of the pin 588 slides along the ramp surface 104 , which serves as a release mechanism , until it engages the abutment 106 establishing the intermediate folded position . the seat may be restored to the upright position simply by pushing it to move rearwardly without operating the cable pull 598 to withdraw the pin 588 . the fully stowed position of this seat can be established by withdrawal of the pin 588 from the position of engagement with abutment 106 and moving the seat forwardly until the pin 588 engages in the notch 108 . motion reversal from this position , of course , required operation of the cable pull 598 to withdraw the pin 588 . while only certain embodiments of the stowable seat assembly of the present invention have been described , others may be possible without departing from the scope of the appended claims .	1
the particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention . in this regard , no attempt is made to show structural details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the present invention , the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the present invention may be embodied in practice . fig1 depicts a conventional prior art piston 2 for an internal combustion engine . the piston has a cylindrical shape with a head 4 ( or top ) and is generally hollow inside . the lower end of the cylindrical wall of the piston 2 is known as the skirt 8 . internally disposed within the piston 4 is a pair of pin bosses 6 which each have a pin bore 7 adapted to receive a wrist pin ( not shown ) in which a connecting rod ( not shown ) is rotatably attached . formed within the outer cylindrical wall of the piston 2 proximate the head 4 are three ring grooves , including a first ( or top ) ring groove 10 , a second ring groove 12 , and an oil ring groove 14 . fig2 is detail view of the ring grooves from fig1 taken along cross - section 2 - 2 . the head 4 of the piston 2 also forms the top land 16 which provides the top surface of the top ring groove 10 . a second land is disposed between the top ring groove 10 and the second ring groove 12 , thereby providing the lower surface of the top ring groove 10 and the upper surface of the second ring groove 12 . a third land is disposed between the second ring groove 12 and the oil ring groove 14 , thereby providing the lower surface of the second ring groove 20 and the upper surface of the oil ring groove 14 . also shown in phantom lines are the top ring 30 , the second ring 40 , and the third ring 50 . the present invention , various aspects thereof , and various embodiments thereof are shown in fig3 - 15 . to overcome the unwanted dissipation of coatings and dry - films from the flat surfaces of the ring due to friction and high temperatures , one aspect of the present invention is the incorporation of replenishment pockets 32 , 42 , 52 or 62 on the flat surfaces of the ring 30 , 40 , 50 or 60 ( i . e ., the upper 24 and lower 26 surfaces ). such pockets may vary in size , depth , the number used , and the arrangement or orientation in which the pockets are formed in the upper and lower flat surface of the ring . the pockets 32 , 42 , 52 or 62 may be formed by a various known metal removal techniques , for example mechanical removal by milling tools , laser removal , or by chemical etching . a depth of 0 . 001 thousandths of an inch is an exemplary preferred depth ; however , it is appreciated that the depth of the pocket may vary according to each application . for instance , if it desired that the replenishment pockets store more lubricant , than the depth can be increased in any desired increment . thus , it is foreseeable that a depth ranging from about 0 . 001 thousandths to 0 . 010 thousandths ( or even larger ) may be implemented depending on the overall thickness of the ring , so long as the overall strength of the ring is not greatly effected . it is preferred that the number and shape ( i . e ., total area covered ) of the replenishment pockets 32 , 42 , 52 or 62 be correlated to a percentage of total coverage of the surface of the ring 30 , 40 , 50 or 60 . for instance , it is preferred that a range between about 30 percent to about 10 percent of the ring surface be covered by replenishment pockets . and it is even more preferable that the replenishment pockets cover about 20 percent of the ring surface . thus , it can be seen , that the size of the replenishment pockets ( i . e ., the diameter size or shape ) and the number of replenishment pockets disposed on the ring surface , and depths thereof , can be adjusted and / or vary to meet a specific total replenishment pocket coverage requirement . hence , it is foreseeable that pocket size and volume can be correlated directly to a desired life period for the rings . the lubricant disposed within the replenishment pockets may comprise a variety of materials and / or compositions , for example , various dry - film lubricants or any other composition which may be disposed within a replenishment pocket . the lubricant may be for example , graphite tungsten disulfide or molybdenum disulfide . it is noted , however , that the aforementioned list of lubricants is merely exemplary and is not intended to be comprehensive . rather , it is well - known that from time to time , preferred dry film compositions or lubricants which may be ideally adapted to be disposed within the replenishment pockets may be invented or developed , and that such advancements in compositions or lubricants may also be utilized in the replenishment pockets in the foreseeable future . the manner in which the replenishment pockets function is now explained . as already discussed , the replenishment pockets 32 , 42 , 52 or 62 act as reservoirs which contain lubricant , such as a dry - film or a coating . furthermore , at least one of the upper 24 and lower 26 surfaces of the ring may be further coated with lubricant or a coating . as the pistons move up and down , the upper and lower ring surface may typically contact portions of the grooves 10 , 12 , 14 and lands 16 , 18 , 20 formed in the piston 2 . moreover , the rings may slightly rotate within the groves 10 , 12 , 14 . such surface to surface contact ( i . e . friction ) under extreme heat tends to remove and dissipate the lubricant from the top and bottom surfaces of the ring . when the lubricant , such as dry film has been worn from the top and bottom surfaces of the ring , the dry - film from the replenishment pockets is displaced and migrates from the pockets ( from friction ) and is redeposited onto the flat surfaces of the ring . following are several examples of ring designs which utilize the exemplary replenishment pockets . fig3 is a first exemplary embodiment of a ring 30 having slot - shaped replenishment pockets 32 disposed on at least one of the flat surfaces of the ring , according to an aspect of the present invention . the ring 30 is defined by an inner side 23 , and outer ring face side 23 , and substantially flat top and bottom surfaces 24 , 26 . the ring 30 further is defined by a width w ( see fig4 ) and a thickness t ( see fig6 ). fig4 is a detail view taken from detail 4 of fig3 which shows an exemplary arrangement of the slot - shaped replenish pockets 32 on at least one of the surfaces of the ring 24 , 26 , according to an aspect of the present invention . in this embodiment , a plurality of slot - shaped pockets 32 are radially aligned ( i . e ., spanning the width w of the ring ) and equally spaced around the ring 30 . in the particular example , there are eighteen pockets 32 disposed on the top surface 24 of the ring 30 , wherein each pocket 32 is spaced apart by about 20 degrees , and wherein the pockets 32 start at about 10 degrees from the end gap of the ring 30 . it is noted that the slot - shaped pockets 32 may be arranged and / or oriented in many different ways , and therefore , the present invention should not be limited merely to the first exemplary embodiment depicted in fig3 - 6 . for example , the slot - shaped pockets 32 need not be radially aligned ; as an alternative , the slot - shaped pockets 32 may be slanted at angles , or the spacing may also vary depending on the number of pockets desired to be formed on the surfaces 24 , 26 of the ring 30 . fig5 is a detail view taken from detail 5 of fig4 which shows a close - up view of an exemplary slot - shaped replenishment pocket 32 , according to an aspect of the present invention . this exemplary embodiment of a slot - shaped pocket 32 has the dimensions of 0 . 080 inches in length , about 0 . 15 inches in width , and a radius of about 0 . 0075 inches . however , it is noted that the shape and dimensions of the slot - shaped pocket 32 may vary , and thus the present invention should not be limited to merely to the first exemplary embodiment shown in the fig3 - 6 fig6 is a detail view taken from fig4 which shows a cross - section of the ring 30 taken along cross - section 6 - 6 , according to an aspect of the present invention . as discussed , the slot - shaped pockets 32 may be formed either on the top surface 24 ( as shown in fig6 ), the pockets 32 may be formed on the bottom surface 26 ( not shown in fig6 ), or the pockets 32 may be formed on both flat sides of the ring 30 . fig7 is a second exemplary embodiment of a ring 40 having a plurality of radial - spaced pairs of circular - shaped replenishment pockets 42 disposed on at least one of the flat surfaces of the ring 40 , according to an aspect of the present invention . the ring 40 is defined by an inner side 23 , an outer ring face side 22 , and substantially flat top and bottom surfaces 24 , 26 . the ring 40 further is defined by a width w ( see fig8 ) and a thickness t ( see fig9 ). fig8 is a detail view taken from detail 8 of fig7 which shows an exemplary arrangement of the circular - shaped pairs replenishment pockets 42 on at least one of the surfaces of the ring 24 , 26 , according to an aspect of the present invention . in this exemplary embodiment , a plurality of circular - shaped pairs pockets 42 are radially aligned ( i . e ., spanning the width w of the ring ), circumferentially aligned , and equally spaced around the ring 40 . in the particular example , there are a plurality of pairs of pockets 42 disposed on the top surface 24 of the ring 40 , wherein each pair of pockets 42 is spaced apart by about 5 degrees , and wherein the pockets 42 start at about 12 degrees from the end gap of the ring 40 . furthermore , each circular - shaped pocket 42 is spaced about 0 . 020 inches from the ring face 22 or the inner side 23 . the exemplary embodiment of a circular - shaped pocket 42 has the dimensions of 0 . 015 inches in diameter ; however , it is appreciated that the size of the pocket 42 may vary according to the application . it is noted that the circular - shaped pockets 42 may be arranged and / or oriented in many different ways , and therefore , the present invention should not be limited merely to the exemplary embodiment depicted in fig7 through 9 . for example , the circular - shaped pair of pockets 42 need not be radially aligned ; as an alternative , the circular - shaped pair of pockets 42 may be slanted at angles , or the spacing may also vary depending on the number of pair pockets desired to be formed on the surfaces 24 , 26 of the ring 40 . moreover , the overall diameter , depth and / or shape of the circular - shaped pockets 42 may vary , and thus the present invention should not be limited to merely to the second exemplary embodiment shown in fig7 - 9 . fig9 is a detail view taken from fig8 which shows a cross - section of the ring 40 taken along cross - section 9 - 9 , according to an aspect of the present invention . as discussed , the circular - shaped pockets 42 may be formed either on the top surface 24 ( as shown in fig9 ), the pockets 42 may be formed on the bottom surface 26 ( not shown in fig9 ), or the pockets 42 may be formed on both flat sides of the ring 40 . furthermore , the depth of the pocket 42 may vary depending on the amount of lubricant that is desired to be disposed within the pockets 42 . fig1 is a third exemplary embodiment of a ring 50 having a plurality of sets of stepped or staggered circular - shaped replenishment pockets 52 disposed on at least one of the flat surfaces of the ring 50 , according to an aspect of the present invention . the ring 50 is defined by an inner side 23 , and outer ring face side 22 , and substantially flat top and bottom surfaces 24 , 26 . the ring 50 further is defined by a width w ( see fig1 ) and a thickness t ( see fig1 ). fig1 is a detail view taken from detail 11 of fig1 which shows an exemplary arrangement of the plurality of sets of stepped or staggered circular - shaped replenishment pockets 52 on at least one of the surfaces of the ring 24 , 26 , according to an aspect of the present invention . in this exemplary embodiment , a plurality of circular - shaped pockets 52 are arranged in stepped or staggered sets , which have the appearance of a zig - zagging pattern . in particular , there are a plurality of pockets 52 disposed on the top surface 24 of the ring 50 , wherein each pockets 52 is spaced apart by about 7 degrees , and wherein the pockets 52 start at about 7 degrees from the end of the ring 50 . the three pocket pattern is then repeated every 21 degrees around the circumference of the ring 50 . the pockets 52 closest to the ring face 22 and inner side 23 are spaced from the ring face 22 and inner side 23 by about 0 . 030 inches . the exemplary embodiment of a circular - shaped pocket 52 has the dimensions of 0 . 020 inches in diameter ; however , it is appreciated that the size of the pocket 42 may vary according to the application . it is noted that the circular - shaped pockets 52 may be arranged and / or oriented in many different ways , and therefore , the present invention should not be limited merely to the second exemplary embodiment depicted in the figures . for example , the circular - shaped pockets 52 need not be in a three pocket pattern ; as an alternative , the circular - shaped pockets 52 may be in a two pocket zig - zagging pattern , or the spacing may also vary depending on the number of pockets 52 desired to be formed on the surfaces 24 , 26 of the ring 50 . moreover , the overall diameter , depth and / or shape of the circular - shaped pockets 52 may vary , and thus the present invention should not be limited to merely to the second exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 - 12 . fig1 is a detail view taken from fig8 which shows a cross - section of the ring 40 taken along cross - section 12 - 12 , according to an aspect of the present invention . as discussed , the circular - shaped pockets 52 may be formed either on the top surface 24 ( as shown in fig1 ), the pockets 52 may be formed on the bottom surface 26 ( not shown in fig1 ), or the pockets 52 may be formed on both flat sides of the ring 50 . furthermore , the depth of the pocket 52 may vary depending on the amount of lubricant that is desired to be disposed within the pockets 52 . fig1 is a fourth exemplary embodiment of a ring 60 having a plurality circular - shaped replenishment pockets 62 uniformly spaced about a centerline of one of at least the upper and lower surfaces of the ring 60 , according to an aspect of the present invention . the ring 60 is defined by an inner side 23 , and outer ring face side 22 , and substantially flat upper and lower surfaces 24 , 26 . the ring 60 further is defined by a width w ( see fig1 ) and a thickness t ( see fig1 ). fig1 is a detail view taken from detail 14 of fig1 which shows an exemplary arrangement of the plurality circular - shaped replenishment pockets 62 , each of which have the same diameter , and of which are also uniformly spaced on at least one of the surfaces of the ring 24 , 26 , according to an aspect of the present invention . in this exemplary embodiment , it is preferred that the number and diameter ( d ) of the pockets 62 be correlated to a percentage of total coverage of the surface of the ring 60 . for instance , it is preferred that about a range between about 30 percent to 10 percent of the ring surfaces 24 , be covered by replenish pockets 62 . and it is even more preferred that the replenish pockets 62 cover about 20 percent of the ring surface 24 . thus , it can be seen , that the size of the replenish pockets 62 ( i . e ., the diameter d ) and the number of replenish pockets 62 disposed on the ring surfaces 24 , 26 ( i . e ., the spacing s ), and depths thereof , can be adjusted / vary to meet a specific total replenishment pocket coverage requirement . it is further noted that the circular - shaped pockets 62 may be arranged and / or oriented in many different ways , and therefore , the present invention should not be limited merely to the fourth exemplary embodiment depicted in fig1 - 15 . for example , the circular - shaped pockets 62 need not be uniformly disposed and evenly spaced on the surface 24 ( and / or surface 26 ) of the ring 60 ; as an alternative , the circular - shaped pockets 62 may be in a zig - zagging pattern . moreover , the overall diameter , depth and / or shape of the circular - shaped pockets 62 may vary , and thus , the present invention should not be limited to merely to the fourth exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 - 15 . fig1 is a detail view taken from fig1 which shows a cross - section of the ring 40 taken along cross - section 15 - 15 , according to an aspect of the present invention . as discussed , the circular - shaped pockets 62 may be formed either on the top surface 24 ( as shown in fig1 ), the pockets 62 may be formed on the bottom surface 26 ( not shown in fig1 ), or the pockets 62 may be formed on both flat sides of the ring 60 . furthermore , the depth of the pocket may vary depending on the amount of lubricant that is desired to be disposed within the pockets 62 . it is noted that the aforementioned exemplary embodiments of the shapes and arrangement of the replenishment pockets should not be limited only to the disclosed examples . for instance , the pockets may be formed in other shapes such as squares , rectangles , ovals , small microgrooves , or any other means which may be formed in a surface of a ring and in which lubricant ( e . g ., dry - film ) may be deposited therein . it is further noted that the pockets may be formed with various manufacturing processes besides laser , such as etching . although the invention has been described with reference to several exemplary embodiments , it is understood that the words that have been used are words of description and illustration , rather than words of limitation . changes may be made within the purview of the appended claims , as presently stated and as amended , without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention in its aspects . although the invention has been described with reference to particular means , materials and embodiments , the invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed ; rather , the invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures , methods , and such uses are within the scope of the appended claims .	5
the vehicle seat outlined in fig1 in a schematic longitudinal sectional view , in a known manner , has a seat part 11 adjustably held on the vehicle floor and a backrest 12 which , for adjusting the inclination , is connected with the seat part 11 by a swivel locking . the seat part 11 and the backrest 12 each have a cushion 13 which is fastened on a cushion carrier 14 . in the embodiment of fig1 the cushion carrier 14 is constructed as a spring core made of spring wire which is in each case fastened in a frame . in the seat part 11 , the frame is indicated by the reference number 15 . for reasons of clarity , the frame in the backrest 12 is omitted . the cushion 13 is constructed the same for the seat part 11 and the backrest 12 and comprises an air - permeable cushion support 16 made of a coarsely structured nonwoven material , such as rubberized hair , or of a spaced knit , and an air - impermeable pressure distribution layer 17 made of a nonwoven or rubberized - hair material of a high density which rests directly on the cushion carrier 14 and completely covers the cushion support 16 on its underside in the seat part 11 and on its back side in the backrest 12 . the top side or front side of the cushion 13 , which faces away from the pressure distribution layer 17 , is covered by an air - permeable cushion cover 18 made of a textile fabric , perforated leather or synthetic material , and a cover stuffing 19 made of cushion padding , nonwoven wool , an open - pore or at least partially perforated foamed material , or of a padding - foam combination is worked in between the cushion support 16 and the cushion cover 18 . if an electric seat heater ( not shown here in detail ) is present , then its heating wires are embedded in the cover stuffing 19 . the air - permeable cushion support 16 represents a so - called ventilation layer , through which an electrically driven fan or ventilator 20 can cause air to flow . for providing an air flow path with a low flow resistance , the pressure distribution layer 17 is provided with an inflow opening 21 and an outflow opening 22 which , viewed in the longitudinal direction of the seat part 11 or of the backrest 12 , are arranged at the largest possible distance from one another . the ventilator 20 is placed directly on the air inflow opening 21 below the pressure distribution layer 17 and is fastened to the latter . in the area of the air inflow opening 21 , the cushion support 16 is covered on its top side facing away from the pressure distribution layer 17 by an air - impermeable blocking layer 23 , such as a foil . at this point , therefore , the air flowing in by way of the air inflow opening 21 is deflected and flows in the longitudinal direction through the cushion support 16 and cannot exit directly by way of the air - permeable cushion cover 18 . as not shown here in detail , the blocking layer 23 can additionally continue beyond the direct area of the air inlet opening 21 and can be at least partially perforated so that different cushion areas are ventilated at different intensities ; this is not shown here in detail . in the embodiment of fig1 the air inflow opening 21 in the seat part 11 is arranged in the rear close to the backrest 12 and the air outflow opening 22 is arranged in the front on the seat part 11 so that the air taken in by the ventilator 20 from the vehicle interior below the seat part 11 flows through the cushion support 16 from the rear to the front . the air inflow opening 21 is provided in the lower area of the backrest 12 and the air outflow opening 22 is provided in the upper area of the backrest 12 so that air flow through the cushion support 16 takes place upwards from below . as is generally customary , and also in this case , the backrest 12 is covered on its backside facing away from the cushion cover 18 with a backrest covering 24 . a hollow space 25 remains between the cushion carrier 14 and the rearward backrest covering 24 . in this case , the cushion cover 18 is pulled over the upper edge of the backrest 12 into the upper part of the backside of the backrest 12 and is held in a tensioned manner there by the backrest covering 24 which , in turn , is fastened to the underside of the backrest 12 on the backrest frame . on the underside of the backrest 12 , an air inlet opening 26 is constructed in the backrest covering 24 , and , in the upper area of the backrest 12 , an air outlet opening 27 is worked into the area of the cushion cover 18 extending on the backside of the backrest 12 . the air outlet opening 27 is connected , by way of an air duct 28 penetrating the hollow space 25 , to the air outflow opening 22 in the pressure distribution layer 17 . in the embodiment of fig1 the air duct 28 is constructed as a flexible bellows . the ventilator 20 , which is still assigned to the air inflow opening 21 , is accommodated in the hollow space 25 and takes in air by way of the air inlet opening 26 on the bottom side of the backrest 12 . when the vehicle seat is occupied , the air which is taken in flows through the cushion support 16 upwards from below and , by way of the air outflow opening 22 , the air duct 28 and the air outlet opening 27 at the top side of the backrest is discharged again into the vehicle interior . within the cushion support 16 , the air sweeps along parallel to the front side of the backrest under the cushion cover 18 , as well as on the seat surface of the seat part 11 , and , in the process , generates an air humidity gradient so that air moistened by the seat user is discharged . when the seat is unoccupied , the air flowing in the cushion support 16 also flows through the cushion cover 18 into the air space in front of the backrest or above the seat part surface and causes rapid cooling of the vehicle seat heated , for example , by sun radiation . in order to utilize this effect , it is useful to couple the switch - on operation of the two ventilators 20 in the seat part 11 and in the backrest 12 with unlocking of the vehicle doors by a remote - controlled locking system so that the cooling of the vehicle seat starts before the vehicle is entered . since the air is taken in from the area below the vehicle seat , the cooling effect is intensified because , in a vehicle which is heated when parked , the temperature is lowest in the area below the vehicle seat . in comparison to the vehicle seat according to fig1 described above , the vehicle seat outlined in fig2 is modified to such an extent that the air flow in the cushion support 16 of the cushion 13 in the seat part 11 is guided from the front toward the rear and , in the cushion support 16 of the cushion 13 in the backrest , is guided downward from above . for this purpose , the air inflow opening 21 in the pressure distribution layer 17 is arranged close to the forward end of the seat part 11 and the air outflow opening 22 is arranged close to the rearward end of the seat part 11 in the pressure distribution layer 17 . in the forward area of the seat part 11 , the cushion 13 is supported by way of an elastic foam body 29 on a so - called anti - submarining wedge 30 constructed in the seat part frame 15 and does not rest on springs . the elastic foam body 29 provides the required spring deflection performance of the seat in the event of a strong braking operation or in the event of a crash and simultaneously forms an air duct 31 which connects the air inflow opening 21 in the pressure distribution layer 17 with the ventilator 20 fastened on the underside of the anti - submarining wedge 30 . if the cushion support 16 is not supported on the anti - submarining wedge 30 by the foam body 29 and the spring core has a continuous construction as in fig1 then the air inflow opening 21 is connected by way of bellows to the ventilator fastened from below to the anti - submarining wedge 30 . in order to supply the cushion support 16 of the backrest 12 with cool air from the lower area of the occupant compartment , the air inlet opening 26 is again constructed in the lower area of the backrest 12 in the backrest covering 24 ; specifically , this time , the air inlet opening is on the backside of the backrest 12 and not on its underside , and the hollow space 25 between the backrest covering 24 and the cushion 13 is used as an air guiding duct in which the air taken in by way of the air inlet opening 26 flows upwards and enters , by way of the air inlet opening 26 , into the air - permeable cushion support 16 . the air intake again takes place by way of the ventilator 20 which is arranged in the same manner in the air inflow opening 21 and is fastened to the air - impermeable pressure distribution layer 16 . the air outflow opening 22 is placed on the underside of the backrest 12 . fig3 illustrates a seat part 11 which is modified with respect to fig2 . here , the cushion carrier 14 is constructed as a seat bucket , in which an anti - submarining wedge 30 rather than a spring core is also constructed . the air - impermeable pressure distribution layer 17 here is not constructed as a thin layer made of a nonwoven or a rubberized - hair material of a high density ; instead , the air - impermeable pressure distribution layer is constructed as a dense foam cushion which is supported on the seat bucket and contains the air inflow opening 21 and the air outflow opening 22 as ducts , each of which penetrates the foam cushion . as in the seat part shown in fig2 the air inflow opening 21 is arranged close to the forward end of the seat part 11 , and the air outflow opening 22 is arranged close to the rearward end of the seat part 11 . therefore , the air flow generated in the cushion support 16 by the ventilator 20 , which is fastened on the underside of the anti - submarining wedge 30 , is guided from the front to the rear . a similar construction of the backrest in fig2 with such a foam cushion is conceivable . although the invention has been described and illustrated in detail , it is to be clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example , and is not to be taken by way of limitation . the spirit and scope of the present invention are to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims .	1
fig1 shows a representative ( but blank ) image 10 ( composed of rows and columns of pixels , not particularly shown ). for purposes of discussion , image 10 may be an aerial photo of land , but it should be recognized that imagery 10 is not so limited . due to various factors ( e . g ., camera lens artifacts , and the perspective from which the photo was taken , etc . ), the rectangular photo typically does not depict a rectangular area of land . instead , the area of land depicted may actually be trapezoidal , or of other shape . overlaid on the fig1 image are sample latitude and longitude lines 12 , 14 . these are virtual and do not appear in the actual image . ( the straightness of the lines is unusual . in most landscape images , the receding horizon tends to curve any latitude or longitude projections that are not parallel to the image boundaries .) each point depicted in the image 10 has a unique position that may be expressed by latitude and longitude ( and , if 3d accuracy is desired , elevation ) coordinates . in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention , such position data for a single location depicted in the image is determined . ( various techniques can be employed , e . g ., reference to a pre - existing map or database , ground - truth measurements using gps equipment , etc .) this location , and the pixel 16 corresponding thereto in the image , are termed the “ arbitrary origin ” in the discussion that follows . ( for expository convenience , the arbitrary origin in this discussion is the upper - left - most pixel in the image , and the ground point corresponding thereto .) the image 10 is digitally watermarked across its extent with a payload that includes the coordinates of the arbitrary origin ( e . g ., latitude / longitude / elevation ). in addition , the watermark payload also includes a parameter ( e . g ., angle 18 ) identifying the orientation of a vector pointing from the arbitrary origin to a known direction ( e . g ., true north ). the watermark payload can also include a scale datum , e . g ., indicating that 100 pixels to the right ( along the row ) from the arbitrary origin corresponds to a distance — on land — of 250 yards . as noted , a rectangular image generally does not depict a rectangular piece of land . moreover , even if a photo is taken from directly overhead — using a lens that introduces no aberrations — there is the slight complication posed by the fact that longitudinal lines are not parallel , but meet at the poles . accordingly , if high accuracy is desired , the watermark can additionally convey coefficients for one or more polynomials ( e . g ., one for each coordinate axis ), which model the apparent warp of the photographic depiction along different axes . ( in an exemplary arrangement 5 coefficients of 8 bits each are provided for the latitude and longitude polynomials , and 6 coefficients of 8 bits each are provided for the elevation polynomial .) thus , in an exemplary embodiment , the watermark payload may comprise the following ( 196 bits total ): digital watermarking is not belabored in this specification because such technology is well understood by artisans in the field of steganography . briefly , however , watermarking typically works by making subtle changes to the brightness of image pixels , conveying message payloads that can be detected by suitable detector software or hardware . the embedding process generally adjusts to the unique characteristics of the image , placing a stronger watermark signal in areas with rich detail and a weaker watermark signal in areas with little detail . because the payload is carried by the image &# 39 ; s pixels , it is file - format independent . the payload can survive most normal processing operations , such as compression , edits , file format transformations , copying , scanning and printing . some watermarking techniques are also robust against rotation and scaling , e . g ., through use of embedded calibration data , or auto - correlation techniques . any watermarking technique can be employed in the present invention , provided the requisite number of watermark payload bits can be embedded without introducing objectionable corruption into the image . suitable watermarking technologies are disclosed , e . g ., in patent publications u . s . pat . no . 6 , 122 , 403 u . s . pat . no . 6 , 044 , 182 , and wo 99 / 45705 , and in pending u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 503 , 881 ( now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 614 , 914 ). in a particular embodiment , the watermark payload is represented in a single 128 × 128 pixel patch 20 , which is then tiled across the image ( with local scaling to reduce visibility ). each patch comprises 16 , 384 pixels . in fig1 , one of the patches 20 is indicated by cross - hatching for ease of identification . to enhance robustness , the watermark payload may be processed , e . g ., by bch , reed - solomon , convolutional , or turbo coding , or the like , to provide error detecting / correcting capability . such coding has the effect of transforming the 196 bit payload bits into , e . g ., 320 bits (“ raw bits ”). each of the 16 , 384 pixels in the patch is encoded with one of these raw bits , so that each such bit is represented about 50 times per patch . the pixels corresponding to a single raw bit are desirably distributed across the patch , so that severe corruption of a small area of the watermarked image does not irretrievably lose certain raw bits . on the detection side , the image is processed to retrieve the 320 raw bits , and then the 196 payload bits are determined from the raw bits . from these payload bits , a user of the image knows the geographical coordinates of the point at the arbitrary origin and , through use of the other encoded parameters , can deduce the geographical location of any other point depicted in the image . in other embodiments , more elaborate watermark encoding can be used . for example , instead of tiling the identical watermark patch over and over across the image , each patch can be slightly different , e . g ., encoding the position of that tile within the array of tiles . in one arrangement the tile position data is a pair of numbers indicating tile - row / tile - column offsets from the tile containing the arbitrary origin . referring to fig1 , the tile containing the arbitrary origin 16 may be designated { 0 , 0 }. the tile next to it in the row may be designated { 0 , 1 }, etc . these index values may be encoded as 5 bits each , which bits are included in the watermark payload . this arrangement offers advantages in environments in which image cropping , rotation , or other image transformations may occur . by decoding the payload from a watermark tile , its location relative to the arbitrary origin can be determined , and the location of the arbitrary origin 16 can thus be inferred ( even if that point has been cropped out of the image ). in still other embodiments , information about the image perspective can be conveyed through a watermark . various forms of representation are possible . in one , the image perspective data can comprise the compass angle at which the camera is pointing ( θ ), and the elevation angle between the arbitrary origin point and the camera ( φ ). the former may be represented , e . g ., by 10 bits , the latter by 8 . additionally or alternatively , the perspective data can identify the lens or its attributes , so that optical distortion of the image can be characterized . in an index - based system , a six - bit code can be used to identify one of 64 different lenses . with different types of imaging systems , different forms of perspective information may be appropriate . for example , in so - called “ whisk broom ” cameras ( i . e ., those that repeatedly acquire line scans from a moving viewpoint ), the perspective information may additionally include the starting and ending positions ( the latter may be expressed as an offset from the former , allowing some payload conservation ). in yet other embodiments , elevation data for different points in the image can be encoded through watermarks . in one such arrangement , elevation data is determined for points at 64 - pixel gridded spacings across the image . these points are designated in fig1 by the stars labeled 22 . ( only a few such stars are shown in fig1 . the arbitrary origin 16 is also such a point .) the elevation may be expressed in absolute terms ( e . g ., feet above sea level ), or relative to another reference ( e . g ., the elevation of the arbitrary origin ). again , 16 bits per elevation may be used . ( or if difference in elevation from the arbitrary origin is used , then 8 - 12 bits may suffice .) in one such arrangement , the elevation data for each starred point is watermark - encoded in a 64 pixel by 64 pixel subpatch 24 centered around the star . again , one such sub - patch 24 is shown in fig1 by cross - hatching for ease of identification . more generally , these sub - patches 24 are the regions bounded by the fine , dotted lines in fig1 . again , sub - patches 24 are tiled across the image , but each one conveys a ( typically ) different elevation payload . ( in the fig1 arrangement , each patch 20 encompasses one full sub - patch 24 , and parts of eight others . by this arrangement , elevation data is encoded for the points at each corner of each patch 20 , as well as for the point at the center of the patch , and at points mid - way along each patch side boundary . in other embodiments , of course , sub - patches 24 can be sized and positioned differently relative to patches 20 .) the elevation watermark , based on patches 24 , may be simply overlaid on the main watermark , based on patches 20 . desirably , however , there is some coordination between the two watermarks , so as to avoid extreme changes in any pixel values ( as may occur , e . g ., if both watermarks try to change a pixel by a maximum amount permitted by the respective watermarking technique ). in one such coordination arrangement , each pixel in the image is assigned to one of the two watermarks . for example , 50 - 80 % of the pixels in the image may be assigned to the main watermark , and 50 - 20 % may be assigned to the elevation watermark . the assignment may be done based on a regular array , or a stochastic assignment may be used . in some cases , it may be prudent to allocate extra pixels to carry the elevation payload where — as in the upper right — the sub - patch 24 extends beyond the boundary of the image , limiting the number of pixels to convey elevation data ( e . g ., for arbitrary origin point 16 ). ( this coordination technique has applicability beyond the present context , and is generally applicable to a variety of watermarking applications in which plural watermarks are used .) by techniques such as the foregoing , an image can be provided with extensive photogrammetric information that travels with the image , notwithstanding distortion , cropping , format conversion , etc . this data can be exploited in various ways . one utilizes a computer system on which the image is displayed , e . g ., on a monitor or screen . an operator uses an input device , such as a mouse , light pen , graphics tablet , or the like , to designate a particular point in the displayed image . in response to selection of the point ( by clicking or other known selection technique ), the computer processes the embedded watermark information and displays to the operator the precise latitude , longitude and elevation of the selected point . using the elevation data , the computer system can also generate , and render , a 3d view of the depicted landscape , from an arbitrary viewing angle . surfaces that are hidden in the original image may be extrapolated using known techniques , and presented in a different color or texture to indicate their synthetic basis . in embodiments in which the camera perspective is known , the projections of latitude and longitude lines on the depicted terrain can be adjusted , e . g ., in accordance with variations in elevation . if the camera perspective is such that it is viewing down a downwardly - inclined slope , for example , the latitude or longitude lines that traverse this slope can be virtually placed more closely spaced together than would be the case if the camera view were orthogonal to the slope . the mathematical manipulations associated with such operation are somewhat complex , but well within the skills of those working in the photogrammetric and mapping arts . to determine elevation at an arbitrary point and to generate 3d models , for example , the elevations at the starred points 22 are provided to an algorithm that applies a bi - cubic spline - fitting model so as to estimate the elevation at any point on the image . ( the computer system can take various forms , but most include conventional computer components such as one or more cpus , volatile storage ( e . g ., ram ), non - volatile storage ( e . g ., rom , fixed and removable magnetic disks , fixed and removable optical disks ), interfaces ( e . g ., wan , lan , usb , modem , serial ), input / output devices ( e . g ., monitor , keyboard , mouse , tablet , joystick , light pen ), etc . associated with the computer system is various software , including operating system software and applications software — the latter being programmed to perform the data processing and presentation operations detailed above . naturally , such programming can be stored on fixed or removable computer storage media . in some embodiments , parallel or distributed computer architectures may be employed , e . g ., with different components of the computer system being located remote from each other .) a variety of aerial mapping and associated image database techniques can be used in conjunction with the present invention . representative systems are shown , e . g ., in patents u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 608 , 405 , 5 , 926 , 581 , 5 , 974 , 423 , 6 , 023 , 278 , 6 , 177 , 943 , 5 , 995 , 681 , 5 , 550 , 937 and 6 , 150 , 972 . to provide a comprehensive disclosure without unduly lengthening this specification , applicant incorporates by reference the patents publications and applications cited above . having described and illustrated the principles of the invention with reference to illustrative embodiments , it will be recognized that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles . for example , while the “ arbitrary origin ” was the pixel in the upper - left corner of the image in the illustrative example , this placement is not critical . the arbitrary origin can be moved to any location , with relative measurements being adjusted accordingly . likewise , while the detailed embodiment contemplated that the coordinates of the arbitrary origin are literally encoded as part of the digital watermark payload , in other embodiments this need not be the case . instead , e . g ., the watermark payload can be an arbitrary identifier that identifies an entry in a data structure ( e . g ., table or database ) in which the coordinate data is stored . the same index - a - remote - store approach can be used with any of the other payload data . although latitude / longitude / elevation were used as exemplary coordinates , it will be recognized that other coordinate geometries can alternatively be employed . the main watermark payload is described as including coordinate , orientation , scale , and polynomial correction data . depending on the application , certain of this data may be omitted , and / or certain additional information may be included in the watermark payload . the payload length is exemplary . some embodiments can employ a payload that is considerably shorter ( e . g ., by abbreviating the bits dedicated to each data and / or omitting certain data ). other embodiments may employ a payload that is longer . while elevation may be expressed in height above sea level , this need not be the case . height relative to any other measure can alternatively be employed . the illustrative embodiments &# 39 ; encoding of plural data ( e . g ., coordinate data , and lens data ) in a single watermark payload is not essential . in other embodiments , the different elements of embedded information can be conveyed through distinct watermarks , e . g ., layered over each other , interspersed between each other , coordinated with each other in the manner of the elevation watermark , etc . in many embodiments , lossless data compression techniques ( e . g ., lempel - ziv based ) can be employed to reduce the number of payload bits that are encoded in a watermark . although described in the context of watermarking for mapping and photogrammetric purposes , the principles detailed herein find application in many other watermarking applications , not limited to the purposes particularly detailed . in view of the many embodiments to which the principles of the invention may be applied , it should be recognized that the detailed embodiments are illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention . rather , i claim as my invention all such embodiments as fall within the scope and spirit of the following claims , and equivalents thereto .	6
with reference now to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 through 6 thereof , a new bed device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described . as best illustrated in fig1 through 6 , the pet bed assembly 10 generally comprises a clamp 12 . the clamp 12 may releasably engage a footboard 14 of a conventional bed 16 and extends above the footboard 14 . the clamp 12 includes a bottom section 18 and a top section 20 movably coupled to each other such that varying sizes of the footboard 14 are accommodated . each of the bottom section 18 and top section 20 include a leg 22 that has a first end 24 and a second end 26 . a foot 28 is coupled to and extends away from the leg 22 . the foot 28 has a distal end 29 with respect to the leg 22 . additionally , the foot 28 is positioned adjacent to the first end 24 . the second ends 26 of the bottom section 18 slidably receives the second end 26 of the top section 20 . the legs 22 frictionally engage one another such that the feet 28 are retained a selected distance from each other . alternatively or in addition to the above , the leg 22 of the bottom section 18 may include a lock 30 . the lock 30 may engage the leg 22 of the top section 20 . the lock 30 may retain the feet 28 at the selected distance apart from each other . the lock 30 may comprise a pin or the like to removably engage the leg 22 of the top section 20 . a lip 32 is provided . the distal end 29 has the lip 32 coupled thereto and extending upwardly therefrom . the lip 32 defines a receiving channel 34 between the lip 32 and the leg 22 . the lip 32 on the top section 20 and bottom section 18 extend toward each other . the receiving channel 34 in each of the top section 20 and bottom section 18 receives the footboard 14 . a platform 36 has a top surface 38 , a bottom surface 40 and an outer edge 42 extending therebetween . the platform 36 has an arm 44 extending downwardly from the bottom surface 40 . the first end 24 of the leg 22 on the top section 20 slidably receives the arm 44 . the platform 36 is spaceable a selected distance above the foot 28 on the top section 20 . the arm 44 frictionally engages the leg 22 on the top section 20 . thus , the platform 36 is retained at the selected distance from the top section 20 . alternatively , a locking mechanism may be used to retain the arm 44 at a selected position relative to the top section 20 . the arm 44 on the platform 36 is positioned adjacent to a back side 46 of the outer edge 42 . the platform 44 extends over the bed 16 when the clamp 12 is coupled to the footboard 14 . the top surface 38 may support a pet 48 . the pet 48 may be a dog or cat or the like . a backboard 50 is coupled to and extends upwardly from the back side 46 . the backboard 50 is coextensive with the back side 46 . in an alternative embodiment 52 as shown in fig5 and 6 , the clamp 12 may comprise a first section 54 hingedly coupled to a second section 56 . the arm 44 on the platform 36 may slidably engage a free end 58 of the first section 54 . the first 54 and second 56 sections are positionable to form a right angle with each other . the second section 56 may be positionable between the bed 16 and a frame 60 of the bed 16 so the first section 54 extends upwardly from the frame 60 . the first section 54 may be positionable in a stored position having the first section 54 being coextensive with the second section 56 . the hinge may be a locking hinge or the like . in use , the clamp 12 is coupled to the footboard 14 when the pet 48 is to sleep near the bed 16 . the pet 48 sleeps on the platform 36 so as not to disturb the bed 16 . the assembly 10 allows the bed 16 to be slept in without being disturbed by the pet 48 . with respect to the above description then , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art , and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the disclosure . in this patent document , the word “ comprising ” is used in its non - limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included , but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded . a reference to an element by the indefinite article “ a ” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present , unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements .	0
an exemplary business architecture 10 is illustrated in fig1 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of providing vision correction to a patient 12 . the patient 12 presents herself at a practitioner &# 39 ; s facility 14 . the practitioner &# 39 ; s facility is suitably equipped with apparatus ( not shown ) for obtaining , in particular , wavefront aberration information 16 from the patient . the apparatus is preferably one of a variety of wavefront measuring instruments ( e . g ., zywave ™ wavefront aberration sensor from bausch & amp ; lomb surgical / technolas , munich ) or other suitable devices and associated procedures for obtaining wavefront aberration information such as , e . g ., phase diversity and / or topography . fig4 is an exemplary display of a patient &# 39 ; s wavefront aberration information . this information may take a variety of forms which are most suitably useable by a practitioner for diagnosis , prescribing , etc . ; by the patient for informed consent , information , subjective evaluation , etc . ; by an ordering and / or billing platform 18 , and particularly , for a custom lens supply platform 20 where a custom lens based upon the wavefront measurement information can be made and packaged for shipment to the practitioner or the patient . in addition , other refractive data and patient data may be obtained and transmitted . as such , different platforms may be interconnected . the selected diagnostic equipment is preferably designed to automatically output the appropriate information in suitable form to the custom lens supply platform 20 . it is well known in the art how to convert a wavefront measurement into data that a laser , lathe or other suitable surface modifying equipment can use to create a desired surface modification ; therefore , that exercise need not be discussed at length herein , nor does it constitute a material part of the invention described herein . for illustration , however , an exemplary process is shown with reference to fig6 . fig6 is a flow chart of an exemplary aspect of the invention for a custom contact lens produced by lathing . starting at block 1 , zernike polynomial data is output by a wavefront measuring apparatus . the data is input at block 2 to an optical design program that in its most basic capacity designs the shape of the anterior surface ( optical zone and / or peripheral zone ) of the proposed contact lens . a second set of zernike data is generated at block 3 . this data is preferably in the form of a mini - file or other suitable format that is readable by a lens turning lathe . the mini - file data is input into the lathe processor at block 4 and a custom contact lens is produced at block 5 . referring again to fig1 as illustrated , some information is transmitted from one platform to another platform via the internet , however , any supporting transmission mode and transmission medium can be used . it is contemplated that some or all of the platforms will be located remote from the practitioner &# 39 ; s facility but this need not be so . the supply platform 20 is suitably equipped to produce an appropriate custom lens . accordingly , a custom contact lens , a custom inlay , a custom onlay , or a custom iol can be made . the manufacturing process will preferably entail shaping a surface of the custom lens . this may be accomplished by one or more of the processes including laser ablation , lathing , casting / molding , or other known processes . a specific quantity of custom lenses , e . g ., contact lenses , may be produced for the patient so as to be used over an extended period of time . the lenses will preferably be packaged in a customized manner 22 ( as they are custom lenses ) for the patient . an exemplary representation of a customized package is shown in fig7 . the package can then be shipped to the patient or practitioner as appropriate . in an aspect of the embodiment , it may be desirable to show the patient , to the extent possible , what their improved vision could be as provided by the custom lens . an instrument much like a wavefront sensor device equipped with a phase compensator such as a deformable mirror , as shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 777 , 719 , can provide an indication of wavefront corrected vision . an exemplary aberration corrected wavefront display is shown in fig5 resulting from the corrected wavefront aberrations shown in fig4 . it will be appreciated that the customization aspect of the present invention is primarily attributed to the measurement and correction of higher - order wavefront aberrations . these are generally considered to consist of monochromatic aberrations associated with third and higher order zernike polynomials and particularly fifth to tenth order zernike modes . an exemplary business practice used in the laser vision correction industry involves per procedure fees . this practice is illustrated by the sale of non - reusable laser interlock cards to the doctor that were inserted into the laser and , without which , the laser would not operate . this model is also appropriate , for example , as applied to obtaining a wavefront aberration measurement . it is envisioned that a per use fee may be implemented each time the wavefront sensor is used to obtain aberration information . likewise , any of the processes constituting portions of the method of the invention , particularly those occurring between different or third party - controlled platforms , may be crafted as business activities that carry a royalty or other income generation for their use . accordingly , it is contemplated to automatically transmit various data and information between platform constituents for this purpose with an intent of enhancing the value of the products and / or services provided . part of this enhanced value stream includes improved vision to the patient exceeding the improvements expected or obtained over conventional refraction practice , and enhanced value to the practitioner . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating an alternative business architecture 400 to that shown in fig1 and is the basis of a semi - intelligent interactive system . a practitioner &# 39 ; s platform 140 comprises the practitioner &# 39 ; s facility 14 where the patient 12 is engaged to generate vision diagnostic information 200 , including wavefront measurement data , personal history , practitioner information and whatever other information may be useful for constructing or maintaining one or more databases for future use . the vision diagnostic information 200 is sent via the internet to a service platform 300 that illustratively includes an information storage server 201 , a lens design interface 202 , and a lens manufacturing interface 204 . two types of information are generated from service platform 300 : order , billing , and optional demographic information , 180 , for example , are sent to and received by an order / billing platform 18 ; and lens design and manufacturing information 210 is sent to and received by a custom lens platform 20 . ordering / billing information 180 can be transmitted to the practitioner , the patient , or both . custom lens information 210 is used by lens platform 20 to produce custom packaged lens products 22 for the patient which can be shipped to the patient at home 24 , for example , or to the practitioner &# 39 ; s facility 14 for fitting and / or delivery to the patient 12 . simultaneous to the transfer of patient and lens information 180 , 210 , respectively , various royalty information 206 , 208 , may be transmitted between various platforms , for example , as shown . moreover , the illustrated architecture 400 may be considered a semi - intelligent interactive system in that the system provides for database feedback in real time between various platforms . for example , based upon the patient &# 39 ; s wavefront measurement and / or other vision data and / or demographic information , the service platform 300 and / or the lens platform 20 and / or the billing platform 18 may generate feedback 500 to the practitioner and / or the patient that influences the decisions about type of treatment , type of lens , quantity , payment , etc . to illustrate this , a patient may seek to obtain vision correction ( or improvement ) by laser vision correction . certain ocular characteristics of the patient will be measured , preferably wavefront aberration and possibly , in conjunction therewith , topography measurements will be obtained . a practitioner or , alternatively , a computer determined evaluation , for example , may conclude that the patient &# 39 ; s prospective vision correction could be better accomplished not by laser vision correction but , foe instance , by a custom contact lens . the evaluation may be in the form of an option matrix so to speak wherein information about prospective vision correction and cost , among other things , can be compared against different types of eye treatment or no treatment at all . an eye treatment option can then be selected by the patient and / or the practitioner , and upon selection , the appropriate information such as wavefront aberration data and patient financial information , for example , can be automatically sent to the appropriate platform ( in the illustrated case , a custom lens supply platform and an order / billing platform , respectively ) for processing . in another embodiment of the invention for providing vision correction to a patient , the patient situates himself in a practitioner &# 39 ; s facility . at the facility , a diagnostic lens is selected and fitted to the eye . the diagnostic lens will be of similar design to that which will eventually be prescribed as the custom contact lens . the power of the lens preferably should be spherical ( defocus ) only , similar in magnitude to that of the patient &# 39 ; s eye . however , if the patient &# 39 ; s spherical power is not known , a standard plano powered lens could be used . base curve selection is based on central corneal curvature readings made with a keratometer or a corneal topographer . if neither is available , the trial lens can be fitted empirically by observation of the movement , centration and rotation of the lens . regardless of the methodology used to select the lens , the lens is placed on the eye , allowed to equilibrate for up to 10 minutes , and then the centration , movement and rotation is assessed using a biomicroscope . the lens should show movement when blinking but remain relatively stable between blinks . ideally it should return to its primary gaze position between blinks , with little variation in horizontal or vertical centration . if excessive movement or decentration is present , a steeper base curve diagnostic lens should be fitted . the patient &# 39 ; s wavefront will then be measured with the diagnostic lens in place . ideally , the patient will have a large pupil ( greater than 5 mm ) under the illumination conditions that the wavefront is measured . if the conditions are not such that the patient &# 39 ; s pupil is dilated to 5 mm naturally , then a pharmacological agent may be instilled to ensure adequate pupil size under the illumination conditions used for wavefront measurement . by correcting the patient &# 39 ; s wavefront over a large pupil size , the patient would be wavefront corrected over a wide range of pupil sizes , and pupillary axes , since this axis shifts in many patients in relation to pupil size . measurement in this fashion eases lens fabrication since some methods of manufacture , particularly those which are lathe based , are easier to control if the optical surface is centered symmetrically on the lens . the wavefront measurement should be made along the geometric central axis of the lens , this axis being defined by viewing the edge of the lens or by viewing particular marks made on the diagnostic lens which define the geometric center of the lens ( e . g . a circle ) while viewing the lens through a camera mounted in the wavefront sensor instrument . using a hartmann - shack type aberration sensor , an image of the lenslet array images is captured on the wavefront sensor ccd camera , and converted by software algorithms into a series of zernike coefficients which describe the wavefront aberration of the eye and diagnostic lens system . if so equipped , the rotation of the diagnostic lens on the eye will be measured by the wavefront sensor , by sensing of specific marks made on the diagnostic lens and capturing an image of the lens in its stable primary gaze position with the camera mounted in the wavefront sensor instrument . if this capability is not available , the clinician will measure the rotation of the lens on the eye using an eyepiece reticle , and the specific marks of the diagnostic lens . in an alternative aspect of this embodiment for measuring wavefront aberrations along an axis passing through the geometric center of the lens , an axis shift is introduced . once the resting position of the trial ( diagnostic ) lens on the patient &# 39 ; s eye is determined , the patient &# 39 ; s visual axis is aligned to the measurement axis of the metrology system , preferably an aberration sensor . this is typically a self - alignment by the patient accomplished by looking at a target presented by the metrology system . the measurement axis is then shifted from the visual axis to a parallel axis that passes through the geometric center of the lens . this can be accomplished by the operator of the aberrometer by shifting the optical axes of the pupil camera and wavefront sensor to an axis that is parallel to the visual axis of the patient and passes through the center of the trial lens . the pupil camera and wavefront sensor are conveniently mounted on the same x - y translation stage such that they are moved in unison . the geometric center of the diagnostic lens is now the reference feature for the wavefront aberration when the lens is in the resting position on the patient &# 39 ; s eye . optical modification to the trial lens can now be made with respect to its geometric center by any of the techniques disclosed herein . the zernike coefficients are then converted into another series of zernike coefficients describing the corrective lens surface for the custom contact lens . the corrective surface can be anterior of posterior on the lens . the corrective lens &# 39 ; zernike coefficients can be derived by dividing the original zernike coefficients by n − 1 , where n represents the refractive index of the contact lens material . all zenike coefficients can then be multiplied by − 1 to flip the z axis and make it a correcting wavefront . alternatively , ray tracing techniques using a commercially available ray tracing pattern can be used to determine the correcting surface wavefront and hence the zernike coefficients . the correcting surface zernike coefficients are entered into a software program designed to produce lathing instructions for a 3 - axis or similar lathe which will make the correcting surface on the customized contact lens . alternatively instructions may be derived to guide a small beam laser designed to alter a surface of a contact lens . in both cases , the rotation of the lens on the eye is considered and included in the calculations when deriving the correcting surface zernike coefficients . this conversion of measured zernike coefficients and lathing instructions can be performed in a computer attached to the wavefront sensor , or remotely in a computer communicating with the wavefront sensor and transmitted to a custom lens supply platform similar to that described with respect to the foregoing embodiment . the finished lens is transported to the patient and tested . a diagnostic lens having the parameters listed in table i was selected and placed on the patient &# 39 ; s eye . after the lens had settled , a wavefront measurement was made with the lens in place . the measurement was centered on the geometric center of the lens . the wavefront analysis provided the zernike coefficients listed in table ii . analysis of the point spread function ( psf ) excluding the z4 , z5 & amp ; z6 terms ( i . e ., defocus and astigmatism ) revealed a strehl ratio for the 5 . 7 mm pupil over which the data was calculated to be 0 . 03536 , as illustrated in fig8 a . the wavefront data was converted using a commercially available ray tracing program ( e . g ., zemax optical design software from by focus software , inc ., tucson , ariz .) to determine the zenike coefficients for the appropriate correcting lens . they are listed in table iii . ( note that the zernike terms in table ii have been converted to the zemax zernike convention . hence the z term numbers in table iii do not necessarily correspond to those in table ii above or table iv below ). the custom contact lens was manufactured with the same relevant parameters as the diagnostic lens listed in table i . the lens was placed on the patient &# 39 ; s eye and re - measured with the wavefront sensor , producing the set of zenike coefficients listed in table iv . the defocus and astigmatism were not properly corrected by the lens on the eye due to an error in the actual power of the trial lens which was discovered later . however , analysis of the psf excluding the z4 , z5 & amp ; z6 terms ( i . e ., defocus and astigmatism ) revealed a strehl ratio for the 5 . 7 mm pupil over which the data was calculated to be 0 . 09214 , as shown in fig8 b . the strehl ratio and psf provided by the custom contact lens displayed a clear improvement in the optical quality of the patient &# 39 ; s eye . another embodiment of the invention for providing vision correction to a patient is described in conjunction with an exemplary in - situ business model 40 illustrated schematically in fig3 . a patient 12 presents herself in a practitioner &# 39 ; s facility 14 where she is fitted with a non - custom trial lens ( not shown ) including an inlay , an onlay , or a contact lens . a wavefront aberration measurement 16 is obtained and that information is transmitted to an apparatus 42 , preferably a laser , suitable for custom shaping of the anterior surface of the trial lens . in an aspect of this embodiment , the wavefront measuring device may be integrated with the laser , but in any event , the laser is located in proximity to the patient such that the anterior lens surface can be custom shaped in - situ . in an aspect of this embodiment , the aberration measurement information 16 is also transmitted in suitable form to a custom lens supply platform 20 where a custom lens is made for the patient . in another aspect of this embodiment , fitting the patient with the trial lens further involves identifying , by a mark or non - contact means , the geometric center of a surface of the trial lens and obtaining the wavefront aberration measurement along an eye axis passing through the geometric center of the lens as described above . in some individual cases , it may be preferable to dilate the patient &# 39 ; s pupil to cover an appropriate portion of the optical zone of the trial lens . as described above in connection with the foregoing embodiments of the invention , data transmission protocols , process step segregation into business enterprises with associated contractual rights and revenue streams , and related considerations equally apply to the instant embodiments as though fully set forth per se . in a further embodiment according to the invention , a patient may engage herself with a diagnostic platform including a wavefront aberration measuring device , without initial practitioner intervention , that is located as a stand - alone platform . the device would be equipped with telecom or datacom capability to accept input and transmit output regarding patient data , ordering data , billing data , etc . to an appropriate respective platform . in addition , the diagnostic platform would be capable of providing the wavefront aberration and , preferably , correction information in a display format suitable for subjective evaluation by the patient . if so desired , the patient could direct the diagnostic platform to transmit the information to a practitioner and / or to a custom contact lens supply platform where a supply of custom contact lenses could be manufactured and packaged , and shipped to the patient or the patient &# 39 ; s practitioner . although this embodiment of the invention engenders an evolving degree of automation , it is not intended to circumvent the inclusion of a practitioner where participation as such is required by state or federal rules , regulations or laws . notwithstanding the preferred embodiments specifically illustrated and described herein , it will be appreciated that various modifications and variations of the instant invention are possible in light of the description set forth above and the appended claims , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	0
an embodiment of the invention is described below while referring to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a perspective exploded view showing a constitution of a card reader in a first embodiment of the invention . in fig1 a card reader 20 includes a card reader main body 40 , a gasket 50 of elastic material such as rubber for preventing invasion of foreign material , and a head holder 60 for holding a magnetic head 70 . a spring retainer 80 presses the gasket 50 to the main body and has a fulcrum for providing energy by a spring force . a lead wire 90 , an elastic member ( spring ) 100 , mounting screws 120 , and a circuit unit 110 are also provided . fig2 is a perspective view of the card reader . it shows an assembled state of the card reader shown in fig1 . the card reader shown in fig2 is used as assembled in other devices . fig3 shows an example of the card reader installed in an operation panel 10 of an vending machine at a filling station or the like . when a card 30 passes through a card passage 41 , the card reader 20 reads the data recorded on magnetic stripes 32 . in this constitution , the main body 40 is composed of a synthetic resin such as abs , and has a passage 41 formed in the center for allowing the card to pass . at both sides of the card passage 41 , guide walls 46 are provided for stabilizing running of the card , and the guide walls are orthogonal to a mounting surface of the card reader . a first guide wall 46 includes an opening 42 for inserting the magnetic head 70 , a boss 43 for holding the mounting screws of the spring retainer 80 , and a guide 430 of spring 100 . a second guide wall 46 includes a boss ( not shown ) for holding the mounting screws of the circuit unit 110 . fig4 a , fig4 b and fig4 c are explanatory drawings showing the gasket 50 used for preventing invasion of foreign material . fig4 a is a front view , fig4 b is a side view , and fig4 c is a side sectional view . referring to fig4 a , fig4 b and fig4 c , the gasket 50 is made of an elastic member such as rubber , and the magnetic head 70 is inserted therein . the gasket 50 includes an opening 52 for allowing the leading end having the core of the magnetic head 70 to be exposed to the outside of the gasket 50 , a magnetic head inserting portion ( inner circumferential portion ) 53 , and a folding portion 54 for allowing smooth motion of the magnetic head when inserting or passing the card in the shape of the junction from the magnetic head periphery to the outer circumference . the wall thickness of the folding portion 54 is thinner than the thickness of the magnetic head inserting portion 53 or the outer circumferential portion 56 . further , as shown in fig4 a and fig5 a , the dimension of the opening 52 of the gasket 50 and the overall dimension of the magnetic head 70 are set in the following relation : the head holder 60 is composed of synthetic resin such as abs , and has a portion for press - fitting and fixing the magnetic head 70 , and a structure for nearly fixing the spring 100 . the spring retainer 80 is composed of synthetic resin such as abs , and protects the head holder 60 , magnetic head 70 , gasket 50 , etc . the gasket 50 is placed between the spring retainer 80 and the peripheral edge portion 420 ( see fig1 ) of the opening 42 of the main body 40 . the spring retainer 80 is inserted into four screw fixing bosses 43 of the card reader main body 40 , and is fixed to the card reader main body 40 with screws 120 . a lead wire 90 is connected to a head terminal 72 in the upper part of the magnetic head 70 press - fitted into the head holder 60 . this lead wire 90 is connected to the circuit unit 110 provided on the confronting side of the magnetic head 70 of the card reader main body 40 . fig5 a is a perspective exploded view of gasket 50 , magnetic head 70 , and head holder 60 . as shown in fig5 a , the spring 100 , head holder 60 , magnetic head 70 , and gasket 50 are assembled sequentially . fig5 b shows the assembled magnetic head unit 74 . fig6 shows the magnetic head unit 74 mounted on the card reader main body . in this unit 74 , the magnetic head 70 is inserted into the head holder 60 . the head holder 60 has a spring 100 for pressing the magnetic head 70 in a direction shown by the arrow a , and the magnetic head 70 is pressed by the spring 100 at the fulcrum of the spring retainer 80 . referring to fig6 the motion of the head unit 74 is explained . when the card 30 is passed in the card passage 41 of the card reader 20 in the direction of arrow c , the magnetic head 70 installed in the center of gasket 50 reads the card data . the magnetic head 70 inserted in the head holder 60 is pressed in the direction of arrow a by the spring 100 . when the card is inserted , the magnetic head 70 moves in the direction of arrow b due to the thickness of the card . until the card is taken out after being inserted , the magnetic head 70 and card 30 are always pressed by the spring 100 in the direction of arrow a and hence slide in close contact with each other . in the gasket 50 , as shown in fig4 c , a folding portion 54 is provided between the periphery of the magnetic head inserting ( inner circumferential ) portion 53 and the outer circumferential portion 56 , and the folding portion 54 is thinly formed . therefore , the gasket 50 moves and shrinks easily by following the motion of the magnetic head 70 . when the card is not passing through the passage 41 , the magnetic head inserting portion ( inner circumferential portion ) 53 of the gasket 50 is pressed against the peripheral edge portion 420 of the main body by the energizing force of the spring 100 . therefore , when the card does not pass through the passage 41 , invasion of foreign material can be prevented by close contact between the gasket 50 and the periphery of the magnetic head 70 , and close contact between the magnetic head inserting ( inner circumferential ) portion 53 of the gasket 50 and the peripheral edge portion 420 of the main body opening . further , by fastening the spring retainer 80 to the boss 43 of the main body 40 with screws , the outer circumferential portion 56 of the gasket 50 closely contacts the main body peripheral edge portion 420 of the opening . when the card passes through the passage 41 , invasion of foreign material can be prevented by close contact between the gasket 50 and the periphery of the magnetic head 70 , and close contact between the outer circumferential portion 56 of the gasket 50 and the main body peripheral edge portion 420 of the opening . fig7 a and fig7 b are sectional views showing the close contact between the main body and the invasion preventive member ( i . e ., gasket 50 ) having a slope . the opening edge 420 of the main body 40 , and the magnetic head inserting portion 53 of the gasket 50 are shaped so that the gasket 50 may contact the opening edge 420 of the main body 40 in a linear manner by spring force . a slope 58 is formed in gasket 50 as shown in fig7 a , or a rib protrusion 59 is formed around the magnetic head inserting portion of gasket 50 as shown in fig7 b . fig8 a and fig8 b are sectional views showing the close contact between the slope of the main body and the invasion preventive member ( i . e ., gasket 50 ). in order that the gasket 50 may closely contact the main body opening edge 420 due to the spring force , a slope 44 is formed in the opening edge 420 as shown in fig8 a , or a rib protrusion 45 is formed in the opening edge 420 as shown in fig8 b . fig9 a and fig9 b are sectional views showing close contact between the main body and the invasion preventing member . as shown in fig9 a , a slope 44 ( slope angle a ) is provided in the main body opening edge 420 , and a slope 58 ( slope angle β ) is provided around the magnetic head inserting portion 53 of the gasket . these angles are set so that the slope angle α and slope angle β may differ by more than several degrees from each other . as shown in fig9 a , the slope angle α of the main body opening peripheral edge portion 420 is set smaller than the slope angle β of the magnetic head inserting portion 53 . the dimension of the slope 44 of the main body opening peripheral edge portion 420 is set smaller than the dimension of the slope 58 of the magnetic head inserting portion 53 . in this case , the main body slope 44 contacts the gasket 50 in a linear manner . alternatively , as shown in fig9 b , the slope angle α of the main body opening peripheral edge portion 420 is set smaller than the slope angle β around the magnetic head inserting ( inner circumferential ) portion 53 . the dimension of the slope 44 of the main body opening peripheral edge portion 420 is set larger than the dimension of the slope 58 of the magnetic head inserting portion 53 . in this case , the slope 58 of the magnetic head inserting portion 53 contacts the main body slope 44 in a linear manner by the energizing force of the spring 100 . both constitutions in fig9 a and fig9 b are nearly the same in the effect of preventing invasion of foreign material . fig1 shows the shape of the card reader main body of the invention . in fig1 , flanges 49 are provided above the guide walls 46 at both sides of the card passage 41 , and are linked to both end portions 47 , and a slope is provided in at least one end portion 47 . fig1 is a side view of the main body of the card reader of the invention mounted on the unit panel 120 of the operation panel 10 of an automatic vending machine shown in fig3 . waterproof sheet members 130 are adhered to both end portions 47 and flanges 49 of the card reader main body , and the mode of inserting into the unit panel 120 is shown . in fig1 , both end portions 47 of the card reader main body and the unit panel 120 are sloped . when mounting the card reader main body 40 on the unit panel 120 , the waterproof sheet 130 adhered to the card reader main body 40 can be placed in close contact with the unit panel 120 . therefore , invasion of foreign material from this area can be prevented . as clear from the description herein , the card reader of the invention can prevent invasion of water or dust into the magnetic head through the card passage of the main body by the invasion preventive member provided on the circumference of the magnetic head . in the card reader of the invention , by lightly pressing the magnetic head into the invasion preventive member , the magnetic head is allowed to swing freely while preventing invasion of foreign material , so that the card can be read securely . the card reader of the invention has a folding portion provided in the invasion preventive member so that the invasion preventive member can follow the motion of the magnetic head easily , and thereby the card can be read securely . in the card reader of the invention , at least part of the invasion preventive member is formed thinly , and the elasticity is improved , so that the invasion preventive member can follow up the motion of the magnetic head easily , and thereby the card can be read securely . in the card reader of the invention , when the card is not passing through the card passage of the main body , the invasion preventive member is always coming in contact with the main body with a specific pressure ( because the spring is always pushing against the magnetic head ), thereby consistently preventing invasion of foreign material . in the card reader of the invention , the slope of the magnetic head inserting portion of the invasion preventing member contacts the main body in a linear manner , and the surface pressure is increased as compared with the case of surface contact . therefore , invasion of foreign material can be prevented securely . in the card reader of the invention , the slope in the contacting portion of the opening edge linearly contacts the invasion preventing means at its rib leading end , and it is likely to be crushed . therefore , invasion of foreign material can be prevented securely . in the card reader of the invention , the slope of the opening edge linearly contacts the slope of the invasion preventing member , so that invasion of foreign material can be prevented securely . in the card reader of the invention , moreover , since flanges are provided in the upper part of the card passage of the main body , it is easier to adhere the waterproof sheets closely to the unit panel at the flange side . the adhering area of the waterproof sheet is wide , and the adhesion is increased , so that invasion of foreign material can be prevented securely . moreover , since the flanges are wide , the creeping distance from the card passage to the circuit unit is increased , and the resistance to static electricity from the card is increased . in the card reader of the invention , when adhering waterproof sheets to an area other than the card passage of the main body , it can be easily adhered to the unit side cover . therefore , working problems such as peeling and tearing of the waterproof sheet can be avoided .	6
referring more particularly now to the drawings , the extender 10 is illustrated and includes an elongated base member 12 , a platform member 14 , a toe strap 16 and a heel strap 18 . the base member is flexible so that it may be flexed upwards to a substantial degree along the length of the extender as shown , for example , in fig7 . however , the base member is sufficiently self - supporting so that when suspended horizontally , the free end 20 thereof may sag but the extender is supported substantially horizontally . a preferred , flexible but self - supporting material for the base member is plexiglass . it is contemplated that other flexible , self - supporting materials may also be used for the base member , for example , fiberglass , plastic or rubber ( particularly a foam ) and other flexible , self - supporting materials . the platform 14 is adapted to receive the shoe of the wearer and is accordingly of a length greater than a large shoe size . elongated space slits 22 - 25 ( fig2 and 3 ) are provided through the platform member for the heel and toe straps . the toe strap is made of a single strap ( fig3 ) which extends into slit 24 of the platform member , and then extends out of slit 25 . strap 16 has two free ends 16a and 16b extending from the platform . ends 16a , b include mating parts of a pile lock , for example , mating velcro material . on end 16a , velcro material 28a is secured to side 30 of the strap end which faces outwardly and on end 16b , mating velcro material 28b is secured to side 32 of the strap end which faces inwardly . the heel strap 18 includes a heel strap member 34 extending through slits 22 , 23 as described for strap 16 and slits 24 , 25 and a cross - strap 36 secured to the free ends 34a , 34b of strap 34 . side 38 of strap 36 is secured to the sides 40 , 42 of strap ends 34a , 34b , respectively , which face outwardly . the ends 36a , 36b of the cross - strap have velcro material secured thereto , velcro material 28a being secured to the outer side 44 of end 36a velcro material 28b being secured to the inner side 38 of end 36b . the platform 14 with the straps extending therefrom is secured to the top of the base member 12 by an adhesive , for example . the platform member is a minor fraction of the length of the base member and accordingly has little or no effect upon the flexibility of the base member as a whole . the platform member is resilient and provides cushioning to the foot of the wearer and is preferably made of rubber . however , the platform member may be made from other resilient materials . preferably , cement or adhesive is used to secure a rubber platform member to the base member . alternatively , the platform portion could be part of the base member , i . e ., forming one piece with the base member . when the platform member is secured to the base member , strap portions 16c and 34c are sandwiched between the platform and base members and secured to the extender thereby . slits 22 and 23 , and slits 24 and 25 are respectively parallel to each other , and are spaced by a distance which is less than the width of a large shoe size , i . e ., less than about two inches . thus , when a shoe is placed on the platform member , part of straps 16a , b will be between the toe of the wearer &# 39 ; s shoe and the platform , and part of straps 34a , b will be between the heel and the platform . this arrangement ensures that the extender is securely strapped to the shoe and reduces substantially side movement of the shoe on the platform member . as shown in fig1 a shoe is strapped onto the platform member by a crossing arrangement in which velcro material 28a on toe end 16a is locked with velcro material 28b on heel cross - strap end 36b , and velcro material 28b on toe end 16b is locked with velcro material 28a on heel cross - strap end 36a . in this crossing arrangement , the straps rum from under the shoe and from the toe to heel , crossing the instep , and the extender is snugly secured to the shoe and ankle of the wearer . in fig4 strap ends 16a , 16b are locked across the toe of the shoe and cross - strap ends 36a , 36b are locked about the ankle of the wearer . this arrangement also snugly secures the extender to the shoe . the platform portion , in addition to providing a resilient platform for a shoe , can also perform a safety function . the platform portions of the extenders serve to offset the shoe of the wearer from the base portion so that when a wearer &# 39 ; s extenders cross , the base of one extender will not strike the wearer &# 39 ; s foot on the other extender , but instead will strike the offset platform . alternatively , the base portions themselves can be made of a resilient material . in accordance with a preferred embodiment the base member can be about 60 inches long , about 5 inches wide and about 1 / 8 inch thick , and the platform member about 12 inches long , about 5 inches wide and about 1 / 2 inch thick . additionally , the heel slits can be located 13 / 4 inches from the end of the platform and extend for about 2 inches ; the toe slits can be located about 61 / 4 inches from the end of the platform and extend for about 2 inches , and opposed slits can be spaced by about 11 / 2 inches . the extenders may be utilized in many ways . for example , as a medium for creative encounter , individuals wearing the extenders interact with one another to form three - dimensional configurations ( fig6 ) or planar configurations . to obtain the configuration shown in fig6 the wearers must maneuver the extenders so that the extender ends come into contact bottom - to - bottom while they are flexed . when the wearer &# 39 ; s toes are lifted and dropped simultaneously , the extender tips of facing wearers are caused to move back and forth alternately towards one wearer and then the other to create a kinetic sculptural happening . additionally , a degree of dexterity is required of each wearer as well as the cooperation of the wearers . in the configuration of the extender shown in fig7 a wearer has grasped the end of each extender so that the ends are flexed substantially vertically . to obtain this configuration , the wearer must lift each foot individually and flap the extender to flex it sufficiently for him to grasp its end . this also requires a degree of dexterity on the part of the wearer . to obtain the illustrated configurations , the extenders must be flexible and exhibit a degree of strength to withstand the forces generated while attempting to obtain the flexed configurations or when unflexing or striking the floor or each other . the ends 20 of the extenders are preferably planar , as planar ends enhance the geometric configurations formed by the extenders . additionally , planar ends with rounded corners 46 reduce risk of injury , particularly when the extenders are used by children . for this reason also , the edges 48 of the extenders are also rounded . while two configurations of use of the extenders have been illustrated in fig6 and 7 , many more configurations are possible . for example , wearers may face each other , as in fig6 but in a sitting position with their extenders in a contracting , flexed configuration as in fig6 . while sitting , each wearer may also move his extenders from side to side . other configurations and uses for the extenders are limited only by the imagination of the users . in accordance with the invention , the extenders may be utilized for many purposes as pointed out hereinbefore . the advantages of the present invention , as well as certain changes and modifications of the disclosed embodiment thereof , will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . it is the applicant &# 39 ; s invention to cover by his claims all those changes and modifications which could be made to the embodiment of the invention wherein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	0
the following detailed description will present a preferred embodiment of the invention in reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a variable length pencil of the invention before it is used , and fig2 is an exploded sectional view of the variable length pencil of the invention . the variable length pencil of the invention is constituted of a rectangular inner housing 20 , the first and second outer housings 30 and 40 respectively arranged around the upper and lower portions of the inner housing 20 , a power transmission unit 70 fixedly installed inside the inner housing 20 , a head unit 10 fixedly installed in the upper portion of the inner housing 20 and a movable unit 50 moving inside the second outer housing 40 . the first housing 30 is so mounted vertically slidable in respect to the inner housing 20 while contacting with the outside of the inner housing 20 . further , within the inner housing 20 is mounted the power transmission unit 70 . fig7 is a perspective view of the power transmission unit 70 , and fig3 and 4 are sectional views illustrating the installed position thereof . the power transmission unit 70 is constituted of a box - shaped body 72 and a pinion 60 rotatably mounted by fixing means such as a pin 62 within the body 72 . describing this in more detail , inside the body 72 is formed a gear - receiving section 74 with a predetermined width in which the pinion 60 is rotatably mounted by the fixing means such as the pin 62 . further , the gear - receiving section 74 has opened portions at both sides thereof so that both sides of the received pinion 60 are outwardly exposed through the opened portions . in the meantime , the body 72 is provided at both sides with guides 72 a and 72 b opposing each other along the entire length thereof . the both opened sides of the gear - receiving section 74 respectively correspond to the guides 72 a and 72 b so that those portions of the pinion 60 exposed through the opened portions are projected from the bottoms of the guides 72 a and 72 b as shown in fig3 . in the meantime , as specifically shown in fig7 the power transmission unit 70 is composed of an elastic material and has slits 76 at opposite upper portions . as the remaining portions at both sides of the incisions 76 have flexibility , the power transmission unit 70 is elastically supported to the inner wall of the inner housing 20 . further , in the upper portion of the power transmission unit 70 are provided projections 78 so that the power transmission unit 70 can be fixed to the inner housing 20 without any separate fixing means after the power transmission unit 70 is inserted into the inner housing 20 . further , at one end of the first outer housing 30 is preferably provided a fixing protrusion so that the projections 78 are caught to the first outer housing 30 to prevent the first outer housing 30 from being separated or detached from the inner housing 20 . in the upper end of the first outer housing 30 is fixedly installed the head unit 10 . the head unit 10 has a head 12 and the first rack shaft 14 integrally extending downward from the head 12 for a predetermined length . the first rack shaft 14 extends through the first outer housing 30 to mesh with a portion of the pinion 60 of the power transmission unit 70 installed within the inner housing 20 so as to provide vertical transport movement . that is to say , when the first outer housing 30 is coupled with the inner housing 20 , the first rack shaft 14 is placed within the guide 72 a formed at one side of the body 72 constituting the power transmission unit 70 while a portion of the first rack shaft 14 is meshed with an exposed portion of the pinion 60 mounted within the gear - receiving unit 74 of the power transmission unit 70 . the second outer housing 40 and the inner housing 20 are fixedly attached to each other at their ends , and the movable unit 50 is received within the second outer housing 40 . the brush 54 is fixed to the lower end of the movable unit 50 , and the second rack shaft 52 is extended from the upper end of the movable unit 50 . when the second outer housing 40 receiving the movable unit 50 is fixedly coupled with the inner housing 20 , the second rack shaft 52 of the movable unit 50 is placed within the guide 72 b in the body 72 of the power transmission unit 70 to mesh with an exposed portion of the pinion 60 mounted within the gear - receiving section 74 of the power transmission unit 70 . as shown in fig1 the first rack shaft 14 fixed to the head unit 10 and the second rack shaft 52 fixed to the movable unit 50 are opposed to each other in respect to the pinion 60 of the power transmission unit while mesh with each other in respect to the pinion 60 so that the rack shafts 14 and 52 carry out their transport movements in the opposite direction to each other . the rack shafts 14 and 52 are respectively received within the guides 72 a and 72 b of the body 72 constituting the power transmission unit 70 so that each of the rack shafts 14 and 52 can be transported within the guides 72 a and 72 b to carry out correct linear transport . as shown in fig1 and 2 , in the leading end of the first rack shaft 14 of the head unit 10 is installed a flexible piece 18 . the flexible piece 18 is made of a flexible material to naturally curve when the leading end thereof contacts with a blind end having a through hole 42 of the second housing 40 . further , as shown in fig5 the first rack shaft 14 is provided with a projection 14 a at a portion of the leading end thereof to which the flexible piece 18 is attached so that the elastic piece 18 closely contacts with the inner wall of the second outer housing 40 as well as the transport movement of the first rack shaft 14 imparts smooth sliding and inflection to the flexible piece 18 . the projection 14 a permits the flexible piece 18 to further closely contact with the inner wall of the second outer housing 40 to enable smooth sliding . further , when the movable unit 50 is drawn out as the first outer housing 30 slidingly contacts with the outside of the inner housing 20 , the projection 14 a is caught by the end of the inner housing 20 to prevent separation or detachment between the first outer housing 30 and the inner housing 20 due to excessive transport . in the meantime , as shown in fig6 lower edges of the second outer housing 40 are rounded so that the flexible piece 18 moves toward the through hole 42 of the second outer housing 40 . although the flexible piece 18 opens / closes the through hole 42 like this , it is preferred to add a guide member 80 for the purpose of a smooth opening / closing operation of the through hole 42 . such a guide member 80 is specifically shown in fig1 and 8 . as can be seen from fig1 and 2 , the guide member 80 is mounted inside the second outer housing 40 by coupling with the inner periphery thereof . further , fig8 is a perspective view illustrating the guide member 80 . as can be seen from fig8 the guide member 80 is provided with a guide 82 in the longitudinal direction at one side , and rounded at the end of the guide 82 . therefore , the flexible piece 18 is guided along the guide 82 of the guide member 80 without lateral transformation and its leading end is rounded to readily curve toward the closed end having the through hole 42 of the second outer housing 40 . in the meantime , fig9 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of the pencil before it is used , in which the first outer housing and the second outer housing 40 closely contact with each other , and the through hole 42 of the second outer housing 40 is closed by the flexible piece 18 . further , fig1 is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of the pencil in use , in which the first outer housing 30 is separated from the second outer housing 40 to increase the entire length of the pencil while projecting the brush 54 via the through hole 42 of the second outer housing 40 . a process of operating the invention constructed as above will be described in reference to the drawings as follows . fig1 is the longitudinal sectional view illustrating the variable length pencil of the invention before it is used , and fig1 is the longitudinal view illustrating the variable length pencil of the invention in use . as can be seen in the drawings , when the head 12 of the head unit 10 is drawn upward , the first outer housing 30 is transported by sliding for a predetermined length in the same direction along the inner housing 20 . therefore , the first rack shaft 14 fixed to the end of the head 12 is moved upward , and the pinion 60 of the power transmission unit 70 is rotated with its one side being meshed with the first rack shaft 14 . like this , as the pinion is rotated , the second rack shaft 52 of the movable unit 50 meshed with the other side of the pinion 60 is transported downward in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the first rack shaft 14 of the head unit 10 . therefore , the movable unit 50 is transported downward within the second outer housing 40 , and as a result , the brush 54 of the movable unit 50 is transported downward for a predetermined distance to outwardly expose itself . at the same time , the flexible piece 18 installed in the first rack shaft 14 of the head unit 10 retreats along the guide 82 of the guide member 80 to reside within the guide 82 . the above operation is carried out just before the pinion 60 is released from each of the rack shafts 14 and 52 with which the pinion 60 is meshed or the projection 14 a is caught by the inner housing 20 . as shown in fig1 , upon completion of drawing out the movable unit 50 , the entire length of the pencil is increased as much as the transport distances of the rack shafts 14 and 52 added thereto . after the pencil is used , an operation of placing the exposed brush 54 into the second outer housing 40 is carried out in a reverse manner as above . that is , if the head 12 of the head unit 10 is pushed downward , the first outer housing 30 is transported downward as sliding on the inner housing 20 . this causes the first rack shaft 14 to move downward , and through this operation , the pinion 60 of the power transmission unit 70 is rotated reversely in respect to the rotating direction thereof when the first rack shaft 14 moves upward . further , as the pinion 60 is rotated , the second rack shaft 52 of the movable unit 50 meshed with the other side of the pinion 60 is transported upward in a direction opposite to the first rack shaft 14 of the head unit 10 . therefore , the movable unit 50 is transported upward inside the second outer housing 40 , and as a result , the brush 54 which was exposed outside the second outer housing 40 is received into the second outer housing 40 . at the same time , the flexible piece 18 attached to the leading end of the rack shaft 14 of the head unit 10 is moved along the guide 82 of the guide member 80 to close the through hole 42 in the lower end of the second outer housing 40 . in this case , the flexible piece 18 is readily curved since the inner lower end of the second outer housing 40 is rounded . according to the variable length pencil of the invention as set forth above , the brush is outwardly exposed as the entire length of the pencil is increased , but as the entire length of the pencil is decreased , the brush is received into the pencil making the same compact and the flexible piece closes the through hole of the second outer housing to prevent any penetration of dust in the air into the pencil . therefore , there is an effect of advantageously further enhancing the convenience of the pencil in use . also , the invention can prolong the life time of the pencil by preventing the brush within the pencil from being exposed to dust and the like . further , the invention prevents the pencil from directly contacting with the external air so that the brush may not be dried . therefore , the brush can be maintained in a suitable degree of wetness so that a user can have smooth feeling to the brush in use .	1
the generalized physical embodiment 10 of the information environment generally referred to as cyberspace is shown if fig1 . an internet 12 provides the logical interconnection for a variety of client computer systems , such as a computer system 14 , to connect through the transmission and reception of electronic mail , among other forms of information , with other client computer systems 18 , 20 . the computer system 14 typically connects through any of a variety of different telephony technologies to a server computer system 16 operated by an internet service provider ( isp ) that connects directly or through higher level isps , as needed , to reach the backbone computer systems that make up the internet 12 . other computer systems such as systems 18 , 20 typically connect through the same or other isps ( not shown ) in order to logically connect with the internet 12 . unsolicited commercial e - mail ( uce ), commonly referred to as spam , may be generated through bulk e - mail deliveries from a computer system , such as the computer system 18 , to the internet 12 . conventionally , uce routes through the internet 12 as ordinary e - mail , spooled by isps 16 ultimately for delivery to identified destination computer systems 14 . the return e - mail address is intentionally obscured to avoid self - identification . the bulk e - mailer operating the system 18 can easily control the removal of the from : line of the e - mail messages , substitute a non - existent return e - mail address , or substitute a valid e - mail address corresponding to an unrelated computer system , such as the system 20 . thus , while the user of a computer system 14 can attempt to identify and complain to the postmaster of an isp providing service to a bulk e - mailer , there is both difficultly and uncertainty by the user of the computer system 14 to properly identify the relevant isp . further , the user of the computer system 14 has little or no authoritative or commercial position to have an isp , other than perhaps their own isp 16 , limit the activities of a bulk e - mailer . as shown in fig2 an e - mail system 22 that implements the present invention can actively identify and filter uce . through the implementation of the system 22 , the user of a computer system 14 is able to efficiently block uce originated from a computer system 18 independent or in collaboration with uce filtering actions , if any , taken by the isps interconnecting the system 18 with the internet 12 . this is achieved while preserving the ability of the system 14 to exchange e - mail with other computer systems , such as the computer system 20 . the e - mail filter system 22 generally includes or inter - operates with a conventional e - mail client system 22 ′. inbound e - mail messages are conventionally received in an inbox 30 for subsequent review by the user of the local computer system executing the client system 22 ′. these e - mail messages may be transferred , upon review , directly to a discard or trash box 32 or transferred elsewhere within the e - mail client computer system . similarly , e - mail messages originated by the e - mail client system 22 ′ are queued to an outbox 34 to pend delivery to an isp . in general , the active e - mail filtering system 22 operates as an interface between the e - mail client system 22 ′ and , typically , a point - of - presence ( pop ) system conventionally hosted by an isp 16 . this interface function can be implemented in a variety of forms dependant largely on the available operative features of the e - mail client 22 ′. for example , where supported , the active e - mail filtering system 22 is preferably implemented as a “ plug - in ” component that integrates into the operative function of the client 22 ′. alternately , the e - mail filtering system 22 can be implemented as a software layer over the pop communications port defined for use by the e - mail client 22 ′. in this alternate embodiment , the e - mail filtering system 22 software layer can be provided on any computer system logically in the communications path used by the e - mail client 22 ′ to access the pop system hosted by the isp . specifically , the software layer embodiment of the e - mail filtering system 22 can be implemented on either the isp 16 or client computer systems 14 . implementation on the isp or a third party computer system 20 allows the e - mail filtering system 22 to be operated as a service for the benefit of a subscribing e - mail client 22 ′. the function of the e - mail filter system 22 , in accord with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , is to actively select to accept or reject e - mail messages received by the system 22 . accept 24 and reject lists 26 are kept for this purpose . additionally , the system 22 operates to identify and challenge e - mail messages from correspondents that are not known to the system 22 . the challenge is presented as an automated reply to an e - mail message from an unknown e - mail address , which is generally defined as an address not found on either the accept 24 or reject 26 e - mail address lists other well - known and conventionally existing e - mail addresses including those , for example , of the host domain of the e - mail client 22 ′ may be inferred to be a known address , though not explicitly listed . in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the challenge message is generated automatically by the active challenge system 22 directly in response to the unknown e - mail message received . the challenge request message preferably includes a text statement and a digital signature . the statement preferably identifies the challenge e - mail message as an identification verification message and presents a request for a specific response to the challenge message be returned to the e - mail client system 22 . although the specific response could be as simple as merely replying to the challenge message , in order to discriminate against auto - responders the specific response requested preferably includes directions to , for example , reply to the challenge message with a blank subject line . other individual and additional trivial modifications to the message — such as placing an x between two brackets , deleting a portion of the challenge text , or entering a random four digit number — or the addition of some specific information — such as the name of a state capital or lead character of a movie — could be requested in order to distinguish from and defeat auto - responders being statically programmed to make any single requested modification . also , the specific modification requested may be cycled among a number of such modifications by the active e - mail filtering system 22 in order to effectively randomize the modification request received by any particular auto response system . since preferably , all of the specific modifications requested are cognitive , yet trivial , little burden is placed upon the actual e - mail correspondents in order to establish a lasting level of trust between the correspondent and the active e - mail filtering system 22 . the signature provided in the challenge message may be formed utilizing a conventional encoding or encrypting technology . for example , a simple check - summing algorithm may be utilized to generate the signature value based on the whole of the challenge message , or some predefined portion . other encoding and encrypting algorithms usable with the present invention include md5 , rot13 and public key encryption . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the signature value is generated based on a check - sum generated utilizing the challenge request statement as the source text . an embodiment of the present invention , which may ultimately be preferred , alternately or additively generates the signature as an encrypted text block containing a variety of specific information . this information preferably includes the origination date and time of the challenge message , the e - mail address used as the destination for the challenge message , and an identifier of the message for which this challenge message was generated . by including such specific information in the encrypted text block , analysis and evaluation of any responding message received back by the e - mail client 22 can be performed . specifically , utilization of the encrypted signature on e - mail messages originated after some threshold period of time beyond the signature origination date can be readily identified . the disposition of such late responses can then be intelligently handled by the active e - mail filtering system 22 . of course , the window of time within which an encrypted signature is automatically accepted is definable entirely within the operation of the active e - mail filtering system 22 . the challenge e - mail message is sent to the unknown e - mail address with the intent of obtaining a validating response . if the unknown e - mail address is not valid , only auto - responds , or simply does not answer , whatever response received by the e - mail system 22 can be discriminated as a non - validating response . conversely , a validating response will minimally require a cognitive modification be made to an otherwise conventional reply to the challenge message , which will include the digital signature by default . the signature must be included in the reply for the response to be recognized potentially as a challenge reply independent of any evaluation against the accept and reject lists . messages recognized based on the included signature are then evaluated for cognitive compliance as validating responses . when determined to be non - validating , the response and the original message that was challenged are preferably discarded . as an option , the unknown e - mail address can also be placed on the reject list . conversely , a validating response results in the discard of only the validating response itself . the previously unknown e - mail address is added to the accept list and the original message challenged is then passed to the e - mail client system 22 ′ as a non - uce e - mail message . in greater detail , a preferred embodiment of the present invention adds to the conventional e - mail client system 22 ′ an accept list 24 , reject list 26 , and a challenge list 28 . this challenge list 28 may be alternatively provided as separate challenge list 28 data structure or a data store extension 28 of a temporary or pending in - box 36 structure . the pending box 36 may also be implemented logically within the inbox with suitable modification to the otherwise conventional e - mail client system 22 ′ to accommodate the identification of e - mail messages logically residing with in the pending box 36 . this may be accomplished by augmenting the status value associated with each e - mail message with an additional state recognizable as identifying a corresponding e - mail message as pending filtering evaluation by the present invention . the accept and reject lists 24 , 26 provide storage for respective lists of e - mail addresses preferably on the local e - mail client computer system 14 . the form of the addresses as stored may include simple domain names , specific user e - mail addresses , and internet protocol ( ip ) numbers . inclusion and exclusion operators , wildcards and ip range lists may also be utilized in the parsing or other evaluation of the accept and reject lists address . the use of such operators , wild cards and lists in considering whether a specific e - mail address matches an entry in a list of e - mail addresses is known . thus , conventional evaluation of whether a particular e - mail address matches an entry on either the accept list 24 or the reject list 26 is utilized by the present invention . the challenge list 28 may provide storage for destination e - mail addresses of challenge messages sent ( not required ), identifiers of the temporarily stored messages that are being challenged ( can be input from the construction of the challenge list 28 ′ as part of the pending box 36 ), and certain additional information pertaining to the individual challenge messages , such as the signature encoding key and cognitive response expected for each challenge message ( may alternately be determined algorithmically upon evaluation of the challenge reply message ). the use of operators , wildcards , or lists are preferably not necessary in specifying e - mail address entries on the challenge list 28 . since the list 28 operates as a temporary store of information concerning the currently outstanding challenges issued by the system 22 , the matching of e - mail addresses by the e - mail client system 22 against the entries in the challenge list 28 will preferably be on an exact basis . in this preferred embodiment of the present invention , inbound e - mail messages are placed in the pending box 36 while the received e - mail message is evaluated . selected e - mail messages , determined according to the present invention , are ultimately transferred from the pending box 36 to the inbox 30 , where subsequent handling and evaluation of the e - mail message is performed in a conventional manner . when an inbound e - mail message has been stored in the pending box 36 , the content of the e - mail message is optimally evaluated algorithmically in a process step 42 to determine whether the e - mail message may be an a response to a challenge message originated by or on behalf of the client e - mail system 22 ′. this determination is made at least in part by scanning the content of the response message for text that appears to be a digital signature consistent with the present invention and text corresponding to the cognitive request . thus , auto - responses and administrative responses that contain copies of the challenge messages they answer will be detected as potential challenge response messages . messages identified as potential challenge response messages are passed to a process step 48 that operates to determine whether the digital signature is valid and whether the cognitive request presented by the particular challenge message has been appropriately answered . in performing this function , the challenge list 28 may be referenced to obtain the information necessary to decode the digital signature and to qualify the cognitive response . if the digital signature is invalid or if the cognitive response is incorrect , the challenge response message and the received e - mail message that was challenged are both discarded . conversely , if the digital signature and cognitive response are validated , only the challenge response message is discarded and the challenged e - mail message is placed in the inbox 30 for conventional processing . the e - mail address of the challenged message is also placed on the accept list 24 . e - mail messages not recognized as challenge reply messages at step 42 , and all messages if the step 42 is not used , are then considered at step 44 to determine whether the from or reply - to address is present on the accept list 24 . where a match is identified , the e - mail message present in the pending box 36 is passed on to the inbox 30 for subsequent conventional processing . if the accept list match fails at step 44 , a reject step 46 is invoked to determine whether an address match can be found against the reject list 26 . if a reject list match is found , the corresponding e - mail message in the pending box 36 is discarded or , in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , passed to the discard box 32 for subsequent conventional processing . if a reject list match is not found , the message content is preferably evaluated partially through the step 48 to determine whether , for example , a known correspondent is replying to an e - mail message originated from the system 22 ′, but replied to from an e - mail account not previously seen by the system 22 ′. since out - bound messages from the e - mail user of the system 22 are preferably provided with digital signatures , responses to such messages are validated and thus are shown to the user when they are received . as before , the digital signature preferably encodes the date that the message was sent . thus , the step 48 can be set to invalidate messages received beyond a nominal reply period determinable by the e - mail user of the system 22 . preferably , messages containing expired digital signatures are discarded or put in the trash box 32 ; validated messages are passed to the inbox 30 . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the address of e - mail messages validated only by virtue of a valid digital signature are not placed on the accept list . rather , no present action is taken regarding messages from this address , thereby permitting the active challenge system 22 ′ to re - evaluate messages received subsequently from that address . the accept list will be updated with this address if , however , the e - mail user chooses to update the list 24 or the e - mail user simply replies directly to this address . finally , messages received but not matched to the accept or reject lists and not containing a digital signature are , in a step 50 , responded to by the preparation and issuance of a challenge message . this message , once generated to include a cognitive request and a current corresponding digital signature , is placed in the out box 34 . referring first to fig3 a variety of preferred embodiments and operational variations of the present invention will be described in connection with an active e - mail filtering system 60 . these options and variations primarily concern the receipt processing of e - mail and the preparation and transmission of the challenge messages and permit location of the active e - mail challenge system 22 , or an autonomous “ robot ” portion thereof , separate from the conventional e - mail client 22 ′ on an isp system 16 or other service provider accessible directly or indirectly through the internet 12 . for such embodiments of the present invention , the remote location of the active filtering system 22 ′ or robot relative to a client computer system 14 serves to off - load a possibly substantial level of processing as well as affording a centralized point for management of changes to the accept and reject lists 24 , 26 . in particular , the centralized management may make the augmentation of the reject list with e - mail addresses obtained from internet sources of known uce sources much easier . while centralized maintenance of the lists 24 , 26 may , for alternate embodiments of the present invention , prove useful as well as convenient for end users of client computer systems , the present invention in all of its embodiments provides for and correctly handles the accumulation of e - mail addresses , formally from unknown sources , onto the accept and reject lists 24 , 26 . for this embodiment 60 , e - mail messages directed to the user are received and handled separately from challenge responses , which are directed to and processed by a separate robot . preferably , the user and robot are set - up in separate e - mail accounts if not also on separate computer systems . thus , inbound e - mail 62 directed to a user &# 39 ; s e - mail account is initially stored in a temporary queue 64 . the received e - mail is evaluated 66 to determine the nominal sender of the received e - mail message . once the sender is identified , the message is further evaluated 68 against the accept list 24 . if the sender is on the accept list 24 , the received e - mail message is transferred to an input queue 70 , which may be a conventional inbox , from the temporary queue . e - mail messages not validated against the accept list 24 may then be evaluated for potential immediate inclusion of the sender e - mail address on the accept list 24 managed by the system 60 . this evaluation is optionally performed to initialize an accept list 24 managed by the system 60 . in a preferably limited time frame where such initialization is enabled , sender e - mail addresses are unilaterally added 82 to the accept list 24 . subsequently , the e - mail user may select to move the sender e - mail address to the reject list 26 or merely delete the address . the corresponding e - mail message stored in the temporary queue is also transferred 70 to the input queue . consequently , the end user of the system 60 is involved in the initial review and categorization of sender e - mail addresses . the end user is also provided the programmable option to terminate the initialization . e - mail messages not validated from the accept list 24 are then evaluated against the reject list 26 . where the sender e - mail address is present on the reject list 26 , the corresponding received e - mail message is discarded 76 from the temporary queue and the challenge list 28 ′ is correspondingly updated specifically , the evaluation of e - mail messages not yet accepted or rejected , are then evaluated 77 to determine whether the message contains a signature recognizable by the system 60 . the signature , where found , is decoded or decrypted 80 depending on the nature of the signature identified . in accordance with alternate preferred embodiments of the present invention , the identification of the signature may depend entirely on an algorithmic evaluation of the signature block itself or upon data included in the challenge list 28 ′. in the latter circumstance , the challenge list 28 ′, may be used to record information identifying different possible types of signatures and , thereby , the corresponding decoding and decrypting algorithms , the scope of pre - existing content utilized in the generation of the signature , and other information usable in identifying whether the particular received e - mail message and its signature were originated by the system 60 . the challenge list 28 ′ preferably also stores a challenge issue date and , implicitly or explicitly , a challenge close date . the issue date is useful for detecting the occurrence of unanswered challenges and removal of any corresponding e - mail message still pending in the temporary queue . the challenge close date can be used to permit the system 60 to establish potentially variable challenge periods , perhaps dependent on the general content of the received e - mail message . in the preferred embodiments , the decoding and decrypting 80 of the signature . where the signature is valid and the origin date is sufficiently recent , or within a challenge acceptance threshold established directly or indirectly by the end user of the system 60 , the e - mail message is considered valid 82 and is transferred to the input queue 70 . received e - mail messages that bear a signature but fail in the validation of the signature or are received late relative to the time threshold established directly or indirectly by the end user is identified as invalid signed message 82 . the invalid received e - mail message is then discarded 76 from the temporary queue 36 . optionally , such invalid signed messages may be further evaluated to identify the sender e - mail address , which may then be added to the reject list 26 . preferably , this option is established directly or indirectly by the end user of the system 60 . conversely , where a reject list match is not found , the corresponding received e - mail message are further processed at a step 80 . e - mail messages received by the system 60 and not yet dispensed with , by virtue of having digital signature to validate , are presumptively from new e - mail correspondents . in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , these e - mail messages are those to be challenged to confirm that the correspondents are real , as opposed to likely originating from a bulk e - mailer . [ in accordance with at least an alternate embodiment of the present invention , the initial processing of a received e - mail message from an unknown correspondent is handled by preparing a challenge message 84 , by switching , logging or modifying the current account information , sometimes referred to as an e - mail profile , 86 in order to establish the preferred content of the header lines that are to be associated with the challenge message and the sending the challenge message 88 .] the challenge message itself is prepared 84 with content that presents a cognitive response request , and includes a signature . at this point , the challenge list 28 ′ may be updated 78 . the update to the challenge list preferably includes the necessary information to identify the appearance of a signature and enable the decoding or decrypting of the signature as necessary to subsequently validate the signature . in the preferred embodiment , however , the regular form of the signature and an examination of the signature text itself are sufficient to enable the system 60 to algorithmically recognize and then decode or decrypt the signature . by sending challenge e - mail messages from an alternate or “ robot ” e - mail account , challenge response messages are readily segregated from the e - mail stream directed to the user of the e - mail client 22 ′. as shown in fig4 inbound e - mail 62 directed to the robot account are received and inserted 102 into the robot account &# 39 ; s pending box 30 ′. in the manner described above , the received e - mail is scanned for a digital signature that is , in turn , decoded or decrypted 104 . if the signature found is invalid or if no signature is found 106 , the received e - mail message is removed 108 from the pending box 30 ′. the challenge list 110 is correspondingly updated . for received e - mail messages with valid digital signatures , the message is next examined for a correct response 112 to the cognitive request . if the response is either absent or incorrect , the received e - mail message is again removed 108 from the pending box 30 ′. when a valid cognitive response is found , the response e - mail is again discarded 108 ′ and the challenge list is again updated 110 . processing continues , however , with the robot effectively switching e - mail accounts 114 . this account switch is made to the client e - mail 22 user &# 39 ; s account at least to the extent necessary or appropriate to enable the robot to access the pending box 30 of the user account for the purpose of transferring 116 the corresponding challenged e - mail message from the user &# 39 ; s pending box 30 to the user &# 39 ; s inbox 32 . the robot may also automatically update the accept list 24 with the from : e - mail address of the message moved . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , however , the robot instead provides for the active e - mail filtering client 22 to prompt the user to update either the accept 24 or reject 26 list when the e - mail message is accessed 114 . a preferred process of handling original outbound messages in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention is shown in fig5 . the process 120 is initiated when a message is prepared 122 by the e - mail client 22 ′. when the message is prepared to be sent 124 by transfer 134 to the output queue 34 of the e - mail client 22 , the message headers are first examined to determine whether the message qualifies as an original message . messages identified as challenge messages are not considered original messages . rather , new messages prepared by the e - mail user of the system 14 , and ordinary reply and forward massages are considered original . the destination e - mail address specified in an original message is then matched 126 against the accept list 24 to determine whether the address has already been recorded . if not , the recipient e - mail address is added 128 to the accept list 24 . this ensures that e - mail destinations implicitly recognized and validated by the user of the e - mail client system 22 ′ are subsequently recognized as valid senders of e - mail messages to the system 22 . in either event , a new digital signature is prepared 130 and appended 132 to the outbound message . transfer of the resulting message to the out - box 134 is then complete . the outbound message , along with any other pending outbound messages are subsequently picked up or transferred 136 to the isp servicing the e - mail client 22 . by selectively delaying the deliver of e - mail messages to the client e - mail system 22 ′, the need for managing the contents of the pending box 30 arises . preferably , as generally shown in fig6 a maintenance procedure is provided to periodically 142 examine the pending box for e - mail messages corresponding to outstanding challenge messages sent by the system 14 . the pending box 30 or challenge list 28 may be examined to identify such held e - mail messages 144 . preferably , as each is identified , a check is made for the date the corresponding challenge e - mail message was sent . messages pending for more than some user defined period of time are determined 146 to be expired . the length of this user defined period may be any reasonable number of days or other measure of elapsed time , and preferably is approximately two weeks . expired e - mail messages are removed from the pending box 30 and discarded 148 . the challenge list 28 ′ is correspondingly updated 150 . finally , a determination is made 152 of whether the entire set of pending e - mail messages has been examined , with the result that the maintenance routine 140 either exits or continues processing challenge list entries 144 . referring again to fig3 in the ongoing operation of the system 60 the majority of received e - mail messages will likely be transferred 70 to the input queue 30 based on e - mail address matches against the accept list 24 . in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , a quick initial development of the accept list 24 can be obtained by effective assimilation of any e - mail archives kept by the user of the system 60 . presumptively , archived e - mail messages are from or are replies to valid and acceptable e - mail correspondents . as illustrated in fig7 a process 154 is preferably provided for the user to select 156 to prepare entries for the accept list 24 . a user identified e - mail archive is then parsed 158 to progressively identify the e - mail address of the correspondent or correspondents identified as the source or destination of the message , including optionally the copied correspondents . as each e - mail address is identified and determined to be unique relative to the accept list 24 , the address is added 160 to the list 24 . the parsing of e - mail messages continues 126 until complete or terminated by the user 162 . thus , a method and system for providing for the effective identification and active filtering of uce has been described . the method and system includes provisions for initialization of filtering lists and the continuing , largely automatic identification of acceptable e - mail addresses through a challenge system that utilizes signed challenges as a basis for the automation . while the present invention has been described particularly with reference to the active filtering of uce from public e - mail transferred through internet based message streams , the present invention is equally applicable to intranets , virtual private networks , and other communication networks not easily controlled by a master addressing authority . in view of the above description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention , many modifications and variations of the disclosed embodiments will be readily appreciated by those of skill in the art . it is therefore to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described above .	7
referring to fig1 a general illustration of one capacitor according to this invention is shown , in sectional view . it is customary to construct integrated circuit capacitors on substrates , and the illustrated and described embodiments are along these lines . it will be understood , though , that the multiple layer invention can find applicability in other capacitor orientations . thus , for illustrative purposes , a multilayer capacitor , shown generally at 10 , is built on a substrate 12 of an integrated circuit device . capacitor 10 generally comprises a first or bottom electrode 14 , a dielectric 16 and a second or top electrode 18 as is known in the art . both the bottom electrode 14 and the top electrode 18 are constructed of multiple layers according to this invention . in general , as illustrated in fig1 bottom electrode 14 is constructed , for example , of four distinct layers of materials , each layer serving a different function . it is to be understood , however , that this embodiment is merely an example of one capacitor according to this invention , and a greater or lesser number of layers in each electrode will be in keeping with this invention . a first layer 20 of bottom electrode 14 preferably comprises an adhesion layer . layer 20 promotes adhesion of bottom electrode 14 , and hence entire capacitor 10 , to substrate 12 . on top of adhesion layer 20 , a second layer 22 is formed . second layer 22 preferably comprises a diffusion barrier . the diffusion barrier layer 22 , as is known in the art , prevents an upper or further layer of material from diffusing or migrating into the lower layers , by hillocks for example , thus causing unintended electrical paths and impurities in the lower layers . a third layer 24 may be an electrical contact layer , which electrically connects capacitor 10 to other devices and components on the integrated circuit . a fourth layer 26 may be formed over the other layers in bottom electrode 14 . layer 26 may be a plate layer which provides the electrode or plate function as usually found in a capacitor . in this embodiment , layer 26 may also provide a nucleation layer , as will be explained infra , for dielectric growth . continuing in the upward direction through the fig1 capacitor , dielectric 16 is grown , deposited or otherwise established on first or bottom electrode 14 , as is known in the art . a second or top electrode 18 may be constructed of multiple layers on top of dielectric layer 16 , and the structure of the second electrode 18 can be similar to the layering structure of the first electrode 14 , but in mirror image . that is to say , bottom layer 30 of electrode 18 may be a plate layer formed over dielectric 16 . a second layer 32 of second electrode 18 may be formed over the plate layer 30 . this second layer 32 of the second electrode may be a diffusion barrier , as is known in the art and discussed supra in connection with layer 22 of the bottom electrode . a third layer 34 of the second or top electrode 18 may be formed over layer 32 . layer 34 may be , for example , a second electrical contact forming a circuit or connection with other components or devices situated nearby ( or elsewhere ) on the integrated circuit . further layers of the integrated circuit may then be formed on capacitor 10 , as is known in the art . fig2 shows a sectional view of a more specific embodiment of the current invention , showing the various layers and the materials that may be used to fabricate a multilayer capacitor . the capacitor of the fig2 embodiment is shown generally at 110 . capacitor 110 , like capacitor 10 of fig1 is constructed on a substrate 112 of an integrated circuit , and includes a first or bottom electrode 114 , a dielectric 116 thereover , and a second or top electrode 118 spaced from bottom electrode 114 by dielectric 116 . both electrodes 114 and 118 are constructed in a multilayer fashion , according to this invention . the embodiment of fig2 is constructed in an evacuated chamber , as is known in the art , preferably in two separate evacuations or &# 34 ; pump downs &# 34 ; of the chamber . the first or bottom electrode and the dielectric layer is constructed during the first pump down , and the second or upper electrode is constructed during the second pump down . in the following description , all thicknesses may vary approximately + 100 % to - 50 %. in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 bottom electrode 114 comprises three layers over the substrate 112 . substrate 112 may comprise an insulator material on a semiconductor substrate , for example sio 2 deposited on si or gaas . substrate 112 may alternatively comprise a semiconductor material , such as the drain of a mos transistor or the emitter of a bipolar transistor . the first layer 120 may comprise titanium , which serves as an adhesion layer between the substrate 112 and the capacitor 110 . titanium layer 120 is established as discussed below to a preferred thickness of approximately 0 . 05 microns . a second layer 124 of electrode 114 may comprise , for example , titanium nitride . this serves as an electrical contact between the bottom electrode 114 of the embodiment of fig2 and other devices on the integrated circuit , and as a diffusion barrier . the titanium nitride second layer 124 is deposited to a preferred thickness of approximately 0 . 1 microns . a third layer 126 of electrode 114 may comprise platinum , which serves several functions . platinum layer 126 can act as an electrode plate ; platinum is a good material for nucleation of a dielectric layer 116 ; and platinum is a chemically inert interface between dielectric layer 116 and electrically conductive layer 124 . the platinum third layer is deposited via known means , to a preferred thickness of approximately 0 . 05 microns . the first electrode 114 is substantially complete at this point . the next layer in the capacitor is dielectric layer 116 . this layer may be deposited by means known in the art , or may be grown as is known in the art . the dielectric may be a ferroelectric material or a high dielectric constant material . the thickness of the dielectric layer depends on the material chosen . the thickness of a high dielectric constant material would vary inversely according to the desired capacitance of the capacitor . the thickness of a ferroelectric layer depends on the operating voltage of the underlying circuit . for a typical operating voltage of approximately 5 volts , the ferroelectric layer is approximately 0 . 4 microns . on the dielectric 116 may be deposited a first layer 130 of the second or top electrode 118 . layer 130 may be constructed of platinum , for example . the platinum layer 130 serves as the top electrode plate and acts as a chemically inert interface between the dielectric 116 and a conductor layer . platinum layer 130 of the second electrode 118 is deposited by means known in the art to a preferred thickness of approximately 0 . 05 microns . next , a second layer 132 is deposited or otherwise established over first layer 130 , and preferably comprises titanium . the titanium layer 132 serves as a diffusion barrier and adhesion layer in the top electrode 118 . the titanium layer 132 is deposited by known means to a preferred thickness of approximately 0 . 1 microns . the third layer in the top electrode 118 of the embodiment of fig2 is constructed preferably of aluminum . the third layer 134 of aluminum serves as the top electrode &# 39 ; s electrical contact to other devices on the integrated circuit . the aluminum third layer is deposited to a preferred thickness of approximately 0 . 1 microns . as mentioned supra , each layer in both the top and bottom electrodes can be deposited or established a number of known techniques . the technique needs only to be appropriate to the material selected for the layer and the surrounding components . appropriate methods include , but are not limited to , sputtering , evaporation , chemical vapor deposition , molecular beam epitaxy and spin coating . in addition , the final form of a multilayer electrode structure can be achieved by a controlled chemical reaction of the deposited or grown layers . turning now to fig3 and 4 , a further embodiment of this invention is shown , whereby a multilayer structure is created by a controlled chemical reaction of the deposited layers . a partially completed capacitor according to this embodiment of the invention is shown in section in fig3 generally at 210 . the capacitor 210 of this embodiment is built on a substrate 212 , and includes a first or bottom electrode 214 , a dielectric 216 thereover and an upper electrode , not shown in this figure . the deposition of material in this embodiment is preferably performed in one pump down . in this embodiment , a first layer of titanium 220 may be deposited by a means known in the art , as discussed above , onto the substrate 212 . the first layer of titanium 220 is preferably 0 . 15 microns ( all thicknesses of this embodiment may also vary approximately + 100 % to - 50 %). a second layer 226 of platinum is deposited over the first layer 220 to a preferred thickness of 0 . 05 microns . a dielectric layer 216 is next deposited on the platinum second layer 226 , as in the preferred embodiment , above . turning now to fig4 the structure thus formed in fig3 is heated in an oxygen ambient to approximately 750 degrees centigrade . as a result , the titanium first layer 220 in fig3 becomes titanium dioxide 220a in fig4 . the substrate 212a , the platinum second layer 226a and the dielectric layer 216 remain relatively unaffected by this step , as illustrated in fig4 . a top or second electrode is then formed in an identical or similar manner . the oxidation of the titanium layer 220 of fig3 results in an improvement in adhesion of the platinum and lowered film stress . other layers may be added to the multilayer electrode of this embodiment , depending on the circuit , connections required , etc . thus , it will be appreciated that in the preferred embodiments , both layers of a capacitor on an integrated circuit are formed of two or more distinct layers , each layer performing one or more functions . of course , it is not required that both electrodes be so formed , as a given application may call for only one electrode to be multiply - layered according to this invention . those skilled in the art will find other modifications of these embodiments which are within the scope and spirit of the present invention . the foregoing descriptions of two embodiments are illustrative .	7
hereinafter , preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings . although shown in different drawings , the same reference numbers represent the same or similar components . for clarity and conciseness , descriptions on well - known functions and structures will be omitted here to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present disclosure . embodiments below are used for explaining the present disclosure , but do not limit the scope of the present disclosure . fig1 shows a schematic view of an inspection system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig1 , the inspection system according to the present embodiment includes a ct device for quarantine . the system includes an x - ray source 11 , a detection and collection apparatus 12 , a conveying apparatus 13 , a controller 14 , a computing unit 15 such as cpu or gpu , and a display unit 16 . the x - ray source 11 and the detection and collection apparatus 12 are installed on a rotation apparatus such as a gantry , and are rotated in a high speed controlled by the controller 14 . the controller 14 controls the conveying apparatus 13 such as a belt to convey one or more objects 17 being scanned from one side of the rotation apparatus to the other side at a constant speed . x - rays emitted from the x - ray source 11 are received by a detector of the detection and collection apparatus 12 after they are transmitted through the object being scanned , and are converted by an analog - to - digital a / d conversion circuit to form a digital signal as projection data . the computing unit 15 , e . g ., an image processing unit , reconstructs the digital signal to be a 3d image which reflects the internal structure and / or material features of the object 17 being scanned , and enhances display of an organic part and / or a contraband part , in of the 3d image , by highlighting the part ( s ). in some embodiments , the x - ray source 11 may be a dual - energy x - ray source , and the detector may also receive x - rays with different energies , so that a dual - energy x - ray inspection may be performed on the object 17 being scanned . the ct scan performed here may be a circular scan or the like . the detection and collection apparatus 12 may be e . g . detectors and data collectors in an integrated module structure , e . g ., a flat - panel detector , which may be used for detecting the rays passing through the object being scanned so as to obtain an analog signal , and for converting the analog signal to a digital signal , thereby outputting projection data of the object 17 being scanned for the x - rays . the controller 14 is connected to the x - ray source 11 , the detection and collection apparatus 12 and the conveying apparatus 13 , and controls each part of the whole system to work synchronously . the computing unit 15 processes and reconstructs data collected by the data collector , and outputs the result . for example , after the one or more objects 17 are scanned by the dual - energy ct device , the obtained dual - energy 3d image data are input to the computing unit 15 ; an installed substance identification system is used for performing substance identification on the object being scanned according to the image data , so as to obtain information of different substances , such as effective atomic numbers , densities , etc ., and for tinting the 3d image so as to be displayed on a screen of the display unit 16 . also , the article which is judged as the object focused in quarantine ( plant , animal , meat , etc .) may be further automatically labeled . as shown in fig1 , the x - ray source 11 is arranged at one side of the object 17 being scanned ; and the detection and collection apparatus 12 , including the detector and the data collector , is arranged at another side of the object 17 being scanned and is used for obtaining transmission data and / or multi - angle projection data of the object 17 being scanned . a data amplifying circuit is included in the data collector , which may work in a ( current ) integrated manner or a pulse ( counting ) manner . a data output cable of the detection and collection apparatus 12 is connected to the controller 14 and the computing unit 15 , and the collected data are stored in the storage according to a trigger command . as will be understood by the skilled in the art , the x - ray source and the detector may utilize a structure without a gantry , i . e ., a statically distributed multi - light source , in other embodiments . in addition , the system according to the above embodiment may also integrate a conventional single - view or multi - view x - ray machine for displaying a 3d image and a single - view or multi - view 2d image synchronously and associating them with each other , which facilitates a human operator for quarantine to merge image reading experiences on the 2d image with a great amount of new information contained in the 3d image , so as to upgrade to a new generation inspection technology stably . fig2 shows an illustrative flowchart of an inspection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig2 , in step s 21 , a ct scan is performed on the object being scanned to obtain projection data . for example , the ct scan is performed on the object being scanned by a single - energy or dual - energy ct scan device , so as to obtain multi - angle projection data . in step s 22 , reconstruction is performed based on the projection data to obtain image data reflecting internal features of the object being scanned . for example , the reconstruction of the image may be performed by the computing unit 15 running a program , so as to obtain the 3d image of the object being scanned . in a case of dual - energy ct , the reconstruction is performed to obtain effective - atomic - number images and / or density images . in a case of single - energy ct , the reconstruction is performed to obtain attenuation - coefficient images or ct - number images . in step s 23 , one or more organic and / or contraband parts of the object being scanned are determined . then in step s 24 , display of the determined one or more organic and / or contraband parts are enhanced or highlighted relative to one or more other parts . for example , the computing unit 15 distinguishes the organic part of the object being scanned from a non - organic part of the object being scanned , based on a physical attribute of the object being scanned , such as the attenuation coefficient , basis - material coefficient ( which is obtained by decomposing basis - material in a dual - energy or multi - energy condition ), ct number , density , effective atomic number , etc . in addition , the display unit 16 enhances contrast of the organic part of the object being scanned . for example , most contraband in quarantine has one or more physical attributes different from those of other organics , such as the attenuation coefficient , basis - material coefficient , ct number , density , effective atomic number , etc . identification of contraband in quarantine may be implemented by building a feature database of different substances for comparison in advance . additionally , the ct system can also automatically identify primary contrabands in quarantine , such as fruits , vegetables , meat products , etc . by merging information about physical attributes , shape features , texture features , etc . and , the display unit 16 enhances the contrast of the contraband part of the object being scanned . for example , the computing unit 15 may extend a display grayscale range of an organic and / or contraband part , and use all or a majority of the grayscale range for display of the organic and / or contraband part , improving display fineness of the organic and / or contraband part and contrast between organic and / or contraband parts ; and may use a dedicated color scheme for assigning different types of organic substances with different colors , improving difference between visual effects of different organic substances including contrabands in quarantine . in addition , the computing unit 15 may also filter mixtures and metal substances out so as to avoid influencing an observation line of sight of the human operator , or may maintain the mixtures and the metal substances but enable them not to be rendered so obviously so as to avoid attracting attention of the human operator excessively . for another example , the system may automatically identify primary contrabands in quarantine , such as fruits , vegetables , meat products , etc ., and emphasize them by adding one or more boxes , one or more arrows , by a flashing display , by special coloring , by a sound alarm , by a light alarm , etc . in particular , compared to metal articles , organics , due to their weaker attenuation capability for x - rays , only occupy a upper small part of the grayscale range of the existing ct system , and thus are assigned with orange colors having different saturation degrees as usual , which causes non - obvious display of the organics in the 3d image of the object being scanned , and lower contrast between different types of organics . if there is no definite shape or texture information , the substance type of the organics cannot be particularly identified . due to this , the ct system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may use all or a majority ( e . g . no less than 80 %) of the grayscale range for display of the organics including contrabands in quarantine , e . g ., implementing a mapping of the physical attributes of organics and contrabands in quarantine to a larger grayscale range by a linear or segmentally linear way , or various non - linear ways , and may implement contrast enhancement of organics and contrabands in quarantine by performing global statistics or local statistics on the physical attributes or grayscales , so as to obtain the finest display effect which can present variations of surfaces or internal structures of the organics and / or contrabands . in addition , the ct system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may use a dedicated color palette , which can contain violet , red , and / or yellow with different saturation degrees and various intermediate colors , besides orange with different saturation degrees , enabling organics and contrabands in quarantine with different physical properties to have different hues , thereby further improving the difference in visual effects of different organic substances including contrabands in quarantine . since a human operator is not concern with the mixture and the metal , green and blue which are usually assigned to these two types of substances may also appear in the dedicated color palette . in addition , the 3d image may be pre - segmented , so that the same color is assigned to all of voxels in the same object , in order to improve uniform coloring of the object . in addition , the display unit 15 may hide the one or more non - organic and / or non - contraband parts , of the object being scanned . for example , the computing unit 15 may determine a foreground part of the image data ; and remove pixels in the foreground part whose effective atomic number is larger than a predetermined value , so as to eliminate a shield of the foreground part of the organic part and / or contraband part . for the single - energy ct system , the image processing unit can restore the attenuation coefficient of an arbitrary position within the object , wherein the attenuation coefficient can partly reflect a material attribute of the object . for the dual - energy ct system , the computing unit 15 may also reconstruct the density and the effective atomic number of an arbitrary position within the object , wherein the effective atomic number can accurately reflect the material attribute of the object . the attenuation coefficient or the effective atomic number may be used for removing the mixture and the metal substances , e . g ., rods of a suitcase , in the object being scanned , so as to avoid influencing the observation of the human operator . this is implemented by e . g . comparing the attenuation coefficient or the atomic number value with a predetermined threshold , in which pixels whose attenuation coefficient or atomic number value is higher than the threshold are weakened or not displayed . the attenuation coefficient or the effective atomic number may also be used for selecting the mixture and the metal substance in the object being scanned . by compressing the grayscale range , same color display , gray display or setting a higher transparency or a lower saturation degree , the mixture and the metal substance are not obvious in the 3d image , so that the human operator may focus on observing an organic and / or contraband . the metal rods of the suitcase in the conventional system as shown in fig3 shield the organic and / or contraband part , which adversely affects the judgment of the human operator . however , as shown in fig4 , in the image obtained by the system according to embodiments of the present disclosure , the effect of the metal rods is eliminated , and the display of the contraband in quarantine is enhanced and highlighted , which facilitates the judgment of the human operator . most contraband in quarantine has physical attributes different from those of other organics , such as attenuation coefficient , density , effective atomic number , etc . by building a feature database of different substances for comparison in advance and improving the feature database continuously , the ct system can merge information about physical attributes , shape features , texture features , etc . to automatically identify primary contrabands in quarantine , such as fruits , vegetables , meat products , etc . for an identified contraband in quarantine , it can be emphasized by adding a box , an arrow , by a flashing display , by a special coloring ( e . g . a bright red color ) along with a sound and light alarm of the ct system , etc ., so as to prompt the human operator to focus to have confirmation and manual inspection , which significantly improves the working effect and efficiency of quarantine supervision . fig5 shows a schematic view of an inspection system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure . in the embodiment as shown in fig5 , an object 510 being scanned is placed on a conveying apparatus 540 ( e . g ., a belt ) for inspection , which sequentially passes through a dr system 520 and a dual - energy ct system 530 . in the embodiment as shown in fig5 , the dual - energy ct system 530 and the dr system 520 may be operated synchronously . fig6 shows a schematic structure diagram of the inspection system as shown in fig5 in detail . the inspection device as shown in fig6 includes a dr system on the left and a dual - energy ct system on the right , both of which share a conveying apparatus 630 bearing an object 613 being scanned to move ahead . an x - ray source 611 for dr emits x - rays 612 , which passes through the object 613 being scanned on the bearing mechanism 630 ; a transmission signal is received by a detector module 614 ; an analog signal is converted by a collection circuit 615 into a digital signal , which is transmitted to a controller 617 and a computer 618 , etc . a transmission image of the object 613 being scanned is obtained in the computer 618 , which is stored in a memory or is displayed . in some embodiments , the ray source 611 may include a plurality of x - ray generators , e . g ., distributed x - ray sources including a plurality of x - ray source points . as shown in fig6 , the bearing mechanism 630 bears the object 613 being scanned to go through a scan area between the ray source 611 and the detector 614 . in some embodiments , the detector 614 and the collection circuit 615 are e . g . detectors and data collectors in an integrated module structure , e . g ., a plurality of detectors , for detecting the x - rays passing through an article being scanned so as to obtain the analog signal , and for converting the analog signal to the digital signal , thereby outputting projection data of the object being scanned for the x - rays . the controller 617 controls each part of the whole system to work synchronously . the computer 618 processes and reconstructs data collected by the data collector , and outputs the result . according to the embodiment , the detector 614 and the collection circuit 615 are used for obtaining transmission data of the object 613 being scanned . a data amplifying circuit is included in the collection circuit 615 , which may work in a ( current ) integrated manner or a pulse ( counting ) manner . the collection circuit 615 is connected to the controller 617 and the computer 618 , and the collected data are stored in the computer 618 according to a trigger command . in some embodiments , the detector module 614 includes a plurality of detection units for receiving the x - rays which pass through the object being scanned . the data collection circuit 615 is coupled to the detector module 614 for converting a signal generated by the detector module 614 to detection data . the controller 617 is connected via a control line ctrl 11 to the x - ray source 611 and is connected via a control line ctrl 12 to the detector module 514 which is in turn connected to the data collection circuit 615 , so as to control at least one x - ray generator of the ray source to generate the x - rays which are emitted for passing through the object being scanned as the object moves . in addition , the controller 617 controls the detector module 614 and the data collection circuit 615 to obtain the detection data . the computing unit , such as a processor , in the computer 618 reconstructs the image of the object being scanned based on the detection data . as the object being scanned keeps going ahead , the dual - energy ct system performs the ct scan on the object . an x - ray source 621 for ct emits x - rays 622 , which pass through the object 613 being scanned on the bearing mechanism 630 . as the object moves on , the x - ray source and a detector are rotated for the ct scan , a projection signal is received by the detector module 624 , an analog signal is converted by a data collection circuit 625 into a digital signal , which is sent to the controller 617 and the computer 618 , etc . slice images of the object 613 being scanned are obtained in the computer 618 , which are stored in the memory or are displayed . in some embodiments , the detector module 624 includes a plurality of detection units for receiving the x - rays which pass through the object being scanned . the data collection circuit 625 is coupled to the detector module 624 for converting a signal generated by the detector module 624 to detection data . the controller 617 is connected via a control line ctrl 21 to the x - ray source 621 and is connected via a control line ctrl 22 to the detector module 624 which is in turn connected to the data collection circuit 625 , so as to control two high and low energy x - ray generators of the x - ray source to alternately generate high and low energy x - rays which are emitted for passing through the object being scanned as the object being scanned moves , achieving the dual - energy ct scan . in addition , the controller 617 controls the detector module 624 and the data collection circuit 625 to obtain the projection data . the computing unit in the computer 618 reconstructs the image of the object being scanned based on the projection data , and performs substance identification . as such , the dr system and the ct system operate synchronously . for example , before the ct scan , the dr scan is performed on the object being scanned to obtain the transmitted image ; then the computer determines a position of a suspect contraband based on the transmission image ; and the ct scan device performs the ct scan on at least a part of the object being scanned according to the position determined by the computing unit . in doing so , the ct scan may be performed on only the position of the possible suspect article , which improves the efficiency and accuracy of the inspection . for example , in the embodiments as shown in fig5 and 6 , the object being scanned goes through the dr system and the dual - energy ct system sequentially , and the obtained 2d and dual - energy 3d image data are input to the computer for substance identification . the substance identification system installed in the computer performs substance identification on the object being scanned according to the image data so as to obtain information of different substances , such as the effective atomic numbers , densities , etc ., and tints the 2d image and the 3d image , automatically labeling the article which is judged as the object focused in quarantine ( plant , animal , meat , etc .). in an embodiment of the present disclosure , the substance identification system may hide a part of the object being scanned which is identified to be inorganic , so as to highlight one or more organic components of the object being scanned . in an embodiment of the present disclosure , the substance identification system may further identify and distinguish the organics including contrabands in quarantine more accurately , respectively labeling plants , animals , meat , meat products , etc . with different colors . in addition , the image which has been labeled by substance identification is input to the image processing system in the computer 618 , which in turn highlights the suspect object in quarantine and alarms automatically . in addition , it may be understood by the skilled in the art that the dr scan does not need to be performed before the ct scan , and the ct scan is not necessarily performed according to the position of the suspect contraband determined from the dr image . for example , the dr system may be used as a supplement of the ct system to enable the human operator to continuously use the experiences of reading the 2d image . in addition , the computer may automatically segment the image of the object being scanned which is mixed by multiple kinds of articles into separate articles according to their outline edges , facilitating a human operator to judge the image . alternatively , the computer compares appearances of 3d images of the objects being scanned with templates in the suspect image database ; and highlights suspect objects in connection with results of substance identification . alternatively , the computer automatically identifies shape features of contrabands which are frequently labeled by a user and records the shape features in a database . in an embodiment of the present disclosure , the image processing system in the computer 618 may be configured with a cloud data collection function , e . g ., be connected to a cloud server for uploading the inspection data to the cloud server . the user may authorize different image inspection rights of the cloud server to different inspectors , or enable the image inspection rights of the cloud server to access to another management system . although the inspection devices for quarantine according to the present disclosure is described in connection with particular embodiments , the skilled in the art may apply the inspection devices to other fields for solving the inspection problem in other industries . therefore , various modifications , improvements , expansions and applications which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure are to be encompassed by the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents .	6
the ordered sequence of elements which form the data is represented in an array derived from an analogue waveform . although the data may be a function of more than ne variable , in this invention the data is “ viewed ” or ordered in dependence on one variable . thus , the data can be stored as an array . the array is a one dimensional array , a 1 × n matrix . data in a one dimensional array is also referred hereinbelow as one dimensional data . the values of the data contained in the array may be a sequence of binary values , such as an array of digital samples of an audio signal . one example of the anomaly recognition procedure is described below in connection with fig1 - 8 , where the neighbouring elements of x 0 are selected to be within some one - dimensional , distance of x 0 . ( distance between two elements or sample points in this example may be the number of elements between these points ). detection of anomalies in data represented in a one - dimensional array ( eg : time resolved data or audio data or data from an acoustic source ) concerns instructing a computer to identify and detect irregularities in the array in which the set of data is arranged . there are various reasons why a particular region can be considered as ‘ irregular ’ or ‘ odd ’. it could be due to its odd shape or values when compared with the population data ( the remainder of the data ); it could be due to misplacement of a certain pattern in a set of ordered pattern . put more simply , an anomaly or irregularity , is any region which is considered different to the rest of the data due to its low occurrence within the data : that is , anomalous data will have one or more characteristics which are not the same as those of the majority of the data . in the specific examples given in the description of the invention , the algorithm is tested mainly on audio data with the discrete samples as the one - dimensional data . however , the invention is limited in no way to audio data and may include other data that can be represented in a one dimensional array derived from a waveform having a plurality of cycles . the software which , when run on a computer implements the present invention , “ one dimensional anomaly detector ”, is written in curl language using curl surge lab ide beta 5 — build : 1 . 6 . 0 release / englewood / 0 - 1237 : copyright © 1998 - 2001 and may not be compatible with future releases of curl . the results shown in this description were produced by the software mentioned above . again , however , the invention is not limited to software written using this particular language and may be implemented using other computer languages . this algorithm of the present invention works on the basis of analysing samples . a further algorithm described later as the “ cycle comparison algorithm ” compares cycles defined by certain zero crossings . the method for the sample analysis algorithm will now be described with reference to fig1 to 8 . the components shown in fig4 include a data source 20 and a signal processor 21 for processing the data . the data is either generated or pre - processed using cool edit pro — version 1 . 2 : cool edit pro is copyrighted © 1997 - 1998 by syntrillium software corporation . portions of cool edit pro are copyrighted © 1997 , massachusetts institute of technology . the invention is not limited in this respect , however , and is suitable for data generated or preprocessed using other techniques . fig4 also shows a normaliser 22 . the data is normalised by dividing all values by the maximum modulus value of the data so that the possible values of the data range from − 1 to 1 . a central processing unit ( cpu ) 24 , an output unit 27 such as a visual display unit ( vdu ) or printer , a memory 25 and a calculation processor 26 . the memory 25 includes stores 250 , 254 - 256 , registers 251 , 257 - 259 and a mismatch counter 253 and a comparison counter 252 . the data and the programs for controlling the computer are stored in the memory 25 . the cpu 24 controls the functioning of the computer using this information . with further reference to fig1 - 5 , a data stream to be analysed is received at the input means 23 and stored in a digital form in a data store 250 , as a one dimensional array , where each datum or data element has a value attributed to it . an original sample of data , x 0 , ( a reference test element ) is selected ( step 1 ) from the one dimensional array , and its value is stored in an original sample register 251 . a mismatch count , cx , stored in a mismatch counter 253 , and a count of the number of data comparisons , ix , stored in a comparison counter 252 , are both set to zero ( step 2 ). then a random neighbourhood , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , ( test elements ) which comprises a number of data in the vicinity of the original sample ( reference test element ), x 0 , of a certain size ( parameter : neighbourhood size ) is selected from neighbouring samples ( step 5 ). the neighbourhood is chosen to lie within a particular range ( or “ neighbourhood range ”) ( parameter : radius ) from the original sample , x 0 . then , a second reference sample , y 0 , is randomly chosen anywhere within a certain domain or range ( parameter : comparison domain ) in the set of data ( step 6 ). the neighbourhood , ( i . e . test elements ) x 1 , x 2 , x 3 selected around the original sample , x 0 together with the original sample , x 0 , have a certain configuration which makes a ‘ pattern ’. the neighbourhood , y 1 , y 2 , y 3 , ( comparison elements ) selected around the random reference sample , ( the reference comparison element ) y 0 , together with the reference sample , y 0 , are chosen to have the same configuration , or pattern , as the neighbourhood around the original sample . in the embodiments shown in fig1 and 3a and 3 b , the values of the data in the original sample ‘ pattern ’ ( test group ), x 0 , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 are then compared by calculation processor 26 , with the values of the data in the reference sample ‘ pattern ’ ( comparison group ), y 0 , y 1 , y 2 , y 3 , defined by the reference sample together with its neighbouring samples ( step 8 ). if the absolute value of the difference , \| x 0 − y 0 \|, \| x 1 − y 1 \|, etc , between two respective samples or elements is more than a certain threshold ( parameter : threshold ), then it is considered as being ‘ different ’. if one or more samples in the original sample pattern are different from the reference sample pattern , then it is said that a mismatch occurred . the choice of the threshold can optionally be varied , and may depend on the range of values within the set of data . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , this part of the algorithm is carried out according to similar principles but different values are compared . this is described below in more detail with reference to fig2 and 6 . in all other respects , however , the algorithm shown in fig2 is the same as those shown in fig1 and 3a and 3 b . further , with reference to fig1 - 5 , when a mismatch occurs , the mismatch counter , cx , for the original sample , x 0 , is incremented ( step 10 ). in this case the neighbourhood ( test group ) around the original sample ( reference test element ) is kept , i . e ., the original sample pattern is kept , and the program returns to step 6 to choose another random 2 nd reference sample , y 0 , for the same comparison process . when a match occurs the mismatch counter , cx , is not increased . the program returns to step 5 which creates a new neighbourhood around the original sample , whose configuration has a new pattern , before moving on to choose another random 2 nd reference sample ( step 7 ) for the comparison step ( step 8 ). for each original sample , x 0 , a certain number of comparisons , l , are made which result in a certain number of mismatches and matches . the total number of mismatches plus matches is equal to the number of comparisons ( step 11 and step 14 ). the number of comparisons can be varied and will depend on the data to be analysed and the processing power available . also , the greater the number of comparisons , the greater the accuracy of the anomaly detection . once the comparison step ( step 8 ) has been done the certain number of times , l , the program returns to step 1 to select a different original sample , x 0 and the mismatch counter value , cx , and the number of comparisons , l , is output for original sample , x 0 ( step 15 ). whether the original sample or reference test element , x 0 , is judged to be an anomaly will depend on the number of mismatches in comparison to the number of comparisons , l . the normalised anomaly scores for each original sample , x 0 , are obtained by dividing the mismatch counter , cx , for each sample , x 0 , by the number of comparisons , l , which is also equal to the maximum mismatch count , so that the anomaly score ranges from zero to one , with zero being 0 % mismatch and one being maximum mismatch . fig5 shows an example of a one - dimensional data with each box representing a sample . sample marked ‘ x ’ is the original sample and sample marked ‘ y ’ is the randomly chosen reference sample . the samples , x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , are the neighbourhood samples whose configuration make up the original sample pattern . in the example shown in fig5 , the radius ( or neighbourhood range ) is equal to 3 , the neighbourhood size is equal to 3 and the comparison domain is equal to the region where y is chosen . a mismatch occurs if \| xn − yn \|& gt ; threshold , where , n , the neighbourhood size takes a value from 1 to 3 . as shown in fig5 , the first sample which could be scored is the sample with a distance ‘ radius ’ away from the start and the last sample to be scored is the sample with a distance ‘ radius ’ away from the end . by way of further explanation of the above example of comparison , a numerical example is set out in table 1 . in the examples given , two of the samples mismatch . as long as one or more samples in the neighbourhood mismatches , the mismatch counter for the original , in this example , x 0 , will be incremented by one . with reference to fig2 and 6 , the inventor has noticed that when the waveform becomes complex or the sampling rate is increased the number of mismatches increases relative to the number of matches . this causes the scores to become saturated . as the complexity of the waveform increases the probability of picking a random reference y sample that matches the original sample x decreases . similarly , as the sampling rate is increased , the probability of finding a match decreases . the increased probability of having a mismatch causes saturation of the scores . to alleviate the problem of score saturation , a ‘ hill climbing ’ strategy has been developed to improve the likelihood of a match . the strategy is called “ hill climbing ” because when a mismatch is found , the waveform is “ climbed ” in both directions along the ordered set of data elements until a match is found . fig2 is a flow diagram showing the steps an algorithm including the “ hill climbing ” process and how they fit in with the steps of the sample analysis algorithm described above . the hill climbing process is shown within the dotted line 20 . it is seen in fig2 that the ‘ hill climbing ’ process includes some additional steps to the sample analysis algorithm shown in fig1 . the “ hill climbing ” process is explained with reference to fig2 and 6 . first the original sample , marked x , is chosen ( step 1 ). the neighbourhood samples , coloured medium dark grey in fig8 and shown in the neighbourhood of the original sample x , are then selected either randomly ( step 5 ) or reused from the previous comparison if a mismatch occurred previously ( refer to step 6 ). in the example shown in fig8 , the neighbourhood size ( parameter : neighbourhood size ) is three , hence three neighbouring samples are selected . and the furthest distance from which a neighbouring sample can be selected is the radius ( parameter : radius ), which is equal to four in the example in fig8 . these samples make up the original “ pattern ” ( step 5 ). next , a reference sample , marked y , is randomly chosen from anywhere in the data within a certain domain ( step 6 ) ( parameter : comparison domain , not shown in fig8 , but shown for example , in fig5 ). then the reference sample , y , is compared with the original sample , x ( step 22 ). it is determined whether the is a mismatch between the reference sample and original sample ( step 24 ). in the example shown in fig8 , the reference sample y lies outside the threshold ( parameter : threshold ) region of the original sample x , hence it does not match the original sample x . therefore , in the case of this mismatch the next step ( steps 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 ) is to ‘ hill climb ’ the reference sample by searching the samples within a search radius around y for a sample that matches with the original sample x . this searching is done one sample at a time in both directions along the one dimensional array ( step 30 ). in fig8 the sample marked a is the first sample near sample y that matches the original sample x as it falls within the threshold region . next , the neighbourhood samples of x ( coloured medium dark grey ) are compared with the corresponding neighbourhood samples of a ( step 28 ). if they match ( step 32 ), then the mismatch counter is not increased and the process is continued with the next comparison by selecting another random reference sample ( step 6 ). in the example shown in fig8 , the corresponding neighbourhood samples x and a do not match ( step 32 ), but in spite of this and in contrast to the steps shown in fig1 , the mismatch counter for sample x is not increased . instead of increasing the mismatch counter , the ‘ hill climbing ’ process is continued as described above . eventually , sample marked b is selected and found to match the original sample x . then the neighbourhood samples of x ( coloured medium dark grey ) are compared with the corresponding neighbourhood samples of b ( step 28 ). if they match one another , then the next comparison is continued with by selecting another random reference sample ( step 6 ). in the example shown in fig8 they do match , so the mismatch counter is not increased , and the process is continued with the next comparison by selecting another random reference sample . it can be seen by reference to fig8 and the explanation above , the ‘ hill climbing ’ process stops when one of two things happen . the process stops when the algorithm finds a matching “ pattern ”. alternatively , the other way the ‘ hill climbing ’ process stops is when the algorithm fails to find any matching “ pattern ” within a certain search radius for the ‘ hill climbing ’ ( illustrated in fig8 ). the radius being set to be equal to the radius of the original sample x &# 39 ; s neighbourhood ( parameter : radius ). the algorithm searches all samples within the search radius ( step 26 ). when the algorithm fails to find any matching “ pattern ” in the neighbourhood , then the mismatch counter for original sample x is increased ( step 10 ). therefore , the mismatch counter for the original sample only increases when there is no matching pattern within the ‘ hill climbing ’ search radius from the randomly selected reference sample . by only increasing the mismatch counter when there are no matching “ patterns ” in the neighbourhood of the reference sample , the constraints imposed on the search for a match are relaxed . thus , the probability of finding a match are increased . this process is successful in eliminating the problem of saturation of the scores observed by the inventors . reference is made to fig1 to 15 which show the results achieved . with reference to fig6 , the inventor has found , that in addition to the problem of saturation another problem exists . due to the effects of constant sampling rate , samples which lie on a larger gradient are more distant apart compared to samples which lie on a small gradient . this is because a constant sampling rate means samples are taken at equal intervals of time . when the waveform changes rapidly , i . e . has a large magnitude of gradient , the difference between two subsequent sample values is therefore large . when the waveform has a small gradient , there is only a slight difference between two subsequent sample values . see fig6 for illustration . the effect of a static threshold or mismatch criterion while comparing samples is as follows : samples which lie on the larger gradient will be discriminated and have high mismatch scores as they are less likely to match with their neighbours . this will result in an artificially high mismatch score for data lying on a steep gradient . similarly , data lying on a shallow gradient will score too low . the inventor has found that this detrimental effect can be removed by using a dynamic threshold , which takes into account the local gradient of the samples . the dynamic threshold is an adaptive variable threshold that is dependent on the sample &# 39 ; s local gradient . in sampling an analogue waveform ( see fig2 ) discrete samples are taken over equal time intervals . each sample acts as a representative for the particular interval . in this interval the waveform however assumes different values . the local gradient can be defined as the difference between the boundary values of the interval and is a measure of the variation in the interval ( the intervals will be chosen smaller than any periodicity of the waveform ). in this way , the sample interval is set to have a non - dimensional value of 1 . by defining a dynamic threshold which increases with increasing local gradient , for example by adding a term proportional to the gradient as above to a static threshold value , the mismatch criterion is increased for steeper gradients and sampled values may thus differ more before they mismatch . for small gradients , samples are mismatched if they differ by a smaller threshold amount . the mismatch criterion or threshold is thus adaptive to the particular environment of a sample . ( parameter : threshold ). the static threshold can be determined to suit the particular data and sensitivity required . similarly , the particular form of the gradient responsive term may vary according to the sampled data and could be determined empirically . ( obtaining a dynamic threshold is optional , and a static threshold is possible instead ). in fig7 , the upper spectrum shows the result with striations due to discrimination on large slopes using the static threshold while the spectrum below shows a more uniform attention score as a result of dynamic thresholding . in the above example , the data comprises an analogue waveform which is sampled at regular intervals , although it will be appreciated that the intervals need not be regular . fig2 shows the steps taken in the case where an analogue waveform is sampled , and includes the step 3 of determining the gradient at the original sample , x 0 , and step 4 of determining the dynamic threshold . in step 8 , the corresponding neighbourhood samples are compared with the dynamic threshold . fig3 shows the steps taken in the case of an array of digital data , and includes step 16 of determining the values of samples neighbouring the original sample , and step 17 determining , the dynamic threshold . in step 8 , as for the case of an analogue waveform , the corresponding neighbourhood samples are compared with the dynamic threshold . the gradient determination step and the step of determining the values of samples neighbouring the original sample are carried out by the calculation processor 26 , and the values determined are stored in the register 259 , where they are accessible as the dynamic threshold value for use in the comparison step ( step 8 ). both the “ hill climbing ” process and the dynamic threshold process may be implemented independently to one another as shown in fig2 , 3 a and 3 b . alternatively , they may be implemented in combination with each other . in particular , the “ hill climbing ” process described above with reference to fig2 and 6 is suitable for combination with either of the dynamic threshold embodiments shown in fig3 a and 38 . fig9 to 15 show results 1 to 7 , respectively . the results shown in these figures are produced after the implementation to the sample analysis algorithm described with reference to fig1 and 5 of a combination of the “ hill climbing ” shown in fig2 and 6 and the dynamic threshold processes shown in fig3 a and 3b described above . the comparison domain for these results is the entire data length . the results show in the lower part of the diagram the input data for analysis . the upper portion of the diagram shows the mismatch scores achieved for each sample using the sample analysis algorithm plus the “ hill climbing ” and dynamic threshold modifications . in the upper portion , an anomaly is identified as being those portions having the highest mismatch scores . the results shown are for audio signals . however , the present invention may also be applied to any ordered set of data elements . the values of the data may be single values or may be multi - element values . result 1 shown in fig9 shows a data stream of 500 elements having a binary sequence of zeros and ones . the anomaly to be detected is a one bit error at both ends of the data . in this example , the number of comparisons was 500 , the radius was equal to 5 , the neighbourhood size was equal to 4 and the threshold was equal to zero . the peaks in the upper portion of the graph show a perfect discrimination of the one bit errors at either end of the datane array . result 2 shown in fig1 shows data stream having the form of a sine wave with a change in amplitude . in this example , the number of comparisons was 500 . the radius was equal to 5 , the neighbourhood size was equal to 4 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 01 . the peaks in the upper portion of the graph show a perfect discrimination of the anomaly . the highest mismatch scores being for those portions of the data stream where the rate of change of amplitude is the greatest . result 3 shown in fig1 shows a data stream having the form of a sine wave with background noise and burst and delay error . in this example , the number of comparisons was 500 , the neighbourhood size was equal to 4 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 15 . the peaks in the upper portion of the graph show a good discrimination of the anomalies present . result 4 shown in fig1 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave that has been clipped . the data has been sampled at a rate of 22 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 1000 , the radius was equal to 75 , the neighbourhood size was equal to 4 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 15 . the peaks show a good discrimination of the anomalies . further , it is commented that the gaps in between the peaks can be eliminated by selecting a larger neighbourhood size . result 5 shown in fig1 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave that has been clipped . the data has been sampled at a rate of 11 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 1000 , the radius was equal to 10 , the neighbourhood size was equal to 5 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 15 . the peaks show a good discrimination of the anomalies . result 6 shown in fig1 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave including phase shifts . the data has been sampled at a rate of 44 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 1000 , the radius was equal to 50 , the neighbourhood size was equal to 4 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 1 . the peaks show good discrimination of the anomalies . result 7 shown in fig1 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave including phase shifts . the data has been sampled at a rate of 44 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 1000 , the radius was equal to 50 , the neighbourhood size was equal to 4 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 1 . the peaks show near perfect discrimination of the anomalies . an error correction system is now described with reference to fig1 - 20 , which has application to the present invention . having used the anomaly detection system previously described to identify regions of anomaly in a waveform , error correction is provided to remove the detected errors . from the attention map produced as described above , a suitable filter coefficient is set ( parameter : filter coefficient ) so that only the anomalous region remains in the map before passing the data to an error correction algorithm . the error correction algorithm used depends on the algorithm used to detect the anomaly . for example , a cycle comparison detection algorithm is described further below which is for use together with a cutting and replacing correction algorithm . it has been found that a shape learning error correction algorithm yields better results with the anomaly detection algorithm described above in this application . the shape learning algorithm is described below . the shape learning error correction described below may be implemented directly . the success of the error correction however , is dependent primarily on being able to pinpoint the anomaly with confidence , which is the function of the detection algorithm . the error correction method described below deals with the error by taking a closer look at what is happening when the detection algorithm does the comparison described above . fig1 shows that due to the nature of the detection algorithm , the first and last samples in a high score region are not amongst the erroneous samples . the first sample and last sample that have high score are a distance of ‘ radius ’ ( parameter : radius ) away from the first and last erroneous sample . this is because the first neighbourhood that may select the erroneous sample as one of the neighbourhood samples normally lies a distance ‘ radius ’ away . to explain the details of how the algorithm works the example given in fig1 is referred to . a region of anomaly is indicated with high scores but the actual samples that are erroneous have lower scores than the indicated samples . the algorithm does the error correction routine starting from the left - hand side towards the right - hand side . first , as shown in fig1 , it takes the first sample from the left with a high score and creates two counters for each sample within the radius of the first sample . all samples , x 0 to x 6 , are then compared with other parts of the data . this comparison method is similar to the detection algorithm and uses the two parameters from the detection algorithm , which are the number of comparisons ( parameter : number of comparisons ) and the static threshold value ( parameter : threshold ). x is considered as the original sample . this comparison method uses the dynamic thresholding that is used in the detection algorithm described above . for each comparison of the neighbourhood , x 0 to x 6 , with other parts of the data , if the number of samples in the neighbourhood that mismatches is less than or equal to a value called ‘ range ’ then certain information will be logged in the counters for those samples that mismatch , refer to fig1 . the value ‘ range ’ is given by the parameter “ proportion to fix at one go ” ( parameter : proportion to fix at one go ) multiplied by the ‘ radius ’ ( parameter : radius ) rounded to the nearest integer . the parameter proportion to fix at one go can take a value between 0 and 1 . hence the value ‘ range ’ takes a minimum value of 1 and maximum value of ‘ radius ’. two examples are given in fig1 . when x and y is compared , only one sample mismatches , which is less than the value of ‘ range ’. so , the ‘ mismatch frequency ’ counter is increased for the sample ( s ) that mismatch and the ‘ total mismatch value ’ counter is also updated by adding it with the value of the difference between x and y ( the mismatch value ). however , when x and z is compared , four samples mismatch , which is more than the value of ‘ range ’. if this happens , no information is logged . the counter values are not altered . at the end of the comparison process , the ‘ mismatch frequency ’ counter holds the value indicating how often each of the samples x 0 to x 6 mismatches , and the ‘ total mismatch value ’ counter holds the sum of all the mismatch difference values that have occurred for each of the samples x 0 to x 6 . from these two pieces of information , we can now decide which sample ( s ) are always causing a mismatch and how much to adjust them so that they will match more often . this can be done by first getting a mean value for the mismatch frequencies of all the samples . then any sample ( s ) that have a larger mismatch frequency than the mean value will be considered needing adjustment . the amount to adjust each sample is given by the average value of the mismatch values . this average value is obtained by dividing the value in the ‘ total mismatch value ’ counter by the value in the ‘ mismatch frequency ’ counter of the sample ( s ) that need to be adjusted . the sample ( s ) are then adjusted and the new attention score for the sample x 0 is obtained using the standard detection algorithm . if the new attention score is less than the previous score , the adjustments are kept , otherwise the adjustments are discarded . the algorithm repeats the process again for neighbourhood xn and does the adjustments again as long as the attention score for x 0 decreases . if the attention score for x 0 does not decrease after a certain number of times ( parameter : number of tries to improve score ) consecutively , the algorithm moves on the next sample to be chosen as the original sample . the next sample to be chosen lies ‘ range ’ number of samples to the right of the previous original sample . fig1 illustrates how the algorithm uses the ‘ range ’ value as described above . as shown in fig1 , for each new step the algorithm takes , the new original sample x 0 lies ‘ range ’ samples in front of the previous original sample . this also means that the new neighbourhood will contain ‘ range ’ number of erroneous samples , assuming that all the errors in the previous neighbourhood are corrected perfectly . because of this , when the neighbourhood is compared to an identical reference neighbourhood elsewhere in the data , it is expected that only ‘ range ’ samples to mismatch while the rest of the samples should match . if more than ‘ range ’ samples mismatch , this means that the good samples are also mismatching , hence the reference neighbourhood that it compared with is unlikely to be identical to the original neighbourhood and therefore no information at all is logged . the algorithm is called shape learning because it tries to make adjustments to the erroneous samples so that the overall shape or recurring pattern of the waveform is preserved . as the total number of samples is the same before and after the error correction , the algorithm works fine if the error is not best fixed by inserting or removing samples . if this is the case , then the algorithm will propagate the error along the waveform . this is due to the error correction routine which starts from the left of the ‘ high score ’ region and adjusts the samples towards the right . fig2 , result 8 shows a good example of the phase shift error described above . in fig2 , the lower part of the diagram shows the input data for analysis . the upper portion of the diagram shows the results of the analysis where the y axis in the upper portion shows the mismatch value . in the upper portion , an anomaly is identified as being those ( lighter ) portions having the greatest mismatch values . it is noted that result 8 is shown to illustrate the phase shift . the error recognition has been achieved not using the algorithm described in this application , but using the cycle comparison algorithm described further below . fig2 shows a flow chart outlining the steps of the shape learning error correction described above . firstly , the first “ high score ” original sample , x , and its neighbourhood are obtained , step 100 . next , counters are created for each of the samples in the neighbourhood , step 102 . a random reference sample and its neighbourhood are also selected , step 104 . having done this , the entire neighbourhood is compared , step 106 , and it is determined whether more than the “ range ” of samples mismatch . if the answer is “ yes ”, the comparison counter is increased , step 114 , and the algorithm returns to step 104 to select a random reference sample and its neighbourhood . if the answer is “ no ”, the next step is to obtain the difference , the mismatch value , dn , for the sample or samples that mismatch , step 108 . then the mismatch frequency counter is increased and the mismatch value , dn is added to the mismatch value counter for the sample or samples that mismatch , step 110 . next , it is determined whether the comparison counter is equal to the number of comparisons , step 112 . if the answer is “ no ” the algorithm returns to step 114 , and the comparison counter is increased before the algorithm returns to step 104 to select a random reference sample and its neighbourhood . if the answer is “ yes ”, the mean of the mismatch frequency counters is obtained , step 116 . subsequently , the sample or samples whose mismatch frequency counter is more than the calculated mean in step 116 , are identified , step 118 . the identified sample or samples are adjusted by their average mismatch value , step 120 . having done this , a new attention ( mismatch ) score is obtained for the original sample using the sample analysis detection algorithm described above , step 122 . the new attention ( mismatch ) score is compared with the old ( first ) attention score , step 124 . if it is lower than the old score , the adjustments made are kept and the failed counter is reset . if the new score is not lower , the adjustments made are discarded and the failed counter is increase , step 126 . next , it is determined whether the failed counter is equal to the number of tries to fix the error , step 130 . if the answer is “ no ”, the algorithm returns to step 104 to select a random reference sample and its neighbourhood . if the answer is “ yes ”, the next original sample , x , and it neighbourhood is obtained , step 132 , before the algorithm returns to step 102 , to create counters for each of the samples in the neighbourhood . depending on the type of error and the original waveform , certain methods could prove to be more efficient in removing the error . the shape learning algorithm described above , requires large amounts of processing time due to its looping construct . but nevertheless it is the preferred way of removing the error as it possesses the ability to predict the shape of the waveform . however , on occasion it propagates certain errors as it does not alter the total number of samples . cutting or replacing as described in our copending unpublished application ( ipd reference a30176 ) proves to be the best method in such cases . further , it is noted that in any case the performance of the error correction is dependent on the performance of the anomaly detection algorithm . a detection algorithm of the present invention has been demonstrated to be very tolerant to the type of input data as well as being very flexible in spotting anomalies in one - dimensional data . therefore there are many applications where such detection method may be useful . in the audio field , such a detection algorithm may be used as a line monitor to monitor recordings and playback for unwanted noise as well as being able to remove it . it may also be useful in the medical field as an automatic monitor for signals from a cardiogram or encephalogram of a patient . apart from monitoring human signals , it may also be used to monitor engine noise . like monitoring in humans , the output from machines , be it acoustic signals or electrical signals , deviate from its normal operating pattern as the machine &# 39 ; s operating conditions vary , and in particular , as the machine approaches failure . the algorithm may also be applied to seismological or other geological data and data related to the operation of telecommunications systems , such as a log of accesses or attempted accesses to a firewall . as the detection algorithm is able to give a much earlier warning in the case of systems that are in the process of failing , in addition to monitoring and removing errors , it may also be used as a predictor . this aspect has application for example , in monitoring and predicting traffic patterns . a further embodiment , the referred to as the “ cycle comparison ” is now described . detection of anomalies in an ordered set of data concerns instructing a computer to identify and detect irregularities in the set . there are various reasons why a particular region can be considered as ‘ irregular ’ or ‘ odd ’. it could be due to its odd shape or values when compared with the population data ; it could be due to misplacement of a certain pattern in a set of ordered pattern . put more simply , an anomaly or irregularity , is any region which is considered different due to its low occurrence within the data . in the specific examples given in the description of the invention , the algorithms are tested mainly on sampled audio data with the discrete samples as the one - dimensional data . however , the invention is limited in no way to audio data and may include , as mentioned above other data , or generally data obtained from an acoustic source , such as engine noise or cardiogram data . this algorithm of the present invention works on the basis of identifying and comparing cycles delimited by positive zero crossings that occur in the set of data . the inventors have found however , that the sample analysis algorithm as described above may start to fail when the input waveform becomes too complex . although the ‘ hill climbing ’ method described above has been implemented , saturation is still occurs for more complex waveforms . saturation is an effect observed by the inventors when waveforms become complex or the sampling rate is increased . in these circumstances , the number of mismatches increases relative to the number of matches without necessarily indicating an anomaly . as the complexity of the waveform increases the probability of picking a random reference y sample that matches the original sample x decreases . similarly , as the sampling rate is increased , the probability of finding a match decreases . the increased probability of having a mismatch causes saturation of the scores . also , using the “ hill climbing ” method the processing time required to analyse a 1 s length of audio data sampled at 44 khz sampling rate uses a lot of processing time , requiring up to 220 s of processing time on a pii266 mhz machine . the method for the cycle comparison algorithm will now be described with reference to fig2 to 28 . the components shown in fig2 include a data source 20 and a signal processor 21 for processing the data , a normaliser 22 and an input 23 . the data is either generated or pre - processed using cool edit pro — version 1 . 2 : cool edit pro is copyrighted © 1997 - 1998 by syntrillium software corporation . portions of cool edit pro are copyrighted © 1997 , massachusetts institute of technology . the invention is not limited in this respect , however , and is suitable for data generated or preprocessed using other techniques . also shown in fig2 is a central processing unit ( cpu ) 24 , an output unit 27 such as a visual display unit ( vdu ) or printer , a memory 25 and a calculation processor 26 . the memory 25 includes stores 250 , 254 - 256 , registers 251 , 257 - 259 and a mismatch counter 253 and a comparison counter 252 . the data and the programs for controlling the computer are stored in the memory 25 . the cpu 24 controls the functioning of the computer using this information . with reference to fig2 - 28 where indicated , a data stream to be analysed is received at the input means 23 . firstly , the data is normalised by normaliser 22 by dividing all values by the maximum value of the data so that the possible values of the data range from − 1 to 1 . the normalised data is stored in a digital form in a data store 250 , as a one dimensional array , where each datum has a value attributed to it . then the algorithm identifies all the positive zero crossings in the waveform ( step 0 ). a mean dc level adjustment ( not shown ) may also be made before the positive zero crossings are identified , to accommodate any unwanted dc biasing . the positive zero crossings are those samples whose values are closest to zero and if a line were drawn between whose neighbours , the gradient of the line would be positive . for example , of the sequence of elements having the following values : − 1 , − 0 . 5 , 0 . 2 , 0 . 8 , 1 , 0 . 7 , 0 . 3 , − 0 . 2 , − 0 . 9 , − 0 . 5 , − 0 . 1 , 0 . 4 , the positive zero crossings would be 0 . 2 and − 0 . 1 . fig2 shows a waveform with the positive zero crossings highlighted . they may not always lie on the zero line due to their sampling position . the samples which is closest to the zero line , in other words have the smallest absolute value , are always chosen . a full cycle , as shown for example in fig2 , is made up of the samples lying between two consecutive positive zero crossings . in the example shown the cycles are delimited with respect to the positive zero crossing . however , the cycles are not limited in this respect and may be delimited with respect to other criteria , such as negative zero crossings , peak values , etc . the only limitation is that preferably , both the test cycle and the reference cycle are selected according to the same criteria . with reference to fig2 , the next step ( step 1 ) is to choose a cycle beginning from the start of the data , to be the original cycle , x 0 . the values of the data of the samples in the original cycle , x 0 , are stored in the original cycle register 251 . a mismatch count , cx , stored in a mismatch counter 253 , and a count of the number of data comparisons , ix , stored in a comparison counter 252 , are both set to zero ( step 2 ). the next step ( step 3 ) is to randomly pick another cycle , y 0 , elsewhere in the waveform , within a certain domain ( parameter : comparison domain ), to be the comparing reference cycle . usually , the original cycle and the reference cycle would come from data having the same origin . however , the invention is not limited in this respect . for the cases where the waveform has a form where the comparison domain may be large , for example , waveforms , for example derived from a running engine , which do not vary dramatically over time , the algorithm may be used to compare a test cycle from data from one source with a reference cycle from a second source . for cases , where the comparison domain may not be too large , for example , musical data which varies greatly over a short period of time , comparing a test source with a second reference source of data may not be so satisfactory . reference is made to result 10a shown in fig3 . returning to fig2 , the test cycle and the comparison cycle are then compared ( steps 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ) in order to obtain a mismatch score for the reference cycle , y 0 , with respect to the original cycle , x 0 . as seen in fig2 and 25 , each cycle , x 0 , y 0 includes a plurality of data samples or elements each having a value , sj , sj ′, respectively . each value having also a respective magnitude . the comparison of the cycles includes a series of steps and involves determining various quantities derived from the data in the cycles . the calculation processor 26 carries out a series of calculations . the derived quantities are stored in registers 257 , 258 and 259 . firstly , an integration value is obtained for the original cycle and the reference cycle . this , may for example , be the area of the original cycle , sigma \| sj \|, and the area of the reference cycle , sigma \| sj ′\| ( step 4 ). with reference to fig2 , the area of a cycle is defined by the sum of the magnitudes of the individual samples in the cycle . due to the definition of the area , which is the sum of the samples in the cycle , the area of identical cycles may vary to a great extent if the sampling rate is low and the waveform frequency is large . hence , while using the cycle comparison algorithm , it is preferable to use at least 11 khz sampling frequency for acceptable accuracy and sensitivity . with reference to fig2 , which shows an example , the next step ( step 5 ) is to derive a quantity which gives an indication of the extent of the difference between the area and the shape of the reference cycle , y 0 , with respect to the original cycle , x 0 . this is defined by the sum of the magnitudes of the difference between each of the corresponding samples in the original cycle and the reference cycle , sigma (¦ sj - sj ′¦). fig4 shows three graphs . the first graph 40 shows the original cycle , x 0 , having samples , sj , having values s 1 to s 14 . the area of the original cycle is equal the sum of the magnitudes of the values , s 1 to s 14 : that being sigma \| sj \|. the second graph 42 shows the reference cycle , y 0 , having samples , sj ′, having values s 1 ′ to s 14 ′. the area of the reference cycle is equal to the sum of the magnitudes of the values , s 1 ′ to s 14 ′: that being sigma \| sj ′\|. the third graph 44 shows the difference the cycles as defined by sigma (\| sj − sj ′\|). the next step ( step 6 ) is to establish whether both cycles have the same number of samples , sj , sj ′. if the number of samples in the cycles are not equal , the shorter cycle is padded with samples of value zero until both the original and reference cycles contain the same amount of samples . fig5 shows an example of the padding described above with respect to step 6 shown in fig1 . in fig2 , cycle 1 has nine samples while cycle 2 only has 6 samples . in order to do a comparison , both cycles are made equal in sample size . this is achieved by padding the cycle having the fewer number of samples . in the example shown in fig2 , cycle 2 is padded with additional samples of value zero until it becomes the same size as the larger cycle , cycle 1 in this case . the quantities derived in the steps described above are used to determine for each comparison of an original cycle with a reference cycle a “ measure of difference ” ( step 8 ), which is a quantity that shows how different one cycle is from the other . maxarea is the largest area of a cycle in the entire comparison domain and miniarea is the smallest area of a cycle in the entire comparison domain . largerareaoftwocycles is the bigger area of the original cycle and the reference cycle . the inventors have derived the definition of the “ measure of difference ” as shown above for the following reasons . with reference to fig2 , the first denominator , largerareaoftwocycles , is neutral to logarithmic increments of the cycle amplitude . this means that every time a cycle is compared against another geometrically similar cycle which is double its amplitude , the measure of difference is the same . for example when a sine cycle of amplitude ‘ x ’ is compared with another sine cycle of amplitude ‘ 2 ×’, the measure of difference is ‘ d ’. hence when a sine cycle of amplitude ‘ x ’ is compared with another sine cycle of amplitude ‘ ½x ’, the measure of difference would still be ‘ d ’. further , with reference to fig2 , the second denominator , \| maxarea − minarea \|, is a normalizing term for the quantity areadifference which is neutral to linear increments of the cycle amplitude . this means that if the amplitude of a geometrically similar cycle increases linearly , when a cycle is compared to the cycle next to itself , either left or right , both comparisons should give the same magnitude in the ‘ measure of difference ’. either of these denominators may be chosen . it is not necessary to use both . however , if either of these denominations are used , it has been found that some desirable results as well as some undesirable ones occur . one of the denominators tends to be more effective on certain waveforms than the other . therefore , preferably , a hybrid denominator made by adding them together is chosen , as this results in a much more general and unbiased ‘ measure of difference ’ which is effective independent of the waveform . the derived ‘ measure of difference ’ is next compared with a threshold value ( step 9 ) to determine whether there is a mismatch . if the calculated “ measure of differences ” for the original sample , x 0 , and the reference sample , y 0 , more than a certain threshold ( parameter : threshold ), then it is considered as being ‘ different ’. the choice of the threshold can be varied , and will depend on the range of values within the set of data . further , with reference to fig2 , when a mismatch occurs , the mismatch counter , cx , for the original sample , x 0 , is incremented ( step 10 ). when a match occurs the mismatch counter , cx , is not increased . the program returns to step 3 which creates a new random reference cycle , y 1 , before moving on to calculate the quantities described above in steps 4 and 5 , and carrying out any necessary padding in step 6 , before calculating the “ measure of difference ” in step 8 . for each original sample , x 0 , a certain number of comparisons , l , are made which result in a certain number of mismatches and matches . the total number of mismatches plus matches is equal to the number of comparisons ( step 11 and step 14 ). the number of comparisons can be varied and will depend on the data to be analysed and the processing power available . also , the greater the number of comparisons , the greater the accuracy of the anomaly detection . each original cycle , x 0 , is compared with a certain number of reference samples , y 0 . the comparison steps from selecting a reference sample ( step 3 ) to calculating the “ measure of difference ” ( step 8 ) is carried out over a certain number of times ( parameter : comparisons ) once the “ measure of difference ” ( step 8 ) has been calculated for the certain number of reference samples , yl , and the comparison done the certain number of times , l , the program returns to step 1 to select a different original sample , x 1 and the mismatch counter value , cx , and the number of comparisons , l , is output for original sample , x 0 ( step 15 ). whether original sample , x 0 , is judged to be an anomaly will depend on the number of mismatches in comparison to the number of comparisons , l . the normalised anomaly scores for each original sample , x 0 , are obtained by dividing the mismatch counter , cx , for each sample , x 0 , by the number of comparisons , l , which is also equal to the maximum mismatch count , so that the anomaly score ranges from zero to one , with zero being 0 % mismatch and one being maximum mismatch . fig2 to 39 show results obtained using the cycle comparison algorithm . with reference to our copending unpublished patent applications ipd ref a30114 , a30174 and a30175 , it is noted that the cycle comparison algorithm does not require parameter radius and parameter neighbourhood size . if the comparison domain is unspecified , it is assumed to be the entire data length . the results show in the lower part of the diagram the input data for analysis . the upper portion of the diagram shows the mismatch scores achieved for each sample using the cycle analysis algorithm described above with reference to fig2 to 28 . in the upper portion , an anomaly is identified as being those portions having the highest mismatch scores . the results shown are for audio signals . however , the present invention may also be applied to any ordered set of data elements . the values of the data may be single values or may be multi - element values . result 1a shown in fig2 shows a data stream of 500 elements having a binary sequence of zeros and ones . the anomaly to be detected is a one bit error at both ends of the data . in this example , the number of comparisons was 500 , and the threshold was equal to 0 . 1 . however , the choice of the threshold value in this case was not critical . the peaks in the upper portion of the graph show a perfect discrimination of the one bit errors at either end of the data sequence . result 2a shown in fig3 shows data stream having the form of a sine wave with a change in amplitude . in this example , the number of comparisons was 250 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 01 . however , the choice of the threshold value in this case was not critical . the peaks in the upper portion of the graph show a perfect discrimination of the anomaly . the highest mismatch scores being for those portions of the data stream where the rate of change of amplitude is the greatest . result 3a shown in fig3 shows a data stream having the form of a sine wave with background noise and burst and delay error . in this example , the number of comparisons was 250 , and the threshold was equal to 0 . 15 . the peaks in the upper portion of the graph show a perfect discrimination of the anomalous cycles . result 4a shown in fig3 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave that has been clipped . the data has been sampled at a rate of 22 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 250 , and the threshold was equal to 0 . 15 . the peaks show a perfect discrimination of the anomalous cycles . result 5a shown in fig3 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave including phase shifts . the data has been sampled at a rate of 44 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 250 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 15 . the peaks show a perfect discrimination of the anomalies . result 6a shown in fig3 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave that has been clipped . the data has been sampled at a rate of 44 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 250 , and the threshold was equal to 0 . 15 . the peaks show a near perfect discrimination of the anomalous cycles . result 7a shown in fig3 shows a data stream having the form of a 440 khz sine wave that has been clipped . the data has been sampled at a rate of 11 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 250 and the threshold was equal to 0 . 05 . in this example , the threshold value is critical as due to the low sampling rate . as discussed above , for signals that lie in the audio range , at a frequency of around 440 khz , the sampling rate is preferably greater than 11 khz . this is shown in the result 6a . the results are less satisfactory due to the low sampling rate . however , the algorithm would have performed much better at a higher sampling rate . result 8a shown in fig3 shows a 440 khz waveform modulated at 220 khz with a sampling rate of 6 khz . in this example , the number of comparisons was 500 and the threshold was 0 . 15 . the results show that although the average score has increased , score saturation has not occurred . the algorithm has still identified the anomalous region . result 9a shown in fig3 shows data having a 440 khz amplitude modulated sine wave . in this example , the sampling rate was 6 khz , the number of comparisons was 250 and the threshold was 0 . 15 . the results show good discrimination of the anomalous cycles . it is noted that some striation effects are evident . result 10a shown in fig3 shows real audio data comprising a guitar chord with a burst of noise . in this example , the sampling rate was 11 khz , the number of comparisons was 250 and the threshold was 0 . 015 . unlike the previous results , the comparison domain was not the entire data length but was 175 cycles . this was critical due to the morphing of cycles in this complex waveform . the results show that the noise has been very well identified . it is further notices that the attack and decay region , where the chord is struck and when it dies away , also score high attention ( mismatch ) scores , as would be expected . the above examples show very good results . for many types of waveform the cycle comparison algorithm described here is favoured over the sample analysis algorithm described with reference to fig1 to 21 . however , it is to be noted that there are some waveforms that may be more suitable for analysis by the sample analysis algorithm , for example where in a waveform it is not considered anomalous for a small amplitude cycle to be adjacent a large amplitude cycle . it has been noticed that the cycle comparison algorithm has problems identifying a misplaced cycle in a set of ordered cycles . this is because as long as the cycle is common in other parts of the waveform , it will not be considered as an anomaly regardless of its position . thus , preferably , it is advantageous to take more than one cycle into account while doing the comparison . thus , the original cycle , x 0 , may be a plurality of cycles . n subsequent cycles , xn , together to do the comparison or to implement a random neighbourhood of cycles for comparison in the same way the algorithms described with reference to fig1 to 21 take a random neighbourhood of samples . an error correction system is now described with reference to fig4 and 20 , which has application to the present invention . having used the anomaly detection system previously described to identify regions of anomaly in a waveform , error correction is provided to remove the detected errors . from the attention map produced as described above , a suitable filter coefficient is set ( parameter : filter coefficient ) so that only the anomalous region remains in the map before passing the data to an error correction algorithm . the data in the attention map is stored in registers . the error correction algorithm used depends on the algorithm used to detect the anomaly . for the cycle comparison algorithm described above is for use together with a cutting and replacing correction algorithm . however , the sample analysis algorithm described above with reference to fig1 to 21 , it has been found that a shape learning error correction algorithm yields better results . the cutting and replacement correction algorithm described below may be implemented directly . the success of the error correction however , is dependent primarily on being able to pinpoint the anomaly with confidence , which is the function of the detection algorithm . fig3 shows the steps taken to perform the cutting cycles routine . this method cuts the erroneous regions away and joins the ends together . this reduces the chances of second order noise . fig4 shows the steps taken to perform the replacing cycles routing . after the erroneous cycle is identified , the algorithm searches a certain number of cycles ( parameter : search radius for replacement cycle ) around the erroneous cycle for a cycle with the lowest score available . it then uses this cycle to replace the erroneous cycle . as with cutting cycles method , this method is best implemented if the cycle comparison algorithm is used for the detection . a detection algorithm of the present invention has been demonstrated to be very tolerant to the type of input data as well as being very flexible in spotting anomalies in one - dimensional data . therefore there are many applications where such detection method may be useful . in the audio field , such a detection algorithm may be used as a line monitor to monitor recordings and playback for unwanted noise as well as being able to remove it . it may also be useful in the medical field as an automatic monitor for signals from a cardiogram or encephalogram of a patient . apart from monitoring human signals , it may also be used to monitor engine noise . like monitoring in humans , the output from machines , be it acoustic signals or electrical signals , deviate from its normal operating pattern as the machine &# 39 ; s operating conditions vary , and in particular , as the machine approaches failure . the algorithm may also be applied to seismological or other geological data and data related to the operation of telecommunications systems , such as a log of accesses or attempted accesses to a firewall . as the detection algorithm is able to give a much earlier warning in the case of systems that are in the process of failing , in addition to monitoring and removing errors , it may also be used as a predictor . this aspect has application for example , in monitoring and predicting traffic patterns . the invention can be described in generally terms as set out in the set of numbered clauses below : 1 . a method of recognising anomalies contained within a set of data derived from an analogue waveform , the data represented by an ordered sequence of data elements each having a value , in respect of at least some of said data elements , including the steps of : selecting a group of test elements comprising at least two elements of the sequence ; selecting a group of comparison elements comprising at least two elements of the sequence , wherein the comparison group has the same number of elements as the test group and wherein the elements of the comparison group have relative to one another the same positions in the sequence as have the elements of the test group ; comparing the value of each element of the test group with the value of the correspondingly positioned element of the comparison group in accordance with a predetermined threshold to produce a decision that the test group matches or does not match the comparison group ; selecting further said comparison groups and comparing them with the test group ; generating a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch . 2 . a method according to clause 1 including the further step of : identifying ones of said positional relationships which give rise to a number of consecutive mismatches which exceeds said threshold . 3 . a method according to clause 2 including the further steps of : storing a definition of each such identified relationship ; and utilising the stored definitions for the processing of further data . 4 . a method according to clause 2 or clause 3 including the further step of : replacing said identified ones with data which falls within the threshold . 5 . a method according to any preceding clause , wherein the time resolved data is an audio signal . 6 . a method of removing noise from a sequence of data represented by an ordered sequence of data elements each having a value comprising , in respect of at least some of said data elements , including the steps of : selecting a group of comparison elements comprising at least two elements of the sequence , wherein the comparison group has the same number of elements as the test group and wherein the elements of the comparison group have relative to one another the same positions in the sequence as have the elements of the test group ; comparing the value of each element of the test group with the value of the correspondingly positioned element of the comparison group in accordance with a predetermined match criterion to produce a decision that the test group matches or does not match the comparison group ; selecting further said comparison groups and comparing them with the test group ; generating a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch , identifying ones of said positional relationships which give rise to a number of consecutive mismatches which exceeds a threshold , and replacing said identified ones with data which falls within the threshold . 7 . a computer programmed to perform the method of any of clauses 1 - 6 . 8 . a computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a digital computer , comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of clauses 1 - 6 , when said product is run on a computer . 9 . an apparatus for recognising anomalies contained within a set of data derived from an analogue waveform , the data represented by an ordered sequence of data elements each having a value comprising , in respect of at least some of said data elements , including : means for storing an ordered sequence of data , each datum having a value , means for selecting a group of test elements comprising at least two elements of the sequence ; means for selecting a group of comparison elements comprising at least two elements of the sequence , wherein the comparison group has the same number of elements as the test group and wherein the elements of the comparison group have relative to one another the same positions in the sequence as have the elements of the test group ; means for comparing the value of each element of the test group with the value of the correspondingly positioned element of the comparison group in accordance with a predetermined match criterion to produce a decision that the test group matches or does not match the comparison group ; means for selecting further said comparison groups and comparing them with the test group ; means for generating a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch . 10 . a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium , comprising : computer readable program means for causing a computer to store an ordered sequence of data derived from an analogue waveform , each datum having a value , computer readable program means for causing a computer to select a group of test elements comprising at least two elements of the sequence ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to select a group of comparison elements comprising at least two elements of the sequence , wherein the comparison group has the same number of elements as the test group and wherein the elements of the comparison group have relative to one another the same positions in the sequence as have the elements of the test group ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to compare the value of each element of the test group with the value of the correspondingly positioned element of the comparison group in accordance with a predetermined match criterion to produce a decision that the test group matches or does not match the comparison group ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to select further said comparison groups and comparing them with the test group ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to generate a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch . 11 . a method of recognising anomalies in data represented by an ordered array of data elements each having a value , in respect of at least some of said data elements , including the steps of : selecting a group of test elements comprising at least two elements of the array ; selecting a group of comparison elements comprising at least two elements of the array , wherein the comparison group has the same number of elements as the test group and wherein the elements of the comparison group have relative to one another the same positions in the array as have the elements of the test group ; comparing the value of each element of the test group with the value of the correspondingly positioned element of the comparison group in accordance with a dynamic threshold , whose value varies in accordance with the values of the elements around at least one of said test elements , to produce a decision that the test group matches or does not match the comparison group ; selecting further said comparison groups and comparing them with the test group ; generating a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch . 12 . a method according to clause 1 , including the further step of : determining the local gradient at one of said test elements . 13 . a method according to clause 2 , including the further step of : using said local gradient to determine the dynamic threshold . 14 . a method according to any of the preceding clauses wherein the dynamic threshold is determined in accordance with the local gradient and a predetermined threshold . 15 . a method according to clause 1 , including the further step of : determining the value of the elements neighbouring one of said test elements . 16 . a method according to clause 6 , wherein the dynamic threshold is determined in accordance with said value of the elements neighbouring one of said test elements . 17 . a method according to clause 1 including the further step of : identifying ones of said positional relationships which give rise to a number of consecutive mismatches which exceeds said threshold . 18 . a method according to clause 7 including the further steps of : storing a definition of each such identified relationship ; and utilising the stored definitions for the processing of further data . 19 . a method according to clause 7 or clause 8 including the further step of : replacing said identified ones with data which falls within the threshold . 20 . a computer programmed to perform the method of any of clauses 11 - 19 . 21 . a computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a digital computer , comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of clauses 11 - 19 , when said product is run on a computer . 22 . an apparatus for recognising anomalies in data represented by an ordered array of data elements each having a value , in respect of at least some of said data elements , including : means for storing an ordered array of data , each datum having a value , means for selecting a group of test elements comprising at least two elements of the array ; means for selecting a group of comparison elements comprising at least two elements of the array , wherein the comparison group has the same number of elements as the test group and wherein the elements of the comparison group have relative to one another the same positions in the array as have the elements of the test group ; means for comparing the value of each element of the test group with the value of the correspondingly positioned element of the comparison group in accordance with a dynamic threshold to produce a decision that the test group matches or does not match the comparison group ; means for selecting further said comparison groups and comparing them with the test group ; means for generating a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch . 23 . an apparatus according to clause 22 , including means for determining the local gradient at one of said test elements . 24 . an apparatus according to clause 23 , including means for determining the dynamic threshold using said local gradient . 25 . an apparatus according to any of clauses 22 - 24 , wherein dynamic threshold is determined in accordance with the local gradient and a predetermined threshold . 26 . an apparatus according to clause 22 including means for determining the value of the elements neighbouring one of said test elements . 27 . an apparatus according to clause 26 , wherein the dynamic threshold is determined in accordance with said value of the elements neighbouring one of said test elements . 28 . an apparatus according to clause 22 including means for identifying ones of said positional relationships which give rise to a number of consecutive mismatches which exceeds said threshold . 29 . an apparatus according to clause 28 including means for storing a definition of each such identified relationship ; and utilising the stored definitions for the processing of further data . 30 . an apparatus according to clause 28 or 29 including means for replacing said identified ones with data which falls within the threshold . 31 . a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium , comprising : computer readable program means for causing a computer to store an ordered array of data , each datum having a value , computer readable program means for causing a array ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to select a group of comparison elements comprising at least two elements of the array , wherein the comparison group has the same number of elements as the test group and wherein the elements of the comparison group have relative to one another the same positions in the array as have the elements of the test group ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to compare the value of each element of the test group with the value of the correspondingly positioned element of the comparison group in accordance with a dynamic threshold to produce a decision that the test group matches or does not match the comparison group ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to select further said comparison groups and comparing them with the test group ; computer readable program means for causing a computer to generate a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch . 32 . a method of recognising anomalies in data represented by an ordered array of data elements each having a value , in respect of at least some of said data elements , including the steps of : i ) selecting a first test element from said array , ii ) selecting a random reference element from said array , iii ) comparing the value of the test element with the value of the random reference element , iv ) if the value of said test element does not match the value of said random reference element searching for a matching element within the neighbourhood of said random reference element , v ) changing a mismatch parameter as a measure of anomalies in said data array if no matching element within said neighbourhood of said random reference element is found and selecting a new random reference element , vi ) repeating steps iii ) to v ) a number of times . 33 . a method according to clause 32 including the steps of : vii ) if in step iv ) a matching element is found within said neighbourhood of said random reference element performing a comparison of the values of elements of a group of elements about said first test element with the values of a corresponding group of elements about said matching element , viii ) if said groups are found to match increasing a comparison value . 34 . a method according to clause 33 wherein said elements of said group of elements about said first test element and said elements of said group of elements about said matching element are arranged in the same manner about said test element and said matching element respectively and corresponding elements of said groups are compared in accordance with a threshold value . 35 . a method according to clause 33 in which step vi ) is repeated until said comparison value is equal to a set value and when said comparison value is equal to said set value selecting a second test element and repeating steps i ) to vi ) for said second test element . 36 . a method according to clause 34 , wherein the values are compared in accordance with a dynamic threshold , the value of which varies in accordance with the values of the elements around at least one of the test elements . 37 . a method according to clause 36 , including the further step of : determining the local gradient at one of said test elements . 38 . a method according to clause 39 , including the further step of : using said local gradient to determine the dynamic threshold . 39 . a method according to any of preceding clauses 36 to 38 wherein the dynamic threshold is determined in accordance with the local gradient and a predetermined threshold . 40 . a method according to clause 34 including the further step of : identifying the particular arrangements of elements which give rise to a number of consecutive mismatches which exceeds said threshold and storing data representing such particular arrangements of elements . 41 . a method according to clause 40 including the further step of : replacing said stored data with corresponding data of arrangements giving rise to matches falling within the threshold . 42 . a computer programmed to perform the method of any of clauses 31 - 41 . 43 . a computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a digital computer , comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of clauses 31 - 41 , when said product is run on a computer . 44 . an apparatus for recognising anomalies in data represented by an ordered array of data elements each having a value , in respect of at least some of said data elements , means for selecting a first test element from said array , means for selecting a random reference element from said array , means for comparing the value of the test element with the value of the random reference element , means for searching for a matching element within the neighbourhood of said random reference element if the value of said test element does not match the value of said random reference element , means for changing a mismatch parameter as a measure of anomalies in said data array if no matching element is found within said neighbourhood of said random reference element and for selecting a new random reference element . 45 . an apparatus according to clause 44 , wherein if a matching element is found within said neighbourhood of said random reference element means are provided to perform a comparison of the values of elements of a group of elements about said first test element with the values of a corresponding group of elements about said matching element , and if said groups are found to match means are provided to increase a comparison value . 46 . an apparatus according to clause 45 wherein said elements of said group of elements about said first test element and said elements of said group of elements about said matching element are arranged in the same manner about said test element and said matching element respectively and corresponding elements of said groups are compared in accordance with a threshold value . 47 . an apparatus according to clause 45 , including means for repeating step vi ) until said comparison value is equal to a set value and when said comparison value is equal to said set value selecting a second test element and including means for repeating steps i ) to vi ) for said second test element . 48 . an apparatus according to clause 46 , wherein the values are compared in accordance with a dynamic threshold , the value of which varies in accordance with the values of the elements around at least one of the test elements . 49 . an apparatus according to clause 48 , including means for determining the local gradient at one of said test elements . 50 . an apparatus according to clause 49 including means for using said local gradient to determine the dynamic threshold . 51 . an apparatus according to any one of clauses 48 - 50 , wherein the dynamic threshold is determined in accordance with the local gradient and a predetermined threshold . 52 . an apparatus according to clause 46 , including means for identifying the particular arrangements of elements which give rise to a number of consecutive mismatches which exceeds said threshold and storing data representing such particular arrangements of elements . 53 . an apparatus according to clause 52 , including means for replacing said stored data with corresponding data of arrangements giving rise to matches falling within the threshold . 54 . an apparatus according to clause 44 including means for identifying ones of said test elements which give rise to a number of consecutive mismatches which exceed said threshold . 55 . an apparatus according to clause 54 including means for storing a definition of each such test elements ; and utilising the stored test elements for the processing of further data . 56 . an apparatus according to clause 54 or 55 including means for replacing said identified ones with data which falls within the threshold . 57 . a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium , comprising : computer readable program means for causing a computer to store an ordered array of data elements each having a value , in respect of at least some of said data elements , computer readable program means for causing a computer to select a first test element from said array , computer readable program means for causing a computer to select a random reference element from said array , computer readable program means for causing a computer to compare the value of the test element with the value of the random reference element , computer readable program means for causing a computer to search for a matching element within the neighbourhood of said random reference element if the value of said test element does not match the value of said random reference element , computer readable program means for causing a computer to change a mismatch parameter as a measure of anomalies in said data array if no matching element is found within said neighbourhood of said random reference element and for selecting a new random reference element . 58 . a method of recognising anomalies contained within an array of data elements , each element having a value , including the steps of , in respect of at least some of said data elements , i ) identifying cycles in the set of data in accordance with predetermined criteria , ii ) selecting a test cycle of elements from said set of data , iii ) randomly selecting a comparison cycle from said set of data , iv ) determining an integration value for said test cycle and said reference cycle respectively , v ) comparing said integration values and deriving therefrom a measure of the difference of said test and said reference cycles , vi ) using said measure to determine a mismatch of said test and said reference cycles . 59 . a method according to clause 58 , including the further step of : vii ) randomly selecting further reference cycles and comparing them with the test cycle according to steps v ) and vi ) and counting the number of mismatches . 60 . a method according to clause 58 in which a mismatch is determined by comparing said measure to a threshold value . 61 . a method according to clause 59 , including the further step of : viii ) generating a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of mismatches between test and reference cycles . 62 . a method according to any preceding clause , including the further step of : ix ) establishing whether the test and reference cycles include the same number of elements , and if the number of elements are not equal , padding the cycle with fewer elements with elements of set value , so that both cycles contain the same number of elements . 63 . a method according to any preceding clause , in which step iv ) comprises determining the difference of the sums of values of the element of the test cycle and the comparison cycle respectively . 64 . a method according to clause 59 in which step vii ) is repeated a set number of times , after which a fresh test cycle is selected . 65 . a computer programmed to perform the method of any of clauses 58 to 64 . 66 . a computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a digital computer , comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of clauses 58 to 64 , when said product is run on a computer . 67 . an apparatus for recognising anomalies contained within an array of data elements , each element having a value , the apparatus including : means for identifying cycles in the set of data in accordance with predetermined criteria , means for selecting a test cycle of elements from said set of data , means for randomly selecting a comparison cycle from said set of data , means for determining an integration value for said test cycle and said reference cycle respectively , means for comparing said integration values and deriving therefrom a measure of the difference of said test and said reference cycles , means for using said measure to determine a mismatch of said test and said reference cycles . 68 . an apparatus according to clause 67 , further including : means for randomly selecting further reference cycles and comparing them with the test cycle , and means for counting the number of mismatches . 69 . an apparatus according to clause 67 , in which a mismatch is determined by comparing said measure to a threshold value . 70 . an apparatus according to clause 68 or clause 69 , further including : means for generating a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of mismatches between test and reference cycles . 71 . an apparatus according to any of clauses 67 to 70 , further including : means for establishing whether the test and reference cycles include the same number of elements , and if the number of elements are not equal , padding the cycle with fewer elements with elements of set value , so that both cycles contain the same number of elements . 72 . an apparatus according to any of clauses 68 to 71 , wherein said determining means determines the difference of the sums of values of the element of the test cycle and the comparison cycle respectively . 73 . an apparatus according to clause 68 , including means for selecting a fresh test cycle after the comparison means is repeated a predetermined number of times . 74 . a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium , comprising : computer readable program means for causing a computer to identify cycles in the set of data in accordance with predetermined criteria , computer readable program means for causing a computer to select a test cycle of elements from said set of data , computer readable program means for causing a computer to randomly select a comparison cycle from said set of data , computer readable program means for causing a computer to determine an integration value for said test cycle and said reference cycle respectively , computer readable program means for causing a computer to compare said integration values and deriving therefrom a measure of the difference of said test and said reference cycles , computer readable program means for causing a computer to use said measure to determine a mismatch of said test and said reference cycles . 75 . a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium according to clause 74 , further comprising : computer readable program means for causing a computer to select further said comparison cycles and comparing them with the test cycle . 76 . a computer program product stored on a computer usable medium according to either clause 74 or 75 , further comprising : computer readable program means for causing a computer to generate a distinctiveness measure as a function of the number of comparisons for which the comparison indicates a mismatch .	6
in the following contents , the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the examples ; however , a person skilled in the art would understand that the following examples are merely used to explain the present invention , rather than being deemed as limiting the scope of the present invention . examples , for which no concrete situations are specified , are performed according to conventional situations or situations recommended by the manufactures . reagents or instruments , for which no manufacturers are specified , are conventional products available commercially . in order to explain the use of the stats and erk signal pathway inhibitor in the preparation of drugs for treating tumors , the targeted cancer inhibition effect of mogrosides by way of signal pathway is explained by taking mogrol i e1 and mogrol ii a2 as examples , and the targeted cancer inhibition effect of an analog of mogrosides is explained by taking mogrol as an example . 1 ) grinding momordica grosvenori , adding water in accordance with a weight - ratio of 1 : 6 between momordica grosvenori and water , performing extraction at a temperature of 80 ° c . for twice , 1 hour each time , and combining extracted solutions ; 2 ) adding chitosan to the combined extracted solutions for flocculation , and removing tannins and soluble proteins from the extracted solutions to provide a clear aqueous solution ; 3 ) utilizing xad - 16 resin for adsorbing the aqueous solution and using 30 % ethanol for elution to provide a mixed solution of enriched mogrosides in water and ethanol ; 4 ) concentrating the mixed solution under reduced pressure till an extractum status , and recycling the ethanol , and diluting the extractum by adding deionized water of a mass of 4 times that of the extracturn to the extractum , to provide an aqueous solution of crude mogrosides ; 5 ) performing a decolorization treatment to the aqueous solution of crude mogrosides utilizing diaion pa resin , and collecting the solution flowing down from the resin column to provide an enriched solution ; and 6 ) concentrating the enriched solution at 50 ° c . under reduced pressure till dry , and adding ethanol for dissolution to obtain a mixture , and then separating the obtained mixture by c 18 reversed - phase high - performance liquid chromatography with acetonitrile - water as a mobile phase , performing elution in a linear gradient of 20 %- 75 %, collecting target substance , and evaporating solvents to provide mogroside i e1 as a white crystal . the molecular formula of the obtained mogroside i e1 is c 36 h 62 o 9 , with a molecular weight of 638 . 9 and a cas registry number : 88901 - 39 - 7 , and the structural formula of mogroside i e1 is 1 ) grinding mornordica grosvenori , adding water in accordance with a weight - ratio of 1 : 8 between mornordica grosvenori and water , performing extraction at 95 ° c . for 4 times , 2 hours each time , and combining extracted solutions ; 2 ) adding chitosan to the combined extracted solutions for flocculation , and removing tannins and soluble proteins from the extracted solutions to provide a clear aqueous solution ; 3 ) utilizing xad - 16 resin for adsorbing the aqueous solution and using 50 % ethanol for elution to provide a mixed solution of enriched mogrosides in water and ethanol ; 4 ) concentrating the mixed solution under reduced pressure till an extractum status , and recycling the ethanol , and diluting the extractum by adding deionized water of a mass of 5 times that of the extractum to the extractum , to provide an aqueous solution of crude mogrosides ; 5 ) performing a decolorization treatment to the aqueous solution of crude mogrosides utilizing diaion pa resin , and collecting the solution flowing down from the resin column to provide an enriched solution ; and concentrating the enriched solution at 50 ° c . under reduced pressure till dry , and adding ethanol for dissolution to obtain a mixture , and then separating the obtained mixture by c 18 reversed - phase high - performance liquid chromatography with acetonitrile - water as a mobile phase , performing elution in a linear gradient of 20 %- 75 %, collecting target substance , and evaporating solvents to provide mogroside ii a2 as a white crystal . the obtained mogroside ii a2 has a cas registry number : 88901 - 45 - 5 , with a molecular formula of c 42 h 72 o 14 and a molecular weight of 801 . 01 , and the structural formula of mogroside ii a2 is performing the hplc analysis on the obtained mogroside i e1 and mogroside ii a2 , and the obtained chromatograms are shown in fig1 and 2 . it can be seen from fig1 and 2 that mogroside i e1 and mogroside ii a2 prepared through the method for preparing the mogrosides and analogs thereof according to the present invention both have a purity of higher than 96 %. ( 1 ) a method for preparing mogrol i included the steps of : 1 ) grinding momordica grosvenori , adding water in accordance with the weight - ratio of 1 : 6 between mornordica grosvenori and water , performing extraction at a temperature of 80 ° c . for twice , 1 hour each time , and combining extracted solutions ; 2 ) adding chitosan to the combined extracted solutions for flocculation , and removing tannins and soluble proteins from the extracted solutions to provide a clear aqueous solution ; 3 ) utilizing xad - 16 resin for adsorbing the aqueous solution and using 30 % ethanol for elution to provide a mixed solution of enriched mogrosides in water and ethanol ; 4 ) concentrating the mixed solution under reduced pressure till an extractum status , and recycling the ethanol , and diluting the extractum by adding deionized water of a mass of 4 times that of the extractum to the extractum to provide an aqueous solution of crude mogrosides ; 5 ) performing a decolorization treatment to the aqueous solution of crude glycoside utilizing diaion pa resin , and collecting the solution flowing down from the resin column to provide an enriched solution ; 6 ) adding a glycosidase to the enriched solution for reaction at a temperature of 45 ° c . for 6 hours , wherein the weight of the glycosidase is 4 % of the weight of the enriched solution ; and 7 ) performing centrifugation to give a precipitate , wherein the obtained precipitate is a crude product of mogrol , washing the crude product of mogrol with water for 3 times to remove water - soluble impurities , and performing freeze drying to provide mogrol i . the obtained mogrol i has a molecular weight of 476 . 7 and a cas registry number : 88930 - 15 - 8 , the molecular formula thereof is c 30 h 52 o 4 , and the structural formula thereof is performing the hplc analysis to the obtained mogrol i , and the obtained chromatogram is shown in fig3 . it can be seen from fig3 that mogrol i prepared through the method for preparing mogrol provided in the present invention has a purity of higher than 98 %. ( 2 ) a method for preparing mogrol ii included the steps of : 1 ) grinding momordica grosvenori , adding water in accordance with the weight - ratio of 1 : 8 between momordica grosvenori and water , performing extraction at a temperature of 95 ° c . for 4 times , 2 hours each time , and combining extracted solutions ; 2 ) adding chitosan to the combined extracted solutions for flocculation , and removing tannins and soluble proteins from the extracted solutions to provide a clear aqueous solution ; 3 ) utilizing xad - 16 resin for adsorbing the aqueous solution and using 50 % ethanol for elution to provide a mixed solution of enriched mogrosides in water and ethanol ; 4 ) concentrating the mixed solution under reduced pressure till an extractum status , and recycling the ethanol , and diluting the extractum by adding deionized water of a mass of 4 - 5 times that of the extractum to the extractum to provide an aqueous solution of crude mogrosides ; 5 ) performing a decolorization treatment to the aqueous solution of crude glycoside utilizing diaion pa resin , and collecting the solution flowing down from the resin column to provide an enriched solution ; 6 ) adding a glycosidase to the enriched solution for reaction at a temperature of 55 ° c . for 8 hours , wherein the weight of the glycosidase is 6 % of the weight of the enriched solution ; and 7 ) performing centrifugation to give a precipitate , wherein the obtained precipitate is a crude product of mogrol , washing the crude product of mogrol with water for 5 times to remove water - soluble impurities , and performing freeze drying to provide mogrol ii . the obtained mogrol ii has a molecular weight of 476 . 7 and a cas registry number : 88930 - 15 - 8 , the molecular formula thereof is c 30 h 52 o 4 , and the structural formula thereof is performing the hplc analysis on the obtained mogrol ii , and an identical result to that of the above - mentioned mogrol i was obtained , namely , the purity of the obtained mogrol ii was also higher than 98 %. as the structures of the above - mentioned mogrol i and mogrol ii are identical , mogrol i and mogrol ii can be both referred to in the present application as mogrol . the inhibition of the stat3 and erk signal pathways achieved by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol was detected by western blotting , specifically : group 1 : histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells ( 1 × 10 6 cells / well ) were inoculated into a 6 - well culture plate for staying overnight , and 0 and 10 μmol / l of mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were added respectively , and the culture was continued for 24 hours ; group 2 : human melanoma a875 cells ( 1 × 10 6 cells / well ) were inoculated into a 6 - well culture plate for staying overnight , and 0 and 10 μmol / l of mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were added respectively , and the culture was continued for 24 hours ; group 3 : leukemia cells k562 ( 1 × 10 6 cells / well ) were inoculated into a 6 - well culture plate for staying overnight , and 0 and 10 μmol / l of mogroside i e1 mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were added respectively , and the culture was continued for 24 hours ; after the termination of the cell culture , the culture solution was removed , and the residue was washed with pbs ( 0 . 01 mol / l , ph 7 . 4 ), and then a cell lysis solution containing protease inhibitors was added at an amount of 50 μl / well , and the mixture was placed in an ice bath for lysis at 4 ° c . for 30 min and then centrifuged at 14000 r / min for 10 min , and then total proteins were obtained from the supernatant ; the protein concentrations were measured with bovine serum albumin ( bsa ) as the standard . 50 μg of the total proteins was separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with 12 % sos , electrophoretically transferred to a pvof membrane ( polyvinylidene fluoride membrane ), and blocked for 1 h by 5 % of skim milk ( containing 0 . 1 % of tween 20 ), and then antibodies p - stat3 ( tyr705 ) and p - erk1 / 2 as well as β - actin were added , and the primary antibody was incubated at 4 ° c . overnight ( β - actin was used as reference in loading amount ); the membrane was washed for 3 times with tbs - t , 5 min each time ; secondary antibody marked by horseradish peroxidase ( hrp ) was added for incubation at room temperature for 1 h , the membrane was washed for 3 times with a wash solution ( tbs - t ), 10 min each time , and then ecl was added for incubation in dark for 5 min , and subsequently , a fluorescence imaging analyzer was used for image development and scanning analysis , and the results of western blotting detection are shown in fig4 to 6 . results obtained after u937 cell treatment by mogrol i e1 , mogrol ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . taking the effect of mogrol i e1 on u937 cells as an example , details are shown in fig4 . it can be seen that the expression levels of phosphorylated erk1 / 2 ( p - erk1 / 2 ) and phosphorylated stat3 ( p - stat3 ) were significantly decreased after the mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the u937 cells for 24 hours . in addition , 0 , 10 , 150 and 250 μmol / l of the mogrosides and analogs thereof were used for treating the u937 cells for 24 hours , and the results showed that the decreasing degree of the expression levels of phosphorylated erk1 / 2 ( p - erk1 / 2 ) and phosphorylated stat3 ( p - stat3 ) was enhanced with the increase of the treatment concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof . it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof have effects of inhibiting the activation of stat3 and erk proteins and blocking the stat3 and erk signal pathways . results obtained after melanoma a875 cell treatment by mogrol i e1 mogrol ii a2 and the mogrol were identical to each other . the effect of mogrol ii a2 on melanoma a875 cells is shown in fig5 ; in addition , the effect of the mogrol on melanoma a875 cells is shown in fig7 and 8 . it can be seen that the expression levels of phosphorylated erk1 / 2 ( p - erk1 / 2 ) and phosphorylated stat3 ( p - stat3 ) were significantly decreased after the mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the melanoma a875 cells for 24 hours . in addition , it has been verified by experiments that the decreasing degree of the expression levels of phosphorylated erk1 / 2 ( p - erk1 / 2 ) and phosphorylated stat3 ( p - stat3 ) was enhanced with the increase of the treatment concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , which was identical to the results of u937 cells . it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof have the effects of inhibiting the activation of stat3 and erk proteins and blocking the stat3 and erk signal pathways . results obtained after leukemia cell k562 treatment by mogrol i e1 , mogrol ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . taking the effect of mogrol ii a2 on leukemia cells k562 as an example , details are shown in fig6 . it can be seen that the expression levels of phosphorylated erk1 / 2 ( p - erk1 / 2 ) and phosphorylated stat3 ( p - stat3 ) were significantly decreased after the mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the leukemia cells k562 for 24 hours . moreover , it has been verified by experiments that the decreasing degree of the expression levels of phosphorylated erk1 / 2 ( p - erk1 / 2 ) and phosphorylated stat3 ( p - stat3 ) was enhanced with the increase of the treatment concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , which was identical to the results of u937 cells . it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof have the effects of inhibiting the activation of stat3 and erk proteins and blocking the stat3 and erk signal pathways . the stat3 and erk signal pathways can regulate cyclins and apoptosis genes , and in order to verify the effects of mogrol i e1 mogrol ii a2 and mogrol , the expression status of downstream genes of stat3 and erk was detected , wherein the influences of the three mogrosides and analogs thereof , i . e . mogrol i e1 , mogrol ii a2 and mogrol , on bcl - 2 and p21 proteins in the histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells , human melanoma a875 cells and leukemia cells k562 were determined , respectively . the regulation of bcl - 2 and p21 proteins by mogrosides and analog thereof to the was detected by western blotting , specifically : histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells , human melanoma a875 cells and leukemia cells k562 ( 1 × 10 6 cells / well ) were inoculated into a 6 - well culture plate overnight , and 0 and 10 μmol / l of the mogrosides and analogs thereof were added respectively , and kept cultured for 24 h . after the termination of the cell culture , the culture solution was removed , and the residue was washed with pbs ( 0 . 01 mol / l , ph 7 . 4 ), then a cell lysis solution containing protease inhibitors was added at an amount of 50 μl / well , and the mixture was placed in an ice bath for lysis at 4 ° c . for 30 min and then centrifuged at a speed of 14000 r / min for 10 min , and then total proteins were obtained from the supernatant . the protein concentration was measured with bovine serum albumin ( bsa ) as the standard . 50 μg of the total proteins were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with 12 % sds , and electrophoretically transferred to a pvdf membrane ( polyvinylidene fluoride membrane ), and blocked for 1 h by 5 % of skim milk ( containing 0 . 1 % of tween 20 ), and then antibodies p21 , bcl - 2 and β - actin were added , wherein the primary antibody was incubated at 4 ° c . overnight ( β - actin was used as reference loading amount ); the membrane was washed for 3 times with tbs - t , 5 min each time ; secondary antibody marked by horseradish peroxidase ( hrp ) was added for incubation at room temperature for 1 h , the membrane was washed with rinse solution ( tbs - t ) for 3 times , 10 min each time , and then ecl was added for incubation in dark for 5 min , and subsequently , a fluorescence imaging analyzer was used for image development and scanning analysis . the results of western blotting detection are shown in fig9 to 11 . results obtained after u937 cell treatment by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . taking the effect of mogroside i e1 on the u937 cells as an example , details are shown in fig9 . it can be seen that the downstream cycle regulatory protein p21 associated with the stat3 signal was significantly up - regulated , while the anti - apoptotic protein bcl - 2 was significantly down - regulated after the mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the u937 cells for 24 h . in addition , 0 , 10 , 150 and 250 μmol / l of different mogrosides and analogs thereof were used for treating u937 cells for 24 h . after different concentrations of mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on u937 cells for 24 h , the mogrosides and analogs thereof can all inhibit the activation of stat3 in a dose - dependent way , and simultaneously up - regulate the cycle regulatory protein p21 and inhibit the expression of the anti - apoptotic protein bcl - 2 . the expression levels of p21 and bcl - 2 proteins exhibit a drug - concentration dependence , and it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof regulate the expression of the downstream cyclins and apoptosis genes of the signal pathway by blocking the stat3 and erk sites , so as to achieve the effects of inhibiting the growth of cancer cells and promoting the apoptosis of cancer cells . results obtained after melanoma a875 cell treatment by mogroside i e1 mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . taking the effect of mogroside ii a2 on the melanoma a875 cells as an example , details are shown in fig1 . it can be seen that the downstream cycle regulatory protein p21 associated with the stat3 signal was significantly up - regulated , while the anti - apoptotic protein bcl - 2 was significantly down - regulated , after the mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the human melanoma a875 cells for 24 h . in addition , it is proved by experiments that after different concentrations of mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the human melanoma a875 cells for 24 h , the mogrosides and analogs thereof can inhibit the activation of stat3 in a dose - dependent way , and simultaneously up - regulate the cycle regulatory protein p21 and inhibit the expression of the anti - apoptotic protein bcl - 2 , and the results are identical to those of the u937 cells . the expression levels of p21 and bcl - 2 proteins exhibit a drug - concentration dependence , and it indicates that the mogrosides and analogs thereof regulate the expression of the downstream cyclins and apoptosis genes of the signal pathway by blocking the stat3 and erk sites , so as to achieve the effects of inhibiting the growth of cancer cells and promoting the apoptosis of cancer cells . results obtained after leukemia cell k562 treatment by mogroside i e1 mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . taking the effect of the mogrol on the leukemia cells k562 as an example , details are shown in fig1 . it can be seen that the downstream cycle regulatory protein p21 associated with the stat3 signal was significantly up - regulated , while the anti - apoptotic protein bcl - 2 was significantly down - regulated , after the mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the leukemia cells k562 for 24 h ; moreover , it is proved by tests that after that different concentrations of mogrosides and analogs thereof acted on the leukemia cells k562 for 24 h , the mogrosides and analogs thereof can inhibit the activation of stat3 in a dose - dependent way , and simultaneously up - regulate the cycle regulatory protein p21 and inhibit the expression of the anti - apoptotic protein bcl - 2 , and the results were identical to those of the u937 cells . the expression levels of the p21 and bcl - 2 proteins exhibit a drug - concentration dependence , and it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof regulate the expression of the downstream cyclins and apoptosis genes of the signal pathway by blocking the stat3 and erk sites , so as to achieve the effects of inhibiting the growth of cancer cells and promoting the apoptosis of cancer cells . bcl - 2 is an anti - apoptotic protein and can inhibit programed cell death , and the overexpression of bcl - 2 is an important cause of malignant cell proliferation , while bcl - 2 is a downstream protein regulated by stat3 . when the phosphorylation of stat3 proteins in u937 cells , human melanoma a875 cells and leukemia cells k562 treated by the mogrosides and analogs thereof ( mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol ) was inhibited , the expression of bcl - 2 protein was significantly decreased , and the expression level of bcl - 2 protein was positively correlated with the inhibition suffered by stat3 , which is also an important reason for the promotion of apoptosis of cancer cells . the influences of mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol on the cell cycle distribution of the histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells , the human melanoma a875 cells and the leukemia cells k562 . the cell cycle arrest achieved by drugs is an important approach to the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation . histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells , human melanoma a875 cells and leukemia cells k562 in logarithmic growth phase were selected , and after the respective culture with 0 and 10 μmol / l of the mogrosides and analogs thereof ( mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and the mogrol ) for 24 h , 0 . 25 % pancreatin was added for digestion , the cells of the drug groups and the control groups were collected and washed with pbs and then centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 5 min , and then the cells were collected , fixed with 70 % cold ethanol , and stayed overnight at 4 ° c ., which was then subjected to centrifugation to remove ethanol , and pbs containing rnase a was added , and propidium iodide ( pi ) was added for staining , and the resulting mixture was mixed evenly ( rnase a had a final concentration of 50 mg / l ., and the final concentration of pi was 25 mg / l ), incubated in dark at 37 ° c . for 30 min , anddetected by flow cytometer . the stat3 signal pathway relates to the expression of cell cycle genes , and accordingly influences the cell cycle progression . the results obtained after u937 cell treatment by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . it can be concluded from the detection results of the flow cytometer that cells of g0 / g1 phase of the lymphoma u937 cells have a gradually increasing proportion after the treatment by the mogrosides and analogs thereof , which indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof can lead to the g0 / g1 arrest of the u937 cells . in addition , 0 , 1 , 10 , 150 and 250 μmol / l of the three mogrosides and analogs thereof were used for treating the u937 cells for 24 h , and the results obtained after u937 cell treatment by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . it is concluded that with the rise of the concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , the proportion of cells in g0 / g1 phase is gradually increased , and the cell cycle distribution is significantly changed , which indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof can lead to the g0 / g1 arrest of the u937 cells , and the cycle arrest effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on cancer cells exhibits a dose - dependence . it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof can induce the cell cycle arrest of tumor cells by inhibiting the stat3 signal pathway and regulating cyclins , so as to inhibit the growth of tumors . the results obtained after melanoma a875 cell treatment by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . it can be concluded from the detection results of the flow cytometer that the cells in the g0 / g1 phase of human melanoma a875 cells have a gradually increasing proportion after the treatment by mogrosides and analogs thereof , which indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof can lead to the g0 / g1 arrest of the human melanoma a875 cells . in addition , taking the effect exerted by the mogrol on the melanoma a875 cells as an example , details are shown in fig1 . it can be seen that with the rise of the concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , the proportion of cells in the g0 / g1 phase is gradually increased , and the cell cycle distribution is significantly changed , which indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof can lead to the g0 / g1 arrest of the human melanoma a875 cells , and the cycle arrest effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on cancer cells exhibits a dose - dependence , and the results are identical to those of the u937 cells . it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof can induce the cell cycle arrest of tumor cells by inhibiting the stat3 signal pathway and regulating cyclins , so as to inhibit the growth of tumors . the results obtained after leukemia cell k562 treatment by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . the cell cycle of the leukemia cells k562 was arrested after the treatment by the mogrosides and analogs thereof . in addition , with the rise of the concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , the proportion of cell arrest is gradually increased , and the cell cycle distribution is significantly changed , which indicates that the mogrosides and analogs thereof can lead to the cell cycle arrest of the leukemia cells k562 , and the cycle arrest effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on cancer cells exhibits a dose - dependence . it indicates that mogrosides and analogs thereof can induce the cell cycle arrest of tumor cells by inhibiting the stats signal pathway and regulating cyclins , so as to inhibit the growth of tumors . lymphoma u937 cells , human melanoma a875 cells and leukemia cells k562 in logarithmic growth phase were selected , and after the respective culture with 0 and 10 μmol / l of the mogrosides and analogs thereof ( i . e . mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol ) for 24 h , cells were collected and washed twice with 200 μl of cold pbs , and then the cells were collected again ; 100 μl of binding buffer was added for re - suspending the cells , and after the addition of 2 μl of annexin v - fitc and well mixing , the resulting mixture was placed in dark at room temperature for 10 min , and then 5 μl of propidium iodide ( pi ) was added and then well mixed ; the mixture was placed in dark at room temperature for 10 min , and detected by flow cytometer , and the results are shown in fig1 - 15 . the results obtained after u937 cell treatment by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . taking the mogrol as an example , the results are shown in fig1 . it can be seen that the mogrosides and analogs thereof act on the histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells for 24 h , and mogrol can induce the apoptosis of the histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells . in addition , 0 , 10 , 150 and 250 μmol / l of the mogrosides and analogs thereof were used for treating the u937 cells for 24 h , and it is concluded that with the rise of the concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , the level of cell apoptosis increases , namely , the effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on the lymphoma u937 cells exhibits a dose - dependence . the results obtained after human melanoma a875 cell treatment by mogroside i e1 mogroside ii a2 and the mogrol were identical to each other . taking mogroside i e1 as an example , the results are shown in fig1 . it can be seen that the mogrosides and analogs thereof act on the human melanoma a875 cells for 24 h , and the mogrosides and analogs thereof can induce the apoptosis of the human melanoma a875 cells . moreover , different concentrations of the mogrosides and analogs thereof were utilized to act on the human melanoma a875 cells . taking mogroside ii a2 as an example , the results are shown in fig1 . it can be seen that with the rise of the concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , the amount for cell apoptosis increases , namely , the effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on the human melanoma a875 cells exhibits a dose - dependence . the results are identical to those of the lymphoma u937 cells . the results obtained after leukemia cell k562 treatment by mogroside i e1 , mogroside ii a2 and the mogrol were identical to each other . taking mogroside ii a2 as an example , the results are shown in fig1 . it can be seen that the mogrosides and analogs thereof act on the leukemia cells k562 for 24 h , and the mogrosides and analogs thereof can induce the apoptosis of the leukemia cells k562 . moreover , different concentrations of the mogrosides and analogs thereof are utilized to act on the leukemia cells k562 , and with the rise of the concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , the amount for cell apoptosis increases , namely , the effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on the leukemia cells k562 exhibits a dose - dependence . the results are identical to those of the lymphoma u937 cells . lymphoma u937 cells , human melanoma a875 cells and leukemia cells k562 in logarithmic growth phase were selected , and the concentrations of the cells were adjusted to 1 × 10 4 cells / ml , and the cells were transferred to a 6 - well plate for culture , and after the 24 - hour culture , drugs were added to achieve final concentrations of 0 , 10 , 100 and 250 μmol / l , wherein only whole medium was added to the negative control groups , while mogroside ii a2 was added to the positive control groups , after 24 - hour culture , waste solution was removed , and fixing solution was added to each well for fixing for 25 min , and then the resulting mixture was washed twice , 3 min each time , and then hoechst 33258 staining solution was added for staining in dark at room temperature for 30 min , and the cell morphology variation was observed using a fluorescence microscope . the view of the a875 melanoma cells under the effect of mogroside ii a2 observed by fluorescence microscope is shown in fig1 . in fig1 , fig . a shows a group treated with the culture solution , wherein the cell nucleus under the fluorescence microscope is intact and evenly colored , and the fluorescence is dispersive and relatively dim ; and figs . b , c , and d show cells of groups treated with 10 , 100 and 250 μmol / l respectively , wherein with the increase of the drug concentration , the chromatin thereof exhibits hyperchromatic massive or granular fluorescence , and the cell nucleus chromatin is coagulated , and the cell nucleus undergoes lysis , and the coloring is irregular and exhibits a typical variation of cell apoptosis . in addition , the action effects of mogroside ii a2 on the lymphoma u937 cells and the leukemia cells k562 are identical to the results of the human melanoma a875 cells . moreover , the same method was also utilized to respectively treat the human melanoma a875 cells , the lymphoma u937 cells and the leukemia cells k562 with mogroside i e1 and the mogrol , and the results obtained were identical to the results of mogroside ii a2 . it can be concluded that the mogrosides and analogs thereof can induce the apoptosis of various cancer cells , after that the mogrosides and analogs thereof act on the human melanoma a875 cells , the lymphoma u937 cells and the leukemia cells k562 for 24 h , and the amount for cell apoptosis increased with the rise of the concentration of the mogrosides and analogs thereof , namely , the effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on cancer cells exhibits a dose - dependence . lymphoma u937 cells , human melanoma a875 cells and leukemia cells k562 in logarithmic growth phase were taken , and the cell concentrations were adjusted to 2 × 10 7 cells / ml , and then the cells were inoculated to a 96 - well culture plate ( 100 μl each well ); and after the pre - culture for 24 h , 100 μl of culture solution prepared in different concentrations were added , such that each group of the mogrosides and analogs thereof had a final concentration of 0 . 1 , 1 , 10 , 100 , 200 and 250 μmol / l ( 6 doses ), respectively , and cells cultured with dmso were set as control groups . mtt colorimetric experiments were performed after 24 h , respectively : prior to the finish of each experiment , 15 μl of mtt solution in a concentration of 5 mg / ml was added to each well , and the culture was continued in dark at 37 ° c . for 4 h , then 150 μl of dmso was added to each well and oscillating in a shaker for 10 min , and then the residue was placed in a microplate reader to detect the optical density od ) at 490 nm , and the inhibition rate was calculated according to the following formula : cell growth inhibition rate ( control group od 490 — test group od 490 )/ control group od 490 × 100 %. the results obtained after u937 cell treatment by mogrol i e1 , mogrol ii a2 and mogrol were identical to each other . taking mogrol i e1 as an example , the results are shown in fig1 . it can be seen : the mtt experiment results show that the mogrosides and analogs thereof have an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of the histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells , and the inhibition rate thereof increases with the rise of the drug concentration or the prolongation of the action time , and it indicates that the inhibitory effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on the proliferation of the histiocytic lymphoma u937 cells has a significant dose - dependence and time - dependence . the anova variance analysis shows that the differences between different dose groups , between different time groups and their differences from the control groups all have a statistical significance . the results obtained after melanoma a875 cell treatment by mogrol i e1 , mogrol ii a2 and the mogrol were identical to each other . taking the mogrol as an example , the results are shown in fig1 . it can be seen : the mtt experiment results show that mogrosides and analogs thereof have an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of the melanoma a875 cells , and the inhibition rate thereof increases with the rise of the drug concentration or the prolongation of the action time , and it indicates that the inhibitory effect of the rnogrosides and analogs thereof on the proliferation of the melanoma a875 cells has a significant dose - dependence and time - dependence . anova variance analysis shows that the differences between different dose groups , between different time groups and their differences from the control groups all have a statistical significance . the results obtained after leukemia cell k562 treatment by mogrol i e1 , mogrol ii a2 and the mogrol were identical to each other . taking mogrol ii a2 as an example , the results are shown in fig2 . it can be seen : the mtt experiment results show that mogrosides and analogs thereof have an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of the leukemia cells k562 , and the inhibition rate thereof increases with the rise of the drug concentration or the prolongation of the action time , and it indicates that the inhibitory effect of the mogrosides and analogs thereof on the proliferation of the leukemia cells k562 has a significant dose - dependence and time - dependence . after analysis of variance , the differences between different dose groups , between different time groups and their differences from the control groups all have a significant meaning . in addition , tests of examples 3 to 8 were also performed regarding prostate cancer cells , renal carcinoma cells , head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells , lung cancer cells , ovarian cancer cells , breast cancer cells , pancreatic cancer cells , liver cancer cells and colon cancer cells , and the results thereof were all identical to the results of the lymphoma u937 cells . moreover , tests of examples 3 to 8 were also performed on mogrol iii , mogrol iv , mogroside v and mogroside vi , and the results thereof were all identical to those of mogrol i e1 and mogrol ii a2 ; in addition , tests of examples 3 - 8 were also performed regarding prostate cancer cells , renal carcinoma cells , head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells , lung cancer cells , ovarian cancer cells , breast cancer cells , pancreatic cancer cells , liver cancer cells and colon cancer cells , and the results thereof were all identical to the results of the lymphoma u937 cells . the mogrosides and analogs thereof provided in the present application are prepared into health care products and foodstuffs , e . g . biscuits , chewing gum , beverages , tea , cream candy and dairy products ; and they also have a very good inhibitory effect on malignant melanoma , prostate cancer , renal carcinoma , head and neck squamous cell carcinoma , lung cancer , ovarian cancer , breast cancer , pancreatic cancer , liver cancer , colon cancer , lymphoma and leukemia . the above - mentioned examples explain the stat3 and erk signal pathway inhibitor provided in the present invention , which main components , i . e . the mogrosides and analogs thereof , have efficacies of selectively inhibiting the signal pathways of nuclear transcription factors stat3 and erk , and of inhibiting tumor cell growth and inducing its apoptosis and inhibiting tumor proliferation . tumors relating to the stat3 signal pathway include solid tumors , such as malignant melanoma , prostate cancer , renal carcinoma , head and neck squamous cell carcinoma , lung cancer , ovarian cancer , breast cancer , pancreatic cancer , liver cancer and colon cancer ; and non - solid tumors such as lymphoma and leukemia , e . g . large granular lymphocytic leukemia , chronic lymphoblastic leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia . as the mogrosides and analogs thereof have a pharmaceutical value of inhibiting stat3 and erk signal pathways , it can be deduced that they also have an inhibitory effect on other cancers relating to stat3 and erk signals . although the present invention has already been explained and described through specific examples , it shall be aware that many further modifications and variations may also be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . thus , it means that all these modifications and variations falling in the scope of the present invention are included in the appended claims .	0
turning now to the drawings and , more particularly , fig1 shows an example of a method 100 of forming semiconductor devices , replacement metal gate ( rmg ) gate field effect transistors ( fets ), and integrated circuit ( ic ) chips with preferred rmgfets , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . although described with reference to cmos , the present invention has application to any suitable replacement metal gate technology . the preferred method 100 has application to forming rmgfets on bulk or silicon on insulator ( soi ) wafers with soi planar , mesa , fin or nanowire channels . bulk wafers may be silicon , germanium ( ge ), a iii - v semiconductor or compound thereof . fin or nanowire channels may include more than one fin or nanowire . fabrication begins in step 102 defining dummy devices ( fets ). dummy sidewall spacers are formed step 104 on the dummy dielectric layer . patterning 106 the dummy dielectric , which partially undercuts the dummy spacers . next , 108 source / drain regions and interlayer dielectric are formed on the wafer . the dummy gates are removed in step 110 to re - expose the remaining dummy dielectric . the dummy dielectric is removed in 112 . then , source / drain extensions are formed in 114 under the dummy spacers . in step 116 metal gates are formed to complete the rmgfets . thereafter , in step 118 chip processing continues to complete integrated circuit ( ic ) chip definition . so , in step 102 dummy devices ( fets ) are defined on a typical semiconductor wafer . preferably , dummy fets include dummy gates on a dummy dielectric layer . the dummy gates locate fet channels in / on a semiconductor surface of the wafer . previously , at this point in typical prior art rmgfet formation , the dummy dielectric layer was patterned with the dummy gates ( as dummy gate dielectric ) and source / drain extension regions were defined adjacent to the dummy gates . fig2 a - b show an example of defining a chip device on a semiconductor wafer 120 ( definition step 102 in fig1 ). the semiconductor wafer may be an soi wafer or a bulk doped or undoped wafer of silicon ( si ), silicon germanium ( sige ) or any suitable semiconductor . device channels , formed in / on the semiconductor wafer 120 , may be bulk surface channels or soi channels , planar , fins or nanowires . channels may be defined using an active isolation step such as , for example , shallow trench isolation ( sti ) or mesa formation . a dummy dielectric layer 122 is , preferably , a 3 to 6 nanometer ( 3 - 6 nm ) thick oxide formed on the wafer surface 124 , with excellent etch selectivity to subsequently formed dummy gate 126 material . suitable such oxides include , for example , sio 2 , geo 2 , and aluminum oxide ( al 2 o 3 ). dummy gates 126 are formed by first forming a layer of a suitable material , e . g . polysilicon ( poly ), on the dummy dielectric layer 122 . a hard mask 128 patterned on the dummy gate material layer defines and protects gates 126 . the hard mask 128 may be any suitable material , including for example , silicon nitride ( si 3 n 4 ) layer , patterned photolithographically using a suitable well know photolithographic mask and etch . after forming the hard mask 128 pattern , exposed dummy gate material is removed , e . g ., etched with an etchant selective to poly . as noted hereinabove , source / drain extension regions are not defined adjacent to the dummy gates 126 at this point . instead , as shown in the example of fig3 , dummy sidewall spacers 130 are formed ( step 104 in fig1 ) along the dummy gates 126 and on the dummy dielectric 122 . the dummy sidewall spacers 130 may be formed , for example , by forming a conformal layer of sidewall dielectric and removing horizontal portions with a directional etch , e . g ., a reactive ion etch ( rie ). the dummy sidewall spacer 130 dielectric may be any suitable dielectric , preferably a nitride such as , si 3 n 4 , sibcn , sinh or bn . fig4 shows an example of patterned ( 106 in fig1 ) dummy dielectric 140 undercutting the dummy spacers 130 . the dummy gates 126 and sidewall spacers 130 serve as a mask for patterning 106 the dummy dielectric layer . patterning 106 partially undercuts 142 the dummy spacers 130 . the patterned dummy dielectric 140 remains under the dummy gates 126 , and at least partially under dummy sidewalls spacers 130 to undercuts 142 , where source / drain extension regions are subsequently formed . patterning the dummy dielectric 140 completes placeholder 144 formation for source / drain region and interlayer dielectric formation . so , as shown in the example of fig5 a - b , fet source / drains 150 ( formed 108 in fig1 ) form outboard of the dummy spacers 130 and extend into the placeholder undercuts 142 , followed by ild 152 formation . the fet source / drains 150 may be formed , for example , by epitaxially growing doped semiconductor on the semiconductor surface ( e . g ., on fins ) at source / drain regions and / or by a deep source / drain ion - implant . preferably for finfets , doped epitaxially grown semiconductor is phosphorous or arsenic - doped silicon ( si ) grown on nfet fins , and boron - doped silicon germanium ( sige ) grown on pfet fins . interlayer dielectric 152 covers the source / drain regions 150 and fills between the placehholders 144 . fig6 a - b show an example of removing ( step 110 in fig1 ) the dummy gates 126 to re - expose the patterned dummy dielectric 140 between the dummy spacers 130 . an interlayer dialectic ( ild ) 160 formed on the wafer fills between the dummy spacers 130 . preferably , the ild 160 is an oxide such as sio 2 , or a lower k oxide . the patterned hard mask 128 is removed , e . g ., using an oxide cmp , to re - expose the tops of dummy gates 126 . in this example , the cmp removes upper portions of the dummy spacers 130 and ild 160 . the exposed dummy gates 126 may be removed , for example , with a suitable etch selective to silicon . fig7 shows an example of the structure after ( 112 in fig1 ) removing all of the patterned dummy dielectric to re - expose the wafer surface between and beneath the dummy spacers 130 , i . e ., at the channel and extensions . the patterned dummy dielectric may be removed using any suitable wet etch , such as a hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) based solution , or a highly selective dry etch . fig8 a - c show an example of forming ( 114 in fig1 ) source / drain extensions under the dummy spacers 130 . preferably , source / drain extensions are formed by depositing and selectively patterning an atomic layer dopant through the open space between the dummy spacers . a dopant diffusion step , e . g ., an extension anneal , forms well controlled source / drain extensions from the patterned atomic layer dopant . in one preferred embodiment , a seven angstrom ( 7 å ) atomic layer dopant ( aldo ) is deposited on the wafer selective to the dummy spacers 130 , forming aldo 180 where previously existing patterned dummy dielectric was removed . suitable atomic layer dopants include atomic boron or germanium - boron for pfets and atomic phosphorous ( p ) for nfets . selectively etching aldo 180 , e . g ., in a timed etch , removes the dopant from the fet channel surface 182 , leaving dopant pockets 184 (& lt ; 3 nm wide ) under the dummy spacers 130 . a junction rapid anneal drives in the dopant in pockets 184 , activating extension 186 . preferably , the junction rapid anneal is at a temperature that does not alter channel material stability . for example , annealing temperature may range from 450 - 900 ° c . depending on the channel material with lower temperatures for iii - v semiconductor and ge , and relatively higher temperatures for si - based channels . because , there is no need for subsequent high temperature processing steps or anneals , the source / drain extension 186 junctions remain where they form , essentially unaffected by subsequent fabrication steps . fig9 a - d show an example of forming ( 116 in fig1 ) metal gates above the channel , between the source / drain extensions to complete the rmgfets . first , a suitable selective wet etch strips the dummy spacers 130 away , and exposes the extensions 186 . final low - k spacers 190 are formed above the extensions 186 , e . g ., by forming a conformal layer of sidewall dielectric and removing horizontal portions with a directional etch , e . g ., a reactive ion etch ( rie ). suitable low - k dielectric may include , for example , sibcn , sinh or bn . a high - k gate dielectric layer 192 is formed , e . g ., deposited , on the wafer . suitable such high - k dielectric may be , for example , hafnium oxide ( hfo 2 ), hfsio , hfsion , alo , al 2 o 3 , titanium oxide ( tio 2 ), lanthanum oxide ( la 2 o 3 ) or a combination or stack thereof . metal gates 194 are formed by forming a metal layer on the high - k gate dielectric layer 192 and removing surface portions of the metal layer and high - k dielectric layer 192 to the ild 160 . the surface metal layer and high - k dielectric layer 192 may be removed using a typical cmp that re - planarizes the wafer surface and leaves metal gates 194 in metal gate dielectric 196 . fig1 shows an example of a wafer 200 with multiple ic chips 202 after ( 118 in fig1 ) middle of the line ( mol ) dielectric and contact formation and through normal back end of the line ( beol ) steps . circuit definition continues normally as wiring is formed 116 on and above the planarized surface . the wiring connects devices ( preferred fets ) together into circuits 202 and circuits 202 together on the chips 204 . beol fabrication continues complete the chips 204 , e . g ., connecting the circuits to pads and terminal metallurgy . thus advantageously , short channel effects are reduced / minimized in ics with preferred rmgfets . source / drain extensions are formed well controlled , because they are formed after forming interlayer dielectric ( ild ) on already completed source / drain regions and just prior to forming metal gates . while the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . it is intended that all such variations and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims . examples and drawings are , accordingly , to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive .	7
with reference to the drawings , in fig1 , a weight - bearing harness ( 10 ) to be worn by a person ( the “ wearer ”) over at least one shoulder of the wearer is shown in perspective view from the front . in some embodiments , the harness ( 10 ) comprises at least a first strap ( 12 ) which , when worn , is positioned over one shoulder of the wearer , where the strap ( 12 ) descends downwardly from the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulder in the front (“ front strap ” ( 14 )) and in the back (“ back strap ” ( 16 )) of the wearer to a lower second strap which encircles the wearer at about the wearer &# 39 ; s waist or hip region (“ waist strap ” ( 18 )); the front strap ( 14 ) is attached at its front end ( 20 ) and the back strap ( 16 ) is attached at its back end ( 22 ) to the waist strap ( 18 ) in the front region ( 24 ) and back region ( 26 ) of the waist strap ( 18 ), respectively . in particular embodiments , the front strap ( 14 ) and back strap ( 16 ) descend about vertically from the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulder to the waist strap ( 18 ); in other particular embodiments , the front strap ( 14 ) and back strap ( 16 ) descend at an angle from the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulder , such that the strap ( 12 ) is worn over one shoulder , and attached at its front end ( 20 ) and back end ( 22 ) to the waist strap front region ( 24 ) and waist strap back region ( 26 ) at positions somewhere under the wearer &# 39 ; s opposite shoulder . in other embodiments , as shown in fig2 , 3 , and 4 , the weight - bearing harness ( 110 ) comprises two straps , a first strap 112 and a third strap 113 which when worn are positioned one over each of the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders , where each strap descends downwardly in the front (“ front straps ” 114 , 115 ) and in the back (“ back straps ” 116 , 117 ) of the wearer from each of the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders to a lower second strap which encircles the wearer at about the wearer &# 39 ; s waist or hip region (“ waist strap ” 118 ); the straps 112 , 113 are attached at their front ends 120 , 121 and at their back ends 122 , 123 to the waist strap 118 in the front region of the waist strap 124 and in the back region of the waist strap 126 , respectively . in particular embodiments , the back straps 116 , 117 may descend straight down the wearer &# 39 ; s back from the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders to the back region of the waist strap 126 ; in other particular embodiments , the back straps 116 , 117 may cross each other at the back of the wearer before continuing down to the back region of the waist strap 126 ; in another embodiment , the back straps 116 , 117 may be attached to each other at the back of the wearer at least one point , from which they then descend vertically to the back region of the waist strap 126 either jointly , as one strap , or as two separate straps . the two back straps 116 , 117 may be joined to each other by at least a fourth strap ( a “ horizontal back strap ,” not shown ) or by a back brace ( not shown ) or by other means to provide greater comfort and back support . in other particular embodiments , the back straps 116 , 117 comprise one piece from the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders to the wearer &# 39 ; s waist ( a “ back piece ,” not shown ), and are thus connected to the front straps 114 , 115 at about the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders and to the back region of the waist strap 126 at the bottom of the back piece of the wearer &# 39 ; s back ; and in yet other particular embodiments , the back straps 116 , 117 may extend downward from the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders some length before being connected to a single back piece , which is then connected to the back region of the waist strap 126 . the straps 12 , 112 , 113 may be of any suitable width and length , and may further comprise means to adjust their length to more snugly fit the wearer ; such means are well known and include but are not limited to ties , cinches , buckles , velcro , and the like . the harness may further comprise means to adjust the position of the straps 12 , 112 , 113 relative to the wearer , to improve fit and comfort ; such means are well known and include but are not limited to ties , cinches , buckles ( 38 , as shown in fig4 ), velcro , and the like . the waist strap 18 , 118 has two ends at the wearer &# 39 ; s front toward the center of the wearer 30 , 32 , 130 , 132 , and when worn are generally fastened together by any well known means , which include but are not limited to ties , cinches , buckles , velcro , and the like . the waist strap 18 , 118 may also be of any suitable width and length , and may further comprise means to adjust their length to more snugly fit the wearer ; such means are well known and include but are not limited to ties , cinches , buckles , velcro , and the like . at least one handle 34 is attached to at least one front strap 14 , 114 , 115 or to a front region of a waist strap 24 , 124 . in some embodiments , two handles 34 are attached one to each front strap 14 , 114 , 115 , and in other embodiments , four handles 34 are attached to the front straps 114 , 115 , two to a strap . in other embodiments at least one handle 34 is attached to a front region of a waist strap 24 , 124 , preferably toward the ends of the waist strap 31 , 32 , 130 , 132 , and in other embodiment two handles 34 are attached to a front region of a waist strap 24 , 124 , preferably toward the ends of the waist strap 31 , 32 , 130 , 132 , one handle 34 on either side of the center line of the wearer and on either side of the two ends of the waist strap 31 , 32 , 130 , 132 at the front of the wearer . and in other embodiments at least one handle 34 is attached to a front strap 14 , 114 , 115 and at least one handle 34 is attached to a front region of a waist strap 24 , 124 in any of the configurations as described above . the handles 34 are positioned on a front strap 14 , 114 , 115 or on a front region of a waist strap 24 , 124 so that when the harness 10 , 110 is worn and a handle 34 is grasped by the hand of the wearer either on the same side as or opposite to location of the handle 34 on a front strap 14 , 114 , 115 or on a front region of a waist strap 24 , 124 , the arm is either perpendicular to the ground , or slightly angled up away from perpendicular or angled slightly downward from perpendicular . the handles 34 may be attached to a front strap 14 , 114 , 115 , or a front region of a waist strap 24 , 124 at one or more points . a handle 34 may be any configuration which is comfortably grasped by the wearer &# 39 ; s hand and which when grasped provide support for the wearer &# 39 ; s arm . exemplary handles include but are not limited to : a strip of material attached at both of its ends to a strap ; a strip of material fashioned into a loop attached at one end to a strap ; a circular or oval shaped handle ; a knob in any shape easily grasped by a hand , where the knob may further comprise a slight flange at its lower end for further supporting the hand grasping it . a handle 34 may be attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 in a fixed fashion , such that the handle 34 does not generally reorient itself with respect to the strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 , or a handle 34 may be attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 in such a fashion such that it can rotate to different angles with respect to the strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 , to accommodate different angles of the hand grasping it . a handle 34 may also be attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 in a retractable fashion , such that the handle 34 can be pulled out to a certain length , and then retracted close to or into a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 when not in use . alternatively , a handle 34 may be removably attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 , by means including but not limited to by ties , snaps , buttons , clips , buckles , and the like , such that a handle 34 may be removed from a harness 10 , 110 and later again removably attached . a handle 34 may also be attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 by means of a knob which fits into a groove or slot , where the groove or slot is located on a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 and the knob on the handle 34 , or vice versa ; in these embodiments , the handle 34 is attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 by sliding the knob into the groove or slot . the front straps 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 may further comprise additional means for removably securing items to the front straps . such means include but are not limited to ties , loops , snaps , buttons , velcro , buckles , hooks , rings ( such as a d ring 36 as shown in fig4 ), clips and the like , attached to the front straps 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 to which items may be clipped or otherwise secured . exemplary items that may be secured to the harness 10 , 110 via these means include but are not limited to baby items such as pacifiers , toys , bibs , bottles , and in certain embodiments , baby carriers , such as baby carrier pouches . a baby carrier may be securely and removably fastened at several points to the front of the harness 10 , 110 by such means as described above ; alternatively , additional straps may be securely fastened to the front of the harness 10 , 110 , either permanently or removably such as with zippers , buckles , and the like , where these additional straps comprise means by which a baby carrier may be securely and removably fastened to the front of harness 10 , 110 . harness straps 12 , 112 , 18 , 118 may be made of any conventional material suitable for this use , including nylon , webbing , leather , rubberized material and the like . harness straps 12 , 112 , 18 , 118 may further comprise padded sections for increased comfort during wear , such as over the shoulders , and at the back . likewise , handles 34 may also be fashioned of any material suitable to this particular use , including strapping material , rubber , foam , tubing , padded webbing , mixed materials such as plastic and foam , and the like . the harness 10 , 110 may be worn over an outer garment of the wearer , where an outer garment is worn outside of all other garments ; exemplary outer garments include but are not limited to coats , jackets , blazers , vests , shirts , sweatshirts , and the like ; m these embodiments , the ends of the waist strap 30 , 32 , 130 , 132 include a means to securely fasten the harness to the wearer , as described above . the harness 10 , 110 may also be incorporated into an outer garment of the wearer . an exemplary embodiment is shown in fig5 , in which weight - bearing harness 110 is incorporated into the interior of a vest 140 . the harness 110 is incorporated into the interior portion 142 of the garment , such as within a lining 144 . the harness 110 may be attached to the interior 144 of a garment 140 by the straps 112 , such as at the shoulder seams of either the underside of the lining 144 ( that side which faces the interior 142 of the garment 140 , and thus faces away from the wearer ) of the garment 140 , or to the seams or shoulder region of the interior 142 of the garment 140 itself . the waist strap 118 may be attached to the garment 140 , either at the garment interior 142 or to the underside of the lining 144 of the garment 140 , for a portion of the back region of the waist strap 126 ( which would then be attached to the back of the garment 146 or to the back of the garment lining 144 ) up to the entire length of the waist strap 118 from the back region of the waist strap 126 to the front region of the waist strap 124 ( where the front region of the waist strap 124 would be attached to the front of the garment 148 or to the front of the garment lining 144 ). the harness 110 may be even more securely attached to a garment 140 by attaching either the back straps 116 , 117 , the front straps 114 , 115 or both sets of straps 116 , 117 , 114 , 115 and for portions of their length up to their entire length , to the interior 142 of the garment 140 itself or to the underside of the lining 144 . in an embodiment , when weight bearing harness 110 is incorporated into a garment 140 , a portion of the waist strap 118 may remain unattached from the garment 140 , such as is shown in fig5 . in this embodiment , the ends of the waist strap 130 , 132 as shown in fig5 may then be fastened together by any of the means as described above , thus securing the waist strap to the body of the wearer of the garment 140 . in another embodiment shown in fig6 , the ends of the waist straps 130 , 132 are attached to a garment 150 at the front of the garment 152 , such that the each end of the waist strap 130 , 132 ends at and is attached to one side 156 , 158 of a front center closure 154 of the garment 150 . in fig6 , closing the garment 150 ( such as by a zipper or buttons or snaps or the like positioned on the front center closure 154 ) results in closing the waist strap 18 , 118 securely around the body of the wearer of the garment 150 . at least one handle 34 ( and / or additional attachment means , if present , such as d ring 36 ) is accessed by at least one discreet opening 160 in the outer portion of the garment 150 , where the opening extends through the outer portion of the garment 150 , and if necessary the garment lining 144 , to provide access to a handle 34 . the opening is disposed over a handle 34 , such that the handle 34 can be hidden from view when not in use , and may be pulled through the opening 160 to be grasped by the wearer &# 39 ; s hand when in use . at least one opening 160 may also be disposed over any at least one further attachment means ( such as d ring 36 ) attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 such that the attachment means may be accessed when the garment 150 is worn by a wearer . an opening 160 may simply be a slit in the outer garment 150 , or it may further comprise flaps , zippers , buttons , snaps , hooks , velcro , and the like , or any combination of these , to close the opening 160 and further conceal and / or pad the handles 34 and any other attachment means present . the harness 10 , 110 may also be worn under an outer garment of a wearer . in these embodiments , the outer garment is configured as described above , with at least one opening 160 in the outer portion of the garment 150 disposed over at least one handle 34 such that a handle 34 can be hidden from view when not in use , and may be pulled through the opening 160 to be grasped by the wearer &# 39 ; s hand when in use . when necessary , an opening 160 extends through an outer garment and into the interior , and through a garment lining 144 if present , so that a handle 34 of a harness 10 , 100 may be accessed when the garment is worn over the harness 10 , 110 . at least one opening 160 may also be disposed over any at least one further attachment means ( such as d ring 36 ) attached to a strap 14 , 114 , 115 , 24 , 124 such that the attachment means may be accessed when the garment 150 is worn by a wearer . to carry a child 162 or other item with a harness 110 in place , as shown in fig6 , the wearer simply places the child 162 or other item on a forearm and then reaches across the chest with the hand attached to the forearm to a handle 34 on a front strap 114 on the side opposite the carrying arm , as shown in fig6 . as described previously , the wearer may grasp a handle 34 on the opposite side or the same side as the arm carrying a weight ; the wearer &# 39 ; s arm may be perpendicular to the ground , or angled slightly up or down . the harness 110 is designed to fit the wearer snugly , transfer some of the weight of the child 162 or other item carried in the wearer &# 39 ; s arms to the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders and back , and to properly distribute the weight of a carried child 162 or other item over the wearer &# 39 ; s shoulders and back . the back support provided by a harness 10 , 110 further assists the wearer in maintaining good posture when carrying a child 162 or other item . a harness 10 , 110 is particularly useful in carrying infants and young children , such as toddlers and older , by the arms of the wearer of the harness 10 , 110 . many other items can also be carried in the arms of the wearer of the harness , including but not limited to books , bags ( containing other items such as groceries ), boxes , and the like , which are carried on the arm , as well as items with handles which can be carried suspended from the wearer &# 39 ; s arms . additional items may be carried by attaching them to the handles or to any additional attachment means which may be part of the harness . if a harness 10 , 110 is incorporated into an outer garment 150 , the wearer accesses a handle 34 by reaching through an opening 160 ( after first opening it , if necessary ). a harness incorporated into an outer garment allows the wearer to maintain a fashionable look when the harness is not in use , and to still appear quite fashionable when the garment is in use for carrying at least one item in at least one arm of the wearer . the harness is easy to use , easily accessible , and always available . it allows the wearer to carry items such as babies , books , bags , tools and the like closer to the wearer &# 39 ; s center of gravity . and it avoids or decreases arm muscle fatigue when carrying such items “ by hand ” for any other than short periods of time . it is understood that this invention is not confined to the particular structures herein illustrated and described , but embraces such modified forms hereof as come within the scope of the following claims .	0

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