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the systems and method described herein relate to predictive and descriptive modeling systems . more specifically , the systems and methods pertain to the creation , storage , retrieval , and maintenance of data and metadata in predictive and descriptive modeling systems . the system creates and maintains model metadata , model executions , and their resulting model outputs . methods for capturing , classifying , and documenting model inputs and outputs are also provided . the apparatus supports mapping physical or logical structures in a database system via a system catalog to a model for the purpose of defining model inputs . these inputs can be used in a one - to - one mapping or as part of a defined usage context ( e . g ., a derived field such as an indicator or calculated metric ) that may utilize multiple fields or even other mappings . a flexible storage solution may also be provided , which eliminates the need for structural database changes for the deployment of new or updated models . this leads to significant savings of time and money . these structures also facilitate retrieval and ensure consistent application integration via a standard table - based interface . additionally , the model instance may provide an audit trail including the user , server , server network address , system process identifier , and timestamp for the execution . outputs from a model execution are tagged with the corresponding model instance identifier , which allows analysts to see the history of models and their scores over time without ambiguity . aspects of the present invention provide for a centralized predictive knowledge repository , which contains the sum of an enterprise &# 39 ; s predictive experience . previously , this knowledge was tacit , existing in the minds of employees or scattered about network drives in unstructured documents and computer code . consistency and structure are provided by embodiments of the invention . in particular , regardless of the type of predictive model used , or the inputs or outputs of model , the model metadata and model outputs are stored and managed . previously , ad - hoc database structures had to be built for new models . among the other advantages to this structural consistency is that applications consuming the model outputs have a standardized method of retrieval . no matter how the underlying predictive model changes , the retrieval of outputs remains consistent . this is advantageous because it reduces development time and deployment cost , and increases speed to market . some aspects of the present invention provide real - time operating ability , in terms of optimized score management processes , output structure and accessibility . as a knowledge repository , the process starts when the modeler enters data into an application via , for example , a web - based user interface . once entered , model information is available to the enterprise and linked to the outputs produced by each model . information that may be captured includes the predictive technique , the model author , and the data used as inputs to the models . regardless of the modeler &# 39 ; s inputs describing the predictive model , every new model is assigned a model identifier , or model_id , that uniquely identifies the model . models built for a related purpose are also assigned a model_group_id . start and end dates determine a predictive model &# 39 ; s lifetime . an identification strategy such as this one is key to enabling effective consumption of the resulting model scores and measuring effectiveness . every time the model runs , an instance identifier is created , called the model_instance_id , which directly precedes the execution of the model . a creation date - time is logged and a status field is set to “ r ” ( running ). a user can view the data at this time , observe that a particular model is running , find out on what server it is running on , and view other completed instances to understand how long the model will take to finish . if the model completes successfully , the instance record is updated and the status field is reset to “ c ” ( complete ). a communication may be sent to interested parties upon completion of the model execution . when a model successfully operates , its outputs are stored in the application and are retrievable using model_instance_id as a key . this allows for analytic evaluation of a model &# 39 ; s scores over time , and ultimately its historical performance . application layers ( e . g ., views or semantic layers ) store the most recent scores in a format convenient to consuming software applications , which greatly improves the performance of consuming applications , particularly when large data volumes are involved . fig1 illustrates the context in which embodiments of the invention may be used . in particular , the context is one in which modeling environment 101 is functionally dependent on a database 102 , both reading data from and writing data back to the database 102 . fig2 illustrates components of an exemplary production model execution environment , with functional dependencies noted . thus , fig2 expands on fig1 by showing how a production modeling environment may consist of scheduling and storage components , as well as an execution engine . thus , fig2 shows that the model execution engine 201 may read and write to a database 202 . it may also invoke models from the model storage environment 203 , and receive notifications from the model storage environment 203 . the model storage environment 203 may call the scheduler 204 and receive notifications from the same . the database 202 feeds data to consuming applications 205 . fig3 a and fig3 b each illustrate the dependencies of the scheduler 204 and the model storage system 203 , which components are integral to an enterprise - class statistical modeling environment 101 . in particular , fig3 a is a diagram illustrating a production grade scheduler 204 and its dependencies ( i . e ., model execution engine 201 ; job 301 ; and calendar 302 ; some of which invoke schedule 303 ), in accordance with an exemplary embodiment . fig3 b is a diagram illustrating the components of model storage system 203 and their dependencies ( modeling environment 101 ; job 301 ; model execution engine 201 ; and model 304 ), in accordance with an exemplary embodiment . fig3 c is a diagram illustrating an overview of which components within the modeling environment are invoked in connection with the processes described herein . this exemplary flow refers to the basic components shown in fig3 a and fig3 b , as well as other components . basically , the scheduler 204 is invoked and contacts the model storage host 203 , which obtains the model metadata . the model instance generator 305 generates a model instance 306 which is used to track the execution of the model ( model execution engine 201 ) and the result set 307 of execution . the result set 307 is stored in model score consumption mart 308 , where it can be used by downstream applications 205 . fig3 d is a more detailed flowchart further illustrating the process outlined in fig3 c . in particular , fig3 c introduces two solution - specific components , the model instance generator 305 and the model score consumption mart 308 which are used in connection with an embodiment of the present invention . fig3 d illustrates the sequence in which these components are active in the process , in an exemplary embodiment . with reference to fig3 d , upon the occurrence of a trigger event , schedule 204 is invoked , in step 309 . in step 310 , the scheduler contacts the model storage host 203 . in step 311 , the model storage host 203 access model metadata from the model score consumption mart 308 . in step 312 , the model storage host 312 invokes the model instance script . in step 313 , the model instance generator 306 generates the model instance and passes it to the model execution engine 201 . in step 314 , the model execution engine 201 runs the model . in step 315 , the model execution engine 201 captures additional system metadata and inserts the model instance identifier into the model score consumption mart 308 . in step 316 , it is determined whether the model execution completed successfully . if not , in step 317 , notifications are generated and the model instance metadata in the model score consumption mart 308 is updated with failed terminal status . if so , in step 318 , the generated model results are inserted in the model score consumption mart 308 output table . also , the model instance metadata is updated with successful terminal status . the model instance generator 305 and the model score consumption mart 308 comprise the apparatus for executing predictive and descriptive models , whose main features and components are described below . the relationship between the statistical model and the application of the model to data is referred to herein as an “ instance ,” or “ model instance .” fig4 a depicts an entity - relationship model of statistical models and how they relate to their instances . every run of a model creates an instance ; one instance may be related to a variety of analytic units and outputs , and many instances may be created over a model &# 39 ; s service lifetime . fig4 b also illustrates an entity - relationship model but further describes how the statistical model relates to data within a database . each data element is associated with details and , because a data element may be involved with multiple models , data elements are associated with roles for a particular model , as described in more detail below . fig5 a is a logical data model showing certain ( i . e ., primary , foreign , and natural ) keys for the entity - relationship model of statistical models and their executions . for simplicity , this illustration does not include the model data . a model is uniquely determined by its model identifier ( model id 501 ). a model instance 306 , on the other hand , is uniquely determined by the model id 501 in combination with a start datetime , a job id , and an execution engine id . here , job refers to the batch program running the model on the execution engine . to facilitate querying of a particular model instance from the database , the surrogate key model_instance_id 502 is created . it is designed in such a way that all elements of the natural key ( model id 501 , start datetime , job id , and execution engine id ) may be extracted through parsing the field itself , accomplished through an encoding based on the hexadecimal system . the purpose of running a predictive or descriptive statistical model , i . e ., creating a model instance 306 , is to generate outputs that in some way describe an analytic unit of interest . fig4 a shows how a model instance 306 relates to its outputs . the instance may create many output records , but each output record was created from one and only one model instance 306 . in the entity - relationship modeling context , a model instance unit output 503 is represented , where “ unit ” stands for a particular subtype of model instance output . model instance unit output 503 is referred to herein , where abstract units are identified with the attribute “ unit id ” 504 . fig5 a shows the primary and foreign keys related to the model instance unit output 503 relation . the model instance id 502 is a component of the key , whereas other components necessary for uniqueness include the unit identifier ( unit id ) 504 and the type of output ( output type id 505 ). fig5 b is a logical data model showing certain ( i . e ., primary , foreign , and natural ) keys for the entity - relationship model describing how the statistical model relates to data within a database . referring back to fig5 a , other contextual information includes event id and event date . models are run for a reason . thus , it is assumed that every event type of interest has a corresponding unique identifier — an event id . because some events are recurring ( e . g ., an “ event ” may be a monthly scoring ), the event date is an important part of the context . an additional contextual field , “ standard period id ,” includes information on the business relevant time period or frequency . an attribute of interest in the model instance unit output 503 relation is the model output value 506 . this field contains the outputs of models which in some way describe or make a prediction about the unit of interest ( hence , the phrase “ predictive and descriptive models ”). referring back to fig4 a and 4b , the manner in which a model relates to its data is illustrated . multiple models may use a particular data element , implying a many - to - many relationship between the model and the data element entities . to remedy this , an associative entity called model data element is created . this entity serves a purpose — one model &# 39 ; s predictor may be another model &# 39 ; s target of prediction . the data element role entity , functionally related to model data element , indicates the context of the data element in a particular model . focusing on the data element , without the context of the model , is the data element entity . an important non - key attribute of the data element relation is the data element derived indicator , which indicates whether additional transformations have been applied to database columns to create the data element . if this indicator is false ( or 0 ), then the field is a direct mapping from a column in a physical database to a data element that can be used in a predictive or descriptive model . if the indicator is true ( or 1 ), then some transformation has been applied to a column or columns from the database . in the case that multiple variables are involved , there is a one - to - many relationship between data element and the relation data element detail , which includes all the physical database columns used in the creation of the data element . the exact nature of the transformation is not currently specified . fig5 a shows the primary and foreign keys related to the model data component of the model score consumption mart . the model relation has one foreign key and unique identifier , model id 501 , which is paired with the data element identifier , data element id 507 , to form the primary key of the model data element table 508 . referring to fig5 b , the foreign key within this relation , data element role id 509 , is the unique primary key in the entity , data element role , which provides categorical information about the nature of the data element in the context of the model . every data element in the model data element 508 relation is also necessarily represented in the data element 510 relation , with data element id 507 as the unique primary key . the primary key of data element 510 , data element id 507 , is also contained in the relation data element detail 511 . since multiple database columns can be used to create a data element , there is a one - to - many relationship here , yet data element id 507 is foreign key rather than a primary key in the data element detail 511 relation . this is because the database column identifier data element detail id is sufficient to ensure uniqueness and identifiability of all database columns . in addition to the production aspects of this apparatus and method for executing predictive and descriptive models , the model score consumption mart 308 in particular provides a way to document and store metadata about models . referring to fig4 a , the model entity 401 has a one to one relationship between the abstract model entity 402 , the statistical modeling tool entity 403 , and the model purpose 404 entity . as shown in fig5 a , the primary keys in these entities are all foreign keys in the model entity 401 . the data from the abstract model entity 402 is meant to give the analyst an idea of the technique that the predictive or descriptive model was based on . for example , a decision tree - based model will have a different output score distribution than a regression model with continuous predictors ; the abstract model entity 402 is designed to provide a quick glimpse into the type of model in question . the statistical modeling tool entity 403 provides information about what software was used to estimate the model . because models are built for many purposes , with descriptive and predictive as two generic categories , the model purpose entity 404 is meant to answer the question of why the model was built . fig6 a and 6b together show an exemplary physical database schematic of the application component of the apparatus . such a database model is physically instantiated in a production database that is accessible to consuming applications 205 . to facilitate the entry of model metadata into the application , software applications featuring user interfaces may be used . fig7 is an exemplary user interface that may be used in connection with the application for entering model metadata . the following provides an example of how the systems and methods described herein can be used in connection with a business process referred to herein as oysr . by way of background , the oysr model maps a numerical score to customer households with an impending insurance policy renewal , where higher scores correspond to a higher likelihood of a beneficial effect when the proactive activity related to the policy is carried out by an agent . the oysr model runs nightly , and customer households are scored by the model when an auto or property insurance policy within the household is near renewal . in the company &# 39 ; s predictive modeling environment , in this example , a first iteration of the oysr model has been running since 11 / 11 / 2011 . on 03 / 10 / 2012 , the model is to be replaced with an update built using more recent data . the below describes the implementation using the apparatus described herein and a first run of the model . note that , in this example , only features of the apparatus necessary to illustrate functionality are described , and certain other metadata fields are omitted . as future executions depend upon the independent entry in the model table , its information is described first . this information is entered using a user interface , e . g ., as in fig7 , prior to the first execution of the model . in table 1 ( shown in fig8 ), note that the updated oysr model has been assigned model_id = 9 , whereas the previous model edition had been previously assigned model_id = 2 . on the other hand , both models fall under model_group_id = 2 . thus the history of the oysr modeling initiative may be traced back using this field . previous to the first oysr model ( model_id = 2 ) being built , the model group information seen in table 2 ( shown in fig9 ) would have had been filled out . when a business configuration manager fills enters information about the oysr model update ( model_id = 9 ), he sets the business effective dates so that the new model begins on a desired future date , in this case 03 / 10 / 2012 . the model has been built with a language that the model execution engine 201 can parse and process . this code is stored in the location specified by model storage path ( see fig3 b ). this path also includes a schedule in which the model will run . after the business effective start date of mar . 10 , 2012 , stored in the model entity ( table 2 ), the scheduler follows a previously defined schedule , gdw_spss_dly , stored in the model storage path and named in the model instance entity 306 ( see also table 3 , fig1 ). in this example , on 03 / 10 / 2012 , at 3 : 00 am , the schedule is called and the scheduler is invoked , running the job gdw_spss_mdl_oys . this job contacts the model storage host , which collects metadata from the model table and uses information in the repository to generate a model instance id 502 , in this case the string , “ 20120310030017 - 370 - ac18a82d - 116724 .” a secure encrypted copy of the model_instance_id 502 is passed to the model execution engine 201 , serverid , and the model execution engine 201 inserts a record into the model instance table , as seen in table 3 . this includes the start timestamp of the model execution engine ( create_dttm ) as well as that of the initial database insert ( start_dttm ). since the execution has not completed , the field end_dttm field is left null and the status is set to the code “ r ,” for “ running .” at this time , the model execution engine 201 runs the oysr model code as stored in the model storage path . the oysr model includes business logic that queries the database for customer households with policy renewals in the near future ( 45 days or less ). the logic also includes retrieves data elements , e . g . customer tenure , and uses these data elements in a mathematical equation to create a propensity score . the scores themselves are stored in the model instance household output entity and given model_output_type_id = 1 , as shown in table 4 , shown in fig1 . scores of this type are associated with the effectiveness of oysr activities . in addition to the raw model score , a business friendly score is also given , with model_output_type_id = 4 . thus , each of the sample households is associated with two rows instead of one . finally , the business event for the oysr activity is a policy renewal , and the business event date is defined to be the policy renewal date . after all households are scored , the model execution engine 201 writes the final timestamp end_dttm in the model instance table , as well as updating the status to “ c ” for complete , as shown in table 5 , fig1 . messages are sent out indicating a successful completion , and consuming applications may now retrieve scores from the model_instance_hsld_output table , or one of the views in the application layer of the model score consumption mart 308 . the model will continue to run as defined by the schedule in the model storage host . table 6 ( fig1 ) shows the model instance entity after the updated oysr model has run multiple times . exemplary hardware and software employed by the systems are now generally described with reference to fig1 . database server ( s ) 1400 may include a database services management application 1406 that manages storage and retrieval of data from the database ( s ) 1401 , 1402 . the databases may be relational databases ; however , other data organizational structure may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention . one or more application server ( s ) 1403 are in communication with the database server 800 . the application server 1403 communicates requests for data to the database server 1400 . the database server 1400 retrieves the requested data . the application server 1403 may also send data to the database server for storage in the database ( s ) 1401 , 1402 . the application server 1403 comprises one or more processors 1404 , computer readable storage media 1405 that store programs ( computer readable instructions ) for execution by the processor ( s ), and an interface 1407 between the processor ( s ) 1404 and computer readable storage media 1405 . the application server may store the computer programs referred to herein . to the extent data and information is communicated over the internet , one or more internet servers 808 may be employed . the internet server 1408 also comprises one or more processors 1409 , computer readable storage media 1411 that store programs ( computer readable instructions ) for execution by the processor ( s ) 1409 , and an interface 1410 between the processor ( s ) 1409 and computer readable storage media 1411 . the internet server 1408 is employed to deliver content that can be accessed through the communications network , e . g ., by end user 1412 . when data is requested through an application , such as an internet browser , the internet server 1408 receives and processes the request . the internet server 1408 sends the data or application requested along with user interface instructions for displaying a user interface . the computers referenced herein are specially programmed to perform the functionality described herein as performed by the software programs . the non - transitory computer readable storage media may include volatile and non - volatile , removable and non - removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer - readable instructions , data structures , program modules , or other data . computer readable storage media may include , but is not limited to , ram , rom , erasable programmable rom ( eprom ), electrically erasable programmable rom ( eeprom ), flash memory or other solid state memory technology , cd - rom , digital versatile disks ( dvd ), or other optical storage , magnetic cassettes , magnetic tape , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer system . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the exemplary embodiments shown and described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof . it is understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown and described , but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims . for example , specific features of the exemplary embodiments may or may not be part of the claimed invention and features of the disclosed embodiments may be combined . unless specifically set forth herein , the terms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” are not limited to one element but instead should be read as meaning “ at least one ”. it is to be understood that at least some of the figures and descriptions of the invention have been simplified to focus on elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the invention , while eliminating , for purposes of clarity , other elements that those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate may also comprise a portion of the invention . however , because such elements are well known in the art , and because they do not necessarily facilitate a better understanding of the invention , a description of such elements is not provided herein . further , to the extent that the method does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein , the particular order of the steps should not be construed as limitation on the claims . the claims directed to the method of the present invention should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written , and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the steps may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention . | 6 |
this document describes a number of alternative methods to change the configuration of a booster , each focused on specific use cases . in accordance with a first set of implementations , the operator &# 39 ; s signal to be boosted can be selected from a list of available operators . in this first set of implementations , the system presents a user with a list of operator names that constitute the available configurations to which the provider specific booster can be reconfigured . the user then selects an operator name and this information is then used to automatically configure the booster correctly for operation on the selected operator &# 39 ; s network . fig1 illustrates a system and method 100 , in accordance with some implementations , where the user is presented with a list of potential operators 110 the booster 120 can be configured for , as opposed to receiving a configuration file for a specific operator . this list 110 may be presented to the user in many different formats such as a display on the booster 120 , a list on an application running on a handset connected to the booster 120 or a website to which a software application is connected . once the user selects an operator from the list of potential operators 110 , the name of the selected operator and associated configuration information can be transferred 115 to a controller 125 on the booster 120 . the controller 125 uses the information associated with the selected operator to configure the booster 120 appropriately . fig2 illustrates a system and method 200 where the list of available operator names 110 and associated configuration files 135 are stored locally on the booster 120 . initially , a user is presented with the list of available operators 110 on an interface on the booster 120 , a list on an application running on a handset connected to the booster 120 or a website to which a software application is connected . once the user selects an operator whose signal will be boosted and this selection is sent 115 to the controller 125 on the booster 120 , the controller 125 retrieves 130 the corresponding configuration information from a database of operator configurations 135 that is stored on the booster 120 . the controller 125 implements the configuration corresponding to the selected operator so that the operator &# 39 ; s signal is appropriately boosted . fig3 illustrates a system and method 300 where the list of available operator names 110 and associated configuration files is stored outside the booster 120 , for example on a computer that can be connected to the booster for reconfiguration or in a storage cloud 145 from where the configurations can be retrieved . a user is presented with the list of available operators 110 on an interface on the booster 120 , a list on an application running on a handset connected to the booster 120 or a website to which a software application is connected . once the user selects an operator whose signal will be boosted and this selection is sent 115 to the controller 125 on the booster 120 , the controller 125 retrieves 140 configuration information for the selected operator . this configuration information can be obtained from a database or other compilation of configuration information that resides in computational cloud 145 . the computational cloud 145 can provide the information 146 to the controller 125 on the booster 120 . the controller 125 in turn causes the booster 120 to conform to the configuration corresponding to the selected operator . in accordance with a second set of implementations , the operator &# 39 ; s signal to be boosted is retrieved from a device connected to the booster . in this second set of implementations , the name of the operator that the booster is to be configured for is retrieved from a device connected to the booster . for example , a cellular phone can be connected to the booster using a technology such as bluetooth or bluetooth le . using this connection , the booster can retrieve the name of the network the phone is connected to from the phone and configure itself to boost this operator &# 39 ; s network . fig4 illustrates a system and method 400 where the booster 120 interrogates 455 an external device 450 to retrieve its required configuration . the controller 125 on the booster 120 can interrogate the external device 450 and in turn retrieve an operator name 455 from the external device ( e . g . mobile phone , hand held mobile device ). the controller 125 can use the operator name to obtain configuration information . the configuration information can be stored on the booster itself 120 or the information can be stored externally , such as in a computing cloud as shown in fig3 . once the controller 125 has the configuration information , the booster 120 can be made to conform to the configuration parameters for the operator associated with the external device . in alternative implementations , the name of the required network is retrieved from an external device and where the configuration is then retrieved either from local storage on the booster or from a remote location , such as a storage cloud . in yet other implementations , the name of the operator is periodically retrieved from a connected device to ensure that the correct network is always boosted . for example , if the booster is in a car , the booster may travel across an international boundary , causing the phone to go into roaming mode and requiring the booster to automatically reconfigure itself for the new network onto which the phone has roamed . fig5 illustrates a multi - stage information retrieval process 500 where more than one step is needed to retrieve the network name . for example , the booster 120 may be installed in a car and the driver &# 39 ; s phone 450 is synched with an in - car computer 560 . when the phone 450 syncs with the in - car computer 560 , the operator name can be retrieved 455 from the phone 450 . the controller 125 associated with the booster 120 can then retrieve 565 the name of the operator to be boosted from the in - car computer 560 which in turn retrieves this information from the phone 450 . in accordance with a third set of implementations , a sub - configuration can be retrieved . under some conditions , for example when a booster is directly connected to a m2m ( machine to machine ) module , it is not required to boost all the frequencies of an operator . in this case , in addition to retrieving the operator name and configuration of the booster , a sub configuration can be retrieved to allow the booster to only boost the frequencies actually in use by the m2m module as opposed to all the frequencies on which the operator &# 39 ; s signal is broadcasted . what is unique about this method is as follows . fig6 illustrates a system and method 600 where the actual frequencies being used by any cellphone 450 connected to the booster 120 are retrieved 655 , along with the operator name , by the controller 125 . the booster 120 is then configured to boost only those frequencies . in alternative implementations , there is interaction between the phone and the booster so that the booster is informed whenever the phone changes the frequency it is using . such interaction could be via a wired ( e . g . usb or rs - 232 ) or wireless connection ( e . g . bluetooth ). although a few embodiments have been described in detail above , other modifications are possible . other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
as shown in fig1 the snow removing method of the present invention utilizes a vehicle 10 provided with a water tank 11 , a prime mover 12 , a high pressure pump 13 to be actuated by the prime mover 12 , and a high pressure nozzle unit 16 providing a line of a plurality of nozzles 15 ( fig2 and 4 ) mounted horizontally along the lower front of the vehicle 10 . the water stored in the tank 11 is fed through a pipe 17 to the high pressure pump 13 which supplies the pressurized water to the unit 16 through a pressure hose 18 . the driving power of the prime mover 12 is transmitted through a belt 19 to the high pressure pump 13 . the pressure hose 18 is a flexible tube connecting the pump 13 to a nozzle header 20 ( fig2 and 5 ) of the unit 16 . the flexible hose 18 is partly supported by a rigid tubular element 21 extending over the top of the driving cab of the vehicle . the flexible hose 18 may be replaced by a rigid metallic pipe , if desired . in this case , however , it must be able to adjust to each position and angle of the line of nozzles 15 . the vehicle 10 is a conventional truck in fig1 but it may be replaced by other suitable vehicles such as motor cars , electric motor vehicles or diesel engined vehicles . the water tank 11 is filled with water preferably containing an anti - freeze agent in order to enhance the snow - thawing effect produced by the water as well as to prevent the injection nozzles 15 and the hose 18 from being frozen when the vehicle is standing idle . the water tank 11 should be large enough to enable snow removal to take place with the minimum of interruptions for refilling the tank . otherwise , a separate water carrier may be towed behind to replenish the tank 11 as it is used up . the pumping power of the high pressure pump must be sufficient to enable the thickness of snow to be dealt with , that is to be melted by the kinetic energy of the water forced out under high pressure from the nozzles 15 . to melt fresh snow 30 cm deep which has not yet frozen into ice , a pump of 25 ps capacity which is designed to develop 75 kg / cm 2 maximum pressure and to deliver approximately 125 liter / min maximum of water through the apparatus illustrated is utilized . in practice , the pressure required to melt fresh snow 30 cm deep has been found to be in the range of 50 kg / cm 2 to 60 kg / cm 2 , with a water flow of about 100 liter / min . to melt fresh snow 20 cm deep , the water flow may be decreased to 40 liter / min , with the pressure unchanged . to melt fresh snow less than 15 cm deep , the water flow may be further decreased to about 30 liter / min , and the pressure may also be decreased to about 40 kg / cm 2 . if the snow is 20 cm deep and has not yet frozen but has been stamped down by treads of vehicle tyres , about 70 kg / cm 2 to 80 kg / cm 2 water pressure is required with a maximum water rate of 150 liter / min . it is necessary to employ a pump providing a slightly higher pressure to satisfy these conditions . the nozzle unit 16 illustrated in fig2 and 4 has the header 20 equipped with six nozzles 15 and mounted on a support frame 22 . a guide bracket 23 carries the frame 22 in vertically slidable manner thereon , and a mounting attachment 24 hinged to the bracket 23 by supporting pins 24a enables the angle of inclination of the bracket 23 and frame 22 to be altered . between the attachment 24 and the bracket 23 is fitted at least one hydraulic cylinder 25 having a piston 26 , so that the bracket 23 may be adjusted in inclination to a desired angle as shown in fig4 in broken outline . the frame 22 is mounted on a slideway on the bracket 23 and is vertically controllable thereon by a second adjuster also formed by a hydraulic cylinder 28 which is fixedly mounted on an upper lateral member 27 of the guide bracket 23 . it is convenient to utilize the high pressure water available from the pump 13 ( fig1 ) in order to actuate the adjuster cylinders 25 , 28 . for that purpose , hoses 29 , 30 are employed to connect the cylinders 25 , 28 with the pump 13 . the nozzles 15 are disposed in a forward and downward inclination in relation to the header 20 . each of the nozzles 15 provides a flat fantail jet by having its orifice 34 opening into the back of a slit 31 as particularly shown in fig3 . preferably , the divergency angle α of the jet from the nozzle 15 is set at 30 ° to 80 °. each of the nozzles 15 has a threaded tubular shank 32 screwed to the header 20 and a locknut 33 engageable with the shank 32 , so that the most appropriate nozzles 15 for handling the depth and nature of the snow to be cleared can be selected for fitting to the header 20 . since the nozzles 15 are to be used with very high pressure water , the basic parts of them are preferably made of an anti - abrasion material such as sintered hard alloys or ceramics having good wearing properties . to carry out the method of the invention , the nozzle unit 16 is adjusted as shown in fig4 so that the orifices 34 of the nozzles are correctly positioned to provide the optimum water pattern formed by the fantail streams of water b jetted out of the nozzles 15 into the snow a on the ground . the optimum pattern is of stripe shape substantially equal to or slightly wider than the width of the vehicle 10 . further , the discharge angle β of water b to the vertical is preferably set in the range of 20 ° to 30 °, with each nozzle 15 placed in the lowermost position possible in order to maximize the kinetic energy of the water striking the snow . the height h ( fig4 ) of each nozzle 15 from the ground surface g ( fig5 ) should , under normal circumstances , be adjustable within the range of 10 cm to 50 cm . during snow removing operations , the water is jetted out of the nozzles 15 as long as the vehicle is advancing . experiments have proved that with a high pressure pump 13 operating at 60 kg / cm 2 and delivering 100 liter / min of water to the six nozzles which are at a height of 40 cm and produce jets at an angle of 30 °, the vehicle 10 can be driven at a speed of 20 km / h . when snow is removed in the manner as described above , neither snow ploughs nor any other scraper or blade means are utilized , so that there is no fear of damage to the road surface during operation . the method of the invention can also be applied to remove snow frozen in the form of ice plate . in this case , the pressure of the water should be increased to about 150 kg / cm 2 at the nozzles , with a flow rate of 250 liter / min . for this purpose , it is necessary to employ a high pressure pump 13 having sufficient capacity to develop the pressure and flow rates referred to . the running speed ratio of the vehicle 10 in this case should be decreased to about 7 km / h to 8 km / h . further in this case , the water b is unable to melt the ice plate almost instantaneously as is the case with the fresh snow . such ice plate forms usually during the nighttime . by aiming the water b between the ice plate e and the ground g as shown in fig5 the ice plate is violently thrown up from the ground surface g or stripped therefrom enabling it to be subsequently broken up into pieces . the hydraulic cylinder 25 is operated to determine the optimum angle β of the streams of water b which will usually lie in the range of 45 ° to 60 ° to produce initial breaking of portions of the ice plate e away from the ground . thereafter the hydraulic cylinder 25 may be operated to change the angle β to the range 20 ° to 30 ° and the vehicle driven again over the ice to cause the water b to penetrate between the ice plate e and the ground g and force the remaining ice plate away from the road surface . especially in urban districts where traffic volume is rather heavy , the broken pieces of the ice plate e on the ground are quickly broken up further , by the wheels of vehicles , into small pieces which are quickly melted by increase in atmospheric temperature such as occurs after sunrise . the vehicle 10 may have its front portion provided with a suitable covering for protecting it from water jetted against the snow , so that the windshield of the vehicle 10 is not splashed with spray and slush . preferably , the vehicle 10 also has an upper portion of the windshield provided with a mirror ( not shown ) to enable a driver to see how effective the jetted water b is and whether adjustment of either of the angles α or β is necessary . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modification as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 4 |
in describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings , specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity . however , the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected , and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose . the present description provides for the vortex turbine engine also would be known as the apparatus -( a ) 02 : the said ( a ) 02 is a closed area that would have an opening at each one of the narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 at its ambient air intakes , the radiation boiler chamber -( h ) 16 at its air heat outlet , and the flash steam cooling air chamber -( k ) 20 at its cold air outlet . the said apparatus -( a ) 02 comprises of the apparatus - nvchacr -( nv ) 02 nv , the said radiation boiler chamber -( h ) 16 , the cold air cooling chamber -( j ) 18 , the said flash steam cooling air chamber -( k ) 20 , the radiation steam line -( l ) 22 , the steam turbine -( m ) 24 , the drive shaft -( n ) 26 , the return water line -( p ) 28 , the warm water pump -( r ) 30 , the flash thermostatic valve -( t ) 32 , the flash steam line - chamber -( v ) 34 , the flash water pump -( w ) 36 . the said ( nv ) 02 nv comprises of : the said narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 , the narrowing volute generator -( c ) 06 , the fan chamber -( d ) 08 , the cyclone narrowing cylinder -( e ) 10 , the advance narrowing chamber -( f ) 12 , the narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 . the said apparatus - nvchacr -( nv ) 02 nv embodiment portion would be a closed area that would have an opening at each one of the said narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 at its ambient air intakes , the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 at its narrowing tube cold outlet , and the said ( g ) 14 at its adjustable hot outlet valve . the said apparatus -( a ) 02 would contain two or a plurality of the said narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 with each one with an ambient air intake and an ingrained vortex nozzle . each one of the said ( b ) 04 ambient air intakes is set at an angle to advance , generate , forming a vortex within each one of its one of the said ( b ) 04 . the ambient air medium being drawn into each one of the said ( b ) 04 ambient air intakes , the air stream is being drawn in by the said cyclone narrowing cylinder -( e ) 10 . each one of the said narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 converging portion has a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance the vortices intensity . each one of the said ( b ) 04 converging portion has a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance the vortices intensity within each one of it &# 39 ; s one of the said narrowing volute generator -( c ) 06 . each one of the said narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 contains a vortex . each one of the said ( b ) 04 vortex nozzle is set at an angle to advance , generate , forming a vortex within each one of its one of the said narrowing volute generator -( c ) 06 . the said ( b ) 04 with its air stream , the air stream would via its said vortex nozzle . each one of the said ( b ) 04 vortex nozzle with its air stream , the air stream would via it &# 39 ; s one of the said ( c ) 06 . the said apparatus -( a ) 02 would contain two or a plurality of the said narrowing volute generator -( c ) 06 with each one with an ingrained vortex nozzle . there would be the same amount of numbers of the said narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 with its vortex nozzle as there are in numbers of the said narrowing volute generator -( c ) 06 with its vortex nozzle . each one of the said ( c ) 06 converging portion has a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance its vortices intensity . each one of the said ( c ) 06 contains a vortex . the air stream is drawn circumventing into the said narrowing volute generator -( c ) 06 and through its vortex nozzle . the said ( c ) 06 air stream gains velocity while circumventing , being drawn through the said ( c ) 06 and through its vortex nozzle . each one of the said ( c ) 06 vortex nozzle with its air stream , the air stream would via the said fan chamber -( d ) 08 . the said fan chamber -( d ) 08 is connected to the said advance narrowing chamber -( f ) 12 . the said cyclone narrowing cylinder -( e ) 10 joined to and would lay in - between the said ( d ) 08 within its inner wall . the said ( e ) 10 spin on its horizontal - axis between the diameter interior side walls of the said ( d ) 08 . the said ( d ) 08 bottom converging portion being round has a greater diameter than the top portion being round , to enhance its air stream intensity . the said ( d ) 08 with its air stream , the air stream would via the said ( e ) 10 . the said cyclone narrowing cylinder -( e ) 10 converts the mechanical energy from the cylinder motor , to energize the moving air stream . the energy of the said cylinder motor would energize the said ( e ) 10 through its rotating movement . the said ( e ) 10 air holes would energize its rotating movement with an angle to capture the kinetic energy . the said ( e ) 10 would be joined to and would lay in - between the said fan chamber -( d ) 08 within its inner wall . the said ( e ) 10 would be joined to at the bottom of the said ( d ) 08 . the ambient air medium being drawn into each one of the said narrowing spiral tube -( b ) 04 ambient air intakes , the air stream is being drawn in by the said cyclone narrowing cylinder -( e ) 10 . the air stream is then driven by the said ( e ) 10 . the said ( e ) 10 converging portion would have a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance the air flow intensity within the said advance narrowing chamber -( f ) 12 . the said ( e ) 10 with its forward driven air stream , the air stream would via the said ( f ) 12 . the said advance narrowing chamber -( f ) 12 converging portion has a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance the air flow intensity within each one of its narrowing tube air outlets . the said ( f ) 12 would contain two or a plurality of its narrowing tube air outlets . each one of the said ( f ) 12 narrowing tube air outlets converging portion would have a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance the vortices intensity within the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 . each one of the said advance narrowing chamber -( f ) 12 narrowing tube air outlets would be connected to the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 . each one of the said ( f ) 12 narrowing tube air outlets contains a vortex . the said fan chamber -( d ) 08 is connected to the said ( f ) 12 . the said ( f ) 12 with its air stream would be driven by the said cyclone narrowing cylinder -( e ) 10 . the said advance narrowing chamber -( f ) 12 with its air stream , the air stream would via its said narrowing tube air outlets . each one of the said ( f ) 12 narrowing tube air outlets is set at an angle to advance , generate , and helps to form a vortex within the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 . each one of the said ( f ) 12 narrowing tube air outlets with its air stream , the air stream would via the said ( g ) 14 . the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 would separate its compressed air into an air - radiation heat stream and a cold stream . the said ( g ) 14 converging portion would have a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance the vortices intensity , along with its air - radiation heat intensity of the vortex . the said ( g ) 14 contains a vortex . the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 having its temperatures , its temperatures would have a separation effect within its vortex . the said ( g ) 14 , its vortex outer air - radiation heat temperature would separate from its inner cold air . the said ( g ) 14 with its temperatures separation effect would have the said vortex with an outer hot end releasing its air - radiation heat . the said ( g ) 14 with its temperatures separation effect would have its vortex with an inner cold end releasing its cold air . the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 would have an hot narrowing tube outlet at the outer top end of the said ( g ) 14 . the said ( g ) 14 hot narrowing tube outlet converging portion would have a greater diameter than the diverging portion , to enhance the air - radiation heat intensity . the said ( g ) 14 hot narrowing tube outlet would have an adjustable hot outlet valve at the outer top end of the said ( g ) 14 to adjust its air - radiation heat outward flow . the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 with an outer hot end releasing its air - radiation heat , the air - radiation heat would via its hot narrowing tube outlet and would then via its adjustable hot outlet valve . the said ( g ) 14 having its adjustable hot outlet valve with its air - radiation heat , the air - radiation heat would via the said radiation boiler chamber -( h ) 16 . the said narrowing vortex cylinder -( g ) 14 would have an narrowing tube cold outlet near the outer top end of the said ( g ) 14 . the said ( g ) 14 narrowing tube cold outlet be near the inner top end of the said ( g ) 14 . the said ( g ) 14 with an inner cold end releasing its cold air , the cold air would via it &# 39 ; s the said ( g ) 14 narrowing tube cold outlet . the said ( g ) 14 with its narrowing tube cold outlet , with its cold air , the cold air would via the said cold air cooling chamber -( j ) 18 . the said air - radiation heat would be lying within the said radiation boiler chamber -( h ) 16 . the said radiation steam line -( l ) 22 would be lying within the said ( h ) 16 . the said ( l ) 22 with its warm water , the warm water would absorb the latent heat lying within the said ( h ) 16 . the said warm water conversion to stream would be lying within the said ( l ) 22 . the said ( l ) 22 would have a warm water - to - steam conversion . the said ( h ) 16 with its air - radiation heat within , the air - radiation heat would via its air heat outlet . the said ( h ) 16 with its air heat outlet with its air - radiation heat , the now cooler air - radiation heat would exit the said apparatus -( a ) 02 . the said cold air cooling chamber -( j ) 18 with its cold air stream , the cold air stream would absorb the latent heat from the hot water lying within the said return water line -( p ) 28 . the said ( p ) 28 would be lying within the said ( j ) 18 . the said cold air would be lying within the said ( j ) 18 . the said hot water would be lying within the said ( p ) 28 . the said ( p ) 28 would have a hot - to - warm water conversion . the said ( j ) 18 with its cold air , the cold air would via the said flash steam cooling air chamber -( k ) 20 . the said flash steam cooling air chamber -( k ) 20 with its cold air , the cold air stream would absorb the flash steam latent heat lying within the said flash steam line - chamber -( v ) 34 . the said ( v ) 34 would be lying within the said ( k ) 20 . the said cold air would be lying within the said ( k ) 20 . said flash steam heat would be lying within the said ( v ) 34 . the said ( v ) 34 would have a steam - to - hot - warm water conversion . the said ( k ) 20 with its cold - warm air , the cold - warm air would via its cold air outlet . the said ( k ) 20 with its cold air outlet with its cold - warm air , the cold - warm air would exit the said apparatus -( a ) 02 . the said warm water pump -( r ) 30 with its warm water , pumps the warm water to via the said radiation steam line -( l ) 22 . the said ( l ) 22 with its warm water - to - steam conversion , the steam would via the said steam turbine -( m ) 24 . the said ( m ) 24 with its steam flow would generate a rotating motion force , forcing the said drive shaft -( n ) 26 to rotate on its horizontal - axis producing torque . the said drive shaft -( n ) 26 would be joined to , being part of the said steam turbine -( m ) 24 . the said ( m ) 24 would have a steam turning back to hot water conversion . the said ( m ) 24 with its hot steam , the hot water of the steam would via the said return water line -( p ) 28 . the hot water coming from the said ( m ) 24 , this hot water sometimes would flash evaporation ( also known as flash steam ). the said return water line -( p ) 28 with its flash steam , the flash steam would via the said flash thermostatic valve -( t ) 32 with its diverter valve . the said ( p ) 28 with its hot water , the hot water that did not flash evaporate to flash steam would via toward the said warm water pump -( r ) 30 . the said flash thermostatic valve -( t ) 32 with its diverter valve , the diverter valve would divert the flash steam to via the said flash steam line - chamber -( v ) 34 . the said flash steam that would flash evaporation is released by the said ( t ) 32 with its diverter valve . the said ( t ) 32 diverter valve with its flash steam , the flash steam would via the said ( v ) 34 . the said flash steam line - chamber -( v ) 34 with its steam - to - hot - warm water conversion , the hot - warm water would via the said flash water pump -( w ) 36 . the said ( v ) 34 with its steam - to - hot - warm water conversion , the hot - warm water would via the said ( w ) 36 . the said ( w ) 36 with its hot - warm water , pumps the hot - warm water to via the said return water line -( p ) 28 . the said ( w ) 36 would pump this hot - warm water to via the said ( p ) 28 toward the said warm water pump -( r ) 30 . the said return water line -( p ) 28 with its hot water , the water that did not flash to flash steam lying within the said ( p ) 28 would via toward the said warm water pump -( r ) 30 . the said ( p ) 28 with its hot - to - warm water conversion , the warm water would via the said ( r ) 30 . the said warm water pump -( r ) 30 with its warm water , pumps the warm water to via the said radiation steam line -( l ) 22 . the pumping causes a vacuum within the said return water line -( p ) 28 , drawing the said water toward the said ( r ) 30 . the said ( l ) 22 with its warm water - to - steam conversion therefore commence the warm water - to - steam conversion cycle thereat . while the invention is susceptible to embodiment in many different forms , as shown in the drawings and will be described to herein in detail , specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not to be limited to the specific embodiments described . each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention , not limitation of the invention . in fact , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . for instance , features illustrated or described as component of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment . thus , it is intended that the present invention covers such modification and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . it should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to any particular type or style depicted in figure &# 39 ; s and is for illustrative purposes only . although preferred embodiments have been depicted and described in detail therein , it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that various modifications , additions , substitutions and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and these are therefore considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . all water temperatures , pressurized steam , air temperatures , air velocity or air pressures used are an estimate , based on information attained . one of these changes could be without departing from essence present invention , by having other kinds of air moving devices , such as using other kinds of engines , motors or multi - speed turbo fan motors to pull and drive the air stream into and through the apparatus . having the motor placed in other locations , on , within or outside of the apparatus . having the apparatus to use other kinds of , air blower holes or blades . there being other kinds of means to drive the apparatus other than electrically . other kinds of power sources , like using solar energy . use isolation material and formulation to reduce vibrations and dissipate shock energy for the motor and air mover . other change could be having the air intakes or air outlets , placed higher or lower , smaller or larger , more or less of them on the apparatus . there being other kinds of tubes or piping , or more vortexes or other kinds of on - off switches , nozzles , controllers , rate adjusters or other kinds of adjuster . it is not practical to describe in claims all possible embodiments , embodiments may be accomplished generally in keeping with present invention . disclosure may include , separately or collectively , aspects described found throughout description of patent . while these may be added to explicitly include such details . existing claims should construe to encompass such aspects . to the extent methods claimed in present invention are not further discussed . any such methods are natural outgrowths of the system or apparatus claims . therefore , separate and further discussions of the methods are deemed unnecessary . otherwise claim steps implicit in use and manufacture or systems or apparatus claims . furthermore , steps organized in logical fashion and other sequences can and do occur . therefore , method claims should not be construed to include only this order . other order and sequence steps may be presented . notice : subject to any disclaimer , the term of patent is extended or adjusted under 35 u . s . c . 154 ( b ) by 501 days . 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 following scope of the following claims . | 5 |
turning now to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 - 3 , an injection molding apparatus 10 is illustrated . broadly defined , according to fig1 injection molding apparatus 10 has an injection molding machine 12 for injecting molten resin 14 . skilled artisans will appreciate that injection molding machine 12 has a platen 17 supporting a screw cylinder 16 having a tip 18 , a nozzle 20 at the tip 18 and a screw 22 advanceable in the screw cylinder 16 for injecting molten resin 14 from the nozzle 20 . according to fig2 - 3 , the injection molding apparatus 10 of the present invention has a non - metallic injection mold 24 for molding a part ( not shown ). non - metallic injection mold 24 comprises a stationary cavity mold 26 and a movable core mold 28 forming a hollow or first molten resin flow path 30 therebetween for forming an injection molded product therein . core mold 28 is movable by ejector pins 29 arranged in mold 24 for forceably separating the hollow 30 from the core mold 28 . non - metallic injection mold 24 may include various materials such as thermoset materials as well as cast epoxy , stereo lithography urethane and silicone . in the preferred embodiment , the injection mold 24 is constructed of cast epoxy . referring to fig2 hollow or first molten resin flow path 30 extends from the screw cylinder 16 to a terminal end 35 of the hollow 30 . a pressure relief valve 36 is located on the hollow or first molten resin flow path 30 at the terminal end 35 of the hollow 30 . pressure relief valve 36 is adapted to release the molten resin 14 from the first molten resin flow path 30 when the pressure of the molten resin 14 exceeds a predetermined level or value , further discussed below . in fig2 more particularly , pressure relief valve 36 is shown in a first position blocking molten resin flow beyond the terminal end 35 of the first molten resin flow path 30 . in this position , molten resin 14 is retained in the hollow or first molten resin flow path 30 by the pressure of movable pin 42 . the pressure of the molten resin 14 in this position is generally less than a predetermined value determined by the strength of a spring bias 44 ( described below ) biasing movable pin 42 . referring to fig3 pressure relief valve 36 is shown in a second position unblocking the excess molten resin 14 in the hollow or first molten resin flow path 30 thereby enabling the excess molten resin 14 to flow into a second molten resin flow path 38 beyond the first molten resin flow path 30 . in this configuration , the first molten resin flow path or hollow 30 is in fluid communications with the second molten resin flow path 38 . as depicted in fig2 - 3 , the pressure relief valve 36 has preferably a cylindrically shaped body with a movable pin 42 arranged for axial movements in one end 45 . a spring bias 44 is disposed between the movable pin 42 and a base plate 46 that affixes the spring bias 44 under the movable pin 42 in a biasing relations . in the preferred embodiment , an adjustment screw 48 is arranged in the base plate 46 for applying the pre - load to the spring bias 44 . preferably , the entire pressure relief valve 36 is cast into the movable core mold 28 of an epoxy injection mold so that the movable pin 42 extends through the parting line 54 to shut off the second molten resin flow path 38 . the novel and unobvious design of the second molten resin flow path 38 on the surface of the parting line 54 allows the vented molten resin 14 to come out of the mold 24 with the part and then allows the pressure relief valve 36 to reset automatically . skilled artisans will appreciate that pressure relief valve 36 may also be cast in the stationary cavity mold 26 of the mold 24 . referring to fig2 - 3 , pressure relief valve 36 for epoxy injection molds 24 is adjustable by one of two ways . first , the adjustment screw 48 may be adjusted to apply more or less resistance on spring bias 44 . second , the spring bias 44 may be selected having a pre - selected strength , as discussed further below . although either means of adjusting pressure relief valve 36 has advantages over the other , we generally prefer adjusting the adjustment screw 48 to affect the resistance of the spring bias 44 that governs the movements of movable pin 42 . referring again to fig2 - 3 , pressure relief valve 36 is actuated directly by the pressurized , molten resin 14 in the cavity mold 26 . as indicated above , movable pin 42 in the pressure relief valve 36 shuts off the resin escape channel or second molten resin flow path 38 under a predetermined pressure and is held in place by the spring bias 44 . when the cavity pressure exceeds the predetermined pressure limit the movable pin 42 pushes back against the spring bias 44 and allows the excess resin and pressure to escape the mold 24 through the second molten resin flow path 38 or escape channel . not only does this vent the molten resin 14 out of the hollow 30 , but it also reduces the pressure in the cavity mold 26 below the cavity mold failure point . after the part cures ( cools ) in the mold 24 , the mold 24 opens and the part is ejected automatically . the molten resin 14 that flowed into the escape channel or second molten resin flow path 38 is ejected along with the part and the movable pin 42 resets itself automatically , shutting off the second molten resin flow path 38 . we have demonstrated that the test epoxy mold 24 can successfully vent excess molten resin pressure before the cavity mold 26 fails . we were able to accommodate different materials that require different pressures of cavity mold 26 by changing the spring bias 44 in the pressure relief valve 36 and / or adjusting the pre - load on the spring bias 44 , as described . an example of the process for selecting the proper strength spring bias 44 and pre - load adjustment for the cavity mold 26 and molten resin 14 is illustrated in table 1 . according to table 1 , the amount of pressure in the cavity mold 26 appeared fairly constant as a function of the spring bias 44 between minimum and maximum settings . thus , one can select the appropriate spring type to enable ejection molding in the mold 24 at a certain pressure . [ 0030 ] parts list 10 injection molding apparatus 12 injection molding machine 14 molten resin 16 screw cylinder 17 platen 18 tip 20 nozzle 22 screw 24 non - metallic injection mold 26 stationary cavity mold 28 movable core mold 29 ejector pins 30 hollow or first molten resin flow path 35 terminal end of the hollow 30 36 pressure relief valve 38 second molten resin flow path 42 movable pin 44 spring bias 45 one end of pressure relief valve 36 46 base plate 48 adjustment screw 54 parting line | 1 |
the can end of fig1 is a conventional beverage end shell 1 comprising a peripheral curl 2 which is connected to a centre panel 3 via a chuck wall 4 and anti - peaking reinforcing bead or countersink 5 . the centre panel has a score line 6 which defines an aperture for dispensing beverage . a tab 7 is fixed to the centre panel 3 by a rivet 8 , as is usual practice . beads 9 are provided for stiffening the panel . the can end of fig1 when attached by seaming to a can body which is filled with carbonated beverage , for example , is typically able to withstand an internal pressure of 98 psi before buckling , 8 psi above the required minimum buckle pressure of 90 psi . when the pressure approaches and exceeds this value , the circular shape of the periphery of the end will distort and become oval . eventually the centre panel will be forced outwardly so that the countersink “ unravels ” and flips over an arc of its circumference . whilst a can which is buckled in such a manner is unlikely to be acceptable to a consumer , the can end itself is still intact , the tab 7 is still accessible and there is no compromise to the sealing of the container by such failure which could result in leaking of the contents . it has been found by the present applicants , however , that where a container has an end which is , by virtue of its design , substantially stiffer and has greater hoop strength than that of fig1 , the buckle failure mode differs from that described above . such a can end is that of the &# 39 ; 634 patent , shown for reference in fig2 to 4 . the can end 20 is attached to a can body 21 by a double seam 22 , as shown in fig4 . inner portion 23 of the seam 22 , which is substantially upright , is connected to a countersink bead 25 by a chuck wall 24 . the countersink , or anti - peaking bead 25 has inner and outer walls 26 and 27 , the inner wall 26 depending from the centre panel 28 of the end . whilst the higher hoop strength exhibited by this can end is of great importance in maintaining the overall integrity of the container , the mode in which the can fails under severe abuse conditions may be unacceptable and even , on occasion , catastrophic . typical failure modes may compromise the integrity of the can by pin hole ( s ) and / or splitting of the can end . in extreme cases , the centre panel 28 is pushed outwardly by excessive internal pressure . as the panel moves outwardly , it pulls the inner wall 26 of the anti - peaking bead 25 with it . the inner portion 23 of seam 22 is “ peeled ” away from the rest of the seam as the can end is forced out . the explosive nature of this so - called “ peaking ” failure results in the formation of a bird &# 39 ; s beak configuration with a pin hole at the apex of the “ beak ” where the force is concentrated in a single point at the base of the countersink 25 . the applicants have discovered that by providing the can end with a control feature , a preferential “ soft ” peak is obtainable when the can end fails . although this means that the can end may fail at a lower buckle pressure , the softer , less explosive nature of the peak results in a failure mode without pin hole or tearing . the introduction of a control feature thus controls the failure mode and avoids concentration of the forces at a single point . control features in accordance with the invention can take a variety of forms including one or more of the following with reference to fig3 and 4 : a . the radial position of the outer wall 27 of the countersink bead may be increased ; b . the chuck wall 24 may be coined or have indentations at or above approximately the mid - point such that this control feature is at the root of the seam 22 in the seamed can end ( denoted as b ′); c . coining of the inner shoulder ( c ) of the countersink or of the outer shoulder ( c ′); d . a shelf may be made in the outer wall 27 of the countersink bead . when a type d region is at the lower part of the outer countersink wall , this may be equivalent to a type a control feature . higher up the outer wall , a type d region takes the clear form of a shelf . in a preliminary trial of the present invention , the shell of fig2 to 4 was modified by a local groove in the outer wall of the countersink . this groove was ideally adjacent the handle of the tab so that any failure of the can end would be away from the score . positioning either side of the tab or , indeed , at any position around the countersink was also considered possible . the groove was typically about 8 mm in arc length and was positioned approximately half way down the outer wall of the countersink bead , in the form of a shelf . computer modelling has showed that the provision of such a groove resulted in a failure mode similar to that of a conventional can end such as that of fig1 , with no leakage . modelling and bench testing has revealed that even better control of the failure mode was achievable when a pair of grooves were made at the base of the countersink outer wall . a variety of variables were modelled and then bench tested as follows : depth of groove bottom of outer wall * gap between grooves 3 mm to 6 mm radial interference ( depth of 0 . 2 mm to 0 . 4 mm penetration into outer wall ) orientation behind ( handle end of ) tab 60 ° to tab left only 60 ° to tab right only 60 ° to tab left and right * this is equivalent to increasing the radial position of the countersink ( anti - peaking ) bead . in bench testing of a small batch of cans using each of the above combinations , it was found that whilst the majority of cans leaked , the provision of a control feature controlled the position of peaking to the indentation site and all leaks were located on the peaks rather than on the tab rivet or score . in spite of the fact that the cans of the initial trial still leaked on peaking , the application discovered that the incident of leakage was greatly reduced by a combination of types of control features which may , individually , exhibit unacceptable leaking on peaking . the following examples show how the failure mode can not only be focussed on a particular site on the can end but also be controlled such that the can also has acceptable buckle performance . in all of these further trials , cans were heated to 100 ° f . before carrying out the drop tests . can ends were modified in the conversion press by expanding the countersink bead over a 60 ° arc at positions +/− 90 ° of the tab heel . these ends were then seamed onto filled cans and dropped vertically , tab end down , onto a steel plate , the sheet steel being inclined at 30 °. this extreme test is non - standard and tested the cans for severe abuse performance . the tests used the bruceton staircase analysis and results are set out in table 1 , where p = standard peak and ps = peak and score burst . all cans tested peaked at the control feature without splitting . as with preliminary bench testing , the position of peaking was focussed on the indentation site . can ends modified in this way were also tested by pressurising a can to which the end was seamed (“ seamed end test ”). these results are shown in table 2 . whilst the cans all peaked on the indentation site and were still openable after peaking , only 25 % survived testing without leaking on the peak location . further can ends were then modified in the conversion press both by expanding the countersink bead over a 60 ° arc at positions +/− 90 ° of the tab heel , and also by providing a indentation over a 50 ° arc at positions +/− 90 ° in the upper chuck wall . these ends were then seamed onto filled cans and drop tested by dropping vertically , tab end down , onto a steel plate , the sheet steel being inclined at 30 °. the results of the second tests are given in table 3 , where again p = standard peak and ps = peak and score burst . the combination of a countersink bead expansion and indentation in the chuck wall increases the average height at which peaking occurs . the countersink bead expansion was found to act as a trigger and this combination of a trigger and chuck wall indentation controls the peaking better than a countersink bead expansion alone ( example 1 ). can ends modified in this way were also tested by pressurising a can to which the end was seamed (“ seamed end test ”). these results are shown in table 4 . in the results of table 4 , all the cans again peaked on the indentation site and were still openable after peaking . in addition , 100 % survived testing without leaking on the peak location , supporting the applicant &# 39 ; s discovery that by combining two types of control feature , performance in terms of leak - free failure mode is dramatically improved . can ends having an indentation in the upper chuck wall only ( i . e . not in the countersink ) were seamed to can bodies and then pressurised . runs 1 to 8 had a single indentation behind the tab over an arc of about 40 ° to 50 °. runs 1 - 1 to 8 - 8 had indentations at +/− 90 ° and over a 50 ° arc . mean results are given throughout . peak location indicates the incidence of a peak on the control feature . the spacer details explain the degree of indentation in the chuck wall . further trials were conducted to confirm the effect of expansion of the countersink radius and the indentation in the upper chuck wall , both separately and together . unmodified can ends were tested by way of control . the results are shown in tables 6 and 7 . the chuck wall indentations comprised a indentation on each side of the tab , set at 90 ° to the tab . spacer conditions were as in example 3 , but with a 9 mm indent ring spacer ( rather than 8 . 75 mm ). the countersink “ trigger ” comprised a single bead expansion within the arc of the chuck wall indentation and centred on the same diameter ( arc mid - point ). this bead expansion was selected to trigger a peak within the chuck wall indentation as identified in example 2 . the control can ends give very low survival figures in both drop tests and seamed end testing ( set ), i . e . the control can ends leak when they peak . the chuck wall indentation alone gives good hot drop ( 100 ° f .) and set performance but seems to have higher incidence of score bursts during hot drop testing . the countersink (“ c ′ sk ”) bead trigger creates a very symmetric end shape from the hot drop test and is very effective in determining the peak location . the countersink trigger reduces the set performance to 89 psi average , but this is believed to be attributable to the tooling used to create the indentations . in general “ 1 ” means yes and “ 0 ” means no , except in position in which 1 indicates the position of peak on the control feature . further seamed end tests were carried out on both unmodified can ends (“ control samples ”) and can ends having a 360 ° control feature in the form of a shelf in the outer wall of the countersink bead . results of these trials are given in table 8 . buckle pressure performance was well above the 90 psi industry standard for all cans , both standard and modified . only 25 % of the control samples survived testing without leaking , whereas 100 % of the cans having a control feature ( circumferential shelf in the countersink bead ) passed the test without leaking . the invention has been described above by way of example only and numerous changes and / or permutations may be made within the scope of the invention as filed . it should also be noted that the control features of the invention are particularly intended for use on beverage can ends which are to be fixed to a can body and thereby subjected to internal pressure . furthermore , the control features may be used on can ends having any chuck wall angle whether conventional ( less than 15 °) or larger , such as that of the &# 39 ; 634 patent , i . e . 30 ° to 60 °. | 1 |
a yarn spool spindle includes a base having a bearingly mounted blade with a lower spool hub positioned in close proximity to the base . the &# 34 ; filler &# 34 ; or supply yarn is mounted below the spindle and enters the base port and is directed upwardly through the spindle and out of the top of the spindle blade for eventual covering . at the top or open end of the blade a pair of j - shaped grooves or notches are opposingly positioned for engaging the spool retainer . the preferred form of the spool retainer includes a plunger having a barrel with a bore whereby the spindle blade will fit within the bore . a sleeve is slidably positioned along the outside of the barrel of the plunger and a coil spring resiliently connects the sleeve and barrel . an upper spool hub is positioned on the outside of the sleeve and the upper spool hub and plunger are molded from a durable plastic or other suitable materials . a pair of opposingly positioned studs extend radially from the barrel into the bore for cooperative engagement with the slots or grooves located in the spindle blade . the preferred method of retaining a spool on the rotatable spindle includes the steps of placing a spool on the spindle blade and inserting the spool retainer into the spool so positioned . the spool plunger is then depressed and rotated to allow the studs which extend into the bore of the barrel of the plunger to engage the j - shaped slots positioned along the top of the spindle blade . the plunger is then depressed whereby the studs move downwardly into the grooves and the plunger is then rotated in a first direction whereby the studs travel horizontally along the bottom of the j - shaped groove and thereafter the plunger is released whereby the studs move slightly upwardly into the tip of the &# 34 ; j &# 34 ; slots to maintain the spool securely on the spindle . for a more complete understanding of the invention and its method of operation , fig1 shows in exploded fashion spool spindle 10 with an empty yarn spool 11 positioned thereabove and spool retaining means 12 is shown above yarn spool 11 . spindle 10 is of the high speed type and spindle blade 13 may turn at speeds in excess of 20 , 000 rpms when in operation and used for supplying a covering yarn such as nylon , polyester or other synthetic , natural or metallic yarns for covering elastic , metallic , synthetic or natural yarns as desired . spindle 10 may be used along with any other similar type spindles on various types of covering machines such as an omm covering machine as manufactured by officine meccaniche menegatto s . p . a . of monza , italy . spool retaining means 12 is shown enlarged in cross - section in fig2 and includes plunger 19 which is resiliently mounted by coil spring 20 to sleeve 21 . plunger 19 includes barrel 22 which at one end is fitted with vertical stop means 23 consisting of a spring clip which sits within clip groove 24 . stop means 23 prevents excess downward motion of sleeve 21 and stops the movement of sleeve 21 relative to barrel 22 as sleeve bottom area 25 contacts stop means 23 . plunger 19 includes sleeve fastening means 26 which consist of a pair of opposingly positioned cylindrical studs which extend slightly into bore 27 of barrel 22 . plunger 19 also includes top collar 28 and on the outer surface of sleeve 21 near collar 28 is located spool hub 29 which frictionally engages the inner surface of upper rim 30 of spool 11 as seen in fig3 . as would be understood from fig2 sleeve 21 slides along the outer surface of barrel 22 and can freely turn therearound . fig2 demonstrates plunger 19 in a depressed state as for example when engaged with spindle blade 13 as shown in fig4 . in fig1 collar 28 is shown at a greater distance above upper spool hub 29 when compared to fig2 as spool retaining means 12 in fig1 is in its relaxed or extended posture . fig4 depicts plunger 19 in its depressed position whereas fig3 shows spool retaining means 12 in extended fashion . as seen in fig3 blade fastening means 26 requires rotation so that fastening means 26 align with &# 34 ; j &# 34 ; slot 31 on spindle blade 13 . as understood , a pair of &# 34 ; j &# 34 ;- slots 31 are positioned on opposite sides at the top of blade 13 and when plunger 19 is properly aligned , and upon depressing , fastening means 26 ride downwardly into the longer vertical groove of &# 34 ; j &# 34 ;- slot 31 . upon rotation of plunger 19 in a clockwise direction as shown in fig3 fastening means 26 move horizontally across the bottom of the &# 34 ; j &# 34 ; and upon release of pressure from plunger 19 thereafter , fastening means 26 move slightly upward into the tip of the &# 34 ; j &# 34 ;, allowing fastening means 26 to lock into place and providing secure engagement for spool 11 on blade 13 . thereafter , spindle 10 can be rotated at high rpms by belt 33 which is joined to a conventional power source ( not shown ) while spool 11 remains safely in place . to use spindle 10 , a suitably dimensioned yarn spool 11 which may contain polyester or other yarn is placed on spindle blade 13 where it rests on lower spool hub 32 . as seen in fig3 spool 11 has a greater axial length than spindle blade 13 thereby allowing a large capacity of yarn to be wound thereon . spool retaining means 12 is positioned in the top of spool 11 as sleeve 21 can slide downward into spool 10 . plunger 19 is then rotated until blade fastening means 26 &# 34 ; finds &# 34 ; &# 34 ; j &# 34 ;- slot 31 as shown in fig3 at which time plunger 19 is depressed , rotated slightly in a first direction and then allowed to extend upwardly as blade fastening means 26 rises within the tip of &# 34 ; j &# 34 ;- slot 31 . with spool retaining means 12 so engaged , spindle 10 can then be driven by a convention belt 33 as shown in fig3 . once spool 11 is depleted of yarn , the power source or drive means ( not shown ) which turns belt 33 is disengaged and the operator can easily remove empty spool 11 by depressing plunger 19 with slight finger pressure , rotating it in a second direction and allowing coil spring 20 to extend plunger 19 upwardly . thereafter spool retaining means 12 is extracted from spool 11 and a filled yarn spool is then placed on spindle blade 13 and the method of securing the spool is repeated . the doffing time of a typical covering machine can be reduced 75 % with this invention thereby increasing the productivity of the machinery as it provides more time for covering yarn along with reducing operators &# 39 ; fatigue and eliminating damage to the outer layers of yarn . various changes and modifications can be made to the invention by those skilled in the art and the examples and illustrations which are shown are merely for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
in modem cmos processes chemical mechanical polishing ( cmp ) in conjunction with tungsten ( w ) plugs is used to create flat surfaces for metal deposition . this technique has allowed many metal layers to be used in making an integrated circuit . it is not uncommon for cmos processes with cmp to have 3 , 4 , 5 or even 6 levels of metal . this fact can be used to create block oriented memory arrays with sub - word lines in a more efficient manner than that of aforementioned prior art . fig3 shows a diagram of the improved invention for the case in which there are 3 levels of metal . the word line inverter driver 108 of fig1 has been divided into 2 inverters 300 and 301 each of which drive half of a row of cells . inverter 300 drives the sub word line 302 of the block of cells 313 nearest the row decoder and the second inverter 301 drives the row of the block of cells 314 furthest from the row decoder . the poly word line 303 of the first block is strapped to the metal 2 line 302 at appropriate points along the poly word line as in the case of fig1 . the poly word line 304 of the second block is correspondingly strapped by metal 2 305 and is connected to metal 3 306 which routes over the metal 2 302 of the first block . via 307 is used to connect the metal 2 strap 305 of block 2 ( 314 ) with the metal 3 line 306 . in a cmp process the placement of the via 307 can be almost anywhere along the metal 2 strap 305 and does not require the cell array to be broken or to have a gap . the block select / word line driver function is performed by a circuit described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 723 , 229 . the central word line decoder is comprised on a high fan in nand gate 312 and two inverters , 300 and 301 . the word line driver inverters 300 and 301 are adapted to perform what is in effect a nor function so that either of the two word line inverters 300 and 301 can be disabled by the block select addresses 310 and 311 . this function is in part created by applying or removing vdd or the positive power to the inverters 300 and 301 via 310 and 311 . bs1 311 is the block select 1 signal and bs2 310 is the block select 2 signal which is the compliment of bs1 311 during a read or write operation . to enable the word line 302 of block 1 the row decoder &# 39 ; s nand gate 312 must output a logic 0 . if bs1 311 is high then inverter 300 is able to pull the word line 302 to vdd thus enabling or selecting all of the cells along that word line in block 1 . meanwhile , bs2 310 remains at ground potential thus preventing word line 305 from going to vdd from vss . the nfets 308 and 309 connected to word lines 305 and 302 are used to hold the word lines low in the deselected state . thus , these transistors 308 and 309 connect to the complimentary select signal . when bs1 311 is high bs2 310 is low which keeps nfet 309 &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; thus allowing word line 302 voltage to rise to vdd and nfet 308 is &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; which maintains word line 305 in the low state . when both blocks are de - selected bs1 and bs2 can be held in the high logic state or vdd thus forcing all word lines to vss or ground . the area requirements for the above partition of the row word line is relatively small . the cell array area is unchanged from the non partitioned array shown in fig1 . the driving inverter of the row decoder inverter 108 of fig1 is partitioned into two inverters 300 and 301 with a small additional area being required for more interconnect . also , pull down nfets 308 and 309 have to be added to the row decoder circuit but can be made small since the inverter &# 39 ; s nfet of 300 or 301 will provide for the rapid discharge of the word line after the data read or write operation . the block select lines 310 and 311 can be routed over the row decoder in metal 3 . additional circuitry is required in the periphery to drive the block select lines . the signal for the block select lines can come from one of the column address bits . the size of inverters 300 and 301 may be of slightly different sizes to compensate for the different word line capacitances of the two blocks so as to equalize the word line delay . in should be pointed out that most semiconductor processes will allow line 306 to be routed in metal 2 along with the vdd metal strap and the word line strap 302 since three metal lines can easily fit into the sram cell &# 39 ; s row pitch . thus , a two block arrangement can be typically made as shown in fig3 with only two levels of metal . fig4 shows a diagram of an sram array with 4 selectable blocks with each block containing 4 polysilicon sub word lines 418a , 418b , 418c and 418c , strapped with metal 2 . in this example the word line 418a of block 400 is routed directly with the metal 2 416 used to strap the poly sub word line . for block 401 the connecting line 415 for word line 418b is routed over block 400 in metal 2 along side the metal 2 word line strap of block 400 . for block 402 the connecting line 414 for word line 418c is routed over blocks 400 and 401 in metal 3 . finally , for block 403 the connecting line 413 for word line 418d is routed over blocks 400 , 401 , and 402 in metal 3 and runs along side connecting line 414 in blocks 400 and 401 . via &# 39 ; s 417a and 417b provide connections between the metal 3 lines 413 and 414 and the metal 2 word line straps 418c and 418d , respectively . there are four word line inverter drivers 404 , 405 , 406 , and 407 connected to the output of each row decoder nand 408 . there are also 4 nfet pull down devices 409 , 410 , 411 , and 412 connected to each word line . the gate of any given nfet pull down device can be connected to any block select line other that the block select line associated with the inverter &# 39 ; s output which is connected to said nfet &# 39 ; s drain . this is possible since only one of the four block select lines can be selected at a time with the other three in the de - selected or ground state . it can be appreciated that there are a number of metal line combinations that can be used to realize selectable blocks along a word line using the aforementioned method . as mentioned previously , this word line block partitioning technique can also be applied to roms and drams were there are sufficient layers of metal available in relation to the desired number of blocks in order to achieve lower array power dissipation . because of the smaller row pitch of roms , the number of blocks that can be achieved relative to the number of metal layers is less than that of the sram array . | 6 |
carboxylic acids such as citric acid and lactic acid in solution tend to be mildly oxidized if mixed with solutions containing an oxidant , such as fe 3 − , when exposed to light . according to the invention the irreversible reaction of oxidation is catalyzed irradiation with ultraviolet light ( uv ). the photochemical process consists in the reduction of fe 3 + to fe 2 + , evolution of carbon dioxide and formation of oxidation products . in the case of lactic acid the reaction is as follows : ch 3 choh — cooh + 2fe 3 + → ch 3 coh + 2fe 2 + + co 2 + 2h + ( 1 ) according to a first preferred embodiment of this invention , this method uses this type of reaction to determine the lactic acid , using as a detection system of fe 2 + produced the compound 1 , 10 - phenanthroline : the reaction of fe 2 + with 1 , 10 - phenanthroline gives a red - orange colored complex , which allows the spectrophotometric measurement exploiting the absorption of a monochromatic light beam of wavelength in the range from 480 - 525 nm , preferably to 512 nm , which is the wavelength of maximum absorption of the fe 2 − - 1 , 10 - phenanthroline complex . this absorption is proportional to the concentration of the complex and , thus , by using calibration tables , to the concentration of lactate in the biological fluid . in addition to 1 , 10 - phenanthroline , other substances that may complex the fe ( ii ), and then allow the determination of fe ( ii ) in a simple and cheap way are : hexacyanoferrate ( iii ) or ferricyanide [( fe ( iii )( cn ) 6 ] 3 − ( yellow ) reacts with fe ( ii ) to give ferrous ferricyanide fe 3 [( fe ( iii )( cn ) 6 ] 2 ( blue ) that in the presence ferricyanide in excess gives a green colour solution ; the alfa ′- dipyridyl [ i ] forms a soluble , red complex that absorbs at 525 nm . the dimethylglyoxime [ ii ] reacts with ammonia solutions of fe ( ii ) forming a red , soluble complex . nickel interferes in this essay to form a red insoluble complex . the reagent composition and methods for detecting lactic acid and lactate described in this invention can be used in assays of conventional liquid . all reagents may be supplied in powder form and reconstituted with water immediately before use . reagent composition of this type are clearly included in the present invention . suitable amounts of all components of the assay described in this invention may , of course , be embedded in a matrix of adsorbent material of different nature in order to give rise to qualitative or semi - quantitative assays of lactic acid or lactate . typical materials suitable for the analysis of lactate or lactic acid are , for example , polymers , tissues and other materials are described in the following patents u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 092 , 465 , 3 , 418 , 099 , 3 , 418 , 083 , 2 , 893 , 843 , 2 , 893 , 844 , 2 , 912 , 309 , 3 , 008 , 879 , 3 , 802 , 842 , 3 , 798 , 064 , 3 , 298 , 739 , 3 , 915 , 647 , 3 , 917 , 453 , 3 , 933 , 594 , 3 , 936 , 357 , 7 , 476 , 202b2 and other therein cited . furthermore , the reagent composition and methods described in the present invention are of particular utility when the determination of the analyte is carried out on multilayer elements such as those described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 992 , 158 , 7 , 871 , 568b2 and other therein cited . the method described in this invention can be used to determine lactic acid or lactate in biological fluids ( sweat , serum , plasma , liquor , urine , saliva , amniotic liquid . . . ) by means of various procedures of analysis and instrumental configurations : a ) impregnating the fe ( iii )/ 1 , 10 - phenanthroline mixture onto known multilayer material such as those cited above . in this case a drop of the solution to be analyzed is placed in the plate wells with a drop of reagent , or onto filter paper or other material previously impregnated with the reagent at a concentration established . only after irradiating with uv light an orange stain is formed due to the reduction of fe ( iii ) to fe ( ii ) by the lactate and the complexation of fe ( ii ) with 1 , 10 - phenanthroline ; b ) adding the fe ( iii )/ 1 , 10 - phenanthroline mixture onto sorbent material on which sweat , for example , has been previously collected , or in other device for the collection of sweat , and irradiating with uv light ; c ) spectrophotometric cuvette or in elisa plates using a solution of fe ( iii )/ 1 , 10 - phenanthroline at a suitable concentration and uv light ; e ) liquid chromatography analysis ( hplc ) coupled to on line post - column derivatization with fe ( iii )/ 1 , 10 - phenanthroline mixture and uv irradiating . advantageously , these preferred embodiments of the method of setting - up the reagent make possible to determine lactic acid using low cost reagents , stable for years . the 1 , 10 - phenanthroline costs , for example , 4 . 54 / g . thus , the cost of reagents , 1 , 10 - phenanthroline and solution of fe ( iii ) 10 g / l is of the order of 0 . 002 / test unit . the cost of the enzymatic reagents is orders of magnitude higher and their stability is limited to 6 - 12 months . we report below several examples which are not intended to be exhaustive of all possibilities of composition included in the scope according to this invention . a ) a low cost led370e ultra bright deep violet led ( thorlab , germany ); fig6 shows their emission spectra of a ) a low cost led370e ultra bright deep violet led ( thorlab , germany ) ( dash ); b ) uv lamp for nail gel curing ( solid bold ); c ) high pressure hg lamp ( short dash ); d ) low pressure hg lamp ( thin solid ); e ) usb lamp ( dash - dot - dot ). table 1 summarizes the results expressed as variation of the signal of 3 mm lactate with respect to the blank measure solution ( δ in mv ). the best results were obtained with high pressure lamps and with led370e . in the latter case a longer irradiation time ( 120 sec instead 60 sec ) gave better results due to the small focused irradiation area and the need of homogenizing by stirring 1 ml of sample . this apparent drawback is an advantage when small drops of samples have to be irradiated in suitable devices . usb lamp having an emission spectrum in the 400 - 700 nm range ( visible ) did not show any activation ability . thus the best irradiation wavelength to activate the lactate / fe ( iii ) reaction is in the range 300 - 400 nm . test in cuvette using colorimetric / spectrophotometric analysis : analysis of lactate in human sweat a ) standard solution of 15 mg / ml ( 15 , 000 ppm , or 83 . 3 mm ) 1 , 10 - phenanthroline . this solution is prepared by dissolving 75 mg of powder in 1 ml of ethanol and adding 4 ml of water ; b ) standard solution of 10 g / l ( 10 , 000 ppm , or 179 mm ) fe ( iii ) in 0 . 1 m hno 3 ; c ) standard solution of 1 . 31 m lactic acid ( obtained by diluting 100 μl of lactic acid l6402 sigma - aldrich - fluka , molecular weight 90 . 08 , density = 1 . 2 mg / ml in 900 μl of deionized water ). a ) and b ) solutions are diluted and mixed in quartz cuvette in order to get a solution with the following composition : 5 mm 1 , 10 - phenanthroline + 5 mm fe ( iii ) (( d ) solution ). thus , increasing concentrations of lactic acid are added to solution d ) by performing suitable dilutions of solution c ). solution d ) containing lactic acid ( 0 . 3 mm for example ) is irradiated with uv lamp of type b ) for 60 seconds . fig1 shows uv / visible spectra of solution d ) ( a curve ) of solution d )+ 0 . 3 mm lactic acid before ( b curve ) and after ( c curve ) irradiating with a uv lamp of type b ) for 60 ″. solution d ) without lactic acid is yellow . after the addition of 0 . 3 mm lactic acid and irradiation with a uv lamp of type b ) for 60 ″ the solution becomes orange - red . fig2 shows the kinetics ( absorbance at 512 nm vs . reaction time ) of the reaction between 0 . 3 mm lactic acid and the reagent solution ( d ) after irradiating with a uv lamp of type b ) for 60 seconds . from fig2 it results that the absorbance value after 10 min reaches 90 % of the maximum plateau value . thus , 10 min reaction time has been selected to perform the calibration curve . fig3 shows the calibration curve obtained by plotting the absorbance values at 512 nm of solutions containing increasing concentration of lactic acid after reacting with the reagent solution d ) and uv irradiation with uv lamp of type b ) for 60 ″, analyzed 10 min after their preparation . the method shows a linear dynamic range between 0 . 05 and 1 mm lactic acid ( in the linear part of the fitting parameters are : slope = 2 . 21 mm − 1 ( sd = 0 . 116 ), r 2 = 0 . 9864 , n = 6 ). the limit of quantification ( loq ) is 0 . 05 mm . the precision is 3 . 1 % ( percent coefficient of variation ). the proposed method was applied to the determination of lactic acid in sweat of athletes subjected to physical exercise . the concentration of lactate in plasma is generally less than 2 mm , while in sweat it ranges between 10 and 15 mm or more . a part of this comes from the metabolism of sweat glands as a product of glycolysis . the other part comes from the plasma lactate and , accordingly , follows lactate variations as a result of physical activity . a ) each determination requires from 20 to 500 mg of sweat . the eccrine sweat is collected during exercise from the lower back , for example , but it can be collected in other areas of the body . in the specific example , sweat is collected onto filter paper ( 42 whatman ashless , n . 1442070 , diameter 70 mm ) kept in position during exercise by means of an adhesive patch during the time established for the sampling . alternatively , the sweat can be collected with other methods already adopted in the medical practice , for example through capillary devices ; b ) in the case of the sampling method that uses filter paper , the sweat is extracted with 1 . 5 - 3 ml of deionized water to obtain a 1 : 10 dilution , approximately . if sweat is collected as is using capillaries , it must be diluted about 10 times with deionized water ( 100 μl + 900 μl of water ); c ) 100 μl of diluted sweat solution are added to 900 μl of reagent ( i . e . the 5 mm 1 , 10 - phenanthroline + 5 mm fe ( iii ) mixture , solution d ), thus obtaining a concentration value included in the dynamic linear range of the method ( 0 . 05 - 1 mm ). d ) the diluted sweat + reagent ( solution d ) mixture is then transferred into a cuvette for spectrophotometric analysis ( volume 1 ml ), and irradiated with a uv lamp of type b ) for 60 ″. after 10 minutes reaction time the absorbance at 512 nm of the solution is read in a spectrophotometer or colorimeter . e ) the spectrophotometer is set at a wavelength of 512 nm and calibrated with a blank solution ( solution ( d ) without sweat sample added , irradiated for 60 ″ with the uv lamp of type b ), analyzed after 10 min from irradiation ). after this , the absorbance of the sample solution is measured . table 2 shows as an example the results of the concentration of lactic acid found in two samples of human sweat , compared with the value of the concentration of lactic acid found by chromatographic method ( hplc ). the values were corrected taking into account the dilution factor ( 10 × 10 = 100 ). the results show an accuracy of 88 % and 115 % for the two samples 1 and 2 , respectively . these values of accuracy are good , taking into account that currently no certified method for sweat analysis are reported . test in cuvette using colorimetric / spectrophotometric analysis : analysis of lactate in human saliva a ) standard solution of 15 mg / ml ( 15 , 000 ppm , or 83 . 3 mm ) 1 , 10 - phenanthroline . this solution is prepared by dissolving 75 mg of powder in 1 ml of ethanol and adding 4 ml of water ; b ) standard solution of 10 g / l ( 10 , 000 ppm , or 179 mm ) fe ( iii ) in 0 . 1 m hno 3 ; c ) standard solution of 1 . 31 m lactic acid ( obtained by diluting 100 μl of lactic acid l6402 sigma - aldrich - fluka , molecular weight 90 . 08 , density = 1 . 2 mg / ml in 900 μl of deionized water ). a ) and b ) solutions are diluted and mixed in quartz cuvette in order to get a solution with the following composition : 5 mm 1 , 10 - phenanthroline + 5 mm fe ( iii ) (( d ) solution ). thus , increasing concentrations of lactic acid are added to solution d ) by performing suitable dilutions of solution c ). solution d ) containing lactic acid ( 0 . 3 mm for example ) is irradiated with a uv lamp of type b ) for 60 seconds . b ) 100 μl of saliva are added to 900 μl of reagent ( i . e . the 5 mm 1 , 10 - phenanthroline + 5 mm fe ( iii ) mixture , solution d ), thus obtaining a concentration value included in the dynamic linear range of the method ( 0 . 05 - 1 mm ). c ) the saliva + reagent ( solution d ) mixture is then transferred into a cuvette for spectrophotometric analysis ( volume 1 ml ), and irradiated with a uv lamp of type b ) for 60 ″. after 10 minutes reaction time the absorbance at 512 nm of the solution is read in a spectrophotometer or colorimeter . d ) the spectrophotometer is set at a wavelength of 512 nm and calibrated with a blank solution ( solution ( d ) without sweat sample added , irradiated for 60 ″ with the uv lamp of type b ), analyzed after 10 min from irradiation ). after this , the absorbance of the sample solution is measured . the lactate concentration value found in saliva sample was 2 . 1 ± 0 . 07 mm , taking into account the dilution correction factor ( 1 : 10 ). five squares were cut from a common patch , impregnated with 200 μl of the reaction mixture ( ie the 5 mm 1 , 10 - phenanthroline + 5 mm fe ( iii ) mixture , solution d ) and were allowed to dry . then 100 μl of solutions of increasing concentration of lactic acid ( 0 , 0 . 325 , 3 . 25 , 6 . 5 , 65 mm ) were deposited on each square , irradiated with a uv light of type b ) for 60 ″. more intense colors correspond to samples containing higher concentrations of lactic acid . this procedure can be used in a qualitative manner to show , for example , an exceeding level of lactic acid in sweat during training , compared to a threshold value , or in a quantitative manner wherever the mixture can be physically adsorbed or chemically bound to a support and integrated in any disposable diagnostic test strips for portable reader ( similar to those used for the measurement of blood glucose in diabetics ), or by processing the image in terms of color intensity after scanning . according to a further way of implementing this invention , a suitable concentration of the solution of fe ( iii ) required for the photochemical reaction of lactate described in this invention can , of course and conveniently , be incorporated in a matrix of sorbent material to get disposable test strips suitable for the quantitative determination of lactic acid or lactate with physico - chemical techniques , such as electrochemical techniques . according to a preferred set up , disposable electrochemical strips soaked with the reagent solution and the biological fluid to be analysed are appropriately irradiated with uv light and then subjected to electrochemical tests using portable meters commercially available , modified in order to provide a sample holder to irradiate the sample with uv light for a selected time . electrochemical techniques has been successfully used for the determination of lactic acid or lactate in biological fluids , such as sweat , serum , plasma , urine , saliva , using various analytical procedures and instrumental configurations : a ) in a potentiometric cell built with a platinum electrode and a calomel reference electrode , adding a suitable concentration of the fe ( iii ) solution to the lactic acid solution , and carrying out the measurement after irradiating with uv light the mixture ; b ) in a potentiometric cell built with a platinum microelectrode and a reference ag / agcl microelectrode in series in a flow injection system ( fig4 ), adding a suitable concentration of the fe ( iii ) solution to the lactic acid solution , and carrying out the measurement after irradiating with uv light the mixture ; c ) supporting a suitable concentration of the fe ( iii ) solution onto an impregnating or multilayer material . in this case a drop of the sample solution containing lactate is added / sucked for capillarity on the material previously impregnated with the reagent . a ) standard solution of 10 g / l ( 10 , 000 ppm , or 179 mm ) fe ( iii ) in 0 . 1 m hno 3 ; b ) standard solution of 3 . 7 m lactic acid ( obtained by diluting 5 g of lactic acid from carlo erba in 15 ml total deionized water , molecular weight 90 . 08 , density = 1 . 21 g / ml ). solution a ) must be suitably diluted in order to obtain a 5 mm fe ( iii ) solution ( solution c ). thus , increasing concentrations of lactic acid obtained by appropriate dilutions of the solution b ) are added to solution c ). each solution c ), containing increasing concentrations of lactic acid , are irradiated with a uv lamp of type c ) for 60 seconds . the measure system is a potentiometric cell built with a calomel reference electrode ( hg | hg 2 cl 2 | cl − ) and a platinum working electrode connected to a digital reader of the difference of potential in mv . fig5 shows the calibration curve obtained from the values of the difference of potential ( mv ) recorded in 8 solutions containing increasing concentration of lactic acid ( 0 , 0 . 25 , 0 . 5 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 10 , 50 , 100 , 150 , 200 mm ) after the reaction with the solution c ), irradiated with a w uv lamp of type c ) for 60 ″ and analyzed immediately after preparation . the calibration curve ( difference of potential vs . the logarithm of the concentration of lactate ) shows a discontinuity in the linearity between 5 and 10 mm and is linear between 0 . 25 and 10 mm lactate ( fig5 b ) and between 10 and 200 mm acid lactic ( fig5 a ). the latter is the range of lactate concentrations typically found in human sweat at rest and during intense exercise . to detect lower concentrations for example in human blood is appropriate to use the calibration curve of fig5 b . table 3 summarizes the parameters of data fitting in the range 0 . 25 - 5 and 5 - 10 mm lactate of calibration curves ( difference of potential vs . the logarithm of the concentration of lactate ). b ) standard solution of 3 . 7 m lactic acid ( obtained by diluting 5 g of lactic acid from carlo erba in 15 ml total deionized water , molecular weight 90 . 08 , density = 1 . 21 g / ml ). solution a ) must be suitably diluted in order to obtain a 5 mm fe ( iii ) solution ( solution c ). thus , increasing concentrations of lactic acid obtained by appropriate dilutions of the solution b ) are added to solution c ). each solution c ), containing increasing concentrations of lactic acid , are irradiated with a uv lamp of type c ) for 60 seconds . the measure system employed is a potentiometric cell schematized in fig5 , with an on line injection system of the liquid sample ( 4 ) and a waste tubing ( 5 ), built with a silver reference microelectrode ( ag / agcl ) ( 1 ) and a platinum working microelectrode ( 2 ) ( models 16 - 702 and 16 - 705 modified , respectively , microelectrodes , inc ., bedford , n . h .) electrically connected to a digital reader of the difference of potential in mv ( 3 ). the calibration curve is obtained by plotting the values of the difference of potential ( mv ) measured in various solutions containing increasing concentration of lactic acid ( between 0 and 10 mm ) after reacting with the solution c ) prepared at two different fe ( iii ) concentration levels ( 1 and 5 mm ), irradiated with a w uv lamp of type c ) for 60 ″ and injected into the system just after preparation . calibration curves ( difference of potential vs . the logarithm of the concentration of lactate ) are linear between 0 . 1 and 5 mm lactate . table 3 summarizes the values of the linear fitting of data . the limit of quantification of lactate ( loq ) is 0 . 1 mm . the precision is 2 . 2 % expressed as percent coefficient of variation ( cv %). table 4 reports the parameters of data fitting of calibration curve ( difference of potential vs . the logarithm of the concentration of lactate ) in the range 0 . 1 - 5 mm lactate a ) each determination takes from 20 to 500 mg of sweat . the eccrine sweat is collected during exercise from the lower back , for example , but it can be collected in other areas of the body . in the specific example , sweat is collected onto filter paper ( 42 whatman ashless , n . 1442070 , diameter 70 mm ) kept in position during exercise by means of an adhesive patch during the time established for the sampling . alternatively , the sweat can be collected with other methods already adopted in medical practice , for example using capillary devices ; b ) in the case of the sampling method that uses filter paper , the sweat is extracted with 1 . 5 - 3 ml of deionized water to obtain a 1 : 10 dilution , approximately . if sweat is collected as is using capillaries , it must be diluted about 10 times with deionized water ( 100 μl + 900 μl of water ); c ) 5 . 6 μl of reagent ( i . e . 1 mm fe ( iii ) are added to 1 ml of diluted sweat solution . d ) then , the diluted sweat + 1 mm fe ( iii ) mixture is irradiated with a w uv lamp of type c ) for 60 ″ and injected in the fia apparatus that includes the two microelectrodes . the difference of potential value is recorded by a pc . e ) the procedure also requires the measurement of a blank solution ( 1 or 5 mm fe ( iii ) solution without sweat sample added ), irradiated with a w uv lamp of type c ) for 60 ″ and analyzed immediately after irradiation . the measure duration is less than 1 minute . this instrumental configuration has the advantage of requiring only a small volume of sample solution ( 0 . 5 - 1 ml of diluted sweat solution ) table 5 shows as an example the results of the analysis of lactic acid found in three samples of human sweat , compared with the value of the concentration of lactic acid found in the same samples with the chromatographic method ( hplc ). the values were corrected taking into account the dilution factor ( 10 × 10 = 100 ). the determination of lactate in urine is performed by diluting the urine 1 : 1 with deionized water using the analyte additions technique , i . e . by spiking the diluted urine samples with known amounts of analytes . the analyte additions curve is obtained by plotting the values of the difference of potential ( mv ) as a function of lactic acid concentration found by injecting the solutions after uv irradiation with a w uv lamp of type c ) for 60 ″. a . increasing concentrations of lactate from standard solution in the range 0 - 5 mm are added to 1 ml of diluted urine ( 1 : 1 ). thus , 28 μl of reagent solution ( i . e . 5 mm fe ( iii )) are added . b . the diluted urine ( spiked or not with lactate standard solution )+ 5 mm fe ( iii ) mixture is irradiated with a w uv lamp of type c ) for 60 ″ and injected in the fia system that includes the two reference and working electrodes . thus , for each solution the difference of potential values are measured . the concentration of lactate in the urine sample was determined from the intercept value on x axis of the linear plot difference of potential ( mv ) vs . lactate concentration added ( analyte additions technique ). in the urine sample examined from healthy volunteer the endogenous concentration of lactate was below the detection limit ( 0 . 03 mm ) ( curve fitting parameters : intercept of y axis = 5 . 67 ± 2 mm ; slope =− 5 . 3 ± 0 . 7 , r 2 = 0 . 926 ). | 6 |
high velocity metal forming ( hvmf ) provides a means for producing products which would otherwise be prohibitively expensive or complex using traditional manufacturing methods . in order to incorporate hvmf as a reliable manufacturing method , hvmf coils must be designed to produce uniform and repeatable results after hundreds of work cycles . for example , desirable coil design requirements include : the ability to withstand repeated discharges from a capacitor bank ; compatibility with products that will be produced using hvmf ; generation of a uniform force ; minimal or no arcing during capacitor discharge ; ease of manufacture , including use of traditional manufacturing methods . compatibility means that the materials from which the actuator is fabricated can in large part be determined by the type of metal to be formed by the coil . upon activation of the electromagnetic actuator by providing a current pulse from a capacitor bank controlled by a suitable actuator controller , the intense electromagnetic field of the actuator generates a repulsive electromagnetic force between the actuator and the workpiece . the magnitude of the repulsive force is a function of a variety of factors including the conductivity of the workpiece and , where an inductive coil is employed as the actuator , the number of turns of the actuator coil . an actuator can be driven by the controlled periodic discharge of a capacitor , generating short , high voltage , high current electrical discharges through a conductive coil of the actuator . the hvmf actuator of the invention may assume a variety of configurations including those that comprise an inductive coil . suitable inductive coils include those that are configured as a multi - loop coil that is substantially helical . it is further contemplated that suitable helical coils may define a variety of geometries including substantially circular , ellipsoidal , parabolic , quadrilateral , and planar geometries , and combinations thereof . the hvmf actuator of the invention can be operated to yield strain rates of about 1000 / sec , or at least about 500 / sec , or at least about 250 / sec , or at least about 100 / sec , and sheet velocities exceeding about 50 msec , or at least about 25 m / sec , or at least about 10 m / sec . at such strain rates and sheet velocities , many materials that typically exhibit low formability at lower strain rates and sheet velocities transition to a state of hyper - plasticity characterized by relatively good formability . aluminum , aluminum alloys , magnesium , and magnesium alloys are good examples of such materials . in many instances , materials deformed according to the present invention also exhibit reduced springback , where a deformed material tends to return partially to its original , un - deformed shape . as a result , it is often not necessary to compensate for springback in the deforming process . a first embodiment of the invention is an actuator , which is a coil assembly , for use in high velocity metal forming comprising an inner coil and an outer coil . the inner coil generally has the shape of a flattened helix , and the outer coil includes a cavity therein . the inner and outer coils are generally coaxial . leads connect the inner coil to an outside electrical power source . a resin coats the inner coil , and the inner coil is situated inside the cavity of the outer coil such that the inner and outer coils are not in electrical contact with one another , and such that the cavity of the outer coil is substantially filled with the resin . the inventors hereof believe that the use of a flattened helix is important to generate a non - uniform magnetic field ( leading to non - symmetric forming operations ) as opposed to a cylindrical helix , which generates a uniform magnetic field leading to symmetric forming operations . a preferred embodiment is a uniform pressure activator (“ uactivator ”) which carries out non - symmetric forming of metals and other compositions . a second embodiment of the invention is a process for making a high velocity metal forming ( hvmf ) actuator assembly wherein the assembly comprises an inner and an outer coil , the process comprising : a . forming a hole through a block of conductive metal or alloy having x , y , and z dimensions , said hole being formed in the z dimension ; b . beginning at the hole , cutting out a continuous central portion of the block corresponding to a desired inner dimension of an inner coil , said cutting being substantially parallel to the z - axis ; c . cutting out a further portion of the block parallel to the z - axis to form an inner coil , the remainder constituting an outer coil having a cavity ; d . machining angled notches in a + z portion of the inner coil at regular intervals along the x - axis , said angled notches being cut at an angle of 0 to 90 ° from the x - axis ; e . machining straight slots in a − z portion of the inner coil , said straight slots being substantially parallel to the y - axis , to afford an inner coil ; f . contacting the inner coil with a solution capable of removing surface oxidation therefrom ; g . inserting the inner coil into the cavity of the outer coil , and h . filling the space of the cavity of the outer coil and surrounding the inner coil with a resin . yet another embodiment of the invention is a process of forming metal comprising : ( a ) selecting a workpiece having a composition , ( b ) selecting a compatible hvmf actuator assembly including a power source , ( c ) selecting a forming die , ( d ) spatially arranging the workpiece , coil assembly , and die , and ( e ) applying power to the power source of the coil assembly to deform the workpiece . other embodiments of the invention include a hvmf actuator made by any processes disclosed elsewhere herein and processes of forming metal using any hvmf actuator assembly disclosed elsewhere herein . such inventive forming processes include non - symmetrical forming processes . metal . generally , any conductive metal or alloy can be used to form the actuator of the invention . copper typically has the best combination of conductivity and toughness required to withstand the forces generated in electromagnetic forming . however , when coupled with beryllium , the resulting beryllium - copper alloy (“ becu ”) displays improved strength and durability . for example , the actuator of any embodiment of the invention may include about 0 . 1 to about 2 wt % beryllium and about 95 to about 99 . 5 wt % copper , preferably about 0 . 2 to about 0 . 7 wt % of beryllium and about 97 to about 99 wt % copper . more preferably , the actuator of the invention is fabricated from becu alloy 3 from brush wellman inc ., elmore , ohio . generally , the electrical conductivity ( i . e ., the metal used ) of the workpiece will dictate the material from which the actuator is fabricated . this relationship falls under the concept of “ compatibility .” whatever metal is used , the inventors have discovered that fabrication of an actuator of the invention by cutting the inner coils from a single block of metal ( or alloy ) helps to ensure generation of a uniform magnetic field . dies . many non - conductive dielectric materials may be used as dies for forming or shaping thin metal workpieces . polycarbonate and phenolic plastics , for example , are suitable materials . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the die is comprised of a ceramic such as aluminum oxide . ceramics are especially suitable owing to their high mechanical strength and high heat conductivity compared to most dielectric materials such as glass or plastic . this feature of ceramics can be beneficial for metal forming which involves a high repetition rate for the metal forming pulses as is required in any economically feasible ( i . e ., high - volume ) production process , for example , in the fabrication of aluminum beverage containers . because both electrical energy dissipated by the coil and kinetic energy transferred by the workpiece must be absorbed by the die , the rate of heat transfer out of the system through the die can limit the pulse repetition rate . die materials which are good conductors of heat are therefore especially preferred . holders . the apparatus of the present invention may also include a workpiece holder to hold the workpiece during forming . such a workpiece holder may be in the form of a male or female mold body defining a mold shape against which the metal workpiece is deformed . the apparatus may also have a workpiece holder which comprises a first half adapted to fit along a third side of the actuator ( where the return conduits are on respective first and second sides ) so as to hold the metal workpiece between the actuator and the first half , and a second half adapted to fit along a fourth side of the actuator opposite the third side . the workpiece holder may also be the outer coil itself . the workpiece may alternatively be secured in a position over the die cavity by clamping devices or vacuum holding devices , or by means of a magnetic holding system . dielectric coating . a variety of dielectric materials may be used to coat the inner coil , thus preventing electrical contact between the inner and outer coils . for example , glasses , ceramics , enamels , and plastics . a slurry , paste or frits — of glass , ceramics or enamels — may be coated by conventional means onto the inner coil , such as by dipping , spray drying , doctor blading , etc . the coil is then heated sufficiently to fuse the frits into a cohesive coating layer . dielectrics including batio 3 , sio 2 and transition metal oxides , and combinations thereof , may be used for this purpose . other possible dielectric coating materials include thermoplastics such as fluoropolymers , polyethylenes , polyesters ; thermoset powder coatings ; 2k epoxy systems ; dual cure systems ; mixtures of epoxies with other resins ; lower temperature curable epoxies ; and uv - curable epoxies . in a preferred embodiment , the dielectric material comprises a bisphenol - a epoxy resin . in particular , the dielectric material may include a nine - type bisphenol - a epoxy resin and a one - type bisphenol - a epoxy resin . the weight ratio between the nine - type bisphenol - a epoxy resin and the one - type bisphenol - a epoxy resin may be about 6 : 1 to about 2 : 1 , preferably about 5 : 1 to about 3 : 1 and more preferably about 4 : 1 . the dielectric material may advantageously further comprise a cross linker . a preferred crosslinker includes a urea - formaldehyde resin . the weight ratio of the bisphenol - a epoxy resin ( s ) to the crosslinker is about 10 : 1 to about 2 : 1 , preferably about 8 : 1 to about 4 : 1 , and more preferably about 6 : 1 . in a preferred embodiment , the dielectric coating includes at least one bisphenol - a epoxy resin . in an especially preferred embodiment , a ratio of about 4 parts of a nine - type bisphenol - a epoxy resin to 1 part of a “ one type ” bisphenol - a epoxy resin is used . the resins are crosslinked with a urea - formaldehyde resin . the ratio is about 6 parts epoxy to one part urea - formaldehyde resin , the ratio based on solids . for the overall dielectric coating formulation , including bisphenol - a resins and crosslinkers , a large portion is the solvent , for example about 40 to about 80 wt %, about 50 to about 75 wt % or about 50 to about 70 wt %. in a preferred embodiment , the formula is approximately 55 % solvent with a ratio of three parts dpm to one part glycol ether eb . four percent of the solvent is a 3 to 1 ratio of n - butanol and ethanol in which the urea - formaldehyde crosslinker is dissolved . useful peroxide curing - agents include methyl ethyl ketone peroxide , hydroperoxide , paramenthane hydroperoxide , t - butyl hydroperoxide , diisopropyl benzene hydroperoxide , and combinations thereof . in a preferred embodiment , the dielectric composition is a reaction product of four constituents with a crosslinking agent and an epoxy curing agent , as follows : constituent a ( resin ) ( 16 . 7 wt %) is a low molecular weight solid epoxy resin derived from a liquid epoxy resin and bisphenol - a having an epoxide equivalent weight of 525 - 550 . the liquid epoxy resin is a condensation product of 2 , 2 - bis ( p - glycidyloxphenyl ) propane with 2 , 2 - bis ( p - hydroxyphenyl ) propane and similar isomers . constituent b ( epoxy resin ): ( 16 . 7 wt %) is the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol - a ( 100 % wt ) having a maximum epichlorohydrin content of 1 ppm . constituent c ( glycidyl ester ): ( 16 . 7 wt %) is glycidyl neodecanoate ( 99 . 9 %) having a maximum diglycidyl ether content of 1000 - 1500 ppm . constituent e ( crosslinking agent ): ( 3 wt %) is a liquid form of hexamethoxymethylmelamine (& gt ; 98 % non - volatile ). constituent f ( epoxy curing agent ): ( 2 wt %) is a low molecular weight solid epoxy resin ( epoxide equivalent weight 525 - 550 ) including 2 , 2 ′, 2 ″- nitrilo - tris - ethanol ( 65 - 80 %), piperazine ( 20 - 35 %) and n - aminoethylpiperazine ( 10 - 20 wt %). the coils are dipped in the dielectric coating composition and cured at 300 ° f . for 30 minutes . physical testing performed on the so - coated coils includes pencil adhesion , scribe , mek rubs , and impact testing . epoxies having product numbers such as cm - 300 , gb - 112 , js - 003 , js - 013 , and js - 017 , available from allchem industries of gainsville , fla . such epoxies may optionally be diluted with a solvent such as an alcohol or ether , or aromatic hydrocarbon solvent . for example suitable solvents include toluene , xylene , phenol , methanol , ethanol , propanol ( all forms ), butanol ( all forms ), glycol , glycol ethers , and glycol ether dibenzoate . any form of the named alcohols and aromatic compounds ( including n -, iso -, tert -, ortho -, meta -, and para , each where applicable ) are envisioned . particularly preferred are toluene and n - butanol . encapsulant / infiltrant . thermoplastics , elastomers , and thermoplastic elastomers (“ tpes ”) can be used to fill the space between the inner and outer coils of the invention , as well as , in certain embodiments , completely surround the outer coil . the fill is useful for absorbing forces generated by the coil , heat dissipation , and acting as an insulator ( dielectric ), between the inner and outer coils . useful thermoplastics include polypropylene , polyethylene , nylon , and polycarbonate , among others . an advantage of thermoplastic fill is that , if the coil or the thermoplastic fill becomes damaged or deformed , the thermoplastic may be heated to melt it away . the coil can then be repaired , and / or new thermoplastic may be injection molded to form a fresh resin fill . thus , the life of the coil can be extended , because the fill is sacrificial and replaceable . elastomers are also suitable as the fill resin of the invention , for example thermosetting polyurethane elastomers and toluene diisocyanate terminated polyether prepolymers . the elastomers may be cured . useful fill elastomers include urethanes , polyesters , silicones , isocyanurates , acrylates , rubbers , epoxides , polyamides , and novolaks . the rubber may be any of silicone rubber , nitrile rubber , epdm , epm , isoprene , neoprene , butyl rubber , and combinations thereof . in a preferred embodiment , the elastomer comprises thermosettable urethane . for curable elastomers , suitable curing agents include peroxides , acid - catalysts , and phenolic - formaldehyde resins . specific suitable commercially available polymer resins and curing agents include adiprene ™ lf - 950a , and vibracure ™ a133 , respectively , both available from chemtura corporation , middlebury , conn . the same solvents involved in thinning and spreading the dielectric coating may be used with respect to applying the plastic encapsulant . machining process . the coils of the hvmf actuator assembly of the invention are generally formed from a single block of metal or alloy . it is believed that this provides the coils of the invention with the capability to generate a stable , uniform magnetic field , as well as long cycle life . referring now to fig2 , a finished hvmf actuator of the invention is shown . the major components of the finished assembly include inner coil 240 , outer coil 300 , leads 400 and resin fill 500 . referring now to fig3 , a block of conductive metal 10 , preferably a becu alloy is shown . the block 10 is preferably in the shape of a right rectangular solid , however cubes or other right - elliptical solids are possible . the block 10 may also be a sphere , or other solid shape , however in such case , processing steps are unnecessarily complicated . however , for ease of reference , it is assumed that block 10 is a right rectangular solid having dimensions along the x , y and z axes . on a flat face 20 of block 10 in the xy plane are drawn or otherwise inscribed intended machining paths 30 . machining paths 30 include inner coil core machining path 40 and inner coil external machining path 50 , and outer coil internal machining path 55 . as seen in fig4 , at a suitable point along or near path 40 , a hole 60 is drilled as a starting point for the machining generally , the hole is drilled in a direction through the block that is perpendicular to the long axes ( i . e ., straight sides ) of the coil loops and parallel to the length of the coil as seen from loop to loop . in the case of the right rectangular block 10 , the hole 60 is drilled parallel to the z axis . more than one hole may be so drilled , e . g ., holes 60 and 65 . a wire edm ( not shown ) is used to cut along inner coil core path 40 . the inner coil core 200 can be removed from block 10 for further finishing . electric discharge machining is a process involving an electrode to create a hole or threads in a metal workpiece . wire electrical discharge machines ( wire edms ) are machine tools in widespread use for precision metal cutting . continuous wire edms generally comprise a special electrical discharge wire that is stretched between two guides . the electrical discharge wire extends completely through the workpiece . as the wire and the workpiece are brought into close proximity an arc is struck . the wire and workpiece are moved relative to one another so that the straight wire advances through the workpiece . as the wire is consumed it is slowly moved past the workpiece so that a fresh piece of wire is continuously presented to the workpiece as cutting proceeds . the workpiece is generally immersed in a cutting fluid such as , for example , deionized water . one advantage of a continuous wire edm process is that the electrode is automatically and continuously replenished as it is consumed . the cut is thus maintained at a predetermined size . a disadvantage of the conventional continuous wire edm process is that it can not be employed to form a blind hole . a special type of electrical discharge machine involves an electrode of finite length , which is advanced into a workpiece to form a blind hole . this is sometimes referred to as “ sinker ” edm technology . the electrodes can be of any desired cross - sectional configuration , including , for example , round , square , rectangular , hollow , or the like . the cross - section of a hole formed by this sinker edm technology is generally substantially the same as that of the electrode . in general , the efficient operation of sinker electrodes requires that the electrode be mounted for automatically controlled reciprocal movement relative to the workpiece . the formation of a slot with sinker edm technology generally requires that the cross - section of the electrode be the same as the cross - sectional shape of the slot . there are practical limits to how long a thin blade like electrode can be and still retain its accuracy . this substantially limits the length of the slots that can be formed with sinker electrodes . a wire electrical discharge machine such as that available from mc machinery systems , inc ., ( mitsubishi ) of wood dale , ill . is suitable herein . it will be appreciated that cutting and machining can be carried out with cnc , laser and conventional metal cutting techniques as known in the art . referring again to fig4 , the inner coil 240 is next cut from the block 10 by wire edm following path 50 . looking to fig5 a , the remainder of block 10 is now considered to be outer coil 300 , having cavity 305 , from which inner coil 240 was removed . outer coil 300 has , in the x - dimension , an inner long side 350 with length l , and semicircular end 320 having inner radius r . as seen in fig5 b , which is a view along line 5 b ′- 5 b ″ in fig5 a , a rectangular opening 330 runs the entire z - dimension length of the outer coil 300 parallel to the xz plane . opening 330 also has width l , which corresponds to the dimension of inner side 310 . as shown in fig6 - 8 , the inner coil 240 is further machined to form loops . first , fig6 shows that angled notches are cut out of the inner coil 240 . for each loop of the coil , an angled notched portion 250 having angle a with respect to the long side 210 of the loop is cut out . the angled notches may be cut at an angle of 0 ° to 90 ° relative to the x - axis , preferably about 5 ° to about 85 °, and more preferably about 10 ° to about 80 ° relative to the x - axis . the resulting angled cuttings 250 are discarded or otherwise reprocessed . the angled notches may be triangular or have the shape of a trapezoid . if a trapezoid , the width w ( 260 ) of the rounded end 220 is constant around the circumference . looking to fig7 , the angled slots 270 are machined out , thereby connecting the notches . in fig8 , the inner coil 240 is rotated and straight slots 265 are machined into the inner coil 240 . the straight slots 280 are machined essentially in the xy plane . spacing 350 between the coil loops may be greater than , less than , or the same as width w ( 260 ). preferably , the spacing between the loops is uniform . all of the aforementioned cutting may be performed by cnc milling or machining , wire edm , laser , or other suitable means . fig8 and 9 show the finished inner coil 240 , which is then cleaned by immersion in a dilute acidic solution , and then dipped in , or otherwise coated in at least one layer of a dielectric material and cured or fused as appropriate . fig1 shows an end - on view of a finished coil . other suitable cleaning solutions include a mixed h 2 so 4 — h 2 o 2 solution and ridoline ®, commercially available from henkel corporation , of rocky hill , conn ., usa . care must be taken to ensure that the inner coil is free of surface defects , burrs , chips , etc . such defects would serve as points of origin of arcing or stress fractures of the coil or electrical arcing as the coil will both generate and be subject to great tensile stress . hence the inner coil must be highly polished . as shown in fig1 and 11 , leads 400 are connected to each end of the internal coil 240 . care must be taken to ensure that the leads do not come into contact with any part of the coil other than the ends to which they are connected . the connection may be by brazing or by a mechanical connection . the leads may be formed of any conductive metal so long as it can be electrically and physically connected with the metal from which the coils are formed . preferably , the leads are formed of the same metal or alloy as the coils . connector . alternatively , as shown in fig1 - 13 , a connector 600 ( or 700 ) can be used to secure leads 400 to the ends of coil 240 . connector 600 is designed such that a lead 400 can attach to an end of a coil 240 distal to a power source without contacting the coil at any other point . a variety of shapes and sizes for connector 600 are possible but a critical factor is that connector 600 provides the only contact point between coil 240 and leads 400 . keeping in mind the shape of the axial ends of a coil as shown in fig1 - 11 , a connector must accommodate both the electrical lead 400 , generally a cylinder , and a portion of the long side 210 of a terminal loop of coil 240 . in particular , an embodiment of connector 600 , as depicted in fig1 , has a sidewall 610 and a curved top wall 620 . sidewall 610 includes a circular cutout forming circular receiver 630 . circular receiver 630 may be an entire circular cutout of sidewall 610 such that lead 400 inserted there into is fully surrounded by the receiver . alternatively , circular receiver 630 may be a partial circle ( a semicircular channel , or a channel having greater or less than half the circumference of a circle ) to allow the insertion of lead 400 . top wall 620 extends from trailing edge 650 along a relatively flat plane to a curved plane 670 terminating in leading edge 660 . curve 655 and leading edge 660 are situated such that in the embodiment of fig1 a , side wall 610 appears to be a stylized ocean wave . in fig1 and 13 , the connector 600 , 700 has a height 605 , 705 which is generally less than the sum of the coil loop thickness 290 plus twice the inner coil radius 295 , the latter two as shown in fig5 c . the length 690 , 790 of connector 600 , 700 is less than the length of the straight portion of coil end 220 signified by 225 in fig7 . inner width 680 , 780 ( fig1 b and 13b ) of engaging portion ( 640 , 740 ) of connector 600 , 700 corresponds to the width of a coil , ( w ) 260 , in fig8 . the “ two - sided ” connector 600 may optionally include a mounting tab 645 extending inward from , and running the length of , sidewall 610 . mounting tab 645 will advantageously extend into engaging portion 640 of connector 600 in order to more securely mount this two - sided embodiment of the connector on inner coil 240 . the length 690 of connector 600 is not especially critical , but should be less than the sum of l + r as shown in fig5 a . an alternative embodiment of connector 600 is shown as reference numeral 700 in fig1 . reference numerals for features of connector 700 analogous to those of connector 600 have 100 added to the reference numeral thereof . connector 700 has a first sidewall 710 , a second sidewall 780 and a curved top wall 720 . sidewalls 710 and 790 include a circular cutout forming circular receiver 730 . circular receiver 730 may be an entire circular cutout of sidewalls 710 and 780 such that lead 400 inserted there into is fully surrounded by the receiver . alternatively , circular receiver 730 may be a partial circle ( a semicircular channel , or greater or less than half the circumference of a circle ) to allow the insertion of lead 400 . top wall 720 extends from trailing edge 750 along a relatively flat plane to a curved path 770 terminating in leading edge 760 . the curve 770 and leading edge 760 are situated such that in the embodiment of fig1 a , side walls 710 and 790 appear to be a stylized ocean wave . broadly speaking , a connector of the invention may be a “ two - sided ” connector as depicted by reference numeral 600 , or a “ three - sided ” connector as depicted by reference numeral 700 . one side may be curved , and the channel receiving an electrical lead may be semicircular . coil construction . to continue the process of making the hvmf coil of the invention , coated inner coil 240 is inserted back into outer coil 300 , as schematically shown in fig1 . the straight slots 270 ( fig7 ) are located closest to the rectangular opening 330 in outer coil 300 ( fig5 b ). the inner coil 240 is shimmed within the outer coil to ensure no contact between the two and an equidistant separation between the inner and outer coils . an infiltrant , preferably a polymeric material or resin 500 is injection molded into the rectangular opening 330 ensuring full coverage of the inner coil 240 and interior cavity 305 of outer coil , thus transforming the assembly of fig1 to the finished actuator of fig2 . after the entireties of the cavities of the inner and outer coils are full of resin , the resin is cured , either thermally or chemically . such resin may also be molded or otherwise formed around the entire outer coil as well as inside the internal spaces . the infiltrant 500 serves to physically stabilize the position of the inner coil 240 and it electrically insulates the inner coil 240 from the outer coil 300 . the entire assembly of inner and outer coils , leads and cured resin is now the hvmf actuator of the invention , and is ready for use . a benefit of the invention is that , in processing workpieces with intricate designs and / or stampings — instead of requiring the use of both male and female dies , which wear out quickly and drive up production costs — the hvmf actuator of the invention can be used together with a female die alone . the female die is stationary , and the hvmf actuator accelerates the workpiece to strike the female die thereby forming the stamped design . actuator assemblies of the invention have been run over 1000 cycles without failure . prior art coil designs using metal windings ( instead of coils machined from a block of metal ), have experienced failure after a single work cycle . cooling . with hvmf , and emf in general , high temperatures can be generated , thus necessitating a need for cooling . u . s . pat . no . 3 , 842 , 630 suggests a method of cooling an electromagnetic forming apparatus by routing coolant through channels machined inside the coil . u . s . pat . no . 3 , 195 , 335 discloses pumping coolant to the turns of an electromagnetic forming coil . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 875 , 964 discloses methods and apparatus for cooling an emf actuator using liquid and / or gaseous coolant to disperse heat generated during emf operations . in the simplest case , air can be used to cool the assembly . power source . the power source may be selected from any power source capable of providing an electric current pulse of sufficient strength and duration to induce a work - force appropriate to form the workpiece into the desired shape . such parameters are well known to those skilled in the art . examples include current pulses in the range of 5 ka - 100 ka for times in the range of 1 - 100 milliseconds . for instance , the power source may be in the form of a charged capacitor bank . pulsed power sources such as those available from pulsar magnetic pulse systems , of yavne , israel , are suitable . a magnetic pulse system includes an operator panel , a control cabinet , a pulse generator , and a work station , where the magnetic field is applied to the workpiece . a cooling system is advantageously included because of high temperatures generated . method of forming metal . the hvmf coils of the invention are used to form metal workpieces . a workpiece may be formed directly , that is , by application of a current to a hvmf actuator , thereby inducing an electrical field in an adjacent workpiece , and setting up a magnetic field in the workpiece opposite to that of the actuator . the workpiece field includes eddy currents having associated therewith a magnetic field that is repulsive to that of the coil . this natural electromagnetic repulsion is capable of producing very large pressures that can accelerate the workpiece at high velocities ( typically 1 - 200 meters / second ). this acceleration is produced without making physical contact with the workpiece . the electrical current pulse is usually generated by the discharge of a capacitor bank . it can provide : improved formability , improved strain distribution , reduction in wrinkling , active control of springback and the possibility of local coining and embossing . when used for direct forming , a capacitor is discharged through the inventive coil herein . the interaction between the helical coil and a tubular metal workpiece produces a repulsive magnetic force between them . the pulse forces the workpiece onto a die . in a single operation , the workpiece is shaped in response to the die . a metal workpiece can also be perforated by direct forming . when used for indirect forming , a capacitor is discharged through a flat coil . the flat coils produce a powerful magnetic field , which impacts on a transducer (“ shock cone ”). elastic media disposed along the workpiece applies a uniform pressure over the workpiece and the latter is pressed onto a die . an embodiment of the invention is a process of forming metal comprising : selecting a workpiece having a composition , selecting a compatible hvmf actuator including a power source , selecting a forming die , spatially arranging the workpiece , actuator , and die , and applying power to the power source of the actuator to deform the workpiece . “ selecting a compatible hvmf actuator ” may include ( 1 ) determining the composition of the workpiece , ( 2 ) selecting a metal from which to make the actuator based on necessary deforming forces to be applied to the workpiece , and ( 3 ) fabricating an actuator . it may be advantageous to apply at least a partial vacuum to the area contiguous with the workpiece to remove moisture - laden air from area around coils to promote a more stable and uniform magnetic field . a continuous feed apparatus may be included in the processing steps herein . indeed , two continuous feed rolls set up perpendicular to one another can advantageously improve throughput speeds as well as consistency of finish of the formed product . in particular , the hvmf process of the invention may advantageously employ a production line including a hydraulic press . in fig1 a , a workpiece production line 800 includes , in addition to a hvmf actuator ( or up actuator ), which is equivalent to 100 in fig2 , a hydraulic press 810 , power source 820 , a workpiece source roll , exemplified by uncoiler 830 , at least one workpiece 840 , a workpiece feed system 845 , at least one backing sheet (“ driver ”) 850 , including a magnetically susceptible metal ( for use when non - magnetically susceptible workpieces are processed ) an optional driver handling system , typically a source roll and collection roll to hold used drivers . power source 820 for the hvmf actuator may include a capacitor bank and associated power couplings . a forming operation envisioned herein may include one or more emf steps and one or more physical forming steps , an example of which follows . as noted in fig1 b , workpiece feed system 845 indexes a plurality of workpieces 840 from uncoiler 830 between press head 812 and press bed 814 of press 810 . for an emf operation , up actuator 870 is activated by application of electric power from power source 820 . the up actuator 100 produces a transient magnetic field that induces eddy currents in the workpiece 840 ( or driver 850 ). the currents in the actuator 870 and the workpiece 840 travel in opposite directions , thereby applying a deformation force to the workpiece 840 , forcing it against the surface of the press head 812 such that the workpiece assumes the shape of the press head to provide a formed part . for physical forming , press head 812 moves toward press bed 814 , forcing workpiece 840 into contact with press bed 814 , and causing workpiece 840 to assume a shape complimentary thereto . if workpiece 840 is non - magnetic ( non - conductive ), a magnetic ( conductive ) backing sheet (“ driver ”) 850 is used . close up views of press 810 , feed system 845 , and driver ( s ) 850 are shown in fig1 b . drivers 850 originate at a driver source roll 852 and are taken up on driver collection roll 854 . drivers 850 are indexed perpendicular to the feed direction of workpieces 840 . because the applicable magnetic forces are repulsive , a driver 850 is positioned between a workpiece and the up actuator , while the workpiece is between the driver and a press head 812 or other die . when the up actuator is energized , the repulsive magnetic forces induced in the driver 850 carry the workpiece 840 away from the up actuator and toward the press head 812 or other die , thereby forming said workpiece . in such case , driver 850 is directly deformed by the magnetic strike and indirectly deforms workpiece 840 into the desired shape . backing sheet collection roll 854 takes up the series of used backing sheets 850 . depending on the severity of the deformation energy , backing sheets 850 may be used more than once , thereby saving costs . broadly , a variety of forming methods are envisioned herein . for example . one or more emf “ strikes ” may be used to form a metallic workpiece , in particular , a metal bipolar plate , as used in fuel cells . alternately , a combination of one or more emf strikes and one or more mechanical forming strikes may be used . specifically , a forming line could be established that employs in a continuous or non - continuous manner one or more emf forming coils and one or more conventional forming operations , such as , for example a mechanical press . it is believed that emf may also be used to apply a membrane electrode assembly ( mea ) materials to a workpiece , in particular , to a bipolar plate . in general , forming , joining , and coating of workpieces ( e . g ., bipolar plates ) is envisioned , also when the workpieces are stored on a source roll or an uptake roll , before or after processing . emf may also be used to effectuate joining of two workpieces , for example , at least one bipolar plate to another workpiece . other joining techniques envisioned include solid state welding , solid state brazing using deposition of a nano - particulate metal ( noble or other metal ), formation of an interference joint , and combinations of the foregoing . combinations of up actuators and traditional emf actuators may be used . another process envisioned is the formation of rolls , strings , strips or sheets of continuous and adjoining workpieces , where the workpieces are easily separable from the toll . that is , formation of perforations at period intervals along the length of a roll of workpieces to facilitate easy tear - off , conceptually similar to a roll of paper towels . another embodiment of the hvmf actuator of the invention is depicted in fig1 , which includes fig1 a and 16b . fig1 a is a schematic end view of am embodiment of the invention , in particular inner coil 900 ( similar to inner coil 240 previously described ). fig1 b is a close up of a portion of the view of fig1 a . fig1 b focuses on an embodiment of coil 900 including three attachment points 910 , used to secure a triangular truss 1000 , shown in fig1 b . preferably , truss 1000 is made of a non - magnetic material and serves to enhance and maintain the structural integrity of inner coil 900 as well as to hold inner coil 900 within an outer coil such as outer coil 300 . truss 1000 includes attachment points 1010 corresponding to coil attachment points 910 . attachment points 910 may take the form of male protrusions that fit into correspondingly sized truss attachment points 1010 . one or more such trusses 1000 may be used within a single actuator . in one embodiment , a plurality of trusses 1000 are distributed among the individual turns of coil 900 , preferably at regular intervals . in such case , the trusses 1000 are secured to the coil 900 by one or more non - magnetically susceptible rods or connectors . such rods may extend a portion or the entire length of coil 900 . such rods are advantageously fabricated out of a high - melting plastic such as polycarbonate or abs . inner coil 900 generally rests within an outer coil such as 300 , from which inner coil 900 is cut , as previously described . the assembly of inner coil 900 and outer coil 300 may rest within a container , an example of which is container 1200 , fig1 a . the container may generally take the shape of a rectangular box having at least one removable end piece 1300 , in fig1 c . one embodiment of a removable end piece 1300 includes a flat rectangular portion 1320 on which a generally oval / elliptical portion 1330 having a greater thickness than 1320 is situated . oval portion 1330 takes the same general shape and size of an end face of coil 900 . in principle , end piece 1300 is machined from a single block of material ( or so molded ). end piece 1300 may advantageously include connections 1310 drilled into or through it , corresponding to truss connecting points 1010 and inner coil connection points 910 . at least one aforementioned connecting rod may pass through all of 910 , 1010 , and 1310 to lend added structural integrity to an entire inner / outer coil assembly . end piece 1300 may also include through holes 1340 generally situated to allow the passage of leads from a power source ( not shown in fig1 , but similar to leads 400 in fig2 , 10 , and 11 ). it is noted that dimensions in the drawings are exemplary and do not limit the invention . additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and illustrative example shown and described herein . accordingly , various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general invention concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 1 |
the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of this invention is formed by a novel process in which a mixture of a cobalt ( ii ) salt , a dioxime , an olefinic component and a lewis base is treated with molecular hydrogen under pressure of 0 . 7 to 70 kg / cm 2 . the cobalt ( ii ) salt , dioxime , olefinic component , and the lewis base are reacted in a molar ratio of 1 : 2 : 1 : 1 . typically , the hydrogen is under a high pressure of 14 to 70 kg / cm 2 , preferably , 18 to 30 kg / cm 2 unless a lewis base of an imidazole , phosphine or phosphite is used . if such a lewis base is used , the hydrogen pressure can be reduced to 0 . 7 to 14 kg / cm 2 preferably , 1 to 2 kg / cm 2 . typical treatment time with hydrogen under pressure is 0 . 5 to 5 . 0 hours , preferably 4 to 6 hours . typical reaction temperatures are − 20 to 50 ° c . and preferably 17 to 30 ° c . particular advantages of the novel process are that the yields are high , i . e ., 70 % and over and that the purity is high , 80 % and over , of the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate formed . typical cobalt ( ii ) salts that can be used are acetates , nitrates , chlorides , bromides , iodides , fluorides , sulfates , fluoroborate , hexafluorophosphate or hexafluoroantimonate either as hydrated or anhydrous , or as an alkanoate . mixtures of any of the aformentioned cobalt ( ii ) salts also can be used . lower ( c 2 to c 3 ) alkanoates are soluble in methanol or propanol and the higher ( c 4 to c 8 ) alkanoates are soluble in hydrocarbon solvents . typical examples of the above cobalt salts are cobalt chloride , cobalt chloride hexahydrate , cobalt acetate , cobalt acetate tetrahydrate , cobalt nitrate , cobalt bromide , cobalt iodide , cobalt difluoride , cobalt ammonium sulfate and cobalt 2 - ethylhexanoate . preferred are cobalt chloride hexahydrate and cobalt acetate tetrahydrate . typical dioximes that can be used have the structural formula r 1 — c (═ noh )— c (═ noh )— r 2 where r 1 and r 2 are described above . typical dioximes are as follows : diphenylglyoxime , carboxyethylmethylglyoxime , methyl phenylglyoxime , dimethylamidolcarbonylmethylglyoxime , 4 - amidophenylamidylcarbonylmethylglyoxime , trifluoroacetyl - trifluoromethylglyoxime , camphordiquinonedioxime , 1 , 2 - cyclohexanedioxime , furildioxime , thiophenylglyoxime , and di ( butylthio ) glyoxime . preferred are diphenylglyoxime and carboxyethylmethylglyoxime . a lewis base is used in the process to form the cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of this invention and forms the a component of the dioximate . it is believed that the lewis base activates the cobalt in the reaction with hydrogen and forms a coordination bond with the cobalt . typically useful lewis bases are alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , isopropanol , n - butanol , isobutanol , water ( under some conditions ); alkyl mercaptanes , such as ethyl mercaptane , thiophenole , dodecyl mercaptan ; amines , such as pyridine , 4 - methylpyridine , nicotineamide , 2 - methyl pyridine , and 4 - dimthylaminopyridine . pyridine is preferred . when imidazoles , phosphines or phosphites are used as the lewis base constituent , the pressure of molecular hydrogen can be lowered significantly as stated above . it is believed that when these three aforementioned compounds are used , they activate the cobalt in the reaction with hydrogen to a greater extent and hydrogen under a lower pressure , such as 0 . 7 - 14 kg / cm 2 , can be used . typically useful imidazoles have the structural formula : wherein r 8 , r 9 , r 10 , and r 11 are each selected from the following : h , alkyl , aryl , nr 5 , n 6 , sr 7 , so 2 r 7 , so 2 nr 5 r 6 , sor 5 , cor 5 , cho , cr 6 r 7 or 5 , ch ( or 5 )( or6 ), and cr 5 ( or 6 )( or 7 ); and where r 5 , r 6 , and r 7 are each selected from the following group : h , alkyl and aryl . examples of such imidazoles are as follows : unsubstituted imidazole , 2 - methyl imidazole , 2 - phenyl imidazole , 1 , 2 dimethyl imidazole , 1 , 2 diethyl imidazole , 1 - methyl - 2 - ethyl imidazole , 1 - butyl imidazole , and 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxymethyl imidazole . 1 , 2 dimethyl imidazole and 1 - butyl imidazole are preferred . phosphines that can be used have the formula p ( r 14 )( r 15 )( r 16 ), wherein r 14 , r 15 , r 16 are each selected from the following group : h , alkyl and aryl . typically useful phosphines used are triphenyl phosphine and triethyl phosphine . phosphites that can be used have the formula p ( or 17 )( or 18 )( or 19 ), where r 17 , r 18 , and r 19 are each selected from the following group : h , alkyl and aryl . typically useful phosphites are triethylphosphite , triphenylphosphite , and tricresylphosphite . the olefinic component included in the b component of the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate forms a coordination bond with the cobalt constituent of the dioximate . typically olefinic compounds that are used in the process of this invention are alkyl acrylates , i . e ., alkyl esters of acrylic acid , such as methyl acrylate , ethyl acrylate , propyl acrylate , methoxy ethyl acrylate , phenoxy ethyl acrylate , isopropyl acrylate , butyl acrylate , pentyl acrylate , and ethylhexyl acrylate . methyl acrylate is preferred . other olefinic components that can be suitably used such as styrene , methyl styrene , acrylonitrile , acrylamide , dimethylolacrylamide , vinyl pyrrolidone , vinyl chloride , vinyl acetate , maleic anhydride , n - methylmaleimide , and other vinylic monomers of the following structure : where x is an amide , imide , ester , aryl , halogen , pseudo halogen ( thiocyanates ), isocyanate , nitrile , ether , carbamyl , substituted amine and thio ether . suitable solvents that can be used in the process are alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , isopropanol , butanol , isobutanol , and any mixtures thereof . other common organic solvents that can be used are diethyl ether , ethylene glycol , polyethylene glycol monoalkyl and dialkyl ethers , propylene carbonate , n - methyl pyrrolidone , amides , dimethylsulfoxide , and cellosolves ® and carbitols ® both supplied by supplied by union carbide corp . danbury , conn . water and mixtures of water and the aforementioned solvents can be used . the novel process of this invention provides for high purity alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate and in a high yield . yields are 70 % and over and preferably 75 % and up to 100 % and purity is over 80 % and preferably over 85 % up to 100 %. in one preferred alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate , r 1 and r 2 are phenyl , a is ( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyl and b is pyridine ; in another preferred alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate , r 1 and r 2 are phenyl , a is ( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyl and b is dimethyl imidazole ; in still another preferred alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate , r 1 and r 2 are phenyl , a is ( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyl and b is triphenylphosphine . the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate is an excellent chain transfer agents used in free radical polymerization of polymers , macromonomers , oligomers , low molecular weight polymers ( mw 200 to 1 , 000 ), medium molecular weight polymers ( mw 1 , 000 to 50 , 000 ) and high molecular weight polymer ( mw 500 , 000 and over ), latex polymers , graft copolymers , star polymers , hyperbranched polymers , core shell structured polymers and other polymer compositions . the following examples illustrate the invention . all parts and percentages are on a weight basis unless otherwise indicated . this example was directed to the synthesis of an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate under a high pressure of molecular hydrogen ( 21 kg / cm 2 ). the following constituents were charged into a pressure vessel equipped with a stirrer and stirred for a 5 hour period under hydrogen gas at a pressure of 21 kg / cm 2 and a temperature of 25 ° c . : 48 g of diphenylglyoxime ( 0 . 2 moles ), 25 g of cobalt acetate tetrahydrate , 8 . 6 g of methyl acrylate ( 0 . 1 mol ), 8 ml of pyridine ( 0 . 1 mol ) and 500 ml methanol . the resulting reaction mixture was filtered and organic crystals of a cobalt ( iii ) complex were obtained . the resulting cobalt ( iii ) complex was identified by nmr ( nuclear magnetic resonance ) as an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate that had the formula as shown in the above specification wherein r 1 and r 2 were phenyl , a was 1 -( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyl and b was pyridine . the yield was 54 g ( 70 %) and the purity measured by ( nmr ) was 90 - 95 %. a polymethylmethacrylate polymer was prepared using the above alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate . the following constituents were charged into a reaction vessel equipped with a stirrer , nitrogen inlet and a heating mantle : 30 ml methyl methacrylate monomer ( mma ), 60 mg azobisisobutyronitrile , and 6 mg of the above prepared alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate . the resulting reaction mixture was under a blanket of nitrogen and held at 75 ° c . for 3 hours . a polymethylmethacrylate polymer was formed having a mn = 334 ( number average molecular weight ) determined by gpc ( gel permeation chromatography ). a comparative polymethylmethacrylate polymer was prepared using the same constituents and similar proceedure set forth above except the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate was omitted . the polymethylmethacrylate polymer that was formed had a mn = 72 , 000 determined by gpc . thus , it can be seen that the addition of alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate resulted in controlling the molecular weight of the polymer being formed . this example was directed to the synthesis of an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate using very high pressure hydrogen ( 70 kg / cm 2 ). the synthesis followed the procedure of example 1 using the same constituents except the pressure of hydrogen was increased to 70 kg / cm 2 . the resulting product was identical to the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of example 1 ( determined by nmr ). the yield was 83 % and the purity & gt ; 95 %. thus , it can be seen that due to the use of higher pressure of hydrogen , the yield increased by 13 % and there was a slight increase in purity in comparison to example 1 in which lower pressure hydrogen was used . this example was directed to a synthesis using low pressure hydrogen ( 10 . 5 kg / cm 2 ) in an attempt to form an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate . the synthesis followed the procedure of example 1 using the same constituents except the pressure of hydrogen was decreased to 10 . 5 kg / cm 2 . the product formed was predominately a co ( ii ) complex as determined by nmr . thus , it can be seen that when the process was run under low pressure hydrogen ( 10 . 5 kg / cm 2 ), an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate was not formed . this comparative example was directed to the synthesis of g . n . schrauzer , r . j . windgassen , j . am . soc . 89 ( 1967 ) 1999 that did not disclose the use of molecular hydrogen under pressure to form the cobalt complex . a mixture of 46 . 6 g of dimethylglyoxime ( 0 . 4 mol ), 47 . 6 g of cobalt chloride tetrahydrate ( 0 . 2 mol ) were dissolved in 800 ml of methanol . then 16 . 4 g of sodium hydroxide ( 0 . 4 mole ) in 100 ml of water were added with 16 ml of pyridine ( 0 . 2 mol ). after 15 minutes , 0 . 2 mol of methyl acrylate was added and then molecular hydrogen was bubbled through the resulting reaction mixture . after 0 . 1 mol of hydrogen was absorbed , the reaction mixture was filtered . crystals of alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate determined by nmr were obtained and washed with methanol and dried in a vacuum . yield was 45 % and the purity was & gt ; 80 %. this process is only operative when dimethylglyoxime is used as shown in the following comparative examples 5 - 7 . this synthesis was directed to the procedure of example 4 except methyl carboxyethylglyoxime was used instead of dimethylglyoxime . no alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate was formed . this synthesis was directed to the procedure of example 4 except methyl diphenylglyoxime was used instead of dimethylglyoxime . no alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate was formed . comparative examples 5 and 6 show that when glyoximes other than dimethylglyoxime were used , an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate was not formed using the process of schrauzer et al ( example 4 ). this example was directed to a synthesis that used water instead of pyridine and used hydrogen under very high pressure ( 140 kg / cm 2 ) in an attempt to form an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate . the synthesis followed the procedure of example 1 using the same constituents except water was used instead of pyridine and the pressure of hydrogen was increased to 140 kg / cm 2 . no crystalline product was formed . this example showed that a lewis base , such a pyridine , was needed to form the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of this invention . this example was directed to a synthesis that used an imidazole in place of pyridine and hydrogen was used under low pressure . the synthesis followed the procedure of example 1 using the same constituents except 1 , 2 dimethyl imidazole was used instead of pyridine and the pressure of hydrogen was decreased to 10 . 5 kg / cm 2 . the resulting reaction mixture was filtered and organic crystals of an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate identified by nmr were obtained . the resulting alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate had the formula as shown in the above specification wherein r 1 and r 2 were phenyl , a was 1 -( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyl and b was 1 , 2 dimethyl imidazole . the yield was ( 70 %) and the purity as measured by nmr was 90 %. this example was directed to a synthesis that used a phosphine in place of pyridine and hydrogen under low pressure . the synthesis followed the procedure of example 1 using the same constituents except triphenylphosphine was used instead of pyridine and the pressure of hydrogen was decreased to 2 . 1 kg / cm 2 . the resulting reaction mixture was filtered and organic crystals of a cobalt ( iii ) complex were obtained . the cobalt ( iii ) complex was identified by nmr as an alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate . the resulting alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate had the formula as shown in the above specification wherein r 1 and r 2 were phenyl , a was 1 -( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyl and b was triphenylphosphine . the yield was ( 72 %) and the purity as measured by nmr was 80 %. this example was directed to a synthesis that used hydrogen under ultra low pressure . a mixture of 9 . 3 g of dimethylglyoxime ( 0 . 08 ), 10 g of cobalt acetate tetrahydrate ( 0 . 04 mol ), 3 . 6 g methyl acrylate ( 0 . 04 mol ), 5 . 3 ml of n - butyl imidazole ( 0 . 1 mol ) and 150 ml methanol were stirred under a pressure of 0 . 007 kg / cm 2 of hydrogen in co 2 for 6 hours . the resulting reaction mixture was diluted with 40 ml water and orange crystals were filtered off and identified by nmr as the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of this invention where a was 1 -( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyl and b was n - butyl imidazole . the yield was 6 g ( 30 %) and purity as measured by nmr was 80 %. example 10 showed that under low hydrogen pressure using an imidazole , the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of this invention was formed . the yield was unacceptable for a viable commercial process . this example was directed to a synthesis that used hydrogen under ultra low pressure and used pyridine instead of an imidazole of example 10 . the synthesis followed the procedure of example 10 except pyridine was substituted for n - butyl imidazole . the product formed was identified by nmr to contain mainly a cobalt ( ii ) complex and not the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of this invention . comparative example 11 showed that an imidazole was required to form the alkyl cobalt ( iii ) dioximate of this invention when low pressure hydrogen was used . | 2 |
the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments presents a description of certain specific embodiments to assist in understanding the claims . however , the present invention can be embodied in a multitude of different ways as defined and covered by the claims . reference is now made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout . the detailed description is organized into the following sections : 1 . top level system overview , 2 . example user interface , 3 . cataloger configuration detail , 4 . logging and encoding , 5 . example timeline , 6 . metadata track representation , 7 . metadata index object model , 8 . cataloger architecture , 9 . extensible video engine architecture , 10 . audio feature extractors , 11 . extensible video engine start - up initialization , 12 . video encoding and metadata synchronization , 13 . capture metadata , 14 . feature extraction , 15 . html output filter architecture , 16 . html output filter process , 17 . example html output , 18 . alternative system . before describing the detailed internal engineering of the inventive system , a top level system overview will be helpful . fig1 depicts a typical system 100 that incorporates a video cataloger 110 . the video cataloger 110 typically operates in a networked environment which includes data communication lines 112 , 122 , 132 , and 142 . some variants of such a system include : analog sources 102 : may be any of a number of possible sources , such as an analog or digital tape deck , a laser disc player , a live satellite feed , a live video camera , etc . a video signal , such as ntsc or pal , is all that is needed for input into the video cataloger 110 . metadata server 130 : may be as simple as a file system containing hypertext markup language ( html ) files , or as complex as a relational database supporting a client - server application environment for media management . client interfaces may be html web browsers , java , or native client applications , for example . digital video encoding 120 : the existence of digital video is an optional component . it may be the case that the metadata merely indexes video that resides on analog video tapes stored on shelves . content server 140 : may be as simple as a file system containing digital video files , or as complex as a digital video stream server such as those offered by real networks , silicon graphics mediabase , oracle ovs , and the like . digital video formats : digital video data is encoded by an encoder process 120 and communicated to the content server 140 over a network channel 122 . the format of the digital video may be any of a wide variety of formats , such as real video ( at various bit rates from 20 kbps up to 500 kbps ), mpeg - 1 ( at various bit rates up to 3 . 5 mbps ), mpeg - 2 ( at various bit rates up to 40 or 50 mbps ), mpeg - 4 , mpeg - 7 , motion jpeg , apple quicktime , microsoft avi , and so forth . fig2 depicts an example user interface that is representative of the type of graphical user interface ( gui ) than could be built around the video engine shown in fig9 . in fig2 , the video cataloger user interface is contained in a window 170 . the main controls are exposed as menus and a tool bar 182 . a panel 172 displays the live video being digitized , with play , stop , etc . controls that interact remotely with the analog source via a deck controller 240 ( fig3 ). keyframes extracted during the capture process are displayed in a panel 176 , while the corresponding close - caption text and timecodes are displayed in a panel 178 . a panel 184 displays the user - defined clip annotations , created by marking in - and out - points . the columns 186 and 188 display the in - and out - time codes for the marked clip , respectively , while the remaining columns 190 , 192 , 194 are an example of a user defined schema of labels to describe the clip . finally , at the bottom of the window 170 is a timeline 180 that depicts the total time of the capture session , with a highlighted section corresponding to the currently selected range of keyframes . fig3 depicts a typical configuration of the video cataloger 110 connected to various peripheral devices that interface the cataloger to an analog source such as the videotape deck 102 , a deck controller 240 , and a close caption decoding device 230 . the deck controller 240 is typically an external device that provides protocol translation between an industry standard protocol such as v - lan , and the native protocol of broadcast devices ( such as tape decks ) from sony , panasonic , etc . an example device is the video media express from video media corp . some hardware configuration may incorporate the v - lan controller into a card in the cataloger workstation , for instance . the close caption text decoder 230 can be an external box as shown , ( such as eeg enterprises digital recovery decoder ), or the cc - text decode functionality can be incorporated on the frame capture board inside of the cataloger workstation . furthermore , the video signal may be routed through the close caption text decoder 230 ( as shown ), or it may be split and fed directly to both the video cataloger 110 and the decoder in parallel . the video deck 102 is one example of an analog source . several others are possible : laser disk , satellite feed , live camera feed , digital disk recorder such as a tektronix profile , etc . some of these configurations would not incorporate the v - lan control ( such as a live or satellite feed ). analog signals 232 may be fed from the video deck 102 , through the close caption decoder 230 , into the video cataloger 110 . the analog signals correspond to video information which generally includes audio information . decoded close caption text is passed to the video cataloger 110 by a data connection 234 which is typically an rs - 232 cable . deck commands pass from the video cataloger 110 to the deck controller 240 , and then to the video deck 102 by physical data connections 236 and 242 which are typically rs - 232 serial connections , but may be other signaling protocols . the time codes proceed from the video deck 102 to the video cataloger 110 via the deck controller 240 . of course , in alternate implementations , the video cataloger 110 may receive video information from a digital source such as a digital camcorder . fig4 depicts one of a great variety of possible encoding scenarios , driven by the video cataloger . the video cataloger software 110 runs on a computer workstation 111 . the “ vidsync ” process 260 running on each of the encoder workstations 123 , 125 , 127 is responsible for responding to start and stop commands from the video cataloger 110 , and affecting the start and stop of the corresponding encoding process on each workstation . the analog source 102 will typically need to be split by an audio - video switcher 252 so that the signal can be fed to each receiving workstation without degradation . fig4 shows examples of real video encoding 124 , mpeg - 1 encoding 126 , and mpeg - 2 encoding 128 . further information on the moving pictures experts group ( mpeg ) encoding standards may be found at the following url : http :// drogo . cselt . stet . it / mpeg . naturally , other encoding formats are possible . all machines are connected by a data network 250 , which is typically a tcp / ip network , although other network protocols may be employed . a . incorporation of an encoder hardware board 126 ( such as an mpeg - 1 encoder from optibase , minerva , etc .) directly inside the video cataloger workstation 111 . because most of the computation occurs on the dedicated board , this is feasible in practice ) b . use of a stand - alone “ black - box ” encoder such as those from lucent and innovacom for mpeg 1 , which do not require a workstation . the black - box simply accepts an analog input , and a network connection to deliver the mpeg data packets to a video server . these boxes are typically rack mounted , and can be configured with up to eight encoders per enclosure . this is ideal for large scale encoding scenarios where several feeds or tape decks must be encoded . c . using one , two , or n encoders simultaneously for simple browse applications , a single encoded proxy is all that is needed . for web publishing applications , publishers typically want to encode a low - resolution stream ( such as real video at 20 kbps ) and a high resolution stream ( such as real video at 100 kbps ) to service different users having different internet connection bandwidths . the cataloger 110 issues commands to each of the vidsync daemons 260 running on the encoder workstations . these daemons , or processes that are periodically spawned to carry out a specific task and then terminate , are responsible for initiating the encoding process for whatever type of encoding is going to occur . that is , intimate knowledge of the encoding is maintained in vidsync , and the cataloger is generic in this respect . the vidsync daemons also are responsible for returning certain pieces of information to the cataloger , such as the actual start time , and a digital video asset id or name for later use . start command : the cataloger 110 issues a “ start encoding ” command via tcp / ip to each of the encoders ( vidsyncs ) in parallel . each of the vidsyncs 260 then communicates with whatever software and hardware encoding processes / boards are required to initiate encoding . this may also involve communicating with a video server to set up an encoding session , and may take from 1 to several seconds . thus , each encoder process may have a different actual start time . the vidsync daemons then return the actual start time and a digital video asset id to the cataloger 110 . when all vidsyncs 260 have returned , the metadata capture begins at a nominal t = 0 time . each of the actual start times is stored as a delta - time from this t = 0 time . when a piece of metadata ( such as a keyframe ) is used to index the digital video , an absolute time from the beginning of the digital video is computed by adding the delta - time to the time - code of the metadata . stop command : the video cataloger 110 issues a “ stop encoding ” command via tcp / ip to each of the encoders in parallel . fig5 illustrates the timing associated with video encoder start - up and synchronization . each timeline 123 , 125 , 127 represents a separate video encoder . the video cataloger 110 issues a start command 290 . some time after that , each encoder actually begins encoding , resulting in an “ actual start time ” 292 . after all the encoders have started , the video cataloger 110 itself begins cataloging metadata , at a time nominally labeled “ t = 0 ” 294 . thus , each encoder has a start offset ‘ delta ’ time 296 . this delta time is then stored with the video metadata to be used later when a video stream is requested , to insure the offset is accounted for in time code calculations . fig6 is a logical illustration of a number of metadata types in the form of the preferred time - based track representation . the keyframe track 320 consists of a set of individual keyframes 340 , 342 , 344 , 346 , 348 , 350 , 352 which have been intelligently extracted from the video based on visual information and scene changes by the keyframe extractor 512 ( fig9 ). each keyframe is time stamped for later correlation with the digital video or a time - code on a videotape . the close caption text ( cc - text ) track 322 consists of sentences of text parsed from the cc - text input by the cc - text extractor 514 ( fig9 ). each text element spans a period of time in the video , denoted by an in - time and an out - time . likewise , the remaining metadata tracks ( audio classes 324 , speech 326 , speaker id 328 , keywords 330 ) are each a parcel of metadata spanning a time period , and are extracted by their corresponding feature extractor shown in fig9 . the clip track 332 is somewhat unique in that the definition / creation of this metadata is performed by a user using the gui to mark in - and out - times , and type in associated alphanumeric data each bar in the clip track consists of a user - defined group of metadata fields that are application specific . the bar length is timespan from intime to outtime . clips may be overlapping . typically , the clips all have the same schema . for instance , metadata may include : story title , report , location , shot date , air date , keywords , summary , and so on . each bar shows a clip label . so for instance , the clip labelled “ logo ” may make use of the story title data item . lastly , a custom trk is shown to indicate that metadata is extensible . that is , unique metadata can be defined and added to the video cataloger 110 by a user . custom metadata tracks could include information provided in collateral data to the video information . for instance , global positioning satellite ( gps ) data specifying latitude and longitude of a video camera and telemetry data of a vehicle carrying a video camera are examples of such collateral data . fig7 is an object model of the same logical metadata illustrated in fig6 . the elements of this diagram depict the software objects and processes that manage this metadata . the main object , the metadata track index manager 402 , is the manager of the entire index of metadata . it is extensible in that it allows registration of individual metadata track data types , and then manages the commitment of instances of that data into the index by feature extractors . there is one global metadata structure ( the session level metadata 404 ) that is not time based , and contains metadata that pertains to the entire video . here , for example , is where the information for managing and time - synching the encoded video resides ( digital video id &# 39 ; s and actual start time offsets ). user defined annotations may also exist here . each of the metadata tracks is a collection of data objects 406 , 408 , 410 , 412 , etc . that hold the metadata for a specific feature extractor , and are sequenced in time according to their in - and out - times . the metadata index also provides access for outputting metadata ( data read - out ) used by the output filters . in an object oriented programming implementation , every track data type is derived from a “ virtual base class ” that provides the basic functions for insertion , deletion , read - out , etc ., and defines storage for the in - time and out - time of each metadata element . such an implementation may be coded in the c ++ programming language . one exemplary reference guide is c ++ primer by stanley lippman , second edition , addison wesley , which is hereby incorporated by reference . fig8 is a global architecture illustration of the entire video cataloger software process 420 . the main components of this software are the media capture services 430 , the video encoding and synchronization facility 450 , the start - up extensibility initialization manager 470 , and the core extensible video engine component 440 . the details of the core extensible video engine 440 are provided in fig9 . the video encoding and synchronization module 450 is responsible for communicating with the “ vidsync ” daemon processes running on the video encoders , e . g ., 123 , 125 and 127 ( fig4 ). the media capture services 430 are further described in conjunction with fig9 . the registration interfaces for the extensible aspects of the extensible video engine 440 are explicitly shown in fig8 . upon start - up of the video cataloger 110 , registration processes are invoked for the four primary extensibility aspects of the video cataloger : metadata track registration 476 , feature extractor registration 472 , output filter registration 478 , and event registration 472 . a set of output filters 484 are installed during system start - up . these registration processes , as well as user input and output functions 550 , 554 , are further described in conjunction with fig1 below . fig9 depicts the main architectural elements of the extensible video engine 440 . incoming media is processed by the media capture services 430 consisting of timecode capture 502 , video capture 504 , audio capture 506 , and text capture 508 . digital media 509 is then made available to the feature extractor framework 510 for processing . metadata from the feature extractors 512 , 514 , 516 , 518 , 520 , 522 is then committed to the metadata track index manager 530 in a time based track representation as shown in fig6 and 7 . during metadata capture , the user may mark video clips and annotate them . this input 552 is captured by the gui input capture element 550 . event monitoring 540 and dispatch 544 also occurs during capture , driven by an event dictionary 542 . finally , when capture is complete , the metadata may be output in a variety of formats such as virage data format ( vdf ) 562 , html 564 , xml 566 , smil 568 and other 570 , which are managed by the output filter manager 560 . a vdf api and toolkit may be licensed from virage of san mateo , calif . furthermore , the use of the format is described in “ virage vdf toolkit programmer &# 39 ; s reference ”. one reference for the extensible mark - up language ( xml ) is the following url : http :// www . w3 . org / tr / rec - xml which is a subpage for the w3c . also , information on synchronized multimedia integration language ( smil ) may be accessed at the w3c site . the metadata track index manager 530 represents the object that manages the multiplicity of metadata tracks . when data is committed to the track index by either a feature extractor 512 - 522 or gui input 550 and 552 ( i . e ., user marks clips and annotates them ), this can trigger display updates as follows : the particular metadata track that receives the data decides if this requires a display update . if so , it sends a message to the gui display update manager 554 which marks the relevant gui object as “ dirty ” and in need of a redraw . in windows microsoft foundation classes ( mfc ), the event model allows windows to detect these dirty gui objects and issue redraw messages to them directly ( see fig1 - get event ) extensible track data types are registered with the metadata track index manager 530 . any desired data representation can be defined and installed , such as region markers , ocr text and confidence values , face identifiers , camera parameters ( pan , tilt , zoom ), etc . any property that a feature extractor chooses to extract can be placed in a custom metadata track . extensible feature extractors can be registered with the feature extractor framework 510 to operate on digital media , or on any collateral data they may choose to collect when called . extensible event triggers : event criteria ( e . g ., cc - text “ clinton ”, or audio_class =“ tone ”) can be registered in the event dictionary 542 , and arbitrary actions can be registered and triggered ( e . g ., grab a keyframe right then , or stop capture ). the event monitor 540 monitors the incoming metadata to decide if an event is triggered . if so , it sends a message to the event dispatcher 544 which invokes the corresponding action 546 for the event . extensible output filters may be registered with the output filter manager 560 . further discussion of output filters is provided below with respect to fig1 and 16 . time code capture 502 is typically via vlan ( as in fig3 ), but may come from a variety of sources . time code capture is another aspect of extensibility ( though not core ) since we have a plug - in for time - code extraction fig1 depicts the architectural components of the audio analysis feature extractors 516 in one embodiment of the video engine 440 . as can be seen in the diagram , there are various cross - couplings between these feature extractors , which may not be precluded in the extensibility mechanisms managed by the feature extractor framework 510 ( fig9 ). the analog audio signal 592 is captured and digitized by audio digitization device 506 , which may be any standard audio digitization device , such as a sound blaster audio card for a pc . the digital signal is then normalized by a software component 596 to account for variability in signal amplitude ( volume ). the normalized digital audio signal 598 is then fed into an audio class profiler 600 which classifies the signal into one of several possible categories , such as “ speech ”, “ music ”, “ silence ”, “ applause ”, etc ., where each of the categories may be trainable using well understood techniques , and is stored in a class dictionary 602 . an audio classification ( ac ) engine 604 is a modular component that is available from multiple vendors , or may be proprietary . one skilled in the relevant technology may evaluate and utilize a specific engine depending on the application requirements . when the audio class profiler 600 detects that the class is “ speech ”, it triggers switch 610 which then allows the normalized digital audio signal 598 to pass into additional feature extractors which are capable of processing speech . a speech transcription module 620 is designed to interface with any available speech recognition engine 624 using an industry standard interface 626 , such as the “ speech api ”, or sapi defined by microsoft . typically , the speech recognition engine 624 utilizes a vocabulary dictionary 622 to aid in the speech recognition process and improve accuracy by limiting the speech domain , although this is not required . it is a typical feature of existing speech recognition engines available on the market today . examples include offerings from ibm , bbn , dragon systems , sri , and so on . the output of the speech transcription feature extractor 620 may then be further processed as follows : the full text 628 of the transcription process may be used directly as metadata ; additionally , a keyword spotting feature extractor 640 may be employed to selectively identify keywords of interest , and produce a text output 648 limited to the keywords specified by a domain dictionary 642 . a domain dictionary engine 644 is responsible for making these selections . again , the domain dictionary 644 engine is typically a modular component that may be one of several available , interfacing with the keyword feature extractor normally via a standard interface 646 such as the domain dictionary api , or ddapi . the normalized digital audio signal containing speech can also be fed into a speaker id feature extractor 630 to identify individual speakers by name . a speaker id engine 634 may also be a modular component that is offered by several speech recognition vendors , and interfaces with the speaker id feature extractor 630 typically via an industry standard interface 636 such as the svapi . typically , the speaker id engine utilizes a speaker dictionary 632 to constrain the space of possible speakers , and store signatures or sample speech of individual speakers which are used during speaker identification . fig1 is the process flowchart for the start - up initialization of the video cataloger 110 ( fig1 ). this flowchart depicts the process for registering data types , algorithms , and events which are important to the extensibility features of the video cataloger 110 . upon start - up of the video cataloger , the extensible video engine initialization process 470 is executed by the workstation 111 . starting at a begin step 702 , the process 470 moves to step 704 to install metadata tracks . this occurs first since later extensions ( mainly feature extractors ) may then utilize the track data types previously installed . built - in track types are installed first at step 704 , followed by installation of custom track types defined by plug - in modules at steps 706 to 710 . for each track plug - in , the data representation defined by that plug - in is installed at step 708 . next , feature extractors are installed . the built - in feature extractors are first installed at step 714 , followed by feature extractors defined by plug - ins at steps 716 to 722 . for each plug - in feature extractor , it is first registered at step 718 with the feature extraction framework 510 ( fig9 ). at step 720 , each of these plug - in feature extractors may request a metadata track type to receive its metadata . following the feature extractor initialization , the output filters are initialized . as with the other elements , the built - in output filters are installed first at step 724 , followed by the installation of plug - in output features at steps 726 to 730 . finally , events are registered . all events are application specific ( i . e ., there are no built - in events ), and are registered by plug - ins starting at steps 734 to 740 . each plug - in may define one or more events in the dictionary at step 736 , and each event will have an associated event handler registered with it at step 738 . the extensibility initialization process 470 completes at an end step 742 . fig1 details an important aspect of the present invention , which is the control and synchronization of the video encoding process with the metadata capture process . this synchronization is necessary because time - code indices within the metadata elements should correspond to correct and known points within the digital video that results from the encoding process . when video capture is initiated by the user , the video encoding process 450 starts at a begin step 762 and moves to step 764 wherein the video cataloger 110 ( fig1 ) first issues a start encoding command to each of n video encoders in parallel by spawning process threads 766 for each encoder present . a process thread or a lightweight process is well understood by computer technologists . this command / control is effected by the “ vidsync ” daemon process 260 ( fig4 ) running on each encoder station . these start commands are issued in parallel so that all the encoders begin encoding as close together in time as possible . however , their exact start times will not in general , be coincident . for this reason , the vidsync process 260 returns the actual start times to the encoder flow control , and these times are stored by the video cataloger 110 with the video metadata in step 774 for later use . next , the general process of capturing metadata occurs in step 776 until the process is stopped by the user . the details of the metadata capture process 776 are provided in fig1 . when capture is done , stop encoding commands are sent in parallel to each encoder ( via vidsync ) by spawning process threads 780 . it is of no consequence that the n encoders may stop encoding at slightly different times , as no metadata is associated with these time intervals . fig1 details the metadata capture process 776 which is an important activity of the video engine 440 of fig9 . the metadata capture process 776 was first introduced in fig1 . the capture process 776 begins with the scheduling of a system timer event in step 804 set to go off 1 / 30 of a second in the future . the control flow of the process 776 immediately proceeds to the get event step 806 where other system events ( besides the timer event ) may be processed . when an event occurs , control passes to the event dispatcher 808 which decides if the event is one of the two types of events : a normal gui event , or the scheduled timer event . for a gui event , the event is first inspected in step 812 to determine if it is an end capture event , in which case the capture process loop terminates . if not , processing proceeds to step 816 to handle the gui event ( such as keystroke , window resized , etc .). some gui events may generate metadata ( if the user marked a video clip ), which is determined in step 818 . if metadata ( a video clip ) was in fact generated , that metadata is committed to the metadata track index manager 530 ( fig9 ) during step 820 . this also necessitates a gui redraw , so the affected parts of the gui are marked for redraw in step 822 . if the event dispatched in 808 is the timer event , this signifies that feature extraction of metadata from the video signals is to take place at a feature extraction process 810 . the details of the feature extraction process 810 are provided in conjunction with fig1 . once feature extraction is complete , control moves to step 804 where the next timer event is scheduled . this flow of activity is tied to the event model of the operating system under which the software application is running . the flow that is shown is an event model that is typical of a windows mfc - based application . other operating system platforms , such as unix , have event models that differ somewhat . the event model illustrates how the feature extraction process fits into an application event framework . note that , in the depicted embodiment , the get event task 806 is a call out to windows mfc , which processes redraw events by calling the redraw method of the appropriate gui elements directly ( this process diagram does not “ call ” the redraw methods directly ). note that it is acceptable if feature extraction takes more than 1 / 30 second . fig1 details the feature extraction process 810 , which is an important aspect of the present invention , relying on the innovative architecture of fig9 . the feature extraction process 810 begins at a start step 842 and proceeds to step 844 where the current time code is obtained by module 502 of fig9 . this time code is used by all feature extractors to time - stamp the metadata they extract . next , all digital media is captured in step 846 by modules 504 , 506 , and 508 of fig9 . this digital media is then passed on to the feature extractor framework 510 ( fig9 ) for processing . the feature extractor framework 510 spawns a process thread 850 for each feature extractor . each feature extractor processes the digital media in step 852 in whatever way it desires , for example , extract a keyframe , classify the audio signal , etc . in certain cases , but not all , some metadata will be generated from this process . step 854 determines if this is the case , and if so , the metadata is passed to the metadata track index manager 530 ( fig9 ) during step 856 . since metadata is usually displayed in real - time in the gui , the gui is marked for redraw in step 858 . one particular exemplary feature : extractor for video keyframes is described in the pending u . s . patent application entitled “ key frame selection ” filed on jun . 6 , 1997 . when all feature extractor threads complete , as determined at wait ( synchronization ) step 862 , control is returned to the capture metadata process at end step 864 . the output filter manager 560 ( fig8 ) may utilize a html output filter 564 in one embodiment . referring to fig1 , elements of fig1 , 2 and 9 are shown together as utilized in generating html output . the user may invoke a gui command such as the “ save - as ” command on the “ file ” menu 553 , which in turn provides a list of output filter choices ( html , real networks smil , xml , custom , etc .). when the html filter 564 is invoked , it accesses the metadata in the metadata track index manager 530 and processes it into html form in a browser window 916 ( fig1 ), which also involves keyframe images in a keyframe frame 176 ( fig2 ) or 904 ( fig1 ), and the digital video 142 ( fig1 ) or as seen in a video frame 896 ( fig1 ). for instance , hyperlinks may be formed from displayed keyframes to video sequences . the digital video 142 may or may not be served by a content server 140 . for instance , it could be a simple file on the file system of the client computer or , say , a networked mass storage device visible to the computer . a . the html files used to generate the display in the browser window 916 ( fig1 ) are completely stand - alone , internally linked html , such that no web server is required . exemplary html files are provided in the appendix and are described in conjunction with fig1 below . b . it incorporates play - back of digital video 142 from a file or from a video server 140 . that is , the digital video may be streamed directly to the browser , or it may simply be played from a local file on disk . the stand - alone aspect is strengthened when the digital video is a local file . this way , all of the content ( html , keyframes , digital video ) could be packaged up , compressed , and e - mailed to someone . c . all metadata is cross - referenced / cross - linked based on time - codes . d . digital video is independent of the html representation — any digital video source can be linked into the playback frame . fig1 details a html export process 890 from the video cataloger . this process 890 is performed by module 564 identified in fig9 and 15 . the output process 890 starts at a begin step 892 and proceeds to step 894 to process the session level metadata . this metadata is not time - based , but rather is descriptive of the entire logging session . the session level metadata corresponds to the information 404 generated by the metadata track index manager 402 shown in fig7 . the nature of the session level metadata is a schema which may be defined by the user , in addition to standard items such as the location where the video is taken . this information is encapsulated in an html frame 896 used to view this data on request , and is linked to the main html frame 916 . the next step is to process the keyframe track in step 898 . keyframe images , which are captured raster images , may be converted to jpeg images suitable for display in a web browser . jpeg is but one possible viewable format . for convenience , the jpeg image files 900 may be stored in a separate subdirectory of the cataloger file system . at step 902 , the keyframe track is then further processed by constructing an html keyframe frame containing the keyframe time code information used to invoke video playback in 896 , and establishes hyperlinks directly to the corresponding jpeg images 900 . next , the close caption text track is processed in step 906 . the cc - text is output into an html frame , with hyperlinks created from time - codes into the keyframes of the html keyframe frame 904 . this allows the user to click on cc - text elements , and invoke the corresponding set of related keyframes . video clips are processed in step 910 . the clips ( defined by in - and out - times , and a user defined set of text labels ) are output into an html clip frame 912 . the time codes are used to establish hyperlinks into the corresponding close caption text 908 , and the corresponding keyframes in keyframe frame 904 . finally , a main html page that incorporates the above frames is constructed in step 914 . this html page embeds all the other frames for display and navigation . a video play - out helper application to decode and display video can be embedded in the web page frame . examples of helper applications include realplayer ( for realvideo ), compcore softpeg ( for mpeg ) and apple quicktime . exemplary reference guides which could be useful to write the code to automatically generate html are html : the definitive guide , the second edition ( 1997 ) chuck musciano and bill kennedy , o &# 39 ; reilly & amp ; associates , inc . and “ treat yourself web publishing with html ”, laura lemay , sams publishing , 1995 , which are hereby incorporated by reference . note that this process flow is one example which incorporates a subset of all available metadata tracks . the output process 890 described above generated the exemplary screen shot in fig1 . referring to fig1 and 17 , a screen shot of the html output as seen at a client browser and as generated by the html output process 890 ( fig1 ) will be described . element 896 corresponds to the video frame in the upper left portion of the screen display . element 904 corresponds to the keyframe frame in the lower left portion of the screen display . element 908 corresponds to the cc - text frame in the lower right portion of the screen display . element 912 corresponds to the clip frame in the upper right portion of the screen display . element 916 corresponds to the whole browser window . as with most browsers , including microsoft explorer and netscape navigator , if the displayable page is larger than the physical display , the browser will cause the page to be scrolled . video data is retrieved by sending a time code to the embedded player application . the player application then retrieves the video , seeks to the requested time code ( in - time ), and begins playback . the user can interrupt the playback using standard vcr type controls on the player . the html code for an exemplary screen display is provided in the appendix . sheet a of the appendix lists the directory names ( clip and icons ) and file names at a top level . sheet b lists the files in the clip directory , while sheets c , d and e list the files in the icons directory . sheet f lists the html code for the top level index . html file which provides the framework for the display shown in the browser window 916 ( fig1 ). sheet g lists the contents of the topr . html file ( as would be seen in the clip frame 912 ( fig1 )). sheet h lists the contents of the video_label . html file . sheet i lists the contents of the video_mbase . html file . sheet j lists the contents of the video_netshow . html file . sheet k lists the contents of the video_noproxy . html file . sheet l lists the contents of the video_ovs . html file . sheet m lists the contents of the video_real . html file . sheets j , k , l , and m may be used to provide the proxy video to allow different video formats to be displayed in the video frame 896 ( fig1 ). sheet n lists the contents , including a set of keyframes and corresponding timecodes ( as would be seen in the keyframe frame 904 ( fig1 )), of the 0001 . html file in the clips directory . sheet p lists the contents , including a set of icons in a closed - caption text frame ( as would be seen in the cc - text frame 908 ( fig1 )), of the 000r . html file in the clips directory . the remaining sheets in the appendix are alternate instances of the contents shown in exemplary sheets n and p . of course , other programming languages besides html code could be used to implement hyperlinked output conversion . an alternate embodiment 940 of the video encoding process , which involves a video server 942 , is shown in fig1 . in this scenario , digital video is encoded in a mpeg stream on the cataloger workstation 111 . the data stream is broadcast as a set of udps ( universal datagram packets ) 946 on a specific port number ( configurable ). udps is a standard which is a member of the ip family of protocols . when cataloging begins , the video cataloger 110 sends a start command 944 to a vidsync process 260 which is running on the content server 140 where the video server software process 942 is running . vidsync 260 in turn tells the video server 942 to “ start listening ” for udp packets 946 on the specific port number . the video server 942 then begins “ catching ” the udp packets 946 , and converting the mpeg data into a digital video asset on that server 942 . as always , metadata 112 is sent from the video cataloger 110 to the metadata server 130 in parallel to this encoding process . when a stop command 944 ′ is issued , vidsync 260 signals the video server 942 to stop listening for the udp packets 946 . in point of fact , the allocations of support hardware , computer workstations and software processes are only described here as but one example . many other functional partitions can be defined to implement the present invention . while the above detailed description has shown , described , and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to various embodiments , it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the system illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art , without departing from the concepts of the invention . | 6 |
the present invention is described with respect to a kitchen . however it should be understood that this invention applies equally to laundry facilities where there are multiple clothes washing machines as opposed to dishwashing machines or apparatuses . as shown in fig1 a kitchen area 10 , equipped with a plurality of washers 11a , 11b and 11c connected to detergent dispensers 12a , 12b and 12c via drains 23a , 23b , and 23c . the detergent dispenser 12 of the present invention is shown more particularly in fig2 . it includes a chute 16 adapted to receive a long bar of detergent 18 which will be resting on a support 17 . between the support 17 and the chute 16 is a small gap 19 which exposes a bottom portion 21 of the detergent bar 18 . a stream 22 of water is impelled against this bottom portion 21 of the detergent bar 18 dissolving it . the dissolved water is directed to drain 23 . more particularly , the detergent dispenser 12 includes a front wall 24 , back wall 25 and two side walls 26 and 27 . inside the detergent dispenser 12 is a water slide 28 . water slide 28 is bonded to the side walls 26 and 27 holding it in position . water slide 28 includes a vertical portion 29 which generally slopes away from the back wall 25 . the vertical sloped portion continues to slope until it turns into the support 17 . the support 17 is simply the horizontal planar portion of water slide 28 . a first water inlet 31 is directed against the sloped vertical portion 29 of water slide 28 so that water sprayed from the inlet forms the stream 22 of water . the water slide extends beneath the chute 16 and has a forwardmost edge 32 which is spaced from the front wall 24 providing a gap 33 between the water slide and the front wall . beneath the water slide is the bottom wall 34 of the dispenser 12 . this is a sloped bottom wall that will direct water passing down slide 28 and through the gap 33 to the drain 23 . the chute 16 is relatively interchangeable . thus different dispensers can be identical except for the uniquely shaped chute . the chute includes a planar top wall 35 and a horizontal circumferential chute wall 36 which extends down from the top wall 35 . an opening 37 extends through the top planar surface into the chute 16 which is open at its bottom . top wall 35 rests on ledge 38 which extends completely around the four walls of the apparatus 12 . the dispensing apparatus 12 also includes a top cover 39 which covers chute 16 . this is connected to the back wall at hinge 41 . the top 39 and the top wall 35 of chute 16 also include slots or small openings 42 and 49 respectively adapted to permit water sprays to enter the detergent apparatus . as shown in fig2 the dispenser 12 includes a water inlet 43 , connectable with supply line 13 , which extends to an on / off valve 44 . as shown , the valve 44 connects to first water spray 31 and second water spray 45 via tubing 46 . the orifice size of sprays 31 and 45 are provided so that about 20 to 100 % of the water passes through spray 31 and acts to dissolve detergent . the water passing from spray 45 goes directly into tube 47 . the space 48 between the spray 45 and tube 47 should eliminate the need for any siphon break . tube 47 leads to drain 23 acting as a drain assist and sucking in dissolved detergent and foam . since drain 23 is larger in diameter than tube 47 , dissolved detergent passes freely down drain 23 to the respective working apparatus . in operation , the top cover 39 of the dispenser is lifted and a bar of detergent is dropped into the opening 37 of chute 16 . as shown in fig1 and fig3 a - 3c , the detergent bar has a cross sectional configuration which corresponds to the cross sectional configuration of opening 37 of chute 16 . the detergent bar drops through the chute 16 and rests on the support 17 which is the horizontal portion of the water slide 28 . valve 44 is opened and water from inlet 43 flows through up tube 46 to sprays 31 and 45 . a first water supply flows through spray 31 . this directs water down the water slide 28 against its sloped vertical portion 29 . as this water flows down , it widens out in a fan - shaped pattern or a sheet of water . this sheet of water impinges against the bar of detergent 18 at the exposed bottom portion 21 . this dissolves the exposed portion 21 of the detergent bar . in turn , the dissolved detergent passes beyond the water slide and down to the bottom wall 34 to the drain 23 . this is then mixed in drain 23 with the second stream of water which flowed from spray 45 down tube 4 into drain 23 . as shown in the fig2 chute 16 includes an optional pressure switch 50 which is adapted to sense the presence of a detergent bar within the chute 16 . this can be connected to a warning light which would tell an operator to insert an additional bar of detergent into the chute 16 . one of the primary benefits of the present invention is the ability to use basically the same dispenser for different detergents without significant modification of the dispenser . thus , one mold can be used to form a large portion of the dispenser . only the chute need be different to make the dispenser suitable for use only with the appropriate detergent . as shown in fig3 a - 3c , the detergent bars each having unique chemical compositions will also have unique shapes . three are shown but there can be as many as required . thus , the dishwashing detergent 18a which is formulated for use as a pot and pan scrubber might have an oval shape as shown in fig3 a and be inserted in dispensers 12a . the detergent 18b which is used to wash plates and the like and having a composition especially adapted for that application might have a square cross - sectional configuration as shown in fig3 b and be inserted in dispensers 12b . the detergent composition 18c which is used to wash silverware might have a cylindrical configuration as shown in fig3 c and be inserted in dispensers 12c . as seen in fig1 a kitchen using a plurality of detergents dispensers would have a dispenser for each of these detergents . more particularly , each one of these dispensers would have a chute corresponding in shape to the shape of the detergent 3a - 3c . thus the dispenser for the pot and pan scrubber would have an oval shaped chute . this would prevent the operator from inserting round or square detergent bars . any solid detergent formulation can be used as part of the present invention . a suitable detergent formulation is disclosed in bruegge application &# 34 ; method of making paste detergent and product produced ,&# 34 ; ser . no . 476 , 297 , filed feb . 7 , 1990 , and is hereby incorporated by reference . as an added feature of the present invention , the detergent compositions 18a , 18b and 18c will preferably be covered in a water soluble wrapper 55 as shown more particularly in fig2 and fig3 a - 3c . such material is sold by cms gilbreath under brand name dissolvo pouching dp45 . to further facilitate use of the appropriate detergent in the appropriate dispenser , the top 39 of the dispenser can be color coded for the particular detergent . thus , the oval detergent which is adapted to be used to wash pots and pans , and be used only in an oval chute , might have a green wrapper . the top 39 of the dispenser for the pot and pan scrubber likewise would be green . likewise , the detergent bar formulated for washing dishes , which is square in shape , might have a blue water soluble wrapper . the top of the dispenser covering the square chute for the dishwashing machine dispenser would likewise be blue and so on . in a kitchen which would include two , three or more dispensers , this provides many unique advantages . the color coating quickly tells an operator what detergent to be used in what dispenser . since the chutes have a cross sectional configuration which must correspond to the cross sectional configuration of the detergent bar , it is almost impossible to use the wrong detergent in the wrong dispenser . with smaller tablets , it is possible to force fit the wrong detergent into the wrong dispenser . but with an elongated bar such as this , it is almost impossible to force fit the bar into the detergent dispenser . since this is a gravity feed dispenser , if the wrong detergent was force fitted into the dispenser , it would not continue to fall down the dispenser where it would be contacted with a lateral spray of water . the dispenser of the present invention provides many safety features . since the spray of water is lateral , it is very unlikely that it is going to spray out of the dispenser from the top . since an elongated chute is used this possibility is then again reduced . the water would simply have to go too far up the dispenser chute to spray out the top . since the lateral spray of water is very focused against a relatively small portion of the detergent bar , the possibility of chunks of detergent bar breaking off and falling into the drain , clogging the drain , is substantially reduced . this is a significant improvement over dispensers which spray upwardly against a tub of detergent . further , due to the fact that a water soluble wrapper is employed , there is no container to dispose . this substantially reduces the need to dispose of plastic containers which generally are not biodegradable . this also eliminates the problem of the need to rinse spent containers . and finally , an extremely significant feature of this invention , it allows almost identical apparatuses to be employed to dispense multiple detergents . only one piece of each dispenser would be different . this substantially reduces the costs of manufacturing the various dispensers . thus , the present invention provides a multitude of different advantages which aid the user of the dispenser as well as the manufacturer of the dispenser . the preceding has been a description of the present invention and the preferred method currently known of practicing the invention . | 0 |
referring to the drawings , in which like reference numerals refer to like elements thereof , fig1 schematically shows an arrangement which includes the present invention . according to a preferred embodiment , the arrangement comprises a sensor unit 1 consisting of a plurality of sensors , i . e . an integrated “ multisensor ,” which is intended to be placed in the exhaust outlet of a motor vehicle . in accordance with the description which follows , the sensor unit 1 can comprise sensors for detecting nox - compounds ( nitrogen oxide compounds ) and oxygen . the sensor unit 1 can further comprise a residual heat sensor which is composed of a known pellistor , a temperature sensor and a lambda sensor . each separate sensor which is included in the sensor unit 1 emits a signal x i , where i = 1 , 2 , . . . n . the signals x i supplied from the sensor unit 1 are supplied by cabling 2 to a measuring unit in the form of a filter - and amplifier - unit 3 which comprises filter and amplifier circuits for treatment of the respective signals x i . the treated signal packet x is supplied to an analyzer unit 5 by means of second cabling 4 , unit 5 preferably being computer - based , in order to produce a measurement of the temperature and of the amounts of the gas components which are detected by the sensors in the sensor unit 1 . the analyzer unit can be made according to the principle of template - recognition ( pattern - recognition ), e . g . of the neuro - net type . the signal packet x from the sensor unit 1 , the signals x i constitute a resolvable combination of the size of the different gas components . with the aid of suitably - chosen algorithms , the analyzer unit 5 can break down the signal packet x into its components y i from the respective signals x i of the sensor unit 1 . a number of measurement signals y i is supplied from the analyzer unit 5 , said signals providing a measure of the different substances which have been detected by the sensor unit 1 , e . g . concerning the concentration of oxygen and no x - compounds and the temperature . these signals are then supplied to the vehicle &# 39 ; s control system and are used for controlling the operation of the engine as well as for diagnosis of the catalyzer &# 39 ; s operation . fig2 shows a detailed view of a sensor unit 1 which is intended to be placed in the gas stream in the exhaust system of a motor vehicle . the sensor unit 1 comprises a substrate 7 which is common for all of the included sensors . the substrate 7 comprises , in accordance with this embodiment , oxygen - ion - conductive zirconium - dioxide , zro 2 , which is stabilized , i . e . “ fixed ” in a certain crystal structure which is advantageous with respect to the conductivity for oxygen ions . yttrium - oxide can preferably be used as a stabilizer . a lambda probe 8 , an no x - sensor 9 , an oxygen sensor 10 and a residual heat sensor 11 are arranged on the substrate 7 . a voltage - measurement unit 12 is combined with the lambda sensor 8 . a voltage source 13 and a current measurement unit 14 are combined with the no x - sensor 9 . a further voltage source 15 and a further current - measuring unit 16 are associated with the oxygen sensor 10 . the residual heat sensor 11 is connected to a measuring bridge , as will be described in detail below . the voltage and current measuring units 12 , 14 , and 16 , shown in fig2 are only shown schematically and are included in the filter - and amplifier - circuit 3 ( see fig1 ) which thus constitutes a common measuring unit supplying the signal packet x to the analyzer unit 5 . fig3 shows a cross - sectional view through the lambda probe 8 . on the upper side of the substrate 7 there is a first electrode 17 which is composed of platinum . a second electrode 18 , which functions as a reference electrode , is arranged within an air gap 19 which extends through the lambda probe 8 . additionally , there is a heating element 20 incorporated into the substrate 7 . the heating element 20 is composed of an electrode , preferably of platinum or tungsten , which is connected to an external voltage source ( not shown ). the substrate 7 can be heated up to a correct working temperature ( 400 ° c .- 800 ° c .) with the aid of the heating element 20 . the potential difference between the two electrodes , 17 and 18 , can be measured by connection ( not shown ) to the above - mentioned voltage measuring unit 12 . the potential difference constitutes a measure of the lambda - ratio ( i . e . rich or lean ) of the gas which surrounds the lambda sensor 8 . fig4 shows a view from above of the no x - sensor 9 which comprises two electrodes , 21 and 22 , respectively , which constitute the cathode and anode , respectively . the electrodes , 21 and 22 , or at least the cathode , are made of gold , in accordance with this embodiment . when the no x - sensor 9 is surrounded by a gas which contains no x - compounds , these will be adsorbed on the surface of the sensor 9 , i . e . on the electrodes , 21 and 22 , and the substrate 7 . a selective dissociation , i . e . a decomposition , will occur thereafter so that negative oxygen ions , o − , are formed at the cathode 21 . with the assistance of the voltage applied by the voltage source 13 ( see fig1 ), the oxygen ions can be transported through the oxygen - ion - conductive substrate . molecular oxygen , o 2 , is formed at the anode 22 , which oxygen desorbs from the no x - sensor &# 39 ; s 9 surface back into the gas phase . at the same time as the oxygen atoms are ionized at the cathode 21 , the nitrogen atoms recombine into molecular nitrogen , n 2 , and return from the surface of the no x - sensor 9 into the gas phase . in accordance with a further embodiment of the no x - sensor 9 , only the anode 22 is made of gold . in this case the cathode 21 is made of platinum , for example . with the aid of the above - mentioned current measuring unit 14 ( see fig1 ), the oxygen - ion current occurring in the circuit can be measured . this measured current thus constitutes a measure of the amount of no x - compounds in the gas stream . measuring with the no x - sensor 9 is selective , i . e . the oxygen ion current which occurs in the sensor 9 originates mainly from the no x - compounds included in the gas stream . the measuring of the no x - compounds in the no x - sensor 9 is thus substantially independent of the concentration of oxygen in the gas stream . the selective function of the no x - sensor 9 is obtained by the formation of the substrate 7 , which is oxygen - ion - conductive , and of the electrodes , 21 and 22 , of which at least one is gold . furthermore , the selectivity can be affected by the choice of pump voltage , i . e . with the aid of the voltage applied by the voltage source 13 . the invention is therefore particularly suitable for measurements of no x - compounds in connection with exhaust gases in which the oxygen content varies , and gives a measurement which is substantially independent of the variations in the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gases . during transport from the cathode 21 to the anode , the oxygen ions will primarily be displaced along the outer layer of the substrate 7 . this provides a good time response during measurement with the no x - sensor 9 . in order that the transport of the oxygen ions occurs in an optimal manner , the respective electrodes , 21 and 22 , are formed as a straight line with a number of transverse lines arranged so that they project substantially perpendicularly from the straight line . the two conductive patterns are arranged so that they “ project into one another .” this arrangement means that the interface between the electrodes , 21 and 22 , the substrate 7 , and the gas in which the sensor 9 is located , is made as large as possible . in this manner , transport of the negative oxygen ions can be maximized , which contributes to a high current through the no x - sensor 9 . additionally , it is most important that the distance between the electrodes 21 and 22 is as small as possible , which yields a short response time during measurements with the no x - sensor 9 . fig5 shows a view from above the oxygen sensor 10 . a conductive pattern is arranged on the substrate 7 , said pattern being in the form of two electrodes , 23 and 24 , respectively . in the same way as the electrodes 21 and 22 of the aforementioned no x - sensor 9 , the electrodes 23 and 24 of the oxygen sensor 10 are formed as a straight line with a plurality of transverse lines which project substantially perpendicularly from the straight line . the electrodes , 23 and 24 , are preferably of platinum . by applying a voltage over the electrodes , 23 and 24 ( with the aid of the voltage source 15 shown in fig1 ), a current moves in the circuit in the presence of oxygen . this occurs due to the substrate 7 being conductive for oxygen ions at high temperatures ( 400 ° c .- 800 ° c .). this oxygen - ion current can be measured with the aid of the current measuring unit 16 shown in fig1 . the size of the measured current is proportional to the oxygen concentration in the gas surrounding the oxygen sensor 10 . in addition to oxygen , the oxygen sensor 10 is influenced by , for example , no x - compounds , hydrocarbons and hydrogen . fig6 shows the residual heat sensor 11 which is based on a so - called pellistor which is a type of sensor known ( per se ) from swedish patent application no . 9301715 - 0 . the residual heat sensor 11 comprises a conductive pattern 25 which forms two resistors , a first resistor ac which is formed by the conductive pattern between the points a and c , and a second resistor bc which is formed by the conductive pattern between the points b and c . the conductive pattern 25 is composed of platinum , and both of the resistors , ac and bc , have the same resistance at the same temperature . the resistance of the resistors ac and bc increases linearly with temperature . the first resistor ac is coated with a passive layer , preferably al 2 o 3 , which is gas - tight , i . e . the surface of the conductive pattern cannot be influenced by the surrounding gas . the second resistor bc is coated with a catalytically active wash - coat 26 . the hydrocarbons and the carbon monoxide will be burned on the active wash - coat 26 in the presence of oxygen . this combustion brings about a temperature increase in the first resistor bc which means that its resistance increases somewhat with respect to the resistance of the resistor ac . by coupling the resistances ac and bc in a so - called wheatstone - bridge which is shown in fig7 the small resistance changes which result from the combustion of the oxidizable substances on the wash - coat 26 can be detected . the denotations a , b , and c in fig7 correspond to what is shown in fig6 . the second resistance ac functions as a reference which is subjected to the same environment ( ambient temperature , flow , air humidity , etc .) as the first resistor bc . this means that only the resistance change resulting from the combustion heat produces a resistance difference between the two resistors . with the aid of a voltage measuring unit 27 , the voltage over the wheatstone - bridge can be measured . this voltage is proportional to the residual heat in the gas , i . e . the amount of unburnt oxidizable substances in the gas . the present invention can be used in applications having different exhaust gas compositions . in those cases where rich mixtures occur , the sensor unit 1 can be arranged in such a way that an electric voltage is connected over the ceramic oxygen - ion - conductive substrate , whereby one side of the substrate has access to the atmosphere and the other side of the substrate has access to the gas which is to be analyzed . in this manner , the necessary oxygen for complete combustion of the hydrocarbons and the carbon monoxide is supplied to the catalytically active wash - coat 26 . in turn , this makes the measurements substantially independent of the oxygen content in the exhaust gases . a particular application of the sensor unit according to the present invention is as a sensor for diesel exhaust gases . such exhaust gases contain between about 5 and 20 % oxygen , soot , nitrogen - oxides , carbon - oxides and hydrocarbons . fig8 shows a view from above of a sensor unit 38 according to the present invention which comprises a no x - sensor 9 , an oxygen sensor 10 and a residual heat sensor 11 . fig9 shows a side view of the same sensor unit 28 . the no x - sensor 9 comprises , as described above , two electrodes , 21 and 22 , of which at least one is gold . the oxygen sensor 10 comprises two electrodes , 23 and 24 , of platinum . the residual heat sensor 11 comprises a conductive pattern 25 of platinum with a layer 26 of wash - coat and a passivating layer . as shown in fig9 the sensor unit 28 comprises the heating element 29 . in accordance with a possible embodiment for analysis of diesel exhaust gases , the invention may include only one no x - sensor and a residual heat sensor , i . e . no oxygen sensor . this is possible in particular with heavy diesel vehicles having combustion engines , to which a predetermined amount of fuel and air is injected at a specific operating condition . since the amount of fuel and air is known , the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gases can be determined with sufficiently high accuracy . in this case , this results in no separate oxygen sensor being necessary . the sensor unit 28 can be used in order to determine the no x and oxygen concentration and the amount of residual heat in the form of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in the exhaust gases . these signals can be used , for example , to alter the control of the diesel engine so as to reduce the emissions from the engine . in accordance with a further application of the present invention , this can be used in connection with diagnosis of a three - way exhaust catalyzer . vehicles which are equipped with such a catalyzer must have an exhaust gas composition which is stoichiometric ( i . e . lambda = 1 ) for optimal conversion of the three exhaust gas components no x , co and hc . with unknown requirements for cleaner cars , the catalyzer &# 39 ; s effectiveness must be able to be diagnosed in the vehicle during operation ( so - called “ onboard diagnosis ”). a sensor unit 30 in accordance with the present invention , which is shown in fig1 and 11 can , for this purpose , comprise a residual heat sensor 11 and a lambda sensor 8 . the sensor unit 30 can be used both for regulating the engine control in order to achieve a maximum conversion of the three exhaust gas components and for diagnosing the catalyzer &# 39 ; s effectiveness and absolute exhaust gas levels . the sensor unit 30 comprises a lambda sensor 8 with electrodes 17 and 18 and a residual heat sensor with a conductive pattern 25 as well as a wash - coat layer 26 . the sensor unit 30 further comprises an air gap 19 and a heating element 20 . the sensor units 28 and 30 as shown in fig8 - 11 are connected to a filter - and amplifier - circuit and an analyzer circuit of the same type as mentioned above in connection with fig1 and 2 . the sensor units 1 , 28 and 30 as described above are intended to be placed in the exhaust gas outlet of a motor vehicle . instead of using only one sensor unit , a plurality of different sensor units can also be used , which can then be grouped together . the different sensor units can comprise different constellations of sensors which preferably constitute no x - sensors , lambda sensors , oxygen sensors and residual heat sensors . fig1 shows such a group of sensor units , which in this case comprises three different sensor units 31 , 32 and 33 . the sensor units 31 , 32 and 33 are joined with a measuring unit in the form of a filter - and amplifier - unit ( see fig1 ) by means of a common cable 34 . the sensor units 31 , 32 and 33 are arranged in the exhaust system 35 of a motor vehicle . the flow direction of the exhaust gases is indicated by arrow 36 . the sensor units 31 , 32 and 33 are preferably provided with a protective cap 37 which reduces the cooling effect which can be caused by the flowing exhaust gases , which means that a high and even temperature is obtained within the protective cap 37 . the protective cap 37 is provided with at least one hole 38 , or alternatively a slit or the like , so that the sensor units 31 , 32 and 33 will be exposed to the exhaust gases . the hole 38 can be arranged in different ways , e . g . in the top of the protective cap 37 . according to a possible variation of the present invention , it can be provided with a so - called linear lambda sensor which is a sensor emitting a signal proportional to the oxygen concentration in the surrounding gas . the signal which is emitted is proportional to the oxygen concentration on the lean side and the rich side of λ = 1 . such a linear lambda sensor can be arranged as a replacement for the above - mentioned oxygen sensor . with the arrangement according to the present invention , a number of advantages are obtained . firstly , a more exact value of , for example , no x - concentrations can be obtained if the values of hc and co are known at the same time . additionally , all of the sensors are subject to the same temperature if they are arranged at the same point . furthermore , the combination of one or more sensors at one and the same point allows a system analysis by means of template - recognition of the neuro - net type . for example , in the regulation of transients in an engine &# 39 ; s operation it is important that the parameters are measured in the same time - window in the combustion process , which is achieved by the sensors being gathered at one and the same point . furthermore , if the sensors are at the same point , the problems with calibration can be avoided , which otherwise could occur with sensors placed at different locations where the temperature and the gas composition are not the same . an additional advantage is present in that the sensor unit according to the present invention only requires one attachment fixture , one cable , etc . furthermore , an advantage is obtained in that the sensor unit uses a common , oxygen - ion - conductive substrate . in addition , in accordance with alternative embodiments , the oxygen sensor 10 as well as the no x - sensor 9 can be formed with an air gap of similar type to the air gap 19 described above in connection with fig3 . this air gap functions as a reference chamber in which a first electrode , i . e . a reference electrode , is placed . a second electrode is arranged on the substrate and is subjected to the gas which is the object of measurement . furthermore , the oxygen sensor &# 39 ; s 10 electrodes , 23 and 24 , can be arranged on respective sides of the substrate 7 . this is also valid for the no x - sensor &# 39 ; s 9 electrodes 21 and 22 . although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments , it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention . it is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
referring to the drawings , with the reference numeral 2 a device is indicated , of rotary carrousel type , which performs the task of moving convex half - moulds 4 ; to each station of the half - mould moving carrousel device a process step corresponds . at a first station a , a sheet of thermoplastic material is pre - heated in a heating device 6 , and is transferred to the relevant half - mould 4 , at a higher temperature than the polymer softening temperature . at the end of the heating step , the sheet is transferred to a station b by means of a rotary movement in clockwise direction , looking at fig1 of the carrousel 2 . at the station b , the sheet is thermoformed on the half - mould 4 . the thermoformed sheet is subsequently transferred to a station c , at which a trimming unit 8 shears and trims the edges of the sheet . the thermoformed sheet with trimmed edges is then transferred to a station d in which an extruder 10 with accumulation head 10a is used . at the station d the carrousel 2 positions the convex half - mould 4 under a concave half - mould 12 installed under the accumulation head 10a . in the centre of said concave mould , an injection nozzle 14 for the foamable polymeric material is provided . a lifting device 16 is suitable for positioning the convex half - mould 4 and the relevant thermoformed sheet against the concave half - mould 12 fastened onto the accumulation head 10a . in such a way , the thermoformed sheet results to be enclosed inside the interior of a closed mould , inside which the polymeric material to be foamed is injected . the injection operation is carried out by means of hydraulic ram installed inside the accumulation head 10a which , after the opening of a valve provided at the bottom of the same head , transfers the blend of thermoplastic material and foaming agent into the hollow chamber inside the closed mould . owing to the low pressure existing inside said hollow chamber inside the mould , said blend can freely expand , until it completely fills the hollow chamber . after a lowering of the half - mould 4 bearing the manufactured article , indicated in the drawings with the reference character m , said manufactured article is moved to a cooling station e , followed by a station f at which the manufactured article m is de - moulded . the present invention is now further disclosed by referring to the following examples . an extruded sheet of 3 mm of thickness , manufactured from polypropylene marketed by the company himont under the designation moplen epq30r , having a melt flow index of 0 . 7 g / 10 minutes was thermoformed on the convex portion of a half - mould having a parallelepipedal geometry with overall dimensions of 600 × 1100 × 50 mm . the surface temperature of the sheet , recorded at the end of the heating step , was of 185 ° c . after the peripheral edges of the vacuum - formed sheet being shorn and trimmed , said sheet was transferred , together with the half - mould on which it was thermoformed , under the accumulation head of an extruder . to the extruder a blend was fed which was composed by 100 parts of polypropylene ex himont , marketed under the designation profax hms pf 814 , having a melt index of 2 , 5 g / 10 minutes ; 1 . 0 parts of &# 34 ; hydrocerol compound &# 34 ; ex boehringer , e 0 . 5 parts of zinc stearate . the extruder used is a twin - screw extruder with co - revolving screws , of 90 mm of diameter , and with a length - to - diameter ( l : d ) ratio of 16 . 6 a mixture of isobutane and butane in the ratio of 30 : 70 was injected into the extruder , directly into the molten polymeric mass , at a distance , from polymer feeding point , of approximately 1 / 3 of total extruder length . the hydrocarbon mixture was injected with a flow - rate equivalent to 7 % by weight , as computed relatively to the weight of polypropylenic resin . from a homogenizing temperature of approximately 215 ° c ., the temperature of the molten mass constituted by the polymer , the additives and intimately mixed gasses , decreases down to an extruder outlet value of 160 ° c . from the extruder , the mixture of polymer and foaming agent flows through a heated feeding channel and fills an accumulation chamber having a maximal value of 4 liters . the pressure measured at the outlet end of extruder screw was of 100 bar . in this step , with the aid of hydraulic jacks , the half - mould on which the polypropylene sheet was thermoformed , was moved and caused to fit together with the other half - mould , and positioned integral with the extruder accumulation head . in that way , said thermoformed sheet resulted to have been enclosed inside the interior of a closed mould , into which the material to be foamed was injected . the injection operation was carried out by means of a hydraulic ram installed inside the accumulation head , which ram , by moving downwards , when the valve installed at the bottom of the same head was opened , made it possible the mixture to be transferred into the mould hollow . in order to control the flow of said foamable mixture , a closure valve was used , which had a round cross - section of 12 mm of diameter , with a throughput of 2160 kg / hour . the injection time was of 2 seconds , to which an amount of injected foamable mixture of 1 . 2 kg corresponded . the end product obtained is a double - layer structural body which reproduces the shape of mould hollow , and is constituted by an external layer of compact polypropylene , having a thickness of aproximately 50 mm , and having an average density of 35 kg / m 3 . the foamed material and the compact skin were perfectly welded to each other . an extruded sheet of 3 mm of thickness , produced by starting from a polystyrene grade marketed by the company enichem polimeri with the designation edistir srl 800 , having a melt flow index of 3 . 5 g / 10 minutes was thermoformed on the same mould , and using the same technique as used in example 1 . at the end of the heating step , the measured temperature of the sheet was of 175 ° c . to the extruder , a blend constituted by 100 parts of a polystyrene grade marketed by the company enichem polimeri with the designation edistir n 1380 , having a melt flow index of 3 . 0 g / 10 minutes , 0 . 5 parts of &# 34 ; hydrocerol compound &# 34 ; ex boehringer and 0 . 2 parts of zinc stearate was fed . the foaming agent used is the same mixture of butane / isobutane 70 : 30 of example 1 , with a flow rate equivalent to 6 % by weight , as referred to the weight of polystyrene resin . the pressure measured at extruder screw outlet end was of 160 bar , with a temperature of the molten material equal to 145 ° c . in this example , a closure valve was used which had a bore of 20 mm of diameter , with a throughput of 2160 kg of mixture / hour , to which , during an injection time of 2 seconds , an injected amount of 1 . 2 kg corresponded . the end product obtained was a double - layer structural body which reproduces the shape of the hollow chamber of the mould , and is constituted by an external layer of compact polystyrene , having an average thickness of 2 . 8 mm , and an upper foamed layer of 50 mm of thickness , having an average density of 35 kg / m 3 . also in this case , a perfect welding of the layers to each other was obtained . | 8 |
fig1 schematically illustrates a magnetic resonance imaging ( magnetic resonance tomography apparatus ). the design of the magnetic resonance tomography apparatus corresponds to the design of a conventional tomography apparatus , with the differences described below . a basic field magnet 1 generates a temporally - constant strong magnetic field for polarization or alignment of the nuclear spins in the examination region of a subject such as , for example , of a part of a human body to be examined . the high homogeneity of the basic magnetic field necessary for the magnetic resonance measurement is defined in a typically spherical measurement volume m into which the parts of the human body to be examined are introduced . to support the homogeneity requirements , and in particular for elimination of temporally invariable influences , shim plates made from ferromagnetic material are mounted at a suitable location . temporally - variable influences are eliminated by shim coils 2 that are activated by a shim power supply 15 . a cylindrical gradient coil system 3 that has three sub - windings is used in the basic field magnet 1 . each sub - winding is supplied with current from an amplifier for generation of a linear gradient field in the respective direction of the cartesian coordinate system . the first sub - coil of the gradient field system 3 generates a gradient g x in the x - direction , the second sub - coil generates a gradient g y in the y - direction and the third sub - coil generates a gradient g z in the z - direction . each amplifier has a digital - analog converter that is activated by a sequence controller 18 for time - accurate generation of gradient pulses . located within the gradient field system 3 is a radio - frequency antenna 4 that converts the radio - frequency pulses emitted by a radio - frequency power amplifier into an alternating magnetic field for excitation of the nuclei and alignment of the nuclear spins of the subject to be examined or of the region of the subject to be examined . the radio - frequency antenna 4 has one or more rf transmission coils and a number of rf reception coils in the form of an annular , linear or matrix - like arrangement of component coils . the alternating field originating from the precessing nuclear spins ( i . e . normally the nuclear spin echo signals caused by a pulse sequence composed of one or more radio - frequency pulses and one or more gradient pulses ) is also converted by the rf reception coils of the radio - frequency antenna 4 into a voltage that is supplied via an amplifier 7 to a radio - frequency reception channel 8 of a radio - frequency system 22 . the radio - frequency system 22 furthermore has a transmission channel 9 in which are generated the radio - frequency pulses for the excitation of the nuclear spins . the respective radio - frequency pulses are thereby digitally represented in the sequence controller 18 as a series of complex numbers based on a pulse sequence predetermined by the system computer 20 . this number series is supplied as a real part and an imaginary part via respective inputs 12 to a digital - analog converter in the radio - frequency system 22 and from this to a transmission channel 9 . in the transmission channel 9 , the pulse sequences are modulated on a radio - frequency carrier signal having a base frequency that corresponds to the resonance frequency of the nuclear spins in the measurement volume . the switch - over from transmission made to reception mode ensues via a transmission - reception diplexer 6 . the rf transmission coil of the radio - frequency antenna 4 radiates the radio - frequency pulses for excitation of the nuclear spins into the measurement volume m for excitation of the spins and samples resulting echo signals via the rf reception coils . the correspondingly - acquired nuclear magnetic resonance signals are phase - sensitively demodulated on an intermediate frequency in the reception channel 8 ′ ( first demodulator ) of the radio - frequency system 22 and digitized in the analog - digital converter ( adc ). this signal must be demodulated at the frequency 0 . the demodulation at frequency 0 and separation into real part and imaginary part occurs after the digitization in the digital domain in a second demodulator 8 . an image is reconstructed by an image computer 17 from the measurement data so acquired . the administration of the measurement data , the image data and the control programs ensues via the system computer 20 . according to control programs , the sequence controller 18 monitors the generation of the respective desired pulse sequences and the corresponding sampling of k - space . the sequence controller 18 controls the time - accurate switching of the gradients , the emission of the radio - frequency pulses with defined phase and amplitude and the reception of the nuclear magnetic resonance signals . the time base for the radio - frequency system 22 and the sequence controller 18 is provided by a synthesizer 19 . the selection of corresponding control programs for generation of a magnetic resonance image as well as the representation of the generated nuclear magnetic resonance image ensues via a terminal 21 that has a keyboard as well as one or more screens . fig2 schematically shows the progression of a portion of the sequence according to the present invention . shown are quantities ( varying dependent on the time ) that characterize the sequence progression . the progression according to which the adc 8 , 8 ′ is activated or deactivated is shown in the first line , whereby measurement data can be acquired during the phases in which the adc 8 , 8 ′ is activated . the temporal switching sequence of the frequency coding gradient g x of the gradient coil system 3 is shown in the second line . a line in k - space is successively sampled by means of the frequency coding gradients . the temporal progression of the phase coding gradient g y of the gradient coil system 3 is shown in the third line . the line or , respectively , a segment comprising multiple lines in k - space is established by the phase coding gradient g y . the k - space sampling is schematically shown in the fourth line . k - space is sampled line - by - line according to the present embodiment . this is represented by means of a linear curve in the line of the k - space sampling ; the 0 - point passage 31 hereby corresponds to the traversal of the k - space center . the rf pulse 32 generated by means of the antenna 4 for the magnetization preparation is shown in the last line of fig2 . a number of rf pulses for spin excitation ( not shown ) follow between two rf pulses 32 for magnetization preparation , after which a line of k - space or a segment of k - space comprising a plurality of lines is respectively read out . in the present exemplary embodiment , the k - space sampling ensues in four segments . the image contrast is generally dependent on the inner fourier lines in k - space , whereby the inversion time ti ( i . e . the time from radiation of the rf pulse 32 up to the traversal of the k - space center at the 0 - point passage 31 ) must be selected such that the contrast is optimal for the k - space center . as already explained , for this purpose the measurement time must be selected such that , depending on the desired image contrast , the measurement ensues at a specific temporal interval from the rf pulse 32 . in the event that the rf pulse respectively ensues simultaneously with a pulse beat ( heartbeat ) 30 of the person to be examined or is offset by a constant value relative to the pulse beat 30 , the image contrast is particularly good for the same heart phase , namely the heart phase during which the center of k - space is traversed ; the image contrast is contrarily poorer for the remaining heart phases . according to the present invention another idle phase 33 is interposed after the sampling of k - space , before the next rf pulse 32 is radiated and the next sampling of k - space ensues . the idle phase 33 hereby corresponds in terms of its duration to the duration of the traversal of a segment of k - space . according to the present exemplary embodiment , k - space is sampled in four segments . due to the additional idle phase 33 the interval between two rf pulses 32 thus corresponds to the duration of the sampling of five segments . since the duration for the sampling of four segments of k - space precisely corresponds to the duration between two pulse beats 30 of the person to be examined , due to the additional idle phase 33 the rf pulse 32 ( and therewith the sampling of k - space in each sequence pass ) is displaced by a temporally constant value relative to the pulse beat 30 . the sampling of k - space is thus temporally displaced within the heart interval . the point in time of the traversal of the k - space center and thus the point in time for the optimal image contrast are also displaced relative to the heart phases , so images with different contrast are acquired for each heart phase . the parameters for the sequence pass are selected such that a specific k - space segment is always sampled at the same point in time after the rf pulse 32 and this always has the same contrast . a contrast averaging over a large time span can thus ensue with the sequence according to the present invention . the present invention is not limited to the described exemplary embodiment . rather , k - space can be sampled in an arbitrary number of segments or also line - by - line . furthermore , the duration for the idle phase 33 can correspond to the duration of one or more segments . furthermore , the rf pulse 32 as well as the sampling of k - space can also be irregularly shifted relative to the pulse frequency . this means that no idle phase 33 , or idle phases of different lengths , are inserted in specific repetitions . the rf pulse 32 can be an individual pulse or a different rf pulse block arbitrarily formed by a number of pulses for preparation . more complex combinations are used for t 1 or t 2 preparation . after each rf pulse block 32 for magnetization preparation , data are acquired along an established trajectory along a first slice established by means of a slice - selection gradient g z , the trajectory being established within the slice by means of projection gradients g x and g y . as already explained , the individual segments of k - space and therewith the partial data are displaced relative to the determined pulse 30 . in order to attain a high time resolution , the partial data from the measurements repeated after the rf pulse block 32 are combined such that each image possesses a high time resolution . a fast image sequence of spatially and temporally high - resolution images of the heart thus can be created , and moreover in particular a temporally and spatially high - resolution film of the heart movement with good t 1 contrast . although the measurement time is limited by the maximum duration within which the patient can hold his or her breath , according to the present invention it is possible to acquire a temporally and spatially high - resolution movie of the heart movement without additional effort or an extension of the measurement time . the progression according the inventive sequence is shown in a second view in fig3 . the temporal progression of various quantities ( variables ) that determine the sequence is shown . the switching sequence of the analog - digital converter 8 , 8 ′ is indicated in the first line . the curve of the frequency coding gradient g x is shown in the second line . the third line shows the z - gradient moment of the 0th order . the sequence of the radio - frequency excitation according to the present invention is shown in the fourth line . the fifth line shows the phase change of the nco ( numerically - controlled oscillator ), for generation of periodic signals with a precisely - set frequency . the nco phase varies between 0 ° and 180 °. the slice - selection gradient g z is shown in the lowermost line . after passage of the true fisp sequence , the magnetization is approximately located in an equilibrium state . in order to begin from this equilibrium magnetization from the sequence given an inversion pulse , the state of the equilibrium magnetization along the static magnetic field is stored as a polarization via an α / 2 pulse 35 . the inversion pulse or the rf pulse block ( which , in the simplest case , is a 90 ° pulse 37 ) is subsequently radiated . following this all remaining transversal magnetization components are erased by a z - gradient spoiler 36 . following this is a second α / 2 pulse 34 in order to achieve the true fisp steady state ( i . e . the equilibrium magnetization ) without large signal fluctuations . the acquisition of the measurement data by means of the true fisp sequence follows after the second α / 2 pulse 34 . other preparation blocks ( such as , for example , linear ramps ) can also be used instead of α / 2 pulses . the measurement data acquired in k - space are translated into a real image by means of fourier transformation . only the phase - corrected real part of complex k - space is used in the fourier transformation . given saturation - prepared images in which no inverted spins occur , the phase correction can be acquired from the measurement data in the middle of k - space itself under the assumption that no phase jumps exist . in contrast to this , given inversion preparation a separate reference measurement is used in order to be able to detect inverted spins . various relaxation curves for different ratios of the longitudinal relaxation time t 1 to the acquisition time are shown along the time axis in fig4 . the relaxation curves are monotonous and therefore asymmetrical . by default the magnitude of the signal is used for reconstruction of an image given fourier transformation . due to the asymmetry of the relaxation curves , this leads to blurring in the obtained image , in particular when the entire relaxation curve is sampled . these artifacts can be avoided in that not the magnitude but rather only the real part of complex k - space is used for reconstruction of the image . this yields a symmetrization of the relaxation curves as shown in fig4 in the dotted graphs . as shown in the example of fig4 , average is obtained across all values along the phase coding lines , meaning that , in the case of 128 phase coding lines ( as in fig4 ), starting from the value in the middle phase coding line 64 averaging is respectively performed over the values situated to the right and left of this . as can be seen from fig4 , ideal straight lines result for long relaxation times t 1 , in contrast to which the symmetrized curves for shorter relaxation times exhibit a strong ( severe ) curvature at the boundary values . this low - pass behavior at the borders of the image does in fact generate certain intensity fluctuations for long t 1 values ; however , these remain within a tolerable scope since they remain within 5 %. the image processing and data evaluation ensue for the most part by means of the image computer 17 , the system computer 20 and the terminal 21 . fig5 and 6 show a spatial representation along the phase coding direction , whereby the image pixels are plotted along the x - axis and the intensity of the image signal is plotted along the y - axis . the ideal case of such a curve is designated with the first line in figure , in contrast to which the curves designated with the second line or the third line respectively show the magnitude portion of an image and the real part of an image . from fig5 it is apparent that the fluctuations of the real part image correspond to that of the magnitude image and that the fluctuations remain within tolerable limits . furthermore , fig6 shows that the fluctuations decrease with an increasing relaxation time since the intensities are plotted for various relaxation times . the curve designated with the first line is again the reference image ; the curves designated with the second line through the twelfth line correspond to the intensities for larger relaxation times . although the fluctuations of the intensity lie inside an acceptable tolerance range , they can be compensated by subsequent multiplication of the data in the phase coding direction in that a filter compensates the average fluctuations in the data . in an alternative , the data acquisition is not expanded across the entire relaxation curve . the asymmetry is particularly strong immediately after the preparation pulse , such that a very short wait time after the preparation pulse is sufficient in order to minimize the fluctuations of the intensity . in a preferred embodiment of the invention a saturation pulse is used as a preparation pulse . the contrast - noise ratio is thereby reduced by half , and the acquisition time is quadrupled given the same signal / noise ratio . furthermore , no phase reference image must be acquired given the use of a saturation pulse . moreover , after a sequence pass an equilibrium magnetization does not have to be waited for , whereby the next sequence pass can be begun immediately after the end of the preceding sequence pass . an acquisition time can hereby be achieved that is twice as fast as given use of an inversion pulse . in an alternative embodiment it is possible to skip over a segment in the acquisition in stead of inserting an idle phase 33 into the sequence , whereby the measurement time is in particular further shortened . furthermore , the possibility exists to use an inversion pulse instead of a saturation pulse . moreover , the flash sequence or any other gradient echo sequence can be used for the sequence . moreover , a further shortening of the measurement time is possible in that a plurality of inversion pulses are radiated within a pulse beat interval . times of 200 to 250 msec can hereby be achieved for the inversion time . in a further embodiment it is possible to radiate the preparation pulse independent of the measured pulse of the person to be examined and , in a later image reconstruction , to sort the measurement data corresponding to the various heart phases . the present invention makes it possible to use the entire interval between two pulse beats for the acquisition of measurement data and to acquire the measurement data during the entire relaxation . a short measurement time is hereby achieved , which in particular is of great importance in examinations that require a breath hold . although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art , it is the intention of the inventors to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution to the art . | 6 |
the figures show an overvoltage protection element 1 with a housing 2 , and an overvoltage limiting component located in the housing 2 . in the exemplary embodiment according to fig1 to 3 , the overvoltage limiting component is a varistor 3 , while the overvoltage protection elements 1 according to fig4 to 12 use a gas - filled surge arrester 3 ′. the overvoltage protection element 1 according to fig1 to 3 can be made as a protective plug having two connection elements 4 , 5 which can be inserted into corresponding receptacles of the lower part of a device ( not shown ). the connection elements 4 , 5 are each connected to a pole of the varistor 3 in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 so that the varistor 3 can be connected via the two connection elements 4 , 5 to the current path or signal path which is to be protected . as is apparent from fig1 and 7 , in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 , a thermally expandable material 6 is located in the housing 2 . the thermally expandable material 6 can be , for example , an intumescent material , which material is first solid , but as the temperature rises , changes its aggregate state and becomes liquid . when an activation temperature is exceeded , the thermally expandable material 6 reacts with a dramatic increase in volume , i . e ., the material 6 foams up and expands . this then leads to the position of the varistor 3 or of the surge arrester 3 ′ changing relative to the position of the connection elements 4 , 5 since the thermally expandable material 6 forces the varistor 3 or surge arrester 3 ′ out of its first position . in the exemplary embodiments according to fig2 & amp ; 6 , the varistor 3 or the surge arrester 3 ′ has been forced up , or to the side in the exemplary embodiment according to fig9 . the overvoltage protection element 1 according to fig1 to 3 , on the one hand , and the overvoltage protection elements 1 according to fig4 to 12 , on the other , differ from one another , first of all , in that , in the first exemplary embodiment , the overvoltage limiting component is a varistor 3 , while in the other exemplary embodiments a gas - filled surge arrester 3 ′ is used . moreover , the overvoltage protection elements 1 differ by the type of electrical contact - making between the varistor 3 and the connection elements 4 , 5 , on the one hand , and the surge arrester 3 ′ and the connection elements 4 , 5 , on the other . while in the two exemplary embodiments according to fig4 & amp ; 7 , in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 , the two poles of the surge arrester 3 ′ are connected via a respective solder site 7 , 8 to the connection elements 4 , 5 , so that the poles of the varistor 3 are in electrical contact via a plug connection 9 , 10 to the two connection elements 4 , 5 . the two poles of the varistor 3 are connected via two terminal lugs 11 , 12 to the connection elements 4 , 5 , the connection elements 4 , 5 each having a receptacle 13 , 14 on the sides facing the terminal lugs 11 , 12 . in the exemplary embodiment of the overvoltage protection element 1 shown in fig4 , each of the two poles of the surge arrester 3 ′ are connected to a respective terminal post 15 , 16 so that the solder sites 7 , 8 are formed between the terminal posts 15 , 16 and the connection elements 4 , 5 . in the exemplary embodiment of the overvoltage protection element 1 in accordance with the invention according to fig1 to 3 , the housing 2 has an outer housing part 17 and an inner housing part 18 which is arranged to be able to move in the outer housing part 17 . as is apparent from the figures , the bottom of the inner housing part 18 is open so that the inner housing part 18 surrounds the varistor 3 and the thermally expandable material 6 in the manner of a hood . if the impedance of the varistor 3 is reduced as a result of overloading or as a result of ageing of the varistor 3 , an impermissible leakage current flows through the varistor 3 ; this leads to heating of the varistor 3 . since the varistor 3 is at least partially surrounded by the thermally expandable material 6 , inherent heating of the varistor 3 also leads to heating of the material 6 so that it dramatically expands when a certain activation temperature is exceeded . this leads to a pressure increase within the space which is surrounded by the outer housing part 17 and the inner housing part 18 so that the inner housing part 18 is forced up by the expanding material 6 when the holding force of the inner housing part 18 within the outer housing part 17 and the contact force between the terminal lugs 11 , 12 and the receptacles 13 , 14 are exceeded by the force of the expanding material 6 . so that the varistor 3 also moves up with the inner housing part 18 , the varistor 3 is connected to the inner housing part 18 via a holding element 19 , the holding element 19 being located underneath the varistor 3 and extending perpendicular to the plane of the drawings , i . e ., in the transverse direction of the varistor 3 , according to fig1 to 3 . the inner housing part 18 is thus guided like a piston in the outer housing 17 , a stop which is not shown in the figures providing a limit to the motion of the inner housing part 18 out of the outer housing part 17 . as is apparent from fig1 , the inner housing part 18 , in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 , is in a first position within the outer housing part 17 in which the top 20 of the inner housing part 18 ends essentially flush with the top 21 of the outer housing part 17 so that the top 20 of the inner housing part 18 does not project beyond the end of the outer housing 17 . in contrast thereto , in the case of thermal overloading of the overvoltage protection element 1 , after electrical disconnection of the varistor 3 , the inner housing part 18 is located in a second position ( fig2 ) in which the top 20 of the inner housing part 18 projects over the top 21 of the outer housing 17 . the position of the inner housing part 18 is thus used as an optical status display for displaying the state of the overvoltage protection element 1 . it was stated above that the thermally expandable material 6 is preferably an intumescent material which in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 is solid and first becomes liquid when the temperature rises . in order to reliably prevent discharge of the liquid intumescent material 6 , in the illustrated exemplary embodiment above the connection elements 4 , 5 , i . e ., opposite the open bottom of the inner housing 18 , there is a sealing film 22 in the outer housing 17 . here the terminal lugs 11 , 12 in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 extend through slots provided in the sealing film 22 so that the terminal lugs 11 , 12 make contact with the receptacles 13 , 14 and thus are in electrical contact with the connection elements 4 , 5 . fig3 shows the overvoltage protection element 1 according to fig1 , in which the inner housing part 18 is in the second position so that the varistor 3 is disconnected . in contrast to the representation according to fig2 , in the representation according to fig3 , the varistor 3 or the inner housing part 18 has been shifted upward , not by an expansion of the thermally expandable material 6 , but as a result of an overpressure which has been caused by bursting of the varistor 3 due to an extreme overload . extreme overloading can shift a varistor 3 suddenly into a low - impedance state so that , in this extreme case , a grid - driven current of the size of the short circuit current can flow through the varistor 3 . a current flowing through the varistor 3 in this case can lead to destruction and thus to bursting of the varistor 3 . the resulting pressure is routed via an opening 23 which is formed in the holding element 19 which is located under the varistor 3 into the space 24 which is formed by the outer housing 17 , the inner housing part 18 and the sealing film 22 . the pressure which arises in this space 24 can lead to the inner housing part 18 being forced upward out of its first position into its second position , as a result of which the varistor 3 is also moved away from the connection elements 4 , 5 so that the terminal lugs 11 , 12 are no longer in electrical contact with the receptacles 13 , 14 , the overloaded varistor 3 is thus reliably and quickly disconnected . in the position of the inner housing part 18 which is shown in fig3 , the increased pressure which prevails in the space 24 can escape through the openings 25 formed in the outer housing 17 . the openings 25 are located in the outer housing part 17 such that they are closed by the inner housing part 18 as long as the inner housing part 18 is not yet in its second position . in the exemplary embodiment of the overvoltage protection element 1 shown in fig4 , the housing 2 does not comprise an outer housing and an inner housing , but instead is formed of two holding elements 26 , 27 which are u - shaped in cross section and which are used , in addition , to accommodate the thermally expandable material 6 , as well as for holding and contact - making of the terminal posts 15 , 16 of the surge arrester 3 ′ in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 . in the exemplary embodiments of the overvoltage protection element 1 which are shown in fig4 to 12 , the two electrical holding elements 26 , 27 are isolated from one another are thus used as connection elements 4 , 5 for the gas - filled surge arrester 3 ′. fig4 shows that , in the normal state of the overvoltage protection element 1 , each solder site 7 , 8 is formed between the two terminal posts 15 , 16 and the holding elements 26 , 27 . in this overvoltage protection element 1 , if the surge arrester 3 ′ is heated , this also leads to heating of the thermally expandable material 6 which is located underneath the surge arrester 3 ′ so that it expands when its activation temperature is reached . the surge arrester 3 ′ is then forced upward when the force applied by the thermally expandable material 6 is greater than the holding force of the softening solder sites 7 , 8 . in this second position of the surge arrester 3 ′ shown in fig6 , the two terminal posts 15 , 16 are no longer in electrical contact with the holding elements 26 , 27 so that the surge arrester 3 ′ is no longer connected to the signal path which is to be protected via the holding elements 26 , 27 . the electrical connection of the holding elements 26 , 27 to the signal path which is to be protected takes place in the exemplary embodiments according to fig4 to 12 by the holding elements 26 , 27 being connected to a circuit board 28 . instead of the solder connection shown in the figures between the terminals posts 15 , 16 and the holding elements 26 , 27 , fundamentally , there can also be a plug connection according to fig1 to 3 . in this case , the holding elements 26 , 27 would have corresponding receptacles on the sides facing the terminal posts 15 , 16 . while in the exemplary embodiment according to fig4 to 6 the holding elements 26 , 27 are made in such a way and the thermally expandable material 6 is located between the holding elements 26 , 27 such that in thermal overloading of the surge arrester 3 ′, it is forced upward by the expanding material 6 , the surge arrester 3 ′ in the exemplary embodiment according to fig7 to 9 is forced away horizontally to the side by the expanding material 6 . fundamentally , an arc can occur in the opening of an electrical contact via which a current is flowing ; in an overvoltage protection element 1 , this can lead to an impermissible current flowing via the arc even in the actually disconnected state of the overvoltage limiting component . this arc , in the exemplary embodiment of the overvoltage protection element 1 which is shown in fig2 , is prevented by the expanding thermally expandable material 6 penetrating into the intermediate space which is forming between the terminal lugs 11 , 12 and the receptacles 13 , 14 in the thermal overloading of the varistor 3 . possible arcs are extinguished by the foaming around the terminal lugs 11 , 12 . this applies accordingly also to the left terminal post 15 of the surge arrester 3 ′, which post is shown in fig9 . in order to further extinguish an arc which arises when the electrical connection between the terminal lugs 11 , 12 and the receptacles 13 , 14 is broken , in the situation of the overvoltage protection element 1 shown in fig3 , the two connection elements 4 , 5 are surrounded by a plastic part 29 which evolves gas when an arc is present . when an arc is present , a blowing on the arc is produced by the dissociation of the plastic parts 29 , and as a result of which the arc is extinguished . fig1 - 12 show three different versions of an overvoltage protection element 1 which differ from one another and from the version according to fig6 only by the execution of the thermally expandable material 6 . in the exemplary embodiment according to fig1 , there are conductive particles 30 in the thermally expandable material 6 . the conductive particles 30 can be , for example , graphite powder or copper powder . by adding the conductive particles 30 , an inherent conductivity of the material 6 is achieved so that , when a voltage is present , a current flows through the thermally expandable material 6 by which the material 6 is heated throughout its volume . when the material 6 reaches its activation temperature , the volume increases ; this also leads to the number of conductive components per unit of volume being reduced so that , with the increase in the volume , the conductivity of the material 6 is reduced , preferably to such an extent that current no longer flows through the material 6 at a maximum increase of the volume . in the exemplary embodiments according to fig1 & amp ; 12 , a heat pipe 31 or a resistance wire 32 is embedded in the thermally expandable material 6 , as a result of which additional heating of the material 6 occurs when a current is flowing through the heat pipe 31 and the resistance wire 32 . the connections of the heat pipe 31 and of the resistance wire 32 can be either routed out separately as shown in fig1 & amp ; 12 or can be connected to the connection elements 4 , 5 . in the latter case , the current via the surge arrester 3 ′ can also be used for additional heating of the thermally expandable material 6 by the heat pipe 31 and the resistance wire 32 . it is apparent that the above described versions or configurations of the thermally expandable material 6 can be used not only in an overvoltage protection element 1 with a gas - filled surge arrester 3 ′ according to fig6 , but also for an overvoltage protection element 1 with a varistor 3 according to fig1 . | 7 |
referring to fig1 and 2 , the principal structural components of the conveyor are shown to comprise spaced apart high side guards 10 supported by cross members 11 , in turn , mounted on legs 12 or in such manner as to maintain the conveyor at a desired elevation , whether it is horizontally level , or inclined up or down in the direction of travel or articles . inwardly of each guard 10 there is arranged a pair of longitudinal rails 13 of appropriate shape . the rails are secured to the cross members 11 so as to be fixed in spaced relation to each other and to the guards 10 . the rails 13 support a plurality of rollers 14 which collectively have the upper surfaces above the rails 13 to define an article supporting track - way . the space between the rails 13 is occupied by an elongated plate 15 providing a slide way 16 on its upper face . the plate has its longitudinal edges turned down to lend stiffness to the plate , and angle members 17 are secured along each turned edge to additionally stiffen the plate and provide the attachment for adjusting means 18 . it is obvious that other roll formed or extended sections may be substituted in place of plate 15 and angles 17 to provide a guided slide surface 16 without altering the intent of the invention . each adjusting means includes a threaded vertical stud and a pair of nuts threaded on the stud and embracing the horizontal leg of the angle irons 17 . the cross members 11 of the assembly are set close enough , or are sufficient in number , to provide support for the rails and the elongated plate 15 and maintain these components in desired alignment and without detrimental sag . near one end ( the right end in fig1 ) of the conveyor assembly there is a drive shaft 20 having suitable bearing 21 at one end and a second bearing 22 inboard of the other end so that the shaft end portion can be engaged in a suitable gear box 23 . the gear box 23 has its driven pulley 24 engaged by a belt 25 extending into engagement with the pulley 26 of the drive motor 27 . the motor 27 powers the shaft 20 on which are affixed a pair of traction wheels 28 spaced apart so that there will be room for a sprocket 29 that will be aligned with the center of the plate slide surface 16 . the opposite end of the conveyor is provided with an idler shaft 30 to carry a pair of traction wheels 31 and a sprocket 32 , with the sprocket 32 aligned with the sprocket 29 . a chain 33 is trained over these sprockets 29 and 32 with an upper span positioned above the plate surface 16 and its lower span below the cross members 11 and supported in a pan 15a suspended from the cross members 11 . the chain 33 ( fig4 ) is made up of two series of side links 34 and 35 having the adjacent ends in lapped relation and secured by pivot pins 36 . the pins 36 carry rollers 37 between the side links , as in accordance with standard roller chains . the roller chain is modified at desired places along its span by having elongated pivot pins 36a so that a portion of these pins project laterally beyond the chain links 34 and 35 to provide mounting means for article conveying means 38 at each side which engage and excite article into movement . each exciter means 38 is made up of a pair of bodies secured to the sides of the chain 33 . the bodies have a portion extending below the chain links 34 and 35 , as well as the rollers 37 , to engage and glide on the surface 16 of the plate 15 and thereby maintain all or substantially all of the chain 33 between exciter means 38 from engaging the surface 16 . the upper portion of each body extends above the chain 33 to provide a lug which has slanted surfaces 39 merging in a flat mid - surface 40 . it is characteristic of this improvement that each body 38 is quickly replaceable by removing the quick - disconnect chain link keepers 41 that are pressed over the projecting ends of the pins 36a . the article propelling or conveying exciter means 38 , as above described , are adapted to support the roller chain 33 above the plate surface 16 so that noise and chain clatter will be avoided , and further so that wear will be mainly taken by the bodies of the exciter means 38 . the means 38 may be made from a number of suitable materials , such as aluminum , brass , plastics or rubber or suitable combination therof , to accommodate the character of articles being conveyed and the level or inclined attitude of the conveyor . exceptional noise reduction is achieved by forming the means 38 of polyethylene which has the least impact effect on the articles , as also does rubber material . the relation of the components to an article a is well shown in various views of the drawings . turning now to fig3 it can be seen that the assembly has been modified over that seen in fig2 by substituting runners or skids 14a for the rollers 14 . the runners 14a are placed on the upper elongated edges of the rails 13 and are composed of a material having a low coefficient of friction as these runners furnish the principal support , just as do the rollers 14 of fig2 . it is frequently desirable to deliver articles to the end of a conveyor and retain them until they are removed . in order to provide means to stop or hold the articles on the conveyor of fig1 the right hand end of the assembly is provided with opposed compression pads 42 located at the sides 10 of the conveyor ( fig1 and 2 ). the pads 42 are connected to the vertical shafts 43 and 44 by links 45 and 46 respectively located near the upper ends . the shafts 43 and 44 are carried by suitable brackets , such as the upper bearing brackets 47 and by lower bearing brackets 48 for the shaft 44 . while not shown , it is understood that similar brackets are used for shaft 43 . a power unit 49 is connected to the right hand shaft 44 by a crank 50 which is cross connected by a rod 51 to a crank 52 on the shaft 44 at the opposite side . when the power unit 49 is energized to extend , it will close the pads 42 against the sides of an article to arrest or retard its further movement . obviously the compression pads 42 may be operatively mounted at any chosen location or several locations along the conveyor . fig5 shows a different embodiment of article arresting means . here a single vertical shaft 52 on each side carried in a suitable bearing brackets 53 is employed to support a stop arm 54 having an article engaging element 55 at its outer end . the lower end of the right hand shaft 52 is provided with a crank 56 , one end of the crank 56 being connected to a cross link 57 which extends under the conveyor and connects to a crank 58 on the opposite shaft 52 . the other end of crank 56 is connected to the power unit which may be fluid motor 59 . the opening and closing action of the stop arms can be easily understood from the foregoing description . the operation of the conveying exciter means 38 is shown schematically in fig6 , and 8 . the views include only the series of rollers which supply the principal support of the article a which in this example is a tote - box but could be any of various sized , but appropriately shaped packages . in fig6 the tote - box a is resting on the roller 14 as an exciter means 38 is drawn along by the roller chain 33 . the exciter means 38 form lugs projecting above the chain 33 a distance d above the top line of the rollers 14 . the advancing slanting surface 39 engages the tote - box a with a minimum of impact noise or shock to the tote - box . if the tote - box a is empty or lightly loaded the means 38 will merely push the tote - box along in front . however , if the tote - box is loaded even lightly , the means 38 will encounter inertia as well as the normal friction in the rollers 14 , and therefore the means 38 will move beneath the tote - box a a distance that will depend on when the friction between the means 38 and the tote - box will exceed the friction in the rollers 14 . the effect of the last described condition is shown in fig7 that is the tote - box will be partially lifted off some of the rollers 14 and assume a tilted position which will give maximum effect to the conveying effort of means 38 . as seen in fig8 the condition of an obstruction s ( which may be the pads 42 in fig1 or the stop means 55 in fig5 .) will stop advance of the tote - box a and the means 38 will be caused by the pull of the chain 33 to slide forward under the tote - box and continue on . each subsequent means 38 on the chain 33 will initate the same action and pass beneath the tote - box but will effect a lifting action to test the obstruction s . when the obstruction s is removed the next means 38 will resume the propelling influence on the tote - box or boxes . the propelling or conveying effort of each means 38 on the articles a can be selected as needed by varying the distance d ( fig6 ) the surface 40 of each means 38 projects above the top line of the rollers 14 . the adjustment is effected ( fig1 ) by turning the nuts of the adjusting means 18 on the studs . in addition , articles a can be positively moved onto or off of the conveyor at either end by the provision of the traction wheels 28 and 31 , depending on which direction the means 38 are moved by the roller chain 33 . it is especially useful to have the traction wheels at the article loading end so that each article will be moved sufficiently onto the rollers 14 to be properly engaged by the next means 38 that arrives at the loading end . in the conveyor assembly above described it is to be understood that there are a number of variables that must be considered . the variations possible in selecting the distance d provide a way to increase or decrease the propelling effect of means 38 . the spacing along the chain 33 of the means 38 is another variable to be considered in view of the fact that one means 38 has a practical limit in relation to the number of articles a that can be propelled at one time . when the number of articles accumulated in front of one means 38 exceeds the ability to propel all of the articles the means 38 will slide beneath one or more articles until its propelling effort exceeds the frictional resistance in the bearings for the roller supports 14 or the runners 14a . furthermore , there is a situation often encountered in conveyors when it is desirable to accumulate a group of articles at a designated station , but it is not desired to stop the conveyor or even cause overloading of the conveyor drive . in such a situation the spacing between means 38 cna be adjusted by removing certain of the bodies , and the elevation distance d also can be adjusted so that each means 38 will slide under the accumulated articles without overload effect on the motor 27 . such an accumulation condition can be recognized in fig8 as the obstruction s will cause several articles a to backup at that point . another variable to be considered is that of varying the travel speed of the draw means relative to the number of exciters 38 , thus in another manner to predesign the rate at which loads a will be advanced along the conveyor . the embodiments above described have the advantages and unique features of exciter means 38 being selectively spaced along the length of the chain 33 , the means 38 being made up of removable side bodies so that different materials and sizes of the bodies can be installed and the means 38 being symmetrical so that it will operate in either direction of movement to move articles as desired merely be reversing the drive direction of the motor means 27 . the means 38 also have the unique feature of supporting the chain 33 so that only the means 38 are subjected to wear and require replacement from time - to - time . | 1 |
fig1 shows a schematic of the ultrafiltration system 100 . withdrawal access 112 and infusion access 118 are obtained to and from the vascular system of the patient 110 . peripheral access via standard iv access methods is acceptable for use with this device . this is an advantage of the device described herein , but not a limiting requirement . the device will function just as effectively with other higher flow access methods such as a fistula , central venous catheter , implanted port , midline or picc . if required , withdrawal extension 114 connects proximally to withdrawal access via connectors 113 , and distally to withdrawal tubing 130 via connectors 116 . if required , infusion extension 120 connects proximally to infusion access via connectors 119 , and distally to infusion tubing 132 via connectors 122 . if extensions 114 , 120 are not required , the withdrawal tubing may connect directly to withdrawal access and infusion tubing directly to infusion access . the extensions are optional and used for making connections and extending circuit tube lines if needed . a maximum blood volume of the extension may be specified to ensure that the maximum circuit volume is within a maximum volume so that leak detection occurs without excessive loss of blood and to avoid an excessive residence time of blood in the extracorporeal circuit . withdrawal tubing 130 and infusion tubing 132 both pass through or in proximity of air detector 134 , such that air bubbles can be detected in either tubing line . alternatively two separate air detectors 134 may be utilized . the air detector 134 uses ultrasound to determine the presence of air . an emitter and receiver of the air detector are placed on either sides of the tubing and correctly acoustically coupled the signal transmitted between emitter and receiver and through the blood tubing . acoustic coupling requires that a liquid be present in the tubing between the emitter and receiver . air attenuates the signal significantly and prevents the transmission of the ultrasonic pulses thus enabling the detection of air . five different pressure sensors are employed in the described system 100 . these are pressure sensors 140 , 144 , 160 , 164 and 170 . pressure sensors may be of the direct contact type and part of the disposable circuit , or of the indirect contact type and part of the controlling system of the pump console . sensors need not be the same type for each location . after passing through the air detector , the withdrawal tubing runs through withdrawal pump 142 , and then into filter 150 . infusion tubing 161 comes out the opposite end of the filter , travels through infusion pump 162 , and then through the air detector . blood traveling through the filter , is treated by extraction of liquid , with the removed filtrate media exiting the filter through the ultrafiltration line 176 . ultrafiltration media travels from the filter 150 through a blood leak sensor 172 , and then ultrafiltrate pump 174 . ultrafiltration media is collected in a reservoir 182 by the ultrafiltrate pump 174 pump it through the tubing conduit 176 . an optional weight scale 180 can be employed to monitor the collection of ultrafiltrate media in the reservoir . flow rates of the infusion pump and ultrafiltrate pumps are controlled by a pump console controller so that the sum of the infusion blood flow rate and the filtrate rate equals that of the withdrawal flow rate as determined by the withdrawal pump . pressure sensors can help monitor this flow relationship . pumps 142 , 162 , and 174 are reversible blood and filtration pumps , such as peristaltic roller pumps . the blood circuit is basically symmetrical about the filter . in particular , the length of the tubing line from the implanted port or catheter to the filter is equivalent to the length from the filter to the infusion catheter or implanted port . the first blood pump 142 is connected to a first tube line 130 of the circuit , and the second blood pump 162 is connected to the second tube line 132 of the circuit . the role of withdrawal and infusion is switched by reversing the rotational direction of the pumps . when the pumps are reversed the withdrawal access 112 is used for infusion and infusion access 118 is used for withdrawal . before treatment initiation , patient access is established for the vascular system . patient access may be peripherally via standard iv needle access or via implanted blood access port ( s ) or other such means . to initiate treatment , the ultrafiltration circuit is primed by connecting the withdrawal connector 116 to a saline bag and the infusion connector 122 to an ultrafiltrate reservoir 182 or some other fluid collection device . the peristaltic roller pumps 142 and 162 operate in a clockwise direction until the tubing and filter are fully primed . the air detector 134 senses that the tubing and filter have no air and are fully primed . when the circuit and filter are primed , the ultrafiltration segment 176 can be primed by operating pump 174 in a clockwise direction while roller pumps 142 and 162 continue to operate in a clockwise direction . priming of the access devices 112 , 118 and extensions 114 , 120 can be performed through connectors 116 , 122 with a syringe or other appropriate method . blood pumps 142 and 162 are rotated at the same speed and in the same rotational direction while ensuring that pressure 160 is positive at all times . the pressure in the tubing may fall to a negative condition due to a mismatch between pump flows that can be caused by for example the tolerances of the pump velocity settings , the tolerances of the tubing diameter and other various tubing characteristics . if the pressure sensor 160 detects a negative pressure in the blood line while pumps 142 and 162 are rotating clockwise , the controller may determine that the speed of pump 162 is to be increased or decreased to maintain the blood pressure in the circuit at a value or range of values such as 20 mmhg . the value ( s ) can in theory be any pressure positive or negative . using such a closed loop control system eliminates the need for impossibly tight tolerance requirements for the pumps and tubing segments once the circuit is primed , the patient is connected and treatment initiated . since the blood circuit is symmetrical , pumps 142 and 162 can operate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction . a user specified blood flow rate will dictate how long operation can proceed in one direction before reversing . the length of time between pump reversals is calculated such that , if a disconnection occurs , the maximum amount of blood which could be pumped and lost would preferably not exceed a volume of 100 milliliters ( ml ), and may be set to not exceed a maximum blood loss in a range of 50 ml to 200 ml . the controller may determine the blood volume passing through the circuit based on the pump speed , and reverse the pump directions after the predetermined maximum volume , e . g ., 100 ml , has passed through the circuit . after the calculated time has elapsed , pumps 142 , 162 reverse direction . during clockwise rotation , the rotational rate of pump 162 is adjusted to match the rate difference of pumps 142 and 174 . thus : where q pump 142 is the set blood pump flow rate , q pump 174 is the set ultrafiltrate flow rate and q pump 162 is the difference between the set blood pump flow rate and the set ultrafiltrate flow rate . during counterclockwise rotation , likewise the rate of pump 142 is adjusted by the controller to match the rotational rate difference of pumps 162 and 174 . thus : pump 174 operates in a clockwise rotation during normal ultrafiltration mode . ultrafiltration is controlled such that the filter removes a set fraction of fluid from the blood . the fraction is established to minimize any risk to the patient of excess blood concentration or to clot formation in the circuit . pump 174 may operate in a counterclockwise rotation to backflush the filter or create some other desired pressure gradient across the filter . since both infusion and withdrawal blood lines travel through the air detector 134 before reaching the patient , there is no risk of air entrainment reaching the patient from the blood circuit . upon reversal of direction of pumps 142 and 162 , the ultrafiltration pump is temporarily stopped for a set period determined based on the set blood pump flow rate , circuit volume and access volume . during this period the pump flow rates 142 and 162 are set to equal each other because the ultrafiltrate pump 174 has been stopped . the filtrate is stopped to avoid circulating blood twice through the filter . a second pass through the filter would further concentrate the blood and could increase the propensity of clots to form in the filter . the period of filtration cessation may be determined by dividing the summation of the half the volume of the extracorporeal circuit and the volume of blood in the access path ( collectively the flush volume ) by the blood pump flow rate . since this flush volume is a function of the access methodology , the operator enters the flush volume into the ultrafiltration device at the time of setup . pressure sensors 140 , 144 , 160 , 164 , and 170 monitor the pressures within the circuit tubing throughout treatment to facilitate detection of disconnects or occlusions . pressure sensors can also be used to monitor and verify pump flow rates and ultrafiltrate collection . the pressure sensor 170 is used to ensure that the filter is not exposed to excessively high tmp ( transmembrane pressures ). tmp may be calculated as : where p144 is pressure measured at pressure sensor 144 , p160 is pressure measured at pressure sensor 160 , and p170 is pressure measured at pressure sensor 170 . controlling the maximum negative pressure allowed at the pressure sensor site 170 ensures that the tmp does not become excessively high . the ultrafiltrate rate is limited to set ultrafiltrate rate . when the ultrafiltrate pressure 170 drops below a predefined set pressure limit , the ultrafiltrate rate is reduced to maintain the target pressure using the pressure sensor 170 as feedback . this can also be used as a trigger to backflush the ultrafiltrate to clear filter fouling . for instance when the ultrafiltrate rate is less than 90 % of the set ultrafiltrate rate for a 1 second period the ultrafiltrate pump 174 is reversed . during this reversal it is necessary to increase the infusion pump flow to accommodate the ultrafiltrate pump flow being returned . in the case of clockwise control this will result in the pump 162 being increased to the set flow of q pump 142 + q pump 174 . in addition to reversing pump direction to detect disconnects and blood leaks , pump reversal can provide the benefit of clearing occlusions within the circuit and reducing the polarization layer which builds up within the filter fiber . periodic pump reversals will reduce the chance of occlusions occurring within the circuit and access devices by flushing them every other cycle . if occlusions are detected by the pressure sensor , a pump reversal can be initiated prior to the normal cycle reversal in an attempt to resolve the cause of the occlusion . such occlusions may occur due to vessel collapse , occlusion of cannulae tip or the formation of micro clots . responding to them immediately will increase the probability of resolving the issue . fig2 is a schematic diagram of another ultrafiltration device 200 similar to the device 100 shown in fig1 with the addition of an anticoagulant infusion system 203 and a position based ultrafiltrate volume limit detection system 220 . blood is withdrawn and infused through blood lines 130 and 132 . the blood is withdrawn through the air detector 134 and through the filter 150 before being returned to the patient and back through the air detector 134 . to prevent clotting , heparin or other such anticoagulant is infused into the withdrawal line . when blood is withdrawn from a venous supply , the blood pressure in the withdraw line will be negative and the pressure in the infusion line will be positive . by using two one way valves 202 and 207 , the infused anticoagulant will always infuse into the withdrawal line obviating the need for two anticoagulant pumps or some form of motor driven actuator to switch the flow of anticoagulant when blood flow is reversed . it is generally accepted that it is better to infuse an anticoagulant upstream of the filter because the filter is in the extracorporeal circuit and has a high likelihood for initiating the clotting cascade . infusing the anticoagulant upstream facilitates a high concentration of anticoagulant locally within the circuit and filter while minimizing systemic anticoagulation . when blood is withdrawn by pump 142 and infused by pump 162 , the pressure at the anticoagulant t connector 201 is negative and positive at t connector 206 . the anticoagulation pump 304 is a syringe pump . flows from syringe pumps are typically in the order of 0 to 20 ml / hr ranging from drug delivery flow rates of 0 to 1000 units / hr when heparin is used as the anticoagulant in hemofiltration . since this ultrafiltration device has considerably lower blood flows , a much lower flow range of 0 to 2 ml / hr will suffice facilitating a much smaller syringe pump design . the syringe pump 304 delivers anticoagulant via the t connector 203 through two possible paths 208 or 209 . when the pressure at t connector 201 is negative and t connector 206 positive the one way valve 202 is open and the one way valve 207 is closed and one way valve 207 is open ensuring the anticoagulant is delivered upstream of the filter . the t connector 203 is connected to the one way valve 202 via a conduit tube 209 and to one way valve 207 via a conduit tube 208 . one way valve 203 is connected to t connector 201 via a conduit tube and one way valve 207 is connected to t connector 206 via a conduit tube . when blood flow is reversed , the polarity of the pressures at t connectors 201 and 206 will also be reversed resulting in one way valve 202 closing and one way valve 207 opening . the ultrafiltrate removed from the filter 150 by the ultrafiltrate pump 174 is withdrawn passed the blood leak detector 172 and pumped into the collection reservoir 224 via the conduit tube 176 . the blood leak detector 172 uses a near infra red ( ir ) photo emitter and receiver with a peak sensitivity close to the isospectic point of blood , 820 nm . in the presence of ultrafiltrate and saline little or no attenuation of the ir signal occurs but in the presence of blood the ir signal is dispersed and greatly attenuated making it possible to measure the presence of blood in ultrafiltrate . blood in the ultrafiltrate indicates a breach of the filter membrane and when detected , causes the pumps to stop . because it is difficult to measure weight in an ambulatory system a volume expansion detection system is used which is independent of weight . the reservoir bag is compressed by spring 226 and plate 223 . as the ultrafiltrate is delivered to the reservoir , the reservoir expands and the spring compresses . when the bag switch 221 arm 225 is intercepted by the spring plate 223 the switch is opened indicating that the bag is fully . the ultrafiltrate pump is stopped and the user is informed via an alarm that the bag has to be emptied . the bag is designed to hold 250 ml . the switch 221 is connected electrically to the system processor via cable 222 . the spring creates a maximum pressure in tube 176 of 2 to 5 psi . this low maximum pressure is sufficient to compress the bag while not presenting any significant resistive force for the peristaltic pump 174 . blood circuit peristaltic pumps have been designed to relieve at pressures exceeding 60 psi . a proximity switch may also be used instead of a mechanical switch . the advantage of a mechanical switch is that it consumes no energy . the reservoir 224 may be emptied via the stopcock 240 . ultrafiltration occurs inside the filter 150 . whole blood enters the bundle of hollow fibers from the cap of the filter canister . there are approximately 160 hollow fibers in the bundle , and each fiber is a filter . blood flows through a channel approximately 0 . 2 mm in diameter in each fiber . the fiber walls of the channel are made of a porous material . the pores are permeable to water and small solutes but impermeable to red blood cells , proteins and other blood components that are larger than 50 , 000 - 60 , 000 daltons . blood flow in fibers is tangential to the surface of the filter membrane . the shear rate resulting from the blood velocity is high enough such that the pores in the membrane are protected from fouling by particles , allowing the filtrate to permeate the fiber wall . filtrate ( ultrafiltrate ) leaves the fiber bundle and is collected in a space between the inner wall of the filter canister and outer walls of the fibers . the geometry of the filter is optimized to prevent clotting and fouling of the membrane . the active area of the filter membrane is approximately 0 . 023 m 2 . the permeability kuf of the membrane is 30 to 33 ml / hour / m 2 / mmhg . these parameters allow the desired ultrafiltration rate of approximately 1 liter to 3 liters every 24 hrs at the tmp of 150 to 250 mmhg that is generated by the resistance to flow . the effective filter length is 22 . 5 cm and the diameter of the filter fiber bundle is 0 . 5 cm . the blood shear rate in the filter may be 850 to 2500 sec - 1 at blood flow rate of 5 to 15 ml / min . since the device is to be ambulatory the return 132 and withdrawal 130 tubing may be 60 cm in length . with a tubing diameter of 2 . 5 mm the volume in the complete circuit blood path is less than 7 ml . with a tubing diameter of 2 mm the volume in the complete circuit blood path is less than 5 ml . minimizing this volume reduces the blood residence time of the devices propensity to clot . fig3 shows a diagram of the apparatus worn by a patient as described in fig2 . the ultrafiltration device may be attached to a waist belt worn by the patient 300 or over the shoulder or on the back of the patient to provide ambulatory use of the device . access to the patient blood is depicted by 301 via an implanted port with its cannulae placed centrally . withdrawal and infusion blood lines 132 and 130 exit from the patient access site 301 and are connected to the ultrafiltration device 304 and 303 at the back of the patient . the console 304 includes a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) 305 and a membrane panel for viewing and entering patient therapy parameters . the reservoir 308 is separate from the console and is connected to the console via the electrical cable 309 and the ultrafiltrate conduit tube 176 . keeping the reservoir separate minimizes weight accumulation on a specific area and also reduces the hazard of wetting the console . additional battery packs may also be stored on the belt and may be connected directly to the ultrafiltrate device as needed . when the reservoir is full the console annunciates an alarm requesting the user to empty the ultrafiltrate reservoir . a reservoir may be disconnected and emptied or drained using an extension hose connected to the reservoir minimizing the potential for spill on the patients clothing . fig4 shows a detailed view of the cantilevered pressure transducer assembly 400 used for measuring pressures at sites 140 , 144 , 160 , 164 and 172 shown in fig2 . the user inserts the tubing into the recess defined by the lever arm strain gauge 401 and the housing body 402 . the lever arm strain gauge 401 is attached to the housing by a securing screw 301 . the circuit tubing 403 which is normally cylindrical in shape is deformed to an oval shape by the insertion of the tube into the pressure transducer recess defined by 401 and 402 . the lever arms 401 central axis 404 is depicted in fig4 when atmospheric pressure is present within the circuit tube and when a positive pressure 405 is present within the tube . the lever arm 401 is bent upwards such that the central axis 405 when pressure is positive and bent downwards when pressure is negative . the strain gauge consists of a wheatstone bridge resistor network on the lever arm and changes in resistance in proportion to the pressure exerted by the circuit tube . this is interpreted as an electrical signal when the transducer is excited electrically via 2 excitation wires of the 4 wire electrical cable 406 . since the ultrafiltration device does not need pressure sensors for the detection of disconnects , a similar approach to that used to measure pressure used by standard infusion pumps may be employed . the expansion of the blood lines is used to monitor for the detection of occlusions by use of force gauges which convert the force exerted by the blood and ultrafiltrate tubing to an electrical signal . the force gauge may be a load cell similar to that sold by smd ( strain measurement devices ) of meriden , conn . and st . edmunds , england . the load cell may include a lever arm that applies pressure to the tubing by compressing it slightly . at the start of the treatment the measured pressure can be zeroed mathematically by the pump console microprocessor to remove offsets due to tubing position . when under positive pressure the tube expands against the load cell lever arm raising the lever arm producing an electrical signal proportional to the pressure in the tube . when under negative pressure , the tube collapses and thereby lowers the lever arm create an electrical signal proportional to the pressure in the tube . these electrical signals may be read by an analog to digital converter and translated to pressure measurements via a transfer function . unfortunately , such pressure sensors implementations are notoriously bad for variances in offsets because of the creep characteristics of polymers . it is possible to choose polymers that minimize creep but this is a medical application and the numbers of materials that are biocompatible , have low creep properties and facilitate peristaltic action provides a significant design challenge . peristaltic pump tubing requires that the tubing be flexible and compliant , i . e . of low durometer , otherwise the torque required to compress the tubing is excessive . it is possible to use different materials for each section of the circuit but this will create additional joints decreasing the reliability of the blood circuit . it is difficult to reliably bond different polymers materials to each other and such a construction creates an added hazard for disconnects and leaks . it is also helpful to minimize the number of transitions and joints in the circuit be minimized to decrease the circuits clotting propensity and improve circuit reliability . fig5 shows a diagram of the electrical architecture of the ultrafiltration device consisting of the console 305 and reservoir 308 . the console 304 houses the lcd 305 , membrane panel 306 , blood leak detector 172 , pressure sensors 140 , 144 , 170 , 160 and 164 , battery pack 506 , blood pumps 142 and 162 , ultrafiltrate pump 174 , syringe pump 508 , alarm speaker 508 and main printed circuit board ( pcb ) 502 . within the main pc 502 there are 3 processors , the main central processor ( cp ) 503 , the pump motor control ( mc ) cp 504 and the safety cp 505 . each of the sensor readings including blood leak , air detector , pump encoders and pressure sensors are shared between the main cp and the safety cp facilitating a control and monitor implementation for system safety . the pumps motors are each driven by a brushless dc motor and electrically commutated by the mc cp using encoder feedback and ½ bridge circuit on the pcb 502 . each motor has a quadrature encoder which outputs a and b quadrature digital signals as the motor is rotated as a function of motor position . each motor is geared for optimal efficiency with a gear ratio of 10 : 1 resulting in a peak power consumption of less than 2 watts per motor . in order to conserve energy the pressure sensors , blood leak detector and air detector are only powered when it is necessary to read the sensor signal . this reduces the power consumption of these devices by a factor of 10 . the digital sample rate for the console sensors is 50 hz . the console battery pack operates at 12 vdc and uses nimh chemistry . charging of the batteries is performed off line with a separate battery charger . this reduces the electrical circuitry required during operation and minimizes power consumption and space requirements . use of an external power source is possible via and external power supply with an output of 12 vdc . the battery supply is disabled when an external power supply is connected . the reservoir 308 is connected electrically via a 2 wire cable to the console 304 providing electrical connection for the reservoirs expansion limit mechanical switch 221 . the mechanical switch 221 is normally closed until the reservoir is full . when full the switch is thrown open providing the additional safety that if the electrical cable were to become disconnected ultrafiltration would be stopped . the main cp reads each of the pressure inputs and updates the blood and ultrafiltrate pumps velocity every 20 ms . the liquid crystal display ( lcd ) is only powered if it has a message to display or if the operator presses a membrane panel key . the console duty cycles a green light emitting diode ( led ) every second to indicate that it is operating correctly . in the event of a problem , a red led is flashed and an alarm annunciated via the speaker . the lcd is then powered on and displays a message informing the users of the potential cause of the issue and remedy . fig6 shows a flow chart of which pressure sensors the ultrafiltration device uses for feedback when in clockwise or anticlockwise blood pump rotation and which pumps it uses to control these pressures to limit pressure excursions . four pressure control loops are operating simultaneously . these loops are : ( i ) the withdrawal pressure control algorithm , ( ii ) the infusion pressure control algorithm , ( iii ) the filter positive pressure control algorithm and ( iv ) the ultrafiltrate pressure control algorithm in flow chart 600 the terms pxfeedback and qxcontrol are used where p denotes pressure , q flow of pump , x the control algorithm i . e . w withdrawal , i infusion , c filter pressure or center pressure and u ultrafiltrate . during blood pump reversals of pumps 142 and 162 from anti - clockwise rotation to clockwise rotation the pressure transducers used for feedback are changed in conjunction with the blood pumps used for control . during clock wise rotation 620 , the pressures within the filter are kept slightly positive by using the pressure sensor 160 as feedback and the blood pump 162 as control as shown in block 610 . this is also true in the event of a withdrawal occlusion because the pressure sensor 140 is used as feedback and the blood pump 142 is used as the control blood pump as shown in block 608 . no conflict arises between two control loops trying to control the same pressure . but in the case of an infusion occlusion when the blood pumps are rotating clockwise the pressure sensor 164 is used as feedback and the blood pump 162 is used as control as shown in block 609 . to maintain positive pressure within the filter the same feedback pressure sensor 160 is used as shown in blocks 610 and 611 but the control pump is changed from 162 to 142 . this eliminates any conflict between which pump is used for control while still maintaining both pressure targets . the withdrawal and infusion pressure targets read by pressure sensors 140 and 160 respectively are − 300 and 300 mmhg respectively . the blood pump flows are limited by the user defined set blood pump flow which is set to be as high as possible based upon the available access minimizing blood circuit residence time and maximizing the maximum rates of ultrafiltration . the maximum extraction rate of ultrafiltrate is limited to 21 % of blood flow . if an infusion occlusion is persistent for an extended period of time then the direction of the blood pumps are reversed . blood pump reversals are normally timed based and are a function of set blood pump flow but in the vent of a persistent occlusion in either the withdrawal or infusion line the reversal sequence may be initiated early . during blood pump reversals of pumps 142 and 162 from clockwise rotation to anticlockwise rotation the pressure transducers used for feedback are changed in conjunction with the blood pumps used for control . during anticlockwise rotation 621 the pressures within the filter are kept slightly positive by using the pressure sensor 144 as feedback and the blood pump 142 as control as shown in block 605 . this is also true in the event of a withdrawal occlusion because the pressure sensor 164 is used as feedback and blood pump the blood pump 162 is used as the control blood pump as shown in block 608 . no conflict arises between two control loops trying to control the same pressure . but in the case of an infusion occlusion when the blood pumps are rotating anticlockwise the pressure sensor 140 is used as feedback and the blood pump 142 is used as control as shown in block 604 . in order to maintain positive pressure within the filter the same feedback pressure sensor 144 is used as shown in blocks 605 and 606 but the control pump is changed from 142 to 162 . this eliminates any conflict between which pump is used for control while still maintaining both pressure targets . during both clockwise and anticlockwise blood pump rotation the ultrafiltrate pressure is limited to a maximum negative pressure of − 300 mmhg ., for example . block 612 shows that the pressure sensor 174 and ultrafiltrate pump 174 are unaffected by blood pump direction . fig7 shows how the pressure control loop 700 is implemented . this pressure control loop is used for all four control loop described in fig6 . the difference between the target pressure 700 and the feedback pressure 705 , the pressure error are input to a pi ( proportional integral ) control loop 703 . each time there is a setting change to the blood flow , uf rate or the ultrafiltrate pump has to be reversed as part of a back flush maneuver the feed forward term ( ff ) 706 is updated to difference between the set blood flow and the uf rate . thus in the case of clockwise control the ff term 706 is set to : upon initiation of the control loop the integration term of the pi loop is set to 0 ml and is limited to +/− 20 % of the set blood flow rate to prevent windup of the integrator . thus if the blood flow is set to 10 ml / min the maximum the integration term if allowed to sum to is +/− 1 ml / min when trying to the pressure sensor 160 to the target pressure p target . the +/− 20 % limit is chosen because the blood pump has an accuracy of +/− 10 % and variations significantly above of below this imply a fault condition . the resultant pump flow of the summed pi output and the ff term is commanded by the mc cp to the pump 703 which delivers the desired fluid flow and results in a circuit 704 causing the pressure 705 due to the circuit and access resistance . this pressure 705 is read by the main cp using an adc ( analog to digital convertor ) and is used to calculate the pressure error by subtracting the feedback pressure 705 from the target pressure 701 . fig8 a to 8 k are diagrams depicting the air detector and cross - sections of the withdrawal and return tube passing through the air detector . the dual lumen tube design eliminates the need for a second air detector and also reduces the power consumption requirements for the device . this minimizes the required space , weight and battery capacity for device operation . the air detector 801 uses an ultrasonic emitter 802 and receiver 803 . the withdrawal and return tubes 804 are inserted into the air detector slot and as long as the lumens are full of liquid no air detection will be detected . if a bubble of gas is entrained into the withdrawal of return tube , passes through the air detector and is greater than 50 microliters in volume , an air detected alarm is annunciated by the console . the signal strength received by the receiver will dramatically reduce in the presence of an air bubble because a gas is significantly less dense than a liquid and there are large losses in the energy being transmitted making the detection of bubbles possible . this will be interpreted as an air detected alarm by the ultrafiltration device . testing has shown that it is possible to insert two single circular single lumen tubes into a standard air detector and to detector air in either lumen . it is difficult to place such single lumens into the air detector slot and a better alternative is to extrude the two lumens together . fig8 b to 8 k show the many combinations of tubing cross - section supporting dual , triple and multiple lumens which will support such an air detection implementation . the patient circuit tubing is inserted into the air detector slot during the priming sequence of the ultrafiltration device . fig8 b shows a dual oval shaped co - extruded cross - section . it would also possible to make such a portion of tubing by gluing two tubes together to facilitate . fig8 c and 8 d show an hour glass dual circular co - extruded cross - section in both the horizontal and vertical position demonstrating orientation is not important when inserting the tubing segment into the air detector for the purposes of detecting air . such a cross - section could be extruded or be formed from gluing two tubes together as part of the circuit manufacturing process . either extruding or gluing will enable a similar cross - section . the cross - section of the two lumen tubing is also not limited to being hour glass shaped , it may be square in shape as shown in fig8 e or circular with two inner d lumen as shown in fig8 f or a combination of two lumen shapes ranging from circular and oval to kidney shaped as shown in fig8 g . fig8 h shows a co - extruded concentric tubing cross - section which will also work . air in either channel will result in an air detection alarm . fig8 k shows a double oval lumen implementation of a dual lumen tubing implementation . the purpose of showing these configurations is to demonstrate that the implementation is not limited to a specific tubular configuration and that many implementations are feasible . this air detection scheme will also work for multiple lumens . fig8 i shows a three lumen implementation using a square profile . fig8 j shows a similar three lumen implementation using a circular lumen profile . the detection method will work with multiple lumens as shown in fig8 b to 8 k . the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments . the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments , but , on the contrary , covers various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 0 |
fig1 is an architectural overview of a network 100 adapted for content searching according to an embodiment of the present invention . network 100 includes an internet network 101 , a cable network 102 , and a satellite network 103 . internet network 101 has an internet backbone 104 illustrated therein . backbone 104 logically represents all of the lines , access points , and network equipment that make up the internet network as a whole . therefore , there are no geographic limitations to the practice of the present invention except where geographic limitations exist in connected networks , which shall only apply to those networks . a plurality of link servers ( ls ) is illustrated within internet network 101 . these are ls 120 , ls 121 , and ls 122 . in one embodiment , ls 120 - 122 may be servers that provide universal resource locator ( url ) links to search engine interfaces operated as client software applications on nodes having connection to internet network 101 , more specifically to backbone 104 . ls 120 - 122 may be hosted by one or more than one enterprise that may provide internet search services to consumers . in the just - mentioned embodiment , ls 120 - 122 may all be hosted by a single enterprise , or each may be hosted by a separate competing enterprise . yahoo ™, google ™, and altavista ™, represent well - known examples in this embodiment , of enterprises that may host and maintain ls 120 - 122 . in another embodiment , ls 120 - 122 may be servers operated by any third - party enterprise adapted to provide content to consumers . in this case , links themselves may comprise complete network paths to downloadable and , or streaming media content . in typical application where a ls host is a search engine provider , ls 120 , for example , may serve a list of url results to a web - browser - based search engine interface ( client ) after having received a search query from the client and after having used the submitted query as a base for returning the url results . the urls may be obtained from vast databases containing such url entries that are aggregated and maintained by the service provider . when a client , typically an internet - connected pc , uses the search engine client and submits a query , eventually the search engine service provider returns a list of links to the client interface . cable network 102 is , in this embodiment , connected to and has access to internet - based content . cable network 102 has a cable network backbone 114 illustrated therein that represents all of the cabling and connection points that make up network 102 as a whole . a cable service provider csp 107 is illustrated within cable network 102 and represents an enterprise adapted to provide cable - programming services to subscribers . csp 107 has service equipment 111 provided therein and representative of all of the cable equipment required for delivering cable network programming to viewers . equipment 111 has connection to cable backbone 114 to facilitate content delivery . a plurality of consumer stations is illustrated as having connection to cable backbone 114 for receiving cable programming from csp 107 . these are consumer station 115 a and consumer station 116 a . consumer stations 115 a and 116 a are assumed to be television sets in this example and have respective cable set - top boxes associated therewith , which enable the stations to initiate cable programming subscription and subsequently to receive delivered content from csp 107 . consumer station 115 a , including the illustrated set - top cable box component may be operated using a set - top remote control device 115 b . likewise , consumer station 116 a , including the illustrated set - top cable box component may be operated using a set - top box remote control unit 116 b . csp 107 includes an intelligent search link server ( isls ) 112 as a novel component thereof , which is adapted according to a preferred embodiment , to provide urls of web - based content for integration thereof into cable menus accessible to consumer stations 115 a and 116 a through remote control devices 155 b and 116 b respectively . server 112 has an isls server application 113 a installed thereon , which is adapted to enable searching of web - based content from the points of stations 115 a and 116 a using respective remotes 115 b and 116 b wherein the search results , namely urls , are provided smartly to the respective stations 115 a and 116 a for integration with and display on their respective program guides . server 112 has access to internet backbone 104 through an internet access line 105 and therefore has internet access to ls 120 - 122 . consumer stations 115 a and 116 a have cable access to content from server 112 through cable backbone 114 and cable provider equipment 111 . satellite network 103 is , in this embodiment , connected to and has access to internet - based content . network 103 has a satellite service provider ( ssp ) 108 illustrated therein and adapted to provide satellite network programming to subscribers . ssp 108 has service provider equipment 109 illustrated therein , which represents all of the equipment required in order to deliver program services via at least one satellite , illustrated herein as satellite 118 to consumers . a plurality of consumer stations is illustrated as having satellite connection to ssp 108 . these are a consumer station 117 a and a consumer station 119 a . consumer stations 117 a and 119 a are assumed in this example to be adapted to receive satellite network programming by way of associated equipment , namely a set - top box and satellite receiver dish . each consumer station may be controlled via a set - top box remote control device . a remote control device 117 b is operable for station 117 a and a remote control device 119 b is operable for station 119 a . basic interaction between provider 108 and consumers 117 a and 119 a is very similar to that described within cable network 102 except that the method of carrying the signal is satellite communication instead of physical cabling associated with network 102 . ssp 108 includes an isls 110 , which is adapted in a similar fashion as that described above with respect to isls 112 within csp 107 . server 110 has an isls application 113 b installed thereon , which is analogous to isls 113 a installed on server 112 . consumers operating at stations 117 a and 119 a may use their respective remote control devices 117 b and 119 b to initiate a content search whereupon web - based content may be searched according to consumer input and wherein returned results in the form of url hyperlinks may be filtered smartly at server 110 using software 133 b and subsequently delivered to the appropriate consumer stations 117 a and 119 a whereupon such results may be displayed within respective satellite program menus . in this embodiment , severs 112 and 110 are centralized proxy servers running isls software instances 113 a and 113 b respectively for the purpose of integrating web - results ( urls ) into the normal programming information for access using the respective remotes 1176 b and 119 b . however , in other embodiments , isls 113 a and 113 b may comprise a plurality of distributed software components including a client application for consumer stations , a provider application for provider locations , and perhaps a client application distributed to search service providers without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the inventor illustrates the present centralized implementation for explanatory purposes only . in one embodiment , service provision may be centralized at one location in the broader network using video - enabled internet service , such as digital service line ( dsl ), internet cable modem etc . in this embodiment , the separate carrier networks , including wired or wireless satellite , telephone , internet , and cable are , for the purpose of the present invention , considered one physical network wherein the multimedia service provider may be reached from all cpe stations capable of video - enabled internet service access . in this case , backbones 104 , 118 , and 114 including any other carrier networks may be logically blurred and considered one seamless network . isls has two main functions with regard to performing content searches that may be initiated and advanced using a remote control device . firstly , isls 113 a - b quantifies and derives a meaning from a series of user menu selections ( clicks ) made while the menu is displayed and using the appropriate remote control device scroll arrows and select button provided on the device and adapted for the purpose . therefore , if device 119 b is used to traverse a particular menu or menus containing selection options , isls records and interprets those selections and converts the defined aggregate into a useable search engine query that may be used to return search provider or third party provided hyperlinks display . secondly , isls may process hyperlinks returned from a search service provider , for example , in order to streamline and optimize the results so that they may be dynamically appropriated to the menu display in a fashion as to enable incorporation or invocation of those links to order or otherwise retrieve the web content pointed to and defined by those links . result optimization may include but is not limited to negation of results or hyperlinks that do not enable complete access to the media content . likewise , duplicate hyperlinks , which may point to a same content , may be resolved during result optimization . eventually during processing , only a handful of the most relevant hyperlinks would be provided and inserted dynamically into the cable or satellite program guide for selection . in one preferred embodiment , local content searches may be performed first before any query is constructed for submission to any internet - based service provider . the likely content that would be allowed for any content search using a remote control device may be broadly defined as video content , audio content , image content , and in some cases , electronic information files or hypertext markup language ( html ) files typically available to pc users . in practice of the present invention , a consumer operating a remote control device , such as device 115 b associated with station 115 a may initiate a content search by navigating , using an indicia provided on device 115 b to display a starting menu or starting point in a displayed menu . such a starting menu may contain selectable topics linearly disposed for easy navigation such as in a vertical column . the start menu may be provided as a default starting point for the interaction . the broad starting titles may comprise video , audio , images , each of which is separately selectable using the arrow and selection buttons already existing on device 115 b . in one extended embodiment , the title information may be added if html pages are included in the allowable search content . if the consumer navigates to and selects “ video ” for example , a category grouping may appear to enable continuance of the interaction . for example , the titles in this grouping , which may also be vertically disposed , might read movies , movie trailers , news clips , and sports . the isls server “ knows ” that whatever category is selected next the content links to be retuned are limited to provision of video content . if the consumer navigates the list and selects movie trailers , the next category of titles may include actor / actress , movie title , top 5 , and back . it is noted herein that all categories appearing may include an option for canceling the content search and / or for navigating back to the start menu . if the consumer navigates to and selects top 5 , a content search may be triggered . isls has recorded and interpreted the selections of the interaction to help it formulate the instruction needed to perform the search . what is known about the interaction of this example is that the consumer is looking for the top 5 movie trailers that may exist . the meaning of “ top ” in top 5 may be understood by the system by default rule as “ current movies bringing in the most revenue at the box office ”. therefore a constructed search query ( submitted by proxy ) may be formulated somewhat like movies + now playing + top 5 + trailers . it is important to note herein that different search engine services have varying input rules for conducting searches , including varying text input for refining searches and searching by specific categorical constraints including video , audio , and images . it is well known in the art that traditional search results returned for a search conducted for video , audio or other content using a traditional pc - based search interface may not define complete url links that may be used to invoke the associated media . isls may , in one embodiment , be adapted to append a last portion of a network path required to invoke the associated media from a remote control device , in effect creating a shortcut to the associated media . in one embodiment , search provider hosts may cooperate by simply maintaining links that are invoke - able to immediately initiate downloading or streaming of the media from the remote control device . therefore , isls may include provided navigation rules that correspond with rules and capabilities of a cooperating search service provider that mitigate navigational obstacles that may otherwise inhibit efficiency of using a remote to select and invoke results . these rules enable provision of optimized hyperlinks that may also be renamed with simple titles for inclusion into a cable or satellite - programming guide instead of displaying full navigation paths . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating components of isls 113 of fig1 according to an embodiment of the present invention . isls 113 ( a , b ) as previously described above may be distributed over several hosts instead of residing in one host without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the example of isls 113 illustrated on a single host is meant to be logical only and may be considered as one possible implementation of several possible implementations . isls 113 has a service port 200 illustrated therein and adapted with all of the required circuitry and memory components to enable bi - directional data communication with programming provider equipment responsible for delivering cable and / or satellite programming to consumers . one service port 200 is illustrated in this example however there may be more than one port without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . isls has a proxy port 201 illustrated therein and adapted with all of the required circuitry and memory components to enable bi - directional network communication between server 113 and any third party network - based serve analogous to ls 120 - 122 described with reference to fig1 . in practice of the present invention , local interaction by consumers at their respective consumer stations that may result in one or more necessary search operations are submitted to isls 113 through port 200 for analysis . isls has a processing component 203 provided therein and adapted to analyze incoming requests for information relevant to a consumer &# 39 ; s local interaction or “ click results ” made using a remote control device analogous to device 115 b , for example , of fig1 . the click results contain all of the information required by the processor to formulate a search query using an automated query generator . system rules may also be locally accessible to processor 203 . for each active consumer , an automated query 204 is generated and submitted to proxy port 201 . the query may be configured according to third - party preferences for submitting search queries , those preferences contained in rules accessible by processor 203 . each generated query is submitted to one or more third - party servers , in this case , over the internet network through port 201 . each query is identified to a specific consumer through consumer id parameters , which may include a unique consumer station or cpe identification number . in some cases the identification may be a telephone number and zip code pair , or some other unique parameter . the search service node or link server ( ls ) receives the queries and returns the search results based on the queries received . in one embodiment , the resulting hyperlinks returned may already be optimized to provide full media paths to the associated media selections . in this case , a cooperating search service provider may have a database adapted to contain only links , which provide full media paths or “ shortcuts ” to the media . in this embodiment , the links may be manually appended as part of database maintenance . in one embodiment , an isls component adapter ( not illustrated ) may be provided to run at a third - party location and may be adapted to append links with the required url information for directly invoking the media associated with the link . this information is readily available by accessing html source data for each url . the source data defines the media that is embedded in the information page of the url . in one embodiment , url results returned from third - party servers are fed into an in - server processor 202 running an instance of link relevancy filter 205 . link relevancy filter 205 may be adapted according to one embodiment to apply url information required to make links fully invoke able with respect to associated media instead of performing this process at third - party service nodes . in addition , filter 205 may be adapted to ignore certain returned links , which may be duplicate links or multiple links that point to a same media item . otherwise , many other links may be eliminated from search results if those links do not comply with existing enterprise rules for forwarding to consumers . in - server processor 202 may consult with a rules base for each returned link that is associated to each query processed . it is important to note herein that components of isls may also be provided to program provider equipment and at consumer locations in order to verify that content searched is not stored locally at a consumer station or already available at the program providers premise . in a preferred embodiment , isls 113 receives and processes returned results by relevancy and against a set of rules in order to narrow the quantity results forwarded to consumers down to a handful of most relevant links . many web - based media services already have web - based video channels and audio stations that may be accessed for streaming media content . these services may advertise their content by making it available through an isls content search interaction consumer - by - consumer . if the content is rich and popular , further integration can be achieved like enabling consumers to incorporate these web - based services by subscription modification or one - time purchase through the programming provided acting as a service broker much in the same way existing internet services are brokered . in one embodiment , links that are kept for forwarding to consumers are deposited in a server database 206 adapted to contain the links for a pre - determined period of time . in this way , future searches by consumers may be quickly handled if the search involves results previously delivered . database 206 then may be searched for relevant links before queries are constructed for network submission . isls has a server application 207 provided therein and adapted to serve the most relevant hyperlinks back to consumers through service port 200 and the appropriate programming providers . one isls server may be configured to work with more than one cable or satellite - programming provider without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . fig3 is an architectural overview 300 illustrating possible locations for distributed isls components according to an embodiment of the present invention . as previously described above , isls may be a distributed system of cooperating components without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . in this example , a search provider 304 and a third party node 302 are illustrated having connection to an internet network 301 . servers 304 and 302 are analogous to ls 120 - 122 described with reference to fig1 . search provider 304 may have an isls application 307 c provided thereto and adapted for aggregating existing links by media type associated . application 307 c may also include the capability of optimizing urls that would otherwise simply define web pages containing embedded media or links to media . as previously described , optimization may include modifying those links to include the network paths directly to the media so that invoking the link initiates download or streaming of the associated media content . therefore , a url that contains more than one media offering may be broken up into several urls , one for each media offering . third party server 302 may contain an isls application 307 b adapted to aggregate existing links and provide them by media category and to create and maintain third party web channels that may provide media content by schedule . in this regard , a media offering like a movie or music album offered through a subscribe able video channel or music channel can be provided to a consumer along with subscriber information such as in a pay - per - view model . in this case , a consumer may add the web - based channel directly to his or her cable - programming guide or the like and may be charged accordingly through his or her cable provider . connection provider 305 may have an isls application 307 b provided thereto and adapted to populate a consumer &# 39 ; s most relevant links into a navigable menu list . in one embodiment , a consumer menu listing the most relevant selections may be integrated with selections provided locally or through normal cable programming . an additional menu list item may be reserved as well for enabling the consumer to navigate to a next group of results returned . for example , a list of 5 hyperlinks may appear in the menu with a space reserved for calling in the next 5 links . isls 307 b may also include links that include web - channels aggregated by topic wherein those channels may include scheduled programming and content information , which may be dynamically populated into the cable programming interactive guide alongside generic programming . more detail about programming information integration will be provided below . a consumer station 306 is illustrated in this example and is analogous to those described with reference to fig1 . station 306 may have a client isls application 307 a provided thereto and adapted , among other things , for keeping a consumer &# 39 ; s search history , maintaining a search results cache . additionally , application 307 a may provide a programming extension adapted to provide the integration of typical cable programming information and web - sourced content programming information into the same interactive user menu or guide . fig4 is a block diagram 400 illustrating an example of a consumer menu pattern for initiating a content search according to one embodiment of the present invention . diagram 400 illustrates a content - search starting menu 402 . the cable or satellite programmer may provide menu 402 as a generic menu item accessible using a remote control device . the topics for this starting menu are purposefully broad such as video , images , and audio content . a consumer may highlight and select any of these provided options to continue . a remote control reference 401 is illustrated in this example and represents the minimum controls that may be required in menu navigation according to this embodiment . the directional and selection or enter buttons are controls that are already present on a typical remote control device . in this example , the consumer selects the broad category of video . the action causes a next option menu 403 to appear . this menu is narrower in topic than the last menu providing a drill - down to more specific content . menu 403 lists , from top to bottom , movies / trailers , shows / series , and news / music . the common theme of menu 403 is that all available options define video content selected menu 402 . in this example , the consumer selects news / music causing a next menu 404 to appear containing news or music video options . thus far , menus 402 - 404 are relative static menus generic to the program guide . in menu 404 , the options are news clips , music video channels , and video by artist or title . in this example , the consumer chooses news clips . at this point , all local sources may be searched for video + news / music + news clips before any network search is initiated . if any local content is found then it may be provided in a next menu for consideration . in this example , no local content is found so an internet search is performed according to the query . after query submission by proxy and after the most relevant links are isolated and optimized , a dynamic results menu 405 may appear . menu 405 is not entirely dynamic because of one option that is a static part of the programming service , channel 165 — news and weather , which may already be part of the consumer &# 39 ; s current viewing guide . however , cnn . com / audio update and npr . com / audio update are dynamic , optimized links defining internet - sourced content . in this example , the consumer highlights and selects npr . com / audio update resulting in the appearance of a next dynamic menu 406 . menu 406 includes a link to npr home , a link back to the start menu 402 , and a link , which invokes the automatic streaming of npr audio update into the consumers receiving and display equipment . in one embodiment , menus 405 and 406 may be combined in a single menu wherein one click of npr . com / audio update initiates connection to and download or streaming of the content . it is noted herein that there may be more than 3 list items for each menu without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , at menu 404 , had the consumer selected video / artist / title , a next menu may have appeared listing numerous possible titles and artist names for the consumer to select from . such a menu might contain tens to hundreds of titles and / or artist names to choose from . fig5 is a block diagram 500 illustrating intelligent search link server functions according to an embodiment of the present invention . a server - processing module 501 illustrates processing of both input and results . module 501 may be construed to incorporate the functions of components 203 , 202 , and 205 described with reference to fig2 . in practice , click results 502 are received from a consumer &# 39 ; s menu interaction . these are interpreted and sent to an automated query generator 503 . generator 503 forms a usable search query for network submission . such a query may take various forms and may be transferred using a variety of protocols without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . xml - based queries may be used in some cases where xml communication over simple object application protocol ( soap ) is supported . simple text queries may also be constructed that emulate user typed input . there are many possibilities . the third party provider returns results in the form of hyperlinks , which may undergo link relevancy filtering . link relevancy filtering may occur both at the search provider node and within module 501 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . in addition to link provision , a third party service may also provide service subscription information for enabling a consumer to subscribe to services through the prevalent programming provider functioning as a service broker . this data is illustrated herein as dynamic service integration data 505 . this additional data may be provided as xml - based instruction data that may be incorporated with a link into a menu option . for example , highlighting an option , which may include service information , may cause the service information to display . simple option selection using the enter button may also display pay - per - view information telling the consumer how to integrate the web programming into his or her service package . a sever application 506 delivers the top relevant links and any associated service integration data to the consumer menu . in one embodiment , a sample media selection may be provided along with subscription information including how to add the channel or service to existing program options . this in effect may allow consumers to flexibly configure their own program menus to always show available or subscribed web - service options . therefore , externally sourced media channels may be discovered and then added to existing program channel options such as through reservation of certain channel slots and then populating those slots with the web - channel hyperlink and description data . further , program scheduling associated with the content offerings available through an integrated web channel may be incorporated into normal theme or schedule guides that list individual programs and scheduled times for viewing . web - based services formerly restricted to pc - based viewing audiences may now compete for television - based viewing audiences through the content search capability of the present invention thereby increasing viewer membership and revenue . likewise , cable and satellite service providers may increase revenue by brokering subscriptions to web - based services through dynamic subscription packages that may be changed by consumers through addition of web - based media channels and pay - per - view content . instead of , or in addition to providing a typical web access requiring a key board and mouse function , program providers may provide integration options for including web - content in with regularly offered programs and channels eliminating much navigation work and extra peripheral hardware required to disseminate normal web content . fig6 is a block diagram 600 illustrating smart link population into a remote program menu according to an embodiment of the present invention . diagram 600 illustrates how a content search may result in dynamic program modification to include web - based content . a content search interaction 601 begins with a start menu defining the broad categories of video , images , and audio as was previously described before . consumer selection of video brings up a next category group defining web , programming , and stored . in this example , a consumer may isolate the search to web content , programming content already available through his or her service , or to media content the consumer may have already stored locally . consumer selection of web brings up a next category of options including movies , sports , news , music , science , and adult . these broad categories may be provided statically every time a consumer selects web . these then may be the only available categories for web searching . by selecting sports , the consumer orders a next category including the options basketball , football , soccer , baseball , lacrosse , and wrestling . at this point the aggregation of selections in this interaction inform the system that it is looking for video ; constrained to web videos ; constrained to sports videos ; constrained to soccer videos . no local searching or searching at the service intermediary is required because of the specific constraint of web . therefore , a query to search the web for soccer videos is submitted to an appropriate third party service or services . after the results are received , filtered , and optimized , a result category 602 may be dynamically inserted into the consumer &# 39 ; s menu guide that may include the top most relevant hits , in this case , argentina vs . brazil ( soccer game ; americas ), women &# 39 ; s world cup ( soccer game international ), and chelsa vs . united ( soccer game ; european ). an additional option cancels the search and takes the consumer back to the start menu . the consumer highlights or selects argentina vs . brazil . in this instance , the selection brings up service information 603 informing the consumer that his or her selection is associated with a web - based service provider ( i - link video ), which has a media channel that provides international live soccer programming . by selecting the item again , additional information may be revealed like subscription information including pricing . selecting the item a third time might confirm purchase of the programming and may automatically add the programming as a channel in a menu guide or theme guide 604 . theme guide 604 lists all available programming categories that are selectable to view the current times that programs may be viewed . selecting the category sports reveals the current channels , programs and schedules . sports schedule 605 includes the just - added web content on channel 190 showing argentina vs . brazil and identifying i - link video as the content source . the viewing start time for the soccer game argentina vs . brazil is 7 : 00 pm . future soccer programming times and program definitions are automatically integrated into the sports schedule now that the consumer has added the content by selecting and confirming the purchase . for example , channel 190 shows a program world soccer show airing at 10 : 00 pm immediately after argentina vs . brazil . it is noted also that channel 179 has been reserved for an audio sports programming , sports talk radio , also provided by i - link . other available programs include the regular cable or satellite programming channels . navigation then through the normal scheduling guide enables one touch selection and viewing of the web - based content . the methods and apparatus of the present invention may be applied to cable and satellite programming services having connection ability to larger wide - area - networks including the internet network . a variety of isls implementations may be deployed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention , including client , intermediary , and source location application components . in one embodiment , electronic information pages may also be optionally displayed resulting from consumer highlight and selection of a searched hyperlink . optionally , scrolling and information page navigation can be achieved using remote control function , or keyboard input may be activated to enable browsing . in preferred application the methods and apparatus of the invention provide an efficient and simple way to access and consume web - sourced media content including video channels and audio channels using only the directional buttons and select buttons on the remote . the present invention , in light of the many embodiments possible , should be afforded the broadest possible interpretation under examination . the present invention is limited only by the following claims . | 7 |
an advantageous feature of the present invention is that it reduces distractions in meetings when a cellular phone receives an incoming call . basically three elements can be dealt with and , preferably , all three are implemented . the first element is to reduce the disturbance caused by the ringing of the phone . the second element is to reduce the disturbance by having the phone automatically accept the call . the third element is to reduce the disturbance caused by the user having to talk to the caller before having the opportunity to exit the meeting . various embodiments for implementing the three elements of the invention will now be described . regarding the first element , ringing , the solution should be preferably coupled to the solution of the second element . for example , according to one embodiment , in the special mode , upon receiving an incoming call signal , the cellular phone rings only once . after the first ring the ringing is muted and the phone may go into the “ accepting the call ” routine of the second element of the invention . this will reduce the disturbance generally caused by the phone ringing about three times before the user reaching the phone and pressing the send button . another embodiment for handling the ringing problem is to adapt one of the pagers &# 39 ; solutions , i . e ., a vibration or light option replacing the audible ringing . this embodiment seems less desirable , as in many meetings the phone is placed on a table or left in a brief case . therefore , the “ one ring ” solution is the preferred embodiment . another solution relates to a particular feature of the invention , wherein the user can decide a priory as to which calls will go through and which will be forwarded to the voice mail system . according to this feature , the user is provided the option to preprogram the telephone to accept certain calls , and reject all other . for example , if a person has to go into a meeting , but is expecting an important call , that person can pre - program the phone to accept calls originating from the per - programmed number . thus , when a call comes in , the phone will check the originating number included in the header of the transmission . if the number does not match any of the pre - programmed numbers , the telephone will reject the call and will not ring . on the other hand , if the originating number does match a pre - programmed , then the telephone would ring for the user to answer the call . one problem in the prior art phone is that the user has to reach for the phone and press the send key in order to accept the incoming call . this creates a distraction , as it takes time for the user to reach for the phone and press the appropriate button , during all of which the phone is ringing . accordingly , according to the present invention , in the special mode , after the first ring ( or after a number of rings adjustable by the user ) the phone enters a routine to automatically accept the call . the simplest way of doing it is to simply automatically issue the send command by a program residing in the internal microprocessor . it would be appreciated that this feature can be incorporated with the feature just described above , so that when a call having the originating number match the pre - programmed number , the phone would automatically accept the call . the third element of the invention is to allow the user sufficient time to exit the meeting . according to one embodiment , after the phone has automatically accepted the call , a special signal is sent to the calling party . such signal may be a recognizable audible signal or an actual message informing the caller that the call has been accepted automatically and the user will answer the call shortly . this will put the caller on alert to hold the line and await an answer . meanwhile , this will enable the user the opportunity to exit the meeting without having to talk to the caller in the meeting . regarding the third element , an advantageous feature is provided in the preferred embodiment . specifically , after automatically accepting the call , a message is sent to the caller indicating that the phone is on special mode , and requesting the caller to press a specific key , say # if he wishes to disturb the called party , or press another specified key , say *, if he does not wish to disturb the called party . when the called phone receives the appropriate signal after the calling party has pressed the chosen key , an appropriate indication is provided , to alert the called party . specifically , if the calling party indicated that he doe not wish to disturb the called party , the called phone automatically execute a termination of call routine , or referral to the voice mail system routine . however , if the calling party wishes to disturb the called party , a special indication is provided by the phone and the communication channel is maintained open . a specific feature of the above - described embodiment is an urgency rating system . that is , the user is allowed to rate the importance of the call . for example , # 1 for urgent , # 2 for important , and # 3 for routine . if the call is rated # 1 , the call will go through and the phone would ring . if the call is rated # 2 , the caller is allowed to leave a message , which is stored in a priority over routine message and are not erased until the user purposely erases them . if the call is rated # 3 , the caller is allowed to leave a message , which is stored in a priority below # 2 calls . thus , when the user checks his messages , priority # 2 messages will be played before priority # 3 messages . fig1 is a flow chart depicting a routine of handling incoming calls as explained above . the routine starts at step si 0 , and checks for incoming calls at step s 20 . when an incoming call is detected , the routine checks whether the phone is in the special mode in step s 25 . if not , the routine enables the ring at step s 30 and continues to step s 35 to see whether the user has pressed the send button . when the send button is pressed , the communication channel is established in step s 40 . on the other hand , if the phone is in the special mode in step s 25 , the routine mutes the ring after the first ring at step s 50 . then the routine goes to a routine for automatically establishing the channel of communication . in its most simplistic implementation , this step can be simply a command to go to step s 40 . on the other hand , it is preferred that the routine depicted in fig2 be used for step s 40 of fig1 . in fig2 the routine first establishes a channel of communication in step s 200 . then , in step 300 it sends a signal to the caller indicating that the called phone is in the special mode . in the preferred embodiment , this signal constitute an audible recording previously made by the user . for example , such a message can be ; “ this is xyz . my phone is in the special mode since i &# 39 ; m in a meeting . if your call is urgent , please press # and i &# 39 ; ll exit the meeting . otherwise please press *.” the routine then checks whether to hold the line at step s 400 . that is , if a # is returned , the channel is maintained . if a * is returned , the channel is disconnected at step 500 . it should be noted that , similar to conventional phones , if the caller disconnects rather than returning a signal , the channel is disconnected . further , rather than disconnecting the call , the caller may be forwarded to a voice mail system to leave a message . when the channel is to be maintained , the user is notified at step s 600 . this can be done by , for example , providing a visual notification on the phone &# 39 ; s screen , or by changing the background illumination color of the special button . this will alert the user that the caller needs the user urgently , and that the channel has been established so that the user may exit the meeting to talk to the caller . according to another feature of the present invention , the user is provided the option to block all incoming calls for a specified period . for example , the user may specify that all incoming calls should be rejected for 1 hour , when the user knows that the meeting would last one hour . this feature would avoid the need for the user to turn the phone off before the meeting , and forgetting to turn it back on after the meeting . additionally , using this method the battery charged can be preserved by having the phone turning itself off for the designated period , and turning itself back on automatically when the designated period has elapsed . the only energy which would be required is for the timer , which is generally running in any case in order to memorize dates , etc . fig3 is an exemplary flow chart incorporating several of the features disclosed above . when it is determined that special mode has been activated at step s 310 , the user is prompted to enter telephone numbers for which the user wishes to accept a call at step s 320 . the entered number is stored in memory ( not shown ). at step s 325 it is checked whether additional numbers are to be entered and , if so , the routine loops back to step s 320 . if no more numbers are to be entered , the routine proceeds to step s 330 , wherein the user is prompted to enter a time period for maintaining the special mode . in step s 335 it is checked whether the time period has elapsed and , if so , the routine goes back to check whether special mode has been activated . if in step s 335 it is determined that the period has not elapsed , the routine proceeds to step s 340 to check whether a call is incoming . if not , the routine loops back to step s 335 . if a call is received , the routine proceeds to step s 350 to check whether the originating number matches any of the stored numbers . if the number does not match any of the stored numbers , the routine proceeds to step s 355 to reject the call , and then to step s 335 . if the number matches one of the stored numbers , the routine proceeds to step s 360 to accept the call . it should be appreciated that at step s 360 the routine can employ any of the methods described above to accept the call . for example , the routine can mute the ring after the first ring , as exemplified in the flow chart of fig1 and then can perform the acceptance routine exemplified in fig2 . while the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention is not limited to these embodiments , and that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention , as can be gathered from the specification and claims appended thereto . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates the method of the present invention as applied to a shoe store setting offering both in store and on - line shopping . the skilled person will appreciate however that the present invention is applicable to all types of footwear or clothing sales and rental and indeed to any articles which need correct fitting to users . also there will be other retail solutions which utilise the method of the present invention . an in store customer wishing to purchase some shoes would browse for shoes they like and decide which shoes they would like to try . having identified shoes they would like to try a foot data file for that customer would be obtained . if there were no pre - existing foot data file for that customer this would involve having their feet scanned 2 by a three dimensional foot scanner 4 . the foot scanner 4 comprises at least one optical scanning device such as described in wo2004 / 044525 . for each scanning device a spot projector projects an array of spots of light onto the customer &# 39 ; s foot . a camera is arranged relative to the spot projector such that the position of the spots in the scene captured by the camera can be used to determine the range to that spot . the entire foot is illuminated and imaged , either by scanning the device relative to the foot or by taking multiple scans of the foot in different orientations . both feet are scanned and a three dimensional point map of the surface of each foot is constructed . the skilled person will appreciate however that a variety of other scanning technologies could be employed , for instance the foot scanner described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 164 , 793 and the invention is not limited to any particular form of foot scan . the foot scanner 4 may process the point map data to determine key dimensions of the foot , such as heel to toe length , width at widest part , heel width etc . and produce a customer foot data file or may simply maintain the 3d shape as the customer foot data file . the foot data file is stored in the foot scanner 4 for now along with a means of identifying the customer to which the data relates . this could be by allocation of a customer number , time of scan and / or addition of metadata supplied by the customer such the customer &# 39 ; s name . for any particular model of shoe the customer is interested in the foot data file is then compared to a shoe database 6 comprising information of reference foot size data of other people known to have bought the same model of shoe . a matching algorithm is applied to match the current customer &# 39 ; s foot size data with the reference foot size data in the shoe database 6 . if a match is identified the relevant shoe size associated with the reference foot size data is obtained . if no match is identified because the database does not contain sufficient data about the chosen model of shoe the fitting is instead performed by simply converting the shoe data file into length and width measurements and determining a notional shoe size from the manufacturer &# 39 ; s shoe sizing table . it should be noted that in some circumstances the shoe of interest to the customer is not available in a size that would fit and , if this is the case , this fact is communicated to the customer . also , the fit determined by the matching algorithm or look up table may need to be adjusted for factors specific to the user such as preferred sock thickness or preferred type of fit ( snug or roomy ). this could be applied by a scaling factor applied to the customer foot data file prior to matching or by applying a compensation algorithm after an initial match has been determined . a constant offset could also be applied . the fit recommendation is communicated to the customer , for instance by means of a printed recommendation slip . this slip may be provided with a barcode or other identifier which links to the customers foot data file . the customer would then try on 8 the size of shoe recommended . if the fit is correct and the customer is happy with the shoe and wishes to purchase the item they go on to purchase the shoes 10 as normal . whilst completing the transaction the barcode identifying the shoes is scanned by the shops electronic point of sale equipment ( epos ) 12 as is the barcode printed on the size recommendation provided to the customer . this therefore identifies the make and model of shoe bought with the customer &# 39 ; s foot data file . the fact that the customer is buying the shoes indicates that the shoes fit that customer and hence the shoe model and size information is collated 14 with the customer &# 39 ; s foot data file and communicated to the shoe data base 6 . the shoe database 6 may be in store but preferably a central database is used by a variety of shoe stores and accessed , for instance , via the internet 16 . in this way purchase from each of the stores automatically adds to the information in the shoe database which in turn improves the accuracy of the system . the customer &# 39 ; s foot data file may also be stored separately for ease of access for the customer in future use , especially via the internet . additionally or alternatively it may be written to a removable storage medium to be taken by the customer or sent wirelessly to a date storage device of the customer such as a suitable mobile phone or personal data assistant . the customer may then get to keep their own foot data file . the customer &# 39 ; s foot data may also be incorporated into the customer reference number and barcode , so that the printed sizing receipt becomes the stored data file . the retail epos system , when scanning the receipt , inputs and stores the customer &# 39 ; s size information . the customer , when undertaking a remote transaction for further shoes , enters the customer reference number from the receipt and in doing so provides the fitting system with their relevant measurements . in this situation there is no need to connect each foot scanner to a network or have other means to store and download data files . the sizing information may be encrypted within the customer reference number for commercial and data security reasons . a customer who had previously had a foot scan could then use such data file in assuring fit in on - line shopping 18 . the customer would enter their unique customer number or the metadata taken in the shop to locate their foot data file . alternatively they could download it onto an appropriate computer . the customer could then browse on - line for shoes that they are interested in . once they have chosen the shoes they are interested in the foot data file could be compared to the shoe database 6 exactly as described previously and obtain a size recommendation . if the customer is happy to proceed the order could be placed on this basis . if subsequent the customer did not return the shoes within the allowed time for returns this could be taken as an indication they were happy with the fit and this data could be added to the shoe database . as an alternative or in addition the system could recommend shoes to the customer that they have not selected but which are known would fit the customer &# 39 ; s feet . when recommending shoes the system may use shoes that the customer is interested in as a guide . that is if a customer is browsing for a particular style of shoes the system may recommend other shoes of a similar style . the system may also use information regarding the customer such as gender , age , shoe style preference etc . which may for instance be supplied by and customer and / or stored in a customer profile , to make sure the recommendations are appropriate . the present invention therefore offers several advantages , over conventional shoe fitting techniques . the scanner fitting performance is continuously refined and improved based on what people find comfortable when they purchase shoes in shops . where expert fitters in the shop help customers to select the correct shoe size , this information will also be automatically accumulated and integrated into the fit recommendation . the system will automatically incorporate and optimise fit recommendation for any brand and style of shoe without needing access to shoe lasts , measuring shoes , or doing controlled fitting trials for each brand or style of shoe . the scanner and database will quickly and automatically learn the fitting performance of new shoe styles which are introduced into the marketplace . the scanners and database will also automatically learn what are the correct ‘ comfort ’ factors for different types of shoes e . g . children &# 39 ; s , running etc . foot size and shoe sale data can be automatically analysed and provided back to the retailer to optimise business efficiency , trend analysis , stock control etc . software can analyse the effect of the person having two differently sized feet and the resultant preferred shoe size , and optimise fitting algorithms for these situations . following the launch of a new range of shoes in shops and on - line , there will be a short period when the scanner system initially applies an estimated or default sizing information to determine best fit . once data on the fit performance of this new shoe range starts to be received by the system database , a judgement on the fit accuracy can be determined and new ‘ comfort ’ compensation factors applied and distributed back to the foot scanners . this process will be iterated until the fit prediction consistently matches the size of shoe purchased . the fit prediction can then become available for on - line shoe sales . this optimisation process may take around 100 shoe sales for a particular style and so is likely to stabilise very quickly , particularly if there are a number of shoe shops connected to the system . the foot shape can be established using 3d feet shape data or a set of published or undisclosed measurement parameters . each of the parameters can have a unique ‘ comfort ’ factor applied for each style or brand of shoe . it is likely these parameters will adopt standard foot metrics used by feet specialists , and so make this foot information valuable to shoe designers and biometric surveys . comfort compensation factors can be developed and refined for different customer types through a customer survey / data input e . g . gender , intended use of footwear , ethnic origin etc . each of these parameters could alter the type of fit compensation applied to the shoe and therefore further improve quality of fit . customers who don &# 39 ; t wish to participate would receive a more generic fit recommendation . fit performance could be ultimately tailored to individuals e . g . customer x prefers tighter fitting shoes than the average . this could be established by monitoring the size mapping of that customer compared to the average . analysis of individual fit parameters could indicate e . g . that the customer has a narrow foot or prefers more volume around the toe . the fit mapping would be automatically tuned for specialist sports footwear e . g . running , golf , hiking etc . input of sock type when the foot was scanned could be used to build up accurate compensation for different sock types . | 0 |
the modem relay for v . 22bis modems and below occurs at the physical layer . the modem &# 39 ; s physical layer is demodulated into a bitstream and that bitstream is relayed end - to - end across the network . any higher layer protocols ( error correction , compensation ) that may be present are passed end - to - end across the network . this approach works well for low speed modems . however , v . 32 modems and other high speed modems rely on the use of higher - layer protocols to streamline and improve the accuracy of data transmissions . error correction is the first protocol to be added on top of the raw modem bitstream . for example , the itu standard for error correction is v . 42 . error correction provides a mechanism for two modems to : 1 ) detect errors by transmitting data frames and using crc &# 39 ; s to detect framing errors ; 2 ) correct errors by automatically retransmitting data : and 3 ) flow control data transmissions through the use of start - stop data . since almost all high speed modems support v . 42 lapm processing , the present invention implements modem relay for faster modems at the link layer and not the physical layer . this means that the gateway on each side of the modem relay connection will terminate the lapm protocol for its local modem connection . a gateway - to - gateway lapm protocol is implemented over the network to achieve error correction and flow control between the two gateways . compression and any application layer protocols will continue to run end - to - end across the link , except that both modems will be forced to use the same type of compression format . there are several benefits to implementing modem relay at the link - layer : 1 ) the modems on both sides can be trained to the best possible local data rate ; 2 ) the modem connection does not have to be negotiated across the network ; 3 ) errors can be corrected through retransmission rather than data redundancy ; 4 ) network delays and packet loss do not adversely impact data relay . a typical modem relay system configuration of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 . sending a modem relay call includes the following steps : 1 ) a first user , initiates a modem call using a dial - up modem , such as modem 2 attached to a personal computer 1 at the first end of the connection . 2 ) modem 2 , enters an off - hook state , dials and waits for the far end modem 14 to answer . 3 ) the first gateway 3 detects the line seizure , opens a dsp voice channel and collects dtmf digits . 4 ) the first gateway 3 translates the dial number and attempts to perform a call setup to the far end gateway 9 which is located at a remote point in the network . 5 ) gateway 9 detects the incoming call setup from gateway 3 over the packet network 8 . the gateway 9 accepts the incoming call and opens a dsp voice channel to handle the incoming call . next , gateway 9 seizes the outgoing line . 6 ) for modem relay , the outgoing line connects to modem 14 at the far end which may be connected to a personal computer 15 or may be a modem in a modem pool . modem 14 goes off - hook and plays a modem answer sequence ( eg . v . 25 ans tone ). 7 ) gateway 3 detects the modems answer sequence ( as described below ) and switches the dsp over from a voice channel to a modem relay channel . then gateway 9 sends the switch over message to gateway 3 in the form of a modem relay message packet . gateway 9 also continues to negotiate with far end modem 14 to establish a data connection to pc 15 . 8 ) gateway 3 switches its channel to modem relay and begins to negotiate channel setup with modem 2 . 9 ) during the negotiations , control messages are exchanged between gateway 3 and gateway 9 to coordinate the compression format used on both sides of the link and to establish the gateway to gateway lapm link . at the end of the negotiation , both modems have connected with their respective local gateway at the best possible connection rate using v . 42 lapm and the same type of compression . further , the modems on both sides have transitioned into data mode and are ready to begin sending or receiving data . 10 ) modem 2 and modem 14 now begin sending data back and forth across the packet network 8 . each gateway unit demodulates the modem transmissions , packetizes the data and sends it to the far side . the gateway on the far side remodulates the modem data and sends it to the far end modem . throughout the connection , flow control is performed on each segment of the link to regulate the error free transmission of data . 11 ) the connection continues until one of the modems hangs up . at that point , the call is terminated on both sides and the channels then return to idle . the connection architecture for the exemplary embodiment of a link layer modem relay of the present invention is illustrated in fig2 . the physical connections between the modems , gateways and network are the same as for data layer modem relay ( described above ). the difference occurs in the processing performed by the microprocessor on the lapm layers of the communication . for v . 32 modems and above , v . 43 lapm error correction is commonly used to provide link layer connectivity and error correction between the modem end points . for link layer modem relay , the lapm layer is terminated locally for each modem . when lapm is terminated locally , the modem relay controller of the present invention uses elements in the lapm protocol to control the data flow between the two end points . this allows either side to be connected independently of the other ( data rates and modulation types do not have to be the same on both sides ). using lapm simplifies the issues and timing problems associated with modem negotiation and call establishment . all forms of modem compression will be passed end - to - end . however , since the link layer is terminated locally , the compression format must be negotiated locally and then passed end - to - end . therefore , the gateways have to force both sides to use the same type of compression protocol , using the defaults set at the gateways . in the diagram of fig2 , the user traffic 19 and compression protocols 20 are run end - to - end across the network 8 . the mru dsp 4 terminates in the modem layer - 1 ( physical layer ) on both sides and passes the data up to the microprocessor software . the mru microprocessor 5 terminates the link layer , initiating a new lapm link to connect with the far end gateway 9 , packetizes the modem transmission into rtp packets and sends the packets to the remote gateway 9 . the gateway lapm protocol supports : redundant data and arq ; configurable single packet redundant data ; cyclical redundancy checks for error detection ; automatic retransmission if the redundant data does not suffice to recover lost packets and flow control across the link . there is currently no network protocol standard defining the call control or data transmission protocol for modem relay over packet networks . therefore , a proprietary approach is utilized by the present invention to implement modem relay . however , the present invention can be implemented with a standard protocol without departing from the scope of the inventive concepts taught herein . the protocol is similar to the proprietary fax relay protocol disclosed in co - pending application ser . no . 09 / 031 , 047 . the modem relay protocol used accommodates encapsulation using the rtp format for transmission across the network . retransmission of lost packets . the gateway to gateway lapm link monitors the packets that are sent and received across the network . each packet has a sequence number and crc . any packets that are found to contain framing errors are retransmitted automatically . redundant data . fig5 . data redundancy is achieved by appending data from previous packets in the payload section of the current data packet . then , the receiving gateway uses the packet sequence number to determine if there has been a packet loss . if no packet loss occurred , it uses the most recent data field in the packet . if the receiving gateway detects that packet loss has occurred , the data fields for lost packets are retrieved by reading further down in the current packet . staggered redundancy . fig6 . with staggered redundancy , the redundant data is not attached to the immediately succeeding packet , the redundancy is staggered whereby the redundant data is appended to a later packet with one or more intervening packets . staggered redundancy allows for data recovery of several sequential packets are lost , however the delay in recovery is increased . retraining is also accommodated by the present invention . in the event that one of the modems in the connection experiences a loss of equalization on the line , it can initiate a retrain signal . since the modem connection is handled by the gateway port modem termination dsp module , the retraining event is completely handled within the dsp . any resulting data backups or flow control issues are resolved using the gateway - to - gateway lapm . since the modems on either side are connected independently , it is not a problem if the modem needing to retrain experiences a speed shift to a lower rate ( including rates commonly supported by data layer modem relay ). if the compression format or v . 42 lapm error correction are lost as a result of retraining , the call will be terminated , but otherwise the data exchange will continue as though it had not been interrupted . call discrimination is accomplished through processing in the dsp . when a call is connected , the gateway must determine what type of call processing is required to successfully implement the call , voice , fax relay , modem relay , or pcm . individual channels can be pre - configured for a certain type of processing , but in general the gateway does not know in advance what type of devices are going to be involved in the call . the earlier it can distinguish the type of traffic involved in a call , the faster it can switch over to use the right set of processing resources . fig3 illustrates an exemplary decision tree for determining the processing sequence for new calls . the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , illustrated in fig3 , includes processing for discrimination of cng , ci , ansam , ans and voice codecs . cng is an optional tone put out by calling facsimile machines . not all fax machines use it , but if it is present on the calling side it indicates that the call is definitely a fax call . if the originating gateway detects this tone , then it will switch both sides to fax relay . ci is an optional event put out by calling v . 90 , v . 34 and v . 34 fax capable modems . it is not always present , but when it is present on the originating side , the receiving gateway will detect the presence of ci and switch over to link layer modem relay processing . ansam is the v . 8 answer tone , and is used by v . 90 , v . 34 and v . 34 fax capable modems . when present on the answering side , the gateway will switch over to link layer modem relay . ans is the v . 25 answer tone , and is used by v . 32 , v . 22 and v . 21 modems and by fax machines . when detected on the answering side , the gateway will switch to modem relay processing . if modem relay later determines that the call is a fax call , the gateway will switch over to fax relay . if none of the other events are detected , the gateway will continue to process the call using the preconfigured voice codec . fig4 illustrates a series of packets n 1 through n i in a packet network . the packets are transmitted in series with no redundancy . in the event of loss of even a single packet , the lost packet cannot be recovered . fig5 illustrates the same packet series as fig4 , however , data from each of the packets is repeated in the next frame in a single simple redundancy technique . with this technique , if a single packet is lost , for example packet n 3 , the lost data from packet n 3 can be recovered during transmission of the next packet n 4 . fig6 illustrates the same packet series as fig4 and 5 . just as in fig5 , data from each packet is repeated a single time later in the transmission series . however , unlike fig5 , the repetition is not connected with the next immediate frame but is staggered several frames , as taught in the present invention . in the exemplary embodiments for fig6 , the stagger l is five packets . this means that data from packet n 1 is repeated at packet n 6 , and data from packet n 2 is repeated at packet n 7 . this stagger is continued for the packet series . with the stagger of fig6 , if a single packet , for example n 3 is lost , the lost data from the packet can be recovered during the transmission of packet n 8 . the stagger will add a delay to the recovery , necessitating buffering of the intermediate packets and a delay of the image data until the loser packet is recovered . the buffering and delay can be accomplished without significant increase in signal processing and will only be present for a short interval to recover from packet loss . if a number of packets in series are lost , such as with a lost packet burst , only the data from the last packet in the series can be recovered with the simple single redundancy technique illustrated in fig5 . for example , if data from packets n 3 , n 4 and n 5 are lost , redundant data from packets n 2r , n 3r and n 4r will also be lost . therefore , data from packets n 3 and n 4 cannot be recovered . only data from packet n 5 will be recovered during the transmission of packet n 5 . with the technique taught in the present invention if a number of packets in series are lost , such as with a lost packet burst , all of the packets in the series can be recovered if the stagger l is greater than the lost burst length . if the lost burst length is greater than the stagger l , the number of recoverable packets will be equal to the stagger l . for example , in fig6 , if data from packets n 3 , n 4 and n 5 are lost , each of the data from these packets will be recovered after delay d , during the transmission of packets n 8 , n 9 and n 10 respectively . because the burst loss b was only three packets and the stagger l was five packets , all data from the lost packets can be recovered . if the burst loss b is greater than the stagger l , as illustrated in fig7 , not all of the data from the lost packets can be recovered after delay . because the burst loss overloads the stagger , data from packets n 1r and n 2r are also lost and therefore data from n 1 and n 2 cannot be recovered . because increased stagger will cause greater delay and decreased stagger will provide less protection against longer burst loss , implementation of the present invention requires a balance between stagger and packet loss consideration for optimal implementation . because many varying and different embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught , and because many modifications may be made in the embodiments herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirements of the law , it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 7 |
generally , the present invention provides a trocar 10 , generally shown at 10 in the figures , that includes an insertion end 16 that is both fluid and airtight . that is , the insertion end 16 includes structure , described below , that perfects a seal at the insertion end 16 of the trocar 10 whether or not an instrument 32 , such as a surgical device , extends through the trocar 10 . the trocar 10 of the present invention is preferably formed in a manner known to those of skill in the art . the trocar 10 can be formed of a rigid or a resilient plastic , from a metal , such as 304 or 316 stainless steel , or of any desired material suitable for use as a trocar 10 . for example the trocar 10 can be formed of a plastic - metal composite . alternatively , the trocar 10 can be formed of a plastic material that can be seen through upon the application of ultrasonic technology . the trocar 10 is preferably constructed of material approved by the united states food and drug administration for use in surgical procedures , that the materials be durable , and capable of being sterilized completely for subsequent re - use . it is also anticipated , however , that the trocar 10 can be constructed as a disposable one - time or throw - away device without the need for subsequent resterilization of the trocar 10 . the trocar 10 of the present invention does not necessarily include an ubturator . instead the trocar 10 can be inserted into a hole created by a knife . such insertion enables the trocar 10 to be placed in a small hole that can be stretched to accommodate the trocar 10 . the benefit of such insertion is that the small hole into which the trocar 10 is inserted also maintains the trocar 10 in position without allowing the trocar 10 to move once inserted . more specifically , the trocar 10 of the present invention includes a neck 12 and a body 14 . the neck 12 and the body 14 are in fluid and airtight communication , such that there is no leakage between the body and the neck 12 . preferably , the body 14 and neck 12 are formed as a single unit . alternatively , the body 14 and neck 12 can be separate pieces that are capable of being joined to one another . the neck 12 includes two ends ; an insertion end 16 that is inserted into the body of the patient and an opposite end 18 that is the location at which the body 14 attaches to the neck 12 . the insertion end 16 includes devices necessary for maintaining a sealed environment within the trocar 10 . in other words , within the insertion end 16 , there are devices that prevent fluid and foreign bodies present in the neck 12 or body 14 of the trocar 10 from entering the patient into which the trocar 10 is being place while also preventing substances from within the patient from entering the insertion end 16 and neck 12 of the trocar 10 . the trocar 10 of the present invention can also include an agitator . the agitator can be used to facilitate the movement of air bubbles or foreign objects from the insertion end 16 to the opposite end 18 . the agitator can be any device that is capable of manipulating the trocar 10 of the present invention in such a way as to move the air or foreign objects away from the body into which the trocar 10 is inserted . for example , the agitator can be a manual device that lightly taps the trocar 10 or the agitator can be an ultrasonic device that causes vibration of the particles within the trocar 10 . in order to form a fluid and air - tight environment within the trocar 10 the insertion end 16 includes a sealing device . in the preferred embodiment , the sealing device is a series of at least two deformable diaphragms or seals 20 , 22 and at least one gasket 24 . more than two seals 20 , 22 and more than a single gasket 24 can be included without departing from the spirit of the present invention . it is this configuration of the seals and gasket that prevents fluid and foreign bodies from entering the body 14 and from blood and other particles from the body 14 from entering the trocar 10 . the sealing device can be sized to fit any trocar 10 and ensures a complete seal of the trocar 10 so that insufflation of a body cavity can be maintained when insufflation is used . in general , the seals 20 , 22 are either adjustable so that the seals 20 , 22 fit any number of differently sized trocars or are in a plurality of fixed sizes to be selected as required for a particular trocar 10 being used . the seals 20 , 22 of the present invention are fabricated of a material and of a thickness sufficient to manipulate the seals 20 , 22 into place in the trocar 10 . it is expected that a viscoelastic material such as latex is suitable , though metal variations are possible . the seals 20 , 22 function to maintain an instrument 32 passed through the trocar 10 in proper sealing engagement within the trocar 10 . the seals 20 , 22 each include a slit 28 . the slit 28 is of a size sufficient to encompass an instrument 32 there through . in a particular embodiment of the invention , the seals 20 , 22 are fixed , non - inflatable devices that are sufficiently compliant so that they can be moved about without causing a loss of sealing contact with the trocar 10 . as the device does not have to be pressurized , the possibility of undesirable failure and , therefore , loss of a seal , does not exist . in addition , the seals 20 , 22 can also be pliable or compliant , rather than stiff or rigid , so as to provide sufficient sealing of the trocar 10 . the portions of the seals 20 , 22 running along the interior body wall are no thicker than the outer section and are preferably much thinner , on the order of 0 . 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters . the gasket 24 disclosed above is preferably an 0 - ring . the gasket 24 perfects the fluid and air - tight seal about an instrument 32 within the trocar 10 . any sized gasket 24 that is sized to fit within the trocar 10 can be disposed in the trocar 10 of the present invention . preferably , the gasket 24 is made of rubber , however other resilient materials can also be used , such materials are known to those of skill in the art . the gasket 24 is sufficiently pliable as to allow instruments 32 to pass there through of a range of cross - sectional diameters while maintaining a perfected seal thereabout . a trocar tip 26 is disposed at an end of the insertion end 16 furthest from the body 14 . the trocar tip 26 is preferably sharp and made of a resilient material such as stainless steel . however , other materials as are known to those of skill in the art can be used as long as the material can be inserted into the human body 14 . within the trocar 10 there are at least two lumen . these lumen are completely separate from one another . the first is an instrument lumen 30 . the instrument lumen 30 is of a size to enable instruments to be placed there through . the instrument lumen 30 extends from an opening in the body 14 through to the insertion end 16 as shown in fig4 and 5 . the instrument lumen 30 ends at the sealing device disclosed above such that the series of seals and gasket 20 , 22 , and 24 create a fluid tight lumen . the second lumen a down flow lumen 34 , extends from the body 14 and through the wall of the trocar 10 . an outlet 40 opens proximate to the instrument lumen 30 . the down flow lumen 34 is made of any resilient material that is fluid tight , and is capable of having a fluid flow there through . the body 14 of the trocar 10 preferably includes an inlet port 36 fluidly connected to the down flow lumen 24 . the inlet port 36 enables the flow of an inert fluid through the port 36 into the down flow lumen 40 within the trocar 10 . additionally , the body 14 includes at least one outlet port 38 . the outlet port 38 allows air trapped within the body 14 and neck 12 of the trocar 10 to escape from the trocar 10 . in use , an inert fluid , such as saline , is flowed into the down flow lumen 34 , via the inlet port 26 , out the outlet port 40 proximate to the instrument lumen 30 of the trocar 10 . the fluid contacts any substances , such as air bubbles , that are present within the instrument lumen 30 of the trocar 10 . the air bubbles then flow with the fluid up the instrument lumen 30 to the outlet port 38 . in other words , fluid is constantly forcibly passed through the instrument lumen 30 of the trocar 10 such that any air bubbles found within the trocar 10 are captured within the fluid and the flow of the fluid carries the air bubbles away from the insertion end 16 of the trocar 10 . of vital importance in surgery is that air not be allowed to enter the bloodstream of a patient . this is most critical when beating heart cardiac surgery is being performed because the insertion of oxygen into a blood stream can cause a fatal problem for the patient . thus , the flowing of the fluid into the instrument lumen 30 of the trocar 10 enables air , and any other substances present in the trocar 10 , to be removed from the patient , thereby preventing air or other foreign substances from entering the blood stream of a patient . the sealing device of the trocar 10 ensures that the fluid flowing through the trocar 10 and air bubbles present in the trocar 10 do not enter the patient in order to accomplish this sealing device functions as follows . when in a neutral or non - use condition , the trocar 10 is inserted into the patient during a scoping procedure . as shown in fig4 , the seals 20 , 22 are in a closed position and the gasket 24 is in a sealing engagement with both of the seals 20 , 22 . it is vital that the gasket 24 keep the seals 20 , 22 in proper engagement , thus preventing any leakage therethrough . additionally , it is vital that the seals 20 , 22 themselves are in a closed position versus an open position . by maintaining the closed position no fluid or air can flow either into or out of the trocar 10 . the slits 28 are designed such that no two slits 28 consecutively have the same orientation . the slits 28 center an instrument 32 passing there through because of this configuration . that is , the non - alignment of the slits 28 cooperate as the instrument 32 passes there through to center the instrument 32 as it approaches the gasket 24 . further , in conjunction with the gasket 24 of the present invention , there is created a fluid tight seal whether or not an instrument 32 passes there through . the gasket 24 holds the seals 20 , 22 in place and perfects the seal of the trocar 10 . thus , absent the use of a gasket 24 , a fluid tight seal could not be created . the seals 20 , 22 assist the gasket 24 in limiting the amount of fluid that is able to reach the gasket 24 , thus not overwhelming the gasket 24 with enormous pressure . while a rectangular opening is the preferred shape of the slit 28 and as such is shown in the figures , any slit 28 can be used so long as the slit 28 enables the configuration disclosed above while maintaining the integrity of the sealing device . fig5 shows the neck 12 when an instrument is inserted there through , in an engaged configuration . the instrument 32 is inserted through the instrument lumen 30 within the neck 12 of the trocar 10 . the engaged configuration of the seals 20 , 22 , when an instrument 32 is placed through instrument lumen 30 of the trocar 10 , is such that seals 20 , 22 are both in an open condition and the gasket 24 is in sealing engagement about the instrument 32 . in the open condition the seals 20 , 22 allow for the instrument 32 to travel there through while having minimal extraneous openings . in other words , the seals 20 , 22 allow the instrument 32 to pass through openings 28 in the seals 20 , 22 , but limit the translational movement of the instrument 32 . this limits the amount of air and fluid that can flow past the seals 20 , 22 about the instrument 32 . in the engaged position , a first seal 20 opens , then a second seal 22 opens , and then an o - ring or gasket 24 perfects the seal about the instrument 32 as the it passes through the consecutive seal members . accordingly , when the instrument 32 is being withdrawn , the second seal 22 closes , and then a first seal 20 closes , thus ensuring that there is always a proper air and fluid tight engagement of the trocar 10 within the patient . throughout this application , author and year and patents by number reference various publications , including united states patents . full citations for the publications are listed below . the disclosures of these publications and patents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains . the invention has been described in an illustrative manner , and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is , therefore , to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described . | 0 |
as can be seen from fig6 and 7 , the ski of the invention comprises an elastic compensation superstructure provided with a special front constraint in the form of a more complex innovative plate composed not only of the traditional base member ( connected to the centre of the ski ) but also of a front prolongation 5 which reacts against the ( aforedescribed ) counter - flexure with a downward thrust f spat on a point 6 situated around the middle of that ski portion between the front jaw p and the section 4 ( where the tip curvature commences ). the connection of the ski to the front end of said elongated plate at the point 6 must satisfy precise fundamental connection conditions , allowing freedom of rotation about a transverse - horizontal axis , and freedom of longitudinal sliding , so that no limitation is imposed on the flexibility of the shovel portion itself . this means that said connection must simultaneously act as a hinge and as a bilateral support . in this respect it must allow free rotation of the shovel portion about a transverse - horizontal axis , but must hinder movements between the plate and ski in a vertical direction but must allow relative sliding in a longitudinal direction . it must hence be a hinge ( of transverse - horizontal axis ), to allow freedom of rotation between the shovel portion and said plate end , but must be horizontally slotted to also allow its relative longitudinal sliding ; it can hence be defined as a slotted hinge . this superstructure is therefore provided with at least three separate points of application to the ski , one of which is situated in a position 6 which is significantly advanced ( with respect to the front jaw ), possibly and preferably around the middle of the portion between the front jaw p and the section 4 where the curvature of the tip commences . consequently when the ski counter - flexes , the dynamic load f exerted by the skier is divided into at least three forces : two ( f ′, f ″) or more acting on the base central region , and an additional force ( f spat ) acting on said more advanced point 6 . it should be noted that the most significant role of this superstructure is not merely to damp and absorb vibrations , although it undoubtedly and effectively performs this valuable accessory function . its main role is to exert a supplementary reactive thrust f spat on the point 6 , to induce an elastic compensation effect thereat to significantly modify its counter - flexure deformation ; it hence achieves the desired effect on the elastic deformation and on the related distribution of the reaction load ( fig4 ). it should however be noted that this effect is also substantially dependent on the elastic characteristics of the basic ski , which has to be adequately flexible particularly in the portion 7 below the arm 5 . the proposed configuration shown by way of example in fig6 and 7 can be subjected to suitable improvement . in this respect , to be applicable to any ski it cannot be prefigured in a standardized form ; it requires adaptation to the shape ( in terms of the progression of the thicknesses and curvatures ) of the ski for which it is intended . moreover , the value of the thrust f spat is strictly dependent on the flexibility of the arm and would be very difficult to regulate and preset ( in order to achieve a determined preload value and assume certain values increasing with the elastic counter - flexure deformation ). the aforesaid problem is radically simplified by using the following more evolved constructional variant ( fig8 - 11 ). the superstructure is no longer a single member but two members : a traditional base plate 10 and an independent semi - rigid front prolongation arm 11 , i . e . a sort of rocker arm ( fig8 ), as described hereinafter . the prolongation arm 11 , connected at its front to the slotted hinge 6 , is connected at its rear to the front end of the base plate 10 by a hinge 12 , it being also provided with a retro - prolongation 13 the end of which acts as a reaction element . said end is provided with an element 14 of adjustable advancement ( for example by means of a screw ), which abuts against the base plate 10 ( fig8 ) or against the basic ski ( fig1 , 11 ), according to design requirements related to its elastic characteristics , by acting preferably on an interposed elastic or semi - elastic element 15 ( for example a high resistance rubber insert ). it should be noted that in the second of the aforesaid cases , in which the design provides for the reaction element of the rocker arm to bear on the basic ski ( fig1 , 11 ), two supplementary forces act frontward through the rocker arm : in addition to the force f spat , the force f ′″ exerted by the element 14 also acts on the ski . as an alternative to the aforedescribed proposed configurations , the base plate can be split into two half - plates , i . e . the superstructure portion below the boot comprises two distinct separated parts : a rear part 9 below the heel fixing unit , and a front part 8 below the sole . this latter provides all the aforedescribed functional aspects , as illustrated in fig1 , which shows an extension of the structure already shown in fig8 , and in fig1 which shows an extension of the structure shown in fig1 . finally , the solution shown in fig8 and the solution shown in fig1 , 11 can be simultaneously adopted ( whether the base plate is whole or split ), by simultaneously applying a first counteracting element 14 acting on the base plate , and a second counteracting element 16 acting on the ski , as shown in fig1 and 15 . a further embodiment ( very particular , moreover for its simplicity ), is shown in fig1 and 17 . it concerns exclusively the solution in which the base plate is fractioned into two different and separated parts 8 and 9 . it involves only the front part 8 and it foresees the prolongation arm 5 to be integral part of it up to point 6 ( fixed to the ski in the “ slotted hinge ” way as described and considered up to now ). said front plate portion ( underneath the boot sole ) is fixed to the central region 1 of the ski through a transverse - horizontal axis solid hinge 17 , at the rear with respect to the front jaw p . in this case the action f of the skier is transmitted to the ski by three forces : the f ′ one exerted on the heel fixing unit , the fspat exerted by the end 6 of the arm and the f ″ one exerted on the aforesaid hinge . independently of the embodiment used , the ski of the invention is particularly advantageous by demonstrating an adequate flexibility combined with good distribution of the reaction load . the superstructure of the ski according to the invention can be constructed of traditional materials or , advantageously , of different materials such as composites , magnesium alloys , or monostructural hybrids which enable a specific weight reduction to be obtained for equal strength characteristics . in addition , the superstructure can be produced using economical industrial pressing , forging and moulding techniques . | 0 |
a typical carriage - type , multicolor , thermal ink jet printer 10 is shown in fig1 . a linear array of ink droplet producing channels ( not shown ) is housed in each printhead 14 . one or more printheads 14 are replaceably mounted on a reciprocating carriage assembly 16 , which reciprocates back and forth in the direction of the arrows 18 as shown . the ink channels terminate with orifices or nozzles 20 which are aligned perpendicular to the surface of a recording medium 22 , such as paper . droplets 24 are expelled and propelled to the recording medium 22 from the nozzles 20 in response to digital data signals received by a printer controller , which in turn selectively addresses individual heating elements with a current pulse , the heating elements being located in the printhead channels a predetermined distance from the nozzles 20 . the current pulses passing through the printhead heating elements vaporize the ink contacting the heating elements and produce temporary vapor bubbles to expel the droplets of ink 24 from the nozzles 20 . a single printhead array may be used , or multiple arrays may be butted together to form a large array or a pagewidth printhead . additionally , one or more of these arrays may be stacked such that each array expels a different color of ink for multicolor printing . as shown in fig2 a printhead 14 includes an ink supply manifold 26 fixedly mounted on an interconnection board or daughter - board 28 having electrodes 32 . the interconnection board may be wire bondable pc board , thick film on ceramic or thin film on ceramic for example . beneath the manifold 26 and as shown in fig3 - 4 are a heater plate 42 having electrodes 30 and a thermal ink jet die 38 having an ink inlet 34 . the interconnection board 28 , the heater plate 42 and thermal ink jet die 38 are mounted on a heat sinking substrate 40 , with the manifold 26 attached to the substrate 40 and overlying the heater plate 42 , thermal die 38 and a portion of the interconnection board 28 . the electrodes 32 of the interconnection board are bonded by bonds 44 to the electrode 30 of the heater 42 as shown in fig3 . fig4 does not show the bonds 44 for clarity . however , fig4 illustrates that the ink inlet 34 of the thermal ink jet die 38 is sealingly positioned against and coincident with an ink inlet 36 in the manifold 26 . the manifold 26 also includes vent tubes 66 which connect the manifold with an ink supply 68 . a plan view of the l - shaped interconnection board 28 is shown in fig2 . this view is of the side containing the printhead 14 . interconnection board electrodes 32 are on a one - to - one ratio with the electrodes 30 of the printhead 14 as shown in fig3 . the printhead 14 is sealingly and fixedly attached to the interconnection board 28 and its electrodes 30 are wire bonded by bonds 44 to the interconnection board electrodes 32 . all of the electrodes 30 , 32 are passivated and the wire bonds 44 are encased in an electrical insulative material such as epoxy . opposite ends of electrodes 32 are connectably attached to appropriate controls in the printer 10 . with reference to fig3 the thermal ink jet die 38 is adjacent to electrical interconnection board 28 , both of which are bonded onto the heat sinking substrate 40 . prior to bonding of die 38 onto substrate 40 , a screen printed silver filled die bonding epoxy 64 is patterned over an area where the die is to be bonded . it is to be understood that in fig3 the epoxy 64 is located under the die 38 and optionally extends beyond ends 50 of the die 38 as shown . on the die 38 , the ink inlet 34 is shown as a rectangle . wire bond pads or electrodes 30 from a heater plate portion 42 of the printhead 14 are shown as rectangles . wire bonds 44 to the corresponding pads or electrodes 32 on the electrical interconnection board 28 are shown in dotted lines . electrical connection from the board 28 to printer 10 are shown in fig2 and do not form part of the present invention . fig4 is a perspective view of the components shown in fig3 including ink manifold 26 prior to assembly . fig5 is a perspective view of the components of fig4 in an assembled state . the manifold 26 include legs 52 which rest on the substrate 40 and straddle ends 50 of the thermal ink jet die 38 . an air gap 48 can exist between the legs 52 and ends 50 of the die 38 when the structure is assembled as in fig5 . according to the present invention , a wire bond encapsulant is applied in a manner so as to provide structural bonding of the manifold 26 to the other printhead components , and also to fill any air gaps 48 between ends of the die 50 and legs or sides 52 of the manifold 26 . a preferred embodiment is shown in fig4 and 6 . in this embodiment , the substrate 40 has a through hole 54 preferably formed by orientation dependent etching located near the center of the row of wire bonds 44 between the die 38 and the interconnection board 28 . in addition , the underside 60 of the manifold 26 as shown in fig6 includes an encapsulation dam bar 56 which , when the manifold 26 is assembled onto the printhead 14 , is located over the interconnection board 28 just behind the row of wire bonds 44 . in fig6 a represents the relative location of the through hole 54 on the substrate 40 but is not a through hole on the manifold 26 . however , alternatively instead of locating the throughhole 54 in the substrate 40 it may be provided in the manifold 26 as shown as 54a . in this case , throughhole 54 would not be provided on the substrate . this may be advantageous in that it would allow encapsulation injection from the top rather than the bottom . the manifold 26 may be molded with the hole and the bar . in order to assemble the manifold 26 , a watertight seal 58 is first applied around the ink inlet 34 of the die 38 so as to seal its connection to the ink inlet 36 of the manifold 26 ( fig4 ). the water tight seal 58 may be made by screen printing or syringe deposition . alternatively , the water tight seal 58 may be formed on the underside 60 of the manifold 26 by syringe deposition . the manifold 26 is then positioned in place , for example , by using registration pins . in accordance with the present inventive process , a liquid encapsulate such as hysol 4323 is injected from the underside of the substrate 40 through the through hole 54 between the thermal ink jet die 38 and the interconnection board 28 . the encapsulant flows laterally along the path of least resistance along the rows of wire bonds 44 , being constrained by the underside 60 of the manifold ( on the top ), the substrate 40 ( on the bottom ), the die 38 ( in front ), and the dam encapsulation bar 56 ( in the rear ). this encapsules the wire bonds 44 . preferably , the dam bar 56 is the same thickness ( vertical dimension ) as the die , i . e ., a 1 : 1 ratio . however , it may be desirable that dam bar 56 does not extend all the way down to contact the interconnection board 28 ( i . e ., a vertical space ( not shown ) exists between the dam bar 56 and the substrate 40 ), allowing some encapsulant to spill past the bar 56 and to allow for tolerances between components . the dam bar 56 also may be of a length less than the distance between the legs 52 such that a lateral spacing d exists between ends of the dam bar 56 and the legs 52 to also allow limited encapsulant flow therearound . the vertical and lateral spacings may be advantageous in that they give greater area for structural bonding of the manifold 26 to the other printhead components and also compensate for tolerances between elements . because the through hole 54 is located near the center of the die 38 , the encapsulant 46 reaches both ends of the die 50 at approximately the same time . it then begins to flow toward the front of the printhead to fill the air gaps 48 between the ends of the die 50 and the manifold legs 52 at the side . the encapsulant 46 ( see fig7 ) can be watched by an operator as it flows and injection can be stopped when the encapsulant 46 is nearly to the front of the printhead 14 . preferably , this is done using an optical sensor to detect the extent of encapsulant flow . additionally , in the case where the substrate is the same color as the encapsulant ( typically black ), it is preferred to provide a white background for viewing the flow of the encapsulant . this may be accomplished by extending the screen printed silver filled die bonding epoxy 64 , as shown in fig3 since the silver epoxy on a dark substrate makes it easier to see when the black encapsulant 46 covers it up . the encapsulant is then cured to finish the assembly process . the finished printhead and interconnection board can now be assembled onto various printer components to complete the printer . this encapsulation process provides in one step 1 ) reliable encapsulation of the entire row of wire bonds ; 2 ) enhanced structural bonding of the manifold to the substrate , the die and the interconnection board ; 3 ) filling of air gaps at the ends of the die so that volatile ink components may not escape through the gaps ; and 4 ) back up sealing of the watertight seal along the rear of the printhead die . the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting . various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 1 |
reference is now made to the figures wherein like parts are referred to by like numerals throughout . throughout the optional embodiments illustrated herein , it is contemplated that the term “ bonus rewards ” are determined based upon wagers placed the underlying game . furthermore , bonus rounds may be of fixed duration , or may be of a length as determined by outcomes generated during the execution of the bonus rounds , said results extending or curtailing the bonus generation as indicated according to the prespecified rules of play . for purposes of illustration , bonus triggering and bonus extending outcomes are predefined per prespecified rules of play . in alternate embodiments , such bonus triggering and bonus extending outcomes may be randomly , and dynamically , defined . figure illustrates the traditional roulette inside wagering area 100 including sample wagers 121 , 122 , 123 . all game outcomes comprising the standard roulette wheel are represented within this inside wagering area 100 . wagers 121 , 122 , 123 may be placed which will be rewarded on the occurrence of one or more of these standard game results . the $ 1 wager 121 will be rewarded should either of two game outcomes , “ 6 ” 110 or “ 9 ” 111 , occur . the $ 2 wager 0 . 122 will be rewarded only should the outcome “ 12 ” 112 occur . the $ 3 wager 123 will be rewarded if any one of three outcomes , “ 34 ” 113 , “ 35 ” 114 or “ 36 ” 115 , occur . fig2 depicts an alternate embodiment of a roulette inside wagering area 200 which has added a bonus wagering location 230 . a sample $ 4 bonus wager 224 is illustrated , betting solely on such a bonus outcome . non - bonus wagers made in this game 221 , 222 , 223 , are nonetheless eligible for bonus rewards as determined in the bonus event whether or not a bonus wager 224 has been placed . in fact , in an alternate embodiment of this game , such a bonus wager 230 need not be available , and the inside wagering area 200 for such bonus - enhanced games may be indistinguishable from the inside wagering area 100 for the standard game as shown in fig1 . fig3 depicts an alternate embodiment of a roulette inside wagering area 300 wherein the bonus wagering opportunity 330 has been integrated into the standard wagering design . in addition to such bonus wagers as previously described 328 , this embodiment facilitates wagers on combinations of game and bonus outcomes 325 , 326 . and 327 . the $ 4 sample wager 325 is rewarded should either a bonus outcome 330 occur or should a “ 0 ” 316 occur . this effectively places a $ 2 wager on a bonus outcome 330 and a $ 2 wager on the “ 0 ” outcome 316 . the $ 6 sample wager 326 is rewarded should either a bonus outcome 330 occur or should a “ 00 ” 317 occur . this effectively places a $ 3 wager on a bonus outcome 330 and a $ 3 wager on the “ 00 ” outcome 317 . the $ 9 sample wager 326 is rewarded should bonus outcome 330 occur , should a “ 0 ” 316 occur , or should a “ 00 ” 317 occur . this effectively places a $ 3 wager on a bonus outcome 339 , a $ 3 wager on the “ 0 ” outcome 316 , and a $ 3 wager on the “ 00 ” outcome 317 . for purpose of illustrations , amounts wagered were varied for descriptive clarity , but in an actual game , all of the wagers can typically be of the same amount . in general , wagers on combinations of numbers offer two advantages : 1 ) they allow a player to have some control balancing risk and reward , wherein a wager on a larger set of potential winning outcomes increases the probability of obtaining such a winning outcome , but reduces the ratio of the reward of such a winning outcome to the amount wagered , and 2 ) combination wagers simplify the practice of placing multiple wagers , in particular where the size of the combination wager is large enough to approximate the sum of the equivalent individual wagers . for example , the $ 3 combination wager 323 for outcomes “ 34 ” 313 , “ 35 ” 314 and “ 36 ” 315 could be made as three separate $ 1 wagers , one on each of the indicated outcomes , should $ 1 wagers be permitted , but placing a single combination wager 323 requires less effort , on the part of the player as well as on the house . furthermore , if the minimum wager . is $ 1 , the player could make a $ 1 wager on the combination “ 34 ” 313 , “ 35 ” 314 and “ 36 ” 315 even where a wager of $ ⅓ for each such outcome would not be permitted . fig4 depicts a roulette inside wagering area 400 with an alternate embodiment of the integration of the bonus wagering location 430 . in this embodiment , the bonus wagering location 430 is appended to one of the long sides of the standard inside wagering area 400 . in addition to direct bonus wagers 425 , this configuration also allows extensive combination wagers which combinations of game . and bonus outcomes 424 , 426 and 427 . the $ 6 sample wager 426 is rewarded should a bonus outcome 430 occur or should a “ 24 ” 419 occur . this effectively places a $ 3 wager on a bonus outcome 430 and a $ 3 wager on the “ 24 ” outcome 419 . the $ 4 sample wager 424 is rewarded should a bonus outcome 430 occur , should a “ 31 ” 416 occur , should a “ 32 ” 417 occur or should a “ 33 ” 418 occur . this effectively places a $ 1 wager on a bonus outcome 430 , a $ 1 wager on an outcome of a “ 31 ” 416 , a $ 1 wager on an outcome of a “ 32 ” 417 , and a $ 1 wager on an outcome of a “ 33 ” 418 . the $ 7 sample wager 427 is rewarded should a bonus outcome 430 occur , should a “ 31 ” 416 occur , should a “ 32 ” 4 . 17 occur , should a “ 33 ” 418 occur , should a “ 34 ” 413 occur , should a “ 35 ” 414 occur , or should a “ 36 ” 415 occur . this effectively places a $ 1 wager on a bonus outcome 430 and a $ 1 wager on each of the outcomes “ 31 ”, “ 32 ”, “ 33 ”, “ 34 ”, “ 35 ” and “ 36 ” 413 - 418 . this embodiment still allows game wagers across three numbers such as the sample wager $ 3 443 on the combination of outcomes “ 34 ” 413 , “ 35 ” 414 and “ 36 ” 415 without requiring this combination to also include the bonus outcome . while not illustrated in the embodiments illustrated , alternate embodiments include configurations wherein combination wagers are available which incorporate bonus wagers with other game wagers , such as the game outside wagers ( red , black , high , low , even , odd , 1st dozen , 2nd dozen , 3rd dozen , 1st column , 2nd column , 3rd column ). while the payouts could take any form and are not restricted to any specific form or quantity , table 1 illustrates an example pay table for a roulette game according to the embodiment of fig2 - 4 . fig5 depicts an optional embodiment for a traditional dice sum game 500 . in this embodiment , the player may place a wager on any of the wagering areas 502 through 512 and as indicated in the instructions 530 , and is rewarded if an outcome on which he has wagered results occurs on the next throw of two standard dice . referring to the wagering area for the outcome “ 5 ” 505 as an example , the wagering area lists the outcome being wagered upon 520 and the reward ratio to be paid on such a wager should that outcome 520 occur . fig6 illustrates an alternate embodiment 600 of the present invention to that depicted in fig5 . two of the outcomes , “ 2 ” 602 and “ 12 ” 612 are designated as bonus outcomes . in this embodiment , as indicated in the instructions 630 , if the outcome of the next throw of two standard dice yields a sum of 2 602 or a sum of 12 612 , then player will win twice the total amount wagered in the current play of the game . for example , if the player has wagered $ 2 on the outcome “ 6 ” 606 , and $ 3 on the outcome “ 8 ” 608 , and the next outcome has a sum of 12 , then the player will be paid twice his total wager or $ 10 . it should be noted that , in this embodiment , the bonus feature increases the expected payback to the player . in order to compensate for such a variation , and still be able to continue to offer this game at a profit , the house may have reduced some of the game rewards . for example , the reward ratio for the outcome “ 5 ” 605 has been reduced from 8 to 1 521 in an embodiment corresponding to fig5 , to 7 to 1 621 for an embodiment corresponding to fig6 . in one optional implementation of this embodiment , players need not place a bonus wager in order to receive a bonus reward . in an alternate implementation of this embodiment , a bonus wager may be a condition precedent for receipt of , or participation in , a bonus reward . fig7 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the present invention applied to a dice sum game 700 where the bonus reward is the opportunity to obtain additional reward opportunities should a bonus triggering outcome be generated . in the optional embodiment illustrated , the throwing of “ doubles ,” i . e . where the value on both dice are equal , in other words combinations of 1 , 1 or 2 , 2 or 3 , 3 or 4 , 4 or 5 , 5 or 6 , 6 , constitutes such a bonus triggering outcome . in alternative embodiments , other outcomes may be used . the player may wager on any of the outcomes 702 through 717 . while outcomes “ 2 ” through “ 12 ” 702 - 712 can all be attained in a single role of the dice , outcomes “ 13 ” through “ 17 ” 713 - 717 can only be attained by rolling a bonus a double , and then adding the sum of the additional roll awarded . for example , should a player wager on outcome “ 6 ” 706 and double 3 &# 39 ; s were thrown , the player would win 6 : 1 on his “ 6 ” wager 706 . however , as a bonus triggering outcome had been thrown , play continues with all wagers standing , independent of wagers placed on “ 6 ” 706 . whatever sum is next thrown will be added to the sum of the dice comprising the bonus triggering outcome to generate a new dice sum . for example , if the second roll yields a sum of 10 , then the resulting outcome is 10 beyond the current sum or 6 + 10 = 16 . if the player has a wager on “ 16 ” 716 , such a player will be rewarded at a payoff of 64 : 1 . furthermore , if the player &# 39 ; s 2nd roll was a 12 , then the resulting outcome would be 12 beyond the current 6 , which , as this layout utilizes an equivalent of modulo 16 arithmetic , would yield an outcome of 2 . in addition , as , in the optional embodiment illustrated , a roll of 12 is double , and hence a bonus extending outcome , the player gets another roll of the dice , with all wagers still standing , with the starting sum now equal to 2 . in an optional implementation of this embodiment , a special bonus could be rewarded to all players any time the bonus sum exceeds 17 , i . e . “ wraps around .” for example , any reward paid after having gone around the board once could result in the reward amount being twice as large as normal . fig8 depicts an alternate embodiment 800 of the game previously depicted in fig7 where , in the present embodiment , selected outcomes 805 , 809 , 813 , 817 have been designated to receive bonus outcomes . the bonus “?” 805 arises for an outcome of 5 , the bonus “? ?” 809 arises for an outcome of 9 , and the bonus “?? ?” 813 arises for an outcome of 13 . in the optional implementation illustrated , the “?” bonus , the “? ?” bonus , and the “?? ?” bonus each result in an . effect determined at random . such effects may be accorded as a random relocation to another outcome spot on the board , the ability to throw the dice again from that spot , the granting of a static reward , the granting of a random reward from a series of possible rewards , or even the ending of the game with no reward issued . the potential outcomes , as well as the probabilities of random selection of such potential reward may optionally vary for each such bonus outcome . this game 800 also features a bonus spot 817 which , as indicated by the game instructions , will result in a reward being paid which is equal to seven times the sum of all placed wagers . flow logic for this game is presented in fig1 . fig9 depicts an optional embodiment 900 of the implementation of the present invention which permits of combination wagers on bonus sums . specifically , there are a new wager opportunities 931 through 934 for combinations of outcomes . a wager on 931 is rewarded at 4 . 5 : 1 on an outcome of a “ 2 ”, “ 3 ” or “ 4 .” a wager on 932 is rewarded at 1 . 75 : 1 for an outcome of “ 6 ”, “ 7 ” or “ 8 ,” and so forth . fig1 shows a logic flow chart of one embodiment of this invention . the player places his wagers 1020 and starts the game 1021 . once the wagers are committed , we determine whether or not this is a bonus round . for one optional implementation of this invention as applied to a roulette - based game , this could involve the random selection of the roulette ball where at least one designated ball , optionally identified by color , indicates a bonus round . for a money wheel - based game , this might optionally involve the random * ling of light colors , at least one of which colors being associated with a bonus round . alternately , this could involve other selectors such as a secondary spinning wheel , dice or other indicia . the standard game is played out 1023 and an outcome determined . if this outcome was not predicted and wager upon by the player 1024 then the game is over 1050 : if the outcome does match a placed wager , then the actual reward is determined based on whether or not this is a bonus round 1025 . if it is not a bonus round , then winning outcomes are paid at the standard rate 1040 and the game ends 1050 . if it is a bonus round , then the winning outcomes are paid at the higher bonus rate 1026 before the game ends 1050 . though not shown in this figure , it would also be possible to support different bonus reward structures based upon the bonus selection . for example , in a roulette - based game , the silver ball could indicate a standard pay while a blue ball indicates a 2 × pay and a yellow ball indicates a 3 × pay . fig1 illustrates the flow chart of an alternate embodiment of this invention . the player places his wagers 1120 , the game is started 1121 and the game outcome is determined 1122 . if the outcome is not a bonus outcome 1123 , then game reward evaluation is performed 1140 to determine whether a game reward should be paid 1141 . if this outcome is a bonus outcome , and if the game is defined to allow wagers to be placed on a bonus outcome 1124 and if one or more wagers were made on the bonus outcome 1126 then a reward is paid against said wagers 1142 game . irrespective of whether or not bonus outcomes are enabled or whether or not bonus outcome wagers were paid and placed , the bonus outcome activates a bonus round 1125 . fig1 depicts the flow chart of yet another embodiment of this invention , illustrating one possible bonus outcome activation . all wagers from the original game stand 1220 and another game round is played out 1221 and 1222 . if the outcome is not the bonus again 1223 , the outcome is compared against the placed wagers 1240 and winnings are paid against such correctly matching wagers 1241 , but an adjusted reward rate , typically higher than the normal . an example of such would be to pay out twice as much as usual in the bonus round vs . in a standard round . a bonus triggering outcome achieved during a bonus round is resolved according to prespecified game rules 1225 . this may optionally include activating an additional bonus round at the same reward levels , or activating another bonus round at a modified reward schedule . in one such implementation , this could cause all rewards to be tripled , rather than doubled . in another such implementation , this could cause all wagers not placed on the bonus outcome to lose . where the game permits players to place wagers directly on a bonus outcome , then another bonus outcome during a bonus round could lead to special rewards for such bonus wagers . fig1 portrays yet another flow chart of an alternate implementation of this invention , in particular showing one possible bonus outcome activation . in this implementation , all wagers from the original game stand 1320 and the first of at least two game rounds is played out 1321 , 1322 . if the outcome is not the bonus again 1323 , the outcome is compared against the placed wagers 1340 and rewards are paid against such correctly matching wagers 1341 . such rewards could be played out at standard rates or alternatively at special bonus round rates . if the outcome is a bonus outcome , then it can be handled as discussed above . once the first bonus round is played out , a second bonus round is likewise played out with all wagers from the original game continuing to stand 1326 , another round being played out 1327 and 1328 and the results evaluated and acted upon 1329 , 1342 , 1342 , 1330 . clearly , this concept can be easily extended to allow any plurality of bonus rounds to be played out . fig1 illustrates an alternate flow chart of another bonus outcome activation . this implementation is similar to that depicted in fig1 , except that the multiple bonus round outcome are determined in parallel instead of sequentially . all wagers from the original game stand 1420 and the game rounds is played out 1421 where multiple outcomes are generated 1422 . optionally , these outcomes may be mutually exclusive or completely independent of each other . each outcome is compared against wagers placed 1423 , and winnings paid against such matching wagers 1441 . such rewards may optionally be paid at standard rates or at special bonus round rates according to predefined game definition . if the outcome is a bonus outcome , then it can be handled as discussed in fig1 above . fig1 a and 15b illustrates a flow chart for the optional embodiment previously shown in fig8 . the player places his wagers 1520 and the game commences 1521 . the value for each of two dice is determined 1522 by the throw of physical dice or by the random generation of values which appear on electro - mechanical or video dice simulations . the initial outcome is determined by computing the sum of the two dice values 1523 and this outcome is then displayed 1524 . when applied to a game such as that depicted in fig8 , the location on the game board corresponding to the generated outcome can be marked or highlighted . any wager placed on the current outcome 1525 is rewarded in accordance with the predefined pay schedule 1540 . outcomes of “?”, “? ?,” or “?? ?” 1527 initiate the rewarding of a bonus effect 1541 . the bonus effect to be rewarded may be the earning of another thrown , the payment of a reward , the random relocation to a new outcome location , the ending of the game irrespective of whether a bonus triggering outcome were generated , or other such rewards as determined by random generation from a predetermined list of potention rewards . if the bonus effect is to end the game 1542 , then the game ends 1550 , else we proceed to consider whether a bonus triggering outcome has been created . in the optional embodiment illustrated , such outcomes comprise the throwing of doubles 1529 , but in alternative implementations , other outcomes - could be used . if the outcome was a “ bonus ” outcome 1528 then a reward is paid , said reward being optionally computed based on all outstanding wagers 1543 . whether a bonus is paid or not , we proceed to consider whether a bonus extending outcome has been created . optionally such an outcome is comprised of a throw of doubles . in the optional embodiment illustrated , players may not place wagers on “?”, “? ?,” “?? ?” or “ bonus ” but in an alternate embodiment such wagers may be permitted . once the current outcome has been evaluated , we look at whether the last dice throw was a bonus extending outcome , which in the optional embodiment illustrated consists of a throw of “ doubles ” 1529 , i . e . whether the die values of the thrown dice are equal . if not , then the game ends 1550 . else if doubles were thrown , the player receives another throw of the dice for which all of his current wagers stand 1531 , and the player will again be eligible for winnings based upon the generated outcome . as described previously 1522 , two dice values are generated and summed to determine the current throw total , which total is then to the outcome sum of prior throws within the current bonus round 1533 to form the new outcome sum where such computation is performed in a modular arithmetic manner to generate a sum , modulo 16 , where the sum of 0 is depicted as a value of 16 , and the sum of 1 is depicted as a value of 17 1535 . once a new outcome has been determined , processing loops back to start another round of outcome evaluation 1524 . in this sample game , there is no limit on how many bonus throws may occur within a single game . in an alternate implementation , such a limit may be designated . in an optional embodiment illustrated , player bonus rewards are paid after each bonus triggering event and bonus outcome . in an alternate embodiment , player bonus rewards could be paid only at predesignated points within the bonus round , for example , after every m rolls , or only at the end of the bonus round . while certain embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described it is to be understood that the present invention is subject to many modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims presented herein . | 0 |
the present invention may be described herein in terms of various hardware components and modules and processing steps . it should be appreciated that such modules and steps may be realized by any number of hardware components configured to perform the specified functions . for example , the present invention may employ various shaped tubes , sheaths , and the like , which may carry out a variety of functions . in addition , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced in any number of contexts and that the illustrative embodiment as described herein is merely one exemplary application for the invention . for example , the present invention may be applicable to various types of animals and other applications that require precise positioning of devices or drugs . further , such general techniques that may be known to those skilled in the art are not described in detail herein . the present system avoids the passive transportation of any pyrogens , bacteria , virus , toxins , or other substances . thus , the subcutaneous or deep anatomic locale is kept cleaner , which can reduce clinical infection rates . such a delivery system is beneficial to patient health and to reduce healthcare costs . in addition , the system and methods of the present invention may use slip enhanced ptfe , and as such , while not requiring lubrication , actually performs better without any such foreign lubricious gels . this further maintains and promotes a clean , sterile , procedural , surgical site or wound fewer variable substances at the surgical site may proportionately reduce the medical complications currently experienced in some procedures and specialties . thus , the present invention is more efficient in the operating room for medical device placement than previous systems . with reference to fig4 , in general , a delivery assembly 100 comprises a membrane sheath 3 , a tube 4 , and a guide assembly 110 . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , and with momentary reference to fig5 , in use , tube 4 along with membrane 3 is pushed through guide assembly 110 , and a medical device such as the illustrated iol lens 1 is deposited on or in a location of the human body such as an eye 30 , a body cavity or channel ( not illustrated in fig5 ), or other body location . referring now to fig1 , a membrane sheath 3 in accordance with one aspect of the present invention is shown . membrane sheath 3 suitably comprises a thin , flexible polymeric substrate such as memcath &# 39 ; s .™. slip enhanced generation ii ptfe film . however , membrane sheath 3 may suitably comprise other similarly performing polymer substrates such as fluorinate ethylene propylene ( fep ), perfluoroalkoxy ( pfa ), other ptfe films , and the like . advantageously , membrane 3 has sufficient lubricity to smoothly slide out of and over the exterior of , for example , a tube 4 as illustrated in fig2 - 5 . thus , any suitable material having sufficient slip , strength , integrity , flexibility and lubricity may be utilized in accordance with the present invention to form membrane 3 , provided the material has sufficient strength and flexibility to be medically acceptable when in use . in accordance with various aspects of the present invention , membrane 3 comprises a polytetrafluoroethylene resin , a modified ptfe resin , or combinations thereof . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , membrane 3 is formed from a sintered ptfe film formed by skiving it off a billet to a thickness of less than 0 . 005 in . ptfe billet may comprise a modified ptfe , such as hoechst tfm 1700 or tfm 1702 or other chemical compound available from dewall industries of saunderstown , r . i . under the names dw / 200 , and dw / 220 respectively or other processors . such material comprises a modified ptfe polymer , modified by the addition of a small amount of perfluoro propyl vinyl ether ( ppve ). it is believed that the addition of ppve causes the ptfe to be more amorphous and more plasticized than pure crystalline ptfe . such modification also permits the film to be heat sealed upon itself ( i . e ., interfacial fusion ), in accordance with various aspects of the present invention . in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention , membrane 3 having multiple global sources may also comprise a modified ptfe resin available from dupont under the name mitsui - dupont tg 70 - j which has been sintered into billets , annealed , and skived to a thickness of on the order of 0 . 001 in . additionally , it should be appreciated that other ptfe films may be suitably used as may be now known or hereafter devised by those skilled in the art . for example , ptfe homopolymers or copolymers with comonomers like ppve , pfa and the like may be suitably used . it is important , however , that the film be usable to form membrane 3 which when used in connection with tube 4 can be easily withdrawn , ( i . e . does not “ lock ”) when membrane 3 is ( inverted ) withdrawn in a non - lubricated or “ dry ” state . the membrane materials useful in accordance with the present invention also have use in connection with various designs , such as those described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 531 , 717 , issued jul . 2 , 1996 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 676 , 688 , issued oct . 14 , 1997 , and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 240 , 968 , issued jun . 5 , 2001 , the descriptions contained in each of those references are hereby incorporated herein by reference . in accordance with various aspects of the present invention , membrane sheath 3 has a thickness on the order of less than 0 . 005 inches thick . it should be appreciated , however , that membrane sheath 3 may have thickness in excess of 0 . 005 inches . in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , membrane sheath has a thickness less than 0 . 001 inches . the polymer membrane sheath may be made of a substrate of various thickness . as will be described in detail below , membrane sheath 3 may be used to place an intraocular lens 1 with anchoring and positioning haptics 2 into an eye . with reference to fig2 , an iol 1 is illustrated being loaded into a membrane sheath 3 . as will be appreciated , iol 1 may be loaded in a variety of ways . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , iol 1 may be positioned in membrane sheath 3 via a plunger / pusher rod 12 . the membrane sheath 3 may deploy the medical device or drug to the desired position in the body where the medical device or drug was inserted , positioned , and enveloped into the membrane sheath . for example , three centimeters from the leading edge into the sheath equals three centimeters depth into the body . one end of the membrane sheath 3 may be attached to a thread 7 ( e . g ., cotton , floss , nylon , and the like ), which is strung through a pusher tube 4 , made of a semi - rigid material such as polyvinylchloride ( pvc ), polycarbonate ( pc ), acyrlonitrile butadiene styrene ( abs ), nylon , and the like . the pusher tube may be made from a clear material such that the surgeon or other operator of the pusher tube can easily monitor the travel position of the device . with reference to fig3 , lens 1 is shown positioned in membrane 3 . lens 1 may be suitably deposited into an eye by use of a pusher tube 4 . as will be appreciated , prior to depositing lens 1 , membrane 3 along with lens 1 may be loaded into pusher tube 4 in a variety of ways . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , membrane 3 may be pulled into the pusher tube 4 by the string 7 . a suitable retaining ring 8 may be attached to string 7 to facilitate pulling membrane 3 into pusher tube 4 . in accordance with another aspect of the present invention , membrane sheath 3 collapses and protects the medical device such as an intraocular lens ( iol ) or a stent , as the sheath is pulled into the tube 4 . with momentary reference to fig4 , when loaded into pusher tube 4 , membrane 3 is interposed between pusher tube 4 and lens 1 such that lens 1 is only in contact with membrane 3 . in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , a guide assembly 110 such as guide ring 5 is secured to the end of membrane 3 away from string 7 . guide ring 5 may be secured by a snap or twist ring 6 to membrane 3 . fig4 shows the lens 1 in the delivery assembly 100 ready for deployment . with momentary reference to fig5 , as shown , in use of assembly 100 , lens 1 may be deposited into location in an eye 30 . the inverting sheath deployment delivery system has the versatility to accommodate multiple medical applications with dimensional changes , to accommodate various diameters and lengths . during use of assembly 100 , membrane 3 is pushed through tube 4 and inverted ( i . e ., folded over ) such that the membrane is inverted over the outside of tube 4 . while the way in which membrane 3 can be inverted may vary , in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , membrane 3 is inverted through the use of the secure connection between membrane 3 and guide assembly 110 . with reference to fig4 and 5 , for example , an end of membrane 3 is connected to guide assembly 100 , such as through the use of any snap or twist ring 6 . as the tube , along with the membrane , passes through the guide assembly , one end of the membrane is secured to guide assembly 110 . in this manner , the membrane 3 may be unfolded over the outside of tube 4 such that membrane 3 is interposed between tube 4 and the eye 30 . it will be appreciated that , in this manner , lubricant is not delivered and lubricant does not remain in the eye during iol delivery . in accordance with another aspect of the present invention , fig6 shows the loading of a drug such as radiologic seeds 9 used for prostate and bladder cancer therapies . radiologic seeds 9 may be suitably deposited into an affected cancerous site by use of pusher tube 4 . as will be appreciated , prior to depositing radiologic seeds 9 , membrane 3 along with seeds 9 may be loaded into pusher tube 4 in a variety of ways . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , membrane 3 may be pulled into the pusher tube 4 by the string 7 . a suitable retaining ring 8 may be attached to string 7 to facilitate pulling membrane 3 into pusher tube 4 . seeds 9 may be positioned in membrane 3 by a variety of ways including using a suitable plunger 12 to locate / position the seeds in the membrane sheath . with momentary reference to fig4 , when loaded into pusher tube 4 , membrane 3 is interposed between pusher tube 4 and seeds 9 such that seeds 9 are only in contact with membrane 3 . fig7 shows the drug seeds in position ready for deployment . with momentary reference to fig8 , as shown , in use of assembly 100 , seeds 9 may be deposited into the affected cancerous site , through a body orifice 31 such as the urethral meatus . alternatively , the body orifice 31 could be a surgical , scalpel created access port such as might be required for tumors at or beneath the epidermal layers . during use of assembly 100 , membrane 3 is pushed through tube 4 and inverted ( i . e ., folded over ) such that the membrane is inverted over the outside of tube 4 . in this manner , the membrane 3 may be unfolded over the outside of tube 4 such that membrane 3 is interposed between tube 4 and the patient &# 39 ; s body . fig8 shows the seeds / drug deposited into the affected cancerous site . it will be appreciated that , in this manner , contaminants from the conjunctiva , urethra , or other body part or channel are not dragged into the wound during introduction of the medical device and / or drugs . in accordance with another aspect of the present invention , fig9 shows a stent 10 ready to be loaded into the assembly . fig1 shows stent 10 being drawn down ( collapsing ) into the membrane 3 as the loading string 7 is pulled back . in some cases depending on the stents &# 39 ; geometry , and there are many ( e . g . flared points at each end ), a funnel may be needed to help position the stent 10 to properly collapse into the membrane 3 . fig1 shows the collapsed stent 10 in position in the membrane 3 and ready for deployment . in accordance with another aspect of the present invention , the membrane sheath will advance with a sampling reagent , and the sampling reagent will then retreat back into the membrane sheath , thus providing a completely sterile , localized bacterial sampling for pathology diagnostic use . in the context of this embodiment of the present invention , fig1 shows a textile or sponge swab 11 attached to the tied end of membrane 3 , wherein swab 11 is enveloped inside the membrane 3 . in this embodiment , the swab would be advanced to the site . the whole assembly would be twisted , rubbed against the patient &# 39 ; s tissue in question and then the assembly would be withdrawn and simultaneously re - inverted with the pull / loading string to the original pre - deployment position shown in fig1 , thus isolating the swab . the assembly may then be polybagged and sent to the pathology lab for analysis . in accordance with various aspects of the present invention , fig1 shows three exemplary pusher tube 4 tips 14 , 15 , 16 . tip 14 comprises a pusher tube 4 with straight tips 14 with a constant inner diameter / outer diameter ( id / od ) radii . tip 15 comprises a simple outer diameter beveled corner break and tip 16 comprises a pusher tube with a tapered tip with id / od both reduced at the proximal end . fig1 shows an alternate tapered tip 17 , 18 , 19 with two or more slots allowing a semi - rigid ( pvc ) pusher tube 4 to flower open as a device passes through the tube 4 , to which the tip inner diameter is smaller than the main tube body &# 39 ; s inner diameter . this permits ease of entry into the body , with a tapered tip , yet allows a larger diameter medical device than the tapered inner diameter opening to pass through when the membrane 3 elsewhere shown is deployed . fig1 shows the slotted tip in the flowered open position 20 , 21 , 22 . fig1 shows an alternate pusher tube 23 with various alternative distal ends 24 and 24 a . this will help to backload the iol in contrast to the front - loading technique discussed above . fig1 shows an alternate membrane sheath 25 that can function with an iol . the iol 1 , the guide rings 5 , and the snap - retaining ring 6 are as discussed in detailed above . fig1 shows an exemplary back load assembly version . the iol 1 may be shipped in this position . fig1 shows the deployment of an iol into an eye 36 . the expanded proximal end of the pusher tube has collapsed as the guide ring moved into final position . in accordance with another embodiment , fig1 shows two tube sections . the tube sections will slide together in operation ( see fig2 ), and then later slide and rest together for loading of the membrane , assembly of the guide ring / snap and loading of the iol . fig2 and 23 show the iol in deployment ready mode . fig2 shows an alternate distal end al which will butt up against the palm of the surgeon &# 39 ; s hand . fig2 shows an alternate guide ring with finger grips . these two flanges , the end a 1 of the pusher tube illustrated in fig2 and the finger grip illustrated in fig2 will allows the surgeon to squeeze and deploy the device ready ( see fig2 ) to deployment executed ( see fig2 ). the present invention has been described above with reference to an exemplary embodiment . however , those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention . for example , the various processing steps dictated by the present invention , as well as the components for carrying out the processing steps , may be implemented in alternate ways depending upon the particular application or in consideration of any number of cost functions associated with the operation of the system . these and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention . | 0 |
detailed descriptions of one or more preferred embodiments are provided herein . it is to be understood , however , that the present invention may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in any appropriate system , structure or manner . fig1 is an overall perspective of a preferred embodiment for torque wrench 10 shown loosening a nut or bolt 850 . hydraulic fluid source 20 is shown powering torque wrench 10 . controller 22 can be used to control hydraulic fluid source 20 . on / off switch 26 can turn hydraulic power to fluid source 20 on and off . when power is on and toggle switch 23 is not depressed fluid can be pumped in line 28 in the direction of arrow 25 ( with fluid returning via line 27 in the direction of arrow 24 ). when toggle switch 23 is depressed fluid flow is switched with fluid flowing into line 27 in the opposite direction of arrow 24 and fluid returning in line 28 in the opposite direction of arrow 25 . shaft 170 will be turned in the direction of arrow 870 causing socket 15 to turn threaded fastener 850 . in this process a reaction torque will be generated tending to rotate wrench 10 in the opposite direction of arrow 870 . to oppose this reaction torque reaction bar 800 will contact threaded fastener 852 . fig1 a is a top view of torque wrench 10 tightening threaded fastener 850 . fig2 shows an exploded view of a preferred embodiment for torque wrench 10 . torque wrench 10 can comprise body 30 , body 30 including a cylinder 500 for hydraulically reciprocating a piston 640 . the piston 640 being operably connected to a driver 160 . the connection between the piston 640 and driver 160 can be a ratcheting mechanism comprising a drive gear 360 . torque wrench 10 can include a reaction bar 800 which provides a reacting force in opposition to the torque applied by driver 160 on threaded fastener 850 . driver 160 can be operably connected to a drive shaft 170 which can be a square shaft detachably connectable to a socket 15 ( not shown in this figure ) which itself connects to threaded fastener 850 . there can be further included exchangeable sockets mountable on driver 160 for engaging a head of a threaded fastener 850 , such as a bolt or nut . cylinder 500 can be integrally formed in body 30 . one end of body 30 can include piston stopper 560 which is threadably connected to body 30 to receive hydraulic cylinder 500 parts such as piston 540 , and the other end body 30 has an opening 45 to receive driver 160 parts , such as drive gear 360 . piston rod 650 includes slot 700 and maintains a perpendicular force in relation to drive shaft 170 during the entire stroke of piston 640 . during operation a reaction torque ( or force ) equivalent to the torque applied by torque wrench 10 will be generated when removing threaded connector 850 . this reaction torque must be compensated for , such as by having reaction bar 800 transmit such torque to the structure which threaded connected 850 is located . when drive shaft 170 is first operably connected to threaded connector 850 ( such as through a socket head ), reaction bar 800 may not be in contact with the structure . torque wrench 10 should be rotated until reaction bar 800 contacts the structure . otherwise body 30 of torque wrench 10 will rotate until contacting the structure possibly causing injury if hands or fingers are caught in between the structure and body 30 . during the application of force to turn threaded connector 850 in a first direction , a reaction force will be generated in a second direction tending to turn body 30 in the opposite direction in which threaded connector 850 is being turned . reaction bar 800 can be used to contact the adjacent structure and provide a reacting force so that a user is not required to manually apply the reacting force which can be as high as 50 , 000 foot pounds . as shown in fig3 and 26 piston 640 can comprise a rod 650 having a tip 660 with the tip 660 having an elongated slot 700 . on the end opposing tip 660 can be connected base 670 . body 30 can include base section 50 , interior 40 , cylinder 500 , and front section 70 . base section 50 can include hexagonal section 60 for incorporating reaction bar 800 . front section 70 can operate drive 160 . front section 70 can include first and second plates 70 , 80 which respectively can include first and second bores 100 , 110 . hydraulic ports 520 , 530 can be used for introducing hydraulic fluid into cylinder 500 during operation . driver 160 can comprise drive shaft 170 , drive gear 360 , first and second drive plates 180 , 190 , and drive pawl 240 . drive gear 360 can be rotatably connected to first and second drive plates 180 , 190 . drive pawl 240 can be operably connected to drive gear 360 through a plurality of teeth 365 located on drive gear 360 . tip 250 of drive pawl can ratchet with respect to the plurality of teeth 365 . cylinder 500 can comprise cylinder chamber 510 , rear wall 540 , front wall 550 , piston stopper 560 , and end cap 570 . a reciprocating piston 640 can included in cylinder chamber 510 and can move in the direction of arrows 860 , 870 depending on the direction of fluid flow in cylinder chamber 510 from hydraulic ports 520 , 530 . reciprocating piston 640 can comprise piston rod 650 , tip 660 , and base 670 . tip 660 can comprise slot 700 for operably connecting piston 640 to driver 160 . base 670 can include groove 720 for installing a seal 730 which seals base 670 to the walls of cylinder chamber 510 during operation . reciprocating piston 640 can be operably connected to driver 160 though a connection between drive pawl 240 and tip 660 . pin 440 can extend through bores 280 , 290 in first and second plates 260 , 270 for drive pawl 240 . tip 660 can connect to pin 440 through slot 700 . piston rod 640 can be attached to piston rod tip 660 which is operably connected to drive pin 440 through slot 700 . drive pin 440 is operably connected to drive pawl 240 and first and second drive plates 340 , 350 . first and second drive plates 340 , 350 are pivotally connected to drive pin 440 through bores 280 , 290 ( fig2 ). drive pawl 240 is operatively connected to drive gear 360 by a plurality of angular gear teeth 365 and drive pawl spring 242 . drive plate extension 342 biases spring 242 against drive pawl 240 and drive pawl 240 against plurality of angular teeth 365 . drive gear 360 is connected to drive shaft 170 through opening 367 . drive gear 360 is rotatably connected to wrench body 30 through bores 100 , 110 . extension of piston rod 640 rotates first and second drive plates 340 , 350 ; thereby moving drive pin 440 and rotating drive pawl 240 engaging drive gear 360 , and turning drive shaft 170 , and finally engaging nut or bolt 850 . drive bushings 950 , 960 can be operatively connected to drive gear 360 . drive bushings 950 , 960 can fit into 100 , 110 of wrench body 30 and can reduce friction and act as a bearing surface during rotation of drive shaft 170 . during retraction of piston rod 640 inside hydraulic cylinder 500 , piston rod 640 pulls drive pin 440 , and drive plates 340 , 350 which , in turn pulls drive pawl 240 . however , during retraction , drive pawl 240 ratchets over drive gear 340 without moving such gear . reaction bar 800 can be connected to wrench body 30 and will be in contact with a structural component and provide a reaction force to compensate for the torque generated by the torque wrench 10 . as shown in fig2 through 24 , reaction bar 800 can comprise arm 810 , base 820 , a plurality of splines 825 , and opening 830 . plurality of splines 825 can be fitted on for engaging hexagonal section 60 of torque wrench 10 . there can be included a set screw hole for fixing base 820 onto hexagonal section 60 . fig3 through 5 schematically illustrate stroking of torque wrench 10 . fig3 is a sectional view of torque wrench 10 with piston 640 at beginning stroke . fig4 is a sectional view torque wrench 10 with piston 640 at intermediate stroke . fig5 is a sectional view of torque wrench 10 with piston 640 at full stroke . movement of piston 640 is controlled by the flow of hydraulic fluid through ports 520 , 530 . fig4 shows piston 640 moving in the direction of arrows 890 , 900 . for movement in this direction hydraulic fluid enters cylinder through port 520 . this hydraulic fluid pushes against first area 680 of piston base 670 . a pushing force is created which is equal to the pressure of the hydraulic fluid from port 520 multiplied by the size first area 680 . such force cause piston 640 to move in the direction of arrow 880 . at the same time hydraulic fluid inside of cylinder chamber 510 , but on the side of second area 690 will exit through port 530 . as piston moves in the direction of arrow 900 pin 400 and drive pawl 250 operably engage the plurality of angular teeth 365 causing drive gear 360 to rotate in the direction of arrow 870 . as additional hydraulic fluid is pumped through port 520 piston 640 will continue to move in the direction of arrows 880 , 900 until second face 690 contacts front wall 550 ( or piston stopper 560 ). at this point drive gear 360 has seen the maximum rotation in the direction of arrow 870 for this piston stroke . now piston 690 can be returned to its beginning stroke position . to return piston 690 to the beginning stroke position hydraulic fluid is pumped into port 530 and pushes against second area 690 of piston base 670 . a pushing force is created which is equal to the pressure of the hydraulic fluid from port 520 multiplied by the size second area 690 . such force will cause piston 640 to move in the direction of arrow 890 . at the same time hydraulic fluid inside of cylinder chamber 510 , but on the side of first area 680 will exit through port 520 . as piston moves in the direction of arrow 890 , drive pawl 250 will slip over the plurality of angular teeth 365 by rotating in the direction of arrow 920 . drive gear 360 will be prevented from rotating in a direction opposite arrow 870 by arm 820 operably engaging plurality of angular teeth 365 . as additional hydraulic fluid is pumped through port 530 piston 640 will continue to move in the direction of arrows 890 until first face 680 comes to the initial stroke position . at this point piston 690 is ready for a second stroke . the above movement can be described as a ratcheting movement . to reverse rotation of drive shaft 170 , torque wrench 10 must be removed from nut or bolt 850 , body 30 turned over and again fastened to nut or bolt 850 . drive shaft 170 is slidably connected to drive gear 360 to allow shaft 170 to protrude from the side of body 30 on which nut or bolt 850 is to be tightened or loosened . one side of body 30 drive shaft 170 will rotate clockwise and the other side of body 30 will rotate counterclockwise . fluid flows enters the rear of cylinder chamber 510 ( through hydraulic port 520 ) causing piston 640 , piston rod 650 , and tip 660 to extend . piston 640 is driven forward by the fluid pressure , and piston rod tip 660 engages driver 160 to impart high - torque rotation to threaded fastener 850 . fluid exits cylinder chamber 510 through hydraulic port 530 returning to hydraulic fluid source 20 . once piston 640 extends fully forward , the fluid flow is manually switched . fluid now enters cylinder chamber 510 through hydraulic port 530 and exits through port 520 moving piston 640 toward rear wall 540 . the fluid between piston 640 and rear wall 54 is forced out through port 520 and returning to fluid source 20 . once piston 640 retracts fully inward , fluid flow is again manually switched back to the flow directions for forward movement . this process is repeated until threaded fastener 850 has been completely tightened to the required high torque , and torque wrench 10 can be applied to another threaded fastener . should one wish to loosen a torqued threaded fastener , such as nut or bolt 850 , torque wrench 10 is simply “ flipped over ” and the opposite end of drive shaft 170 is operably connected to threaded fastener 850 . flipping over wrench 10 will cause drive shaft 170 to rotate in a counter - clockwise direction thereby loosening threaded fastener 850 . as described above hydraulic fluid is manually controlled to extend and retract piston 640 . retraction of piston 640 as described above is accomplished by manually switching the direction of fluid flow into and out of hydraulic ports 520 , 530 from hydraulic fluid source 20 . also as described above the direction of fluid flow into and out of hydraulic ports 520 , 530 from hydraulic fluid source 20 is manually switched to cause piston 640 to extend . the wrench can also include a neutral release lever wherein a neutral position the wrench would free wheel with the lever release disengaged drive pawl of the drive mechanism and the lever release is positioned between the drive mechanism and the reciprocating power source . the neutral release lever may be fixed or attachable . the lever extends to a position in which on total reaction , the drive pawl is disengaged . fig2 graphically illustrates the changes in torque during a full stroke of piston 640 . during each stroke piston 640 travels along a straight line which is indicated by center line 732 through the longitudinal center of piston 640 . however , drive pin 440 moves through an arc 910 , which arc forms part of a circle having a radius equal to the distance between center of drive gear 360 ( and also center of bore 370 of first drive plate 340 ) and the center 485 of drive pin 440 ( and also the center of recessed are 345 of first drive plate 340 ). that is , first drive plate 340 controls the radial position of drive pin 440 as pin 440 moves about drive gear 360 . dimensional line 930 graphically represents the vertical distance between the center 485 of drive pin 440 and the center 366 of drive gear 360 . the torque applied to drive gear 360 at any given instant is equal to the hydraulic force applied on piston 640 multiplied times the vertical distance 930 . the hydraulic force applied to piston 640 can remain constant during strokes of piston 640 . however , because torque equals force times length , the torque applied to drive gear 360 will vary according to the variance of the vertical distance 930 . in embodiment , piston 640 is positioned where its centerline 732 falls in the middle 990 of the vertical movement of drive pin 440 . when located in middle 990 the deviation in torque applied to drive gear 360 during a given stroke of piston 640 will be minimized because the deviation in vertical distance 930 will be minimized . prior art torque wrenches line up center line 732 of piston 640 with position 940 . in these prior art wrenches the deviation in vertical distance 930 will be equal to vertical travel 980 . with the instant embodiment the deviation in vertical distance 930 will be one half of vertical travel 980 as distance 960 will be equal to distance 970 . such a construction will minimize variances in torque during any given stroke . another method of minimizing deviations of torque is to vary hydraulic pressure on piston 640 in relation to the vertical distance 930 . that is , as vertical distance 930 increases during a stroke , hydraulic pressure can be reduced to maintain a constant torque . further , when vertical distance 930 decreases during a stroke , hydraulic pressure can be increased to maintain a constant torque . the change in pressure can be calculated based on the change in vertical distance 930 . however , with this embodiment the position of piston 640 ( or angular position of drive plate 340 ) would probably have to be known to calculate the change in vertical distance 930 . the other problem addressed by centering centerline 732 in the middle of arc 910 is reducing any reverse torque on piston 640 . whenever center 445 of drive pin 440 moves away from centerline 732 of piston 640 a reverse torque will be applied to piston 640 equal to the vertical distance 1000 multiplied by the hydraulic force on piston 640 . this reverse torque tends to rotate piston 640 in relation to cylinder 500 and this tendency to rotate can cause premature seal failure along with wear between piston 640 and cylinder 500 . placing centerline 732 of piston 640 in the middle of arc 910 will minimize vertical distance 1000 and therefore minimize the amount of reverse torque for any given hydraulic force . the delta in fig3 schematically illustrates the vertical distance 1000 . arrow 1010 shows the reverse torque being applied to piston 640 . in other embodiments centerline 732 is placed between about 0 and 50 percent from the centerline to maximum vertical movement of drive pin 440 ; more preferably between about 0 and 35 percent ; more preferably between about 0 and 25 percent ; and most preferably between about 0 and 10 percent . in one embodiment hydraulic cylinder 500 can include spaced apart wear rings 620 , 630 respectively located in grooves 600 , 610 . wear rings 620 , 630 can be used to prevent wear between piston 640 and hydraulic cylinder 500 , such as the walls of chamber 510 . during the stroke piston 640 can contact wear rings 620 , 630 and not the walls of chamber 510 . accordingly , the walls of chamber 510 will not scratch or scar the surface of piston 640 . additionally , piston 640 will not scratch or scar the walls of chamber 510 . spacing apart wear rings 620 , 630 also helps the rings absorb the reverse torque discussed above . the reverse torque discussed above can be absorbed by seal 730 ( and piston base 670 ), along with wear rings 620 , 630 . it has been found that a v - cut shape for seal 730 provides a longer seal life . seal 590 for end cap 560 can also be a v - cut . fig1 through 14 show a preferred drive pawl 240 . drive pawl 240 can include support area 300 . fig1 is a perspective view of drive pawl 240 . fig1 is a top view of drive pawl 240 . fig1 is a side view of drive pawl 240 . fig1 is a rear view of drive pawl 240 . fig7 is a perspective view showing drive pin 440 mounted in drive pawl 240 and also mounted in second drive plate 350 . one of the problems with prior art torque wrenches is bending or failure of drive pin 440 . typically , drive pin 440 is supported by first and second plates 260 , 270 . however , with large forces drive pin 440 can deflect / bend between plates 260 , 270 causing fatigue and other problems . in one embodiment drive pawl 240 can include support area 300 . support area 300 can provide intermediate support ( between plates 260 , 270 ) to drive pin 440 and resist bending of drive pin 440 . support area 300 can extend from plate 260 to plate 270 . in an alternative embodiment support area does extend from plate 260 to plate 270 . in another alternative embodiment support area 300 comprises a support post . in another embodiment support area 300 substantially follows the curvature of drive pin 440 . it has been found that in prior art wrenches the sides of the drive pin touch the interior of the wrench body during motion . this can cause wear , scratching , gouging , and premature failure of bodies along with drive pins . during torque wrench operation drive pins can shift to one side until contacting the interior of the wrench bodies . because of the large forces placed on drive pins during operation the drive pins will tend to flex and their sides extending outward even further . as the drive pins are moved through an arc around the drive gears , the side of the drive pin contacting the interior of the drive body can wear , gouge , scratch , scar , or otherwise impair the interior of the drive body . this mechanism can continue ( as the drive pin can move over even more where a groove appears in the wall of the body ) until the drive body needs repair or replacement . in one embodiment first and second ends 460 , 470 of drive pin 440 are restricted from touching the interior 40 of body 30 . in one embodiment first and second plates 340 , 350 can respectively include recessed areas 345 , 355 , instead of bores therethrough . recessed areas 345 , 355 will prevent either first or second end 460 , 470 from contacting interior 40 of body 30 and wearing interior 40 of body 30 . in another embodiment first and second ends 460 , 470 of drive pin 440 have their movement restricted past first and second drive plates 340 , 350 . instead of recessed areas 345 , 355 , bars / restrictors can be placed in bores which replaced recessed areas 345 , 355 . in another embodiment , a wear plate can be placed on interior 40 of body 30 — which wear plate tracks the movement of drive pin 440 . in another embodiment interior 40 of body 30 can be coated with a material to resist wear from first and second ends 460 , 470 of drive pin 440 . in another embodiment the hardness of interior 40 of body 30 can be made harder than the hardness of drive pin 440 . because drive pin 440 is softer in this embodiment , drive pin 440 will wear instead of interior 40 of body 30 . in another embodiment drive pin 440 and drive plates 340 , 350 can be configured to resist side to side movement of drive pin 440 . this can be accomplished by a variety of means , such as by beveling first and second ends 460 , 470 of drive pin 440 to mate with openings in first and second drive plates 340 , 350 . in another embodiment the center 445 of drive pin 440 can have a larger cross section than the first and second ends 460 , 470 . the larger drive pin 440 cross section in the center 445 would resist movement of drive pin 440 from side to side beyond first and second drive plates 340 , 350 and resist contact by drive pin 440 with body 30 . in another embodiment a restriction can be placed on drive pin 440 to restrict side to side movement of drive pin 440 past drive plates 340 , 350 . such a restriction could include a projection from drive pin 440 on either or both sides of drive pin 440 . the projections can include one or more annular rings , set screws , rods , spikes , arms , or other projections . in another embodiment drive plates 340 , 350 can be mechanically linked with drive pin 440 to prevent side to side or lateral movement of drive pin 440 . such mechanical linkage can include set screws , snap rings , or other linkages . for example , snap rings can be placed on either side of drive pin 440 , but on the inside of drive plates 340 , 350 and these snap rings would resist side to side movement of drive pin 440 . as another example , set screws could be used between drive plates 340 , 350 and first and second ends 460 , 470 of drive pin 440 mechanically connecting the plates to the drive pin . however , this use of set screws is not preferred because it would resist relative rotation of drive pin 440 and drive plates 340 , 350 . in another embodiment drive pin 440 can be fastened to drive plates 340 , 350 by welding or an adhesive . recessed area of pin 440 can be used to reduce localized contact stresses in drive pin 440 . prior art wrenches include pins of uniform circular cross sections . in prior art wrenches it has been found that piston rod tips contact drive pins in only small localized areas and generate high localized areas of stress and deformation . in a preferred embodiment of wrench 10 , drive pin 440 includes recessed area 480 which is flat and increases the area of contact to reduce / minimize localized areas of high stress . edges 482 , 484 are shown at 90 degrees relative to flat area 480 . however , to reduce stress concentration , edges 482 , 483 can be at 45 degrees or lower or can even be curved , such as parabolic or elliptical curves . the following is a list of reference numerals used in this application : below are listed the preferred materials for various items of wrench 10 . body 30 , reaction bar 800 , piston rod base 670 , piston stopper 560 , and lever 750 can be comprised of aluminum 7075 t6 . drive pawl 240 can be comprised of 4340 carbon steel having a rockwell hardness of between 42 – 44 . drive gear 360 can be comprised of 4340 carbon steel having a rockwell hardness of between 42 – 44 . drive pin 440 can be comprised of 4340 carbon steel having a rockwell hardness of between 50 – 52 . piston rod 640 can be comprised of 4340 carbon steel having a rockwell hardness of between 55 – 57 . drive shaft 170 can be comprised of 4340 carbon steel having a rockwell hardness of between 50 – 52 . drive plates 260 , 270 can be comprised of ar400 steel having a rockwell hardness of between 44 – 45 . reaction boot 812 can be comprised of 4140 stainless steel having a rockwell hardness of between 42 – 44 . seals 590 , 730 can be neoprene having a hardness of v90 . wear rings 620 , 630 can be molygard . all measurements disclosed herein are at standard temperature and pressure , at sea level on earth , unless indicated otherwise . all materials used or intended to be used in a human being are biocompatible , unless indicated otherwise . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above . 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 set forth in the appended claims . the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only ; the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims . the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only ; the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims . | 1 |
the invention is now described with reference to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout . in the following description , for purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof . it may be evident , however , that the invention can be practiced without these specific details . the multipurpose yoga device of the present invention enables a user in creating more space in the lumbar region by loosening the muscles and creating more space between the vertebrae . the multipurpose yoga device provides sending the attention of the body to the precise area to provide more blood and hence oxygen and phagocytes to repair cells . additionally , the multipurpose yoga device can be used to reduce inflammation of lumbar nerves , passively stretch the tight muscles in the lower back area to create more length without the contraction which can cause tearage from pulling on fibrous areas of tissue , and loosen the lumbar fascia . finally , the multipurpose yoga device is relatively inexpensive to manufacture , natural to look and feel , quick to install , safe , strong , comfortable and easy to use . fig1 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of the multipurpose yoga device of the present invention wherein massage swing 110 is hanged from a doorway pull up bar 105 installed over the top of a door frame 100 . safe sticks 120 are also shown in fig1 . fig2 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of the multipurpose yoga device of the present invention , comprising of a massage swing 110 with looped ends , a plurality of safe sticks 120 and a plurality of fastening straps 130 . the multipurpose yoga device further comprises of a plurality of rings 135 , wherein said rings 135 can be attached to the massage swing 110 at different locations . the multipurpose yoga device further comprises of a plurality of hand straps 140 and a plurality of leg straps 145 wherein said hand straps 140 act as handles and said leg straps 145 act as a place for the legs or feet to rest . the fastening strap 130 further comprises of hook and loop fasteners . the massage swing 110 is preferably longitudinal in shape . the massage swing 110 can be manufactured from any suitable natural material known in the art such as cotton etc . and can withstand a force of at least 1 kilo newton . the massage swing 110 can also be manufactured in a variety of lengths , sizes , colors , styles and designs to accommodate user preference . as illustrated in fig3 , safe stick 120 is preferably dumbbell shaped and is a one piece stick . a hole is drilled through the middle of the safe stick 120 . the safe stick 120 can be manufactured from any suitable material known in the art such as camphor wood , alder wood etc . as illustrated in fig3 , fastening strap 130 is preferably longitudinal in shape . the fastening strap 130 has hook and loop fasteners sections at each end . one end has hook and the other end has loop . the fastening strap 130 can be manufactured from any suitable material known in the art such as polypropylene etc . the fastening strap 130 can also be manufactured in a variety of lengths , sizes , colors , styles and designs to accommodate user preference . as illustrated in fig2 , rings 135 are an accessory product to the multipurpose yoga device . they are designed to allow the user of the massage swing 110 to lower themselves down to an inverted position without using abdominal muscles excessively . as illustrated in fig2 , the hand straps 140 and leg straps 145 are an accessory product to the multipurpose yoga device . they are designed to allow the user of the massage swing 110 to lower themselves down to an inverted position without using abdominal muscles excessively . this also applies for coming out of the massage swing 110 to an upright position from an inverted position . the hand straps 140 and leg straps 145 also make the massage swing 110 much more versatile , allowing an increased range of movements , stretches , yoga poses , self massage , partner massage and tantric positions . as illustrated in fig4 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the use of massage swing 110 for a performing a yoga position is shown . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the massage swing 110 is preferably 4 meter ( m ) long , 65 millimeter ( mm ) wide and 6 millimeter ( mm ) thick and has a 20 centimeter ( cm ) loop at each end . the 6 millimeter ( mm ) thickness of large weave cotton preferably comprises of three 2 mm of cotton layers sewed together with nylon thread . nonetheless , it is contemplated that other dimensions could also be used without affecting the overall concept of the present invention . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the safety stick 120 is preferably 15 cm long one piece stick shaped like a dumbbell . at least one 27 mm × 5 mm hole is drilled through the middle . nonetheless , it is contemplated that other dimensions could also be used without affecting the overall concept of the present invention . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the fastening strap 130 is preferably 76 cm long . the fastening strap 130 is preferably 1 inch wide and 1 mm thick . the fastening strap 130 has preferably hook and loop fastener sections at each end . nonetheless , it is contemplated that other dimensions could also be used without affecting the overall concept of the present invention . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the rings 135 are standard size olympic rings . the thickness of the wooden ring ( pipe diameter ) is preferably 30 mm . the external diameter of the entire ring is preferably 235 mm . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the hand straps 140 and leg straps 145 are designed to be used with 23 . 5 centimeter rings , which act as handles for the user of the massage swing 110 . each hand strap 140 has a large loop at both ends . the large loop has preferably an opening 28 centimeter long to allow the ring to pass through easily to use the attachment method . the leg straps 145 are designed for use with the legs , for positions such as splits or for tantric positions . preferably two leg straps 145 are needed for each massage swing 110 . the hand straps 140 are designed for use primarily with the hands , for stabilisation and conditioning moves . two hand straps 140 are preferably needed for each massage swing 110 . the strap is preferably 100 % natural cotton and is a natural cotton colour . the strap is preferably 65 millimeter wide , 4 millimeter thick , and is preferably comprised of two 2 millimeter layers sewn together at the edges . the strap and all sewing points must have a minimum breaking point of 1 kilo newton ( kn ). the leg strap 145 is preferably 155 centimeter end to end when its two loops are already sewed in . to make the large loops , preferably an extra 31 centimeter of strap is needed for each one . this is to provide preferably a flat loop diameter of 28 centimeter from the end of the large loop to the first line of stitching . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , a doorway pull up bar is installed over the top of a door frame . stability of the doorway pull up bar by is checked by hanging from it . each one of the looped ends of the massage swing 110 is hanged over the highest of the two bars . the looped ends of the strap is wrapped around the bar two to three times until the bottom of the massage swing 110 is hanging just below waist height . the user &# 39 ; s hand is pushed through one of the hanging loops . then the user takes hold of the straight hanging part of the strap . the user then pulls the long hanging part of the strap through the loop at the end of the strap to form another loop . the safe stick is put through the loop and then the massage swing is pulled above and below the stick so that it tightens around the safe stick 120 . this secures the swing to the doorway pull up bar . the massage swing 110 is between the two wider ends of the safe stick 120 so that it cannot slip out . once both the safe sticks 120 are inserted , the height of the bottom of the massage swing 110 is at about waist height . this will mean that when inverted , the user &# 39 ; s head is an inch or two off the floor . the fastening straps 130 are added for extra safety . the fastening strap 130 is to be held horizontally end to end behind the safe stick 120 with the hook 10 and loop 20 fastener side facing the user . the two hook and loop fastener ends are brought towards each other as if the user wants to stick them together but then at the last minute they should be crossed over . the ends of the fastening strap 130 is fed through the hole in the middle of the safe stick 120 . the right end of the fastening strap 130 is to be wrapped round the back of the swing and round the front in a counter clockwise direction so that the hook 10 and the loop 20 fastening side is facing the user . the left side of the fastening strap 130 is wrapped round the back of the massage swing 110 and round the front in a clockwise direction so that the two hook and loop fastener sides stick together . how to install and use the multipurpose yoga device in doors without a bar in another preferred embodiment of the present invention the massage swing can be hanged in doors without using doorway pull up bars . this technique is not suitable for all doors . this technique is suitable only if the door closes firmly with a handle . in some cases , there is a very tight gap between the top of the door and the doorframe and the massage swing will not fit or the door will not close firmly . the massage swings 110 should only be hanged so that the pressure of the massage swing 110 closes the door towards the wall rather than opening it . the user positions on the side of the door so the user would pull the handle towards himself or herself to close the door . 2 . the door should be opened to an angle of 45 degrees . 3 . the massage swing 110 should hang over the top of the door so that the message swing 110 hangs at waist height . this is normally about the height of the handle . 4 . going to the other side of the door and knots are to be tied around the safe sticks 120 at the very top of the door to stop the massage swing sliding through the top of the door . an alternative option is to simply tie single or double knots without the safe sticks 120 . 5 . placing a sign on the side of the door with the knots to warn people not to open the door . 6 . going back to the other side of the door with the swing and the door is closed . make sure the door is firmly closed and the user hears the click of the handle . this should be tested by trying to open the door without pushing the handle down . if the door is not completely firmly closed , the user should not attempt to hang in this way . 7 . pulling on the swing to take any slack out so that the swings / knots are tightly against the other side of the door . 8 . standing between the door and the massage swing 110 with the massage swing 110 round user &# 39 ; s waist and putting all user &# 39 ; s weight into the massage swing 110 while still standing up to test the massage swing 110 is firmly installed . 9 . positioning the massage swing 110 at the level of the sacrum . 10 . facing the door , grabbing and holding of both sides of the massage swing 110 and turning user &# 39 ; s body sideways and walking user &# 39 ; s feet up the doorframe until user is upside down . 11 . repositioning the massage swing 110 if it has moved so that it is on the sacrum and user &# 39 ; s back is hanging straight . 12 . hanging out like a monkey getting out of the massage swing 110 when it is hung over a door . getting out of the massage swing when it is hung over a door grabbing of one of the sides of the massage swing and engaging user &# 39 ; s arms as a counter lever as user brings his or her legs down to the floor and user &# 39 ; s upper torso raises up . the user may want to turn around away from the door and bend forward over the swing to get used to standing up again . this will act as a nice hamstring and upper glutes stretch . having now described the preferred embodiment of multipurpose yoga device , its use and advantages will now be described . the self - massage effect — the massage swing is designed differently to other hammock style yoga swings . it is 6 mm thick and 65 mm wide so it fits neatly on the sacrum ( the flat bone at the bottom of the back ) and sinks in to the lumbar fascia and the upper glutes to loosen up what is often a very tight and compressed area . the 65 mm width of 100 % cotton can give a deep neuromuscular type by pushing into areas of fibrous hard muscle tissue in the deep rotator muscles such as the piriformis . this is the kind of technique you pay massage therapists £ 60 an hour for and now you can have it every day . the pressure of the strap stimulates the deep nerves and sends the attention of the body to the area which sends , allowing healing and repair of damaged and twisted muscle fibres and the flushing away of stagnant tissue the spinal decompression effect ( traction )— normal conditions of gravity and the results of bad posture from office sitting result in the compression of the vertebrae over time . this can cause nerves to be compressed , particularly in the lumbar lower back region , and so muscles tense and contract as a defence mechanism to protect the spine , which in turn puts more pressure on spinal nerves and so pain can result in the back and trigger points all over the body . sciatica is a good example of this . inversions in the massage swing turn gravity on its head , turning compression into decompression . the muscles of the back no longer have to do their job of keeping the upper torso straight and so they relax and become passive , allowing the weight of the head and body to gently create space between the hanging point : the sacrum , and the main weight : the head . this is traction . this will make the user longer , taller and straighter . the anti - office effect — people tend to round both their lower back and their shoulders when sitting in office chairs for hours on end . this results in a shortening of the chest muscles and a deactivation of the muscles which should maintain a healthy natural inwards curve in the lumbar region . as the user hangs upside down , the indiscriminate pressure of gravity straightens out rounded areas and helps restore the body to healthy anatomical alignment . the passive yoga effect — almost all yoga poses can be performed in the massage swing , but with passive muscles rather than muscles which are active holding the body up . although the benefits of activating healthy muscle function while stretching are enormous , sometimes particularly tight muscles need a softer approach . stretching without the effect of gravity can lead to a deeper stretch and help the user to convince muscles that they can stretch further by reducing their reflex to contract . the spinal straightening effect ( correcting scoliosis )— almost all people have some kind of coliosis ( spine veers to the right or left when looking from behind ). this can lead to unequal muscle load and postural imbalances , which can worsen over the years and lead to significant pain . gravity helps encourage the spine to find its natural straight form . other key benefits of the multipurpose yoga device include but not limited to : deep massage of back muscles such as the rhomboids , the trapezius and the rotator cuff muscles is facilitated as they relax entirely . relief for pregnant women as the constant downwards weight of the baby is turned upside down . the massage swing can be hanged on anything that provides a horizontal place to hang , such as : the maximum height for the hanging point the user can have the bottom of the swing easily accessible at waist height is 2 . 5 meters . the user can of course hang the massage swing at any height if the user is strong enough and agile enough to get into it . with a length of 4 meters , the maximum height for the hanging point is 2 . 5 meters if the user wants the bottom of the swing to hang at about waist height for easy use . it can be hung at any height if ease of entry is not an issue . load information — the multipurpose yoga device is safe for use by a 120 kilogram person if the stick and strap are used as per instructions . this gives a standard ten times margin for error before stick breakage begins to occur with a force of 1 kilo newton . extra information — the multipurpose yoga device has been tested by specialised machinery and can withstand a static force of 5 kilo newton before it begins to tear . it has also been tested by specialised machinery . it can withstand a static force of 1 . 2 kilo newton if the force is straight down on the centre of the stick . if the monkey stick is hanging on its side through the worst case scenario of incorrect use whereby the strap is putting pressure on the wide end of the stick , the breaking strength is 0 . 5 newton . washing — the multipurpose yoga device can be machine or hand washed at 40 degrees celsius . the safe sticks should be kept dry and left in warm , airy and dry place if they get damp . 1 . testing the massage swing 110 and doorway pull up bar are correctly installed by holding both sides of the massage swing 110 and pulling down with all user &# 39 ; s body weight . 2 . standing facing the door with the massage swing 110 behind the user hanging at user &# 39 ; s waist . if the massage swing 110 is at user &# 39 ; s waist then the user &# 39 ; s head will clear the floor when the user invert , depending on the user &# 39 ; s body proportions . 3 . standing straight and about 30 centimeter from the door , positioning the massage swing 110 on the user &# 39 ; s sacrum , otherwise known as the flat bone at the bottom of the back . this is the space just above the gluteal cleft ( bum crack ). the user may have to raise onto the tiptoes to get the swing into this position . 4 . with the user &# 39 ; s thumbs pointing upwards and palms facing inward , the user needs to hold the strap between thumb and index finger either side and slightly in front of the waist . 5 . keeping user &# 39 ; s body quite straight , the user needs to lean his or her weight back into the swing enough to stop the strap sliding up the user &# 39 ; s back . if the swing does slide up , the user will end up in a back bend , which may cause some lumbar ( lower back ) compression . 6 . maintaining some of user &# 39 ; s weight on the strap , the user needs to shuffle his or her feet forwards slightly so the user &# 39 ; s body assumes a 45 degree angle to the door . 7 . now the user &# 39 ; s weight is holding the strap in place . the user needs to move his or her hands up to about the height of about 135 cm from the end of the sling . while the user lift one of his or her legs of the floor and then the other leg of the floor as the user swing slightly and lower his or her upper torso to a more horizontal position . to save effort from user &# 39 ; s abdominal muscles the user needs to bend his or her legs towards self in a tuck position . 8 . the user needs to walk his or her hands down the strap as the user place his or her bent knees on the outside of the massage swing 110 and lower his or her head towards the floor . the user can place his or her feet together for a feeling of security , or can keep them open . this will allow the user &# 39 ; s pelvis more freedom and will also mean the swing puts less pressure on the inner thigh . 9 . when the user &# 39 ; s head is near the floor , the user needs to release his or hands and let them hang . 10 . repositioning the strap as necessary for comfort and alignment . if the massage swing 110 is correctly positioned on the user &# 39 ; s sacrum , user &# 39 ; s back will hang straight and the weight of the user &# 39 ; s upper body and head together with gravity will gently create space in vertebrae and passively stretch user &# 39 ; s back muscles and open his or her chest and shoulders . many curvaceous women may need to position the swing lower than the sacrum in the middle of the buttocks to avoid excessive anterior tilt of the pelvis . consequently , the multipurpose yoga device of the present invention enables a user in creating more space in the lumbar region by loosening the muscles and creating more space between the vertebrae . the multipurpose yoga device provides sending the attention of the body to the precise area to provide more blood and hence oxygen and phagocytes to repair cells . additionally , the multipurpose yoga device can be used to reduce inflammation of lumbar nerves , passively stretch the tight muscles in the lower back area to create more length without the contraction which can cause tearage from pulling on fibrous areas of tissue , and loosen the lumbar fascia . finally , the multipurpose yoga device is relatively inexpensive to manufacture , natural to look and feel , quick to install , safe , strong , comfortable and easy to use . additionally , other variations are within the spirit of the present invention . thus , while the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions , a certain illustrated embodiment thereof is shown in the drawings and has been described above in detail . it should be understood , however , that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed , but on the contrary , the intention is to cover all modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention , as defined in the appended claims . the use of the terms “ a ” and “ an ” and “ the ” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention ( especially in the context of the following claims ) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural , unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context . the terms “ comprising ,” “ having ,” “ including ,” and “ containing ” are to be construed as open - ended terms ( i . e ., meaning “ including , but not limited to ,”) unless otherwise noted . the term “ connected ” is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within , attached to , or joined together , even if there is something intervening . recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range , unless otherwise indicated herein , and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language ( e . g ., “ such as ”) provided herein , is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention . preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein . variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description . the inventor expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate , and the inventor intends for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . accordingly , this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law . moreover , any combination of the above - described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . | 0 |
referring to the drawings now in greater detail wherein an electronic control system shown generally as ( 10 ) for operating the luminarie for the street lamp , which in fig1 is referred to as the load shown as ( 12 ), wherein that load can be considered either an inductive or capacitive load and the load that the electronic control system must drive can vary considerably and include such luminaire as being metal halides , high pressure sodium , mercury vapour , compact fluorescents and linear fluorescent . mains power shown generally as ( 14 ) and ( 16 ) as the neutral and active respectively , comprises of an alternating current that flows as is to be expected in one direction and then the other , along single lines ( 18 ), ( 20 ) respectively at a rate of 50 or 60 cycles per second dependent upon the country in which this electronic control system for operating the luminaire for the street lamp is used . the metal oxide varistor ( mov ) ( 15 ) provides surge protection for the circuit . diode ( 26 ) provides the functionality such that an amount of current to power the integrated circuit ( 28 ) is completed during the negative half cycle , and capacitors ( 32 ) ( 34 ) maintain the supply during the positive half cycle . capacitors ( 32 ) and ( 34 ) charge during the negative half cycles brought around by the introduction of the diode ( 26 ) that are able to maintain continuous positive supply as required to the integrated circuit ( 28 ) for functional operation along line ( 36 ) during the positive phase of the ac cycle . as the person skilled in the art would appreciate capacitors ( 32 ) and ( 34 ) could be a single capacitor as they are currently aligned in parallel but in order to provide a more economical and cost effective electronic control system lower rated capacitors can be used in parallel . supply resistors ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) provide the required power level to the integrated circuit ( 28 ) for the power line ( 30 ). they are arranged in parallel to reduce the amount of power passing through each of the respective resistors ( 22 ) and ( 24 ). hence making available the use of less expensive resistors and greater space savings . resistors ( 38 ), ( 42 ) and ( 46 ) along with the zener diode ( 40 ), photo - transistor ( 44 ) and diode ( 47 ) all form part of the arrangement in establishing the second ac input signal into the comparator ( 51 ) which is a part of the integrated circuit ( 28 ). resistor ( 38 ) provides the working reference voltage of the zener diode ( 40 ) to which the photo - transistor ( 44 ) as a light sensor can work with . resistor ( 42 ) functions preferably as a variable resistor in order to match up correctly with the selected photo - transistor ( 44 ) of which levels of resistance can vary depending on relevant tolerance . resistor ( 46 ) is there to convert the voltage signal at the photo - transistor ( 44 ) into a current input signal ( 49 ) to the current comparator ( 51 ). resistors ( 48 ), ( 50 ), ( 52 ) and diode ( 54 ) are part of the arrangement which supplies the first ac input signal referred generally as the reference voltage upon input line ( 56 ) into the comparator ( 51 ). resistors ( 48 ) and ( 50 ) provide a reference to which the measured voltage can be compared with and wherein resistor ( 52 ) is incorporated again to convert the reference voltage signal into a current input signal ( 49 ) to the current comparator ( 51 ). the comparator ( 51 ) establishes an output current ( 58 ) which is fed to the output line ( 60 ) of the integrated circuit ( 28 ) wherein the capacitor ( 62 ) charges or discharges dependent upon the output current from the comparator which is dependent upon the instantaneous difference in magnitude between the referenced input ac signal ( 56 ) against the measured ac input signal ( 49 ) into the comparator ( 51 ). as would be expected during the day capacitor ( 62 ) would discharge as the photo detector arrangement of the photo - transistor ( 44 ), zener diode ( 40 ) being compared with the reference signal arrangement acknowledges the requirement to turn off the luminaire when the ambient light levels are considered too bright or conversely when the ambient light levels are insufficient the luminaire will be turned on . latch ( 90 ) has a fixed threshold voltage at which it changes state , and in addition a small hysteresis in this level to avoid oscillation . when capacitor ( 62 ) drops below the threshold level on latch ( 90 ), for example ambient light levels are considered too bright and the luminaire needs to be turned off , the electronic control system ( 10 ) recognises this situation and sends an output logic low signal ( 64 ) from the integrated circuit ( 28 ) to a integrated circuit which has timing functionality and shown generally as ( 66 ). this output signal ( 64 ) from the integrated circuit ( 28 ) is in electrical communication with resistor ( 68 ), wherein resistor ( 68 ) provides a degree of hysteresis , for example in instances when the photo - transistor ( 44 ) is detecting light levels decreasing , which may only be the result of a passing cloud or some more momentary disruption to the general ambient light levels rather than simply a transformation from night to day . ac inputs signals ( 56 ) and ( 49 ) form the two ( current ) inputs to the ( current ) comparator ( 51 ), and result in an intermediate ( current ) output at ( 60 ), which charges or discharges capacitor ( 62 ). the voltage on this capacitor ( 62 ) is latched ( 90 ) at a specific threshold into a logic state output at ( 64 ). thus ( 64 ) has two states , one representing day ( low ), one representing night ( high ). when the logic signal ( 64 ) is low , some current is pulled away from the comparator ( 51 ) ac input signal ( 49 ) via resistor ( 68 ). the photo - transistor ( 44 ) normally also pulls current away from the source resistor ( 42 ). the less light , the less current photo - transistor ( 44 ) pulls away from the comparator ( 51 ) input ac signal ( 49 ), and therefore it is able to overcome the extra current pulled away by resistor ( 68 ). when the logic state at ( 64 ) is high , this additional current is not stolen away , and therefore more current is required to be pulled away through photo - transistor ( 44 ) to achieve the same level at the comparator ( 51 ) ac input signal ( 49 ). thus the amount of current through the photo - transistor ( 44 ) required to achieve the same input current at ( 64 ) depends on the present state of the circuit “ night ” or “ day ”. the commencement of a logic low at 70 , the input to power - on / reset functional block ( 61 ) of the integrated timer circuit 66 , allows the integrated timer circuit 66 to start counting out a delay period . the clock frequency into the counter is derived from resistors ( 59 ), ( 73 ) and capacitors ( 75 ), ( 77 ) connected to pin ( 53 ), pin ( 55 ) and pin ( 57 ) that feed into logic gates ( 67 a )( 67 b )( 67 c )( 67 d ) of the integrated timer circuit 66 , while the logic levels at pin a0 ( 41 ) and pin a1 ( 43 ) determine the count length and together with the binary counter ( 63 ) and output stage ( 71 ) result in a delayed logic output signal ( 72 ) which commences a notification to the functionality withinside the integrated chip ( 28 ) that it is time for the load ( 12 ) to be turned off . in the preferred embodiment shown the output ( 72 ) from the integrated timing circuit ( 66 ) to the integrated circuit ( 28 ) produces a high on line ( 74 ). this high signal ( 74 ) to the integrated circuit ( 28 ) activates internal mode logic ( 76 ) which indicates that the triac ( 77 ) needs to be turned off so that the load ( 12 ) may become disconnected from the mains supply . the control of the triac ( 77 ) by the electronic control system ( 10 ) is such that once the mode logic ( 76 ) has been notified that it is time for the load ( 12 ) to be linked to the main supply so that the street lamp may be illuminated recognition is that functional ability within the integrated circuit ( 28 ) through a zero crossing timing and synchronization controller ( 79 ) will activate the trigger circuit such that at the next zero crossing a trigger pulse ( 80 ) will be fed from the integrated circuit ( 28 ) to the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ). the gate sensor ( 81 ) works in conjunction with the zero crossing timing and synchronization controller ( 79 ) to determine when the next zero crossing will occur as the gate sensor ( 81 ) is continually monitoring the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ). as introduced above , the window of operability of the bi - polar junction transistor ( 83 ) becomes usable during the zero crossing intervals of the ac cycle but rather than providing a continual signal along line ( 80 ) feeding into the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ) the trigger ( 80 ) to the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ) is pulsed predetermined by the timing arrangement of capacitor ( 84 ) and resistor ( 86 ) of which pulsed information is sent into the gate drive ( 85 ) base of the transistor ) which is working again in combination with the zero crossing timing and synchronization controller ( 79 ) in conjunction with the gate sensor ( 81 ). in the preferred embodiment of the invention the triggered pulse ( 80 ) sent to the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ) would be triggered or activated by negative edged pulses . resistor ( 92 ) sets the amount of gate current into the triac ( 77 ) and the resistor ( 94 ) ensures the triac ( 77 ) is held off when no current is being supplied to the gate ( 82 ). inductor ( 88 ) separates the triac ( 77 ) from the load ( 12 ) thereby minimizing the rate rise of current when the triac is first switched on and continuously thereafter while connected to the mains supply . rather than simply continuously providing a gate drive ( 85 ) to the bi - polar transistor ( 83 ) throughout the ac cycle , gate drive ( 85 ) is only made available once zero crossing timing and synchronization has been achieved through the use of the gate sensor ( 81 ) monitoring the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ). the additional input ( 89 ) into the gate driver ( 85 ) for the establishment of a predetermined pulse by virtue of capacitor ( 84 ) and resistor ( 86 ) which fluctuates the voltage level which appears at the base of the bi - polar junction transistor ( 83 ), provides the pulse that can be tapped off at the collector ( 91 ) side of transistor ( 83 ) to drive the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ) only as required during zero crossing intervals of the ac mains supply cycle , wherein the triac ( 77 ) needs to be driven by the gate ( 82 ) to maintain conduction . hence the width of the pulse being triggered to the gate ( 82 ) of the triac ( 77 ) can be varied as required depending on the triac used . | 8 |
a system for transmitting compressed video data over a transmission path 15from a transmitting station 16 to a receiving station 17 is shown in fig1 . a conventional video signal is generated by a video source 18 , which may be a video camera , a video tape player or similar equipment . the transmission path 15 has a limited bandwidth , therefore video data is compressed so as to be retained within the available bandwidth . the transmission path may be a telephone line , a dedicated digital link , a radio link or any other known means of providing a communication channel . by convention , the compressed video signal is in non - interlaced form , witheach video frame having 288 lines with 352 picture elements on each line . in non - compressed form , each picture element has a luminance value represented by eight bits of data , with a smaller number of bits allocatedto represent each colour difference signal . the video data generated by the video source 18 is compressed by a compression circuit 19 which may , for example , compress the video data in accordance with the ccitt h . 261 compression recommendation although the invention is not limited to this form of compression . according to the h . 261 recommendation , the video signal to be compressed is divided into portions representing blocks of pixels of the video image . each block is transformed into the frequency domain by a discrete cosine transform ( dct ) and the coefficients are transmitted . the blocks may be compressed without reference to any other block or frame ( intra frame coding ) or with reference to another block or frame , in which case the dct coefficients represent the differences between the compared blocks . the original video data includes eight bits luminance for each picture element location and the block consists of an 8 × 8 array of picture elements . an array of coefficients is similarly proportioned but the resolution is such that a minimum of twelve bits may be required for a particular coefficient , plus a sign bit . compression is achieved because many of the coefficients will have values of zero and may , therefore , effectively be ignored . an output circuit 20 amplifies and , where required , modulates the compressed video signal , thereby placing it in a form suitable for transmission over the transmission path 15 . it is likely that the level of attenuation suffered by the transmitted signal will be frequency dependent , therefore an equalisation circuit 26 at the receiving station provides compensation . the received signal is then de - modulated ( if required ) by means not shown and amplified by an amplifying circuit 25 . de - compression is performed by a de - compression circuit 27 , arranged to perform the reverse process to the compression provided by the compressioncircuit 19 . any errors introduced into the signal , due to noise on the transmission channel 15 , may result in corruption of the data . this would result in the corrupted data being visible on a display device 28 . thus , the overall integrity of the displayed image would be improved if the corrupted data could be detected and concealed in some way . to provide such a detection and concealing process , the system includes an error detecting and concealing circuit 29 , arranged to identify a block ofcorrupted data and to conceal this block of corrupted data by selecting an equivalent block from a previously transmitted frame . a conventional video frame 31 , as shown in fig2 consists of 288 lines with 352 elements on each line . as part of the h . 261 compression procedure , the frame is divided into 1584 blocks , with sixty four picture elements , in the form of an 8 × 8 matrix , within each block . a luminance block 32 is shown in fig2 and this , in combination with its three adjacent blocks , provides a macro block 32 . the macro block 33 is shown enlarged at fig2 a , with block 32 displaying a full matrix of picture elements 35 . in addition , a full colour picture also requires the transmission of two colour difference blocks per luminance block . the error detecting and concealing circuit 29 is detailed in fig3 in which decompressed video data from the decompression circuit 27 is received at an input port 41 and processed video data for display on the display device 28 is applied to an output port 42 . the circuit 29 includesa first image store 43 and a second image store 44 , each capable of storinga full video frame . a video write controller 45 controls the writing of video data to the image stores , such that , a first frame is written to image store 43 and a second frame is written to store 44 , while the first frame is being read from the first image store 43 under the control of a video read controller 46 . after a full video frame has been written to thesecond image store 44 , the next video frame is written to the first image store 43 , overwriting the previously written frame and an output signal for port 42 is derived by reading the image from store 44 . while data is being written to one of the image stores 43 or 44 , said data is also processed to detect the presence of errors . when an error is detected , blocks of data in the image stores 43 and 44 may be overwritten , under the control of a block overwrite controller 47 . in order to identify the presence of errors , the input image data from port 41 is also suppliedto a transform unit 48 , arranged to transform the input image data into frequency related coefficients for each block of picture elements . in the preferred embodiment , the transform unit performs a discrete cosine transform ( dct ) on the blocks of image data . the frequency related coefficients are then supplied to a processing unit 49 . in order to detect the presence of errors in the transmitted video data , the processing unit 49 is arranged to calculate the mean and variance of the coefficient values within each block . as these variance values are calculated , they are supplied to a first variance store 55 or to a second variance store 56 , thereby ensuring that variance values calculated for the previous frame are available to the processing unit 49 . the writing and reading of variance values to and from stores 55 and 56 is controlled by a variance store controller 57 . if the video information supplied over the transmission path 15 is compressed in a form such that , in addition to including spatially compressed coefficients , data representing motion vectors for each block of compressed data are also supplied , the motion vectors are also suppliedto the error concealing circuit 29 via an input port 50 . motion vectors are calculated by comparing a block of picture elements in acurrent frame with a similarly positioned block in a previous frame and with blocks , shifted by a plurality of picture element displacements in both the x and y directions . the motion vector is not related directly to movement of objects within the original image but actually represents the closest fit , derived by comparing the block of interest with similar blocks of the previous frame . a technique for performing such comparisons in order to produce motion vectors , is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 803 , 202 , assigned to the present applicant . thus , for each block of video data , x and y values are transmitted indicating a motion vector of the closest fitting block from the previous frame . these displacement vectors are supplied to a vector - store write - controller 51 , wherein vectors derived from a first frame are written to a first vector store 52 , vectors from the next frame are written to a second vector store 53 , whereafter the first store is over - written etc . thus , vector values for the previous frame are availableto the processing unit 49 , via a vector store reading circuit 54 . operational procedures for the processing unit 49 are detailed in fig4 . as a result of the transform performed by transform unit 48 , a frame of coefficients will become available to processing unit 49 , which initiates its processing procedures at step 61 . a question is asked at step 62 as towhether another block of the frame is available and , for the first block ofa frame , this question will be answered in the affirmative . when answered in the affirmative , the mean value for the coefficients in the block is calculated at step 63 . the mean value for the coefficients of an 8 × 8block is derived by adding the values of the coefficients together and thendividing by 64 . at step 64 the variance of the values is calculated by subtracting the meanvalue from each coefficient value to produce a difference value for each particular coefficient . this difference value is squared and the variance is obtained by adding all 64 squared terms . at step 65 the variance value calculated for the particular block is storedin variance store 55 or 56 , depending upon the phase of the particular frame under consideration . at step 66 a threshold value t is read and at step 67 a question is asked as to whether the variance value calculated at step 64 is larger than the threshold value t . the threshold value t is adjustable or selectable by anoperator and may be adjusted to suit a particular type of video transmission . if the variance value calculated at step 64 is larger than the threshold value read at step 66 , it is assumed that the block under consideration contains errors , in that a large variance value has been produced due to the presence of errors . thus , if the question asked at step 67 is answered in the affirmative , the block is concealed by invokinga conceal block routine at step 68 . if the question asked at step 67 is answered in the negative , a further check is performed on the variance value to determine whether said value represents the presence of an error . previously , said variance value was compared against a threshold value , which is appropriate for identifying very severe errors which produce very large variance values . however , a block having coefficients with a modest variance may still be in error andsuch an error is detected if the variance is significantly different from the variance values of blocks surrounding the block under consideration , in the equivalent position of a previous frame . thus , at step 69 , the processing unit accesses the variance store for the previous frame . therefore , if the variance value calculated at step 64 waswritten to store 55 , step 69 accesses variance values from store 56 . the equivalent position to the block under consideration is identified and thevariance values for it and the eight surrounding blocks are read from store at step 70 the mean value p for the previous frame variance values is calculated and a comparison of this previous mean value ms made with the present variance value , at step 71 . if the value for the block under consideration is greater than three times the previous mean value p or smaller than the previous mean value p divided by three , it is assumed that the block contains an error and the concealing algorithm as again invoked . thus , if the value is greater than three times the previous mean or smaller than said previous mean divided by three , the question asked atstep 71 is answered in the affirmative and the conceal block routine is called at step 72 . alternatively , if the question asked at step 71 is answered in the negative , the block is considered to be error free at step73 and control is returned to step 62 . eventually , all of the blocks for a particular frame will have been considered and the question asked at step 62 will be answered in the negative , returning control to step 61 and placing the processing unit 49 in a state ready for the next frame of coefficients . the concealing routine which may be called at step 68 or at step 72 is detailed in fig5 . for the purposes of this example , it is assumed that image data is being written to image store 43 and that the processing unit49 has identified a block of image data which contains an error . as data iswritten to image store 43 , previously processed data is read from image store 44 , thereby providing a video output signal to output port 42 . a period of time is therefore available during which modifications may be made to the image data stored in store 43 , before said data is selected bythe output controller 46 . as image data is written to store 43 , motion vectors are written to vector store 52 and , similarly , as the writing of image data is switched to image store 44 , the writing of motion vector data is switched to store 53 . thus , an error is detected by the processing unit in a block of image data which has been written to the image store 43 and the processing unit 49 isnow required to effect procedures to conceal she error before this data is supplied to the output port 42 . at step 81 of fig5 the vector store 52 is accessed so as to read the motion vector for the equivalent block of the previous frame . at step 82 the motion vectors for the eight surrounding blocks are read from vector store 52 , thereby providing a total of nine motion vectors to the processing unit 49 . at step 83 an average motion vector is calculated by adding said nine values and dividing by nine to produce an averaged motion vector for accessing image data of the previous frame . thus , the average motion vector identifies the position of a block in the previous frame which , after being moved in the x and y directions by amounts specified by the motion vector , provides a close match to the block under consideration in the present frame . thus , the averaged motion vector identifies a block of data in the previousframe which , at this point in time , will be held in image store 44 , the store presently being read to provide an output signal . thus , at step 85 the data identified in store 44 is read by the block overwrite controller 47 , in response to instructions received from the processing unit 49 , and written to the block under consideration in the input image store 43 . it is important to note that the block read from the output image store 44 will not necessarily lie within an original block boundary , given that themotion vectors are specified for picture element positions . after the image block has been overwritten , control is returned to step 62 , allowing another block to be considered . fig6 shows a system in which the compressed transmitted signal comprises frequency related coefficients that represent the actual pixel values of the frame . little or no further processing of the dct coefficients is therefore required before they are input to the processing unit 49 , as shown in fig7 . the operation of the circuit as shown in fig7 is otherwise the same as that shown in fig3 . the decompression circuit 27 may include some conventional form of error checking , for instance error correction code checking means . in this case , the decompression circuit flags a macroblock or a group of blocks ( gob ) that is identified as containing an error , ( a group of blocks comprises a matrix of 11 macroblocks by 3 macroblocks ). only those blocks of a flaggedmacroblock or gob are passed to the error detecting and concealing circuit 29 to determine which block within the macroblock or gob contains an error . those blocks that are not corrupted may therefore be retained , whereas those blocks in which an error is detected can be concealed . | 7 |
the present invention is a method and means for determining the position of a brushless dc motor &# 39 ; s permanent magnet rotor which is induced to rotate with a stator that includes at least one coil . the method requires that at least one stator coil be excited with a voltage having a first polarity for a given period of time , and then deactivated . the rotor continues to spin because of inertia , and also generates a voltage ( v emf ) due to emf in the deactivated coils . v emf is monitored , and when it changes polarity , the rotor has moved by a known distance with respect to its position at the time of its previous change of polarity . the known distance depends on the number ( n ) of rotor poles , and is given generally by ( 360 / n )°. thus , for a typical four pole rotor , the known distance is 90 °, for an eight pole rotor , the known distance is 45 °, etc . at this point , the at least one stator coil is excited with a voltage of a second polarity opposite the first polarity for a given period of time . the coil is again deactivated and v emf again monitored to detect when it changes polarity . in this way , the position of the rotor can be tracked . the stator coil is connected in a full - bridge configuration . this arrangement enables the excitation voltage to be applied and v emf to be monitored across the same coil , thereby obviating the need to monitor emf across a passive coil as in prior art designs . this process is illustrated in fig2 . an excitation voltage ( 30 ) having a first polarity ( here , positive ) is applied across the coil . after a predetermined “ on ” time ( 32 ), the coil is deactivated . the voltage across the deactivated coil is that which results from emf that is induced in the coil by the spinning rotor . this v emf voltage is monitored while the coil is deactivated ( 34 ). when v emf changes polarity , this indicates that the rotor has moved a known distance since the last change of v emf polarity was detected ; for this example , assume a four pole rotor , and a known distance of 90 °. when a change of v emf polarity is detected , an excitation voltage ( 36 ) having a second polarity ( here , negative ) is applied across the coil . after a predetermined “ on ” time , the coil is deactivated and v emf monitored . a change in the polarity of v emf indicates that the rotor has moved another 900 . to maintain the rotation of the rotor , the sequence of events described above is continuously repeated . by detecting the change in the polarity of v emf , the position of the rotor becomes known , and the timing of the excitation voltage pulses can be properly controlled — without the use of costly hall sensors as are found in prior art methods . a basic system for implementing the control method described above is shown in fig3 . here , the stator includes two coils 40 , 42 connected in parallel between a node 44 and a node 46 . as noted above , the stator coils are connected in a full - bridge configuration : a switching network includes switches s 1 and s 2 connected between a supply voltage vdd nodes 44 and 46 , respectively , and switches s 3 and s 4 connected between a circuit common point 48 ( typically , but not necessarily , ground ) and nodes 44 and 46 , respectively . a first comparator c 1 has its inputs connected to node 44 and ground , and a second comparator c 2 has its inputs connected to node 46 and ground . the outputs of the comparators are provided to a digital control block 50 , which provides control signals 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 to operate switches s 1 , s 2 , s 3 and s 4 , respectively . digital control block is arranged to operate the switches as needed to apply a positive excitation voltage ( by closing s 1 and s 4 ) or a negative excitation voltage ( by closing s 2 and s 3 ). when so arranged , the system of fig3 operates as follows : 1 . switches s 1 and s 4 are turned on , making current flow from s 1 to s 4 and generating a positive excitation voltage across coils 40 and 42 . 2 . after a predetermined on - time period , switch s 1 is turned off while s 4 remains on . 3 . the v emf across coils 40 and 42 is monitored by comparator c 1 ; when v emf changes polarity , the output of c 1 toggles , which is detected by digital control block 50 . 4 . the controller turns switch s 4 off , and turns switches s 2 and s 3 on , thereby generating a negative excitation voltage across coils 40 and 42 . 5 . after the predetermined on - time period , switch s 2 is turned off while s 3 remains on . 6 . the v emf across the coils is monitored by comparator c 2 during this off - time period ; when v emf changes polarity , the output of c 2 toggles , which is detected by digital control block 50 . 7 . the control block turns s 3 off and the cycle is repeated from step 1 . switches s 1 - s 4 are preferably implemented with transistors . this is illustrated in fig4 , in which s 1 - s 4 are implemented with respective field - effect transistors ( fets ) 60 , 62 , 64 , 66 . at start - up , the position , direction of rotation and the time taken by the rotor to move 90 ° ( assuming a four pole rotor ) is unknown . the present method preferably includes a start - up routine which is used to accelerate the rotor from rest , and to start the rotor spinning in a desired direction . one possible start - up routine is illustrated in fig5 a - 5 h , which depicts the excitation or deactivation of a multiple - coil stator via switches s 1 - s 4 for each step . the resulting angular relationship between an exemplary rotor 70 and multiple - coil stator 72 is also shown in fig5 a , 5 b , 5 c , 5 d , 5 f and 5 h ( there is no change in angular relationship in fig5 e and 5 g ), and fig5 d , 5 f and 5 h depict v emf and the output of comparator c 1 during their respective steps . in this example , first and second coils 74 and 75 lie along a first axis of stator 72 , and third and fourth coils 76 and 77 lie along a stator axis which is perpendicular to the first axis . in practice , for both the start - up routine and steady - state operation , all four coils are connected in parallel , and the excitation voltage is applied across all four simultaneously . the rotor shown in fig5 a - 5 h has two n poles and two s poles ; this four pole arrangement causes emf polarity to change when the rotor moves by 90 °. 1 . in fig5 a , switches s 1 and s 4 are turned on , making current flow from s 1 to s 4 and generating a positive excitation voltage across the stator coils . this forces rotor 70 to become aligned with a coil ( here , coil 74 ) on stator 72 . 2 . in fig5 b , the coils are deactivated for a brief period , during which rotor 70 displaces itself in a “ preferred direction of rotation ”. this is explained in more detail below . 3 . in fig5 c , switches s 2 and s 3 are turned on for a fixed on time , and rotor 70 begins to rotate . then in fig5 d , the fixed on time expires , s 2 is switched off , and v emf is monitored . in this example , rotor 70 has not yet rotated by 90 °, so v emf is positive and the output of c 1 has not toggled . if v emf does not switch polarity during the fixed off time , the coil is excited again for the fixed on time 4 . step 3 is repeated until v emf switches polarity . for example , as shown in fig5 e and 5 f , s 2 and s 3 are again turned on for a fixed on time , rotor 70 continues to rotate , the fixed on time expires and s 2 is switched off , and v emf is monitored . however , rotor 70 still has not rotated by 90 °, so v emf remains positive and the output of c 1 has not toggled . 5 . in fig5 g and 5 h , the coils are excited ( 5 g ) and then deactivated ( 5 h ) and v emf finally changes polarity , thereby causing the output of comparator c 1 to toggle . 6 . steps 3 , 4 and 5 are repeated for the opposite direction of the current ( not shown ), with s 1 and s 4 turned on for fixed on time periods such that a negative excitation voltage is repeatedly generated across the coils until v emf changes polarity . the fixed on time is selected so that , when the rotor first begins to turn , more than one excitation pulse is required before v emf changes polarity . however , as the rotor starts to accelerate , fewer excitation pulses will be required to achieve a change in v emf polarity . the start - up routine continues as described above until the rotor has picked up enough speed so that only one excitation pulse is needed to effect a change in v emf polarity . then , the on and off times of the single excitation pulse are increased or decreased as desired to achieve a desired steady - state motor speed . steps 3 , 4 and 5 are illustrated with the timing diagram shown in fig6 a . an excitation voltage ( 80 ) having a first polarity ( here , positive ) is applied across the coil . after a fixed “ on ” time ( 82 ), the coil is deactivated and the v emf voltage monitored ( 84 ). this is repeated until v emf changes polarity , indicating that the rotor has moved 90 ° since the last change of v emf polarity . step 6 is illustrated with the timing diagram shown in fig6 b . a negative excitation voltage ( 90 ) is applied across the coil . after a fixed “ on ” time ( 92 ), the coil is deactivated and the v emf voltage monitored ( 94 ). this is repeated until v emf changes polarity . in fig6 c , a positive excitation voltage ( 100 ) is again applied for a fixed “ on ” time ( 102 ), after which the coil is deactivated and v emf monitored ( 104 ). here , only a single excitation pulse was required to effect a change in v emf polarity , so the start - up routine may terminate . at this point , the on and off times of the single pulse may be increased or decreased as desired to achieve a desired steady - state motor speed . the on and off times of the single pulse required to achieve a desired steady - state motor speed are used to establish the initial predetermined on and off times used during steady - state operation of the motor . once steady - state operation is achieved , there are many ways in which a constant rotor speed could be maintained . one possible technique proceeds as follows : 1 . during steady - state operation , measure the time taken for the rotor to move 90 ° ( assuming a four pole rotor ). save this time as “ t 1 ”. 2 . measure the time taken for the rotor to move another 90 °. save this time as “ t 2 ”. 3 . after these initial t 1 and t 2 values are saved : for every 90 ° rotation of the rotor , the measured time is saved as t 2 and the old t 2 is saved as t 1 . thus , t 1 = t 2 old , and t 2 new = t measured . then , the excitation voltage &# 39 ; s predetermined on time is set equal to 90 % of t 2 new , and its off time is set equal to 10 % of t 2 new . 4 . if t 2 & lt ; t 1 , the motor is accelerating ; if t 2 & gt ; t 1 , the motor is decelerating . to restore a constant rotor speed , the excitation voltage pulse must be adjusted . for example , when it is detected that the motor is accelerating , the on time can be set equal to 90 % of t 2 new - a small fixed value . similarly , when it is detected that the motor is decelerating , the on time can be set equal to 90 % of t 2 new + a small fixed value . in this way , the rotor speed should be maintained in a narrow range around a desired value . note that the methods and / or systems of the present invention could be implemented in many different ways . it is only essential that at least one stator coil be connected in a full - bridge configuration , that an excitation voltage be applied across the coil for a predetermined on - time period and then deactivated , and that the voltage ( v emf ) across the coil generated by the emf induced the coil by the rotor be monitored while the excitation voltage is deactivated to detect when it changes polarity . in a two - phase motor , it is very difficult to determine the direction of the rotor ; hence the physical shape of the stator is preferably changed to have the preferred direction of rotation . one possible stator - rotor design is shown in fig7 . the hammer - like shape of the stator 110 ensures that the rotor 112 will move in a particular direction ; for the design shown , the preferred direction of rotation is counter - clockwise ( ccw ). when the stator is not energized , the rotor aligns itself to the stator in such a way that the center of the mass of the stator is closest to the pole of the rotor ; i . e ., in fig7 , instead of aligning perfectly with the stator , the rotor tends to move a little ccw . this misalignment ensures that when the coils are excited , the rotor will tend to move ccw as desired . a digital control block suitable for realizing the motor control and start - up method described herein could be implemented in many possible ways . one approach is to implement the digital block as a state machine . the present method has been described as it might be used with multiple stator coils connected in parallel , as would commonly be found on a 2 - phase motor . however , the invention could also used with a single coil , with the excitation voltage applied and v emf measured across the same coil . in this case , no “ spare ” or second coil is needed . the single coil would lie along one axis of the stator , with a first segment on one side of the stator hub and a second segment on the opposite side of the hub . the two segments would be connected in parallel . assuming that the coil is initially aligned with two of the rotor &# 39 ; s n poles , when an excitation voltage is applied across the coil , it generates an n - n field , forcing the rotor to rotate until the coil is aligned with two of the rotor &# 39 ; s s poles , at which point the emf voltage changes polarity . applying an excitation voltage of the opposite polarity causes the rotor to move until the coil is again aligned with two of the rotor &# 39 ; s n poles . for a four pole rotor , each rotor movement is 90 °. if the rotor had , for example , eight poles ( with n and s poles alternating around the rotor ), the rotor would move 45 ° each time the excitation voltage polarity was reversed . the present control method could be used with a variety of dc brushless motor types , which could in turn be used in a wide variety of applications . one possible application is that of a cooling fan designed for mounting on the surface of an integrated circuit . the embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications , variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results , all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 7 |
with reference to fig3 sub - fields according to an embodiment of the present invention are divided into three separate groups , that is , first , second , and third groups g 1 , g 2 , and g 3 . there are also three separate suspension intervals , which are vertical blanking intervals . that is , suspension interval ( 1 ) of first group g 1 is positioned at a vertical section of first group g 1 , suspension interval ( 2 ) of second group g 2 is positioned at a vertical section of second group g 2 , and suspension interval ( 3 ) of third group g 3 is positioned at a vertical section of third group g 3 . first group g 1 and third group g 3 have the same sub - field structure realized by six sub - fields . a weight of the six sub - fields becomes 4 , 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , and 40 , starting from a lower sub - field . second group g 2 has two sub - fields having weights of 1 and 2 , which are lower than the weights of the sub - fields of first group g 1 and third group g 3 . that is , the sub - fields of second group g 2 correspond to an lsb and an lsb + 1 . however , the present invention is not limited in this regard and it is possible for the sub - fields of second group g 2 to be applied to higher lower bits . first group g 1 begins at a starting point of a first frame , that is , at 0 ms ; second group g 2 begins after 8 . 5 ms have elapsed after the starting point of the first frame ; and third group g 3 begins after 10 . 8 ms have elapsed after the starting point of the first frame . with the arrangement of the sub - fields as described above , an illumination central axis of the sub - fields between a starting point of first group g 1 and a starting point of third group g 3 , both of which have a large illumination weight , is identically maintained such that 100 hz effects are obtained identically as in the prior art . a time difference between the starting points of first and third groups g 1 and g 3 is approximately 0 . 8 ms greater than that of the prior art , resulting in the generation of flicker by a difference in the illumination central axis of the sub - fields . however , since an illumination frequency is within a specific vertical frequency region of between 50 and 100 hz , the human eye does not easily perceive the flicker because of the high frequency ( it is difficult to perceive flicker with a vertical frequency of 60 hz or higher ). therefore , flicker reduction characteristics may be obtained identically as in the prior art . unlike the prior art , the sub - fields corresponding to the lsb and lsb + 1 that display low grays are contained in second group g 2 , and second group g 2 is positioned between first and third groups g 1 and g 3 such that the time difference between sub - fields may be reduced in the case of low grays . as a result , contour noise is significantly reduced at boundaries between grays when there is movement in an image displaying low grays . [ 0046 ] fig4 is a schematic view showing an example of realizing specific low grays using the sub - field arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig4 in the case where low grays , for example , low grays of 0 to 11 , are displayed using the sub - field arrangement of an embodiment of the present invention , the time difference between sub - fields corresponding to the lsb and lsb + 1 is considerably reduced compared to when the prior art sub - field arrangement is used . therefore , contour noise in the boundaries between grays is reduced substantially even when there is movement in a gray image displayed by error diffusion . for example , in the case of low gray 3 , since this may be displayed only by second group g 2 in an embodiment of the present invention , the resulting time difference is extremely small . when compared to the prior art sub - field arrangement shown in fig2 where the time difference is on the order of a few milliseconds , a considerable reduction is realized . as another example , in the case of low gray 7 , display is realized by second group g 2 and third group g 3 , and in this case corresponds to the lower sub - fields of third group g 3 such that the time difference is very small . on the other hand , when displaying low gray 7 using the prior art sub - field arrangement shown in fig2 since the time difference is again a few milliseconds , a substantial reduction is realized with the present invention over the prior art . therefore , in an embodiment of the present invention , by ensuring an adjacent configuration of the sub - fields corresponding to the lsb and lsb + 1 , which are often used in displaying low grays , the display of low grays by error diffusion is improved over the prior art . [ 0051 ] fig5 is a block diagram of an image display system for a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in the drawing , the image display system for a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes image signal processor 100 , vertical frequency detector 200 , gamma correction and error diffusion unit 300 , memory controller 400 , address driver 500 , sustain / scan pulse driver controller 600 , and sustain / scan pulse driver 700 . reference numeral 800 indicates a plasma display panel . image signal processor 100 digitizes image signals , which are received externally , to generate rgb data , after which image signal processor 100 outputs the rgb data . vertical frequency detector 200 analyzes the rgb data output by image signal processor 100 to determine if the input image signals are 60 hz ntsc signals or 50 hz pal signals . vertical frequency detector 200 then produces a data switch value indicating the result of this determination , and outputs the data switch value together with the rgb data . gamma correction and error diffusion unit 300 receives the rgb data that is output from vertical frequency detector 200 to perform correction of gamma values to correspond to the characteristics of plasma display panel 800 , and , simultaneously , to perform diffusion processing of display errors with respect to peripheral pixels . gamma correction and error diffusion unit 300 then outputs a result of these processes , and also outputs the data switch value , which indicates whether the input image signals are 50 hz or 60 hz image signals , without changing or converting the data switch value to memory controller 400 . memory controller 400 receives the rgb data and the data switch value output by gamma correction and error diffusion unit 300 , then generates sub - field data corresponding to the rgb data according to whether the input image signals are 50 hz or 60 hz image signals , as indicated by the data switch value . in the case where the data switch value indicates the input image signals are 60 hz signals , sub - field data is generated corresponding to the rgb data using the conventional method , in which a single sub - field group is used to generate sub - field data . however , if the data switch value indicates the input image signals are 50 hz signals , rather than generating sub - field data by the conventional method of separation into two sub - field groups , the sub - fields are separated into three groups g 1 , g 2 , and g 3 as shown in fig3 and sub - field data is generated as described with reference to fig3 . that is , sub - field data is generated corresponding to the rgb data such that the lsb and lsb + 1 data of the sub - field data is positioned in second group g 2 . the sub - field data generated in this manner undergoes memory input / output processing and is output to address driver 500 . address driver 500 generates address data corresponding to the sub - field data output by memory controller 400 . address driver 500 then applies the address data to address electrodes ( a 1 , a 2 , . . . am ) of plasma display panel 800 . sustain / scan pulse driver controller 600 receives the rgb data and the data switch value from gamma correction and error diffusion unit 300 , and generates a sub - field arrangement structure depending on whether the input signals are 50 hz or 60 hz input signals , as indicated by the data switch value . sustain / scan pulse driver controller 600 also generates a control signal based on the generated sub - field arrangement structure , then outputs the control signal to sustain / scan pulse driver 700 . sustain / scan pulse driver 700 generates a sustain pulse and a scan pulse according to the control signal output by sustain / scan pulse driver controller 600 , then applies the sustain pulse and the scan pulse respectively to sustain electrodes ( y 1 , y 2 , . . . yn ) and scan electrodes ( x 1 , x 2 , . . . xn ) of plasma display panel 800 . [ 0060 ] fig6 is a detailed block diagram of memory controller 400 in the image display system of fig5 . as shown in fig6 memory controller 400 includes data switch 410 , 50 hz signal sub - field data generator 420 , and 60 hz signal sub - field data generator 430 . data switch 410 receives the rgb data and the data switch value output by gamma correction and error diffusion unit 300 , and transmits the rgb data to either 50 hz signal sub - field data generator 420 or 60 hz signal sub - field data generator 430 depending on the data switch value . that is , if the data switch value indicates that the input image signals are 50 hz image signals , data switch 410 transmits the rgb data to 50 hz signal sub - field data generator 420 , while if the data switch value indicates that the input image signals are 60 hz image signals , data switch 410 transmits the rgb data to 60 hz signal sub - field data generator 430 . 60 hz signal sub - field data generator 430 generates sub - fields using a single sub - field group as in the prior art . since such a method is well known to those skilled in the art , a detailed description thereof will not be provided . 50 hz signal sub - field data generator 420 includes sub - field mapping unit 421 , sub - field generator 423 , and memory processor 425 . sub - field generator 423 performs control to allow the display of grays by combining the three groups g 1 , g 2 , and g 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention . sub - field mapping unit 421 performs mapping of suitable sub - field data generated in sub - field generator 423 according to grays of the rgb data transmitted from data switch 410 . memory processor 425 performs memory input / output processing of the sub - field data mapped by sub - field mapping unit 421 . in the above , memory controller 400 and sustain / scan pulse driver controller 600 perform their operations according to the data switch value generated by vertical frequency detector 200 that indicates whether the input image signals are 50 hz or 60 hz signals . however , the present invention is not limited in this respect and this distinction depending on whether the image signals are 50 hz or 60 hz signals as indicated by the data switch value may be made in gamma correction and error diffusion unit 300 . in accordance with the present invention described above , the time difference between the lsb and lsb + 1 of sub - field data with respect to images displayed using 50 hz pal image signals is reduced . as a result , contour noise generated in a low gray region is significantly minimized . although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove , it should be clearly understood that many variations and / or modifications of the basic inventive concepts herein taught which may appear to those skilled in the present art will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention , as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
reference will now be made to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . fig1 illustrates a network device , such as a switching chip , in which an embodiment the present invention may be implemented . device 100 includes an ingress module 102 , a mmu 104 , and an egress module 106 . ingress module 102 is used for performing switching functionality on an incoming packet . the primary function of mmu 104 is to efficiently manage cell buffering and packet pointer resources in a predictable manner even under severe congestion scenarios . egress module 106 is used for performing packet modification and transmitting the packet to an appropriate destination port . device 100 may also include one internal fabric high speed port , for example a higig port , 108 , one or more external ethernet ports 109 a - 109 x , and a cpu port 110 . high speed port 108 is used to interconnect various network devices in a system and thus form an internal switching fabric for transporting packets between external source ports and one or more external destination ports . as such , high speed port 108 is not externally visible outside of a system that includes multiple interconnected network devices . cpu port 110 is used to send and receive packets to and from external switching / routing control entities or cpus . according to an embodiment of the invention , cpu port 110 may be considered as one of external ethernet ports 109 a - 109 x . device 100 interfaces with external / off - chip cpus through a cpu processing module 111 , such as a cmic , which interfaces with a pci bus that connects device 100 to an external cpu . network traffic enters and exits device 100 through external ethernet ports 109 a - 109 x . specifically , traffic in device 100 is routed from an external ethernet source port to one or more unique destination ethernet ports . in one embodiment of the invention , device 100 supports twelve physical ethernet ports 109 , each of which can operate in 10 / 100 / 1000 mbps speed and one high speed port 108 which operates in either 10 gbps or 12 gbps speed . in an embodiment of the invention , device 100 is built around shared memory architecture , as shown in fig2 a - 2 d , wherein mmu 104 enables sharing of a packet buffer among different ports while providing for resource guarantees for every ingress port , egress port and class of service queue associated with each egress port . fig2 a illustrates the shared memory architecture of the present invention . specifically , the memory resources of device 100 include a cell buffer pool ( cbp ) memory 202 and a transaction queue ( xq ) memory 204 . cbp memory 202 is an off - chip resource that is made of 4 dram chips 206 a - 206 d . according to an embodiment of the invention , each dram chip has a capacity of 288 mbits , wherein the total capacity of cbp memory 202 is 122 mbytes of raw storage . as shown in fig2 b , cbp memory 202 is divided into 256k 576 - byte cells 208 a - 208 x , each of which includes a 32 byte header buffer 210 , up to 512 bytes for packet data 212 and 32 bytes of reserved space 214 . as such , each incoming packet consumes at least one full 576 byte cell 208 . therefore in an example where an incoming includes a 64 byte frame , the incoming packet will have 576 bytes reserved for it even though only 64 bytes of the 576 bytes is used by the frame . returning to fig2 a , xq memory 204 includes a list of packet pointers 216 a - 216 x into cbp memory 202 , wherein different xq pointers 216 may be associated with each port . a cell count of cbp memory 202 and a packet count of xq memory 204 are tracked on an ingress port , egress port and class of service basis . as such , device 100 can provide resource guarantees on a cell and / or packet basis . mmu 104 enables dynamic allocation of some memory locations , for example the xq memory 204 for each packet , wherein packets may be divided into one or more cells . as illustrated in fig2 c , mmu 104 includes a free pointer pool 224 with pointers to free locations memory , wherein all pointers that are not assigned to packets are stored in free pointer pool 224 . as packets are stored in xq memory 204 , each packet may be stored in one or more of locations 216 a - 216 x , wherein each location includes a cell value 218 and a pointer to the next cell 220 . the cell value 218 may indicate that the packet is a single cell packet 226 , a first cell of a packet 228 , a next cell of a packet 230 or a last cell of a packet 232 . due to processing errors , for example software errors , it is possible for one or more locations 216 a - 216 x to include the same value in next cell field 220 , thereby corrupting the cell value 218 in the location pointed to by the duplicate next cell fields 220 . for example , as shown in fig2 c , the next cell field 220 in locations 216 a and 216 c point to location 216 e and thereby corrupt the cell value of 216 e . according to an embodiment of the invention , once mmu 104 retrieves cell value 218 from a location 216 , the next cell 220 from the retrieved location is returned to free pointer pool 224 . to prevent duplicate pointers from being stored in free pointer pool 224 and thereby continue the corruption of the memory location pointed to by the duplicate pointers , upon reading a packet pointer 216 , mmu 104 determines if the pointer to the next cell 220 is appropriate based on the cell value 218 . for example , as shown in fig2 c , since cell value 218 a indicates that the packet is a single cell packet , pointer to the next cell 220 in location 216 a should not point to another entry of buffer 204 . since it does , mmu 104 will determine that the pointer to the next cell 220 in location 216 a is invalid . mmu 104 thereafter checks to see if another location includes pointer to the next cell 220 e and determines that both locations 216 a and 216 b include invalid cell values 218 and / or invalid next cell pointers 220 e . as such , mmu 104 drops the packet information in locations 216 a and 216 b and upon clearing those memory locations , mmu 104 will not store the cell pointer 220 e in free pointer pool 224 , thereby enabling mmu 104 to correct any further corruption to free pointer pool 224 and the associated memory locations . fig2 d illustrates how the mmu accesses data in an external memory . mmu 104 also includes a memory controller unit ( mcu ) 250 which processes command from mmu 104 in order to fetch data from an external dram 200 , for example cbp 202 or xq memory 204 . according to an embodiment of the invention , mcu 250 includes a command fifo 252 for storing commands from mmu 104 and a read fifo 254 for storing information retrieved from dram 200 . mcu 250 may retrieve 36 bytes of data at a time from dram 200 and transmits 32 bytes of data at a time to mmu 104 . mcu 250 receives instructional commands from mmu 104 , wherein the command instructs mcu 250 from which address in external dram 200 to fetch data and how many bytes of data to fetch from the identified address . mcu 250 then translates the mmu command into a lower level instruction for the dram memory . each command includes a request to access a certain number of banks in dram 200 . with each command , the mcu 250 may read or write up to 544 bytes or 16 banks with a latency of about 108 ns . each mmu command may therefore include a request for 16 banks which will increase latency in device 100 . to minimize the latency issue , when mmu 104 issues a command , mcu 250 counts the number of banks in the mmu command and maintains a counter of the number of banks being accessed by mcu 250 . as such , when mcu 250 receives a new command , it adds the number of banks in the command to the bank count and when mcu 250 transmits data to mmu 104 , it subtracts from the bank count . upon receiving a command , mcu 250 compares the bank count with a predefined bank threshold . furthermore , to account of overhead operations associated with accessing each bank , mcu 250 also compares the number of commands in command fifo 252 to a predefined command threshold . if either the bank count or command count exceeds the bank threshold or the command threshold , mcu 250 sends a throttle to mmu 104 for mmu to delay transmitting request to mcu 250 or else mcu 250 processes the command . when mmu 104 issues a command to mcu 250 , the request includes the number of banks that should be accessed by mcu 250 . as noted above , mcu 250 retrieves up to 36 bytes from dram 200 and transmits 32 bytes to mmu 104 . therefore , when mcu 250 issues a request to dram 200 , dram 200 transmits 36 bytes at a time to mcu 250 which transmits 32 bytes at a time to mmu 104 . to align information from dram 200 with the information transmitted to mmu 104 and to determine how many trunks of data to transmit to mmu 104 , mcu 250 multiples the number of banks in the command request with the 36 bytes size from dram 200 . mcu 250 then divides the product by the 32 byte transmission size from mcu 250 to mmu 104 to determine the number of trunks that will be transmitted to mmu 104 . to ensure that the data from dram 200 matches the data that mmu is expecting , dram 200 then divides the product of the number of banks and the 32 bytes by the number of trunks that may be sent to mmu 104 . for example , if mmu 104 issues a command to access 10 banks , mcu 250 expects to receive 360 bytes , i . e ., 10 banks multiplied by 36 bytes from the dram 200 . to align the data received from dram 200 with the data transmitted by mcu 250 , mcu 250 divides the total data from dram 200 by 32 . therefore , mcu 250 determines that 12 trunks of data will be sent to mmu 104 . dram 200 then divides the 360 bytes by the 12 trunks to verify that the data being sent matches the data that mmu 104 is expecting to receive . if the data sizes do not match , mcu 250 creates an artificial cell with the correct number of trunks expected by mmu 104 and transmits the artificial cell to mmu 104 . fig3 illustrates the steps implemented by the mmu to correct corrupted memory locations . in step 3010 , mmu 104 stores packets in xq memory 204 in one or more of locations 216 a - 216 x . in step 3020 , once mmu 104 retrieves cell value 218 from a location 216 , the next cell 220 from the retrieved location is returned to free pointer pool 224 . in step 3030 , to prevent duplicate pointers from being stored in free pointer pool 224 and thereby continue the corruption of the memory location pointed to by the duplicate pointers , upon reading a packet pointer 216 , mmu 104 determines if the associated pointer to the next cell 220 is appropriate based on the associated cell value 218 . in step 3040 , if mmu 104 determines that the pointer to the next cell 220 in location 216 a is invalid , mmu 104 checks to see if another location includes the invalid pointer to the next cell 220 e and determines that both locations 216 a and 216 b include invalid cell values 218 and / or invalid next cell pointers 220 e . in step 3050 , mmu 104 drops the packet information in locations 216 a and 216 b and upon clearing those memory locations , mmu 104 will not store the invalid cell pointer 220 e in free pointer pool 224 , thereby enabling mmu 104 to correct any further corruption to free pointer pool 224 and the associated memory locations . fig4 illustrates the steps implemented to throttle the mmu by the mcu . in step 4010 , mmu 104 sends a command to mcu 250 for mcu 250 to fetch data from dram 200 . in step 4020 , mcu 250 translates the mmu command into a lower level instruction for the dram memory . in step 4030 , when mmu 104 issues a command , mcu 250 counts the number of banks in the mmu command and maintains a counter of the number of banks being accessed by mcu 250 . in step 4040 , upon receiving a command , mcu 250 compares the bank count with a predefined bank threshold and compares the number of commands in command fifo 252 to a predefined command threshold . in step 4050 , if either the bank count or command count exceeds the bank threshold or the command threshold , mcu 250 sends a throttle to mmu 104 for mmu to delay transmitting request to mcu 250 or else mcu 250 processes the command . once a packet enters device 100 on a source port 109 , the packet is transmitted to ingress module 102 for processing . during processing , packets on each of the ingress and egress ports share system resources 202 and 204 . fig5 illustrates buffer management mechanisms that are used by mmu 104 to impose resource allocation limitations and thereby ensure fair access to resources . mmu 104 includes an ingress backpressure mechanism 504 , a head of line mechanism 506 and a weighted random early detection mechanism 508 . ingress backpressure mechanism 504 supports lossless behaviour and manages buffer resources fairly across ingress ports . head of line mechanism 506 supports access to buffering resources while optimizing throughput in the system . weighted random early detection mechanism 508 improves overall network throughput . ingress backpressure mechanism 504 uses packet or cell counters to track the number of packets or cells used on an ingress port basis . ingress backpressure mechanism 504 includes registers for a set of 8 individually configurable thresholds and registers used to specify which of the 8 thresholds are to be used for every ingress port in the system . the set of thresholds include a limit threshold 512 , a discard limit threshold 514 and a reset limit threshold 516 . if a counter associated with the ingress port packet / cell usage rises above discard limit threshold 514 , packets at the ingress port will be dropped . based on the counters for tracking the number of cells / packets , a pause flow control is used to stop traffic from arriving on an ingress port that have used more than its fair share of buffering resources , thereby stopping traffic from an offending ingress port and relieving congestion caused by the offending ingress port . specifically , each ingress port keeps track of whether or not it is in an ingress backpressure state based on ingress backpressure counters relative to the set of thresholds . when the ingress port is in ingress backpressure state , pause flow control frames with a timer value of ( 0 × ffff ) are periodically sent out of that ingress port . when the ingress port is no longer in the ingress backpressure state , the pause flow control frame with a timer value of 0 × 00 is sent out of the ingress port and traffic is allowed to flow again . if an ingress port is not currently in an ingress backpressure state and the packet counter rises above limit threshold 512 , the status for the ingress port transitions into the ingress backpressure state . if the ingress port is in the ingress backpressure state and the packet counter falls below reset limit threshold 516 , the status for the port will transition out of the backpressure state . head of line mechanism 506 is provided to support fair access to buffering resources while optimizing throughput in the system . head of line mechanism 506 relies on packet dropping to manage buffering resources and improve the overall system throughput . according to an embodiment of the invention , head of line mechanism 506 uses egress counters and predefined thresholds to track buffer usage on a egress port and class of service basis and thereafter makes decisions to drop any newly arriving packets on the ingress ports destined to a particular oversubscribed egress port / class of service queue . head of line mechanism 506 supports different thresholds depending on the color of the newly arriving packet . packets may be colored based on metering and marking operations that take place in the ingress module and the mmu acts on these packets differently depending on the color of the packet . according to an embodiment of the invention , head of line mechanism 506 is configurable and operates independently on every class of service queue and across all ports , including the cpu port . head of line mechanism 506 uses counters that track xq memory 204 and cbp memory 202 usage and thresholds that are designed to support a static allocation of cbp memory buffers 202 and dynamic allocation of the available xq memory buffers 204 . a discard threshold 522 is defined for all cells in cbp memory 202 , regardless of color marking . when the cell counter associated with a port reaches discard threshold 522 , the port is transition to a head of line status . thereafter , the port may transition out of the head of line status if its cell counter falls below a reset limit threshold 524 . for the xq memory 204 , a guaranteed fixed . allocation of xq buffers for each class of service queue is defined by a xq entry value 530 a - 530 h . each of xq entry value 530 a - 530 h defines how many buffer entries should be reserved for an associated queue . for example , if 100 bytes of xq memory are assigned to a port , the first four class of service queues associated with xq entries 530 a - 530 d respectively may be assigned the value of 10 bytes and the last four queues associated with xq entries 530 d - 530 h respectively may be assigned the value of 5 bytes . according to an embodiment of the invention , even if a queue does not use up all of the buffer entries reserved for it according to the associated xq entry value , head of line mechanism 506 may not assign the unused buffer to another queue . nevertheless , the remaining unassigned 40 bytes of xq buffers for the port may be shared among all of the class of service queues associated with the port . limits on how much of the shared pool of the xq buffer may be consumed by a particular class of service queue is set with a xq set limit threshold 532 . as such , set limit threshold 532 may be used to define the maximum number of buffers that can be used by one queue and to prevent one queue from using all of the available xq buffers . to ensure that the sum of xq entry values 530 a - 530 h do not add up to more than the total number of available xq buffers for the port and to ensure that each class of service queue has access to its quota of xq buffers as assigned by its entry value 530 , the available pool of xq buffer for each port is tracked using a port dynamic count register 534 , wherein dynamic count register 534 keeps track of the number of available shared xq buffers for the port . the initial value of dynamic count register 534 is the total number of xq buffers associated with the port minus a sum of the number of xq entry values 320 a - 320 h . dynamic count register 534 is decremented when a class of service queue uses an available xq buffer after the class of service queue has exceeded its quota as assigned by its xq entry value 530 . conversely , dynamic count register 534 is incremented when a class of service queue releases a xq buffer after the class of service queue has exceeded its quota as assigned by its xq entry value 530 . when a queue requests xq buffer 204 , head of line mechanism 506 determines if all entries used by the queue is less than the xq entry value 530 for the queue and grants the buffer request if the used entries are less then the xq entry value 530 . if however , the used entries are greater than the xq entry value 530 for the queue , head of line mechanism 506 determines if the amount requested is less than the total available buffer or less then the maximum amount set for the queue by the associated set limit threshold 532 . set limit threshold 532 is in essence a discard threshold that is associated with the queue , regardless of the color marking of the packet . as such , when the packet count associated with the packet reaches set limit threshold 532 , the queue / port enters into a head of line status . when head of line mechanism 506 detects a head of line condition , it sends an update status so that ingress module 102 can drop packets on the congested port . however , due to latency , there may be packets in transition between ingress module 102 and mmu 104 when the status update is sent by head of line mechanism 506 . in this case , the packet drops may occur at mmu 104 due to the head of line status . in an embodiment of the invention , due to the pipeline of packets between ingress module 102 and mmu 104 , the dynamic pool of xq pointers is reduced by a predefined amount . as such , when the number of available xq pointers is equal to or less than the predefined amount , the port is transition to the head of line status and an update status is sent to by mmu 104 to ingress module 102 , thereby reducing the number of packets that may be dropped by mmu 104 . to transition out of the head of line status , the xq packet count for the queue must fall below a reset limit threshold 536 . it is possible for the xq counter for a particular class of service queue to not reach set limit threshold 532 and still have its packet dropped if the xq resources for the port are oversubscribed by the other class of service queues . in an embodiment of the invention , intermediate discard thresholds 538 and 539 may also be defined for packets containing specific color markings , wherein each intermediate discard threshold defines when packets of a particular color should be dropped . for example , intermediate discard threshold 538 may be used to define when packets that are colored yellow should be dropped and intermediate discard threshold 539 may be used to define when packets that are colored red should be dropped . according to an embodiment of the invention , packets may be colored one of green , yellow or red depending on the priority level assigned to the packet . to ensure that packets associated with each color are processed in proportion to the color assignment in each queue , one embodiment of the present invention includes a virtual maximum threshold 540 . virtual maximum threshold 540 is equal to the number of unassigned and available buffers divided by the sum of the number of queues and the number of currently used buffers . virtual maximum threshold 540 ensures that the packets associated with each color are processed in a relative proportion . therefore , if the number of available unassigned buffers is less than the set limit threshold 532 for a particular queue and the queue requests access to all of the available unassigned buffers , head of line mechanism 506 calculates the virtual maximum threshold 540 for the queue and processes a proportional amount of packets associated with each color relative to the defined ratios for each color . to conserve register space , the xq thresholds may be expressed in a compressed form , wherein each unit represents a group of xq entries . the group size is dependent upon the number of xq buffers that are associated with a particular egress port / class of service queue . weighted random early detection mechanism 508 is a queue management mechanism that pre - emptively drops packets based on a probabilistic algorithm before xq buffers 204 are exhausted . weighted random early detection mechanism 508 is therefore used to optimize the overall network throughput . weighted random early detection mechanism 508 includes an averaging statistic that is used to track each queue length and drop packets based on a drop profile defined for the queue . the drop profile defines a drop probability given a specific average queue size . according to an embodiment of the invention , weighted random early detection mechanism 508 may defined separate profiles on based on a class of service queue and packet . the foregoing description has been directed to specific embodiments of this invention . it will be apparent , however , that other variations and modifications may be made to the described embodiments , with the attainment of some or all of their advantages . therefore , it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings and fig1 in particular , there is shown a strap fastener 10 which comprises a fastener body 11 , a mounting plate 12 and a socket member 13 all molded of synthetic resin . the fastener body 11 includes a base plate 14 having a laterally outwardly extending lug 15 at one or its upper end , a pair of co - axial pins 16 at the other or its lower end , a laterally outwardly extending locking prong 17 intermediate between the lug 15 and the pin 16 , and a laterally inwardly extending plug 18 opposite to the prong 17 . a flange 19 having a slit 20 extends upwardly from the lug 15 . the base plate 14 is provided adjacent to the lug 15 with a laterally elongated slot 21 so that the upper end portion of the base plate 14 posesses a certain degree of resiliency which is large enough to enable the lug 15 to tilt about its distal end upwardly away from the prong 17 . the fastener body 11 further includes a cover plate 22 having a plurality of laterally elongated openings 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 for the passage therethrough of a strap s , a pair of apertured lower flange portions 27 pivotally connected to the respective pins 16 of the base plate 14 , and an upper flange portion 28 having a locking projection 29 engageable in complimentarily shaped recess 30 formed in the lower surface of the lug 15 . the first opening 23 is defined between the flanged portions 27 and a first cross bar 31 ; the second opening 24 between the first cross bar 31 and a second cross bar 32 ; the third opening 25 between the second cross bar 32 and a third cross bar 33 ; and the fourth opening 26 between the third cross bar 33 and the upper flange portion 28 . the second cross bar 32 is slightly off - set from the common upper plane of the cover plate 22 so as to make the strap s lie substantially flush with the upper surface of the cover 22 . the third cross bar 33 has a longitudinal locking ridge 33a extending along its rear edge and projecting into the third opening 25 . with the strap s passed through any of the openings 23 - 26 , the cover plate 22 is rotated about the pins 16 in the direction of the arrow into coupling engagement with the base plate 14 as better shown in fig3 when the locking projection 29 is snapped into the recess 30 to hold the cover 22 and the plate 14 retentively together , while the locking prong 17 enters into the third opening 25 and holds the strap s immovably against the side wall of the third cross bar 33 . in this instance , the locking ridge 33a on the third cross bar 33 bites into the web of the strap s . the plug 18 , which extends laterally centrally from the base plate 14 in opposition to the locking prong 17 , has a hollow cylindrical configuration and includes a stem portion 18a integral with the base plate 14 and an enlarged head portion 18b separated by an interrupted annular shoulder 18c from the stem portion 18a . the hollow cylindrical plug 18 further includes a plurality ( four in the illustrated embodiment ) of longitudinal slits 18d in a criss - cross formation , as better shown in fig4 to render the plug 18 resilient and radially inwardly deformable . the head portion 18b has a tapered end 18e . the base plate 14 and the cover plate 22 may be conveniently , though not exclusively , fabricated by injection - molding in assembled condition . the mounting plate 12 to be interposed between the fastener body 11 and the socket member 13 is generally rectangular in shape and has a central aperture 12a for receiving a portion of the socket member 13 and a plurality of laterally extending anchoring posts 12b each with an axial blind hole 12c , there being four of these posts equally spaced around the central aperture 12a as better shown in fig8 . the socket member 13 , which constitutes another part of the strap fastener 10 , includes a substantially rectangular plate 13a and a cylindrical neck 34 extending centrally from the base plate 13a . the socket member 13 further has a stepped bore 35 extending through the base plate 13a and the neck 34 . the stepped bore 35 is composed of a small - diameter portion 35a extending concentrically through the cylindrical neck 34 , and a large - diameter portion 35b extending through the base plate 13a . the large - and small - diameter portions 35b , 35a are separated by an annular step 37 which is lockingly engageable with the interrupted annular shoulder 18c when the plug 18 is snapped in the stepped bore 35 . the inside diameter of the small - diameter portion 35a is substantially the same as , preferably slightly larger than , the outside diameter of the cylindrical stem 18a of the plug 18 . the outside diameter of the head 18b of the plug 18 is larger than the inside diameter of the small - diameter portion 35a and is smaller than the inside diameter of the larger - diameter portion 35b . as shown in fig6 the socket 13 is provided with a plurality ( four in number in this embodiment ) of countersunk holes 38 a locations registering with the anchoring posts 12b of the mounting plate 12 . with this construction , the mounting plate 12 and the socket member 13 are first brought into coupling engagement with each other by inserting the neck 34 of the socket 13 into the central aperture 12a of the mounting plate 12 through an opening in a substrate such as sheet of fabric or leather c of a knapsack , with the anchoring posts 12b received in the corresponding holes 38 . the lugs 12b may be plastically deformed by press or with heat to swell out and anchor within the countersunk holes 38 , thereby joining the mounting plate 12 and the socket member 13 with the fabric sheet c sandwiched therebetween , as better shown in fig1 . the fastener body 11 is then taken into coupling engagement with the socket member 13 , which has been united with the mounting plate 12 , by inserting the plug 18 into the stepped bore 35 . as the head 18b of the plug 18 advances along the small - diameter portion 35a of the stepped bore 35 , the head 18b is resiliently deformed radially inwardly . a further forward movement of the plug 18 causes the head 18b to be snapped into the large - diameter portion 35b due to the resiliency of the plug 18 . in this instance , the interrupted annular shoulder 18c is held in interlocking engagement with the step 37 t hold the fastener body 11 and the socket member 13 in coupled condition , as shown in fig1 . the back of the fastener body 11 is held in contact with the face of the mounting plate 12 . the fastener body 11 can be rotated at will in either direction about an axis of the plug 18 relative to the socket member 13 so as to adjust the lateral position of the strap s on the knapsack to suit the particular physical characteristics of the user . in this instance , the fastener body 11 undergoes smaller frictional resistance imposed by the mounting plate 12 than by the fabric c of the knapsack . the strap s can be also adjusted lengthwise by pulling its leading end in and out through the slot 21 in the base plate 14 of the fastener body 11 , for which purpose and for removal or attachment of the strap s there may be used for example a screwdriver d ( placed in the slit 20 in fig1 and then tilted in the direction of the arrow a ) with which to unlock or release the locking projection 29 from the recess 30 . fig1 through 14 show a modified form of strap fastener 40 which comprises a strap holder 41 pivotably connected at one end as at 42 to a base plate 43 and at the other end with a cross bar 44 around which is passed the strap s . the base plate 43 carries a plug 45 identical in construction and function with the plug 18 of fig1 a socket member 46 of the strap fastener 40 is substantially the same as the socket member 13 of fig1 with the exception that an elongate groove 47 extends arcuately in the face of a neck 48 to a limited angular extent about the axis of a stepped bore 49 . when the plug 45 is snapped in the stepped bore 49 , the groove 47 loosely receives a projection 50 on the back of the base plate 43 . with the groove 47 and the projection 50 thus provided , the fastener body 41 is rotatable only within the limited angular extent with respect to the socket member 46 and hence the fabric c of a bag . fig1 through 17 show another modified form of strap fastener 51 which comprises a fastener body or buckle 52 composed of a male part 53 and a female part 54 releasably engageable with each other . the male part 53 has at one end a cross bar 55 for mounting the strap s and at the other end a hook 56 releasably engageable with a abutment strip 57 formed on the female part 54 . the female part 54 includes a plug 58 extending from the back thereof and a projection 59 disposed adjacent to the plug 58 . the plug 58 is identical in construction and function with the plug 45 of fig1 . when the plug 58 is snapped with a socket member 60 , the projection 59 is received in an arcuately extending groove 61 in the face of a neck 62 of the of the socket member 60 . the angular movement of the fastener body 52 relative to the socket member 60 is limited to a certain extent by engagement of the projection 59 with ends of the arcuate groove 61 . many other modifications and changes may be made in the embodiments herein advanced , without departing from the scope of the appended claims . as for an example , the number of anchoring lugs 12b and openings 38 may be two or three as the case may be , or the lugs 12b may be substituted by rivets . | 0 |
this invention relates to editing complex 3d objects . in accordance with the invention , the problem of editing a 3d object of arbitrary size and surface properties is converted to a problem of editing a 2d image . the invention allows the user to specify edits in both geometry and surface properties from any view and at any resolution they find convenient , regardless of the interactive rendering capability of their computer . the preferred embodiment of the invention uses specially - constrained shape from shading algorithms to convert a shaded image specified by the user by painting , cut - and - paste , or any other 2d image editing tool into a 3d geometry . in the particular description given herein , complex objects are represented by triangle meshes of arbitrary size associated with an atlas of images , which define surface details and appearance properties . the term surface maps is used to refer to these images that encode the detail and appearance properties . detail and appearance properties can include many different aspects of an object , but in this description , detailed surface normals and diffuse reflectance are used as examples of surface maps that are represented as images that are mapped to the geometry . the editing technique described herein can also be applied to other numerical descriptions used for representing 3d digital objects . furthermore , the editing technique can be applied to 3d digital objects comprised of geometry only , without any associated surface maps . the geometric representation of the object is not exposed to the user . the user specifies edits by positioning a simplified model and generating a detailed image at arbitrary resolution . the user edits the detailed image to specify object edits , and the edited image is then used to update the 3d model . fig1 is a block diagram of a computer system 100 with a graphics subsystem 110 and a 3d data acquisition system 112 that is suitable for capturing the 3d models described herein . a system bus 106 interconnects a cpu 120 with the graphics subsystem 110 and a system memory 114 . the acquisition system is preferably but not necessarily interfaced through an i / o subsystem 118 . as an alternative to the use of the acquisition system , a user may create a complex model by interacting directly with an i / o subsystem . fig2 shows the graphics subsystem 110 in greater detail . a bus interface 110 a connects the system bus 106 to a graphics control processor 110 b and to a geometry subsystem 110 c . a graphics control processor 110 b control bus 110 g also connects to the geometry subsystem 110 c and to a rasterizer 110 d . a depth or z - buffer 110 e and a frame buffer 110 f are also typically coupled to the rasterizer 110 d , and cooperate to render the object models for display . the computer system 100 illustrated in fig1 and 2 is used to create the original 3d digital model . in the example described herein , a very limited version of the computer system 100 can be used to edit the 3d object . to edit the object , no acquisition system 112 is needed , and the graphics subsystem 110 may be comprised of only a frame buffer 110 f , with the other graphical display operations performed in a computer program that is loaded into the computer memory 114 . fig3 shows the process of defining and processing an object edit in the preferred system of this invention . in step 210 , the user selects a view of a 3d object to be edited , using an interactive display of a very simplified version of the object ( by simplified meaning a version that requires much less data to describe ). a simplified model is used because the objects we consider may be too large to render interactively with all of the associated surface texture maps . in step 220 , a program generates a high resolution rendering — that is , images with a large number of pixels showing the full detail of the object for the selected view . the structure of the data 300 that is rendered is shown in fig4 and is comprised of a lit geometry image 305 , a depth map 310 and , optionally , normals maps 320 and a diffuse reflectance map 330 . in step 230 of fig3 , the lit geometry image — that is an image of the object as if it were coated with a grey diffuse ( i . e . matte ) paint and illuminated — is edited by the user to indicate what an image of the edited shape should look like . in optional step 240 , the diffuse reflectance map 330 is edited to specify how the diffuse reflectance of the edited object ( i . e ., the intrinsic colors of the edited object ) should look . in step 250 , a shape - from - shading method is applied to update the depth map 310 to a depth map corresponding to the edited object . finally , in step 260 , the original object geometry is updated to be consistent with the updated depth map and , optionally , the diffuse reflectance map . the specific examples discussed below are from editing sessions applied to a museum virtual restoration application . it should be emphasized , however , that the process of this invention can be used in a wide range of applications , including engineering , technical and medical applications . fig1 shows the images presented to the user in an interface for the process illustrated in fig3 . in this example , the invention is used to fill a chip in the head of the sculpture , and to cover the filled area with the ringed pattern that appears in the surrounding region . a particular viewpoint is selected using a simplified model in image 805 . the lit geometry 810 and diffuse reflectance map 815 are generated by the high resolution rendering process . in 820 , the 2d editing interface using a common 2d commercial editing package is shown , with the user employing a cut and paste operation to generate an image of what the object should look like after the edit is applied . the same interface is used to create the edited diffuse reflectance map 825 . it is possible that the luminance of some pixels will not change , even though a change in the geometry at that pixel is intended . the image 830 shows the result of using image dilation and painting to fill in the full area that has been edited . the area to be updated by the automated processes is indicated in a darker shade 832 in image 830 , and this “ hints ” image will be provided to the shape from shading solver to define the extent in which changes are to be made . to ensure that the edited object will remain a manifold , preferably edited areas in the image are bounded by fixed depth map values and do not include depth discontinuities . depth discontinuities are illustrated in fig5 and 6 . the lit grey image of an object is shown in image 400 . the depth discontinuities are shown in image 410 . fig6 shows a composite of the lit image and the depth discontinuities that can be presented to the user to indicate where edits are not allowed in this particular view . an editing scenario with consideration of depth discontinuities is shown in fig1 . the diffuse reflectance map is shown in 905 , and the lit gray image is shown in at 910 . areas that can not be edited for a view are marked for the user in 910 . in the preferred embodiment , areas that can not be edited are marked in blue for the user . within these constraints , any image operation is acceptable — blurring , sharpening , image cut - and - paste , painting , etc . fig1 shows the replacement of the nose of the figure with two types of input . in 915 the process starts with an image of a real nose , takes one side of it , and altars and smoothes the shading . then , the nose from 915 is used to update the grey image in 910 to produce image 920 . it may be noted that the albedo and lighting of the source image for the nose are unknown . in 930 , an alternative nose is taken from the rendering of another geometric model , and this nose is applied to 910 to generate an alternative edit , shown in 935 . the shading level is changed and the aspect ratio of the image is slightly altered to fit it into the missing nose area . the edited diffuse reflectance map is shown in 940 , and the hints image showing the area to be updated is shown in 950 . fig7 gives the detail of applying the shape from shading algorithm to the lit gray image . the input 606 is data of the structure illustrated in 300 in fig4 . optionally in step 610 , an initial guess for the updated depth map may be given by the user by editing a pseudo - colored image of the depths . the shape from shading algorithm 620 is then applied to compute the updated depth map representing the new geometry . optionally , the shape from shading can be used to compute even higher resolution normals in step 630 . the result is an updated data set 640 in the same structure as illustrated in fig4 . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , the diffuse reflectance map edits can be applied directly to update the original object . however , the grayscale edits are preferably converted into an updated depth map before the edits are applied . to determine the new depths for the edited region , the classic shape from shading problem is solved . shading is the variation of brightness across the photograph resulting from the local variation of the orientation of the surface with respect to the light sources and the camera . this question has been explored extensively , as described in a recent survey , zhang , tsai , cryer and shah , “ shape from shading a survey , ” ieee trans . on pattern analysis and machine intelligence , vol . 21 , no . 8 , pp . 690 – 706 , 1999 . let us identify the aspects of the theory of shape from shading relevant to image - based geometric editing . the factors accounting for shading include the lighting conditions , the object shape , its material reflectance properties , and the camera properties . isolating the shape information is too difficult in general and preferably the problem is simplified a great deal . the approach that has been most successful was to assume that the light source is bounded and at an infinite distance ( i . e . a directional light ), that the object has a smooth shape and is lambertian , that there is no occlusion boundary , that the solution is known on the boundary of the resolution domain , and finally , that the camera performs an orthographic projection . by design , all these conditions but the last are ideally met in our example . we are not dealing with a natural photograph but with an artificial image generated under such conditions . in the editing application of this invention , a perspective camera may be used for more realism , but the spatial extent of the edits is relatively small and we approximate locally the camera by an orthographic model . the usual approximate model of shape from shading for real photographs becomes a better model for image - based geometric editing because the only approximation is on the camera model . it may be helpful to review this model . consider an open two dimensional set ω of image pixels corresponding to an entirely visible and lit part s of the depicted object surface . the brightness of the rendered image is then given by i ( ρ )= n ( x )· l , where the point x on s projects onto the pixel ρ in ω , n ( x ) is a unit normal to s at x , l is a unit vector representing the light direction and * denotes the scalar product of two vectors . it may be noted that there are two distinct definitions of n in the preferred framework . indeed , s is represented as the union of a number of triangulated patches and the associated normal maps . the normal maps may arise from “ photometric stereo ,” i . e . from the set of real photographs initially acquired . these “ photometric normals ” are denote by n ρ . but n ρ can be computed from the triangulation as well . we denote by n g the “ geometric normals .” the motivation for this distinction is that n ρ is sampled at a higher resolution , typically we have 10 pixels per triangle . ideally , the brightness equation should be satisfied by both normals , i . e ., i ( ρ )= l · n g ( x ) and i ( ρ )= l · n ρ ( ρ ). the first equation allows to recover the underlying geometry , while the second yields a more precise description of the normals , accounting in particular for details that are smaller than the resolution of the triangulation . the reason why we do not solve only the second equation for both purposes is that photometric normals do not necessarily need to integrate as a valid surface and so they cannot necessarily yield the underlying geometry . their role is only to describe the smallest possible details . that said , the two normals should at least agree to a certain extent and the two solutions must be somewhat coupled , as discussed below . it is convenient to solve both equations in the image grid and it also makes it more natural to deal with multiple resolutions . this is made possible by using the depth map z to compute the geometric normals . the photometric normals are readily available on the image grid . we now explain how the brightness equations are solved . it is well known that the shape from shading problem can be ill - posed , depending on the data . in the case of image - based geometric editing , we can expect to be in situations where no solution exists or multiple solutions exist because a hand - defined shading might be incompatible with any realizable surface or , on the contrary , be degenerate . this motivates the use of a variational method to look for the “ best ” surface , in a sense to be made more precise . in addition , variational methods result in iterative algorithms and they make it easy to take advantage of an initial guess , suggested by the user . this is an important , preferred feature of the invention as , in practice , it solves the ill - posedness of the shape from shading . variational methods are well known in the art , and accordingly , it is not necessary to discuss these methods in detail herein . however , for the sake of review , these methods will be briefly described . consider a 2d vector field u defined on ω . presumably equal to ∇ z , and look for a smooth integrable solution by minimizing ∫ ω α ( i − l · n g ( u )) 2 + β (∇ ⊥ · u ) 2 + γ ( du ) 2 , n 8 ( u ) = ( u 2 + 1 ) - 1 2 ( - u , 1 ) , ∇ ⊥ = ( ∂ ∂ y , - ∂ ∂ x ) , du is the jacobian of u and α , β and γ are scalar weights . the first term accounts for the fidelity to the shading and the euclidean norm is used for the sake of simplicity . the second term accounts for the integrability of u and it is important to deal with inconsistent shadings . the last term is a regularization penalty , which accounts for the smoothness of the solutions . similarly , the photometric normals n ρ are computed by minimizing the integral ∫ ω μ ( i − l · n ρ ) 2 + ν ( d n ρ ) 2 + ψ ( n ρ − n g ) 2 , under the constraint || n ρ ||= 1 , where μ , ν and ψ are scalar weights . the first term accounts for the fidelity to the shading , the second term for smoothness and the last term couples n ρ to n g . another interpretation of the last term is that it penalizes non - integrable photometric normals since ng is the normal vector to an ( almost ) integrable surface . however , one might want to keep this contribution relatively small to allow sharp variations of the photometric normals at the expense of integrability . as previously , a stable minimizing numerical scheme may be derived from the corresponding euler - lagrange equations . the latter are straightforward for the first and last terms . as far as the scalar weights are concerned , they are defined up to a scaling factor for each equation . we have chosen experimentally a set of parameters and all the examples given herein use the following : α = 1 , β = 1 , δ = 0 . 1 , μ = 1 , ν = 1 and ψ = 0 . 01 . after shape from shading has been applied to transform the edited image into a new shape , the new geometry depth map , normal map and diffuse reflectance maps are used to update the original model . the update proceeds in two steps — up - dating the underlying charts and then applying the normal and diffuse reflectance maps . the process of then updating the underlying mesh is illustrated in fig8 . in step 705 , each existing vertex in a changed area is moved along the line - of - sight of the edited image &# 39 ; s virtual camera so that it lies on the new depth map computed from shape from shading . the movement of vertices in step 705 is further illustrated in diagram 707 in fig9 . the original mesh may have a resolution that is either too dense or too sparse to represent the change in geometry . in step 710 , after changing the position of existing vertices , the surface optionally could be refined or decimated to maintain the same level of consistency with the true geometric surface as was represented in the original model . edits that result in a valid surface can require a repartitioning of the surface mapping to avoid undesirable or unacceptable stretching of the surface maps . in optional step 720 , surfaces may be split if they are no longer height fields . in diagram 725 of fig9 , the splitting of a surface is shown . in optional steps 730 and 740 , the normal maps and diffuse reflectance maps can be respectively updated by projecting the edited images on the model and identifying the surface maps to be altered . diagram 735 in fig9 illustrates the projection required . an embodiment of the invention has been actually implemented in c ++ using open gl software libraries to perform the rendering to obtain the initial images for editing , and to do the projections required to update the geometry and image maps . the editing illustrated in fig1 and 12 was performed on a computer with a pentium iii 1 . 2 ghz processor , 512 mb of memory and no graphics hardware acceleration . fig1 and 13 show the results respectively for the edits made in fig1 and 12 . for the object shown in fig1 , the full object is composed of 314 , 246 triangles organized into 92 charts ( i . e ., small triangle meshes ), and maps containing 2 . 9 million non - zero pixels that specify the diffuse reflectance and normal at a higher spatial resolution ( i . e ., approximately 9 pixels per triangle ). the view to be edited in 805 was rendered as a 512 by 512 pixel image , and 15 . 7 % of the pixels ( i . e ., 41 , 174 ) were shown as darter in the edited region in 830 . the shape from shading solution computing steps 620 and 630 took 4 minutes and 45 seconds on the pentium iii processor . fig1 shows the model before editing in 840 and 850 , and after editing in 860 and 870 . fig1 shows the results of the edits specified by the images shown in fig1 . images 960 and 970 show the model before editing . 980 and 990 show the object after applying the edit specified in 920 , 995 and 998 show the model after applying the edit shown in 935 . while it is apparent that the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects stated above , it will be appreciated that numerous modifications and embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art , and it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and embodiments as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 6 |
for the purpose of this description , a single reference number will be assigned to a line as well as a stream carried in that line . same reference numbers refer to the same or similar elements . fig1 schematically shows a simplified process scheme of a first embodiment according to the present invention for extracting bitumen ( i . e . in the context of the invention a bituminous and / or extremely heavy crude oil like material ) from an oil sand stream . the process scheme is generally referred to with reference number 1 . the process scheme 1 shows a crusher 2 , a de - oxygenation unit 3 , a mixer 4 , a solid / liquid separator ( such as a settler or hydrocylone ) 5 , a rejects dryer 6 , a filter 7 , a dryer 8 , a clarifier 9 , a src ( solvent recovery column ) 11 , a further mixer 12 , a second clarifier 13 and a dryer 14 . an optional further mixer 15 has been indicated as well ( to which e . g . all or part of stream 190 may be fed ). during use of the process scheme of fig1 , an oil sand stream 10 is provided and fed to the mixer 4 . typically , before entering the mixer 4 , the oil sand stream 10 has been crushed ( e . g . in crusher 2 ) or treated otherwise , to reduce the size of the larger oil sand lumps to below a pre - determined upper limit experience in large scale operations shows that the achievable size upper limit for such size reduction is currently about 8 inch . further , the oil sand stream is usually de - oxygenated ( e . g . in de - oxygenation unit 3 ), in particular when a non - aqueous solvent is subsequently used for the bitumen extraction . in the embodiment of fig1 , the oil sand stream 10 is contacted in the mixer 4 with a non - aqueous solvent stream preferably containing an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent ( and typically a certain amount of bitumen ), thereby obtaining a solvent - diluted oil sand slurry 20 . the person skilled in the art will readily understand that to this end a wide variety of streams , both in terms of composition and origin , can be used . in the embodiment shown in fig1 streams 30 a , 80 b and 90 b ( which are further discussed below ; recycled from downstream of the process ) are used , although the person skilled in the art will readily understand that one or more of the streams 30 a , 80 b , 90 b may not be used . also , other streams ( such as stream 170 ) may be used instead or in addition . usually , in the mixer 4 ( or in a separate unit , if needed , such as a screen ), the ( bitumen - containing ) lumps of the solvent - diluted oil sand slurry obtained are reduced in size , typically to have a diameter below 5 . 0 cm , preferably below 2 . 0 cm , more preferably below 1 . 0 cm . any undesired materials ( such as rocks and woody material ) that may hinder downstream processing may be removed by using screens or the like and the remaining oil sand particles are reduced in size in the presence of the solvent , e . g . by crushing , breaking and / or grinding . typically the contacting step in mixer 4 is performed at about ambient temperatures , preferably at a temperature in the range from 0 - 40 ° c ., and at about atmospheric pressure . in the embodiment of fig1 an optional stream 50 exiting the mixer 4 is shown that may be sent to the rejects dryer 6 . this stream 50 may contain rejects ( any undesired materials such as rocks and woody material ). the slurry stream 20 exiting the mixer 4 is fed ( using a pump ) into the settler 5 and the solids in the slurry stream 20 are allowed to settle , thereby obtaining ( as an overflow ) a first solids - depleted stream 30 and ( as an underflow ) a first solids - enriched stream 40 . although additional solvent may be fed to the settler 5 , it is preferred that no additional solvent is fed into the settler 5 other than with the slurry stream 20 . in the embodiment of fig1 at least a part 30 a of the first solids - depleted stream 30 is recycled to and reused in the mixer 4 . as shown , a part 30 b of the first solids - depleted stream 30 may be sent to and further processed in clarifier 9 to remove fines ; if desired , this stream 30 b may be combined with stream 80 a ( and other streams ) in mixer 12 to obtain combined stream 85 . the first solids - enriched stream 40 exiting the settler 5 is fed into the filter 7 . preferably , no intermediate washing with solvent takes place between the settler 5 and the filter 7 . in the filter 7 , the first solids - enriched stream 40 is filtered , thereby obtaining a bitumen - depleted sand stream 70 , a first filtrate 80 and a second filtrate 90 . typically this bitumen - depleted sand stream 70 is the “ filter cake ” as used in the filter 7 . this bitumen - depleted sand stream 70 may be sent to a dryer 8 and removed as dried stream 140 ; this dried stream 140 would in the art be referred to as “ tailings ”. the dried stream 140 can be used for land reclamation . of course , if needed , further removal of solvent from the dried stream 140 may be performed . as shown if fig1 , a recovered solvent stream 150 may be recycled from the dryer 8 to e . g . the filter 7 . in the embodiment of fig1 , a first ( usually bitumen - containing ) filtrate ( removed as stream 80 ) and a second filtrate ( removed as stream 90 ; usually containing less bitumen than stream 80 and consequently having a higher s / b weight ratio ) are obtained in the filter 7 . it goes without saying that further filtrate streams may be generated in the filter 7 . in the embodiment of fig1 , the first filtrate 80 and the second filtrate 90 are both at least partly recycled to the mixer 4 ( as streams 80 b and 90 b ), but this recycling of the filtrate streams to the mixer 4 is ( although preferred ) not essential to the invention in the broadest sense . as shown in the embodiment of fig1 , a stream 60 of fresh solvent may be fed to the filter 7 , instead of or in addition of recycled solvent streams 130 ( from the src 11 ) and 150 ( from the dryer 8 ); of course other sources of solvent recycle streams may be used as well . at least a part 80 b of the first filtrate stream 80 obtained in the filter 7 may be reused in the contacting step in the mixer 4 . as shown in the embodiment of fig1 , also the second filtrate 90 is partly reused ( as stream 90 b ) in the mixer 4 . a part 80 a of the first filtrate 80 and a part 90 a of the second filtrate 90 , and stream 30 b are mixed in mixer 12 and sent to the clarifier 9 as combined stream 85 . instead of or in addition to stream 90 a , a different stream or streams may be used to combine with first filtrate stream 80 a to obtain the combined stream 85 ( which has an increased s / b weight ratio when compared to first filtrate stream 80 ). the combined stream 85 may be heated , such as to a temperature of from 70 to 130 ° c . alternatively , the streams ( 80 a and 90 a in fig1 ) forming the combined stream 85 may be heated individually , before combining in the mixer 12 . in the clarifier 9 the combined stream 85 is separated , thereby obtaining a second solids - depleted overflow stream 100 and a solids - enriched underflow stream 110 . as shown in fig1 , the second solids - depleted overflow stream 100 of the clarifier 9 may be sent to the src 11 , whilst ( in the embodiment of fig1 all of ) the solids - enriched underflow stream 110 of the clarifier 9 is sent to the second clarifier 13 ( or a filter instead ) and contacted with solvent stream 190 . a part of the solids - enriched underflow stream 110 may be reused in the contacting in mixer 4 and combined with the first solids - enriched stream 40 and a part of the second solids - enriched underflow stream 110 may be combined with the solvent - diluted oil sand slurry 20 . in the src 11 , solvent is removed from the overflow 100 of the clarifier 9 thereby obtaining a bitumen - enriched stream 120 ; the solvent recovered in the src 11 may be recycled in the process , e . g . as a solvent stream 130 to the filter 7 . as mentioned above , at least a part ( and preferably all ) of the second solids - enriched stream 110 is sent to the second clarifier 13 and contacted with solvent 190 thereby obtaining a solvent - diluted second solids - enriched stream which is separated in the same clarifier ( or filter ) 13 , thereby obtaining a third solids - enriched stream 160 and a third solids - depleted stream 170 . the solvent stream 190 may be fresh solvent or a stream recycled form the process , such as part of stream 90 . as shown as optional in fig1 , the second solids - enriched stream 110 may be sent to the ( optional ) mixer 15 first , to mix it with e . g . all or part of stream 190 before the resulting stream is fed to the second clarifier 13 . the third solids - enriched stream 160 obtained in the clarifier 13 is subsequently dried in dryer 14 thereby obtaining a dried third solids - enriched stream 180 . the dried third solids - enriched stream 180 typically comprises from 30 to 95 wt . % bitumen ( wherein the bitumen contains at least 75 wt . % asphaltenes ) and at most 40 . 0 wt . % mineral solids . preferably , at least 80 wt . % of the mineral solids in the stream 180 has a maximum particle size of at most 2 . 0 mm . further , the stream 180 comprises less than 5 . 0 wt . % of an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent . the person skilled in the art will readily understand that many modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention . as mere examples , at least a part of the second solids - enriched stream 110 obtained during step ( e ) in the clarifier 9 may be reused in the filter 7 . also , a part of the second solids - enriched stream 110 may be combined with the solvent - diluted oil sand slurry 20 obtained in step ( b ) and subsequently fed into the solid / liquid separator 5 . | 2 |
fig1 and 2 illustrate the coupling assembly 10 of the present invention for rigidly connecting confronting ends of two conduit members . basic or primary components of the coupling assembly include a threaded flange or first coupling member 14 , a lock nut group or second coupling member 12 , a standard flange 16 , an o - ring 18 positioned between a facing surface of the standard flange and a facing surface of the threaded flange , and a rigid connecting means or flat washer 20 that is positioned at the interface between the lock nut group and the standard flange . assembly of the coupling assembly includes placement of the flat washer 20 within the lock nut group and alignment with the opening of the lock nut group , and positioning the lock nut group over the standard flange so that when assembled , the flat washer 20 is trapped between an exterior rib or shoulder 80 of the standard flange and an interior shoulder 45 of the nut body 44 , as further discussed below . the o - ring 18 is received within an annular groove or recess 76 ( fig6 ) formed on facing surface 74 of the threaded flange . the facing surface 82 of the standard flange ( fig7 ) compresses the o - ring 18 as the lock nut group is drawn toward the threaded flange by rotating the lock nut group in the locking direction by engagement of interior threads 56 of the lock nut group with exterior threads 72 of the threaded flange . in the locked position , the pair of slots or reliefs 40 formed on the peripheral edge of the lock nut group 12 align with and engage the projections or tabs 66 formed on the rim or peripheral edge of the threaded flange . now referring to fig3 and 4 , the lock nut group 12 is illustrated . the lock ring 30 is characterized by an outer rim 32 that may be roughened or knurled , a rim extension 33 that extends axially away from the outer rim 32 , and one or more notches or reliefs 40 that engage corresponding projections or tabs 66 on the threaded flange when the coupling is in the locked position . additionally , the interior surface of the lock ring includes one or more keys or projections 38 that align with corresponding key ways or slots 48 formed on the outer rim 46 of the lock nut 44 . the nut body is inserted coaxially within the lock ring so that the keys and key ways are aligned . the key ways 48 allow relative axial displacement of the lock nut with respect to the nut body , but prevent relative rotational movement between the lock ring and nut body . lock ring 30 is attached to nut body 44 as by a split retainer 60 that is received within an annular slot or groove 34 formed on the interior surface of the lock ring 30 . the split retainer 60 is reduced in circumference by first closing the ends 61 towards one another , placing the split retainer 60 within the groove 34 , and then releasing the ends 61 whereby the split retainer returns to its undeformed state with an enlarged circumference and thereby being held within the groove 34 . the structure of the nut body 44 is further characterized as including an interior shoulder 50 , an exterior shoulder 52 , and an axial extension 54 interconnecting the interior and exterior shoulders . the inner surface of the nut group includes threads 56 which are threaded over the exterior threads 72 of the threaded flange , as further discussed below . a biasing member , shown in the preferred embodiment as a wave spring 58 , is provided for biased relative axial displacement between the lock ring and nut body . prior to inserting the nut body in the lock ring , the wave spring is positioned over the extension 54 . referring to fig4 , when the lock nut group is assembled , the spring 58 is maintained in the gap or space between the lock ring and the nut body . this gap or space is delimited annularly by the extension 54 and the interior surface 36 of the lock ring . this gap or space is delimited axially by the split retainer 60 and by the interior shoulder 50 . thus in the arrangement shown in fig4 , biased axial movement is allowed between the lock ring and nut body to the extent that the spring 58 can be compressed and decompressed in the gap or space , yet relative rotational movement of the lock ring and nut body are prevented by the key and key way arrangement . now referring to fig5 and 6 , the particular configuration of the threaded flange is illustrated . the threaded flange 14 is characterized by a protruding rim 64 , and one or more projection tabs 66 which are spaced from one another in the same spacing as the notches 40 . in the preferred embodiment as shown , a pair of tabs and notches are present . the tabs and notches are spaced from one another approximately 180 degrees . a sleeve 68 extends axially from the rim 64 in one direction , and external threads 72 extend from the rim 64 in the opposite axial direction . the interior surface of the sleeve 68 includes a plurality of swaging grooves 70 , and the first conduit 22 preferably attached to the threaded flange as by a swaging operation wherein the free end of the conduit member is swaged with respect to the interior surface of the sleeve 68 . the threaded flange 14 further includes a facing surface 74 , and an annular groove or slot 76 that is formed on the face 74 . the annular groove 76 is sized to receive the o - ring 18 . now referring to fig7 and 8 , the standard flange 16 is illustrated . the standard flange 16 includes a rib 80 , a contact face or surface 82 , and a sleeve 84 . the interior surface of the standard flange also preferably includes swaging grooves 86 wherein the free end of the second conduit member 24 is preferably swaged with respect to the interior surface of the sleeve 84 . now referring to fig9 and 10 , the coupling assembly is illustrated when assembled . fig9 more specifically illustrates the lock nut group threaded over the threads of the threaded flange , but the lock ring has not yet snap fit into the locked position , thus , some gap g exists between the facing surface of the rim extension 33 and the tabs 66 . accordingly , the spring is still compressed in the gap or space between the nut body and the lock ring . as also shown , the flat washer 20 is trapped between the exterior shoulder 17 of the standard flange and the interior shoulder 45 of the nut body . the o - ring 18 is positioned in the annular groove 76 of the threaded flange , and the facing surface 82 of the standard flange fits in the annular groove and compresses the o - ring thereby creating a leak proof seal . referring to fig1 , the lock ring has been displaced by the force from the spring 58 so that the notches 40 are engaged with the respective tabs 66 . fig1 also illustrates the coupling in the locked position . the exterior threads 72 on the threaded flange and the interior threads 56 on the nut body are clocked so that a desired number of rotations of the lock nut group allows the notches 40 to snap fit in engagement with the tabs 66 . because of the biased arrangement between the lock ring and nut body , as the lock nut group is screwed over the threads of the threaded flange , there will be a distinct clicking sound once the notches 40 engage the tabs 66 . this audible indication allows the user to know that the lock nut group has now been placed in a locking relationship . in addition to this audible sound , an indicator stripe ( not shown ) in the form of a florescent colored annular marking may be placed around the portion of the peripheral surface of the rim 64 that becomes covered by the lock ring when the coupling is placed in the locked position . thus when the indicator stripe or marking disappears , this indicates to a user that the coupling is locked and ready for operation . as can also be seen in fig9 and 10 , the rigid nature of the attachment between the conduit members is further enhanced by the close tolerance fit between the peripheral outer edge or surface 81 of the standard flange with respect to the inner circumferential facing edge 73 . it is also apparent from fig9 and 10 that there is substantial continuous contact between the components of the coupling assembly which bypass the o - ring thereby providing an electrically conductive path that eliminates electrostatic potential between the conduit members . the path is defined by contact of the standard flange with the flat washer 20 , contact of the flat washer with the lock nut group , and contact of the lock nut group with the standard flange by the threaded arrangement . although the o - ring 18 provides a seal between the standard flange and the threaded flange , metal to metal contact is still achieved across this sealed interface by the electrical conductive path , thereby eliminating the need for an externally mounted bonding strap that is typically used to maintain electrical continuity . when it is desired to unlock the coupling assembly , the lock ring is pulled axially away from the rim 64 of the threaded flange by grasping the outer rim 32 , and then the lock nut group is rotated in an unlocking direction thereby unscrewing the lock nut group from the threaded flange . the coupling assembly of the present invention provides a reliable and structurally stable connection . the connection is rigid thereby eliminating the need for support hangars at or adjacent the coupling . the coupling is easily installed and requires no bonding strap . the coupling assembly is easily maintained because it can be disassembled down to a component level for inspection and for component replacement as necessary . the present invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment ; however , other changes and modifications can be made to the invention within the scope of the claims appended hereto . | 5 |
reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention , an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts . fig1 - 7 illustrate suspenders 10 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . suspender straps 12 , 13 and 14 are attached to junction member 15 . strap 12 can be attached to or threaded through ring 16 on side 17 of junction member 15 . straps 13 and 14 can be attached to or threaded through ring 18 on side 19 of junction member 15 . ends 22 , 23 and 24 of respective straps 12 , 13 and 14 can be coupled to respective straps 12 , 13 and 14 for example by sewing as shown in fig2 . ends 25 and 26 of respective straps 13 and 14 can be doubled over respective straps 13 and 14 and secured with buckles 27 . buckles 27 can be adjusted along the length of respective straps 13 and 14 for adjusting the length of straps 13 and 14 . buckles 27 include buckle coupler 29 for contacting respective straps 13 and 14 after adjustment of the desired length of respective straps 13 and 14 as shown in fig3 . fastener members 30 a - 30 c can be formed as clip 31 . fastener member 30 a can be attached to end 32 of strap 12 as shown in fig4 and 5 . fastener member 30 b can be attached to end 33 of strap 13 . fastener member 30 c can be attached to end 34 of strap 14 . fastener members 30 a - 30 c can include fastener ring 35 . respective ends 32 , 33 and 34 are threaded through fastener ring 35 of respective fastener members 30 a - 30 c and are attached to respective straps 12 , 13 and 14 for example by sewing . clip 31 includes clip members 36 , 37 coupled to one another with bias member 38 as shown in fig1 . clip members 36 , 37 can be opened by pressing on bias member 38 to move clip members 36 , 37 away from one another . clip members 36 , 37 can be closed by releasing bias member 38 . fig8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of suspender system 40 in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . suspender system 40 includes suspenders 10 and attachment member 50 . attachment member 50 can include coupling ring 52 coupled or integral with attachment ring 54 as shown in fig1 - 12 . coupling ring 52 can have for example a circular or elliptical shape . attachment ring 54 can have , for example , a circular or elliptical shape . coupling ring 52 can have a diameter d 1 which is larger than diameter d 2 of attachment ring 54 as shown in fig1 . for example , diameter d 1 can be in the range of about 0 . 50 to about 0 . 75 inches . for example , diameter d 2 can be in the range of about 0 . 125 to about 0 . 25 inches . coupling ring 52 can be removably coupled to fastener member 30 as shown in fig1 . attachment ring 54 is attached to waistband 62 of garment 60 . attachment ring 54 can be sewn to waistband 62 with stitches 64 at a position beneath top 63 of waistband 62 . attachment ring 54 can be attached to inner surface 65 of waistband 62 . alternatively , attachment ring 54 can be stapled or sewn to waistband 62 . for example , garment 60 can be pants , trousers , shorts or a skirt . height h 1 of coupling ring 52 is selected to allow coupling ring 52 to be a predetermined distance from attachment ring 54 to allow edge 72 of garment 70 to be tucked around fastener member 30 between fastener member 30 and coupling ring 52 . for example , height h 1 can be in the range of about 1 . 0 to about 2 . 0 inches . for example , garment 70 can be a shirt or a blouse . fig1 is a schematic diagram of suspender system 80 in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . suspender system 80 includes suspenders 10 and attachment member 82 . attachment member 82 includes attachment rod 84 , that is removable . attachment rod 84 has length l 1 which is sufficient to removably attach fastener member 30 . attachment rod member 85 positioned at end 86 is integral with attachment rod 84 . attachment rod member 87 positioned at end 88 is integral with attachment rod 84 . attachment rod member 85 and attachment rod member 87 can be attached to inner surface 65 of waistband 62 . attachment rod member 85 and attachment rod member 87 can be pinned to waistband 62 . alternatively , attachment rod member 85 and attachment rod member 87 can be pinned or stapled to waistband 62 . height h 2 of fastener member 30 is selected to allow edge 72 of garment 70 to be tucked around attachment member 82 between fastener member 30 , between fastener member 30 and attachment member 82 and over waistband 62 . for example , height h 2 can be in the range of about 1 . 0 to about 1 . 5 inches . fig1 is a schematic diagram of suspender system 90 in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . suspender system 90 includes suspenders 100 and attachment member 92 . suspenders 100 can be the same as suspenders 10 except fastener member 30 is replaced with fastener member 110 . fastener member 110 includes coupling member 112 attaching to fastener ring 113 . coupling extension 114 extends from coupling member 112 . coupling extension 114 include flange 115 and flange 116 . flange 115 includes curvature 117 and flange 116 includes curvature 118 for forming opening 119 . coupling section 120 extends below opening 119 . attachment member 92 includes attachment rod 94 . coupling nut 93 is attached to attachment rod 94 . for example , coupling nut 93 can have a hexagonal shape . coupling nut 93 can be received within opening 119 . coupling nut 93 can be slidably moved into coupling section 120 between flanges 115 and 116 forming a track for removably coupling fastener 110 to attachment member 92 . attachment rod member 95 is positioned at end 96 of attachment rod 94 . attachment rod member 97 is positioned at end 98 of attachment rod 94 . attachment rod member 95 and attachment rod member 97 can be pinned to inner surface 65 of waistband 62 . attachment rod member 95 and attachment rod member 97 can be pinned to waistband 62 . height h 3 of fastener member 110 is selected to allow edge 72 of garment 70 to be tucked around attachment member 92 between fastener member 110 and attachment member 92 . for example , height h 3 can be in the range of about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 0 inches . fig1 is a schematic diagram of suspender system 120 in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . suspender system 120 includes suspenders 121 and attachment member 122 . suspenders 121 can be the same as suspenders 10 except fastener member 30 is replaced with fastener member 130 . fastener member 130 includes coupling member 132 attached or integral with fastener ring 135 . fastener ring 135 attaches to respective suspenders 12 , 13 , and 14 . coupling extension 134 extends from coupling member 132 . coupling extension 134 includes opening 136 . attachment member 122 includes button 123 . button 123 can be sewn to waistband 62 with stitches 125 . button 123 can be received within opening 136 of coupling extension 134 . button 123 can be slidably moved toward coupling section 137 of coupling member 132 for removably to fastener member 130 to attachment member 122 . height h 4 of fastener member 130 is selected to allow edge 72 of garment 70 to be tucked around attachment member 122 between fastener member 130 and attachment member 122 . for example , height h 4 can be in the range of about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 0 inches . fig1 is a schematic diagram of suspender system 200 in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . suspender system 200 includes suspenders 10 and attachment member 202 . attachment member 202 has a length l 1 which is sufficient to removably attach fastener member 30 . end 204 of attachment member 202 can be sewn to waistband 62 with stitches 205 . attachment member 202 can be formed of cloth . alternatively , attachment member 202 can be glued or stapled to waistband 62 . height h 2 of fastener member 30 is selected to allow edge 72 of garment 70 to be tucked around attachment member 202 between fastener member 30 , between fastener member 30 and attachment member 202 and over waistband 62 . for example , height h 2 can be in the range of about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 0 inches . a kit can be formed of suspenders 10 along with a plurality of attachment members 50 . during use , straps 13 and 14 are placed over the shoulders of a wearer and are positioned at the front and strap 12 is positioned at the rear of the wearer . buckles 27 are adjusted for adjusting the length of straps 13 and 14 . a pair of attachment members 50 are attached to garment 60 at a distance from one another on a front or side surface of garment 60 . a third attachment member 50 is attached at a rear of garment 60 . each of fasteners 30 a , 30 b and 30 c are opened to receive a respective coupling ring 52 . each of fastener members 30 a , 30 b , and 30 c are closed after receiving coupling ring 52 . alternatively , the kit can be formed of suspenders 10 along with a plurality of attachment members 82 . for example , the kit can contain 15 attachment members 82 for attaching to five garments . alternatively , the kit can be formed of suspenders 100 along with a plurality of attachment members 92 . for example , the kit can contain 15 attachment members 92 . alternatively , the kit can be formed of suspenders 120 and a plurality of attachment members 122 . alternatively , the kit can be formed of suspenders 10 along with a plurality of attachment members 202 . fig1 a is a schematic diagram of suspender system 220 in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . all of the features of suspender system 220 are the same as suspender system 120 , except for button 123 . in suspender system 220 , instead of button 123 , the system uses no - sew button stud 124 that consists of two parts ; female head 125 and male insert 126 . female head 125 is positioned adjacent inner surface 140 of coupling member 132 . no - sew button stud 124 can be connected by piercing the pants material to create an opening for insertion of no - sew button stud 124 . in this configuration , the shirt tail can be positioned over no - sew button stud 124 . coupling member 132 and fastener member 130 can be then placed over garment 70 and pressed down over the material and then over no - sew button stud 124 , using opening 136 . no - sew button 124 can be slidably moved toward coupling section 137 to secure garment 70 material in place . coupling section 137 includes opening 138 which has a smaller diameter than female head 125 of no - sew button stud 124 . fig1 b is a schematic diagram of suspender system 220 in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . in this embodiment , female head 125 is position adjacent outer surface 142 of coupling member 132 . it is to be understood that the above - described embodiments are illustrative of only a few of the many possible specific embodiments , which can represent applications of the principles of the invention . numerous and varied other arrangements can be readily devised in accordance with these principles by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
fig1 is a schematic view of a wind turbine system 10 . the wind turbine may include a tower 12 mounted on a base 14 and capped with a wind turbine 16 having a plurality of large blades 18 . wind turns the blades which drive the generator . the pitch of the blades of the wind turbine may be adjusted by a conventional gearing device . fig2 is a high level block diagram of certain components of the wind turbine 10 . the generator 20 includes a rotor that is rotationally driven by a shaft 21 turned by the blades of the wind turbine . electrical power from the generator is transferred through a connector 22 to a generator converter 24 . the generator converter 24 may be coupled to a utility grid power converter 25 that is in turn coupled to a power grid 26 is a conventional manner . the utility grid power converter may be mounted on the ground near the wind turbine base 14 and serve one or more wind turbines 10 . the exciter 31 for the rotor of the generator may be driven by an uninterruptible power supply ( ups ) 33 , to ensure that the exciter is powered during a grid power loss . alternatively , the generator may be a permanent magnet generator ( pmg ) which does not require a powered exciter . a controller 28 monitors and controls the wind turbine . the controller includes a grid loss detector 29 that monitors the power grid 26 and detects when a power loss occurs on the grid . a power loss may be indicated by an undervoltage condition in the grid or an out of frequency condition in the grid . a power loss rapidly reduces the power load on the generator and on the wind turbine . when a grid loss is detected , the controller switches the connector 22 to couple the dump load resistor 32 to the generator 20 and generator converter 24 . the controller may also command the gearing of the wind turbine to adjust the blade pitch so as to reduce the rotational speed of the wind turbine . further , the controller may activate the connector 22 to couple to the generator . another energy storage load 30 , such as a fly wheel , battery or other storage device . connecting the dump load resistor occurs fast , e . g ., within 0 . 1 to 1 second . adjusting blade pitch and / or coupling another storage device is relatively slow , e . g ., 3 seconds to several minutes . the dump load resistor is connected to the connector 22 . the dump load resistor may be arranged in parallel to the converter and connected to an output of the generator . fig3 is a schematic diagram of the generator , converters , grid , dump load resistor 32 and the control circuits for the dump load resistor . the dump load resistor dissipates the power produced by the generator 20 . examples of dump load resistors are resistance wires wound around solid heat sinks , resistance elements in a water or other liquid heat sink or other heat dissipation device . the dump load resistor has a resistance comparable to the load applied to the generator 20 by the power grid . for example , the dump load resistor may have a rated capacity to adsorb power in the range of 1 , 000 to 4 , 000 kilo watts ( kw ) and more preferably about 3 , 000 kw . the dump load resistor 32 shown in fig3 is embodied as a 1 , 000 kw rated resistor 34 for each phase of a three - phase power output of a permanent magnet generator ( pmg ) 36 that is driven by a wind turbine . while the power grid 26 is connected , power from the pmg is transferred through a conventional full size generator converter 34 and a conventional full size grid converter 25 to convert the three - phase power from the pmg to three - phase power having the phasing , voltage and current suitable for the power grid 26 . a programmable logic circuit ( plc ) 42 , which may be the controller for the wind turbine , monitors the connection to the grid and detects a loss of the grid power load . when a grid loss is detected , the plc switches a thyristor bridge 44 to connect each of the dump load resistors 34 to one of the phases of the power output from the pmg 36 . the dump load resistors dissipate power from the pmg until the grid load is reconnected to the converters 38 , 40 , the wind turbine blade speed is reduced , or until an energy storage device ( not shown in fig3 ) is connected to the pmg and / or converters . impedance devices 46 , e . g ., filters and / or inductors , match the dump load resistor 32 to the three - phase output of the generator 36 . as shown in fig4 , the dump load of resistor 32 may be multiple banks of resistors 48 arranged in parallel . each resistor bank 48 may be a set of three 750 kw rated resistors for each phase of the pmg output . the plc controls when and which , if any , of the resistor banks 48 are connected to the pmg output . the total resistance of the bank of resistors may be controlled in real time or near real time , by the plc 42 to be the same as or comparable to the load being applied to the generator by generator converter as a result of the grid load . for example , if all resistor banks 48 are applied to the pmg output , the total dump resistor load would be rated to dispute 3 , 000 kw , assuming four resistor banks and each bank is formed of 750 kw rated resistors . the plc may apply one , two or three ( but less than all ) of the resistor banks 48 to apply a partial dump load to the pmg in the event that the grid load falls below predetermined load levels . for example , the plc may successively apply resistor banks to progressively increase the dump load as the grid load falls off towards total grid loss . the successive application of resistor banks allows a relatively smooth and gradual application of a dump resistor load . fig5 is an exemplary flow chart of a procedure for adjusting to a grid power loss . in step 60 , the wind turbine 10 generates power applied to the power grid 26 ( fig2 ). in particular , power produced by the generator is applied to the generator converter which transforms the power to a frequency , phasing and voltage level ( s ) suitable for use on the power grid . this transformation may be performed by a combination of the generator converter and utility power grid converter 25 ( fig2 ). the controller 28 , and particularly the grid loss detector 29 , monitors the power grid 26 such as by monitoring the frequency , phase and voltage levels on the connection between the converters 24 and / or 26 and the power grid 26 . the controller 28 adjust the total resistance of the dump load resistor 32 to match the load applied by the power grid . the controller may delay the adjustment of the controller , e . g ., by a minute , an hour or a day , to ensure that the resistor is not adjusted after a grid loss is detected . a grid loss occurs , in step 66 , such as by a sudden change in the frequency , phase or voltage levels in the load applied by the grid to the converters 24 , 25 . the controller 28 is programmed to determine that a grid loss has occurred when a predetermined condition arises , such as a sudden change in the frequency , phase or voltage levels in the load applied by the grid . the predetermined condition may indicate that a grid loss is imminent and need not be full loss of the grid load . in step 68 , the grid loss detector 29 detects the predetermined condition stored in the controller and the controller determines that a grid loss condition exists . upon detecting a grid loss , the dump load resistor is substantially immediately , e . g ., within 0 . 1 to 1 second , switched to be a load on the generator in step 70 . the dump load resistor is switched to be a load on the generator quickly so that no substantial forces are applied to the wind turbine as a result of the grid loss , including the application of excessive bending moments to the tower . the dump load can be switch to be a load for the generator substantially immediately and possibly before the grid load is fully lost . the controller may also reduce the wind turbine blade speed and / or switch to an energy storage device , in step 72 . adjusting the rotational speed of the turbine generally requires several minutes . an energy storage device may be a fly wheel 72 , for example , on the ground near the base of the wind turbine may store energy generated by the wind turbine so that it may be later reused . the dump load resistor may be configured so that energy is dissipated and not stored . however , relatively slow electromechanical switches , e . g ., relays , may connect the fly wheel to the connector 22 . during the delay in activating these relays , the dump load resistor 32 applies a load to the generator and thereby avoids applying excessive forces , e . g ., torques and bending moments , to the wind turbine . in step 74 , the blades of the wind turbine may also be decelerated or feathered in response to a grid load power loss . while the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment , but on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
task scheduling and automated task performance in printers are described herein . a printer allows one or more tasks to be scheduled for the printer . aside from tasks that are delayed print requests , these tasks are not the printing of documents in response to print requests received from computers . rather , they involve other maintenance and / or status - related operations . various types of tasks can be scheduled for the printer , and various rules can be established to define when the tasks should be performed . the printer maintains a record of these scheduled tasks and rules , and automatically performs the appropriate tasks at the appropriate times . [ 0016 ] fig1 illustrates an exemplary environment 100 in which the task scheduling and automated task performance in printers can be employed . in environment 100 , multiple ( m ) computing devices 102 are coupled to one or more of multiple ( n ) printers 104 via a network 106 and / or directly . network 106 is intended to represent any of a wide variety of conventional network topologies and types ( including wired and / or wireless networks ), employing any of a wide variety of conventional network protocols ( including public and / or proprietary protocols ). computing devices 102 can be any of a wide variety of conventional computing devices , including desktop pcs , workstations , server computers , internet appliances , gaming consoles , handheld pcs , cellular telephones , personal digital assistants ( pdas ), etc . computing devices 102 can be the same types of devices , or alternatively different types of devices . printers 104 can be any of a wide variety of imaging devices capable of generating a hard copy of data ( e . g ., received form one of computing devices 102 ). printers 104 can generate hard copies of data in any of a variety of manners , such as by using toner ( e . g ., in laser printers ), ink ( e . g ., in inkjet printers , bubblejet printers , dot matrix printers , etc . ), heat applied to heat - sensitive print media ( e . g ., thermal printers ), and so forth . printers 104 can be the same types of devices , or alternatively different types of devices . printers 104 may also incorporate additional functionality , for example , such as the ability to scan hard copies of documents and generate digital representations of such documents , send and / or receive data as a facsimile machine , and so forth . [ 0019 ] fig2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary printer 120 in additional detail . printer 120 can be any of printers 104 of fig1 . printer 120 includes several modules or components : a local i / o module 122 , a remote i / o module 124 , a print control module 126 , a calibration module 128 , a report module 130 , a diagnostic module 132 , a web server 134 , a time module 136 , a scheduling module 138 , and task scheduling data 140 . the modules and components in fig2 are exemplary only ; the exact components included in any particular computing device can vary based on the type of device . local i / o module 122 controls the local input of commands and / or data to printer 120 . in one implementation , printer 120 includes a display ( e . g ., led screen , lcd screen , etc .) via which prompts and information can be displayed to a local user of printer 120 ( e . g ., a user standing at printer 120 rather than accessing printer 120 via a network ), and an input mechanism ( e . g ., touchscreen , keypad , etc .) via which the local user can input commands and / or data to printer 120 . local i / o module 122 manages the displaying of such information or prompts , as well as the receipt of input commands and / or data and the routing of such inputs to the appropriate components of printer 120 . remote i / o module 124 manages communication between printer 120 and one or more remote devices ( e . g ., via network 106 of fig1 ). in the illustrated example , remote i / o module 124 includes a software component ( s ) that implements one or more commonly available network protocols , such as the well - known transmission control protocol / internet protocol ( tcp / ip ). by using commonly available network protocols , a wide variety of remote devices can communicate certain information to and receive certain information from printer 120 using well - known methodologies . for example , most computing devices have a browser that communicates with other devices via the well - known hypertext transport protocol ( http ) over tcp / ip . this browser can be used to access printer 120 via module 122 based on an identifier ( e . g ., the name , network address , uniform resource locator ( url ), etc .) of printer 120 . print control module 126 manages the printing of data by printer 120 in a conventional manner in order to generate a hard copy of the data . print requests can be received via a network ( e . g ., network 106 of fig1 ) and / or directly from client computing device 142 . one or more computing devices ( e . g ., device 142 of fig2 or any of computing devices 102 of fig1 ) can submit print requests to printer 120 . calibration module 128 performs calibration cycles for printer 120 . the exact nature of the calibration cycle can vary based on the type of printer ( e . g ., inkjet , laser , color , etc .) as well as on the manufacturer of the printer . in one implementation , for example , color inkjet printers are calibrated by printing lines ( or other shapes ) of each of the multiple colors and measuring the density of each color printed . based on these measured densities , the printer can readily determine what proportions of what inks to use in order to generate the various colors . such calibration cycles are well - known to those skilled in the art and thus will not be discussed further except as they pertain to the task scheduling and automated task performance in printers described herein . report module 130 generates status reports for printer 120 and communicates these status reports to the appropriate destination ( e . g ., via remote i / o module 124 ). the exact nature of these reports can vary based on the type of printer , the manufacturer of the printer , and the desires of the owner ( or administrator ) of the printer . examples of such reports include the number of pages that have been printed , the amount of ink or toner that has been used , an amount of time the printer was in ( or not in ) a power - save mode , whether any errors have occurred , etc . such status information can be generated in a variety of different manners that are well - known to those skilled in the art ; thus , this status monitoring will not be discussed further except as it pertains to the task scheduling and automated task performance in printers described herein . diagnostic module 132 performs one or more self - diagnostic tests for printer 120 . the exact nature of these tests can vary based on the type of printer as well as on the manufacturer of the printer . examples of such tests include testing network communications , testing memory in the printer , testing any mass storage devices ( e . g ., hard drives ) in the printer , testing the print mechanism , and so forth . such self - diagnostic tests are well - known to those skilled in the art and thus will not be discussed further except as they pertain to the task scheduling and automated task performance in printers described herein . web server 134 operates as a conventional web server ( e . g ., conforming to the http protocol ). a web browser 144 of client device 142 is able to access web server 134 and load content ( e . g ., web pages , javascripts , java applets , virtual basic scripts ( vbscripts ), etc .) from web server 134 . a conventional communication channel or connection can be established between web browser 144 and web server 134 via which such content can be transferred . in addition , information entered by a user to web browser 144 ( e . g ., data entry into fields of a web page , responses to queries from a javascript , etc .) can also be returned to web server 134 via this communication channel or connection . web server 134 , when accessed by web browser 144 , communicates task scheduling options to web browser 144 . these task scheduling options allow a user of web browser 144 to identify tasks to be scheduled as well as the rules to be followed in determining when to perform the tasks . in one implementation , these task scheduling options are presented to a user of web browser 144 as a web page ( e . g ., written in html ( hypertext markup language )). although printer 120 is discussed herein generally as using a web server 134 , printer 120 may alternatively employ other servers that conform to other public and / or proprietary protocols . such other protocol ( s ) would also be known to client device 142 , allowing components of device 142 to communicate with the server ( s ) of printer 120 . [ 0029 ] fig3 illustrates an exemplary printer task scheduling display 200 . display 200 is a web page communicated from web server 134 to web browser 144 . display 200 includes multiple buttons 202 identifying different tasks that can be selected by the user for scheduling , and a rule definition window 204 in which one or more rules for the different tasks can be defined . buttons 202 include a calibration button 206 to allow scheduling of calibration cycles , a self - diagnostic button 208 to allow scheduling of self - diagnostic tests , a reports button 210 to allow scheduling of reports , a delayed print jobs button 212 to allow scheduling of when delayed print jobs should be printed , and a power - save button 214 to allow scheduling of power - save operations . buttons 202 are exemplary only . in alternate embodiments , additional buttons representing additional tasks may also be included , and / or one or more of buttons 206 - 214 may not be included . additionally , it is to be appreciated that the layout of display 200 is exemplary only , and in alternate implementations may be organized differently . a user , such as a system administrator , can generate one or more rules for each of the different tasks . rule definition window 204 illustrates an exemplary display for creating a calibration scheduling rule . each rule can have one or more conditions that need to be satisfied in order for the task to be performed by the printer . in the illustrated example , two conditions can be set by the user : a time condition 216 , and a page count condition 218 . the user can select from different available time ranges from a pull down menu and can also select from different available page counts via a pull down menu . thus , the user is able to enter a rule that defines a particular time range ( e . g ., between 9 : 00 pm and 6 : 00 am ) and a threshold page count ( e . g ., greater than 75 pages ), so that if more than the threshold number of pages have been printed since the last calibration cycle , and the current time is within the defined range , the printer will perform a calibration cycle . once the user has completed entry of the rule , he or she can select the done button 220 , which returns an indication of the newly defined rule to web server 134 of fig2 . the user can define another rule by selecting another one of the buttons 202 , or another calibration rule by selecting button 206 again . once the user has scheduled all desired tasks , he or she can select the “ done scheduling ” button 222 , which closes display 200 . in the example of fig3 the logical operator “ and ” is assumed between the conditions 216 and 218 . alternatively , an additional logical operator value may be user - selectable in window 204 to allow the user to select which logical operator he or she desires . for example , the user may select from “ and ”, “ or , “ exclusive - or ( xor )”, etc . additionally , in the example of fig3 it is assumed that only a single type of calibration cycle exists for the printer so no particular type of calibration cycle need be defined in the rule . rather , the rule is simply associated with a “ calibration ” task , so scheduling module 138 knows to trigger calibration module 128 if the conditions of the rule are satisfied . however , if multiple types of calibration cycles exist for a printer , then which of those multiple types is also included as part of the rule ( e . g ., as a “ result ” portion of the rule ). it should be noted that rules can be defined using any of a wide variety of user interfaces . for example , rather than pull down menus , radio buttons may be used , check boxes may be used , data entry fields may be used , a default value may be listed and up / down arrows selected to increase / decrease the default value , and so forth . it should also be noted that multiple rules can be defined for the same task , and that no rules may be defined for some tasks . for example , the calibration task may have multiple rules defined ( e . g ., different threshold page counts for different times of the day ), while the reports task may have no rules defined . a wide variety of different conditions may be used in defining the rules for a particular task . table i illustrates exemplary tasks and conditions that may be scheduled for a printer 120 . multiple conditions are illustrated for each task — any one or more of these conditions may be used in defining a rule of the task ( but a rule need not include all of these conditions ), and different logical operators ( e . g ., and , or , etc .) may be employed in combining conditions . it is to be appreciated that table i is exemplary only , and that some implementations may not employ all of the tasks or conditions shown in table i , while other implementations may employ additional tasks or conditions . table i task conditions cali - date : a particular day ( s ) or date ( s ) on which the task should be bration performed . time : a particular time or time period during which the task should be performed . times may be tied to particular dates ( e . g ., to allow different behavior on weekends than on weekdays ). type : which of multiple types of calibration cycles should be performed . resource usage : an amount of a particular resource that should be used before performing the task ( e . g ., number of pages printed , or amount of ink or toner used ). criteria : other criteria in determining whether a calibration cycle should be performed ( e . g ., if a certain number of pages have been printed since the last calibration cycle and a big print job is about to begin then perform a calibration cycle , if a print job has been flagged ( e . g ., by the user ) as being of high importance then perform a calibration cycle before printing the job , whether to calibrate between pending print jobs ( e . g ., okay to calibrate if it &# 39 ; s the middle of the night or if they are delayed print jobs , but not otherwise ), etc .). self - date : a particular day ( s ) or date ( s ) on which the task should be diag - performed . nostic time : a particular time or time period during which the task should be performed . times may be tied to particular dates ( e . g ., to allow different behavior on weekends than on weekdays ). type : which of multiple types of self - diagnostic tests should be performed . results : what should be done with the results of the self - diagnostic test ( e . g ., print the results , email the results to a particular email address , log the results to nonvolatile storage ( e . g ., keep the results local and available for reporting at some later time ), etc .). what should be done with the results may also be conditional on what the results are ( e . g ., email results only if something sufficiently “ bad ” is detected ( exactly what is “ bad ⇄ can vary and be set as part of the condition ), such as sending an email to a system administrator if toner is low , if a motor in a print engine is detected as not functioning properly , etc .) reports date : a particular day ( s ) or date ( s ) on which the task should be performed . time : a particular time or time period during which the task should be performed . times may be tied to particular dates ( e . g ., to allow different behavior on weekends than on weekdays ). type : which of multiple pre - defined types of reports should be run . contents : what status information should be included in the report . results : what should be done with the results of the report ( e . g ., print the results , email the results to a particular email address , collect the results locally then print out all the results at a later time ( e . g ., collect usage reports daily and then print out the results at the end of the week , etc .)). delayed date : a particular day ( s ) or date ( s ) on which the task should be print performed . jobs time : a particular time or time period during which the task should be performed . times may be tied to particular dates ( e . g ., to allow different behavior on weekends than on weekdays ). parameters : what parameters of the print job should trigger delaying the print job ( e . g ., greater than a particular number of bytes , greater than a particular number of pages , from a particular user , a user request to delay the print job , etc .). criteria : other criteria for determining when to print the job ( e . g ., print delayed jobs from smallest to biggest , print delayed jobs in chronological order based on time the jobs are received , print the job only if there are enough consumables available to print the job ( e . g ., there may be insufficient cyan toner or ink for color print jobs , but sufficient black toner or ink to print black and white print jobs , so color print jobs would be delayed further but black and white print jobs would print ), etc .). power - date : a particular day ( s ) or date ( s ) on which the task should be save performed . time : a particular time or time period during which the task should be performed . times may be tied to particular dates ( e . g ., to allow different behavior on weekends than on weekdays ). type : which of multiple power - save modes should be entered . criteria : other criteria for determining whether to enter a power - save mode ( e . g ., could enter power - save mode only if no print jobs ( other than delayed print jobs ) are pending , or enter power - save mode only after all other tasks have been done ( e . g ., if there are three tasks to be performed at 9 : 00 pm and one of the tasks is enter power - save mode , then the enter power - save mode task should be the last of the three tasks to be performed ), etc .). thus , a wide variety of different tasks can be scheduled . for example , a task may be set up for large print jobs ( e . g ., greater than a threshold number of pages ) to be stored on a local hard disk and subsequently printed at a later time when the printer is anticipated to be less busy ( e . g ., after 9 : 00 pm ). by way of another example , a calibration cycle may be scheduled to occur if at least a threshold number of pages ( e . g ., 100 or 500 pages — the desired value for this number can vary by printer ) have been printed since the last calibration cycle and the current time is during a period of anticipated low use ( e . g ., between 9 : 00 pm and 6 : 00 am ). by way of yet another example , the printer may be scheduled to go into a power - save mode at 6 : 00 pm on weekdays and to come out of the power - save mode at 7 : 00 am on weekdays and perform a calibration cycle . by way of still another example , the printer may be scheduled to print a report of the day &# 39 ; s log at a particular time ( e . g ., 11 : 59 pm ) or prior to going into a power - save mode at the end of the day ( e . g ., after 6 : 00 pm ). by way of yet another example , the printer may be scheduled to email a report of the printer &# 39 ; s status at a particular time ( e . g ., 9 : 00 pm , 5 : 00 am , etc .). by way of another example , the printer may be scheduled to run a self - diagnostic test once per month ( e . g ., the first day of the month ). tasks may also be scheduled in other manners via web server 134 or alternatively other modules . for example , a proprietary printer task scheduling interface may be presented to the user locally at printer 120 ( e . g ., via local i / o module 122 ). this interface may take the same form as web pages ( e . g ., display 200 of fig3 ), or some other form . alternatively , local i / o module 122 may have associated therewith a web browser that can access web server 134 analogous to web browser 144 . by way of another example , the user may be able to input task scheduling requests along with submission of a print request to printer 120 . a print options menu may be displayed to the user via which the user can enter scheduling requests ( e . g ., to treat the print request as a delayed print job , or to print one copy of the requested document immediately but to treat remaining copies of the document to be printed as delayed print jobs ). returning to fig2 printer 120 includes task scheduling data 140 . the scheduled tasks ( the defined rules ) received by web server 134 are stored in task scheduling data 140 . when new tasks are scheduled , they may be added to task scheduling data 140 , or alternatively may operate to replace the current test scheduling data 140 . task scheduling data 140 may also be retrieved by web server 134 ( e . g ., in response to a request for a particular web page from web server 134 ) and incorporated into one or more web pages that can be communicated to web browser 144 . this allows the current scheduled tasks to be displayed to a user of client device 142 , or alternatively to a local user of printer 120 . [ 0038 ] fig4 illustrates an exemplary display 230 of current scheduled printer tasks for a printer ( e . g ., printer 120 ). display 230 is a web page communicated from web server 134 , analogous to the web page for display 200 of fig3 except that display 230 shows currently scheduled tasks . as illustrated , two tasks are currently scheduled for the printer : a calibration cycle to be performed between 8 : 00 pm and 6 : 00 am and if more than 50 pages have been printed since the last calibration cycle , and a report task for a system status report to be printed out at 6 : 00 am on the first weekday of every week . display 230 also includes a delete button 232 , a modify button 234 , and an add button 236 . a user can select ( e . g ., hi - light ) a task listed in display 230 and delete the selected task by selecting delete button 232 . a user can also select a task listed in display 230 and modify the task by selecting modify button 234 ( e . g ., bringing up a rule definition window analogous to window 204 of fig3 via which the user can change the conditions for the rule ). a user can also add a new task by selecting add button 236 ( e . g ., causing a web page for display 200 to be presented to the user ). indications of any modifications , deletions , or additions to the scheduled tasks via buttons 232 , 234 , and 236 are returned to web server 134 for storage in task scheduling data 140 . returning to fig2 printer 120 also includes a time module 136 and a scheduling module 138 . scheduling module 138 accesses task scheduling data 140 to determine which tasks are to be performed at what times , and informs the appropriate other modules of printer 120 of the particular tasks to be performed at the time they are to be performed . for example , if task scheduling data 140 indicates that it is currently time to perform a calibration cycle , then scheduling module 138 informs calibration module 128 to perform a calibration cycle . scheduling module 138 communicates any additional information to the modules that is needed to perform the desired task ( e . g ., which of multiple types of calibration cycles to perform if printer 120 supports multiple types of calibration cycles , which of multiple report types to generate if printer 120 supports multiple types of reports , which of multiple files stored on a local mass storage device to print ( e . g ., due to a delayed print job ), etc .). scheduling module 138 relies on knowing the approximate current time and / or current date ( depending on what conditions are set for the scheduled tasks ) in order to perform the scheduled tasks at the appropriate times . scheduling module 138 obtains this time and / or date data from time module 136 . time module 136 can operate in a wide variety of different manners . in one implementation , printer 120 includes an independently - powered ( e . g ., battery - powered ) clock component that allows time module 136 to keep track of the current time and date even though printer 120 may have been turned off , disconnected from its ac source ( e . g ., unplugged ), placed into a power - save mode , etc . alternatively , rather than adding an independently - powered clock to printer 120 , time module 136 may be configured to access a remote server 146 to obtain the current time and / or date . server 146 may be a dedicated time server whose sole responsibility is to provide the time and / or date to requesting client devices ( whether they be printers , computing devices , etc .). alternatively , server 146 may be a server ( such as a dynamic host configuration protocol ( dhcp ) server that assigns internet addresses to devices logging onto a tcp / ip network or some other server ) that has other responsibilities and simply provides the current time and / or date as part of those responsibilities . printer 120 may also include power saving features that allow the printer to go into a power - save ( low - power ) mode in order to conserve energy . however , even when in a power - save mode , scheduled tasks can still be performed . when a scheduled task needs to be performed and printer 120 is in a power - save mode , the printer comes out of its power - save mode as needed and scheduling module 138 has the appropriate tasks performed . once all scheduled tasks have been performed , scheduling module 138 may issue the appropriate commands to return printer 120 to its power - save mode ( alternatively , scheduling module 138 may not issue such commands , and simply leave printer 120 in its normal , non - power - save , mode ). it should be noted that printer 120 operates to bring itself out of the power - save mode ( as necessary ) to perform its own scheduled tasks — printer 120 need not rely on any external device to communicate a signal to printer 120 in order for it to bring itself out of the power - save mode . the exact manner in which printer 120 is brought out of a power - save mode or placed into a power - save mode depends on the nature of the power - save mode . in some printers the power - save mode shuts off power to only certain components of printer 120 , but keeps the controller or processor of printer 120 running . for example , in a laser printer the power - save mode may shut off power to the fuser , which is a high - energy component , but leave the processor running . in this situation , with scheduling module 138 implemented as software executed by the processor , scheduling module 138 , as well as time module 136 , is able to continue running and thus determine when scheduled tasks are to be performed . however , in other printers the power - save mode may shut off power to the controller or processor as well . in this situation , with scheduling module 138 implemented as software executed by the controller or processor , scheduling module 138 is not running when printer 120 is in a power - save mode . printer 120 however will also include one or more hardware components that sense when a request is communicated to printer 120 even though printer 120 is in a power - save mode . these hardware components can be modified to also bring the controller or processor out of its low - power mode ( e . g ., by issuing an interrupt ) at regular or irregular intervals ( e . g ., every 10 milliseconds , every second , every minute , etc .). alternatively , prior to going into power - save mode a check can be performed as to when the next scheduled task is to occur and the hardware components programmed to issue the next interrupt at the time ( or just prior to the time ) the next scheduled task is to occur . once out of its low - power mode , scheduling module 138 can check whether any scheduled tasks need to be performed , and have any such tasks performed . once any scheduled tasks that need to be performed are performed , or if no scheduled tasks need to be performed , scheduling module 138 can have the controller or processor returned to its low - power mode . in some embodiments , power - save mode can remove power from various components of the printer ( for example , the controller or processor , a stacker , a mail sorter , etc .). when a scheduled task is to be performed an interrupt is issued to the controller or processor that wakes up the controller or processor to perform the scheduled task . any other component that needs to be running to carry out the scheduled task is also brought out of power - save , but those components that do not need to be running are not brought out of power - save . for example , if a scheduled task were to generate and email a report then the controller or processor would need to be brought out of power - save but a fuser or mail sorter would not . but , if the scheduled task were to generate and print the report , then the controller and the fuser would need to be brought out of power - save but the mail sorter would not . [ 0048 ] fig5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 250 for scheduling printer tasks . process 250 may be performed in software , firmware , hardware , or combinations thereof . initially , a client device accesses a web server of a printer for which printer tasks are to be scheduled ( act 252 ). the web server returns , to the client device , one or more web pages including task scheduling options ( act 254 ). a user of the client device then enters task scheduling information to the web page ( e . g ., in the form of rules for the tasks being scheduled and an identifier of the task associated with each rule ) and the client device submits the task scheduling information to the web server ( act 256 ). it should be noted that , depending on the implementation , multiple communications may occur between the client device and the web server in acts 252 - 256 . upon receipt of the task scheduling information , the printer saves the task scheduling information ( act 258 ). [ 0050 ] fig6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 270 for performing scheduled tasks . process 270 is implemented by printer ( e . g ., printer 120 of fig2 ), and may be performed in software , firmware , hardware , or combinations thereof . initially , the printer checks whether a scheduled task is to be performed at the current time ( act 272 ). the printer wakes itself up ( brings itself out of a power - save mode as necessary ) in order to perform the check of act 272 . this check is made based on the task scheduling information saved at the printer , as well as the current time , the current date , and / or other conditions defined in the rules of the scheduling information . a check is made as to whether any of the rules in task scheduling data 140 have all of their conditions satisfied at the current time . if no scheduled task is to be performed at the current time , the printer waits for an amount of time ( act 274 ), then again checks whether a scheduled task is to be performed at the then current time ( act 272 ). however , if one or more scheduled tasks are to be performed the current time , then one of the scheduled tasks to be performed is identified ( act 276 ) and performed ( act 278 ). if multiple tasks are scheduled to be performed at the same time , the order in which printer 120 is to perform them can be determined in a variety of different manners ( e . g ., by a pre - determined ordering associated with the various tasks ( e . g ., self - diagnostic tests are performed before reports are generated ), in an order identified by the user that created the tasks , randomly , etc .). process 270 then returns to check whether a scheduled task is to be performed at the then current time ( act 272 ). [ 0053 ] fig7 illustrates portions of an exemplary device 300 in additional detail . device 300 can be , for example , a computing device 102 or printer 104 of fig1 or printer 120 of fig2 . device 300 includes a processor or controller 302 , a memory 304 , a remote i / o device ( s ) 306 , a local i / o device ( s ) 308 , and an optional mass storage device 310 , all coupled to a bus 312 . depending on the type of the device , various additional conventional components may also be typically included in device 300 ( e . g ., a printer will typically include a print engine , print media inputs and outputs , etc .). controller or processor 302 can be a general purpose microprocessor or a dedicated microcontroller ( e . g ., one or more application specific integrated circuits ( asics ) or programmable logic devices ( plds )). remote i / o device ( s ) 306 is one or more conventional interface devices allowing components of device 300 ( e . g ., controller 302 ) to communicate with other devices external to device 300 . remote i / o device ( s ) 306 may include , for example , a modem , a network interface card ( nic ), a parallel port , a serial port , a universal serial bus ( usb ) port , and so forth . local i / o device ( s ) 308 is an interface device allowing local commands and / or data to be input to and / or output from device 300 . local i / o device ( s ) 308 may include , for example , a display device ( e . g ., liquid crystal display ( lcd ), light emitting diode ( led ), etc . ), a keypad ( e . g ., alphanumeric or otherwise ), a touchscreen , a cursor control device ( e . g ., a trackpad , trackball , etc . ), print media handlers and printing components ( e . g ., ink or toner dispensers ), and so forth . bus 312 represents one or more buses in printer 300 , which may be implemented in accordance with public and / or proprietary protocols . the bus architecture can vary by printer as well as by manufacturer . mass storage device 310 is optional and represents any of a wide variety of conventional storage devices , such as fixed or removable magnetic or optical disks , flash memory , etc . memory 304 represents volatile and / or nonvolatile memory used to store instructions and data for use by controller or processor 302 . typically , instructions are stored on a mass storage device 310 ( or nonvolatile memory portion of memory 304 ) and loaded into a volatile memory portion of memory 304 for execution by controller or processor 302 . additional memory components may also be involved , such as cache memories internal or external to controller or processor 302 . various embodiments of the invention may be implemented , at different times , in any of a variety of computer readable media that is part of , or readable by , device 300 . for example , such computer readable media may be mass storage device 310 , memory 304 , a cache memory , media ( e . g ., a magnetic or optical disk ) accessible to device 300 , and so forth . device 300 is exemplary only . it is to be appreciated that additional components ( not shown ) can be included in device 300 and some components illustrated in device 300 need not be included . for example , additional processors or storage devices , additional i / o interfaces , and so forth may be included in device 300 , or mass storage device 310 may not be included . various discussions herein refer to components and modules that can be implemented in a printer or computing device . it is to be appreciated that the components and processes described herein can be implemented in software , firmware , hardware , or combinations thereof . by way of example , a programmable logic device ( pld ) or application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) could be configured or designed to implement various components and / or processes discussed herein . although the description above uses language that is specific to structural features and / or methodological acts , it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described . rather , the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the present invention . | 7 |
in fig1 there is shown a cross - sectional view of a mold 10 comprising a mold segment 12 , and a mold segment 14 . mold segments 12 and 14 are hinged together with a precision open / close mechanism 16 . when the mold 10 is closed , as shown in fig1 mold segment 12 and mold segment 14 together define a mold cavity in which an injection molded thermoplastic substrate 18 is disposed , and in which a mixture of liquid reactants is injected and reacted to form a molded component 20 which conforms with the remaining shape of the mold cavity that is not occupied by substrate 18 . mold segments 12 and 14 have complementary shaped faces 22 and 24 that mate with each other at a parting line 26 . substrate 18 has a contoured surface which conforms with mold cavity defining surfaces of mold segment 12 . in the illustrated embodiment , substrate 18 is a substantially flat panel or sheet , and mold segment 12 has a substantially flat surface conforming with the shape of substrate 18 . substrate 18 also has a peripheral flange 28 which has a shape conforming with the complementary shaped mating faces 22 and 24 of mold segments 14 and 12 , respectively . mating faces 22 and 24 define a parting line or plane that extends circumferentially around the mold cavity defined by mold segments 12 and 14 . peripheral flange 28 extends continuously in a circumferential loop into a small gap defined between mating faces 22 and 24 . as shown in greater detail in fig3 and 4 , peripheral flange 28 includes two continuous circuitous lips or ridges 30 and 32 that project from an upwardly facing surface 34 of substrate 18 . ridges 30 and 32 are integrally formed features of substrate 18 . ridges 30 and 32 define concentric continuous protuberances which circumscribe the mold cavity , and which are disposed within the small gap between mating faces 22 and 24 of mold segments 14 and 12 , respectively . as shown in the figures , ridges 30 and 32 have a continuously curved transverse profile , and more particularly , a semi - circular transverse profile . upon closing of mold 10 , as illustrated in fig3 mating face 24 of upper mold segment 12 engages ridges 30 and 32 , causing ridges 30 and 32 to become slightly deformed , i . e ., compressed and flattened at the apex thereof , whereby two concentric peripheral seals are developed between mold segment 14 and ridges 30 and 32 . this sealing mechanism redefines a sealed mold cavity between substrate 18 and mold segment 14 . in order to provide a suitable seal for preventing the reactant mixture injected into the mold cavity during the rim process , substrate 18 , and therefore integral ridges 30 and 32 , is made of a material that exhibits suitable compressibility and deformability to provide a sealing function . examples of suitable substrate materials that are capable of performing the required sealing function include various thermoplastic or elastomeric materials , such as thermoplastic olefins , rubber modified polypropylene , elastomer - modified polyurethanes , elastomer - modified polyamides , etc . the substrate materials may contain fillers and / or reinforcing materials such as fibers , along with other conventional additives . desirably , substrate 18 is a part having very precise dimensions to insure precise engagement with the mold segments and excellent sealing with the mold segments . while it is conceivable that other techniques may be employed for fabricating substrate 18 , injection molding provides a suitable technique for economically forming a substrate 18 having the required precise dimensions . in order to precisely locate substrate 18 within the mold cavity defined between mold segments 12 and 14 , substrate 18 is desirably formed with one or more locator features 36 which come into registry with a slot or recess 38 defined on the mold cavity defining surface of upper mold segment 12 . molded component 20 may be formed using generally any combination of liquid reactants suitable for reaction injection molding technique . the resulting component 20 may either be comprised of a substantially continuous solid material , or blowing agents may be introduced into the mold cavity along with the liquid reactants to form an expanded plastic material or foam having either open or closed cells containing a gas . during conventional rim processes a relatively precise quantity of liquid reactants is introduced into the mold cavity , with a small overage escaping along the parting line to form flash . in accordance with the principles of this invention , flash is prevented or significantly reduced by the sealing action of ridges 30 and / or 32 . accordingly , any excess liquid reactant injected into the mold cavity could result in high pressures that are sufficient to damage the mold . therefore , it is desirable to provide lower mold segment 14 with a pressure relief valve 40 that will prevent unacceptably high pressures from building up within the mold cavity . molded component 20 may be secured to substrate 18 during the rim process by development of adhesion between substrate 18 and component 20 during the rim process and / or by physical entrapment of protruding anchor features ( not shown ) integrally formed , or attached to , substrate 18 . in the illustrated embodiment , substrate 18 represents an acoustic barrier that is , for example , injection molded from a filled thermoplastic material having elastomeric properties , and component 20 represents a plastic foam sound absorbing or decoupling material , such as a polyurethane foam material . the resulting combination of acoustic barrier substrate 18 secured to foam material 20 is useful as an acoustic barrier system that may be installed as a unit on the passenger side of a metal wall separating an engine compartment from a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle . the invention allows foam component 20 to be formed on and secured to barrier substrate 18 without requiring any separate steps for attaching foam component 20 to barrier substrate 18 , and without requiring any steps for removing flash subsequent to reaction injection molding of component 20 . however , the illustrated embodiment only represents a particular useful application for the invention . other advantageous applications of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . the process of reaction injection molding a component on a substrate in accordance with the principles of this invention involves first positioning the substrate in the lower segment 14 such that the contoured surfaces of substrate 18 and the mold cavity defining surfaces of mold segment 14 are in conforming registry , and with the peripheral flanges of substrate 18 engaging the mating face 22 of mold segment 14 . thereafter , mold 10 is closed by pivoting mold segment 12 around open / close hinge mechanism 16 into the closed position shown in fig1 . this causes peripheral flange 28 , including ridges 30 and 32 , to become compressed . more specifically , engagement between mating face 24 of mold segment 12 causes ridges 30 and 32 to become compressed and deform , whereby a sealing engagement is achieved between mating face 24 of mold segment 12 and ridges 30 and 32 . after the mold cavity has been sealed by engagement between mating face 22 and ridges 30 and 32 , a mixture of liquid reactants is injected into the mold cavity and allowed to polymerize to form molded component 20 which conforms with the shape of the mold cavity . the mold is then opened and the composite article comprising the molded component 20 and substrate 18 is removed . while the invention is particularly well suited for reaction injection molding processes , the processes of this invention may be employed in other applications in which a component is molded ( shaped in a mold cavity ) on a substrate . the above description is considered that of the preferred embodiments only . modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the invention . therefore , it is understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the invention , which is defined by the following claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law , including the doctrine of equivalents . | 1 |
fig1 shows in perspective and in interrupted form , a cathode according to the invention with its driving system and a broken away view of its enclosure . the central part of the cathode 1 is a hollow , elongated structure 2 , shown here with a vertical axis , in this case the hollow structure 2 is cylindrical but , without going beyond the scope of the invention , it could be non - circular . the hollow structure 2 is surrounded by a magnetic confinement circuit 3 , which therefore extends entirely externally of the structure 2 . the only interruption of the magnetic circuit is the air gap 4 , which extends between the pole pieces 5 arranged along the axis of the hollow structure 2 from the top to the bottom of said structure . the lateral surface of the hollow structure 2 is made from the metal to be sputtered . the lateral surface portion of the hollow structure positioned facing the air gap 4 separating the pole pieces 5 forms the &# 34 ; target &# 34 ; 6 of the cathode 1 . the cathode 1 is shown as vertically installed within a vacuum chamber , the upper wall 7 and lower wall 8 of said chamber being only partially shown , the air gap 4 being parallel to the ( not shown ) substrate travel plane . the magnetic confinement circuit 3 of the cathode 1 according to the invention is fixed in the vacuum chamber 7 , 8 by known fixing means and independently of the hollow rotary structure 2 . one of the end faces 9 of the hollow structure 2 is fixed to the floor 8 by means of a roller plate 10 , which enables it to rotate about its own axis and isolates it from the enclosure 7 , 8 . the other end face 11 has a neck 12 to which is fixed a flange 13 by which the hollow rotary structure 2 is integral with a hollow driving shaft 14 . the latter extends through a rotary passage 15 made in the upper wall 7 of the enclosure 7 , 8 . insulating means 16 electrically insulate the body of the passage 15 and the shaft 14 . gears 17 for transmitting a rotary torque are installed between the driving shaft 14 and the driving motor 18 for rotating the hollow rotary structure 2 . the driving shaft 14 and the axis of the hollow rotary structure 2 are traversed lengthwise by pipes 19 , 20 ( arranged coaxially in fig1 ) which communicate with the internal volume of the hollow structure 2 . one of the pipes 19 , 20 introduces cooling fluid while the other withdraws the cooling fluid . as can be seen in fig2 it is thus possible to pass into the structure 2 , during the operation thereof , a considerable cooling fluid flow . this fluid is advantageously water . the cooling fluid flow does not encounter any obstacle within the structure 2 , which permits a particularly vigorous cooling , which cannot be obtained with conventional cathode types with an equivalent power level . the liquid inlet and outlet , as well as the driving system 17 , 18 are located at the same end face 11 of the hollow structure 2 , so that maintenance , recharging or replacement of the hollow structure 2 is particularly easy . the hollow structure 2 of the cathode according to the invention can thus be extracted without it being necessary to at the same time dismantle its magnetic confinement circuit 3 . in addition , the dimensions , and in particular the diameter , of the structure 2 are not limited by the need to leave sufficient space below the structure 2 for the magnets and other magnetic parts located in the interior ( as is conventional ). therefore the cathode 1 can be constructed so as to give preference to any one of its dimensional characteristics as a function of the sought aim . therefore the hollow structure 2 of the cathode according to the invention can be in the form of relatively small diameter bars , as well as large diameter cylinders for working with metals with a low melting point . by an accompanying modification of the shape of the pole pieces , it is also possible to use a hollow structure 2 in the form of a volume of revolution , whose generatrix is not straight and is instead a curved line adapted to the shape of non - planar substrates . the manufacture of such rotary hollow structures 2 can be done by using conventional methods , or alternatives thereto which can be of economic interest , such as investment casting , plasma atomization , sputtering and other known procedures . for certain applications , the roller plate 10 shown in fig1 can also be mounted on the same side as the rotary passage 15 , which facilitates dismantling and makes it possible to work in an overhanging manner , e . g . for reduced width atomization or sputtering , which increases the flexibility of production of certain sputtering lines . fig2 shows the cathode 1 in section along a plane perpendicular to its axis . the internal cavity of the hollow structure 2 in here entirely filled with a cooling fluid ( water in this case ) permanently supplied by the central pipe 19 . this water rises in the structure 2 , while cooling the walls and the back of the &# 34 ; target &# 34 ; zone 6 and without meeting any obstacle , and is then discharged coaxially by the pipe 20 , e . g ., by holes in the latter . the magnetic confinement circuit 3 is located entirely outside the volume of the hollow structure 2 and almost completely surrounds it up to the pole pieces 5 . the magnetic confinement circuit 3 is constituted by a central bar 21 on which are mounted permanent magnets 22 ( which could also be electromagnets ). at the end of the central bar 21 are fitted two legs of the circuit 23 carrying the pole pieces 5 oriented towards one another and between which extends the air gap . these pole pieces 5 have ends shaped like a wedge . the tip 24 of the wedge is directed towards the target 6 . the faces of the pole pieces 5 directed towards the air gap 4 are substantially planar and extend in a radial plane passing through the center of the structure 2 . this configuration gives the magnetic lines of force ( shown as dash lines ), a curvature substantially parallel to that of the target 6 and a uniform distribution , which is advantageous for a wide distribution of the erosion zone of the target 6 . a shielding electrode 26 is fitted in the immediate vicinity of the cathode 1 and is grounded . fig3 shows another cathode 27 according to the invention having a double projection plane . the cathode 27 has two cylindrical hollow structures 2 arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cathode 27 . the two rotary structures 2 are separated by a common magnetic bar 21 of the magnetic circuit 3 , and in which are inserted magnetic means 22 , in the present case permanent magnets . two magnetic branches 23 extend in opposition to one another from each end of the common bar 21 and substantially perpendicular to the latter . the resulting h - shaped assembly surrounds the two hollow structures 2 . pole pieces 5 are mounted at the free end of each magnetic branch 23 , pointing in the direction of the corresponding hollow structure 2 in such a way that the magnetic flux produced by the magnets 22 is symmetrically closed within the air gaps corresponding to the two targets 6 of the cathode 27 . the cathode 27 has the advantage of being able to simultaneously atomize in two planes and of having reduced overall dimensions compared with two separate cathodes having equivalent performance characteristics . fig4 shows another variant of the cathode according to the invention , in which two rotary structures 2 are juxtaposed in a common magnetic plane and project into the same plane . the magnetic circuit 3 here has the overall shape of a capital letter e . magnetic means 22 are arranged in the common bar 29 , which represents the stem of the e and are symmetrical with respect to the central branch 30 running between the two hollow rotary structures 2 of the cathode 28 . the fluxes produced by the magnetic means 22 respectively pass through the extreme branches of the circuit into the pole pieces 5 fixed to the branches 31 , traverse the air gap above each target 6 and return to the magnetic means 22 by the common central branch 30 , which has a larger cross - section in order to prevent saturation . the magnetic field force lines are inflected by the shape of the pole pieces 5 and substantially follow the curvature of the targets 2 . channels 32 completely traverse the parts of the magnetic circuit 3 . during the operation of the cathode , said channels 32 are traversed by a cooling fluid from a circuit separate from that used for the hollow structure 2 , so that the temperature of the magnetic circuit 3 can be controlled independently compared with that of the hollow structures 2 and the target 6 . as in the constructions shown in fig1 and 2 , the hollow structures 2 of the cathode 28 are traversed lengthwise by water circulated by central coaxial pipes 19 , 20 . fixing devices 33 join the pole pieces 5 to the magnetic branches 30 , 31 . if appropriate , these pole pieces 5 can easily be replaced for adoption of a new target or substrate profile . fig5 shows a constructional variant of a cathode according to the invention of the same type as that in fig4 but having asymmetrical pole pieces 34 , 35 . seen in profile , the magnetic circuit 3 has the general appearance of a capital letter e , the pole pieces 34 , 35 being located at the end of each branch , the branches 31 , 32 surrounding the two hollow structures 2 . the outer pole pieces 34 and the branches 31 supporting the same are over - dimensioned compared with the common central branch 30 and its pole piece 35 . this magnetic circuit configuration tends to deform the configuration of the force lines in the two air gaps 4 . thus , in a controlled manner , it is possible to permit the escape of a certain quantity of electrons confined in the air gap . fig6 shows an advantageous shape 36 of a rotary cathode according to the invention having a single hollow structure 2 and with a double sputtering plane . this cathode 36 has a hollow cylindrical structure 2 positioned centrally . a soft iron bridging member 37 having a rectangular cross - section horizontally subdivides in the diametral plane the internal volume 3 of the hollow structure 2 . the ends 38 of said bridging member 37 , kept stationary with respect to the cathode 36 , almost touch the inner face of the relatively rotating hollow structure 2 . on either side of the structure 2 are symmetrically arranged two portions 39 of elements forming the overall magnetic circuit 3 . these portions 39 are respectively shaped like a capital e and an inverted capital e . the median branches 40 of the portion 39 are aligned across the hollow structure 2 , facing the ends 38 of the bridging part 37 . the external branches 31 of each portion of the circuit 39 ( corresponding to the external branches of the e &# 39 ; s ) carry the pole pieces 5 . the points or tips of these pole pieces define , on either side of the hollow rotary structure 2 , two cylindrical arcs which are angularly displaced by 180 ° and which constitute the two targets 6 of the cathode 36 . on the two e - shaped portions 39 of the magnetic circuit , the stems have magnetic means 22 ( in this case electromagnets ) arranged in opposition , so as to bring about a circulation of two identical magnetic fluxes in parallel in the air gaps . for closing the circuit , said fluxes have a common part , namely the bridging member 37 . the presence of part 37 in no way reduces the heat dissipation in the hollow structure 2 and there is a considerable space gain compared with the use of two separate cathodes with equivalent performance characteristics . due to the presence of the bridging member 37 , water circulation can be had by pipes ( not shown ) in each of the chambers defined by the bridging member . fig7 and 8 show in section and in broken away form , another sputtering cathode according to the invention , whose hollow structure 2 is surrounded , with the exception of the cylindrical arc forming the target 6 , by a sheath 41 traversed by channels 42 in which circulates a cryogenic fluid ( such as liquid helium , nitrogen or freon ). this sheath 41 is made from a non - magnetic material and is designed so as to dissipate , by a radiative effect , a maximum amount of beat from the surface of the hollow structure 2 . as shown in fig7 and 8 , said sheath 41 can almost entirely fill the volume between the external magnetic circuit 3 and the hollow rotary structure 2 , or can be formed by a curved plate traversed by channels 42 ( or to which are joined channels ) arranged at a limited distance from the surface of the hollow structure 2 , with the exception of the target . the reduction of the temperature on the surface of the hollow structure 2 , together with the vigorous cooling obtained with the cathode , makes it possible to even atomize without difficulty metals having a low melting point . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that with in the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 7 |
the embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non - limiting embodiments and examples that are described and / or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following attached description . it should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale , and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize , even if not explicitly stated herein . descriptions of well - known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention . the examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention . accordingly , the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention , which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law . moreover , it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings . the invention sets forth an application of at least one fire retardant agent to some or all of the low temperature resistant sheath fibers , which surround and cover a high temperature resistant continuous multifilament fiberglass core , while in a fiber state . fig1 shows a greatly enlarged fragment of the balanced corespun yarn of the invention with a portion of the sheath revealed at one end thereof . referring to fig1 , the fire resistant balanced corespun yarn 100 , which may be knit or woven , may include a core of high temperature resistant continuous filament fiberglass 110 and a sheath of low temperature resistant staple fibers 120 which surround and cover the core 110 . although the core is described as fiberglass , it should be noted that other heat - stable materials could be used as the core . the fiberglass core 110 extends generally in an axial direction and longitudinally of the corespun yarn 100 , while the majority of the fibers of the sheath 120 extend in a slightly spiraled direction around the core 110 . a few of fibers of the sheath may form a binding wrapper around a majority of the staple fibers 130 . the core 110 may consist of a high temperature resistant continuous multifilament fiberglass , which constitutes about 20 % to 40 % of the total weight of the corespun yarn 100 . the sheath 120 may completely cover the core 110 and the yarn 100 will take on the characteristics of the fiber which forms the sheath 120 , such as the low temperature resistant staple fibers in this case . the sheath 120 may include low temperature resistant staple fibers , which constitutes about 80 % to 60 % of the total weight of the corespun yarn 100 and may consist of all or some fibers that are micro - coated with durable or non - durable fire retardant agents . the sheath 120 may also consist of fire retardant micro - coated fibers blended with other non - treated fibers or inherently fire retardant fibers to form the sheath 120 . the sheath 120 may include blends of natural occurring fibers , such as animal , vegetable , or mineral fibers , and or unnaturally occurring fibers , such as cotton , wool , polyester , modacrylic , nylon , rayon , lycocell , kenaf , hemp , jute , acetate , and blends thereof . the preferred low temperature resistant staple fibers 120 are cotton and polyester micro - coated with durable or non - durable fire retardant agents . the total practical size of the fine corespun yarn 100 is around 43 / 1 to 3 . 5 / 1 conventional cotton count . the invention describes a corespun yarn 100 that may be produced on a murata air jet spinning apparatus , as disclosed in one or more of u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 718 , 225 ; 4 , 551 , 887 ; and 4 , 497 , 167 . an air jet spinning apparatus may include an entrance trumpet for feeding the fire retardant chemically treated low temperature resistant sheath fibers 120 , one or more drafting rolls , feeding of the high temperature core fibers 110 between two or more drafting rolls , at least one fluid swirling air jet nozzle that may produce air jet spun yarn 100 without any appreciable twist , torque or liveliness , and a delivery roll assembly . the fire retardant agents applied to some or all of the fibers in the sheath 120 may include ammonium polyphosphate , graphite , boric acid , and or other mixtures , which may be applied in gaseous , liquid and or powder form . this invention may also involve a process for treating the sheath fibers with at least one fire retardant chemical or mixtures . fig2 shows a process for making fire retardant corespun yarn by treating the fibers used to make the sheath of the corespun yarn with a fire retardant agent . referring to fig2 , one or more fire retardant chemicals may be mixed together 210 and applied to the low temperature resistant staple fiber sheath 220 which may surround the high temperature resistant fiberglass core . the fire retardant chemicals may be applied 220 to the surface of the sheath fiber by mixing , spraying , rolling , and or brushing , or may be immersed in a fire retardant chemical solution before being dried 230 or allowed to dry . the fire retardant chemical agent or solution may include at least one of ammonium polyphosphate , graphite , boric acid , or other mixtures , and may be applied at least once and reapplied to the fiber as necessary . drying the chemically treated sheath fibers 230 may involve natural air drying as well as other drying methods as known in the industry . the process may further include blending other fibers with the treated fibers to create a sheath of treated and untreated fibers , and then covering the high temperature resistant core with the sheath of treated fibers to form a fire resistant corespun yarn 240 . the process may conclude with the making of a fire resistant fabric 250 which is then used in the manufacture of an end product 260 , such as a mattress , mattress topper , or other upholstery components . it should be noted that although the figures show a single core and a single sheath , these aspects are merely exemplary . it is within the scope and spirit of the invention to have multiple cores and / or multiple sheaths . the cores may be the same material or they may include different materials . similarly , the sheaths may be the same material or they may include different materials . while the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims . these examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs , embodiments , applications or modifications of the invention . | 8 |
in the following detailed description , it is referred to the accompanying drawings showing several examples of bone fixing systems according to the present disclosure . it is intended that these examples be considered as illustrative but not limiting , the scope of the invention being given by the accompanying claims . an example of bone fixing system is shown on fig1 . to 3 . the bone fixing system 10 is for fixing a rod 5 ( a portion of which is shown in fig1 , 3 and 15 ) to a bone ( see fig1 ), the bone may be , for instance , a lamina of a vertebra or a transverse process tp of a vertebra v , as shown in fig1 . a conformable elongate member 7 , such as a ligature , having a first free end portion 7 a , a second free end portion 7 b , and an intermediate portion 7 c therebetween , said intermediate portion 7 c being adapted to surround the bone ( e . g . the transverse process tp ); first fastening device or means for fastening a portion of the rod 5 to the main body 12 ; and second fastening device or means for fastening the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 to the main body 12 , said second fastening means being distinct from the first fastening means . the elongate member 7 may be any suitable material that is conformable such as a band , wire , or cord made of metal , a polymeric material , or a combination of the two . the second fastening means comprise a compression member 14 which is movable relative to the main body 12 , the compression member 14 and the main body 12 both defining clamping surfaces 14 c , 12 c , between which the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 may be inserted , said free end portions 7 a , 7 b being clamped between said clamping surfaces 12 c , 14 c by moving the compression member 14 relative to the main body 12 . the main body 12 is hollow , extends along a first axis z from its lower end to its upper end , and comprises : a main part 12 a with upwardly extending side walls 13 defining between them a first internal passage 20 extending along said first axis z and opening onto the outside of the main body 12 at its upper end ; and a bottom part 12 b located under the main part 12 a and provided with a second internal passage 22 extending through the entire thickness of the bottom part 12 b and communicating with the first internal passage 20 . the main body 12 further comprises third and fourth internal passages 43 , 44 through which the first and second free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 may be inserted respectively . each internal passage 43 ( 44 ) extends through the main body 12 , has two ends 4 43 b ( 44 a , 44 b ) and opens , at one end 43 a ( 44 a ), in front of the compression member 14 and , at the other end 43 b ( 44 b ), onto an outer face of the main body and , more precisely , onto a side face of the main body 12 . the third and fourth internal passages 43 , 44 form guiding means for the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 . in the example the third and fourth internal passages 43 , 44 extend , respectively , along third and fourth axis a , a ′, each of the third and fourth axis forming with respect to said first axis z an acute angle c which is preferably comprised between 0 and 70 . degree . thus , it is easier for the physician to pull on the ends 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 for tensioning it . on the other hand , the clamping surfaces 14 c , 12 c of the compression member 14 and of the main body 12 define between them fifth and sixth passages 53 , 54 extending , respectively , along fifth and sixth axis b , b ′, each of the fifth and sixth axis forming with respect to said first axis z an obtuse angle d . the compression member 14 is provided with a threaded hole 24 . said locking mechanism comprises a first screw 26 having a head 26 a and a shaft 26 b with an external thread . the screw shaft 26 b passes through the second internal passage 22 and the screw head 26 a has a profile 28 that allows the first screw 26 to be driven . in the example , the screw head 26 a is a socket head and , more particularly , a hex socket head which can be driven , for instance , by an allen key . when the first screw 26 is driven , the external thread of the shaft 26 b engages with the threaded hole 24 of the compression member 14 and the screw head 26 a bears on the upper face 12 d of the bottom part 12 b . thus , the clamping surfaces 14 c , 12 c are brought closer together and the end portions 7 a , 7 b are locked in position by clamping between the clamping surfaces 14 c , 12 c . turning now to the first fastening means for fastening a portion of the rod 5 to the main body 12 , openings 30 are provided in the side wails 13 ( see fig2 ), so that a portion of the rod 5 may be loaded into the main body 12 via said openings 30 , and a closure member 32 engages with the main body 12 so as to secure said portion of rod 5 to the main body . in the example , the main body 12 is provided with a first thread 13 b for engagement with a second thread 32 a provided on the closure member 32 , so that said portion of rod 5 may be clamped between the main body 12 and the closure member by threadably moving the closure member 32 relative to the main body 12 . more precisely , in the example , the rod portion is clamped between the edges 13 a of the side walls 13 delimiting the bottom of the openings 30 , and the lower face of the closure member 32 . in the example , the closure member 32 has an external thread 32 a engaging with an internal thread 13 b provided on the inner face of the side walls 13 . the closure member 32 further comprises a socket head 32 b for driving it in rotation . another example of bone fixing system is shown on fig4 . the bone fixing system 110 of fig4 differs from that of fig3 by the locking mechanism . in fig3 , the second internal passage 22 of the bottom part 12 b is provided with an internal thread 123 , and the compression member 114 has a protruding part 114 a forming said locking mechanism . said protruding part 114 a extends upwardly , has on its upper end a profile 128 that allows the compression member 114 to be driven in rotation , and is provided with an external thread 114 b engaging with said internal thread 123 . it should be noted that , e examples of fig1 - 4 , the bottom part 12 b of the main body 12 is integral with the main part 12 a of the main body 12 . this is not the case in the examples of fig5 - 7 . fig5 and 6 show another example of bone fixing system 210 differing from that of fig1 - 3 in that it comprises a main body 112 with a bottom part 212 b and a main part 212 a which are not integral with each other . in this example , the bottom part 212 b and the main part 212 a of the main body 212 are interconnected by a ball - and - socket connection . the main part 212 a comprises a bottom wall 250 , the bottom wall 250 being provided with a through hole 251 delimited by an upper edge 251 a . the ball - and - socket type connection comprises a second screw 252 having a head 252 a and a shaft 252 b . the screw shaft 252 b passes through said through hole 251 and through the second internal passage 222 . the screw head 252 a has a convex lower face 252 c bearing on said upper edge 251 a , and a profile that allows the second screw 252 to be driven . for instance , the screw head 252 a may be a hex - head or a socket - head . the screw head 252 a further has a concave upper face 252 d . when the rod 5 is locked in position by means of the first fastening means , the rod 5 leans against the concave upper face 252 d of the second screw 252 . more precisely , when the closure member 32 is screwed down , the closure member 32 pushes down on the rod 5 which in turn pushes down on the screw 252 until the convex lower face 252 c of the screw head 252 a leans against the upper edge 251 a of the through hole 251 . since the contact zones between the screw head 252 a and the upper edge 251 a and between the screw head 252 a and the rod 5 , are limited , the screw head 252 a is able to move with respect to the he main part 212 a of the main body 212 . the above structure is one example of a ball - and - socket type connection but other examples could be used . a ball - and - socket type connection allows a limited amount of relative movement between the bottom part 212 b and the main part 212 a of the main body 212 and , thus , between the bone and the rod 5 , thereby providing or improving the desired dynamic stabilizing effect . the bottom part 212 b is substantially the same as the bottom part 12 b of fig3 except for the screw head 226 a which has an outer driving profile 228 ( instead of the inner driving profile 28 ), and apart from the fact that the screw 226 is provided with an internal threaded hole 227 . the screw shaft 252 b , which has an external thread , passes through the second internal passage 222 and engages with the threaded hole 227 , so as to connect together the bottom part 212 b and the main part 212 a of the main body 212 . another example of bone fixing system 310 with a ball - and - socket type connection is shown on fig7 . in this example , the main part 312 a of the main body 312 and the second screw 352 are the same as those ( 212 a , 252 ) of fig6 , and the bottom part 312 b of the main body 312 is substantially the same as the bottom part 12 b of fig4 apart from the fact that the protruding part 314 a of the compression member 314 has an outer driving profile 328 instead of the inner driving profile 128 , and that the compression member 314 is provided with an internal threaded hole 327 . the screw shaft 352 b , which has an external thread , passes through the second internal passage 322 and engages with the threaded hole 327 , so as to connect together the bottom part 312 b and the main part 312 a of the main body 312 . in both examples of fig6 and 7 , the screw shaft 252 b , 352 b passes through the through hole 251 , 351 of the bottom wail 250 , 350 of the main part 212 a , 312 a and through the second internal passage 222 , 322 and engages with the compression member 214 , 314 . on fig7 , it engages directly with the compression member 314 , whereas on fig6 , it engages indirectly with the compression member 214 , via the screw 226 . other examples of bone fixing systems 410 , 510 , 610 , 710 , for fixing a bone to a rod 5 , are shown on fig8 to 13 . each of them comprises : a conformable elongate member 7 having a first free end portion 7 a , a second free end portion 7 b , and an intermediate portion 7 c therebetween , said intermediate portion 7 c being adapted to surround said bone ; first fastening device or means for fastening a portion of the rod 5 to the main body 412 , 512 , 612 , 712 ; and second fastening device or means for fastening the free end portions 7 b of the elongate member 7 to the main body 412 , 512 , 612 , 712 , said second fastening device or means being distinct from the first fastening device or means . in the systems of fig8 - 12 , the first fastening device or means for fastening a portion of the rod 5 to the main body 412 , 512 , 612 , are the same as those of fig1 - 4 and , therefore , do not need to be described again . in all the examples of fig8 - 13 , the second fastening means comprise a compression member which is movable relative to the main body 412 , 512 , 612 , the compression member and the main body both defining clamping surfaces between which the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 may be inserted , said free end portions being clamped between said clamping surfaces by moving the compression member relative to the main body . in the example of fig8 , the compression member 414 is provided with a thread 414 d for rotative engagement with another thread 412 a provided on the main body 412 , so that the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 may be clamped between a compression part 412 e of the main body 412 and the compression member 414 by threadably moving the compression member 414 relative to the main body 412 , in this example , the compression member 414 is a nut provided with an internal thread 414 d , and the main body 412 is provided with an external thread 412 a . when the compression member 414 is screwed or unscrewed , it moves closer or farther away from the compression part 412 e . a compression part 41 which is a flange protruding on the lateral faces of the main body 412 , and two internal passages 453 , 454 through which the first and second free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member may be inserted respectively , each of the third and fourth internal passages 453 , 454 extending through the main body , having two ends and opening , at one end , in front of the compression member 414 and , at the other end , onto an outer face of the main body 412 and , more precisely , onto the end face of the main body 412 which is opposite to the other end face receiving the rod 5 . when the compression member 414 is threadably engaged with the main body 412 , it moves closer or farther away from the compression part 412 e . in the example of fig9 , the compression member 514 is also a nut provided with an internal thread 514 d ( see fig1 ), and the main body 512 is also provided with an external thread 512 a , but in this case , the compression member 514 is not in direct contact with the elongate member 7 . indeed , the compression member 514 cooperates with two profiled rotating pieces 515 which are rotatably mounted ( around the axis r ) in recesses 512 i provided on the lateral faces of the main body 512 . when the compression member 514 moves along the main body 512 , it pushes the rotating pieces 515 in the recesses 512 i , and each free end portion 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member is clamped between a rotating piece 515 and the bottom wall of the recess 512 i . in the example of fig1 , the compression member 614 is a circlip and the main body has a peripheral groove 612 i for receiving the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member and the compression member 614 . the free end portions 7 a , 7 b are inserted and clamped between the bottom of the groove 612 i and the compression member 614 . the compression member 614 could also be a fastening collar . the peripheral groove 612 i may extend along the entire circumference of the main body 612 , or along a part of it . in the example of fig1 , the second fastening device or means comprise a screw 764 and a compression member 714 which is provided with a through hole 760 . the main body 712 of the bone fixing system 710 is provided with a threaded hole 762 aligned with said through hole 760 . the shaft 764 b of the screw 764 passes through said through hole 760 and is threadably engaged with the threaded hole 762 . the head 764 a of the screw 764 is intended to lean against the upper surface of the compression member 714 . the compression member 714 and the main body 712 both define clamping surfaces between which the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member may be inserted and clamped , said free end portions being clamped by screwing the screw 764 into the main body 712 . in the example of hg . 13 , the first fastening device or means comprise a seat part 766 for receiving a portion of the rod 5 , the seat part 766 facing the intermediate portion 7 c of the elongate member 7 , said portion of rod 5 being clamped between the seat part 766 and the intermediate portion 7 c of the elongate member by tightening the elongate member 7 ( i . e . by pulling on the free end portions 7 a , 7 b of the elongate member 7 ). preferably , the seat part 766 is a clip for holding the rod 5 . for instance , the seat part 766 is delimited by two open arms 763 with certain elasticity , said arms 763 partially surrounding the rod 5 . turning now to fig1 , the bone fixing system 10 of fig1 - 3 is shown in a tightened position around a vertebra v . more precisely , the intermediate portion 7 c of the elongate member 7 surrounds the transverse process tp of the vertebra . by pulling on the ends of the elongate member 7 , the compression member 14 of the system 10 comes into contact with the transverse process tp . the compression member 14 may be made in a soft material , order to avoid damaging the vertebra v and / or to allow a limited amount of relative movement between the vertebra v and the system 10 , and thus between the vertebra v and the rod 5 , thereby providing a dynamic stabilization effect , more particularly , compared to the material which makes up the main body 12 and which is preferably rigid , the material the compression member 14 is softer . in order to improve the cushioning effect and / or the dynamic stabilization effect , the compression member 14 ′ may be provided with at least one peripheral groove 19 ′ on its side faces . such a peripheral groove 19 ′ makes the deformation of the compression member 14 ′ easier and allows the member 14 ′ to bend laterally and to compress axially . thus a limited amount of relative movement ( including pivoting movement ) between the vertebra . v and the system 10 is allowed , as illustrated by the double arrow p on fig1 . | 0 |
terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to typical or dictionary meanings , but should be interpreted as having meanings and concepts , which comply with the technical spirit of the present invention , based on the principle that an inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term to describe his / her own invention in the best manner . therefore , configurations illustrated in the embodiments and the drawings described in the present specification are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical spirit of the present invention , and thus it is to be understood that various modified examples , which may replace the configurations , are possible when filing the present application . it is understood that the term “ vehicle ” or “ vehicular ” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles ( suv ), buses , trucks , various commercial vehicles , watercraft including a variety of boats and ships , aircraft , and the like , and includes hybrid vehicles , electric vehicles , plug - in hybrid electric vehicles , hydrogen - powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles ( e . g . fuels derived from resources other than petroleum ). as referred to herein , a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power , for example both gasoline - powered and electric - powered vehicles . the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . as used herein , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ” and “ the ” are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . 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 . as used herein , the term “ and / or ” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items . unless specifically stated or obvious from context , as used herein , the term “ about ” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art , for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean . “ about ” can be understood as within 10 %, 9 %, 8 %, 7 %, 6 %, 5 %, 4 %, 3 %, 2 %, 1 %, 0 . 5 %, 0 . 1 %, 0 . 05 %, or 0 . 01 % of the stated value . unless otherwise clear from the context , all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “ about ”. hereinafter , the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . the present invention is an application of a microscopic count method used for an analysis of a fiber content in a fiber product . further , according to the present invention , for the qualitative analysis of the pet and ptt fibers , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ( ft - ir ) and differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) are first used . in general , in the quantitative analysis in the related art , when fibers are different from each other in solubility in a drug in a state at which several kinds of fibers are mixed - spun , the weight percentage is obtained by dissolving each fiber in the drug , and then measuring the weight difference . however , in a case where different kinds of fibers are dissolved in the same drug , when it is observed that the shapes of the fibers are different on a microscope slide glass by using a microscope , the diameter thereof is measured in a circular shape of the fibers , and the cross - sectional area thereof is measured in a non - circular shape of the fiber . the fiber content is then analyzed by counting until the sum of the different kinds of fibers reaches 1 , 000 or more . however , in such a method , since the pet and ptt fibers are dissolved in the same drug , the forms observed with the naked eyes during the observation through a microscope are the same as each other . thus , there is a problem in that it is impossible to analyze the content thereof through the microscopic counting method in the related art . according to the present invention , pet and ptt fibers are observed in the cross polarization ( crossed nicol ) state of a polarized light microscope . in this state , fibers may be counted with the naked eyes through the difference in birefringence color by molecules of each fiber and crystal formation regardless of whether the fiber is dyed or not . in the case of a product in which other fibers are mixed - spun in addition to the pet and ptt fibers , the fiber content is calculated with the weight ratio of the other fibers by dissolving the other fibers using a drug . specifically , the method for measuring a fiber content according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a qualitative analysis step of indentifying whether pet and ptt fibers are present in a mixed - spun fiber ; and a quantitative analysis step of measuring the fiber content by a microscopic count through differences in color between pet and ptt fibers by birefringence in a cross polarization state of a polarized light microscope ( plm ). this method will be described in further detail below . the qualitative analysis step is a step that identifies whether pet and ptt fibers are present in a mixed - spun fiber product . in particular , the presence of the pet and ptt fibers may be identified by comparing the spectra and melting temperatures of the pet and ptt fibers using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ( ft - ir ) and differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) ( see fig2 to 4 ). the quantitative analysis step is a step that measures the fiber content by a microscopic count through difference in birefringence color between pet and ptt fibers placed on a slide glass for observation by utilizing a cross polarization observation mode of a polarized light microscope ( plm ) ( see fig5 to 7 ). in particular , the fiber content may be measured by observing the birefringence colors of pet and ptt fibers in a cross polarization observation mode of a polarized light microscope , measuring the diameter or cross - sectional area of each fiber , multiplying the obtained value with a specific weight to obtain an average weight of each kind of fiber , counting the number of fibers contained in the material and product , and multiplying the average weight with the count value of each fiber . according to an embodiment of the present invention , when the cross - sections of the fibers are circular , it is preferred that the fiber content is measured through the following equations 1 and 2 by measuring the diameter , the number and the like of each fiber . ( fiber content ptt , number ptt , diameter ptt , and specific weight ptt mean the fiber content , number , diameter , and specific weight of ptt fiber , respectively ; and fiber content pet , number pet , diameter pet , and specific weight pet mean the fiber content , number , diameter , and specific weight of pet fiber , respectively ) furthermore , when the cross - sections of the fibers are not circular , it is preferred that the fiber content is measured through the following equations 3 and 4 by measuring the cross - sectional area , the number and the like of each fiber . ( fiber content ptt , number ptt , cross - sectional area ptt , and specific weight ptt mean the fiber content , number , cross - sectional area , and specific weight of ptt fiber , respectively ; and fiber content pet , number pet , cross - sectional area pet , and specific weight pet mean the fiber content , number , cross - sectional area , and specific weight of pet fiber , respectively ) through the equations 1 to 4 , the fiber content of pet and ptt fibers is calculated . as such , the present invention may be widely used during the physical property estimation of a material , the development of a new material , benchmarking , in response to a quality problem and the like . hereinafter , the present invention will be described in more detail through examples . these examples are only for illustrating the present invention , and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not interpreted to be limited by these examples . ptt fiber is a component which influences mechanical properties and chemical resistance . a reference specimen ( the cross - section of the fiber was circular ) containing the ptt fiber in an amount of 50 . 1 % by weight based on the total weight was prepared , and the analysis results according to the above equations are shown in the following table 2 . as illustrated in table 2 , the fiber content measured by using the equations and the actual fiber content were significantly similar to each other . thus , the reliability of the measurement method according to the present invention was confirmed . further , for evaluating reproducibility through repeated measurement , the measurement test was further performed three times , and the results thereof are shown in the following table 3 . at the confidence level of 95 %, the measurement result statistically ranged from 40 . 9787 % by weight to 50 . 4879 % by weight , and the p value was 0 . 058 , which is larger than a significance level of 0 . 05 . thus , the null hypothesis was adopted . in other words , as the measurement result , the fiber content of ptt fiber may be said to be the same as 50 . 1 % by weight . at the confidence level of 99 %, the measurement result statistically ranged from 34 . 7660 % by weight to 56 . 7007 % by weight , and the p value was 0 . 058 , which is larger than a significance level of 0 . 01 . thus , the null hypothesis was adopted . in other words , as the measurement result , the fiber content of ptt fiber may be said to be the same as 50 . 1 % by weight . that is , through the test results , it was confirmed that the method for measuring a fiber content according to the present invention was very useful and simple , and the calculated fiber content of ptt and pet fibers was reliable with respect to the actual fiber content at the level of 95 % or more . as described above , the present invention has been described in relation to specific embodiments of the present invention , but this is only illustration and the present invention is not limited thereto . embodiments described may be changed or modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the scope of the present invention , and various alterations and modifications are possible within the technical spirit of the present invention and the equivalent scope of the claims which will be described below . | 6 |
fig2 shows a typical situation where ambiguity processing is used . a target 10 emits a signal , represented by arrows 11 , in all directions . the signal is received by a first receiver 12 and a second receiver 13 . it is clear that if the target is moving there will be a different doppler shift observed by the two receivers 12 and 13 . if the receivers 12 and 13 are different distances from the target 10 the signals 11 will also arrive at different times . therefore the signal observed by receiver 12 is of the form and the signal f 2 ( t ) observed by receiver 13 is of the form in these expressions ν ( t ) may be regarded as a function modulating a carrier wave . in equation ( 3 ) t o is a constant which expresses the difference of propagation time for the signal received by the first receiver 12 and the second receiver 13 . in general t o may be positive , negative or zero . if t o is positive , the signal arrives at receiver 12 before it arrives at receiver 13 . if t o is negative the signal arrives at receiver 13 first . if t o is zero both receivers 12 and 13 receive the signal at the same time . the terms e i ω . sbsp . 1 t and e i ω . sbsp . 2 . sup . ( t + t . sbsp . o . sup .) are carrier waves of angular frequency ω 1 and ω 2 respectively . the difference between ω 1 and ω 2 is the relative doppler shift . it is clear that the ambiguity function of equation ( 1 ) will take on a maximum value when fig1 shows the preferred embodiment of my earlier application , above referred to , using a linear phase shifter of the transmission type . a coherent source such as laser emits a light beam 31 , which is expanded and recollimated by microscope objective 32 and spherical lens 33 . the light beam 31 then strikes cylindrical lens 34 , which focuses the beam into a line lying within the one - dimensional slm ( spatial light modulator ) 35 . the signal f 2 ( t ) or f 2 *( t ) is applied to one - dimensional slm 35 , with the x axis of one - dimensional slm 35 corresponding to the t variable . if the signal used is f 2 ( t ) the complex conjugate must be obtained by a spatial filtering process . the light passing through one - dimensional slm 35 is coded with the applied function and then expands until it impinges upon spherical fourier transform lens 36 . spherical lens 36 fourier transforms the signal coded into the light beam by one - dimensional slm 35 . the fourier transformed image appears at the location of the linear phase shifter of the transmission type 37 . it is the linear phase shifter which performs the shearing function of the applied image . light beam 31 expands once more until it strikes spherical fourier transform lens 39 . the beam 31 is then compressed into a line again so that it may be coded by one - dimensional slm 40 . the signal f 1 ( t ) is applied to one - dimensional slm 40 with the x axis of one - dimensional slm 40 corresponding to the t variable . after passing through one - dimensional slm 40 light beam 31 expands until it strikes spherical fourier transform lens 41 . the fourier transform of the signal coded in light beam 31 prior to spherical lens 41 is performed and appears in the fourier transform plane 42 . because the fourier transform of the signal impinging upon spherical lens 41 is the ambiguity function arising from signals f 1 ( t ) and f 2 ( t ), plane 42 is the ambiguity plane and means for detecting the light intensity distribution is placed in ambiguity plane 42 . in order to present the invention accurately the following analysis is given . as has been pointed out in fig1 the telecentric spherical lens pair 36 and 39 forms the image of bragg cell i and f 2 ( t ) onto bragg cell ii and f 1 ( t ) through a linear phase shifter in the fourier plane . the presence of the linear phase shifter causes a position shift of the image , and this misregistration accomplishes the τ - shift . by spatially varying the slope of the linear phase shifter along the vertical direction , the system spatially scans continuously in the τ axis . lens 41 performs a spatial integration to yield the desired ambiguity function . the bragg cells accept temporal signals f 2 ( t ) and f 1 ( t ) and convert them into a running transmissivity function f 2 ( t - x / v ). at an instant in time we can consider them as the spatial transmissivity function b1 and b2 with an appropriate scaling factor . the linear phase shifter 37 is placed in the fourier plane to shift the phase according to φ = 2πξη where ξ and η are the coordinates in the fourier plane . thus the transmissivity function of this linear phase shifter ( lps ) is the process of this cascade optical system can be explained effectively using mathematical manipulations to show how this system generates the ambiguity function in the final plane . the optical fields are notated by u 0 , u 1 , . . . corresponding to plane 0 , plane 1 , . . . the superscript - and + indicate the field immediately before and after the device . first , u o - can be approximated by a horizontal line , lens 36 takes the fourier transform of this field to give lens 39 takes the fourier transform to give ## equ1 ## equation ( 11 ) indicates that the height of the pattern is the bandwidth of the signal f 1 ( x ). if the height of the bragg cell &# 39 ; s effective window is larger than the bandwidth , there is no loss of information due to the narrowness of the bragg cell window . lens 41 takes the fourier transform of this field and displays it in the plane 3 ## equ2 ## equation ( 13 ) clearly shows that the ambiguity function defined by equation ( 1 ) is achieved in the spatial frequency space ( ξ , η ). the conjugation of signal f ( x ) can be obtained by putting the signal on a carrier and evaluating the first diffraction order with the aid of a vertical slit in plane 1 . the mathematics manipulated in equation ( 4 ) through equation ( 13 ) are essentially the same to achieve it is clear that equation ( 14 ) is a spatial representation of the desired ambiguity function , and we can obtain equation ( 1 ) by converting the spatial variables into the temporal variables with the appropriate conversion factors . the manufacturability of the linear phase shifter element 37 is not easy and limits the feasibility of implementing the linear phase shifter approach . it is essentially an optical wedge whose wedge angle linearly changes with height . the complex transmissivity function of this components in rectangular coordinates is given by i have invented improved optics for the linear phase shifter in which it is fabricated out of more conventional optics . define r = x 2 + y 2 and introduce a coordinate system ( x &# 39 ;, y &# 39 ;) that is rotated from ( x , y ) by 45 ° ( fig3 ). then equation ( 16 ) can be rewritten as the first exponent in equation ( 17 ) is the complex transmissivity function of a cylindrical lens oriented parallel to the x &# 39 ; axis . the second exponent is a spherical lens . the cylindrical lens is twice as powerful as the spherical lens , and the sign is opposite . therefore , the space variant linear phase shifter can be accurately fabricated by cementing a cylindrical lens and a spherical lens of opposite power together , and orienting them at 45 °. the focal length of the cylindrical lens should be half that of the spherical lens . referring specifically to fig3 the improved linear phase shifter 37 &# 39 ; of this invention is shown wherein a combination of conventional optics is used . a cylindrical lens 50 has the power orientation parallel to the x &# 39 ; axis . the factor e j αx &# 39 ;. spsp . 2 is the complex transmissivity function of this cylindrical lens . a spherical lens 51 , of opposite sign as lens 50 , is represented by the factor e - j α / 2r . spsp . 2 in the equation 17 . in one specific successful experimental embodiment the linear phase shifter element 37 &# 39 ; was constructed from off - the - shelf components consisting of a 250 mm single element cylindrical lens 50 , and a 505 mm single element negative spherical lens 51 . the focal length of the cylindrical lens 50 is one - half that of the spherical lens 51 . in the overall system structure using element 37 &# 39 ; in place of element 37 and cooperating with the improved phase shifter element 37 &# 39 ; in the optical system of fig1 was a cylindrical lens 34 having 800 mm focal length and telecentric imaging lenses 36 and 39 of 762 mm in focal length . the lenses 33 and 41 were of 360 mm focal length . | 6 |
fig1 and 2 depict a package 10 which includes a flexible tape film 14 consisting of one or more layers 15 of flexible polyimide dielectric material such as upilex ™ or kapton ™ and two conductive layers 68 made of a material such as copper . the conductive layers 68 need not span the entire tape film 14 , but may be arranged in conductive paths or traces ( 64 , shown in fig1 ) electrically connected to each other on either side of the tape film 14 by conductive electrical vias ( 66 , shown in fig2 ). in the preferred embodiment , two clearance holes 46 ( only one shown in fig1 ), strategically located so as not to interfere with the conductive paths 64 , are punched in the tape film 14 to allow easy installation of a clamping mechanism once the package 10 is connected to a substrate . it is understood that the invention will work equally well with more than two clearance holes , with only one clearance hole , or without clearance holes altogether . the tape film 14 is identified as having a top surface 32 and a bottom surface 34 . as shown in fig2 a semiconductor die 12 is attached at a central location to the top surface 32 . any of a number of suitable methods used in the art , e . g . flip - chip , tape automated bonding ( tab ) or wire bonding can be used to connect the semiconductor die 12 to the tape film 14 . in fact , the semiconductor die 12 could similarly be attached to the bottom surface 34 , as will become apparent when discussing alternate embodiments of the present invention in fig4 to 9 . preferably , a heat spreader 18 for removing excess heat from the package 10 is laid upon the semiconductor die 12 . again , alternate embodiments exist in which the heat spreader is placed differently , or in which the heat spreader 18 is not required . still referring to fig1 and 2 , the package further comprises a molded body 20 , preferably made of epoxy resin , which is split by the tape film 14 into an upper molded body 22 with a flat top and a lower molded body 24 with a flat bottom . the upper molded body 22 and lower molded body 24 are respectively sealed to the top surface 32 and bottom surface 34 of the tape film 14 . advantageous compliant properties of the polyimide dielectric allow the molded body 20 to be molded onto either surface of the tape film 14 by a conventional transfer molding process and without damaging the conductive paths 64 . furthermore , prior to assembly of the package , the tape film 14 may comprise injection holes ( not shown ) which would cause both the upper and lower molded bodies 22 , 24 to form one integral piece of epoxy resin once molding is complete . the upper molded body 22 surrounds the semiconductor die 12 and heat spreader 18 . the flat bottom of the lower molded body 24 is generally in a same plane 90 as an array of conductive leads 16 , arranged as an array of solder balls , for eventual connection of the package 10 to a substrate such as a pcb . the conductive leads 16 are joined electrically to the semiconductor die 12 by the conductive paths 64 etched in the conductive layers 68 . other interconnect styles as known in the art may be used in place of the array of solder balls ; for example , perimeter leads used in gull wing surface mount technology . a layer of rigid support material 26 is bonded with an adhesive ( not shown ) onto the top surface 32 of the tape film 14 , without adversely affecting the conductive paths 64 . in the preferred embodiment , the support material 26 will surround the upper molded body 22 so as to support and keep the tape film 14 flat during soldering of the solder balls 16 to a substrate . without a &# 34 ; window frame &# 34 ; of support material , the package would not be flat enough during assembly and some leads might not solder to the substrate . ideally , the support material 26 is made of a soluble organic compound , such as water extendible vinyl ester resin ( wever ™) manufactured by dow chemical inc ., that can be dissolved by rinsing the package in water following connection to a substrate . support materials which are soluble in liquids other than water are also contemplated . alternatively , the compound can be made of an arbitrary rigid material , connected to the tape film by an ultraviolet - sensitive glue whose adhesive properties are altered upon exposure to ultraviolet light , and which can thus be made to shed the support material 26 after installation . still other embodiments may comprise support material adhering to the top surface of the tape film by means of a soluble glue which can similarly cause the package to shed the support material upon immersion in or rinsing with a solvent such as water . in fig3 the package 10 is shown connected to a printed circuit board ( pcb ) 40 . a heatsink 42 with a flat bottom is laid on top of the upper molded body 22 . the support material ( 26 , shown in fig1 and 2 ) has been removed as per one of the previously discussed methods . a heatsink - package interface 48 and a package - substrate interface 50 can be identified . the heatsink - package interface is defined between the flat top of the upper molded body 22 and the flat bottom of the heatsink 42 while the package - substrate interface is defined partly between the flat bottom of the lower molded body and the pcb 40 and partly between the solder balls 16 and the pcb 40 . a clamping mechanism 44 known per se and illustrated schematically protrudes through clearance holes ( 46 , shown in phantom ), extending into the pcb 40 at one end and through the heatsink 42 at the other . screws , bolts , springs , or any of a variety of suitable mechanical fasteners are used to tighten the clamping mechanism and compress the package 10 between the heatsink 42 and the pcb 40 . in operation , it is desired to press heatsink 42 to the upper molded body 22 with enough pressure to achieve efficient heat dissipation . with the clamping mechanism of fig3 this will result in large amounts of pressure being applied to the heatsink - package interface 48 and to the package - substrate interface 50 . as discussed previously , neither the upper part of the package nor the substrate is usually a source of failure under high pressure in traditional packages . it is at a point on the package - substrate interface , i . e . at the conductive leads , that a failure will often occur . in this inventive package , pressure on the conductive leads 16 is countered by a flex in the tape film 14 , so that pressure applied to the package - substrate interface is absorbed mostly by the lower molded body 24 . the effect is that efficient dissipation of heat is achieved without degrading the reliability of the conductive connection . the presence of a heat spreader 18 near the heatsink 42 assists in providing the illustrated embodiment with excellent thermal properties . although it is preferred that the lower molded body 24 be substantially the same thickness as the conductive leads 16 such that the flat bottom is substantially coplanar with the undersides of the leads 16 , slight deviation in either direction can be accommodated by flexure of the tape film . furthermore , the compliant nature of the tape reduces the need for the top and bottom surfaces to be parallel to each other . the slight sideways force generated during clamping will be absorbed in the tape layer in the same fashion that twisting a board does . the low modulus and thickness of the tape film result in a structure that , once the support material has been removed , is very compliant in all three axes . alternate embodiments of the present invention are now described with reference to fig4 through 9 . all of the following embodiments share the presence of a flexible tape film having one layer of polyimide dielectric ; a window frame of rigid support material ; an array of solder balls ; and upper and lower molded bodies respectively molded to the top and bottom surfaces of the tape film . as previously discussed , the lower molded body is preferably substantially the same thickness as the array of conductive leads but slight deviations in either sense can be accommodated without undermining the value or functionality of the present invention . it is also understood that two or more layers each of polyimide dielectric and conductive material may be required to form more complex conductive paths leading from each conductive lead to the semiconductor die . in fig4 is shown a flip - chip setup , with the semiconductor die 12 mounted to the top surface 32 of tape film 14 by a set of flip - chip solder balls 80 . the conductive layers 68 are joined by conductive electrical vias 66 and electrically connect the flip - chip solder balls 80 to the conductive leads 16 . a thermal spreader 18 is mounted atop the semiconductor die 12 within the upper moulded body 22 , resulting in a package with high thermal performance . fig5 shows another flip - chip arrangement wherein only one conductive layer 68 and no electrical vias are required . in this version , however , the semiconductor die 12 is mounted to the bottom surface of tape film 14 and is surrounded by the lower molded body 24 . the thermal dissipation properties of this package would be poor if not for a heat spreader 18 , mounted onto the top surface of tape film 14 , rendering thermal performance moderate . in fig6 the semiconductor die 12 is attached upside - down onto the top surface of the tape film 14 . flip - chip solder balls have been replaced by wire bonds 82 electrically connecting the semiconductor die 12 ( through electrical vias 66 ) to conductive paths on a single conductive layer 68 adjacent the bottom surface of tape film 14 . no heat spreader is present , resulting in relatively poor thermal performance . fig7 depicts another wire bonded setup , this time with the semiconductor die mounted upside - down to the bottom surface of tape film 14 . a heat spreader 18 is mounted to the top surface of tape film 14 , and is thermally connected to the semiconductor die 12 by thermal vias 84 penetrating the tape film , resulting in moderate thermal performance of the integrated circuit package . it is noted that the package requires no more than one conductive layer 68 ; furthermore , no electrical vias are necessary . fig8 illustrates a similar arrangement to the one in fig5 except that an access window 86 is carved in the tape film 14 thereby allowing the semiconductor die 12 to be provided with tab bonds 88 . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , thermal performance of this package will be poor due to the semiconductor die 12 being located underneath the tape film 14 and lack of a heat spreader . in contrast , fig9 provides a tab - mounted package offering high thermal performance , similar in many respects to the flip - chip arrangement in fig4 . in this variant of the present invention , two electrical vias 66 join conductive paths on each of two conductive layers 68 . while the preferred embodiment , in addition to several alternate forms , of the invention has been described and illustrated it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that further variations in the design may be made . the scope of the invention , therefore , is only to be limited by the claims appended hereto . | 7 |
the system architecture of a first embodiment of the apparatus and method of the present invention is illustrated with reference to fig1 through 8 . as shown in fig1 the apparatus of the present invention comprises end user interface 400 , control unit 200 , implementation management system 600 , and administration interface 500 ( collectively the “ nodes ”). each node interacts with another through a public and / or private network 110 , provided by a local or regional telephone company or alternatively provided by an internal organization within a business entity . connection may also be provided by dedicated data lines , cellular , personal communication systems (“ pcs ”), microwave , wireless or satellite networks . in a preferred embodiment , the nodes are connected via the internet . end user interface 400 and administration interface 500 are the input and output gateways for communication with the control unit 200 and the implementation management system 600 . implementation data capsule 800 is used to transfer implementation data between the control unit 200 and implementation management system 600 and end user interface 400 and administration interface 500 . using the above components , the present invention provides a method and apparatus for a commercial network system designed to facilitate , manage , and support the implementation and integration of technology systems . transactions fall into two categories : control unit transactions 120 and implementation management system transactions 130 . each category of transaction occurs between the end user interface 400 or in the case of administrative transactions , the administration interface 500 , and the control unit 200 or the implementation management system 600 . administrative transactions between the administration interface 500 and the control unit 200 or implementation management system 600 are managed by control unit administration transaction 150 and implementation management system administration transaction 140 respectively . some transactions will utilize the implementation data capsule 800 to package together implementation data accessible to the control unit 200 and the implementation management system 600 . the implementation data capsule 800 can then be manipulated through various mechanisms by the end user . an example of this manipulation would be an end user identifying an implementation data capsule 800 located on the control unit 200 and wishing to transfer the implementation data capsule from the control unit to their end user interface 400 . this would be accomplished using a control unit transaction 120 initiated from end user interface 400 . as shown in fig2 one preferred embodiment of the control unit 200 includes central processor ( cpu ) 205 , ram 210 , rom 215 , clock 220 , operating system 225 , network interface 230 , analysis processor 235 , implementation data capsule ( idc ) processor 240 , billing processor 245 , pricing processor 250 , and data storage device 260 . a conventional personal computer or computer workstation with sufficient memory and processing capability may be used as a control unit 200 . in the preferred embodiment it operates as a web server , both receiving and transmitting data inquires generated by end users . control unit 200 should generally be capable of high volume transaction processing , performing a significant number of mathematical calculations in processing communications and database searches . a pentium processor such as the 400 mhz pentium iii , commonly manufactured by intel corp ., may be used for cpu 205 . this processor employs a 32 - bit architecture . equivalent processors from such companies as motorola corp . and sun microsystems inc . can be substituted . referring again to fig2 analysis processor 235 , idc processor 240 , billing processor 245 , and pricing processor 250 comprise software subsystems that provide specialized functions for control unit 200 . these subsystems are invoked appropriately as determined by the transactions requested from control unit 200 . analysis processor 235 provides the capability to search for and analyze information in data storage device 260 and return the information to the end user . end user requests involving queries can also be handled . such requests are useful in determining if trends and patterns exist in the information stored in data storage device 260 . the results of these requests are then reported to the end user or administrator . functions executed by analysis processor 235 may be supported by commercially available software , such as the dimension series suite from neo vista software , inc . the dimension series suite consists of data mining engines that organize the relationships between the information stored in data storage device 260 . an end user request , such as “ tell me all implementations that utilize visual basic in microsoft windows nt environments ”, would be interpreted and passed to the data mining engines which would in turn search the databases for relevant information . the results of the operation would be returned to the end user . subsequent requests are re - submitted if the results returned did not match the users needs . implementation data processor 240 provides the capability to create implementation data capsules 800 and extract objects contained within the capsules . implementation data processor 240 interacts with data storage device 260 and the databases contained within it . for example , an end user locates the implementation data they want to include in an implementation data capsule after utilizing analysis processor 235 . the end user requests implementation data processor 240 to create an implementation data capsule including the selected objects . implementation data processor 240 extracts the objects from implementation objects database 275 and meta - information from the implementation database 280 and creates an implementation data capsule 800 . implementation data capsule 800 is then compressed to save space and aid in efficient transporting between nodes . implementation data processor 240 also performs the reverse operation as described above . in this case , the objects contained in implementation data capsule 800 are examined by uncompressing and opening implementation data capsule . implementation data processor 240 extracts the objects from implementation data capsule 800 whereby they are either updated or added to implementation objects database 275 and implementation database 280 . when an end user requests to create implementation data capsule 800 , implementation management system 600 uses the results from the analysis processor 235 to extract the correct implementation objects from implementation objects database 275 and implementation database 280 . the implementation management system 600 collects the objects associated with the implementation key and the end user criteria and adds them to implementation data capsule 800 . based on the objects selected , control files 825 are created and added to implementation data capsule 800 . control files 825 contain information which indexes the contents of implementation data capsule 800 and is used when control unit 200 and implementation management system 600 open implementation data capsule 800 . if they exist and the user selects to include them in implementation data capsule 800 , implementation deliverables associated with the implementation objects , are stored in implementation deliverables storage 830 . the compression algorithm employed to reduce the size of implementation data capsule 800 may be supported by commercially available software such as dynazip - ax manufactured by inner media , inc . the transfer and exchange of payments , charges , or debits , attendant to the method of the apparatus are supported by the billing processor 245 . processing of credit card transactions by this processor may be supported with commercially available software such as open market transact manufactured by open market , inc . the billing processor 245 provides commerce functions that may include online account statements , order - taking and credit card payment authorization , credit card settlement , automated sales tax calculations , digital receipt generation , account - based purchase tracking , and payment aggregation for low priced services . pricing processor 250 calculates the price for an implementation data capsule 800 . this price maybe determined by a number of factors which may include the implementation objects , stored in implementation objects database 275 , the end user wishes to include in the idc . the end user does not have to accept the price for the idc and can remove some of the implementation objects included in the idc . pricing processor 250 will then re - calculate the price for the idc based on the new configuration of the idc . in another embodiment pricing may be determined or influenced based upon a “ fixed price ” or a “ subscription ” arrangement with the end user . data storage device 260 may include hard disk magnetic or optical storage units , as well as cd - rom drives or flash memory . data storage device 260 contains databases used in the processing of transactions in the present invention , including admin database 265 , end user database 270 , implementation objects database 275 , implementation database 280 , billing database 285 , audit database 290 , and idc storage 295 . in a preferred embodiment database software such as sql server , manufactured by microsoft corporation , is used to create and manage these databases . admin database 265 maintains information on the administrators which may include name , company , address , phone number , id number , passwords , active role in the projects , email addresses , voice mail addresses , and security access levels . security access levels comprise the amount of control the administrator has over examining and updating information contained in the databases on the data storage device 260 . end user database 270 maintains data on end userswhich may include name , company , address , phone number , id number , passwords , email address , active role in the projects , billing preferences , past system usage , etc . end users can determine the amount of information they want to share with other users . end users are able to contact other users based on the information provided . implementation objects database 275 maintains an inventory of implementation objects . end users collect implementation data with respect to the technology systems they are implementing . the implementation data is input into the database and organized into logical groupings based on the method of the apparatus . some examples of the implementation objects are names of stakeholders and implementation team members , characteristics describing technology system being implemented , organizational areas where the technology system is to be used , and various sub - projects associated with the implementation . implementation database 280 maintains an index of all implementations represented in control unit 200 . this database is indexed by the implementation key which is unique across all implementations . billing database 285 tracks commercial transactions , as well as billing preferences . this database is valuable in the event of complaints by end users regarding billing and payment discrepancies . audit database 290 records transactional information about all requests initiated between each node which can be retrieved for later analysis . this database may also log transaction traffic rates , login / logout attempts , and success / failure status of transactions . implementation data capsule ( idc ) storage 295 acts as a storage area for implementation data capsules 800 . in one embodiment idc storage 295 represents a hierarchical file system on control unit 200 . network interface 230 is the gateway to communicate with end users and administrators through respective end user interface 400 and administration interface 500 . conventional internal or external modems or wireless network connection devices may serve as network interface 230 . network interface 230 supports a various range of baud rates from 1200 upward , but may also be combined into such inputs as a t 1 or t 3 line if more bandwidth is required . in a preferred embodiment , network interface 230 is connected with the internet to allow for the largest audience of end users to have access to the control unit 200 . along similar lines , network interface 230 may also be connected to a private intranet or other network to allow end users within a particular organization to access the control unit 200 . while the above embodiment describes a single computer acting as the control unit , those skilled in the art will realize that the functionality can be distributed over a plurality of computers . in another embodiment , control unit 200 may be configured in a distributed architecture , as shown in fig3 wherein the databases and processors are housed in separate units or locations . control unit ( s ) 200 perform the primary processing functions and contain at a minimum ram , rom , and a general processor . each of these control units is attached to wan hub 300 which acts as the primary communications link with the other processors . wan hub 300 itself may contain minimal processing capability with its primary function of acting as a passive device facilitating communications and routing . although only three control units are shown in this embodiment , those skilled in the art will appreciate that an almost unlimited number of control units may be supported . in such a configuration , each control unit is in communication with its processors as well as other control units . analysis processor 235 , idc processor 240 , billing processor 245 , and pricing processor 250 all communicate through wan hub 300 with control units 200 . data storage device 260 is available to each control unit and processor through wan hub 300 . this arrangement makes for a highly flexible and dynamic system , less prone to catastrophic hardware failures and bottlenecks . those skilled in the art will also realize that the processors may also be combined and / or distributed over a plurality of computers . in addition those skilled in the art will recognize that the database entities contained in the data storage device 260 may also be distributed and / or implemented as entities of one database or multiple databases . fig4 and 5 describe end user interface 400 and administrator interface 500 respectively . in an exemplary embodiment they are both conventional personal computers having an input device , such as a keyboard and mouse , or conventional voice recognition software package ; a display device , such as a video monitor ; a processing device such as a cpu ; and a network interface such as a modem or high speed network connection . referring now to fig4 there is described a preferred embodiment of an end user interface 400 which includes central processor ( cpu ) 405 , ram 410 , rom 415 , clock 420 , video driver 425 , video monitor 430 , input device 435 , network interface 440 , and data storage device 450 . a pentium processor such as the 400 mhz pentium iii described above may be used for the cpu 405 . clock 420 is a standard chip - based clock which can serve to timestamp control unit transactions 120 and implementation management system transactions 130 . network interface 440 is the gateway between end user interface 400 and a network such as the internet . in a preferred embodiment , users interact with control unit 200 using end user interface 400 and administrator interface 500 through a web browser such as internet explorer manufactured by microsoft corporation or netscape communicator manufactured by netscape corporation . data storage device 450 is a conventional magnetic based hard disk storage unit . information storage 460 may be used to store implementation data capsules 800 and other information while audit database 470 may be used for recording communications with the control unit 200 and implementation management system 600 as well as payment records . in one embodiment information storage 460 represents a hierarchical file system on end user interface 400 . referring now to fig5 there is described a preferred embodiment of the administrator interface 500 which includes central processor ( cpu ) 505 , ram 510 , rom 515 , clock 520 , video driver 525 , video monitor 530 , input device 535 , network interface 540 , and data storage device 550 . clock 520 is a standard chip - based clock which can serve to timestamp control unit administration transactions 150 and implementation management system administration transactions 140 . all of these components including data storage device 550 , information storage 560 , and audit database 570 may be identical to those described in fig4 . end user interface 400 and administrator interface 500 interact with implementation management system 600 using custom built applications programs appropriate to the respective operating system of the interface . those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of commercially available programming environments , plug - ins , executables , dll &# 39 ; s , applets or objects can be employed to design and build the applications programs . in addition those skilled in the art will appreciate that the end user interface 400 and the administrator interface 500 can utilize any number of commercially available operating systems such as unix , linux , windows and windows nt , macintosh , windows ce or palm os . referring to fig6 the implementation management system 600 is described as comprising a central processor ( cpu ) 605 , ram 610 , rom 615 , clock 620 , operating system 625 , network interface 630 , analysis processor 235 , implementation data capsule ( idc ) processor 240 , implementation deliverable processor 640 , implementation planning processor 645 , and data storage device 660 . a conventional personal computer , computer workstation or hand held , wireless personal digital assistant ( pda ) with sufficient memory and processing capability may be used as implementation management system 600 . end users and administrators use their respective applications program to access implementation management system 600 . the implementation management system serves a different purpose than control unit 200 in the apparatus and method of the invention . it is a system used to collect and manage implementation data . it has the capability to share that implementation data with control unit 200 . control unit 200 also has the capability to share information with implementation management system 600 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the implementation management system 600 may employ either the same or separate physical hardware as control unit 200 and that software components of the implementation management system 600 may either share code with or be entirely separate from the software components of control unit 200 . in addition those skilled in the art will appreciate that the databases and processors associated utilized by the implementation management system 600 and the control unit 200 may overlap or be consolidated in another embodiment of the invention . referring again to fig6 analysis processor 235 , idc processor 240 , implementation deliverable processor 640 , and implementation planning processor 645 comprise software subsystems that provide specialized functions for implementation management system 600 . these subsystems are invoked appropriately as determined by the transactions requested from implementation management system 600 . analysis processor 235 performs in the same way and includes the same capabilities as described above for control unit 200 . implementation management system 600 utilizes idc processor 240 in the same manner as control unit 200 . implementation deliverable processor 640 is used to create various documents and output files based on the information stored in data storage device 660 . this processor may be supported by commercially available software such as office 2000 and microsoft project 98 manufactured by microsoft corporation . in one embodiment , implementation management system 600 utilizes the instantiated objects in office 2000 and microsoft project 98 to create microsoft word documents and microsoft project schedules . the data used to generate these documents is taken from implementation objects database 675 and implementation database 680 . implementation planning processor 645 creates an implementation plan using a proprietary and unique implementation planning method and process . the method and process first divides the implementation project into incremental sub - projects based upon the features and functions of the technology system that will be implemented and the locations and environments where the technology system will be implemented . the method and process then generates ratings for sub - projects depending upon numerical or other measures of the technical complexities , risk , priority , visibility , cultural complexities and resource complexities of each sub - project . ratings may be provided by the end user or may be calculated automatically by the implementation planning processor 645 . those skilled in the art will recognize that a large number of techniques may be used to automatically generate ratings , such as generating ratings using a weighted average of all characteristics of a sub - project or generating ratings using a weighting of some subset of all characteristics of a sub - project . based upon the ratings associated with each sub - project the implementation planning processor creates an implementation plan that provides a preferred ordering and strategy for completing the sub - projects . as new relevant data is provided to the implementation management system 600 ( such as additional features and functions of the technology system , environmental data or updates to ratings ) the implementation processor automatically re - creates a revised implementation plan . data storage device 660 may include hard disk magnetic or optical storage units , as well as cd - rom drives or flash memory . data storage device 660 contains databases used in the processing of transactions in the present invention , including admin database 665 , end user database 670 , implementation objects database 675 , implementation database 680 , implementation deliverable storage 685 , audit database 690 , and idc storage 695 . in a preferred embodiment database software such as microsoft access or sql server , both manufactured by microsoft corporation , is used to create and manage these databases . admin database 665 maintains information on the administrators which may include name , company , address , phone number , id number , passwords , active role in the projects , email addresses , voice mail addresses , and security access levels . security access levels comprise the amount of control the administrator has over examining and updating information contained in the databases on the data storage device 660 . end user database 670 maintains data on end users , which may include name , company , address , phone number , id number , passwords , email address , active role in the projects , billing preferences , past system usage , etc . implementation objects database 675 maintains an inventory of implementation objects . end users collect implementation data with respect to the technology systems they are implementing . the implementation data input into the database are organized into logical groupings based on the method of the apparatus . some examples of the implementation objects are names of stakeholders and implementation team members , characteristics describing the technology system being implemented , organizational areas where the technology system is to be used , and various sub - projects associated with the implementation . implementation database 680 maintains an index of all implementations represented in implementation management system 600 . this database is indexed by the implementation key which is unique across all implementations . implementation delivery storage 685 stores output generated by the implementation deliverable processor 640 . in one embodiment implementation delivery storage represents a hierarchical file system on implementation management system 600 . audit database 690 stores transactional information about past communications which can be retrieved for later analysis . this database may also logs transaction traffic rates , login / logout attempts , and success / failure status of transactions . implementation data capsule ( idc ) storage 695 acts as a storage area for implementation data capsules 800 . in one embodiment idc storage 695 represents a hierarchical file system on implementation management system 600 . network interface 230 is utilized in the same way as described above with reference to fig2 . while the above embodiment describes a single computer acting as the implementation management system , those skilled in the art will realize that the functionality can be distributed over a plurality of computers . in another embodiment , implementation management system 600 may be configured in a distributed architecture , as shown in fig7 wherein the databases and processors are housed in separate units or locations . implementation management systems 600 perform the primary processing functions and contain at a minimum ram , rom , and a general processor . each of these implementation management systems is attached to wan hub 700 which acts as the primary communications link with the other processors . wan hub 700 itself may contain minimal processing capability with its primary function of acting as a passive device facilitating communications and routing . although only three implementation management systems are shown in this embodiment , those skilled in the art will appreciate that an almost unlimited number of implementation management systems may be supported . in such a configuration , each implementation management system is in communication with its processors as well as other implementation management systems . analysis processor 235 , idc processor 240 , implementation deliverable processor 640 , and implementation planning processor 645 all communicate through wan hub 700 with implementation management systems 600 . data storage device 660 is available to each implementation management system and processor through wan hub 700 . this arrangement makes for a highly flexible and dynamic system , less prone to catastrophic hardware failures and bottlenecks . . those skilled in the art will also realize that the processors may also be combined and / or distributed over a plurality of computers . in addition those skilled in the art will recognize that the database entities contained in the data storage device 660 may also be distributed and / or implemented as entities of one database or multiple databases . referring to fig8 there is described a preferred embodiment of implementation data capsule 800 , which includes digital package 810 , implementation objects database 815 , implementation database 820 , control files 825 , and implementation deliverables storage 830 . implementation objects database 815 , implementation database 820 , and implementation deliverables storage 830 represent a subset of all implementation objects and implementation data available in control unit 200 and implementation management system 600 . control files 825 act as an index and inventory of the implementation objects and data contained in digital package 810 . idc processor 240 utilizes control files 825 to update implementation objects database 275 and 675 and implementation database 280 and 680 and implementation deliverables storage 695 . digital package 810 acts as a container for the implementation objects and databases . those skilled in the art will realize that digital package 810 can be gathered together with other digital packages and each reside in a single implementation data capsule 800 . in this embodiment , implementation data capsule 800 is used to transport multiple digital packages using a single control unit transaction 120 or implementation management system transaction 130 . two exemplary embodiments describe the versatility in using implementation data capsule 800 . in one embodiment , an end user wishes to take a “ snapshot ” of a technology system implementation which includes all implementation data , tools and strategies that have been entered to date . the end user then wishes to transfer the snapshot to their technology system vendor for review and expert advice . this is accomplished by requesting idc processor 240 to create an implementation data capsule 800 and transfer it to control unit 200 . the vendor then submits a control unit transaction 120 to access and transfer the end users implementation data capsule for review . in another embodiment , an end user is beginning the process of implementing a technology system . the end user has identified a set of implementation objects that can be used as a template and staring point for their implementation . the end user creates an implementation data capsule 800 which contains the implementation objects and transfers the implementation data capsule from control unit 200 to implementation management system 600 the end user utilizes idc processor 240 in implementation management system 600 to create their working implementation environment using implementation data capsule 800 as a template . the end user initiates a series of ims transactions 150 to the implementation management system 600 and control unit transactions 120 to the control unit 200 . ims transactions 150 will initiate transactions such as creating a new implementation , managing the implementation workflow , managing the implementation planning process and creating an implementation data capsule 800 . control unit transactions 120 will initiate transactions such as searching for and locating an idc 800 to be used as an implementation template , creating a custom idc , providing implementation analysis and handling commerce items . with reference to fig9 there is described a process by which the end user initiates and completes a control unit transaction 120 . the end user creates a transaction request at step 900 . a transaction request may contain a specific request and any necessary parameters and criteria . for example an end user may initiate a control unit request to create a new idc which contains specific implementation objects . multiple requests may be bundled into a single transaction . the transaction is submitted to the control unit 200 at step 910 . at step 920 the control unit 200 then evaluates the request to determine the transaction type based upon the request , the parameters and criteria . an unlimited number of transaction types may be processed by the control unit and multiple transactions can be initiated and processed together . common transaction types include analysis , idc transfer , idc creation , billing and payment . at step 930 the request is processed accordingly by the control unit 200 depending on the type of transaction requested . at step 940 the results of the control unit transaction 120 are returned to the end user completing the transaction . with reference to fig1 , there is described a process by which the end user initiates and completes an ims transaction 150 . the end user creates a transaction request at step 1000 . a transaction request may contain a specific request and any necessary parameters and criteria . for example an end user may initiate an ims request to create a new implementation deliverable such as a project plan or schedule . multiple requests may be bundled into a single transaction . the transaction is submitted to the ims 600 at step 1010 . at step 1020 the ims 600 then evaluates the request to determine the transaction type based upon the request , the parameters and criteria . an unlimited number of transaction types may be processed by the ims and multiple transactions can be initiated and processed together . common transaction types include implementation data input , implementation planning , deliverable creation , idc creation , implementation setup and implementation data management . at step 1030 the request is processed accordingly by the ims 600 depending on the type of transaction requested . at step 1040 the results of the ims transaction 150 are returned to the end user completing the transaction . the administrator initiates a series of ims administration transactions 140 to the implementation management system 600 and control unit administration transactions 150 to the control unit 200 . ims administration transactions 140 will initiate transactions such as creating a new implementation , managing the implementation workflow , managing the implementation planning process and creating an implementation data capsule 800 . control unit administration transactions 150 will initiate transactions such as searching for and locating an idc 800 to be used as an implementation template , creating a custom idc , providing implementation analysis and handling commerce items . with reference to fig1 , there a described the process by which the administrator initiates and completes a control unit administration transaction 150 . the administrator creates an administration transaction request at step 1100 . a transaction request may contain a specific request and any necessary parameters and criteria . for example an administrator may initiate a control unit administration request to release an idc to the end user community . multiple requests may be bundled into a single transaction . the transaction is submitted to the control unit 200 at step 1110 . at step 1120 the control unit 200 then evaluates the request to determine the transaction type based upon the request , the parameters and criteria . an unlimited number of transaction types may be processed by the control unit and multiple transactions can be initiated and processed together . common transaction types include reviewing and releasing an idc to an end user and general maintenance of the control unit environment . at step 1130 the request is processed accordingly by the control unit 200 depending on the type of transaction requested . at step 1140 the results of the control unit administration transaction 150 are returned to the administrator completing the transaction . with reference to fig1 , there is described a process by which the administrator initiates and completes an ims administration transaction 140 . the administrator creates a transaction request at step 1200 . a transaction request may contain a specific request and any necessary parameters and criteria . for example an administrator may initiate an ims administration request add a new authorized user to the ims . multiple requests may be bundled into a single transaction . the transaction is submitted to the ims 600 at step 1210 . at step 1220 the ims 600 then evaluates the request to determine the transaction type based upon the request , the parameters and criteria . an unlimited number of transaction types may be processed by the ims and multiple transactions can be initiated and processed together . common transaction types would include setup of the ims environment and maintenance of the ims environment . at step 1230 the request is processed accordingly by the ims 600 depending on the type of transaction requested . at step 1240 the results of the ims transaction 140 are returned to the administrator completing the transaction . in one embodiment the present invention is used by the end user to facilitate , manage and support the implementation of a technology system through a series of transactions with the ims 600 and control unit 200 . 1 . the end user creates one or more implementation data capsules which will act as “ implementation templates ” through a combination of ims transactions 130 and control unit transactions 120 ( fig1 ). 2 . the end user then initiates an ims transaction 130 for starting a new implementation ( based upon the appropriate implementation template ) and registers the implementation with the control unit 200 . ( fig1 ) 3 . the end user then initiates a series of ims transactions 130 for inputting implementation data into the ims 600 . ( fig1 ) 4 . the end user then initiates a series of ims transactions 130 to the implementation planning facility with the goal of creating an implementation plan and strategy . ( fig1 ) 5 . the end user then initiates an ims transaction 130 to create an idc 800 that contains implementation data and planning information . ( fig1 ) 6 . the end user then initiates control unit transactions 120 that transfer the idc 800 to the control unit 200 . ( fig1 ) 7 . the end user then initiates control unit transactions 120 that will analyze the idc 800 for issues or problems that will impact the end user &# 39 ; s implementation . ( fig1 ) 8 . the end user then initiates a series of ims transactions 130 for creating implementation deliverables such as implementation schedules , reports and project plans . ( fig2 ) 9 . the end user then continues with the implementation process and continues to initiate ims transactions 130 to update and manage the data and information associated with the implementation . ( fig1 ) 10 . when the implementation process is complete the end user initiates an ims transaction 130 to create an updated idc 800 . ( fig1 ) 11 . the end user then initiates a control unit transaction 120 to transfer the idc 800 to the control unit 200 . ( fig1 ) 12 . the administrator then initiates a combination of ims administration transactions 140 and control unit administration transactions 150 to release and make available the idc and the contents of the idc to other end users . ( fig1 ) fig1 describes the process of creating an idc that can be used as an “ implementation template ” by the ims . at step 1300 the administrator initiates a request to create a new idc . at step 1305 the administrator enters specific criteria which will be used to locate implementation objects that will be used as the basis for the new idc . for example the administrator may specify criteria surrounding the implementation of microsoft excel in the apple macintosh environment . at step 1310 the idc processor returns a list of implementation objects matching the criteria based upon data within the implementation objects database the administrator selects specific objects from this list at step 1320 to be included in the new idc and the idc processor builds the new idc at step 1325 and adds to the idc to the idc storage area within the control unit . in another embodiment the process of selecting specific implementation objects is bypassed and the idc processor automatically builds the idc based upon the criteria provided at step 1305 without specific criteria selected . optionally various commercially available compression and encryption algorithms 1330 may be employed during the building of the idc . at step 1335 the new idc is reviewed and tuned by the administrator using the ims . at step 1340 the administrator releases the new idc so that it can be accessed and utilized by end users . fig1 describes the process of an end user creating a new implementation within the ims based upon an “ implementation template ” idc and registering the implementation with the control unit . at step 1400 the end user initiates a request to create a new implementation . an implementation refers to the project of implementing a particular technology in a specific area within the end user &# 39 ; s organization . at step 1405 the end user provides selection criteria to the idc to locate a list of idc &# 39 ; s that could be used as a template for the new implementation . at step 1410 a list of idc which match the criteria specified is provided and at step 1415 the end user selects the idc which will be used as template for the new implementation . at step 1420 the idc processor analyzes the idc selected and computes any fees or charges that will need to be paid to utilize the idc as a template . if a fee is required the control unit handles and processes the payment at step 1425 . at step 1430 the idc is transferred to the ims and a new implementation is created within the ims at step 1435 . in another embodiment the end user creates a new implementation without utilizing an idc as a template . at step 1440 the end user registers the new implementation with the control unit completing the process . fig1 describes the process of an end user inputting and updating implementation information into the ims . at step 1500 a data input request is initiated by the end user . at step 1505 the end user selects which implementation object type the implementation information will be associated with . for example the end user may be entering information about “ stakeholders ” in the ims . in this case the end user would select the stakeholder implementation object type . at step 1510 the end user determines whether a new implementation object will be added or an existing implementation object will be updated . at step 1515 an existing implementation object is updated while at step 1520 a new implementation object is added . at step 1525 all implementation information added or updated is recorded in the ims . fig1 describes the process of an end user using the ims implementation planning facility to create an implementation plan and strategy . at step 1600 an implementation planning request is initiated by the end user . at step 1605 the end user enters or updates planning information and criteria . at step 1610 the ims implementation planning processor analyzes the criteria and implementation data from the ims . at step 1615 an implementation plan and framework is automatically created by the implementation planning processor . fig1 describes the process of completing a transaction related to the creation of an idc . at step 1700 an idc creation request is initiated by the end user . at step 1705 the process of creating an idc commences by creating a control file . the control file contains information about the implementation and the idc that will be utilized by the control unit . for example the control file could contain an index and keywords of all the items in the idc . at step 1710 the idc processor determines the inventory of all objects and information that will be included in the idc . in one embodiment the end user may include all implementation objects and information in the idc while in another embodiment the user may select which implementation objects will be included through selection parameters 1715 . in step 1720 the idc digital archive 810 is created which includes all selected implementation information and objects . in one embodiment the idc can optionally be encrypted and compressed 1725 using commercially available compression and encryption utilities . at step 1730 the idc is saved to the ims storage device 697 . once this transaction is complete the idc can be transferred to the control unit or other end users . fig1 describes the process of completing a transaction related to the transfer of an idc to the control unit . at step 1800 an idc transfer is initiated by the end user . at step 1805 the transfer request is created which includes the specific idc to be transferred and information related to the transfer such as end users name and contact information . at step 1810 the idc transfer request is transferred to the control unit . at step 1815 the control unit verifies that the implementation associated with the idc is registered with the control unit . the control unit at step 1820 then processes the idc transfer request with implementation information added and updated to the implementation and end user databases . at step 1825 the implementation object database is updated . at step 1830 the idc is moved to the idc storage area in the control unit . at step 1835 the transaction is recorded in the audit database and the end user is notified that the transaction was successful 1840 . fig1 describes the process of the control unit analyzing an idc for issues or problems related to the implementation . for example an end user may want to know if the implementation plan and strategy that has been created is realistic based upon other similar implementations . in another embodiment the end user may want the implementation to be audited to ensure that the implementation data entered is accurate . at step 1900 a request to analyze an idc is made to the control unit . at step 1905 the end user selects the idc ( s ) that will be analyzed and in step 1910 specified the type of analysis that will be done . based upon the type of analysis selected specific analysis criteria may be provided by the end user . at step 1915 the analysis is done using the analysis processor within the control unit . at step 1920 the results of the analysis are returned to the end user by the control unit . fig2 describes the process of completing a transaction relating to the creation of implementation deliverables from the ims . at step 2000 a request to create implementation deliverables such as a project schedule , plan or report is initiated by the end user . at step 2005 the end user optionally selects which implementation objects are to be included in the deliverable . for example the end user may decide only to include information about the implementation team in a report . at step 2010 the end user selects the deliverables to be created . based upon this selection the implementation deliverables processor generates the requested deliverables in step 2015 . in one embodiment the present invention is used by the end user to facilitate the exchange of implementation data with another end user through a series of transactions with the ims 600 and control unit 200 . the purpose of this exchange is to enable other end users ( such as a vendor , consultant or industry expert ) to review and possibly update the end user &# 39 ; s implementation data . when the review is complete the implementation data will be returned the end user . 1 . the end user initiates an ims transaction 150 to create an idc 800 that contains implementation data ( fig1 ). 2 . the end user then initiates control unit transactions 120 that transfers the idc 800 to the control unit 200 . included in the transaction request is the identification ( s ) of the other end user ( s ) where the idc should be routed . ( fig1 ) 3 . the control unit 200 then routes the idc 800 to the ims 600 and notifies the appropriate end users . 4 . the receiving end user initiates a series of ims transactions 150 to review ( and possibly update ) the implementation data . 5 . when the review is complete the receiving end user initiates an ims transaction 150 to create an idc 800 that contains implementation data ( fig1 ). 6 . the receiving end user initiates control unit transactions 120 that transfers the idc 800 to the control unit 200 . ( fig1 ) 7 . the control unit 200 then routes the idc 800 to the ims 600 and notifies the sending end user that the transaction is complete . fig2 describes an exemplary billing system of the present invention . end users may be billed and make payments for executing various control unit transactions 120 and ims transactions 130 such as implementation analysis and review . in addition end users may be billed and make payments for the license and use of various idc &# 39 ; s 800 that are used as templates with the ims 600 . end user invoicing and payments are described using conventional credit card electronic charges , checks , electronic funds transfer (“ eft ”), or digital cash . these payment methods are meant to be merely illustrative , as there are many equivalent payment methods commonly known in the art which may be used . the billing process is initiated at step 2100 when the end user initiates a control unit transaction 120 or ims transaction 170 which is deemed to be billable . once the billing process is started the price and tracking number of the control unit transaction 120 or the ims transaction 170 is processed and sent to the billing database 290 at step 2105 . at step 2110 there are a number of billing protocols that can be used . for example , one protocal , cash on delivery (“ cod ”), requires that the end user pay before completing a control unit transaction 120 or an ims transaction 170 . another protocol is a credit system in which the end user pays at the end of the billing period . at step 2115 the end users preferred billing method is retrieved from the control unit 120 . in the cod protocol the billing processor 245 generates a bill prior to completing the control unit transaction 120 or the ims transaction 170 . in a credit protocol the billing processor 245 searches the billing database 290 at the end of each billing period and totals the amount owed by each end user . at step 2120 the appropriate billing module ( credit card , eft , check , electronic cash ) is initiated . fig2 describes an exemplary idc pricing system of the present invention . end users may be billed and make payments for the license and use of various idc &# 39 ; s 800 . the price of an idc may be determined based upon the objects that are included in the idc from the implementation object database 275 and the idc &# 39 ; s stored in idc storage 297 . the pricing method described is meant to be merely illustrative , as there are other many pricing methods which may be employed . the idc pricing process is initiated at step 2200 when the end user initiates a request to create an idc . at step 2205 the end user enters criteria in order to identify potential implementation objects to be included in the idc . at step 2210 the idc processor 240 identifies a list of implementation objects which match the criteria provided in step 2205 . at step 2215 the end user selects implementation objects to be included in the new idc 800 . as the user selects specific implementation objects the pricing processor 250 automatically calculates the price of the implementation object using data from the implementation object database 275 ( see step 2220 ). a total price of all implementation objects selected is maintained throughout the selection process . the pricing processor 250 automatically calculates discounts and other pricing incentives as objects from the implementation object database 275 are selected . at step 2225 the idc processor builds the idc based upon the implementation objects selected . at step 2230 the billing database is updated with the price of the idc 800 and the billing process ( as described in fig2 ) is initiated at step 2235 . another embodiment of the present invention revolves around the creation of an implementation marketplace and community . in one embodiment an end user develops an idc 800 that could contain valuable implementation data , tools and strategies for a specific type of technology system implementation . the end user can transfer the idc 800 to the control unit 200 and request that the idc 800 may be made available to be sold or licensed to other end users . a number of pricing strategies could be selected by the end user such as a fixed price or a bid approach . other end users could then access , review and purchase the idc by initiating a series of control unit transactions 120 with the control unit 200 . in another embodiment end users could procure the services of an implementation expert or consultant of a specific type of technology system implementation using the present invention . through a control unit transaction 120 end users can contact and establish a dialog with one or more experts for a specific technology system . implementation data capsules 800 can be exchanged between the end user and the expert as described in the implementation data exchange embodiment . in another embodiment an end user can establish dialogs with other end users that are involved in similar technology system implementations . implementation data capsules 800 can be exchanged between the end users as described in the implementation data exchange embodiment . | 8 |
referring to fig1 to 3 , description will be made of a basic structure of a card connector according to an embodiment of this invention . the card connector 1 illustrated in fig1 to 3 is a so - called push - push type card connector and comprises a base 2 made of an insulating material and a metal cover 3 . the base 2 and the cover 3 are faced to each other in a direction perpendicular to a drawing sheet . a combination of the base 2 and the cover 3 will be called a connector body . the card connector 1 further comprises an ejecting member 4 made of metal and movable in a first direction a 1 , and a compression coil spring 5 urging the ejecting member 4 in an ejecting direction , i . e ., the first direction a 1 . the ejecting member 4 and the compression coil spring 5 are fixed to an inner surface 3 a of the cover 3 . a card 7 is inserted between the base 2 and the cover 3 in a second direction a 2 opposite to the first direction a 1 . specifically , between the base 2 and the cover 3 , a space 8 is defined to receive the card 7 . the ejecting member 4 and the compression coil spring 5 are disposed adjacent to the space 8 in a widthwise direction , i . e ., a third direction a 3 perpendicular to the first and the second directions a 1 and a 2 . the inner surface 3 a of the cover 3 is provided with a receiving portion 3 b , comprising a wall portion faced to the ejecting member 4 in the third direction a 3 and extending in the first and the second directions a 1 and a 2 . on the other hand , the base 2 holds a plurality of conductive contacts 9 to be contacted with a plurality of signal patterns 7 a of the card 7 . the contacts 9 are arranged in parallel to one another in the third direction a 3 . each of the contacts extends in the first and the second directions a 1 and a 2 . as illustrated in fig5 a , the base 2 is provided with a heart cam 11 formed on its inner surface to control movement of the ejecting member 4 . a combination of the ejecting member 4 and the heart cam 11 will herein be called an ejecting mechanism . the relationship between the ejecting member 4 and the heart cam 11 will later be described in detail . referring to fig4 , the ejecting member 4 will be described . the ejecting member 4 comprises an ejecting member body 4 a guided by the cover 3 and movable in the first and the second directions a 1 and a 2 , a cam follower 4 b , and an elastically deformable locking member 4 c for preventing the card 7 ( see fig3 and so on ) from unintentionally jumping out from the connector 1 . the ejecting member body 4 a , the cam follower 4 b , and the locking member 4 c are integrally coupled to form an integral structure . the cam follower 4 b is elastically deformable and has a free end 4 d formed at its end to move along the heart cam 11 ( see fig5 a and so on ). the ejecting member 4 further comprises a contacting portion 4 e to be contacted with an end portion of the card 7 , an engaging portion , i . e ., a locking portion 4 f to be engaged with a recess 7 a formed on a lateral edge of the card 7 , a spring receiving portion 4 g for receiving the compression coil spring 5 , and a receiving portion 4 h for preventing excessive deformation of the locking member 4 c . the locking portion 4 f is formed at an end of the locking member 4 c and , with elastic deformation of the locking member 4 c , is displaceable between a first position where it is engaged with the recess 7 a and a second position where it is disengaged from the recess 7 a . referring to fig5 a to 5c and 6 a to 6 c in addition , the card connector 1 will continuously be described . a part near one end of the compression coil spring 5 is fitted over a protruding portion 3 c formed on the cover 3 by bending . a part near the other end of the compression coil spring 5 is fitted over the spring receiving portion 4 g of the ejecting member 4 . therefore , the ejecting member 4 is continuously urged by the compression coil spring 5 in the first direction a 1 with respect to the connector 1 . the heart cam 11 formed on the base 2 defines a circulating track for the free end 4 d of the cam follower 4 b . specifically , the circulating track has a starting point a , a forward stroke guide portion b inclined with respect to the first and the second directions a 1 and a 2 , a recessed portion c , a backward stroke guide portion d inclined with respect to the first and the second directions a 1 and a 2 , and an end point e , i . e ., the starting point a . when the card 7 is inserted as shown in fig5 a , the locking portion 4 f of the ejecting member 4 is engaged with an engaged portion , i . e ., a recessed portion 7 b of the card 7 as shown in fig5 c . in this state , when the card 7 is pushed by a finger or the like in the second direction a 2 , the ejecting member 4 moves in the second direction a 2 following the card 7 , with compression of the compression coil spring 5 . as a result , as shown in fig5 b , the free end 4 d of the ejecting member 4 moves from the starting point a , passes along the forward stroke guide portion b , and reaches a position depicted by a dashed - line circle in the recessed portion c . thereafter , when the finger or the like is released from the card 7 , the free end 4 d of the ejecting member 4 is engaged with the recessed portion c of the heart cam 11 by a restoring force of the compression coil spring 5 . as a consequence , the ejecting member 4 is locked . further , the locking member 4 c and the locking portion 4 f of the ejecting member 4 reach a position faced to the receiving portion 3 b in the third direction a 3 as shown in fig6 c . therefore , the locking member 4 c is prevented from elastic deformation . accordingly , the locking portion 4 f and the recessed portion 7 a of the card 7 are not disengaged from each other so that the card 7 is locked also . in this state , the signal patterns 7 a of the card 7 are contacted with the contacts 9 so that the card 7 is electrically connected to the connector 1 . when the card 7 is again pushed in the second direction a 2 by the finger or the like , the free end 4 d of the ejecting member 4 is released from the recessed portion c . therefore , by the restoring force of the compression coil spring 5 , the free end 4 d of the ejecting member 4 passes along the backward stroke guide portion d and returns to a position depicted by a dashed - line circle at the end point e , i . e ., at the starting point a . consequently , the card 7 moves in the first direction a 1 also . at this time , the locking portion 4 f is engaged with the recessed portion 7 a of the card 7 so that the card 7 is prevented from being unintentionally jumped out from the connector 1 . as a result of movement of the card 7 in the first direction a 1 , the locking portion 4 f of the ejecting member 4 is apart from the receiving portion 3 b as illustrated in fig5 c . therefore , by pulling the card 7 in the first direction a 1 , engagement between the locking portion 4 f and the recessed portion 7 a of the card 7 is easily released so that the card 7 is allowed to be pulled out from the connector 1 . in the foregoing , the receiving portion 3 b is formed on the cover 3 . however , the receiving portion 3 b may be formed at any appropriate position of the base 2 . referring to fig7 , description will be made of a structure of fixing the cover 3 to the base 2 . as illustrated in fig7 , the cover 3 is fitted to the base 2 . thereafter , six bending legs 3 d are bent to fix the cover 3 to the base 2 . referring to fig8 to 10 , description will be made of another structure of fixing the cover 3 to the base 2 . as shown in fig8 a and 8b , the cover 3 has protruding portions 3 e formed at two inner positions on each of left and right side portions thereof and a protruding portion 3 f formed at one outer position of each of the left and the right side portions thereof . on the other hand , as illustrated in fig9 , the base 2 has recessed portions 2 b formed at two inner positions on each of left and right side portions thereof and a raised portion 2 c formed at one outer position of each of left and right side portions thereof . the protruding portions 3 e are press - fitted into the recessed portions 2 b . the protruding portion 3 f is latched to the raised portion 2 c . as a result , the state illustrated in fig1 is reached . referring to fig1 and 12 , description will be made of the case where the card 7 is improperly or erroneously inserted into the connector 1 in a position inclined with respect to the second direction a 2 . herein , erroneous insertion collectively includes insertion of the card 7 into the connector 1 in an inclined position , insertion in an upside - down position , and insertion in a frontward - back position . in fig1 and 12 , a front left corner of the card 7 is contacted with a bent portion 4 c 1 of the locking member 4 c . when the bent portion 4 c 1 is pushed by the card 7 , a part around the bent portion 4 c 1 is brought into contact with the receiving portions 3 b and 4 h . therefore , the locking member 4 c is prevented from further elastic deformation so that the card 7 is prevented from being erroneously inserted into the connector 1 . while the present invention has thus far been described in connection with the preferred embodiment thereof , it will readily be possible for those skilled in the art to put this invention into practice in various other manners . | 7 |
the delivery system of the present invention improves the particular characteristics of liposomes to store and carry agents to the human epidermis in an efficient and effective manner to improve the skin condition . by freeze - drying the liposomes , the problems of stability and shelf - life of the liposomes and agents are overcome and a practical form for application is produced . this is furthered by use of a fabric pad for carrying and applying the freeze - dried liposomes . the agents considered are those directed to skin in either a healthy or pathological conditions . generally , the delivery system includes the processes of selection and preparation of specific liposomes for delivery to the epidermis , encapsulation of the specific effective agents , freeze drying , followed by topical application which may include transformative steps . liposomes provide a non - toxic means for encapsulation of agents and can be further modified to bind to specific sub - populations of cells . specifically , the liposome membranes according to the present invention can be made to bind to specific cells or sites within the epidermis . an advantage of this characteristic is the ability to reduce migration of particular agents into the dermis and blood stream . this can allow for local application of agents which otherwise penetrate the skin barrier too readily and cause systemic problems . in addition , dilution of the effective agents is reduced minimizing the required application . however , where delivery of agents to the dermal region is desired , the present invention is also applicable . in such case , liposome selection is directed to binding to cells below the epidermis / dermal boundary . liposomes are microscopic and larger membrane - enclosed vesicles or sacs made artificially in the laboratory by a variety of methods . they are generally spherical but may be form in other shapes as well . the primary requirements according to the present invention are that the liposomes should not be toxic to the living cells and that they should preferentially bind to , or otherwise reside among , the cells of the epidermal layer of the skin . the liposomes according to the present invention may be of various size and may comprise either one or several membrane layers separating the internal and external compartments . an important element in liposome structures is that the liposome be resistant to destruction as it travels from the surface of the skin down to the target region . liposome structures according to the present invention include small unilamellar vesicles ( less than 250 angstroms in diameter ), large unilamellar vesicles and multilamellar vesicles . the liposomes according to the present invention may be made from natural and synthetic phospholipids , glycolipids and other lipids and lipid congeners ; cholesterol , cholesterol derivatives and other cholesterol congeners ; charged species which impart a net charge to the membrane ; reactive species which can react after liposome formation to link additional molecules to the liposome membrane ; and other lipid soluble compounds which have chemical or biological activities . liposomes may also be formed of mixtures of the above compounds . encapsulation of the desired agent in liposomes may be effected by combining a phospholipid component with an aqueous component containing the selected agent under conditions which will result in vesicle formation . the phospholipid concentration must be sufficient to form lamellar structures , and the aqueous component must be compatible with the agent to be encapsulated . methods for combining the phospholipid and the aqueous components so that vesicles will form include : drying the phospholipids onto glass and then dispersing them in the aqueous components ; injecting phospholipids dissolved in a vaporizing or non - vaporizing organic solvent into the aqueous component which has previously been heated ; and dissolving phospholipids in the aqueous base with detergents and then removing the detergent by dialysis . the liposomes can be produced from the foregoing mixtures either by sonication or by dispersing the mixture through either small bore tubing or through the small orifice of a french press . the methods for producing the liposomes as set forth in u . s . pat . 5 , 077 , 211 to yarosh are incorporated herein by reference . it is within the scope of the present invention to use other methods for encapsulating agents within a liposome . a specific example of producing the liposomes would include the following process . a lipid mixture as set forth above is dissolved in an organic solvent and dried to a thin film in a glass vessel . the selected agent is purified and added to the vessel at high concentrations in an aqueous buffer to rehydrate the lipid . the mixture is then agitated by vortexing and sonicated to form liposomes . the liposome spheres containing the encapsulated agent are then separated from the unincorporated agent by centrifugation or gel filtration . administration to humans requires that the liposomes be pyrogen - free and sterile . to eliminate pyrogens , pyrogen - free raw materials , including all chemicals as well as the agents and water are used to form the liposomes . sterilization can be performed by filtration of the liposomes through a 0 . 2 micron filter . a general discussion of liposomes and liposome technology can be found in a three volume work entitled liposome technology edited by g . gregoriadis , 1993 , published by crc press , boca raton , fla . the pertinent portions of these references are incorporated herein by reference . a broad variety of agents may be liposome encapsulated for application to the skin . a few of the potential agents include one or more of the following types or compounds : pharmaceutically active compounds including antimicrobials ; antioxidants ; botanical extracts ; alpha hydroxy acids ; fruit and vegetable derived extracts and acids ; fragrances ; minerals ; moisturizers ; urea , proteinases such as papain and ananase ; and vitamins or combinations thereof the present invention includes the use of both water - soluble and hydrophobic ( oil - soluble ) compounds in the same liposome . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 128 , 139 to brown , etal ., and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 439 , 672 to zabotto , etal ., are incorporated herein as examples of encapsulation of cosmetic agents in liposomes . following encapsulation , the liposomes are freeze - dried to remove their water content . freeze - drying greatly expands both the utility of liposomes for skin care purposes and the range of application methods . liposomes in aqueous dispersions generally have limited physical stability and shelf life . individual liposome particles in dispersions tend to associate and coalesce , forming larger liposome particles . also , the agents may diffuse into the dispersing solution . in addition , the structural or agent components of a liposome in a dispersion may be lost due bacteriological , enzymatic , and / or chemical reaction degradative processes facilitated by the dispersing medium . freeze - drying liposomes considerably reduces these problems by reducing the time the liposomes are in a liquid phase , and provides for storage with far less opportunities for loss of integrity of either the structural component or the agent materials . freeze - drying of liposomes can be accomplished by various means known to those skilled in the art . see “ preservation of liposomes by freeze - drying ”, vol . 1 , p . 229 , in liposome technology , liposome preparation and related techniques , ed . by gregory gregoriadis , crc press , boca raton , 1993 . the addition of certain disaccharide sugars to the liposome - forming mixtures has been shown to improve stability upon rehydration of the freeze - dried liposomes . this effect is discussed in the above reference . although other sugars , such as sucrose , may be suitable for certain liposome compositions , trehalose has been found to be the preferred additive . once the desired topical agent has been encapsulated in the appropriate liposome and the liposomes freeze - dried , this material may be prepared in a variety of forms for application to the skin . the liposomes may be packaged alone for use as a single constituent of a skin treatment material . however , the freeze - dried liposomes may also be combined with secondary ingredients . in the freeze - dried state , the liposomes may be applied directly to the skin . the natural moisture found on and in the skin will rehydrate the liposomes effectively activating them to carry the encapsulated agent into the skin . rehydration can also be assisted by applying additional moisture to the skin prior to , after , or with the application of the freeze - dried liposomes . alternatively , water or water vapor may be used to rehydrate the liposomes immediately before use . application of the liposomes and addition of moisture may be accomplished in a variety of ways . the simplest may be by rubbing the liposomes directly onto the skin using the fingers . in a preferred embodiment , prepared liposomes are deposited within or onto a substantially fibrous or polymeric pad 10 ( see fig1 ) which is then put into contact with the skin to apply the liposomes . it is preferred that an binding agent 15 be applied to the pad 10 prior to depositing liposomes to assist in capture and adherence . the pad 10 may be made of natural fibers , filament fiber material , synthetic polymers , and any other materials having fabric - like properties . various pad materials are known and used in the skin care industry for skin care applications . the pad 10 may also be formed of sponge - like materials in which a greater quantity of liposomes or a secondary agent may be deposited . preferably , liposomes are deposited on the outer surface of the pad 10 such that contact with the skin is maximized and the amount of liposomes used is minimized . the liposomes may be deposited onto the pad 10 at the time of use or , preferably , the pad 10 is preimpregnated and then stored in a vapor - proof container or other packaging designed to reduce moisture contamination such as with a desiccant . this second alternative makes most use of the benefits of the liposomes in a commercial setting . that is , the liposomes themselves need not be handled , thereby preventing accidental hydration . use of such a pad 10 simplifies the hydration process . a pad 10 containing liposomes may be dipped into a hydrating solution , allowing for full reconstitution of the liposomes immediately before application to the skin . the hydrating solution may also contain secondary ingredients such as moisturizers . however , such secondary ingredients are limited to those which will not unduly disrupt the specific liposome structure . in a typical application , freeze - dried liposomes are formed using the above process . the encapsulated agent being the antifungal compound ketoconazole . the freeze - dried liposomes are deposited on one side of a fibrous pad 10 . the pad 10 then is sealed in a nitrogen flushed foil package . the protective wrapper is opened just prior to use , and the pad 10 rubbed onto the skin areas of concern which have been premoistened . disruption of a portion of the liposomes occurs at the skin surface as a consequence of the mechanics of application and chemicals residing on the skin . as a result , ketoconazole is released to effect its purpose as a antifungal . a second portion of the liposomes survives to penetrate the epidermis to deliver ketoconazole to the sebaceous glands . systemic absorption is minimized by liposome encapsulation . advantages can be gained by incorporating the above pad 10 into a hand held applicator such as the steam device 20 shown in fig2 . an obvious advantage is the ease of grasping and applying a fabric pad 10 when an applicator is provided as a “ handle ”. additionally , the applicator of the present invention allows for : minimizing contact with the fingers ; exposing the area of the pad 10 containing the liposome directly and completely to the targeted skin area ; providing steam or vapor for rehydration ; and providing a means for applying uniform or concentrated pressure . another advantage of an applicator such as the steam device 20 is that of providing water vapor or steam as a liposome rehydrating means . the steam device 20 shown in fig2 incorporates an internal steam generator 30 which produces steam and vapor that can be directed through an internal passage 40 such as to flow through an attached pad . in practice , the pad 10 containing freeze - dried liposomes may be secured to the steam device 20 via an adapter 50 shown in fig3 by a securing means 60 such as velcro ®. in this position , rehydration may be effected by manual addition of an separate aqueous solution . preferably , however , the liposomes are directed onto the skin simultaneous with steam or vapor being directed through the pad 10 and onto the skin . in this manner , the liposomes are hydrated at the moment of application . depending on the quantity and temperature , application of steam will cause some degree of disruption of the liposome structure thereby releasing the effective agent . this may be controlled by regulating the steam energy used . in specific applications this method may be used to cause early release where the agent is desired to act at the skin surface as well as through liposome delivery . the above described and depicted device is but one example devices which may be used for application of freeze - dried liposomes . it will be obvious to one skilled in the art to use similar devices in the current invention . the described methods for rehydration and reconstitution of liposomes can alternatively be used in combination . for instance , freeze - dried liposomes may be applied to the skin from a dry pad 10 using an hand held applicator such as the steam device 20 . after a period of time , allowing for some rehydration by skin moisture , either natural or added , steam or vapor may be applied using the same applicator or other independent means . an extension of the present invention is the introduction of freeze - dried liposomes to cosmetics . in these alternative embodiments , the moisturizing , agents are encapsulated in freezedried liposomes and the liposomes mixed in a cosmetic carrier such as a lipstick cream or a facial powder . the carrier must be without significant water content to prevent premature rehydration . the objective is to allow the liposomes to be reconstituted in a the release fashion as ambient moisture and vapor is absorbed from the skin and surrounding air . as a consequence , the encapsulated moisturizer is provided to the skin in an ongoing manner . similarly , other agents whose benefits will be enhanced by gradual application can be provided by this means . these include deodorants and fragrances . the preceding description and examples are intended to illustrate the present invention . they are not intended to be an exhaustive presentation of all possible alternatives and persons skilled in this field will recognize that modifications or substitutions could be made to the descriptions given above that would remain within the scope of the invention . | 0 |
the human artificial intelligence program acts like a human brain because it stores , retrieve , and modify information similar to human beings . the function of the hai is to predict the future using the data from memory . for example , human beings can answer questions because they can predict the future . they can anticipate what will eventually happen during an event based on events they learned in the past . 1 . overall ai program 2 . image processor 3 . search function 4 . universalize data in memory 5 . representing meaning to language 6 . topics on the robot &# 39 ; s conscious referring to fig1 , the present invention is a method of creating human artificial intelligence in machines and computer based software applications , the method comprising : an artificial intelligent computer program repeats itself in a single for - loop to receive information , calculate an optimal pathway from memory , and taking action ; a storage area to store all data received by said artificial intelligent program ; and a long - term memory used by said artificial intelligent program . said an ai program repeats itself in a single for - loop to receive information from the environment , calculating an optimal pathway from memory , and taking action . the steps in the for - loop comprises : 1 . receive input from the environment based on the 5 senses and determining the boundaries of the current pathway ( block 2 ). 2 . use the image processor to dissect the current pathway into sections called partial data . for visual objects , dissect data using the 5 functions : dissect moving image layers from frame to frame , dissect partially moving image layers , dissect image layers using recursive color regions , and dissect image layers based on associated rules ( block 4 ). 3 . generate an initial encapsulated tree for the current pathway and prepare visual object variations to be searched ( block 6 ). average all data in initial encapsulated tree for the current pathway and determine the existence state of visual objects from sequential frames ( block 8 ). 4 . execute two search functions to look for best pathway matches ( block 14 ). the first search function uses search points to match a visual object to a memory object . uses breadth - first search because it searches for visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree from the top - down and searches for all child visual objects before moving on to the next level . the second search function uses guess points to match a memory object to a visual object . it uses depth - first search to find matches . from a visual object match in memory the search function will travel on the strongest - closest memory encapsulated connections to find possible memory objects . these memory objects will be used to match with possible visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree . this search function works backwards from the first search function . the first search function will output general search areas for the second search function to search in . if the second search function deviates too far from the general search areas , the second search function will stop , backtrack and wait for more general search areas from the first search function . 5 . generate encapsulated trees for each new object created during runtime . if visual object / s create hidden object then generate encapsulated tree for said hidden object . allocate search points in memory closest to the visual objects that created the hidden object ( block 22 ). if visual object / s activates a learned object ( or activated element object ) then generate encapsulated tree for said learned object . search in memory closest to the visual object / s that activated the learned object ( block 24 ). if pathways in memory contain patterns determine the desirability of pathway ( block 12 ). 6 . if matches are successful or within a success threshold , modify initial encapsulated tree by increasing the powerpoints and priority percent of visual object / s involved in successful search ( block 10 ). if matches are not found or difficult to find , try a new alternative visual object search and modify initial encapsulated tree by decreasing the powerpoints and priority percent of visual object / s involved in unsuccessful search . if alternative visual object search is a better match than the original visual object match modify initial encapsulated tree by deleting the original visual object and replacing it with said alternative visual object ( block 16 ). 7 . objects recognized by the al program are called target objects and element objects are objects in memory that have strong association to the target object . the ai program will collect all element objects from all target objects and determine which element objects to activate . all element objects will compete with one another to be activated and the strongest element object / s will be activated . these activated element objects will be in the form of words , sentences , images , or instructions to guide the ai program to do one of the following : provide meaning to language , solve problems , plan tasks , solve interruption of tasks , predict the future , think , or analyze a situation . the activated element object / s is also known as the robot &# 39 ; s conscious ( block 18 and pointer 40 ). 8 . rank all best pathway matches in memory and determine their best future pathways . a decreasing factorial is multiplied to each frame closest to the current state ( block 26 and block 28 ). 9 . based on best pathway matches and best future pathways calculate an optimal pathway ( block 34 ). if the optimal pathway contains a pattern object , copy said pattern object to the current pathway and generate said pattern object &# 39 ; s encapsulated tree ( block 30 ). 10 . store the current pathway and the initial encapsulated tree ( which contains 4 data types ) in the optimal pathway ( block 32 ). rank all objects and all of their encapsulated trees from the current pathway based on priority and locate their respective masternode to change and modify multiple copies of each object in memory ( block 36 ). 11 . follow the future pathway of the optimal pathway ( block 38 ). 12 . universalize data and find patterns in and around the optimal pathway . bring data closer to one another and form object floaters . find and compare similar pathways for any patterns . group similar pathways together if patterns are found ( block 44 ). the purpose of the storage area is to store large amounts of images and movie sequences so that data is organized in an encapsulated format to compress data and prevent unnecessary storing of repeated data . images should be grouped together in memory based on : closest neighbor pixels , closest neighbor images , closest timing of images , closest strongest strength of images and closest training of images . movie sequences should be grouped together in memory based on : closest next ( or before ) frame sequences , closest timing of frame sequences , closest training of frame sequences and closest strength of frame sequences . a combination of criterias to store images and movie sequences listed above are used for storing data in memory . these criterias establish the rules to break up and group data in images and movie sequences . when an image is sensed by the ai program there are no information to establish what is on that image . there are no rules as well to break up the images into pieces . certainly , the computer can &# 39 ; t just randomly break up the input data and randomly group the pieces together — all objects should have set and defined boundaries . the present invention provide a “ heuristic way ” to store images / movie sequences ( data ), break up data into the best possible encapsulated groups , and universalize data in memory . the ai program receives input visually in terms of 2 - dimensional movie sequences . the ai program will use hidden data from moving and non - moving objects in the movie sequences to create a 3 - d representation of the 2 - d movie sequences ; and store the 2 - d movie sequences in such a way that a 3 - d environment is created . with this said , there exist a third set of rules to group data in memory . 3 - d movie sequences should be grouped together in memory based on : closest 3 - d neighbor of pixels , closest 3 - d neighbor of images , closest 3 - d strength of images , closest 3 - d training of images , closest 3 - d timing of images , closest 3 - d next ( or before ) frame sequences , closest 3 - d timing of frame sequences , and closest 3 - d strength of frame sequences . the storage area is made up of a 3 - dimensional grid . each space in the 3 - d grid contains a 360 degree view . this means that each point inside the network can store the next sequence in the movie from 360 degrees . to better understand how this works , the diagram in fig2 shows a 3 - d grid with dot 46 in the middle . dot 46 represents one frame in the network ; and the next frame can be stored in any 360 degree direction . this is important because life in our environment is 360 degrees at any given space . a person can stand in one place and look at the environment from the top , bottom , left , right and all the directions in between . the brain of this robot must have the means of storing every frame sequence . the human brain stores information not in an exact manner , but in an approximate manner . the movie sequences that are trained often will be stored in memory while the movie sequences that are not trained often will not be stored in memory . for an object like a house , if a human being has seen the house from the front and side , but not from the back , then his / her memory will only have movie sequences of the house from the front and side . in fact , when data begins to forget only sections of the house from the front and side are stored in memory . this happens because data in frames forget information . fig3 a - 3b shows how movie pathways are forgotten . the movie sequences that are sensed by the robot are actually 2 - dimensional . in order to make the robot understand the movie sequence is actually 3 - dimensional we have to use focus and eye distance . referring to fig4 a , human eyes are different from frames in a movie because the human eye can focus on an object while a frame from a movie has equal visibility . the focus area is clear while the peripheral vision is blurry . as the eyes focus on a close object the retinal widens , and when the eyes focus on far objects the retinal shortens . the degree in which the eye widens or shortens determine the distance between the object seen and the robot &# 39 ; s eyes . this will give the 2 - d images in movie sequences dept ; and provide it with enough information to interpret the data as 3 - dimensional . based on the focus factor the robot will create 3 - d data from 2 - d images . this means that if there exist two images that are exactly the same in terms of pixels , it doesn &# 39 ; t mean that they are the same 3 - dimensionally . one image can be a picture of a house and the other image can be a real - life view of a house . both are exactly the same , but the real life - view contains dept and distance . the robot will store these two images in the same group , but the distance data will be different . referring to fig4 a - 4b , the distances of the images are also important . the triangle is far away , but the cube and the cylinder is close by . if we train the example in fig4 a with equal frequency , then the cylinder will have higher powerpoints than the triangle because of the distance . the size of the object is also a factor in how strong ( powerpoints ) each object will be . the cylinder takes up more pixels than the triangle , therefore the cylinder will have more powerpoints . the focus and eye distance is supposed to create a 3 - d grid around the 2 - d images . this creates dept on the 2 - d images and this information will be used to break up the pixels into probable pieces . each pixel in the frame will try to connect to each pixel in the next sequence . this is called “ the existence of pixels ” where the computer tries to find what objects in the movie sequences are : existing , non - existing , or changed . for example , if a human face is staring at the robot and the next frame is the human face turning to the right , the robot needs to know that the shape of different encapsulated objects has changed . it has to lock onto the morphing image of the nose , eyes , mouth , cheek bones , forehead , hair , ears , neck and so forth . sometimes pixels in images disappear or new pixels that wasn &# 39 ; t there before appear . in order to recognize all these changing things the ai program has to group images together based on a variety of rules . repetition is the key ; the more the sequence is encountered the more the robot will learn the sequence . another way of learning the existence of an object is through the human conscious where the robot learns language and activates sentences that will tell the robot what is happening in the movie sequence . all these rules will be explained further in later sections . some terminology must be established first before explaining the functions of the image processor . objects are the items we are searching for in memory . this one object is made up of sub - objects and these sub - objects are made up of other sub - objects . one example is a movie sequence : pixels are encapsulated in images , images are encapsulated in frames , frames are encapsulated in movie sequences and movie sequences are encapsulated in other movie sequences . image layers are the combination of pixels . each image layer comprises one or more pixels . pixels on the image layer do not have to be connected ; they can be scattered or connected ( most likely pixels will be connected because the image processor group connected pixels more than scattered pixels ). sequential image layers are image layers that span in sequential frames . they can have a number of image layers in each frame . some of these image layers can be connected or scattered ( depending on the training and the robot &# 39 ; s conscious ). these image layers from frame to frame can also be existing , non - existing , or changed . the image processor is designed to break up the current pathway into pieces ( called partial data ) so that the strongest image layers or movie sequences are dissected and grouped together . the output of the image processor is to generate an initial encapsulated tree for the current pathway . ( for simplicity purposes , this invention will cover images and movie sequences only ; all nodes in the encapsulated tree for the current pathway are called visual objects ). the initial encapsulated tree will provide the ai program with a heuristic way to search for unknown data from images and movie sequences . when the ai program receives input from the environment , it has no idea what is contained in the input — there are no predefined information or relationships between individual pixels . the only way for the ai program to understand the input is by finding an identical copy in memory . each node in the initial encapsulated tree is called a visual object . the top node is called a visual object , the middle - level nodes are called visual objects and the bottom - level nodes are called visual objects . fig6 illustrates a visual object 50 and all information attached to it . each visual object comprises : a frame sequence with at least one frame , three variables : ( a ) average pixel color ( b ) average total pixel count ( c ) average normalized point ; a priority percent ; a powerpoint ; an existence state , encapsulated connections with other visual objects ; a domain number , and search data 52 . visual objects can be pixels , image layers , frames or frame sequences . each frame will have its own sub - encapsulated tree . if frame sequences contain 10 frames then an encapsulated tree will be generated for each frame . the initial encapsulated tree in this case will contain all 10 encapsulated trees for all 10 frames . each visual object will have a priority percent . the priority percent is the importance of that visual object in a given domain . each visual object will have a priority percent to indicate to the search function how important this visual object is . this will give the search function a better idea of what should be searched first , where should the search be done , and what possible search areas to search in . when all priority percent from all visual objects are added up , within a given domain , it will equal 100 %. the current pathway is the domain for all visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree . fig5 shows the priority percent of visual objects in one frame . if the domain is 1 frame 48 then all images that make up that 1 frame 48 will equal 100 %. in this example the image processor found the horse to be 20 %, the tree 12 %, the sun 8 %, and the rest of the image layers make up 60 %. if the tree and the horse are grouped together in a visual object then that visual object &# 39 ; s priority percent is 32 %. when comparing visual objects , the three variables ( or comparing variables ) establish the overall data to compare . the closer two visual objects are in terms of all three variables the better the match . fig7 shows visual object 54 is compared to 4 similar visual objects in memory . visual object 54 is 90 % similar to visual object 56 . the image processor will use certain dissection functions to cut out prominent image layers from images and movie sequences . there are basically 4 dissection functions : dissect image layers that are moving , dissect image layers that are partially moving , dissect image layers by calculating the 3 - dimensional shape of all image layers in the movie sequence , dissect image layers by calculating dominant color regions using recursion , and dissect image layers using associated rules . the two functions that really work for still pictures is “ dissecting image layers by calculating dominant color regions using recursion ” and “ dissecting image layers using associated rules ”. since still pictures have no pre - existing information these two functions provide a heuristic way of breaking up image layers and grouping them together . the first three functions work well with movie sequences . in the case of “ dissecting image layers that are partially moving ”, the image processor will try to combine this dissection function with the last two dissection functions to cut out the remaining probable image layers . this dissection function is very simple to understand . if one image layer is moving in the environment and the total image layer is found , then cut out that image layer . this means that the cut is very clean and the entire image layer is cut out from beginning to end . it &# 39 ; s kind of like cutting out one image from one picture , if the image can be taken out of the picture that means it &# 39 ; s a clean cut . if the cut is not clean and the image is still attached to the picture then that image is partially cut . this is what happens when some visual objects move while other visual objects stay still . one example is a human being . someone can stand still in front of a camera and wave his arm back and forth . the arm is moving , but the human being is standing still . the image processor will not know that the arm is part of the human being . the initial encapsulated tree has the average pixel color of all visual objects . the average pixel color at the top of the initial encapsulated tree will decide how important average pixel colors are in the lower - levels . dominant colors can be computed by following a chain of parent visual objects . this information will provide the image processor with possible color regions that are considered dominant and other color regions that are considered minor . with this technique , the image processor can cut out probable image layers from still pictures . dissect image layers by calculating the 3 - dimensional shape of all image layers in movie sequences by analyzing the 2 - dimensional movie sequences and adding in focus and distance to the images , a 3 - dimensional grid will pop up . the robot will be viewing real - life images from the environment . this grid will guide the breaking up of data in memory because it will tell the image processor where the edges of any given objects are . focus and distance is used to show dept in a still image . close objects will be cut out compared to far objects . for example , if there exist one frame with a still hand in front and a still human being in the background , the image processor will understand that the hand is one object that is closer to the robot than the human being . the hand is focused on so it is clear , while the human being is farther away and is fuzzy . this prompts the ai program to cut out the hand and designate that as one visual object . grouping image layers should be based on : closest neighbor pixels , closest neighbor images , closest timing of images , closest strongest strength of images and closest training of images . grouping movie sequences should be based on : closest next ( or before ) frame sequences , closest timing of frame sequences , closest training of frame sequences and closest strength of frame sequences . a combination of criterias to store images and movie sequences above are used for storing data in memory . these criterias establish the rules to break up and group data in images and movie sequences . when an image is sensed by the ai program there are no information to establish what is on that image . there are no rules as well to break up the images into pieces . certainly , the computer can &# 39 ; t just randomly break up the input data and randomly group the pieces together — all objects should have defined and set boundaries . the associated rules provide a “ heuristic way ” to break up frame sequences into the best possible encapsulated visual objects . the ai program receives input visually in terms of 2 - dimensional movie sequences . the ai program will use hidden data from moving and non - moving objects in the movie sequences to create a 3 - d representation of the 2 - d movie sequences ; and store the 2 - d movie sequences in such a way that a 3 - d environment is created . with this said , there exist a third set of associated rules for grouping 3 - d images and 3 - d movie sequences . 3 - d movie sequences should be grouped together based on : closest 3 - d neighbor of pixels , closest 3 - d neighbor of images , closest 3 - d strength of images , closest 3 - d training of images , closest 3 - d timing of images , closest 3 - d next ( or before ) frame sequences , closest 3 - d timing of frame sequences , and closest 3 - d strength of frame sequences . the image processor will cut out most of the image layers on the frames and also cut out most of the encapsulated visual objects in each image layer . it will also find alternative variations of visual objects to use to search for matches in memory . fig8 shows visual object 58 and the different variations 60 of the same object ( the grey areas are empty pixels ). when the ai program generates the encapsulated tree for the visual object , it is important that the ai program generates the same or similar encapsulated tree for the same visual object . infact , when a similar image is encountered the ai will generate a similar encapsulated tree for that image . if imagea is encountered once the ai program generates encapsulated tree 1 a . if imagea is encountered a second time the ai program will generate encapsulated tree 1 a or something very similar . if imageb is an image that is similar to imagea and the ai program generates 1 b , then 1 b should be similar to encapsulated tree 1 a . this is important because if the encapsulated tree is different for similar images it takes longer to find a match . the image processor should be a fixed mathematical equation where it generates the same or very similar results for the same visual object . similar visual objects will generate similar encapsulated trees . the priority percent for each encapsulated object is determined by the 5 dissection functions . the priority percent of image layers is determined by the 5 dissection functions in this order : ( 1 ). dissect image layers that are moving ( 2 ). dissect image layers that are partially moving ( 3 ). dissect image layers by calculating the 3 - dimensional shape of all image layers in movie sequences . ( 4 ). dissect image layers by calculating dominant color regions using recursion ( 5 ). dissecting image layers using associated rules image layers that are cut out with the higher - level functions will have a higher priority percent . for example , if an image of charlie brown is cut out ( clean cut ), it has more priority than a partially cut image . an image layer that is cut out with both function 2 and function 3 will have higher priority than an image layer that is cut out from function 3 and function 4 . tweaking of the importance of each function and the combination of functions is up to the programmer . the reason that a clean cut is a good image layer search is because that image layer has been delineated perfectly and all the edges of the object are cut out . the reason the fourth function is last is because the image processor isn &# 39 ; t sure what the edges of the image layers are . given that a 2 - d image is provided , the ai program has to rule out using expert probable systems to cut out image layers . the third function will have a better idea of the edges from a still picture because the edges can be calculated based on the closest objects . off course , the third function can only work with real - life views of the environment . it will not work for truly 2 - d images . when the ai program isn &# 39 ; t sure what the edges of the image layers are it has to fabricate alternative image layer combinations . it will rank them and test out which image layers are better than others by matching them with image layers in memory . when the search function finds out it has made an error in terms of delineating certain still image layers , it will change the image layer &# 39 ; s encapsulated visual objects by modifying branches of the initial encapsulated tree and changing the priority percent of visual objects that are involved in the error search ( from here on image layers will be referred to as visual objects ) fig9 shows the initial encapsulated tree 61 for current pathway 62 . we have learned that the current pathway 62 ( emphasis on visual objects ) use the image processor to generate the initial encapsulated tree 61 . the initial encapsulated tree 61 contains the hierarchical structure of visual objects and broken up into strongest encapsulated visual objects . each visual object in the encapsulated tree is given a priority percent . the priority percent determines their strength in the initial encapsulated tree 61 for the current pathway 62 . ( the grey areas are empty pixels ). the very strong visual objects ( or image layers ) are at the top levels while the weak visual objects are stationed at the bottom . if i were to show encapsulated tree 61 at the lower tree levels , the unimportant visual objects will be there . the “ noise ” of the current pathway will be filtered out to the lower levels . when the search function searches for information it will search for important visual objects first before moving on to the less important visual objects . the purpose of the lower levels in the initial encapsulated tree is not to search for data in memory , but to break up the current pathway into its smallest elemental parts ( groups of pixels or individual pixels ) so that when the initial encapsulated tree gets stored in memory , self - organization will knit similar groups together . thus , bringing association between two or more pathways ( or visual objects ). the next step is to average out all visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree for the current pathway . after the initial encapsulated tree is created for the current pathway , all visual objects from the initial encapsulated tree will be averaged out . each visual object in the initial encapsulated tree will average the value of each of its variables based on its &# 39 ; child visual objects . for example , if a parent visual object has 3 child visual objects then the parent visual object will add up all the values for one variable and divide by 3 . if a parent visual object has 10 child visual objects then the parent visual object will add up all the values for one variable and divide by 10 . all visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree will have the average value for each of its variables . each variable in a visual object will also have an importance percent . the importance percent is defined by the programmer to describe how important that variable is to the visual object . each variable will have an importance percent . if you add up all the importance percent for all variables it will add up to 100 %. there is one more factor added to the equation . the priority percent of a child visual object should influence the average value of one variable . the higher the priority percent the more that child visual object should influence the average value of one variable . a factorial ( 0 . 2 ) is also multiplied to indicate that the priority percent of a child visual object should not matter that much in the average value . 0 . 2 is used because the worth of the visual object shouldn &# 39 ; t over power the average value of a given variable for all child visual objects . the equation to calculate the average value for one variable in one visual object is presented in fig1 . v represents one variable , a represents the average value of v , n represents the number of child visual objects , p represents the priority percent of a child visual object , the importance percent is for variable v . i use this technique because when the ai program searches for possible matches it won &# 39 ; t search every single pixel in a visual object . the visual object should contain the average value of a variable from all of its encapsulated visual objects . so , when the ai program searches for matches , it only needs to compare three variables : average normalized point , average total pixels , and average pixel color . these three variables sum up the visual object compactly so that the search function doesn &# 39 ; t have to match every pixel in an image or rotate or scale the image to find a match or convolute the image to find a match . fig1 shows how the average value is computed for the normalized point . the grey areas indicate empty pixels . visual object 64 has a normalized point close to the center of the frame . the normalized point should be in the center only if all image layers are equal in priority . the fact that some image layers are more important than others influence the average normalized point . in this case , charlie brown and the character with the blanket have more priority , so their normalized points matter more . in the case when there are two separate image layers , such as in visual object 66 , the normalized point will fall in the center of both image layers . in addition to averaging data , the ai program has to determine the existence state of each visual object in the initial encapsulated tree . all visual objects have to be identified from one frame to the next according to one of three values : existing , non - existing or changed . for each frame all pixels , all image layers , and all combinations of image layers have to be identified from one frame to the next . in fig1 , the initial encapsulated tree records what visual objects are existing for three frames . notice that visual object b exists for all three frames . visual object e only exist in frame 1 and frame 2 , but not in frame 3 . visual object j only exists from frame 2 to frame 3 , but not in frame 1 . fig1 shows the existence of learned objects . learned object “ cat ” only exist in frame 1 and frame 2 . learned object “ house ” exist in all three frames . learned object “ dog ” only exist in frame 3 . the special thing about learned objects is that the image layers from frame to frame can look totally different , but the ai program will still classify it as the same learned object . for example , the learned object “ cat ” can be any cat image in the cat floater . the cat image can be an image of a cat from the front or back or side , the learned object “ cat ” will identify them as the same image layers . fig1 shows a cartoon illustration of visual object and their existence state . every pixel in the cartoon from one frame to the next must be identified . the ai program will try to lock on and determine what pixels , image layers or combination of image layers exist from one frame to the next . if images aren &# 39 ; t very different from one frame to the next , the image processor can use the old encapsulated tree from the previous frame to generate parts of the encapsulated tree in the next frame . this happens when visual objects don &# 39 ; t move and most of the images are exactly like the previous frame . if the existence of encapsulated objects are the same or similar in the next frame , then generate the encapsulated tree for the next frame similar to the previous frame . parts of the encapsulated trees will look the same while other parts will look different . this saves processing time and stops any unnecessary repeated computer calculations . the initial encapsulated tree for the current pathway will forget information by deleting visual objects starting on the lowest level and traveling up the tree levels . the strongest visual objects will be forgotten last and the weak visual objects will be forgotten first . specifically for images and movie sequences , the average pixel color will represent the overall value of a visual object . if all child visual objects are forgotten , the pixel cells they occupy will be represented by the average pixel color from its parent visual object . initially , the movie sequence will have sharp resolution , but as the movie sequences forget information the images are pixelized . important image layers will be sharp and the minor image layers will be pixelized or gone . movie pathways will also break apart into a plurality of sub - movie sequences . the initial encapsulated tree for the current pathway is what the search function wants to find in memory . each element in the initial encapsulated tree is called a visual object . the data we want to compare are called memory encapsulated trees ( or pathways ). each element in the memory encapsulated tree is called a memory object . the more visual objects matched in the initial encapsulated tree the better the pathway match . the more accurate each visual object match is the better the pathway match . the search functions can only travel on memory encapsulated connections that belong to the same pathway ( or memory encapsulated tree ). in later sections , this problem is solved when i explain about universalizing pathways . for example , if a search point was traveling on memory encapsulated connections for pathwayl then it can &# 39 ; t travel on memory encapsulated connections for pathway 2 . the search function will execute two functions to look for pathways in memory : first search function and second search function . both functions will work together to find the best pathway matches . the first search function uses “ search points ” to match a visual object to a memory object . it uses breadth - first search because it searches for visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree from the top - down and searches for all child visual object before moving on to the next level . the second search function uses “ guess points ” to match a memory object to a visual object . this search method uses depth - first search to find matches . from a memory object match in memory the search function will travel on the strongest - closest memory encapsulated connections to find possible memory objects . these memory objects will be used to match with possible visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree . this search function works backwards from the first search function . each search point has a visual object to search , a memory object to match , percentage of match between visual object and memory object , a radius length to search and a location for the best match so far . each search point have radius points , said radius points are equally spaced out points that can have 1 or more copies of itself to triangulate an average location a visual object might be located in memory . each radius point will lock onto a different memory object and compare said visual object to a memory object and output a match . all radius points will process the data and triangulate an optimal memory object to be matched with said visual object . each search point goes through recursion : if search_point ( visual object ) has a successful match ( memory object ) then execute two recursions : ( 1 ). search_point ( visual object ) ( 2 ). guess_point ( memory object ) else if search_point ( visual object ) has an unsuccessful match ( null ) then execute one recursion : ( 1 ). search_point ( visual object ) each search point has a recursion timer . the recursion timer will indicate how long to execute the next recursive thread . if the recursion timer is low that means it takes longer for the recursive thread to execute ( thus , less search points devoted to search for that visual object ). if the recursion timer is high that means it will be faster for the recursive thread to execute . ( thus , more search points devoted to search for that visual object ). the criteria for the recursion timer are : if the search point finds better matches increase the recursion timer and decrease the radius length . if the search point finds worst matches slow down the recursion timer and increase the radius length to search for the same visual object in the next recursive thread . each search point will go through recursion to find better and better matches . the first recursion will pinpoint a general area . the second recursion will pinpoint a more narrow area . the third recursion will pinpoint an even narrower search area . this will go on and on until the search point finds an exact match or there are no better matches left to find . fig1 is a diagram of the narrowing of search areas after every recursive iteration . if better matches are found , visual object “ a ” will change its search area . child visual objects that depend on visual object “ a ” will have there search area changed as well . from a memory object match in memory the search function will travel on the strongest - closest memory encapsulated connections to find possible memory objects . these memory objects will be used to match with possible visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree . the search function will also combine visual objects and match them to possible memory objects . this search function works backwards from the first search function . there are 2 criteria to determine what memory object to designate for a search : 1 . the stronger the memory encapsulated connections leading to the memory object are the better chance it will be picked . 2 . the stronger the powerpoints of the memory object is the better chance it will be picked as soon as the memory object is picked the function will compare it to the visual objects in the initial encapsulated tree . it &# 39 ; s easy to find a match in the initial encapsulated tree because it doesn &# 39 ; t have too much data to compare . visual objects can also be combined and matched . the strongest match will be outputted . each guess point goes through recursion : if guess_point ( memory object ) has a successful match ( visual object ) then execute two recursions : ( 1 ). guess_point ( memory object ) ( 2 ). search_point ( visual object ) else if guess_point ( memory object ) has an unsuccessful match ( null ) then execute one recursion : ( 1 ). guess_point ( memory object ) in the search point there is a last step that wasn &# 39 ; t mentioned ( for simplicity purposes ). the last step is : when the search point finds a match it will locate the match &# 39 ; s masternode . if there are multiple copies of one visual object in memory the masternode is the strongest copy of the visual object and the masternode has reference points to all copies in memory . if multiple copies of the same visual object are in the same general area the search function will use this data for future searches . the search function designates search points or guess points to said first search function and said second search function , each search point or guess point will find matches in memory . if matches are successful or within a success threshold , modify initial encapsulated tree by increasing the powerpoints and priority percent of visual object / s involved in successful search . if matches are not successful or within an unsuccessful threshold , try a new alternative visual object search and modify initial encapsulated tree by decreasing the powerpoints and priority percent of visual object / s involved in unsuccessful search . if alternative visual object search is a better match than the original visual object match modify initial encapsulated tree by deleting the original visual object and replacing it with said alternative visual object . the parent visual objects provide a general search area for its child visual objects . in fig1 a , visual object “ a ” has a big search area . visual object “ b ” is contained in visual object “ a ” s search area . visual object “ c ” is contained in visual object “ b ” s search area . these hierarchical search areas provide boundaries for the search function to limit the search area . the search area radius is calculated by the accuracy of the match . if the percent match is 50 % then the radius will be wide . if the percent match is 80 % then the radius will be narrower . if the percent match is 100 % then the radius is very narrow ( depending on how much data is in memory . in some cases that is a 100 percent match ). another factor of the search area is the tree - level the visual object is located . if the visual object is the top visual object then the radius is wider . if the visual object is at the middle tree - levels then the radius is narrower . the ai program will collect information on most search points and use that to determine where to allocate search points to maximize the search results . if some search areas are not finding enough matches the ai program will devote search points in other search areas . if some search areas are finding lots of matches the ai program will devote more search points in that area . if there are multiple copies of a visual object , the search function will limit the search to only the copies that are contained in the parent &# 39 ; s search area . in fig1 b , visual object b has 3 copies in memory ( visual object b 1 , b 2 , b 3 ). the search function will exclude b 2 and b 3 because they are not within the boundaries of visual object “ a ” s search area . fig1 is an illustration of a search point . the search point is given a visual object to compare called visual object 1 . r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , r 6 , and r 7 are radius points and they are equally spaced out . in fig1 the radius points are structured in a top , bottom , front , back , left , right and center manner . each radius point will lock onto a dominant memory object in their area and compare with visual objectl . when all matches are made , the ai program will triangulate a probable area to find the optimal memory object . the optimal memory object is identified by pointer 68 . visual objectl will be compared to the optimal memory object and output a percent match . the percent match will be assigned to the search point . the radius points can be in any configuration . it can be configured in a ring shape , triangle shape , sphere shape , or arbitrary shape . the number of radius points can be 1 or more , but an adequate amount is 7 to cover a search area in 360 degrees . in fig1 a , memory object 70 has been matched . from memory object 70 the guest point will travel on the strongest memory encapsulated connection to find strong memory objects to search for . in this case , memory object 72 has been picked . the guest point will try to match memory object 72 to a visual object in the initial encapsulated tree . after the matches , visual object 74 was the best match and the match percent is 80 %. ( this type of searching is the direct opposite of how the search points find matches ). let &# 39 ; s look at another example of guess points . in fig1 b memory object 72 has been matched . memory object 72 will then travel on the strongest memory encapsulated connections to find other close - by strong memory objects to search for . in this case memory object 70 has been picked . the guest point will then attempt to match memory object 70 to a visual object in the initial encapsulated tree . the guest point found visual object 76 to be the best match . the match percent is 78 %. let &# 39 ; s say that the visual object 76 had a previous match of 42 % that means the current guest match can replace the previous match because the match percent is higher . fig1 c shows the same memory objects in fig1 b but in a cartoon sequence . referring to fig1 , if visual objects b and k are matched in the initial encapsulated tree , then the guess point can combine the two visual objects into visual object bk . if the guess point finds memory object bk as its search item then it will match to visual object bk in the initial encapsulated tree . since the guess point match is 95 % and is better than the previous match 60 % it will replace the previous match . re - organization of the initial encapsulated tree is required when the ai program finds out that the initial encapsulated tree created by the image processor doesn &# 39 ; t correlate with the encapsulated trees in memory . the image processor creates an initial encapsulated tree to break up the visual object to search for data heuristically , but most of the time the initial encapsulated tree is flawed . the encapsulated tree for a pathway in memory is considered optimal . the self - organization does a good job in bringing associated groups together . with this said , the initial encapsulated tree for the current pathway should correlate with the encapsulated tree for pathways in memory . the inner workings of this function will not be disclosed in this patent because it &# 39 ; s too long . i will demonstrate a simple example and back up the demonstration with illustrations . fig2 a shows the initial encapsulated tree for current pathway “ a ” made by the image processor . fig2 a shows the encapsulated tree for the same pathway “ a ” stored in memory . if the ai program finds visual objects b , h , c , k individually in memory , it will compare the match &# 39 ; s parent visual objects . if the two parent visual objects don &# 39 ; t correlate , the input current pathway “ a ” will go through re - organization . in this case fig2 b shows the flow diagram of switching visual objects “ h ” with visual object “ c ”. one example of re - organization is when the ai program encounters a still picture of a man in a shaded and dark background . the man has black hair and the image processor thinks the hair is part of the background . when the image processor finds the image layer of the man in memory it realizes that the black hair is actually part of the man and not the background . the image processor will then cut out pixels from the background image layer and transfer these pixels into the man image layer . the reason for re - organizing the initial encapsulated tree is because the initial encapsulated tree has to be optimal or close to optimal before it is stored in memory . if we store the initial encapsulated tree in memory as is , it won &# 39 ; t matter as much because self - organization will knit the flawed initial encapsulated tree to one that is optimal . i think it is important that the input to be stored in memory is optimal during the time of storage and not after . the search function will constantly be searching for data and modifying the initial encapsulated tree during the search process . by the time the search is over the initial encapsulated tree made by the image processor will be changed and all groupings will be optimal . for the topic of universalizing pathways , visual objects won &# 39 ; t be used anymore . visual objects will now be referred to as simply , objects . all 4 data types : 5 sense objects , hidden object , pattern object , and learned object are grouped together in combinations , encapsulating a series of groups . self - organization will bring all these encapsulated groups closer and closer together . as a result , the actual pathways will be closer and closer to one another in the network based on the associated rules for images and movie sequences — group pixels closer to one another , group sequences closer to one another , group images that are more likely to be seen together , etc . fig2 a is an example of two similar pathways : pathway 1 and pathway 2 . if pathway 1 ( the current pathway ) is stored close to pathway 2 , then their encapsulated groups will be grouped together and identical or similar groups will be shared . because of the pulling effect of the encapsulated groups pathway 1 and pathway 2 are pulled toward each other . their association connections with one another , gets stronger and stronger . both letters and numbers represent encapsulated groups from all 4 data types . the groups that are the same or similar will be grouped together . this means a , b , 1 , 3 , 6 are brought closer to each other and each node uses only one copy ; the other copy is deleted ( fig2 b ). this prevents any repeated data from forming in the network . each pathway has their encapsulated connections from all 4 data types . these encapsulated connections are only used by that pathway and no other . when searching for information the encapsulated connections can only be followed for a single pathway . this can pose a real problem when searching for large amounts of data in memory . the way to solve this problem is to universalize pathways and its encapsulated trees and create a rough idea what encapsulated connections belong to what pathways . referring to fig2 , in the diagram there are three pathways : pathway 1 , pathway 2 , and pathway 3 . if all three pathways are contained in a set of 10 pathways , the encapsulated groups will bring pathways closer to one another . as the encapsulated groups in all three pathways get stronger and stronger , all three pathways will break away from the 7 other pathways in the set . when this happens the 3 pathways are considered universal . that means all the encapsulated objects in all 3 pathways can be used to search for information when encountering a pathway that is either identical or similar to any of the 3 pathways . by universalizing the pathways and its encapsulated groups each object in the hierarchical tree isn &# 39 ; t exclusive anymore . same objects can be found in other encapsulated groups . the universalized pathways will contain the most likely permutations and combinations of one fuzzy object . in the case of the diagram in fig2 , the fuzzy object is the average of pathway 1 , pathway 2 , and pathway 3 . this is why searching for information in the encapsulated groups is not going to be exact . the search function will be constantly changing and modifying the search results . the reason for universalizing pathways is because the ai program will forget information . for example , if pathway 1 , pathway 2 , and pathway 3 are forgotten , but part of their data still remains in memory , the ai program will not be able to get a good match on any one particular pathway . by creating a fuzzy range between the three pathways the ai is able to find a match based on the strongest encapsulated connections . referring to fig2 , pathway 5 has several connections to the universal pathway and the universal pathway has several encapsulated connection to pathway 5 . the boundary line sets the area that excludes the universal pathway from traveling to outside pathways . it can only travel in the encapsulated connections in pathway 1 , pathway 2 , pathway 3 and no other pathway . universal pathways can have a range or degree of certainty . the diagram in fig2 shows that the universal pathway has 5 levels of certainty . the closer the levels are to the center the more certain the universal pathway is . this means that the stronger the universal pathway is the more likely all the encapsulated object belongs to that one object . the search function can use this level of certainty to search for information or modify its searches by either broadening the search or narrowing the search . broadening the search means searching in the higher levels of the universal pathway and narrowing the search means moving the search in the lower levels of the universal pathway . the search function can broaden the search first then slowly narrowing the search until a good match is found . referring to fig2 , each level will either include or exclude pathways based on how similar these pathways are . for example , leveli can contain a criteria that states any pathway that has 90 percent match will be included . in level 2 the criteria can be 80 percent match , level 3 can be 70 percent match , level 4 can be 60 percent match , and level 5 can be 50 percent match . the structure of the universal pathways can be very complicated when there are thousands of pathways that are trying to associate themselves . but , because of the way that the network is set up the complexity is managed . universal pathways that have too many hierarchical levels will break up into two or more groups of universal pathways . pathways in these similar groups do not have to be exclusive . a simple image will have 1 center point that represents the average location of that image . if looking at the network with many similar image examples there will exist gradual points concentrated at the center — the points will look like a sphere . for movie sequences , there exist , not one , but multiple center points . every image will have a center point , every frame will have a center point , and every movie sequence will have a center point . if looking at the network with many similar movie sequence examples the gradual points will look like a distorted 3 - dimensional shape . the shape will continue to change its form and size as the robot learns more movie sequences or forget data in memory . this 3 - dimensional shape is called a floater . by using the method i talked about earlier , universal pathways , the floater will eventually break away from a set of similar floaters . in other words the floater was trained so many times that the object got stronger and stronger until it breaks away from the rest of the set . one example is animals . if the robot works at an animal shelter and takes care of animals every day , then it will contain multiple animal objects in memory . these animal objects will group themselves based on physical common traits . as the robot learns more , it will create a floater for dogs , cats , horses , pigs and cows . all the cats in the animal shelter are stored and averaged out , all the dogs in the animal shelter are stored and averaged out and so forth . when the floater is created for a cat that means all the cats in the world are averaged out . it doesn &# 39 ; t matter if the robot encounters different types of cats in terms of color , size , gender , weight , and length , the robot knows where to store that cat object . the center of the cat floater stores the strongest common physical traits of all cats . as the floater deviates to the higher levels the cat images are broadened . i show in my earlier patent application that the rules program will bring association between the cat floater and a word . when the two objects ( floater and word ) pass the assign threshold , then the word “ cat ” represents the cat floater . this is how the robot learns meaning to language . for example , if the cat floater is assigned the sound “ cat ” that means the sound “ cat ” represent the cat floater . the sound “ cat ” is the learned group to represent any sequential cat images in the cat floater . this technique groups data together in a different way than physical common traits . the learned objects ( one of the 4 data types ) group data in terms of language . we learn language and we use language to group data in memory . language can represent not only physical objects , but events , situations , action , places , things , and complex situations . the robot will also use the learned objects to organize data in memory . when two or more floaters are stored in one area in memory , the ai program will average each floaters location . all sequential images from each floater will group itself together . for example , the robot is working in an animal shelter and the robot encounters three types of animal every day : cat , dog and horse . let &# 39 ; s use the horse as the object under investigation . if the robot encounters the horse and the cat 40 times , and the robot encounters the horse and the dog 15 times , then the robot will have stronger association between the cat and the horse . this will bring the horse floater and cat floater closer together . referring to fig2 a , the diagram shows that individual sequential images are shared between all three animal floaters . each floater has an overall center point . as the individual movie sequences are pulled closer to one another the center point for each floater are also pulling each other closer together . referring to fig2 b , the individual sequential images of the cat are pulled closer toward the horse and the sequential images of the horse are pulled closer toward the cat . the pull will affect the center point for each floater — it will bring the overall floaters closer to one another . after averaging out the floaters , notice that the cat floater and the horse floater are closer to one another , while the dog floater is farther away . the associational strength between the cat and the horse is stronger while the associational strength between the horse and the dog are weaker . also , notice that the dog floater has moved a little towards the horse floater . the floater object can be represented as sequential image layers of one object . if the object is charlie brown that means the floater has all the sequential image layers of charlie brown from all animated states including scaling and rotation . an object floater is created by training many movie sequences that contain charlie brown . as the sequential images of charlie brown is stored in memory the data gets stronger and stronger . it will reach a point where the sequential images of charlie brown will break away from all the movies that contain it . the result is a charlie brown floater . fig2 illustrates streaming pathways . after each iteration of the main for - loop the ai program generates streaming pathways 80 . the current pathway has a fixed amount of frames . in each iteration of the for - loop the ai program receives one extra frame from the environment and the last frame is deleted . in current pathway 2 , frame 2 from current pathway 1 is deleted and frame 6 is added to the front of the pathway . pathways in memory will be very close to one another because of the similarities between sequences in frames . in fig2 , streaming pathways 78 shows that pathways are brought closer to one another based on there similarities . pathway 1 will be closer to pathway 2 because they have more similarities , while pathway 2 and pathway 3 will be closer together because of their similarities . when the ai program is searching for streaming pathways in memory it will try to match streaming pathways that are consistent . current pathway 1 and current pathway 2 is consistent with pathway 2 and pathway 3 in memory . in some cases streaming pathways has to be broken up into sections and stored in different parts of memory . it really depends on what the optimal pathway is in each iteration of the for - loop . as the ai program learn more the streaming pathways get longer and longer . if it doesn &# 39 ; t learn enough the pathways begin to break up into two or more separate pathways . the forgetting of data will eventually delete all data in the pathway if it &# 39 ; s not retrained . there are many more data types that i haven &# 39 ; t disclosed yet . in this section i will give a brief summary of other major data types . humans have 5 different senses : sight , sound , taste , touch , and smell . so far , i have discussed visual objects in detail , but i left the rest of the senses behind . in addition to visual objects , there are sound objects , touch objects , taste objects , and smell objects . each one of these data types is represented differently and they have their own hidden data . just like how visual objects generate hidden data during runtime , the other data types will generate hidden data during runtime . sound is 3 - dimensional . there are two ears on a human being and the reason for the two ears is because of the ability to distinguish the distance of sound . just like there are two eyes on a human being to distinguish dept and distance , two ears on a human being will distinguish distance for sound . sound objects will be stored in a 3 - dimensional network . actually , all 5 senses are stored in the same 3 - d network . they are separated in different regions in the brain . sound has certain characteristic that visual images don &# 39 ; t have such as pitch , volume , distance , and tone . these characteristics will be the traits focused on when determining how sound is represented in the network . the data for sound is continuous in a pathway and it has these starting and stopping points : sound object exist , sound object non - exist , and sound object change . touch is a very interesting sense because it uses patterns in order to store . touch or feelings can be stored in sequential pathways and has basically the same characteristics as sound . each touch sense is stored in the network based on where that touch sense is in the environment in relations to the robot &# 39 ; s brain . for example , if you &# 39 ; re a human being , the touch senses will actually create a 3 - dimensional shape of all touch senses on your body . a 3 - d shape of what the human being looks like at that current state is created in memory . for example , if someone is a child the touch objects will create a 3 - d shape of that child in memory , if someone is a teen the touch objects will create a 3 - d shape of that teen in memory , and if someone is an adult the touch objects will create a 3 - d shape of that adult in memory . it really depends on what the robot looks like and where the touch sensors are located . for a human being , sensors are located inside as well as outside . this means the human being has a picture of not only the external sensors , but the internal organs that have sensors as well . if the robot is a frog , then the touch sensors will create a frog shape , if the robot is a bird then the touch sensors will create a bird shape and so forth . this shape that is made by the touch data is also called the touch floater . the shape of the robot created by the touch data is important to convey the meaning to the word “ i ”. that shape that is created from the touch objects is actually a floater that can be assigned to a word . the word “ i ” can be assigned to this touch floater and the robot will be able to identify itself not in terms of visual pictures , but by the touch floater . actually , sound pitches can be assigned to the word “ i ”, the touch floater can be assigned to the word “ i ”, the visual floater of the robot can be assigned to the word “ i ”. if all these different floaters are assigned to the word “ i ”, then the robot will have an understanding of the word “ i ” ( establishing identity ). the visual image it sees in the mirror represent the word “ i ”, the sound that the robot makes will represent the word “ i ”, and the touch floater will represent the word “ i ”. the touch objects can also be included in pattern objects to represent language . things like “ my hand touched the needle ” or “ the water is cold ” can be understood . touch objects can assign pain or pleasure to other objects . the touch floater will have pain or pleasure or certain feeling recorded in the pathways . when enough experience is encountered regarding touch objects , the robot will have pain and pleasure wired into the touch floater . any object recognized by the robot that elicit a certain pain or pleasure will have their powerpoints decreased or increased . for example , if the robot touches a needle and the needle causes pain , then the needle object will have its powerpoints lowered . if the robot goes to a spa and the touch feeling is pleasurable then the spa object will have higher powerpoints . touch objects can also be wired to sexuality and the objects that cause pleasure or pain will have their powerpoints lowered or highered . taste is actually an object that is derived from the touch object . sensors in your mouth is considered a touch object , but the mouth is only located in one local area . my guess is that the touch floater will store data regarding the taste of something in the mouth area . taste will also have a linear range ( it could be 3 - d as well ). the range for taste goes from very good to very bad . all other taste will fall between these ranges . scientists speculate that there are 10 , 000 different taste senses . this means within the range from very good to very bad are 10 , 000 different taste senses . referring to fig2 , taste objects will also have built in pain and pleasure attached to the data . if the robot eats a rotten tomato , then the taste will be painful and the object , tomato , that caused the pain will have its powerpoints lowered . if the robot eats ice cream , then the taste will be pleasureable and the object , ice cream , that caused the pleasure will have its powerpoints increased . smell object is just like taste in that it is derived for touch . the smell object also has a range or degree of smell . the range will go from very good to very bad . all the different smell objects will fall in between these two ranges . the smell object is the same as the taste object because it is a sensor and the most likely area it will be located is in the touch floater by the nose area . smell can also have built in pain or pleasure . when 5 sense objects are encountered that causes pain or pleasure , then that object will have its &# 39 ; powerpoints lowered or highered , depending on wither the robot is feeling pain or pleasure . all 5 sense objects : visual objects , sound objects , touch objects , taste objects and smell objects will generate their own hidden data during runtime . these 5 sense objects are also used in pattern objects to assign meaning to words or sentences . the rules program will find the association and patterns between words / sentences and certain 5 sense object / s . in visual frames there are hidden data set up by the programmer that will provide additional information about a movie sequence . these hidden data are set up to establish additional data and allow the ai program to find patterns that can &# 39 ; t be recognized by what is actually on the visual frames . action words such as jump , walk , throw and run have patterns that can be identified by these hidden data . also , patterned sentences from hidden data can provide meaning to object interaction . below demonstrate patterned sentences . object r 1 , r 2 , r 3 can be anything . 1 . r 1 is on r 2 . 2 . r 1 is walking toward r 2 . 3 . r 2 is on r 3 and r 3 is on r 1 . 4 . go around r 1 . 5 . r 1 is 3 feet from r 2 . 6 . r 1 is below r 2 . 7 . r 1 is under r 2 but over r 3 . 8 . r 1 collided with r 2 . the hidden data is wired to the visual frames . all the image layers or what is considered an image layer ( visual object ) will have measurements that provide the ai program with information about where that image layer is in relations to other image layers in the movie frames . the hidden data also provide information about the properties of the image layer such as the center point of the image layer and the overall pixel count . since the hidden data is wired to the visual object that means the learned object that is equal to the visual object has a reference to the hidden data . this is important because the ai program will use a combination of the three objects in order to find complex patterns and assign these complex patterns to sentences . a note on hidden data , when the visual object ( image layer ) is forgotten , the hidden data still has the learned object . if both the visual object and the learned object are forgotten then the hidden data stands alone . “ the hidden data can exist without either a learned object or a visual object or both ”. most of the hidden data are discussed in previous patent applications extensively so i &# 39 ; m going to do a review or a summary of these hidden data . these are the hidden data for visual objects or movie sequences : 1 . each image layer has a fixed frame size . 2 . each image layer has a normalization point ( center point for that image ). 3 . each image layer has a location point in the frame . the point is the normalization point . 4 . each image layer has focus area and eye distance . 5 . each image layer has an overall pixel count . 6 . each image layer has data that summarizes all the pixels that it occupies including pixel color , neutral pixel count , patterns in the pixels , 3 - dimensional shape and so forth . 1 . each image layer will have a direction of movement ( north , south , east , west , northeast , southwest etc .). this can represent words such as north , south , east , direction , down , up , bottom etc . 2 . each image layer will have coordinate movement in terms of x and y from frame to frame . this can represent words like : moving , walking slowly , fast , slow , one step , stationary , taking a break and so forth . if this data is combined with the direction of movement then more words can be represented such as : moving south , jump , walk , throw , trajectory , the car took a nose dive into the water , the book fell , turn around , jump up , look down , move sideways and so forth . 3 . each image layer will have relationships to other image layers in the current pathway . the relationships will include the coordinate points between the two image layers and the direction between the two image layers . 4 . each image layer will have a touch sensor that lights up when it touches another image layer . this can represent words like : touch , collision , slide , skim , and so forth . 5 . each image layer will have a degree of change from one frame to the next . if it changes its shape dramatically it will be recorded . if it changes its shape gradually it will be recorded . this is important because if the image layer touches another image layer the degree of change will tell if the interaction caused the image object to change or it didn &# 39 ; t cause the image object to change . a car accident definitely changes the way a car looks after the collision , while solid objects moving very slowly and colliding don &# 39 ; t change its shape . 6 . each image layer will have scaling and rotation data . did the image layer grow larger in size ? did the image layer rotate to the right ? if it did what is the degree of rotation ? words such as : grow bigger , deflated , change its size , rotated , towards , move away from , and shrink can be represented by this data . these are just some of the hidden data that will accompany visual images and movie sequences . the programmer can add in more data , but the al program will take a longer time to find patterns among the hidden data . this is where the programmer should decide how much hidden data to include . too much hidden data will overwhelm the system and too little will prevent the pattern function from doing its job properly . in prior art , discrete math and predicate calculus are used to represent language . predefined iconic objects and are used to represent words and grammar structure in a limited environment . assignment statements , if - then statements , or statements , and statements , not operators and so forth are used in combinations to represent language . they also classify sentences into one of these groups : facts , questions , answers , directed sentences , personal sentences , etc . the human artificial intelligence program doesn &# 39 ; t use any of the pre - existing ai techniques to represent language . the hai program has built in internal functions such as the 3 - d environment , long - term memory , hidden data , and so forth to find “ patterns ” and assign these patterns to language . the 3 - dimensional storage area contains all 4 data types : 5 sense objects , hidden objects , learned objects , pattern objects . 5 sense objects include : visual objects , sound objects , taste objects , smell objects , and touch objects . all these different data types are used to find patterns between similar pathways in memory . these pattern objects are important to assign meaning to words and sentences in a language . here are most of the internal functions used by the ai program to find meaning to language and predicting the future : 1 . the assignment statement — the rules program determine the assign threshold . if two objects pass the assign threshold that means both objects are equal . patterns are used to assign this function to a sentence . 2 . modifying data in memory — this function changes the data in memory by inserting data , deleting data , modifying data , modify the powerpoints and priority of data , and migrating data from one part of memory to another part . 3 . using the 4 different data types to find patterns . the 4 different data types are : 5 sense objects , hidden objects , learned objects , and pattern objects . the 5 sense objects contain : visual objects , sound objects , taste objects , touch objects , and smell objects . this function will use the 4 different data types as variables to find any patterns between similar pathways . these data types will be used to represent reference objects in patterns . these patterns will then be assigned to represent meaning to words or sentences . 4 . determining the existence of an object in our environment . this function determines if objects in our environment currently exist or not . objects like people , places , things situations , time and so forth can have one of three states : existing , non - existing or changed . 5 . searching for data in memory — this function searches for and extract specific data from memory by using patterns that were found in similar examples . the ai program can extract data from linear sound , it can extract data from 2 - dimensional visual movies , or any other 5 sense data . 6 . determining the distance of data in the 3 - d environment — finding the distances between two or more objects in memory is based on patterns . measurements and distances between objects are analyzed and assigned to words and sentences . 7 . rewinding and fast forwarding in long - term memory to find information — the length of when certain situations happen and where it happened is based on patterns . information will also be extracted from the movie sequences . 8 . determining the strength and weakness of data in memory . how strong is one data compared to another data and how the data changes during a time period depend greatly on patterns found in similar examples . below are just some of the patterns to represent different sentences . words in sentences can mean : one object belongs to someone , one object is located at a certain location , one object is existing in our environment , one object is a part of another object , or one object is made from another object . whatever the meaning is , regardless of how complex , the hai program will be able to find the patterns and assign these patterns to words / sentences . the ai program will use patterns within the 3 - dimensional storage area to find the meaning to r 1 has a r 2 . after the ai program compare similar pathways stored in memory a universal meaning will be assigned to this sentence structure . the pattern that resides in this sentence structure is the object r 2 is an encapsulated object located in object r 1 . dave has a head , jane has a head , a car has a steering wheel , a bank has a volt , and a soda can has a cap . all these sentences have a universal meaning . the meaning is presented in the diagrams in fig2 a and 27b . notice that the head is an image layer encapsulated within jane or dave . i show the reader the hierarchical groups that represent the human images . the ai program will look at the patterns of not only what that image is , but also , the hierarchical meaning of that image . for example , the group human can represent a child , a man , a woman , an old man , an old women , a girl child , a boy child , a handicapped man , a man in a wheelchair and so forth . the learned group women can represent any women image regardless of race , size , religion , shape and so forth . the ai program will find that the two examples ( fig2 a - 27b ) share a pattern : the head object is contained inside the human object . the sentence structure “ r 1 has a r 2 ” has a universal pattern . r 1 and r 2 can be any object , but the underline meaning of the sentence will stay the same . the ai program will find the universal pattern for all examples and it will understand the sentence regardless of what r 1 and r 2 are . if there exist multiple meaning to the sentence structure the ai program will find multiple meaning to the sentence . the conscious will tell the ai program what the real meaning is via activated sentences . this sentence structure means the object r 1 contains 4 objects of r 2 . for example , if the sentence is : a cat has 4 legs the pattern is the object cat comprises 4 object legs . this example is similar to the last sentence example . because 2 - d images hide features on the object , the 3 - d storage has data about an object from 360 degrees . the ai knows that a cat object has 4 legs , not from still pictures of the cat , but from the 360 degree floater of the cat . the floater of the cat contains every sequential image of a cat in all animated states . this r 1 has 4 r 2 can be applied to all sentences that have that kind of configuration . examples are listed below : the number 4 can also be a variable and can be any number . n 1 will represent a given number . for example , r 1 has n 1 r 2 . sentences that can be created from this structure are : a man has 2 arms a human has 1 head a giraffe has 2 eyes the picture has 2 animals this sentence structure is assigning certain images to words in the sentence . for example , if the sentence is “ five animals are on the table ”, this means that within the boundaries of the table object , encapsulates five animal objects . the word “ on ” also means that the animals are positioned on the table , most notably touching the surface of the table . if the word “ on ” is replaced with the word “ under ” that means the animals are positioned below the table , most notably on the ground , but within the confines of the table &# 39 ; s 4 legs . the rules program will find the patterns to any sentence structure regardless of how complex they may be . in this sentence structure , the pattern is that the object r 1 exist in or around object r 2 . if a teacher is teaching the robot that melissa is at the kitchen , then the robot will find out that object melissa is located within or near object kitchen . the approximate location of the two objects will be noted and the location of the two objects in relation to each other will be noted . similar examples are compared and the ai program will average out all examples and output a universal meaning to the sentence structure : r 1 is at the r 2 . depending on what r 1 and r 2 are the ai program will have different meaning to the sentence structure . for example , the meaning of sentence , “ melissa is at the kitchen ” is different from the meaning of sentence , “ the book is at the library ”. the relative location of each object is different . this sentence structure conveys an event that is happening now . all events , regardless of how complex , can be described in terms of language . events represented by words / sentences can take the variable r 1 . language can be used to classify any 5 sense data or a combination of 5 sense data . if the sentence is used , “ the singing show is happening now ”, and the robot looks at the television screen and sees the singing show , then it will know that there is a pattern . the pattern is that the singing show currently exists in our environment and the words in the sentence structure are trying to convey that meaning . this sentence structure is similar to the last example . the sentence includes a time that the event r 1 will happen . imagine the sentence , “ the car accident is happening in 2 minutes ”. the pattern is telling the ai program that from the current state , in approximately 2 minutes , the car accident will happen . if the ai program truly understands the sentence then it will know that in two minutes the car will turn into scrap metal . it will anticipate that the event will happen approximately 2 minutes into the future . different regions on an object can be focused on and certain characteristics can be extracted . in the case of the sentence above , the object is a cat . the sentence is trying to focus the robot &# 39 ; s attention to the color on the cat &# 39 ; s face . since the color of the cat &# 39 ; s face is the color blue , then that is what the sentence is trying to convey . different regions on 3 - d objects have different colors . the colors can be gradual or scattered or mixed or layered and so forth . the pattern of colors arranged on specific regions on an object can be extracted based on intelligence . words / sentences can be used to show different color displays . if a dog has spots all over its body , the sentence , “ the dog is grey with black spots all over its head ”, describes what it looks like . if a cat has different rainbow colors on its body , the sentence , “ the color of the cat is swirling with rainbow colors ”, describes what it looks like . if someone wants a specific color on a specific region on the animal then the sentence , “ the cat has a brown ring - like color on its &# 39 ; left ear ”, will describe the animal . other more complex sentences use the human conscious in order to find patterns . this sentence uses a form of logic to understand . activated sentences regarding how certain objects are made will average itself out . for instance , simple visual images can &# 39 ; t convey how paper is made from trees . however , we can use logical sentences to explain the process of how paper is made from trees . this paper example will be averaged out with other similar examples such as how apple juice is made from apples or how sound is made from speakers . similar logical sentences combined with visual movie scenes can provide the ai with the necessary objects to find patterns to complicated words / sentences . referring to fig2 , the diagram shows that all 3 objects have the same meaning . animal , cat , and the floater of a cat are the 3 objects . the pattern for the sentence , “ a cat is a form of animal ” is based on the fact that the learned groups animal and cat are assigned to the floater cat ; and the word animal has less powerpoints then the word cat . hiearchical objects can be represented by this kind of pattern . the universal sentence “ a r 1 is a form of r 2 ” can represent infinite possibilities . r 1 and r 2 can be any object . sentences that can be constructed from this sentence structure are : a human is a form of mammal a dog is a form of animal a cow is a form of animal a snake is a form of reptile a reptile is a form of animal adverbs and adjectives that describe a noun can be understood by a very sophisticated form of patterns . in current fuzzy logic topics , scientists try to solve problems such as understanding words like : a little tall , medium tall , very tall . the range of tallness is what they are trying to represent . the individual word tall is another factor . depending on what the object tall is referencing , there are varying degrees of tallness . for example , an 8 year old boy can be 5 ′ 6 ″ and he can be considered tall for his age . however , if a 20 year old is 5 ═ 6 ″ he is considered short . to solve the problem of understanding adverbs and adjectives in sentences , patterns are used . when we say things like : that boy is tall or that man is tall or that building is tall , the word “ tall ” is describing a noun . tall is not one word that describes all objects ( nouns ), but is a word that can have multiple meaning for different objects . the key is to locate what the word tall is describing . if the word tall is describing a boy then there should be a range of what tall is regarding boys . if the word tall is describing a man then there should be a range of what tall is regarding men . if the word tall is describing a building then there should be a range of what tall is regarding buildings . the word tall is describing the height of an object from the ground - up ( for the most part ). there are occasions where tallness is not about height , but width , or a combination of height and width . it really depends on the patterns found , but for the most part , the pattern found will be the height of the object . referring to fig3 , factors and data used to describe the meaning to the word “ tall ” comes from the image layer of an object ( objecta ). all encapsulated objects in objecta will also be considered . the length of one encapsulated object is compared to the length of another encapsulated object . if the computer finds a pattern it will assign this pattern to an object . the rules program will bring this object closer to the pattern sentence : the r 1 is very tall . for the tallness of a man , the length of the foot ( encapsulated object ) to the head ( encapsulated object ) will be used . this technique is also used for adverbs such as : very , medium , small , big , large , little and so forth . combination of words like : “ very tall ”, “ average tall ”, “ a little tall ”, can be used to find patterns instead of individual words . the words “ very tall ” should not be viewed as one fixed object . if these two words were put into different sentences they can mean very different things . it really depends on the current situation and other objects surrounding the two words , “ very tall ”. for example , the sentence , “ the boy is very tall ”, very tall means the height of the boy in comparison to the average height of all boys . another example is , “ the building is very tall ”. “ very tall ”, in this sentence mean the average height of all buildings . the two words , “ very tall ” may have an average meaning for all sentences that contain the two words , but to have a more defined meaning , the two words have to be understood in terms of the entire sentence and the current environment . the existence of an object is crucial to understanding something like an and - statement . if the pattern sentence is “ r 1 and r 2 ”, then after repeatedly training many examples with this sentence structure a universal meaning will be revealed . that meaning is that object r 1 is existing along with object r 2 . for example , if the robot sees someone holding a pencil and an eraser and the sentence is encountered : i am holding the pencil and the eraser , then there should be a pattern to this situation . another example is : the dog and the cat are in the picture . the fact that the dog and the cat are existing in the picture tells the robot that the word “ and ” is a grouping of two existing objects in a given environment . in this case the environment is the picture . r 1 is the dog and r 2 is the cat . if - statements are existence of objects or events based on a probability . “ if dave presses the red button then the sky will turn blue ”. if this sentence is encountered along with the situation , then the robot will understand that certain parts of the sentence is a condition part and the other part is an event . if the robot encounters this if - then statement 5 times and 2 out of 5 times the sky turns blue when dave presses the red button , then that means there is a 2 in 5 chance that the if - statement : “ if dave presses the red button ” will lead to the event : “ then the sky will turn blue ”. dave presses the red button is existing in the environment and the next existing event is : the sky will turn blue . the probability of the two existing events will happen 2 out of 5 times . all if - then statements will depend on their individual situation and what kind of objects are involved . the not - statement is the non - existence of an object . after many examples the robot will learn that the pattern “ not r 1 ” is the non - existing of object r 1 . if the sentence was encountered : dave is not here . the robot looks around and dave doesn &# 39 ; t exist — the robot can &# 39 ; t find dave . the robot will associate that meaning with the sentence and understand what “ not ” means . the next couple of sections will emphasize on the robot &# 39 ; s conscious and how the conscious is used to solve problems , plan tasks , predict the future and so forth . these sections were left out from my last patent application and i wanted to include them here so the readers can have a better understanding of how human intelligence is produced in a machine . 1 . the ai program receives 5 sense data from the environment . 2 . objects recognized by the ai program are called target objects and element objects are objects in memory that have strong association to the target object . 3 . the ai program will collect all element objects from all target objects and determine which element objects to activate . 4 . all element objects will compete with one another to be activated and the strongest element object / s will be activated . 5 . these activated element objects will be in the form of words , sentences , images , or instructions to guide the ai program to do one of the following : provide meaning to language , solve problems , plan tasks , solve interruption of tasks , predict the future , think , or analyze a situation . 6 . the activated element object / s is also known as the robot &# 39 ; s conscious . fig2 shows an illustration of target objects and activated element objects . as the ai program recognizes target objects in memory it will activate element objects . if the target object and the activated element object are equal , then the activated element object is a learned object of the target object . referring to fig3 , all 4 different data types and their encapsulated trees will be used to match pathways in memory ( 5 sense objects , hidden objects , learned objects or activated element objects , and pattern objects ). this is how language can be represented in terms of fuzzy logic . same sentences from different languages can look totally different , but the meaning is the same . the target objects are the sentences encountered and the activated element objects are the meaning . different sentences in english looks different , but they mean the same things . the three sentences below is one example . 1 . “ look left , right , and make sure there are no cars before crossing the street ” 2 . “ remember to see if there are no cars from the left and right before you cross the street ” 3 . “ don &# 39 ; t forget to look at all corners to make sure there are no cars before crossing the street ” visual text words and sound words can be deceiving because different sentences , even with a slight variation , can mean totally different things . the meaning of the sentences can be the same or similar . this is why the ai program will compare all 4 data types : 5 sense data , hidden data , learned groups , and patterns . the diagrams in fig3 a and 32b demonstrates how the robot compares pathways in memory . the current pathway is the input from the environment . the ai program will compare the current pathway with pathways in memory based on all 4 data types . it will lock onto each data type and find the closest matches ( finding a perfect match is very rare ). pathway 7 is a pathway stored in memory . in fig3 a , all the data types in the current pathway are set at 100 %. in fig3 b , the percent next to the data types in pathway 7 is the match percent it has with the current pathway . imagine if the target objects were visual text words . the ai program is reading in sequential text words from a book . notice that the target object match percents are very low , however the element objects that these text words activated have very high match percents . if target objects in the current pathway and pathway 7 are : current pathway : “ look left , right , and make sure there are no cars before crossing the street ” pathway 7 : “ remember to see if there are no cars from the left and right before you cross the street ” these two sentences don &# 39 ; t look the same , but the meaning is the same or similar ( the meaning is the activated element objects ). the pattern objects and hidden objects also have similar matches . in fact , the meaning is almost exactly the same . this is how the ai program represents language in terms of fuzzy logic . optimize search by using all 4 data types to search for information the present invention is novel because it contains one of the fastest search algorithms in computer science . human beings are intelligent because they are able to learn language and use language to search for and organize data in memory . instead of searching for information using only 5 sense objects ( visual objects , sound objects , taste objects , smell objects and touch objects ) learned objects can be used to search for information even faster . learned objects are two or more objects that have very strong association with one another . the connections are so strong that they are grouped together in an equals ring . all objects inside an equals ring are considered the same exact object . visual objects are grouped together in terms of object floaters . these object floaters are assigned to words or sentences to mean something . for example , the words “ cat ” means any sequential image of the cat floater . when a visual object is stored in memory , if a learned object is activated and the learned object is the same object as said visual object , then both learned object and visual object will be stored in the same area . when the ai searches for information the learned object will identify the visual object and vice versa because they are the same exact objects . in fig3 a is a diagram depicting the searching of data using only visual objects . imagine if there are 80 trillion encapsulated connections to travel on to get to the next visual object , the search function will narrow down the search by traveling on the strongest encapsulated connections first . even with this method searching for data in 80 trillion next encapsulated connections is like searching for a needle in a hay stack . using only visual objects to search for information will not work when dealing with very large scale problems . the novel approach covered in this invention is to use 4 different data types to search for information : 5 sense objects , hidden objects , learned objects , and pattern objects . all 4 data types have their own encapsulated connections and all 4 data types can be grouped together in combinations and permutations . fig3 b is a diagram depicting the searching of data using both visual objects and learned objects . imagine if you were looking for a visual object of a cat jumping over a table . in the diagram , visual object “ table ” 82 has already been located by the ai program . the next step is the find the image of a cat jumping over the table . if we use the encapsulated connection for visual objects only , there will be 80 trillion connections we have to search . referring to fig3 b , visual object “ table ” 82 is grouped together with the learned object “ cat ”, by following the group 84 that has both visual object “ table ” and the learned group “ cat ”, we can search for the cat images faster . imagine that the encapsulated connections for the learned objects is 50 , 000 , that means we only need to search a maximum of 50 , 000 to get to the encapsulated object (“ table ”, “ cat ”) 84 . if you search for the learned object by searching the strongest encapsulated connections first then the search will be much faster . referring to fig3 c , the learned object has a reference to the visual object “ cat ”, all the sequential images of a cat is grouped in the cat floater and the learned object “ cat ” has a reference pointer to this cat floater . by following the learned object “ cat ” the search has been narrowed down to 50 , 000 . imagine that the learned object “ cat ” has reference pointers to 20 , 000 sequential cat images . this means that the search function has now narrowed down the maximum search possibility to 70 , 000 . searching for a visual object in 70 , 000 entries is faster than searching for a visual object in 80 trillion entries . to narrow down the search even more i introduce hidden objects to the search . when visual objects move from one frame to the next in a movie sequence it generates hidden objects . that hidden object is attached to the visual object . in fig3 d , when the cat jumped in the movie sequence it generated a hidden object . that hidden object is now used to search for information along with the learned object and the visual object . from (“ table ”, “ cat ”) 84 the encapsulated connection for hidden object is 1 , 000 . that means it takes a maximum of 1 , 000 searches to get to (“ jump ”, “ table ”, “ cat ”) 86 . if you add up the maximum number of searches it will add up to 51 , 000 . referring to fig3 e , imagine that the hidden object has a reference pointer to 10 sequential images in the cat floater , that means we have narrowed down the possibility of 20 , 000 images in the cat floater to 10 images . the final maximum search required to find the visual object cat jumping over a table is 51 , 010 . this section will provide more examples on reasoning and the conscious . up to this point the lessons taught about the conscious is very basic . in real life the conscious is very complex and there are many forms of consciousness that are not discussed yet . hopefully , by the time the reader finishes reading this section they will have a better understanding of other factors that matter in terms of how human robots think . conscious thought with little or nothing to do with the 5 senses there are times when the robot will take in a small amount of data from the environment and use that to activate sentences ( conscious thoughts ). for example , if the robot was catching the bus to work and is bored , it will start to think . it will cut off the senses coming from the environment and simply jump and travel on different pathways in memory . those activated element objects has nothing to do with the environment . the only thing that was focused on was the word : “ bored ”. this word then activated thoughts in the robot &# 39 ; s mind without any relations to the environment . the conscious doesn &# 39 ; t use all of its data from the 5 senses to come up with thoughts , but it filters out the 5 senses to focus on the most important data . focusing on what data from the environment is important is a learned thing . learning to think based on focused data from the environment is also a learned thing . the robot learns meaning to sentences and these sentences have patterns that manipulate pathways in memory — the sentences modify pathways , organize pathways , search for pathways , delete pathways , insert pathways , modify the strength of the pathways and so forth . for example , if a teacher thought the robot : when you are bored , think of something to do . based on this sentence the robot will store this information in memory for future use . when the robot encounters a situation where it is bored such as staying home with nothing to do , then it will activate this sentence : “ think of something to do ”. this sentence essentially instructs the robot “ to do something ”. the sentence “ think of something to do ” is actually a search pattern to find pathways in memory based on things the robot sensed several hours ago , or several days ago . the instructions are not fixed and have many variations depending on the current environment or data that was sensed in the past . referring to fig3 , another example is , if a teacher thought the robot : when you have nothing to do , make future plans . when the robot is catching the bus to work and has nothing to do , it will activate the sentence : “ make future plans ”. the next response from this statement is based on a pattern . there are no fixed responses or no fixed sentences based on the sentence “ make future plans ”. the next response will depend on what the environment is at the moment and what kind of information did the robot sense in the last few hours , or last few days . the next response can be anything . the word “ think ”, if understood by the robot , can be used to control itself . sentences can be thought to the robot by teachers in terms of the word think . sentences like : 1 . think about the problem 2 . use your mind to think of a solution 3 . solve the problem by thinking of a way to solve the problem 4 . think of the image 5 . think of the sound 6 . he is thinking of a house 7 . think of how far the distance is from the supermarket to the library the ai program will find patterns between the thought process of the machine and the meaning of each sentence . these sentences are then used as patterns to control the machine to think in a certain way . thinking is actually just pathways in memory with specific patterns . “ think of a cat image ”, for example , means the robot has to locate the object cat in memory and activate one image of a cat . “ think of a logical solution to the problem ”, means that the robot has to use data from memory and certain objects from the environment to solve a problem . “ what are you thinking about ”, means that the robot has to say what was on his mind before the question was asked . he must look at short - term memory to find what was activated in memory based on the environment and use these activated pathways to answer the question . learning to focus on an object in the environment is thought by teachers and these lessons guide the robot to focus on certain objects . despite the countless objects that the robot senses from the environment it is able to filter out the objects that are most important . this process is done by one of the deviation functions : minus layers from the pathway . the focus of the object is the priority of the object . in the decision making process , the robot has to decide based on many pathway layers . all the data from the environment are broken up and searched in memory . the combinations and permutations of all data experienced from the environment are searched and ranked ( the ai will undoubtedly search for the strongest combinations and permutations ). the highest ranking pathway layer will be considered the optimal pathway . referring to fig3 , the diagram demonstrates that sometimes a higher percent match in memory doesn &# 39 ; t necessarily mean it will be picked . many factors are included in the decision making process . however , for the most part the best match is usually the optimal pathway . when objects from the environment are encountered by the ai program , those objects will become stronger . if these objects ( element objects ) happen to be in the rules program , they will have a better chance of being activated . things that happen in the last few minutes , or hours , or days , or weeks will have a better chance of being activated by the robot &# 39 ; s conscious . let &# 39 ; s use bill clinton as an example . the most famous memory anyone has of bill clinton is the sex scandal that happened in the late 90 &# 39 ; s . well , at least for me , but for the most part , the majority of people will associate bill clinton with monica lewinsky . if i saw bill clinton on tv talking about global warming then global warming will be the strongest associated object to bill clinton at that current moment . during minutes , days , weeks and even months after i see bill clinton talk about global warming my mind modified the object bill clinton and its associated objects . my mind assigned bill clinton with global warming as the strongest associated object ( monica lewinsky , now , becomes the second strongest associated object ). the next time i see bill clinton on tv , global warming will be the first associated object to activate . as time passes , global warming will lose its association to bill clinton and sex scandal will again dominate . unless my mind encounters more scenes of bill clinton and global warming , the associated connection between the two objects will lose its strength . these recent past 5 sense data are important because reasoning and conscious thoughts use the most recent data encountered by the ai program . the patterns in pathways might use data that happened 5 days ago or 3 minutes ago , or even 1 month ago . it varies depending on the pattern . stereotypes of an object such as the bill clinton example shows how recently encountered associated objects has a more likely chance of being activated than associated objects that were encountered a long time ago . it really depends on how strong associated objects are and how important the robot associate two objects . sex scandal is a very powerful memory while global warming is a weak memory . this means that the association between bill clinton and global warming is just temporary ; and eventually people will forget clinton ever gave a speech about global warming . logic and reasoning to solve difficult problems will activate recent knowledge instead of knowledge learned many years ago . again , this can vary because a knowledge can be trained many times so that it can have a permanent location in memory . doing basic addition and subtraction are permanent knowledge because we have encountered these problems so many times . on the other hand , reading knowledge from a science book a few days ago is considered recent knowledge . these recent knowledge will activate in the mind when the time is needed to solve a particular problem . as time passes , that knowledge if not retrained will be forgotten . conflicting facts about a subject matter can be solved through the conscious as well . if we learned a fact many times in the past we tend to use that fact . but , if we encounter a new fact that contradicts an old fact we have to use either logic or a form of conscious thought to guide us to choose between the two . for example , if i was thought that the world is flat by many people in the past ; and just recently i read in a magazine that the world is actually round , will i believe the world is flat or round ? all of this stems from my intelligence and past experiences . if the scientist who claims the world is round backs up his claims with strong and concrete facts then i will believe him . otherwise , i will believe what the majority of society believes . even though the old fact is very strong , patterns from sentences allow me to forget that old fact and replace it with a new fact . the new fact was only encountered once , but because of specific sentences i was able to delete the old fact and insert the new fact in memory . this will allow the ai program to adapt to the environment , not based on how many times data is encountered , but by assigning patterns to sentences and using the sentences to modify data in memory . these sentences can instruct the robot to insert new data , delete data , modify data , change the strength of the data , change the priority of the data or group data . logic in terms of activated sentences will tell the robot what kinds of data to modify in memory . again , words and sentences can describe how people feel . the conscious tells the robot what is going on in the environment . even though the images on a person &# 39 ; s face are small the images can convey different facial expressions . simple movements of the eye brows or lips or eye position convey a different facial expression . the way that the robot learns these facial expressions is through a teacher who uses sentences , movie sequences , or diagrams to explain what a person is feeling at that moment . the more we learn about a situation the more we understand it and the small things that make up that situation will be noticed . this is why , even though the face looks the same under any expression , we understand what the person is feeling based on certain minor facial movements . this idea is important to better understand how humans engage in conversations . the conversations we have with people are not based on what the next best sentence is , but it is based on a very complicated form of consciousness . previously learned lessons from teachers pop up in the robot &# 39 ; s mind to guide it to say things to people . the robot will analyze the person &# 39 ; s face , analyze the person &# 39 ; s conversation and analyze the environment . based on all these analytical data the robot &# 39 ; s conscious will activate , in the mind , lessons learned by teachers . these lessons guide the robot to have a conversation . when the robot takes in all these analyzed data , it will filter out some data and prioritize other data . based on all the possible matches found in memory the robot will pick one optimal pathway . in addition to the 5 senses , the hidden data , and the activated elements objects , the robot will also consider the patterns between all the data sensed . this means that within all the words spoken by the person , and within all the objects in the environment , and within all the events the robot has experienced in the last few hours , there might be a strong pattern or relationship between certain data sensed . as usual , the conversation the robot makes will be based on the average of what it learned . this would include : the lessons learned by teachers to have a conversation , the trial and error conversations the robot had , the copying of conversations on tv or real life . most of the conversations that humans tend to have are predictable because we understand what society view as normal conversation or abnormal conversation . but , there are some people , based on their own experiences , say wrong things during a conversation . they either say the wrong things because they want attention from people or they say the wrong things because of poor judgment ( random happenstance can also be considered poor judgment ). a human being has thousands of encapsulated objects . things that make up a human being such as a head , two arms , hand , legs , feet , chest , back , knee , eyes , nose , toes , hips , neck , shoulder and so forth are encapsulated objects . when we focus on a human being , we tend to focus on the face . why ? because the face has higher priority than any other encapsulated object in a human being . people can focus on the neck or leg or arm , but why do human beings focus their attention on the face ? the reason why is because of two factors : ( 1 ) innately we humans ( or animals ) focus on things that get our attention . noises made by the human being come from the face . when a human being talks we tend to focus our attention on the face . ( 2 ) teachers teach us to focus our attention on the face . the majority of animals will focus on the face when they stare at a human being . although they occasionally move their eyes in different areas , innately , they focus on the face . they were never taught how to behave or what to look at when they encounter certain creatures . there behavior is mostly governed by innate abilities . built in abilities is one factor that focuses our attention on the face . the 5 senses have built in abilities to focus our mind on things that get our attention . loud noises , the object that is making the noise , moving objects , pain / pleasure , beautiful / ugly things , abnormal things and so forth are just some of the things in our environment that get our attention . in human behavior we look at the face because we were thought to look at the face when we encounter a human being . teachers teach us that we should always look at the persons &# 39 ; eyes when we speak to them . the lessons given by the teachers guide us in terms of behavior and how the body should act in a given situation . back in the days of slavery , slaves were thought to look down at the ground when they encounter their master . this is why they don &# 39 ; t stare at the face when talking to a human being . the example given above shows that in any given object , their respective encapsulated objects matter in terms of what we remember about that object and what we focus on when we encounter that object . each encapsulated object has a priority in terms of how important it is in the overall object . the reason why we activate faces to identify human objects is because that is the most important encapsulated object in a human object . we don &# 39 ; t identify a human being by their feet or palm , or waist , but by their face . of course , this can vary from person to person depending on how an individual was taught . and there are encapsulated objects , besides the face , that we use to identify people . things like clothing , pants , upper body and so forth . but for the most part we identify people by their face . despite how similar faces can be , the more faces we encounter the more details of the face we can store and the more unique each face become . pronouns such as i , her , him , answer , they , and us are objects that are represented by the conscious . the meanings to these pronouns are assigned by conscious thoughts . for example , if you are reading a book and there is a word : “ i ”, that word isn &# 39 ; t representing you , but it is representing a character in the book . the conscious will activate element objects in the form of sentences ( or meaning of sentences ) to tell the robot what the word “ i ” is in the book . in the book , if the king is speaking then the conscious will say : “ the word “ i ” is referring to the king ”. in a math problem the word “ answer ” is a variable that will be assigned a meaning during runtime . if you &# 39 ; re doing one math problem the answer can be 14 and if you &# 39 ; re doing another math problem the answer can be 45 . the conscious will tell you what the answer is during runtime . the method in which the conscious assign an object to an answer comes from math teachers . their collective knowledge has been averaged out and the conscious will tell you what the answer is in the form of sentences ( or meaning of sentences ). when we identify people we have to say words to get their attention . identifying people , places and things will depend on what the environment is at that moment in time . there can be multiple names to identify an object . for example , a dog can be called an animal , dog , or a specific name like sam . referring to fig3 , the powerpoints in the diagram represent how strong each name is assigned to the dog floater . family members that own the dog calls the dog , “ sam ”. sometimes they call the dog , “ dog ”. and under rare conditions family members call the dog , “ animal ”. the strongest identification , sam , will most likely activate when the robot encounters the dog . however , there are rare occasions where it will activate the identity with the lowest powerpoints or medium powerpoints . it really depends on the current situation . if the robot is having a conversation with someone on the phone and this someone doesn &# 39 ; t know the dog , then the robot might address the dog as : “ dog ”. on the other hand , if the robot is talking to a family member then the robot can use the name , sam . a final example is if the robot is mad at the dog and it wants to call the dog in a derogatory way , then it can use the name , “ animal ”. as you can see from all the examples given , the identity of an object really depends on the current environment . many factors are used to determine what an object is called . the robot can learn two or more languages at once . however , let &# 39 ; s say that the robot is dominant in one language , english . how is the robot going to learn a second or third language ? the answer is through patterns in words and sentences . if the robot wanted to learn chinese , it must understand that one word in english can mean one character in chinese . a grammar structure in english can mean a grammar structure in chinese . english is read one letter at a time from left to right while chinese is read one character at a time from top to bottom . by understanding all these tricks the pathways simply contain patterns to assign one object to another object in memory . in this case , one word in english ( object ) to one character in chinese ( second object ). referring to fig3 a - 37b , the patterns in words / sentences will create the object “ mau ” and put it close to the object “ cat ” so that when the robot recognizes the chinese character , “ mau ”, it will activate the equivalent english word , “ cat ” . in the initial training phase , the robot should elicit this type of conscious thought . however , as time passes the robot , when recognizing a chinese character , should activate the meaning to the english word and not the english word . referring to fig3 a - 38b , in the initial stages of learning a word in chinese , the equivalent word in english will be activated . as the ai averages data from memory , the word mau will be closer and closer to the meaning of the english word cat . the meaning is the visual cat floater . as this learning continues the association connection between the word mau and the cat floater gets stronger and stronger . this will give the robot the ability to activate one image from the cat floater . just like how the word cat activates a cat image , the word mau will elicit the same response . this is a fairly easy example . understanding grammar structures and understanding complex forms of words / sentences will work the same way . it all comes down to bringing the words / sentences of the new language to the language that is understood by the robot and forcing the new language to point to the same meaning . once the new language establishes meaning , understanding said new language will be accomplished . “ the world is round ”, “ 5 + 5 equals 10 ”, “ the current president of the united states is george bush ”, “ the first president of the united states is george washington ”, “ hi stands for hawaii ”, “ there are 50 states in the united states ”. all these sentences are facts and are stored in memory the same way that other sentences ( questions , statements , etc ) are stored . in current database mining , facts are modified manually by having an expert programmer insert , modify , and delete facts from a database . in my ai program , words / sentences are used to insert , modify and delete facts from memory . changing a particular fact is based on a pattern . sentences contain patterns that will insert , modify and delete specific words from facts ( sentences ). for example , if someone told me a false fact such as : “ the world is flat ”. this false fact is learned many times in the past so the data becomes very strong ( fig3 a ). there must exist a way to change the fact so that the robot can delete the false fact and insert the correct fact in its place . before moving on i have to talk about forgetting information . there is no such thing as deleting data from memory . data can only be forgotten . so , if the robot wants to delete data from memory , all it has to do is decrease the strength of the false data so that eventually the false data is forgotten . we can also put a reminder on the false data , in the form of a sentence , telling the robot that the correct data is actually located somewhere else . referring to fig3 b , if someone say things like : that is the wrong answer or that is incorrect , we are actually storing that sentence in certain pathways . these sentences tell us that certain facts in memory are wrong and these sentences guide us to search for the correct facts . at the same time that this is happening the ai will attempt to look for any patterns . if any pattern is found between similar examples then it will be stored in the pathways . referring to 39 c , as you can see from the diagram , the words , “ that is incorrect ” has a pattern that instructs the robot to forget the false fact , and to establish a connection with the correct fact . over time the false fact will be forgotten and the connection is pointed to the correct fact . this is just an easy example to show how the mind modifies facts from memory . the opposite function can happen , which is to strengthen data in memory . words like : remember , don &# 39 ; t forget , concentrate and so forth are words that tell the robot that certain facts must be strengthened . pain and pleasure can also be a factor to determine what is the right answer and what is the wrong answer . if the robot is doing something wrong and the teacher slaps the robot on the hand and says , don &# 39 ; t ! in a harsh manner , then the robot will put negative points on the word , “ don &# 39 ; t ”. and when the robot does something and it &# 39 ; s done correctly the robot gets rewarded and the teacher will say , “ that &# 39 ; s correct ”. now , the sentence , “ that is correct ” will have positive points . learning something will then be governed by words that are used that tell the robot it is doing something good or bad . the robot will pick the pathway that leads to pleasure and stay away from pathways that lead to pain . this method can also be combined with the lesson above . ( extra note ) the present invention is my artwork . 6 years has been invested in designing the human artificial intelligence program . the material in this patent and a chain of parent patent applications describe in detail the processes and functions that make up the hai program . the foregoing has outlined , in general , the physical aspects of the invention and is to serve as an aid to better understanding the intended use and application of the invention . in reference to such , there is to be a clear understanding that the present invention is not limited to the method or detail of construction , fabrication , material , or application of use described and illustrated herein . any other variation of fabrication , use , or application should be considered apparent as an alternative embodiment of the present invention . | 6 |
[ 0023 ] fig1 shows an embodiment of an aesthetic security doorway 10 in accordance with the present invention . the doorway 10 comprises a door 12 suspended within a doorframe 14 . the doorframe 14 may be integral with a wall 15 of a dwelling or other building , or the doorframe 14 can serve as entryway to a fenced - in outdoor area . the door 12 comprises a rigid main structure 16 with a plurality of similarly rigid crossbars , cross members or cross pieces 18 attached to the main structure 16 . the main structure 16 ( shown here schematically ) is made up of vertical bars 20 a , 20 b and horizontal bars 22 a , 22 b joined at the four comers formed thereby . alternatively , the main structure 16 may comprise a solid panel of wood or metal with crossbars 18 across its outer surface . the main structure 16 is shown in a rectangular shape , but one of skill in the art will recognize that alternative forms are possible such as an arched - top style , with a rounded or arched horizontal bar 22 a . crossbars 18 span the plane of the main structure 16 with the crossbars 18 attached to each other and / or the main structure 16 to form a substantially planar , rigid grill with openings which are small enough to prevent human passage through the door 12 . the crossbars 18 are shaped and arranged to create an aesthetically pleasing design for the door 12 , such as the palm tree theme shown in fig1 or the vines and leaves shown in fig2 . those familiar with the art can readily envision alternative design themes which lend themselves to use as pattern for the crossbars 18 of the door 12 . the doorframe 14 includes a plurality of decor elements 24 which complement the design formed by the crossbars 18 . the decor elements 24 can comprise either extensions 26 of the crossbars 18 beyond the perimeter of the door 16 or they can be independent but complementary elements 28 , which carry the design theme onto the doorframe 14 in a different manner . both types of decor elements 24 cooperate with the design on the door 12 to create a single unitary design which visually blends the door 12 into the doorframe 14 . in this manner the otherwise rigid , rectilinear form of the security doorway 10 is obscured , making it difficult for an observer to recognize the door 12 as a security device . the decor elements 24 may be of lightweight construction so as to be purely decorative , or they may be composed of rigid material so as to reinforce the structure of the doorframe 14 and wall 15 , providing additional security . [ 0028 ] fig3 illustrates the use of the security doorway 10 in a residential home 30 , from the perspective of an observer on a sidewalk or street . complementary decor 32 can be added adjacent to windows 34 or other parts of the home 30 , or the entryway area , to continue the design theme throughout the exterior of the home 30 . furthermore , the design can be chosen to match or reflect the elements of the landscape 36 surrounding the home 30 . naturally , one of skill in the art will recognize the invention is not limited to use with doorways ; rather , it is equally suitable for use on windows or other passageways associated with the enclosure of buildings or land . [ 0030 ] fig4 depicts a sliding door embodiment 100 of the aesthetic security doorway . in this embodiment the door 12 is slidably received in the doorframe 14 , but the sliding - door embodiment may be largely similar to the embodiments described above , except as specified below . a secondary panel 102 may also be mounted in the doorframe 14 adjacent the door 12 . the secondary panel may be stationary , or it may slidable within the doorframe 14 like the door 12 . the door 12 of the sliding - door system 100 is preferably similar to that disclosed in the embodiments discussed above , with a rigid main structure 16 and a plurality of similarly rigid crossbars , cross members or cross pieces 18 attached to the main structure 16 . the secondary panel 102 includes a plurality of rigid , secondary crossbars , cross members or cross pieces 104 attached to a rigid main structure 106 of the secondary panel , and / or to adjacent portions of the doorframe 14 . the crossbars 18 and secondary crossbars 104 span the plane of the door 12 and secondary panel 102 , respectively , to form substantially planar , rigid grills with openings which are small enough to prevent human passage through the door 12 / secondary panel 102 . the crossbars 18 and secondary crossbars 104 are shaped and arranged to create an aesthetically pleasing design for the door 12 and secondary panel 102 , such as the palm tree theme shown in fig4 . those familiar with the art can readily envision alternative design themes ( including the vines and leaves shown in fig2 ) which lend themselves to use as pattern for the crossbars 18 and secondary crossbars 104 , which alternatives are considered to be within the scope of the present invention . the design formed by the crossbars 18 can be extended beyond the perimeter of the door 12 by the secondary crossbars 104 , which can be made to appear to be a continuation of the design onto the secondary panel 102 , as shown in fig4 . in addition , the decor elements 24 of the doorframe 14 carry the design or image from both the door and the secondary panel onto the doorframe . in this manner , the form or perimeter of the door and / or secondary panel is obscured as discussed above . that is , the decor elements 24 and / or the secondary crossbars 104 cooperate with the design on the door 12 to create a single unitary design which visually blends the door 12 into the secondary panel 102 and the doorframe 14 . in this manner the otherwise rigid , rectilinear form of the security doorway 100 , as well as the door 12 and secondary panel 102 , is obscured , making it difficult for an observer to recognize as a security device the door 12 , secondary panel 102 and the doorway as a whole . in addition , a glass panel ( not shown ) may be built into the door 12 and / or secondary panel 102 , either behind or integrated with the crossbars 18 / secondary crossbars 104 . [ 0035 ] fig5 depicts another sliding - door embodiment 200 of the aesthetic security doorway . in this embodiment the door 12 is slidably received in the doorframe 14 and is preferably located ( when in the closed position ) between a left secondary panel 106 a and a right secondary panel 106 b . the door 12 is preferably configured to slide to the left or right to permit entry therethrough . in this embodiment , however , the door 12 may occupy any of the three positions depicted ( when in the closed position ), and any of the three may serve as a secondary panel 106 , so long as at least one of the three is moveable and functions as a door . the door 12 and / or secondary panels may have a built - in glass panel as discussed above . the crossbars 18 form a design which is continued or extended beyond the perimeter of the door 18 by the decor elements 24 extending from the doorframe 14 and / or by the secondary crossbars 104 of the secondary panels 102 a , 102 b . the decor elements 24 may also extend the design of the crossbars 18 by appearing to continue the secondary crossbars 104 onto the doorframe 14 and / or the wall 15 . the doorway 200 may also include complementary windows 202 with tertiary crossbars 204 which extend and continue the design of the crossbars 18 and / or secondary crossbars 104 onto the windows 202 . secondary decor elements 206 may be affixed to the wall 15 to carry the design beyond the windows 202 . the secondary decor elements 206 may be generally similar to the decor elements 24 . with the design of the cross members 18 thus extended beyond the perimeter of the door 12 and secondary panels 102 a , 102 b , the form of the door is obscured against the secondary panels and doorframe , and the overall form of the entire doorway is obscured as well , making it difficult for an observer to recognize as a security device the door 12 , secondary panels 102 and the doorway as a whole . in a further embodiment , the decor elements 24 may be omitted so that the design is extended beyond the door 12 by only the secondary and / or tertiary crossbars 104 , 204 . it should be understood that the scope of the present invention is not to be limited by the illustrations or the foregoing description thereof , but rather by the appended claims , and certain variations and modifications of this invention will suggest themselves to one of ordinary skill in the art . | 1 |
while the invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms , there is shown in the drawings and described in detailed preferred embodiments of the invention . it is understood that the present disclosure is to be considered only as an example of the principles of the invention . this disclosure is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the illustrated embodiments . the scope of the protection should only be limited by the accompanying claims . a first embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to fig1 - 14 . referring to fig1 , the transmission input shaft assembly 10 generally comprises an input shaft 12 , a torque converter stator shaft 14 positioned about the input shaft 12 and the transmission pump housing 18 positioned about the input shaft 12 and the torque converter stator shaft 14 . the torque converter stator shaft 14 typically includes a radial flange 16 extending adjacent the side wall of the pump housing 18 . the speed sensing device 20 generally includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced markings 22 about the input shaft 12 and a sensor 24 extending through the torque converter stator shaft 14 in close proximity to the circumferentially spaced markings 22 . referring to fig1 - 6 , the torque converter stator shaft 14 includes a hole 17 therethrough configured to receive the sensor 24 . as seen in fig4 , the hole 17 is aligned with the circumferentially spaced markings 22 such that the sensor 24 , positioned in the hole 17 , will be aligned with and in close proximity to the circumferentially spaced markings 22 . the sensor 24 has a body 27 configured to plug and seal the hole 17 . to accommodate the cable 25 extending from the sensor 24 , an axial groove 19 extends along the torque converter stator shaft 14 from the hole 17 to a radial groove 21 extending along the torque converter stator shaft flange 16 . as can be seen in fig5 and 6 , the cable 25 can be run through the grooves 19 and 21 and then along the wall of the pump housing 18 and out of the transmission assembly 10 without providing substantial obstruction . a seal member 23 may be used to fill the groove 19 to further ensure sealing of the hole 17 . the speed sensor cable 25 exits the transmission assembly 10 radially and is connected to an electronic control unit ( ecu ) that analyzes its output signal . in the case of an active speed sensor , the ecu provides power to the sensor . as the circumferentially spaced markings 22 rotate with the input shaft 12 in front of the speed sensor 24 , the sensor output signal is modulated and the ecu calculates the input shaft 12 rotational speed . the sensor 24 preferably has dual sensing elements which can , for example , be utilized for noise cancelation . in certain applications where direction of rotation is also desired , the dual sensing elements may be configured to determine the direction of rotation . in addition , the sensor 24 may be configured to provide a temperature measurement within the torque converter stator shaft 14 . commonly owned pct application no . pct / us03 / 32692 , herein incorporated by reference , describes a system of obtaining a temperature measurement with a vr sensor . alternatively , a separate temperature sensor may be integrated with the active speed sensor in order to provide temperature measurement at a location deep inside the transmission interior . depending on the design configuration , various hardware and software , for example , a specially designed asic , can be used . depending on the application constraints , the circumferentially spaced markings 22 can be provided in a variety of ways . for example , as illustrated in fig2 and 3 , the circumferentially spaced markings 22 can be defined around the input shaft 12 by machining , forming or otherwise providing splines into od surface of the input shaft 12 . alternatively , the circumferentially spaced markings 22 can be provided by attaching a target wheel incorporating the markings 22 to the input shaft 22 . a variety of target wheels are illustrated in fig7 - 14 . the target wheel can be attached to the input shaft 12 in a variety of ways , for example , but not limited to , press - fitting , welding , or bolting of the target wheel onto the input shaft 120 d surface . the variety of illustrated target wheels will be described with reference to fig7 - 14 . fig7 illustrates a gear ring 30 with a plurality of teeth 31 that define the circumferentially spaced markings . the gear ring may be manufactured in various ways , for example , from powdered metal or may be a stamped metal gear ring . fig8 a and 8 b illustrate a stamped metal cage ring 32 made from one or more sections and having a plurality of openings 33 that define the circumferentially spaced markings 22 . fig8 c illustrates a stamped metal cage ring 32 ′ similar to that shown in fig8 a and 8 b , with the cage ring 32 ′ being formed in to halves 32 a and 32 b to facilitate positioning about the input shaft 12 . each halve 32 a , 32 b has a projecting tab 39 and a retaining slot 41 for interconnection of the two halves 32 a , 32 b about the input shaft 12 . other interconnection means may also be utilized . additionally , the multi - piece configuration may be utilized for other target wheel types other than the stamped metal cage . for example , the split pair of magnetic rings 46 illustrated in fig1 and described hereinafter may be formed with interconnecting ends . fig9 illustrates a molded ring 34 with a plurality of spaced apart metallic inserts 36 that define the circumferentially spaced markings 22 . fig1 illustrates a target wheel similar to fig9 but further including a protective rim 38 positioned thereabout . fig1 - 13 illustrate molded multi - pole magnetic rings 40 , 44 and 50 for use as the target wheel . the multi - pole magnetic ring 40 of fig1 includes a split 42 for facilitating positioning about the input shaft 12 . the multi - pole magnetic ring 44 of fig1 includes a split pair of magnetic rings 46 with a retaining band 48 thereabout . the multi - pole magnetic ring 50 of fig1 is configured as an elastic member configured to be slipped over the input shaft 12 . fig1 a and 14 b illustrates a multi - pole magnetic ring similar to that shown in fig1 , 12 and 13 , with protective ribs 52 positioned about the ring 50 . the sensor 24 can be any one of the available speed sensors such as a vr sensor , a hall - effect sensor , a magnetoresistive sensor , a gmr sensor , or an eddy current sensor . the type of sensor 24 is selected to be compatible with the chosen circumferentially spaced markings 22 . for example , if the circumferentially spaced markings 22 are defined by teeth formed around the normally ferromagnetic input shaft by machining its od surface , or a ferromagnetic gear - ring 30 target wheel is placed around the input shaft 12 , a vr sensor , a hall sensor , a magnetoresistive sensor , or a gmr sensor with a back - biased magnet can be used . a multi - pole magnetic target wheel placed around the input shaft 12 preferably utilizes a magnetic sensor without the back - biased magnet . alternatively , an eddy current sensor is preferably utilized with circumferentially spaced markings 22 defined by a ferromagnetic material or a non - ferromagnetic conductive material . referring to fig1 , an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated . the circumferentially spaced markings 22 are provided around the transmission input shaft 12 at a point along its axial length so that , in the final transmission assembly , the markings 22 are directly underneath the pump housing 18 . the chosen sensor 24 is mounted over the circumferentially spaced markings 22 after the pump housing 18 placement over the torque converter stator shaft 14 through an angled hole 17 from the pump housing sidewall to the stator 14 id surface . the sensor body 27 forms a sealed cylindrical plug inside the sensor hole 17 and extends beyond the pump housing 18 sidewall . in the illustrated embodiment , the sensor body 27 is mounted to the stator radial flange 16 by a clip 29 or the like . alternatively , the sensor body 27 may be secured to the pump housing 18 or otherwise secured within the angled hole 17 , for example , by an interference fit . beyond the pump housing 18 , the sensor cable 25 exits the transmission assembly 10 radially routed along the sidewall of the transmission pump housing 18 . referring to fig1 , an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated . the circumferentially spaced markings 22 are provided around the transmission input shaft 12 inside a slot 35 next to a fluid channel 37 . this may cause axial displacement of existing oil channels for certain applications . the chosen sensor 24 is mounted over the circumferentially spaced markings 22 through a radial hole 17 on the body of the torque converter stator shaft 14 . the sensor body 27 forms a sealed cylindrical plug inside the sensor hole 17 and extends beyond the stator od surface in a way that allows its mounting onto the stator radial flange 16 or any other available mounting surface by a clip 29 or the like . beyond the stator flange 16 , the sensor cable 25 exits the transmission assembly 10 radially routed along the sidewall of the transmission pump housing 18 . referring to fig1 , an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated . the circumferentially spaced markings 22 are provided around the transmission input shaft 12 inside a slot 35 next to a fluid channel 37 . this may cause axial displacement of existing oil channels for certain applications . the chosen sensor 24 is mounted over the circumferentially spaced markings 22 through a radial hole 17 inside the torque converter stator shaft flange 16 . the sensor body 27 forms a sealed cylindrical plug inside the sensor hole 17 and extends beyond the stator flange 16 in a way that allows its mounting onto the flange body . beyond the stator flange 16 , the sensor cable 25 exits the transmission assembly 10 radially routed along the sidewall of the transmission pump housing 18 . referring to fig1 , an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated . the circumferentially spaced markings 22 are provided around the transmission input shaft 12 at a point along its axial length so that , in the final transmission assembly , the markings 22 are directly underneath the pump housing 18 . the pump housing 18 is formed with a radial hole 43 extending from the pump housing 18 inner diameter to the pump housing 18 outer diameter . the hole 43 may be formed in the pump housing 18 or may be drilled in to a previously manufactured pump housing 18 . the pump housing radial hole 43 is aligned with a radial hole 17 in the torque converter stator shaft 14 . the body 27 of the chosen sensor 24 is extended through the aligned radial holes 17 and 43 such that a forward end of the sensor is mounted in close proximity to the circumferentially spaced markings 22 . the sensor body 27 forms a sealed cylindrical plug inside the sensor hole 17 . the other end of the sensor body 27 extends beyond the pump housing 18 . in the illustrated embodiment , the sensor body 27 extends through a hole 62 of an oil pan 60 positioned at the outer diameter of the pump housing 18 . the oil pan 60 has a removable cover 64 that can be removed to access the sensor 24 . the sensor body 27 is removable from the radial holes 17 and 43 through the oil pan 60 to allow service or the like of the sensor 24 . the sensor cable 25 extends from the sensor body 27 and exits oil pan 60 through a sealed hole 66 . referring to fig1 , an alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated . the circumferentially spaced markings 22 are provided around the transmission input shaft 12 at a point along its axial length so that , in the final transmission assembly , the markings 22 are directly underneath the pump housing 18 , however , the markings 22 may be alternatively positioned . the chosen sensor 24 is mounted over the circumferentially spaced markings 22 after the pump housing 18 placement over the torque converter stator shaft 14 through an angled hole 17 from the pump housing sidewall to the stator 14 id surface . the sensor body 27 forms a sealed cylindrical plug inside the sensor hole 17 and extends beyond the pump housing 18 sidewall . in the present embodiment , the sensor body 27 has an extended axial length configured to pass through open space in the transmission assembly 10 . the extended sensor body 27 is configured to extend to an easily accessible portion of the transmission assembly 10 , for example , a sealed hole 72 through the transmission bell housing 70 , or alternatively , through the removal of the oil pan or the like accessible component . a clip 29 or the like can be provided to support a midsection of the sensor 24 . the sensor cable 25 extends from the sensor body 27 outside of the bell housing 70 from where it routed to the ecu . if the sensor 24 requires servicing , it can be easily withdrawn through the hole 72 . | 5 |
the preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail hereinafter in conjunction with drawings showing these embodiments . fig1 a and fig1 b are schematic views for explaining a constitutional example of one embodiment of a flexible printed circuit board for use in a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention , wherein fig1 a is a plan view and fig1 b is a cross - sectional view taken along a line a - a ′ in fig1 a . this flexible printed circuit board constitutes a first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 which is mounted on a gate drive side of a liquid crystal display panel . as shown in fig1 b , the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 includes a wiring pattern ptn and a dummy conductive pattern dpn at one side of a base film bfm and they are covered with a cover film cvr . at the other side of the base film bfm , output terminals ftm which are electrically connected with the above - mentioned wiring pattern ptn are formed . as shown in fig1 a and fig1 b , the output terminals ftm are arranged irregularly or non - uniformly for every group consisting of a plurality of output terminals ftm . the dummy conductive pattern dpn is provided between these groups of output terminals ftm . the dummy conductive pattern dpn is provided in the vicinity of a center portion of the arrangement of a group of output terminals ftm which are pressed mainly by a compression bonding tool . fig2 a and fig2 b are schematic views for explaining an essential part of one embodiment of a liquid crystal display device in which the flexible printed circuit board is connected to a liquid crystal display panel provided with driving circuit chips of an fca method according to the present invention , wherein fig2 a is a plan view and fig2 b is a cross - sectional view taken along a line b - b ′ in fig2 a . in fig2 a and fig2 b , reference symbols which are equal to the reference symbols shown in fig1 a and fig1 b indicate parts having identical functions . the flexible printed circuit board constitutes the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 explained in conjunction with fig1 a and fig1 b . in fig2 a and fig2 b , reference symbol sub 1 indicates one substrate which constitutes a liquid crystal display panel lcd ( here , a thin film transistor substrate having thin film transistors as active elements ), reference symbol sub 2 indicates another substrate ( here , a color filter substrate which faces the thin film transistor substrate in an opposed manner ), reference symbol ch 1 indicates driving circuit chips at a scanning signal supply side ( hereinafter , referred to as a gate driver ), and reference symbol ch 2 indicates driving circuit chips at a video signal supply side ( hereinafter , referred to as a drain driver ). in the above - mentioned manner , reference symbol fpc 1 indicates the first flexible printed circuit board which is connected to one substrate sub 1 side on which the gate drivers ch 1 are mounted and reference symbol fpc 2 indicates the second flexible printed circuit board which is connected to one substrate sub 1 side on which the drain drivers ch 2 are mounted . the constitution around the wiring of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 and the gate driver ch 1 of the liquid crystal display panel lcd is substantially equal to the constitution around the wiring of the second flexible printed circuit board fpc 2 and the drain driver ch 2 , so that the constitution around the wiring of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 and the gate driver ch 1 of the liquid crystal display panel lcd is explained here . with respect to the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 , on the base film bfm , the wiring pattern ptn having an input terminal portion tm which is connected to an interface printed circuit board not shown in fig2 a and fig2 b and an output terminal ftm which is connected to the wiring pattern ptn are formed . here , the output terminal ftm is exposed from the cover film cvr . although the wiring pattern ptn is covered with the cover film cvr in the same manner except for the output terminal ftm and the input terminal portion tm ( a connection portion with the interface substrate ) provided to an end portion of the wiring pattern ptn , the illustration of such a constitution is omitted from the drawings . the wiring pattern ptn of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 is formed of a wiring pattern which has the input terminal portion tm thereof connected to an interface printed circuit board ( not shown in fig2 a and fig2 b ) and is extended in the longitudinal direction of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 . output terminals ftm of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 are arranged as a plurality of groups of terminals between a plurality of gate drivers ch 1 in the direction which crosses the wiring pattern ptn from the region where the wiring pattern ptn is formed . as mentioned previously , the output terminals ftm of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 are exposed and are to overlap the panel inputting terminals ltm of the liquid crystal display panel lcd in an opposed manner and are connected to the panel inputting terminals ltm using an anisotropic conductive film acf . here , the inputting terminal tm which constitutes an inputting terminal of the driving circuit board ( the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 ) is not shown in fig2 b . in this liquid crystal display panel lcd , electrode terminals gt which are pulled out from a display region of the liquid crystal display panel are connected to the output terminals of the gate drivers ch 1 , while the panel input terminals ltm which are connected to the input terminals of the gate drivers ch 1 are bonded by compression to the output terminals ftm of the flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 by way of a pattern ( not shown in fig2 a and fig2 b ) which is wired on the first substrate sub 1 in the direction indicated by an arrow p . fig3 is a schematic cross - sectional view for explaining an essential part of one embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention . in this liquid crystal display device , the driving circuit chip ( driver ) is mounted using the fca method explained in conjunction with fig2 a and fig2 b , wherein the gate driver ch 1 is directly mounted on the periphery of the first substrate sub 1 of the liquid crystal display panel . input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 are connected to terminal portions of an interface printed circuit board pcb . the interface printed circuit board pcb is bent toward a back surface of the first substrate sub 1 and is accommodated in the rear surface of the liquid crystal display panel . the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 and the terminals of the interface printed circuit board pcb are also overlapped each other and are bonded by compression in the direction indicated by the arrow p . here , when the arrangement of the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 is not uniform , by providing a dummy conductive pattern between the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 in the same manner as the above - mentioned dummy conductive pattern ( see dpn in fig1 b ), it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cracks in the interface printed circuit board pcb . fig4 is a schematic cross - sectional view showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention . in this liquid crystal display device , the gate driver ch 1 is mounted on the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 . accordingly , the output terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 are directly connected by compression bonding to electrode terminals formed on the first substrate sub 1 . the compression bonding is also performed in the direction indicated by an arrow p . also in this embodiment , input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 are connected to terminal portions of an interface printed circuit board pcb . the interface printed circuit board pcb is bent toward a back surface of the first substrate sub 1 and is accommodated in the rear surface of the liquid crystal display panel . the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 and the terminals of the interface printed circuit board pcb are also overlapped to each other and are bonded by compression in the direction indicated by the arrow p . also in this case , when the arrangement of the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 is not uniform , by providing a dummy conductive pattern between the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 in the same manner as the above - mentioned dummy conductive pattern ( see dpn in fig1 b ), it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cracks in the interface printed circuit board pcb . fig5 is a schematic cross - sectional view showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention . in this liquid crystal display device , the gate driver ch 1 is mounted on the interface printed circuit board pcb . the output terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 are directly connected by compression bonding to electrode terminals formed on the first substrate sub 1 . the compression bonding is also performed in the direction indicated by an arrow p . also in this embodiment , input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 are connected to terminal portions of an interface printed circuit board pcb . the interface printed circuit board pcb is bent toward a back surface of the first substrate sub 1 and is accommodated in the rear surface of the liquid crystal display panel . the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 and the terminals of the gate drivers ch 1 which are mounted on the interface printed circuit board pcb are bonded to each other by compression in the direction indicated by the arrow p . also in this case , when the arrangement of the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 is not uniform , by providing a dummy conductive pattern between the input terminals of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 in the same manner as the above - mentioned dummy conductive pattern ( see dpn in fig1 b ), it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cracks in the interface printed circuit board pcb . fig6 is a plan view for explaining a specific example of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention . the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 is mounted on a left side ( a lateral direction side at the left in the drawing ) of the liquid crystal display panel lcd which is formed by laminating the first substrate sub 1 and the second substrate sub 2 . the second flexible printed circuit board fpc 2 is mounted on a lower side ( a longitudinal direction side at the lower side in the drawing ) of the liquid crystal display panel lcd and is folded back toward the rear surface of the liquid crystal display panel pnl along the arrangement of openings hop for bending . further , both of the gate drivers ch 1 and the drain drivers ch 2 are directly mounted on the periphery of the first substrate sub 1 . a timing converter tcon is mounted on the interface printed circuit board pcb and various signals and voltages for displaying are supplied to the interface printed circuit board pcb from an external circuit ( host computer ) through a connector ct . the input terminal tm of the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 is connected to a terminal pbm of the interface printed circuit board pcb . signals supplied to the second flexible printed circuit board fpc 2 served for the above - mentioned displaying are supplied through wiring extending from the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 to the first substrate sub 1 . the first flexible printed circuit board fpc 1 and the second flexible printed circuit board fpc 2 are bent toward the back surface of the liquid crystal display panel lcd . the interface printed circuit board pcb is also accommodated in the back surface of the liquid crystal display panel lcd in the same manner . here , an upper polarizer pol 1 is laminated to a display screen side ( front surface of the second substrate sub 2 ) of the liquid crystal display panel lcd and a display region ar is formed in the inside of the liquid crystal display panel lcd . as has been explained heretofore in conjunction with several embodiments , according to the present invention , it is possible to obviate the occurrence of cracks on the substrate of the liquid crystal display panel at the time of connecting the output terminals of the flexible printed circuit board to the panel input terminals of the liquid crystal display panel by compression bonding so that it is possible to provide the liquid crystal display device which can enhance the reliability thereof . | 7 |
fig1 through 6 illustrate various views and embodiments of the present invention . in one embodiment , shown in fig1 , the trolling motor lift cord device 10 comprises a cable 12 having a proximal end 14 and a distal end 16 , a handle 18 connected to the proximal end 14 , and an attachment mechanism 20 affixed to the distal end 16 . the handle 18 depicted in fig1 is a full grip handle , having handle sides 22 . the trolling motor lift cord device 10 is preferably capable for use on any trolling motor , including all of the most popular brands and models of trolling motors , such as motorguide and minn kota trolling motors . the cable 12 is comprised of a flexible and bendable strand of material . the cable 12 is preferably comprised of a minimally stretchable , abrasion - resistant material such as metal wire or steel cable . in the preferred embodiment , the stretch ( lengthening of cable as adjusted under the proposed maximum load ) is less than 2 % of the total cable 12 length , and more preferably less than 0 . 5 % of the total length . the cable 12 can have a coating , cover , or jacket of nylon , polyester , polyethylene , polypropylene , or other plastic for additional abrasion resistance . other abrasion - resistant materials capable of being formed into a flexible cable may be used . in a preferred embodiment , the cable 12 is comprised of 7 × 7 3 / 32 ″ twisted or braided steel cable having a nylon coating . other types of cable 12 can be used ( e . g ., 7 × 19 cable ), and other sizes can be used ( e . g ., 1 / 16 ″, 5 / 64 ″, and ⅛ ″ are also preferred alternatives ). additionally , the cable 12 can be standard rope constructed from braided or twisted natural fibers ( such as cotton , hemp , etc .) or man - made fibers ( such as nylon , polypropylene , polyester , polyaramids , e . g . kevlar ®, polyimides , dacron ®, etc . ), or other materials such as high molecular density polyethylene , vectran ® manufactured fiber , and zylon ® manufactured fiber . such fibers may provide additional stretch , if desired . for example , nylon fibers may stretch 10 - 15 %, dacron ® may stretch 3 - 5 %, while kevlar ® may stretch 1 - 2 %. the handle 18 is connected to the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 as shown in fig1 . in the preferred embodiment , the handle 18 is a full grip handle 18 , having handle sides 22 which enclose a user &# 39 ; s fingers as shown in fig1 . it will be understood that in alternate embodiments , the handle 18 may also comprise a t - grip 24 as shown in fig6 . the handle 18 preferably comprises a one - piece structure , but it may also be comprised of two or more pieces that are mechanically fastened to form a single , unified handle . the handle 18 may have one or more ergonomic ridges 23 for finger placement on the handle . as shown in fig2 , the full grip handle 18 may have a palm side 36 that rests against the palm of the user &# 39 ; s hand when used , and a finger side 38 that rests against the user &# 39 ; s fingers when used . the handle 18 may be comprised of any conventional material , including plastic , wood , or metal . the handle 18 may also optionally include cushioned or foam material 40 to provide a softer surface for the user . the handle palm side 36 , handle finger side 38 , or both , could include the cushioned material 40 . the handle 18 is connected to the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 . in one embodiment shown in fig2 , the cable 12 is threaded through a cable entry point 26 and a cable access point 32 in the handle 18 . in the handle 18 of fig2 , there is a hollow core or channel that allows the cable 12 to be passed from the cable entry point 26 to the cable access point 32 . after passing through the cable entry point 26 and the cable access point 32 , a handle connector 28 is attached to the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 . the handle connector 28 can be mechanically fastened with a fastening device 30 as illustrated in fig2 . as shown in fig2 , the entry point 26 is sufficiently wide to permit the cable 12 to pass through , but once the handle connector 28 is attached to the cable 12 , the cable 12 can no longer pass through the entry point 26 . unlike the entry point 26 , the cable access point 32 is sufficiently wide to permit the cable 12 and the handle connector 28 to pass through so that the user can access the cable 12 and handle connector 28 . the cable access point 32 may covered by a cable access cover 34 . the cable access cover 34 can be one or more flexible flaps that are integral to the handle 18 through which the cable 12 can be pushed , or it can be a separate , removable cover or tab . the cable access point 32 may also remain open , without any cable access cover 34 . in one embodiment , the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 may be threaded through a washer 44 after being threaded through the cable entry point 26 . if a washer 44 is used , the handle connector 28 is preferably larger than the opening in the washer 44 through which the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 is threaded . this configuration can better secure the cable 12 to the cable entry point 26 . in the preferred embodiment , the fastening device 30 comprises a set screw , but it will be understood that any suitable fastener may be employed to mechanically fasten the handle connector 28 to the cable 12 . additionally , the handle connector 28 may not require a separate fastening device 30 , but could be directly attached to or engaging the cable 12 , for example a crimp . in one embodiment of the present invention , the handle connector 28 may be cylindrical in shape , and the hollow core or channel in the handle 18 is also cylindrical in shape . in that embodiment , the handle may spin or swivel a full 360 ° at the point of its connection to the cable 12 . the handle 12 may be secured to the trolling motor 46 by using a hook and loop strap or other securing device , which may be preferred when the trolling motor is in its raised position . the distal end 16 of the cable 12 contains an attachment mechanism 20 , shown in fig3 , which connects the trolling motor lift cord device 10 to a trolling motor locking mechanism 42 as shown in fig4 . the attachment mechanism 20 can be any fitting , device , or connection that is larger than the opening or eyelet 48 of the trolling motor locking mechanism 42 , including a ball ( as shown in fig1 , 3 , and 4 ), cone , t - shape , square , etc . preferably the attachment mechanism 20 is made of metal . the attachment mechanism 20 can be attached to the distal end 16 of the cable 12 in any manner , including mechanically , using a separate fastening device 30 , or directly attached to or engaging the cable 12 , for example by crimp . the attachment mechanism 20 may be either temporarily or permanently attached to the distal end 16 of the cable 12 . in the embodiments shown in fig3 and 4 , the cable 12 is threaded through a washer 44 prior to being threaded through the eyelet 48 . in the preferred embodiment , the opening of the washer 44 through which the cable 12 is threaded is smaller than the size of the attachment mechanism 20 , and better secures the attachment mechanism 20 against the eyelet 48 of the trolling motor locking mechanism 42 . in alternate embodiments , the attachment mechanism 20 may comprise a carabiner , clip , u - joint , loop , hook , crimp , or any other device suitable to connect the distal end 16 of the cable 12 to the trolling motor locking mechanism 42 . to install the preferred embodiment of the trolling motor lift cord device 10 on a trolling motor 46 as shown in fig5 , the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 is inserted through an eyelet 48 in the trolling motor locking mechanism 42 ( no washer is used in this embodiment between the attachment mechanism 20 and the eyelet 48 ). the cable 12 is then pulled through the eyelet 48 in the trolling motor locking mechanism 42 until the proximal end 14 is out of the trolling motor mounting bracket 50 and the attachment mechanism 20 on the distal end 16 of the cable 12 engages the eyelet 48 of the trolling motor locking mechanism 42 . in this embodiment , the attachment mechanism 20 is pre - attached , or integral to , the distal end 16 of the cable 12 . once the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 is clear of the trolling motor mounting bracket 50 , the proximal end 14 is pushed through the cable entry point 26 of the handle 18 . the proximal end 14 then passes through the handle 18 cavity and out of the cable access point 32 . after the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 passes out of the cable access point 32 , the handle connector 28 is attached to the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 , preventing the proximal end 14 from passing back through the cable entry point 26 . if desired , a fastening device 30 may be utilized to connect the handle connector 28 to the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 . the proximal end 14 of the cable 12 with the handle connector 28 is then pulled back through the cable access point 32 and into the handle 18 cavity , engaging and stopping at the cable entry point 26 . a cable access cover 34 may then be optionally utilized to cover the cable access point 32 . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims . | 5 |
embodiments of the present invention provide a catalytic process that produces diesel type fuels ( which include a majority of c 8 - c 24 hydrocarbons ) with high selectivity , while minimizing f - t wax ( which includes a majority of c 25 + hydrocarbons ) production using a unique catalyst and process . in this context , “ selectivity ” refers to moles of referenced fuel product formed per mole of co converted . in the preferred embodiment described herein , the product is a diesel type fuel or diesel type fuel blendstock consisting of majority of c 8 - c 24 hydrocarbons and a minimal amount of wax ( c 24 +) whereby the wax produced is a wax produced from this process is unique in that the hydrocarbons contained in the wax consist of no greater than 0 . 5 wt . % of each carbon number greater than c35 ( for example , each carbon number c35 , c36 , etc . each consist of no greater than 0 . 5 % wt . %). hereinafter , the diesel fuel or diesel blendstock fraction that consists of hydrocarbons with a majority in the c 8 - c 24 range is referred to as “ diesel fuel .” a process in accordance with the present invention described herein produces a non - gas product distribution of about ⅔ diesel fuel and about ⅓ light wax . the product produced directly from the application of this invention is a high cetane diesel type fuel or high cetane diesel type fuel blendstock . contrary to the traditional f - t product , in embodiments of the invention , the diesel fuel can be produced directly from syngas at high yields by passing the syngas through a f - t reactor in a single pass or by operating reactors in series to achieve a high overall carbon conversion . in other embodiments , unconverted syngas is recycled to the head of the reactor and blended with incoming feed gas . the diesel fuel is liquid under ambient conditions ( e . g ., at 72 ° f . and atmospheric pressure ). the liquid hydrocarbon product of the present catalytic reaction that is produced from f - t catalytic reaction can be used directly as a diesel blending stock or as a neat fuel without a need to employ costly refining or upgrading processes . the blendstock improves cetane number and reduces sulfur of typical petroleum derived diesel fuels . the blendstock also has superior lubricity properties . if the original feedstock from the syngas production is renewable such as derived from a bio - gas , the blendstock may also provide a beneficial low carbon component when blended with petroleum derived fuels . following the catalytic production process , product fractions are separated using a series of condensers or “ knock out vessels ”. for example , in other f - t process , a wax product is first condensed in a knock out vessel that is operated at 300 ° f .- 420 ° f . the liquid and water fractions are then condensed out in a second vessel at or below ambient conditions ( 80 ° f . or below ). in order to produce the ideal fraction of products , in another embodiment of the invention distillation is used to produce the desired product cuts from direct effluent from the catalytic reaction . this distillation column may contain as few as 5 plates or as many as 40 plates and may be run at a variety of temperatures ranging to efficiently produce the desired product fractions . embodiments of the invention also provide for the recycling of byproduct streams such as naphtha and wax which are gasified or reformed to produce additional syngas which is then subsequently used to produce more diesel fuel . embodiments of the invention include recycling wax back to the syngas generation unit whereby the syngas generation unit is a non - catalytic partial oxidation ( pox ) system and the wax is converted along with the primary feedstock which may be natural gas , natural gas liquids , or combinations thereof . recycling these byproduct steams back to produce additional syngas enables production of 100 % diesel fuel . embodiments of the invention provide several advantages . the diesel type fuels produced in accordance with the present invention are ideal as current diesel fuel blend - stocks since such blending improves cetane number , lowers fuel sulfur content , and lowers engine emissions . the diesel fuel product can be used a neat fuel , as a blend , or can either be mildly isomerized or splash blended with a cold flow improver to meet specifications for low temperature climates . furthermore , maximization of the c 8 - c 24 selectivity for the diesel type fuel fraction allows elimination of costly upgrading processes for this fuel fraction . thus , embodiments of the present invention enable the economic production of distributed gas to liquids plants that produce less than approximately 10 , 000 barrels of fuels per year , however much larger plant designs are possible . referring more specifically to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a schematic flow diagram with items a through e , each of which represents a different process step , starting with the production of a syngas feed to the processing of a diesel fuel . in fig1 , item a refers to any process that produces a syngas feed , which may include steam reforming , autothermal reforming , catalytic partial oxidation ( cpox ), non - catalytic partial oxidation , dry reforming , or other methods known in the art , as well as emerging processes that are being developed as economical ways to produce syngas from renewable , fossil , and other resources . item b represents syngas cleanup and conditioning processes . clean syngas free of impurities ( which may affect catalyst performance and lifetime ) is necessary for efficient and economical operation . impurities may include hydrogen sulfide , ammonia , chlorides , and other contaminants that result from a syngas production process . syngas cleanup processes are well known and described in the art . for example , syngas cleanup processes may include sulfur clean up catalysts , particulate filters , and other technologies to produce clean syngas for subsequent conversion to fuels . item c represents the conversion of syngas into a product gas stream which results in a product mixture containing f - t liquids , light gases , and wax . the present invention relates to the catalyst used in this process step and the corresponding operating conditions required for efficient operation during this process step . item d includes product separation processes whereby the liquid and wax products are condensed out of the product gas stream and the light gases are recycled back to the catalytic reactor and / or may be used for power production or other parasitic load requirements . item d may also include condensing out the product gas stream into a product mixture comprising diesel , water , and wax in a single knock out vessel wherein the wax stays entrained in the water fraction for ease of separation from the diesel fuel fraction . item e may also represent another optional step , where a small percentage of a cold flow improver or other additives are blended into the diesel fuel fraction in order to help cold flow properties of the fuel for use in cold climates . item f represents a step whereby the remaining wax and / or the naphta fraction may be recycled back to the syngas generation unit whereby more syngas is produced from the wax and / or the naphta products . ideally , the naphta and wax fractions are converted in addition to the natural gas and / or natural gas liquids primary feedstocks using a partial oxidation system . in f - t synthesis which occurs in item c , hydrocarbon product selectivity depends on diffusion , reaction , and convection processes occurring within the catalyst pellets ( i . e ., supported catalyst ) and reactor . in embodiments of the invention , catalyst pellets or supported catalyst refer to a catalyst ( which is typically a metal ) dispersed on suitable support material or pellets . the characteristics of a supported catalyst that affect a product distribution ( e . g ., the proportion of a diesel fuel and wax ) include structural parameters , such as an effective pellet radius and pore diameter of the support material , in addition to operating conditions of the catalyst . fig2 illustrates examples of shapes of pellets ( i . e ., support or support materials ) which may be used to support a catalyst in the f - t process which occurs in item c . fig2 shows a lobed catalyst which may be used in embodiments of the invention . support material with other shapes may also be used . the catalyst shape is ideally an extrudate with a lobed , fluted , or vaned cross section but could also be a sphere , granule , powder , or other support shape that allows for efficient operation . the use of a lobed structure , for example , enables a significant increase in the ratio of area to volume in the catalytic reactor , thus improving the volumetric efficiency of a catalytic reactor system . the lobed structures also provide an improved pressure drop , which translates into a lower difference in the pressure upstream and downstream of the catalyst bed , especially when they are used in fixed bed reactors . fig2 also illustrates how the effective pellet radius of a support material is defined . for a cylindrical support ( 230 ) the effective pellet radius is shown ( 240 ). for a lobed support ( 210 ) the effective pellet radius is shown ( 220 ). the effective pellet radius of a pellet or support refers to the maximum radius which is a distance from the mid - point of the support to the surface of the support . for lobed supports , the effective pellet radius refers to the minimum distance between the mid - point and the outer surface portion of the pellet as shown . in embodiments of the invention , the effective pellet radius may be about 600 microns or less . in one embodiment , the effective pellet radius may be about 300 microns or less . in embodiments of the invention , the pellet or support material may be porous . the mean pore diameter of the support material may be greater than 100 angstroms . in one embodiment , the pellet or support material may have a mean pore diameter greater than about 80 angstroms . any suitable material can be used as a support material in the fischer - tropsch process . these include metal oxides , such as alumina , silica , zirconia , magnesium , or combinations of these materials . preferably , alumina is used as a support material to make a supported catalyst . the catalytically active metals , which are included with or dispersed to the support material , include substances which promote the production of diesel fuel in the fischer - tropsch reaction . for example , these metals include cobalt , iron , nickel , or any combinations thereof . various promoters may be also added to the support material . examples of promoters include cerium , ruthenium , lanthanum , platinum , rhenium , gold , nickel , or rhodium . the catalyst support ideally has a crush strength of between than 3 lbs / mm and 4 lbs / mm and a bet surface area of greater than 150 m 2 / g . this combination of variables is unique . conventional high surface area supports have an average pore diameter less than 100 angstroms . supports that have been engineered to have a large average pore volume greater than 80 angstroms will have surface area much lower than 150 m 2 / g and crush strength will be below 2 lbs / mm despite additional calcination or heat treatment . achieving the above combination of variables is unique in the art . this is achieved with the addition of a structural stabilizer that provides additional crystallinity ( for example silicon or silica oxide ) and thus more strength upon heat treatment . the active metal distribution on the support is ideally between about 2 % and about 10 %, preferably about 4 %. the active metal dispersion is the fraction of the atoms on the catalyst surface that are exposed as expressed by : where d is the dispersion , n s is the number of surface atoms , and n t is the total number of atoms of the material . dispersion increases with decreasing crystallite size . in one embodiment , a supported catalyst includes cobalt , iron , or nickel deposited at between about 5 weight % and 30 weight % on gamma alumina , more typically about 20 weight % on gamma alumina , based on the total weight of the supported catalyst . also , the supported catalyst formulation includes selected combinations of one or more promoters consisting of ruthenium , palladium , platinum , gold nickel , rhenium , and combinations in about 0 . 01 - 20 . 0 weight % range , more typically in about 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 weight % range per promoter . production methods of the catalyst include impregnation and other methods of production commonly used in the industry and are described in the art . fischer - tropsch supported catalysts are generally used in either a fixed bed or a slurry bed reactor . in a fixed bed reactor , the supported catalysts are packed within tubes or may be spread across a tray or packed into a number of channels , or any other fixed bed reactor design whereby the reaction gas is evenly distributed and flows over the catalyst in the bed . in one embodiment , the catalyst is loaded in a multi - tubular fixed bed reactor , with each tube in a shell design with one inch diameter . in one embodiment , the catalyst is reduced in - situ in the multi - tubular fixed bed reactor at temperatures below 650 f . typical fischer - tropsch catalysts are reduced ex - situ ( before loading into the reactor ) and at temperatures above 650 f , and can be as high as 850 f . the use of a unique low temperature , in - situ reduction procedure is unique in the art with this catalyst . the operating parameters of the supported catalyst are selected to achieve the desired selectivity of diesel fuel . the fischer - tropsch reaction in embodiments of the invention is typically kept at pressures between 150 psi and 450 psi . the fischer - tropsch reaction is operated at temperatures between about 350 f and 460 f , more typically around 410 ° f . fig2 also shows a lobed support with lobes of different sizes ( 250 ). lobes marked as 270 and 290 denote the longer lobes and lobes marked with 260 and 280 denote the shorter lobes . this type of support allows for more efficient catalyst bed packing , better pressure drop characteristics , and higher diesel fuel to wax production ratios using the invention described herein . optionally , the diesel fuel fraction can be further processed to improve its cold flow properties ( e . g ., cold pour properties ). in some market areas , it is desired that the low temperature properties of the diesel fuel are improved to optimize the performance of diesel fueled vehicles in cold weather . in one embodiment , the light wax fraction can be further reacted with a catalyst which performs mild cracking of the wax to diesel fuel . an example of a suitable reactor is a trickle bed reactor . in the preferred embodiment described herein , the product is a diesel type fuel or diesel type fuel blendstock consisting of majority of c 8 - c 24 hydrocarbons and a minimal amount of wax ( c 24 +) whereby the wax produced is a light wax produced from this process is unique in that the hydrocarbons contained in the wax consist of no greater than 0 . 5 wt . % of each carbon number greater than c35 ( for example , each carbon number c35 , c36 , etc . each consist of no greater than 0 . 5 % wt . %). wax cracking reactors are generally operated at pressures in the range of about 100 psi to about 400 psi , preferably at about 150 psi . the reactor is kept at a temperature between about 300 ° f . to about 600 ° f ., preferably at about 425 ° f . in another embodiment , a cold flow improver may be blended with the diesel fuel fraction to improve cold flow properties of the diesel fuel . cold flow improvers are added to diesel fuel in an amount from 100 to 5 , 000 ppm to lower the pour point and freezing point properties . these pour point depressants typically consist of oil - soluble copolymers such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers ( eva ), esters of styrene - malefic anhydride copolymers , polymethyl - methacrylate copolymers and alkyl - methacrylate copolymers . supported catalysts are prepared using an incipient wetness procedure whereby cobalt and promoter metals are impregnated on a gamma alumina , quad - lobed support with a mean effective pellet radius of 0 . 25 mm and a mean pore diameter of 130 angstroms . the surface area of the catalyst is 110 m2 / g as measured by bet / n 2 physisorption technique . the crush strength of the catalyst is 4 lbs / mm . drying and calcination steps are used in the production process to produce a catalyst with 20 wt % cobalt and 0 . 3 wt % platinum promoter . following the production of the supported catalysts , the supported catalysts are loaded in a multi - tubular fixed bed reactor of a tube in shell design with 1 ″ ( 2 . 54 cm ) diameter tubes . the catalyst is reduced with hydrogen at 75 psig and at a temperature less than 650 ° f . which are operating conditions that can be achieved in a fixed bed reactor that can be manufactured inexpensively . in an alternative embodiment , the catalyst is reduced with a syngas feed with a high h 2 / co ratio under the same conditions . reduction with syngas ( instead of h 2 ) reduces commercial operating costs , especially in remote areas where smaller , distributed plants are sited . while in - situ reduction is highlighted in this example , other reduction procedures , including ex - situ options , can be used . following reduction , the supported catalysts are contacted with syngas with h 2 and co at a ratio of 2 . 05 : 1 . 0 ( h 2 : co ), at a pressure of 400 psi , and at a temperature of 410 ° f . following the catalytic conversion step , the diesel fuel fraction and the wax and water fraction are separated out from the light hydrocarbon gases and unreacted co and h 2 in a single knock out vessel at temperatures below 70 ° f . the separated liquid product fraction includes a diesel fuel fraction on top and a water fraction . a separator vessel with an internal vane is used to separate the diesel fuel fraction from the water . the wax is further distilled to extract an additional diesel fuel fraction . the catalyst system under these operating conditions produces a diesel fuel to wax ratio of ⅔ diesel fuel and ⅓ light wax ( following distillation ). in the preferred embodiment described herein , the product is a diesel type fuel or diesel type fuel blendstock consisting of majority of c 8 - c 24 hydrocarbons and a minimal amount of wax ( c 24 +) whereby the wax produced is a light wax produced from this process is unique in that the hydrocarbons contained in the wax consist of no greater than 0 . 5 wt . % of each carbon number greater than c35 ( for example , each carbon number c35 , c36 , etc . each consist of no greater than 0 . 5 % wt . %). the diesel fuel can be ideally used as a diesel fuel blendstock providing a petroleum derived diesel fuel with an improvement in cetane , reduction in sulfur , and in some cases ( based on the method of syngas production ) can be used as a low carbon blendstock . the wax is recycled back to the syngas production process and is used as an input to create additional syngas , thus improving overall conversion efficiencies of the integrated system . in this example , a majority of diesel fuel is desired as product output from the plant . the same catalyst system and processes are used as described above in example # 1 . following the catalyst synthesis process , the light wax fraction is contacted with a catalyst that performs hydrocarbon cracking under mild operating conditions . in this example , the catalyst used is a platinum promoted catalyst . in this example , a trickle bed reactor is used ; however , other known reactors can be used as well . the reactor is operated in a pressure range of about 100 psi to about 400 psi , ideally at 150 psi in a temperature range of about 350 ° f . to about 600 ° f ., preferably at 425 ° f . the h 2 / wax molar ratio is in the range of 1 . 5 - 5 , preferably equal to 2 . the output product converts up to about 75 % of the normal paraffins to diesel fuel with a high selectivity , thus creating another diesel product steam that can be blended with the output from the first catalyst system . the cold flow properties of a diesel fuel fraction are improved by splash blending the diesel fuel fraction with a cold flow improver . the same catalyst system and processes are used as described above in example # 1 . following the catalyst synthesis process , the diesel fuel fraction is splash blended with a cold flow improver that is blended at 2000 ppm and consists of alkyl - methacrylate copolymers . although the description above contains many details , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . therefore , it will be appreciated that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art , and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims , in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “ one and only one ” unless explicitly so stated , but rather “ one or more .” all structural , chemical , and functional equivalents to the elements of the above - described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims . moreover , it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention , for it to be encompassed by the present claims . furthermore , no element , component , or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element , component , or method step is explicitly recited in the claims . no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 u . s . c . 112 , sixth paragraph , unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “ means for .” all publications , patents and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes in their entirety . | 2 |
[ 0028 ] fig1 and 2 illustrate a pouch fabricated from two superposed rectangular panels 10 and 11 formed of a flexible laminate sheeting in accordance with the invention . the side margins 12 and 13 and the lower end margin 14 of the superposed panels are sealed together to create between these panels an expandable envelope or pocket p . in this embodiment , the pocket is fillable with a flowable food product f , such as mustard or ketchup . the upper end section 15 of the pouch is so sealed as to define an interior spout 16 which communicates with pocket p and leads to a normally - sealed outlet 17 . a weakened transverse tear line 18 is scored or perforated across the upper end section 15 to intersect the outlet 17 . thus , all that is necessary to put the pouch to use is to tear off the end section along tear line 17 , thereby opening outlet 17 . then by squeezing the pouch , the mustard or ketchup is extruded therefrom and discharged from the open outlet . this pouch , though illustrative of a flexible container fabricated of laminate sheeting in accordance with the invention is by no means the only form of pouch that can be so produced . thus , the pouch may be shaped and dimensioned to store potato chips , or candy and other solid food substances . or the pouch or container formed of the laminate sheeting may be designed to envelop and protectively package small toys and other non - food products which are more or less perishable . [ 0032 ] fig3 illustrates the structure of the laminate sheeting f from which panels 10 and 11 of the pouch are derived . sheeting f is a two ply laminate whose outer ply 19 is a film of synthetic plastic material biaxially or uniaxially oriented to enhance its tensile strength , thereby increasing the tear resistance of the pouch . in practice the film may have a thickness of no more than 2 mils . outer ply 19 is cold laminated by a layer 20 of water - based adhesive to an inner ply 21 of a synthetic plastic film material such as polyvinyl chloride whose tensile strength is not as great as that of the outer ply , but whose properties are such that the film is compatible and non - reactive with the food contents of the pouch and lends itself to sealing . thus , when at the margins 12 and 13 of the pouch , the inner ply 21 of the upper panel 10 engages the inner ply 21 of the lower panel 11 of the same film material , these margins may be sealed together by pressure and heat at a temperature sufficient to fuse these plies . to this end , the upper ply 19 should have a high glass transition temperature ( the temperature at which a polymer changes from a vitreous to a softened plastic state ), while the inner ply 21 should have a lower glass transition temperature . thus , when the margins of the superposed laminate panels are subjected to heat and pressure by sealing bars , only the pressed together inner plies of the panels will fuse together and the outer plies will be unaffected by the heat . film materials suitable for outer ply 19 of the laminate are polypropylene , polyethylene , nylon or a polyester such as mylar . the tensile strength of a synthetic plastic film is substantially increased by orientation which results in molecular orientation of the film material . in the case of biaxial orientation , orientation is in both the longitudinal and transverse directions . this is usually effected by controlled stretching of the unoriented film . lamination of outer ply 19 to inner ply 21 is effected at ambient temperature by water - based adhesive 22 which is preferably a polyacrylic copolymer composition having an affinity for both plies . a water - based adhesive when cured , is not soluble in water and cannot be remoistened . because the water - based adhesive is fluid at ambient temperature and is not a hot melt adhesive , no heat is applied to the biaxially - oriented film as it is being laminated to the inner ply ; hence cold lamination is effected . it is important to bear in mind that an oriented film is heat - sensitive , and that at elevated temperatures , the film relaxes and loses its molecular orientation and tensile strength . cold lamination at ambient temperature is therefore essential to the present invention in order to produce a pouch of high tear and burst strength . it is also to be noted that a synthetic plastic film material , such as polypropylene , is normally not receptive to adhesives , especially water - based adhesives . hence if one were to apply to the surface of this film a water - based adhesive which is flowable at ambient temperature or at a temperature somewhat above ambient but not at the elevated temperature of a hot melt adhesive , this adhesive will not be adsorbed by the film . essential to the invention is that the opposing surfaces of the film be treated so as to render them wettable and hence receptive to adhesives , as well as to standard printing inks . to this end , these surfaces are subjected to a corona discharge ionizing treatment which enhances their surface energy , as measured in dynes , and thereby renders them wettable to allow for better bonding of adhesives applied thereto . and the exposed surface of the outer ply 19 may be printed to identify the product in the envelope and its maker . it is important that the surfaces of the films be subjected to a corona - discharge treatment shortly before the adhesive is applied thereto , for the effect of such treatment has a relatively short duration . this conveniently is achieved by placing the adhesive application immediately downstream of the corona discharge electrode which is used to treat the film . thereafter the adhesive carrying plastic film contacts a second corona discharge treated film immediately before press rollers which laminate the films together . it is helpful to allow the adhesive carrying film to run for a sufficient distance to allow some of the moisture to evaporate from the adhesive before it is laminated to the other film . in another embodiment , an intermediate paper layer is used to absorb some of the water from the adhesive to accelerate the cure time for the adhesive . in this embodiment , the adhesive containing corona discharge treated film is laminated to the paper layer by passing through a first set of press rolls to form a paper - plastic laminate . this paper side of laminate then contacts a second plastic film that is corona discharge treated and applied with adhesive . the two materials are brought together and passed through a second set of press rolls to form a final plastic - paper - plastic laminate . this laminate can be used to prepare an envelope or pouch that can be used for mailing various items . the outer plastic layers provide resistance to moisture while the inner plastic film provides a smooth surface for introducing items into the pouch or envelope . the inner paper layer can be preprinted with written material , colors , or other indicia on one or both sides so that information regarding the origination or mailer of the package or its manufacturer can be readily observed . the paper layer can also be metallized on one or both sides for an enhanced appearance . there may be certain situations where it is undesirable to have exposed interior or exterior plastic surfaces . these situations can be avoided by laminating additional paper layers to one or both of the exposed surfaces of the plastic films . these additional paper layers can be applied as described above with any of the laminates disclosed herein to thus provide final laminates of paper - plastic - plastic ; paper - plastic - plastic - paper ; paper - plastic - paper - plastic ; or paper - plastic - paper - plastic - paper . this demonstrates the versatility of the invention in providing the most desirable form of the laminate for any particular use . the salient advantages of the laminate in accordance with the invention include the waterproof properties of the resulting laminate , and the fact that the laminate can be converted into products by conventional equipment for this purpose with minimum scrap in a range in a range comparable to the scrap rate encountered in making paper envelopes and other dilatable container products . as paper sheets have a high affinity for standard printing inks , when these are included , the resulting laminate can readily be printed and colored . also , when a paper layer or sheet is provided on the exterior surfaces , a standard starch or pressure - sensitive adhesive may be used on the flaps of envelopes formed of these laminates . referring now to fig6 shown therein in cross - section and on an enlarged scale is a flexible plastic - paper - plastic sheeting s in accordance with the invention . the laminate of this figure is illustrated with additional , optional layers or plies that are taught by the invention . the laminate includes plastic layers 105 , 110 , which are mandatory , intermediate paper layer 115 , and outer paper layers , 120 , 125 . each of the paper layers is optional . as noted above , in the most basic embodiment , the two plastic layers are treated on their opposed surfaces with a corona discharge to increase the surface energy and render these surfaces receptive to adhesives . thereafter , a water - based adhesive is applied and the layers are cod laminated together . in a first variation of this , the intermediate paper layer 115 is provided . this layer absorbs some of the moisture from the water - based adhesive to facilitate drying and curing of the laminate . also , the paper can be painted , colored , or metallized on either side to provide an enhanced appearance to the laminate . optionally , the laminate can include one or more additional paper layers 120 , 125 , whose gauge , weight and quality are appropriate to the end use for which the laminate is intended . thus if the end use is in a high strength grocery bag , the outer paper sheet may then be of good quality , unbleached kraft paper , whereas if the end use is an envelope , then a white or colored paper appropriate to the intended type of the envelope can be included as the outer layer ( s ) of the laminate . in some cases , as where the product to be produced is an attractive shopping bag of high quality , outer sheets of coated or metallized paper sheets may be used for this purpose . both plastic films 105 , 110 , are cold - laminated by an adhesive layer to the interior paper sheet 115 . preferably , as noted above , these plastic films or layers 105 , 110 are made of synthetic plastic material which is preferably transparent and is uniaxially or biaxially - oriented . film materials suitable for this purpose are polypropylene , polyethylene , nylon or a polyester such as mylar . the tensile strength of a synthetic plastic film is substantially increased by orientation which results in molecular orientation of the film . in the case of biaxial orientation , orientation is in both the longitudinal and transverse directions . this is usually effected by controlled stretching of the unoriented film . the tensile strength of an oriented film is seriously impaired if heat is applied thereto , for the heat acts to relax the film and cause it to lose its molecular orientation . thus when biaxially oriented mylar film panels are superposed and sealed together by heat and pressure applied along a line running along the panels , the film may then be easily torn along this line . this is the reason why in the present invention the use of hot melt adhesives to laminate the oriented plastic films to the paper sheet is interdicted ; for to do so would seriously diminish the reinforcing characteristics of the film . in the present invention , the plastic films are cold laminated to the paper sheet under pressure and at room temperature by means of a water - based polyacrylate copolymer adhesive , or by any other water - based adhesive having similar bonding properties and having an affinity both for the paper sheet and the plastic film . since paper tends to absorb water in the laminating process , before the paper sheet 115 and the first plastic film 105 are together fed into pressure rolls and subjected to pressure to effect lamination , the inner surface of the film is first coated with the water - based adhesive which does not encounter the inner surface of the paper sheet until these two surfaces meet in the pressure rolls . in this way , the period during which absorption of the adhesive into the interior of the paper sheet can take place is limited . and to render the inner surface of the film more receptive to the water - based adhesive applied thereto , it is preferably first subjected to ionization to enhance the dynes on this surface . the same procedure is used to laminate the second plastic film 110 to the paper - plastic laminate produced by laminating paper sheet 115 to the first plastic film 105 . finally , the outer paper layer ( s ) 120 and / or 125 are cold laminated to the previously formed laminate in the same manner . [ 0048 ] fig7 illustrates a system 150 for carrying out a preferred technique for effecting cold lamination of the paper sheet and the oriented plastic film to produce the laminate . the system includes a first combining station having a pair of cooperating pressure rolls 160 and 165 driven at high speed by a motor m . the nip between the rolls is related to the thickness of the layers to be laminated and is adjusted to provide the required degree of laminating pressure to ensure secure bonding of the webs . fed concurrently into the nip of the pressure rolls is a web of paper 115 drawn from a supply reel , and a web of plastic film also drawn from a supply reel . before entering the nip of the pressure rollers , film 105 is exposed to an ionization bar 170 which finctions to ionize the surface of film to increase the dynes of the surface preparatory to the application of a water - based adhesive thereto . then a coating of a water - based adhesive is applied onto the surface of film by means of an adhesive applicator 175 . it is not essential that the coating fully cover this surface , for in practice the roll of the adhesive applicator may take the form of a series of rings to apply parallel strips , dots or dashes of adhesive to the surface of the film . hence , when the adhesive - coated plastic film and paper together enter the combining station and are subjected to pressure by pressure rolls 160 and 165 , lamination is effected by this action to form a paper - plastic laminate fp . at the same time , a second plastic film 110 is being exposed to an ionization bar 180 to energize its surface , and then a water - based adhesive is applied thereto by adhesive applicator 185 , which applies a continuous or discontinuous adhesive thereupon . this adhesive coated plastic film faces the paper and is fed together with the paper - plastic laminate into a second combining station that has a second pair of cooperating pressure rollers 205 , 210 , driven by a motor m . this forms a plastic - paper - plastic laminate fpf . the resulting three - ply plastic - paper - plastic laminate then passes by another ionization bar 215 which ionizes the outer surface of the plastic film 105 . subsequently , adhesive is applied to the activated film using applicator 220 in the same manner as described above , and the adhesive - coated film and paper layer 120 , provided from a supply roll , now together enter into a third combining station having cooperating pressure rolls 230 , 235 . the various laminates are guided by idler rollers i as necessary . the resulting four - ply laminate fpfp has exterior paper layer , and may now be used in exactly the same manner as a reel of ordinary paper as the stock roll for standard equipment adapted to fabricate envelopes , bags or other dilatable paper products , by slitting , folding and whatever other operations are dictated by the form of the product . in some applications , a five - ply paper - plastic - paper plastic - paper laminate pfpfp may be desirable . in this laminate , paper sheet 125 is cold - laminated to the opposite side of the oriented plastic film 105 of the fpfp laminate . the film 105 is exposed to ionizing bar 240 and adhesive applicator 245 before entering a fourth combining station with cooperating pressure rolls 250 , 255 . the final product is a five - ply laminate pfpfp which is collected on a take up roll 275 for transport to envelope making machines . a problem encountered with four - ply paper - film laminate is that it tends to curl because of the dissimilar properties of the plies . such curling is not desirable in products such as envelopes , though it may not be objectionable in other products . when the oriented film plies are sandwiched between two like plies of paper , the resultant five - ply laminate has symmetry which avoids the problem of curling . the five - ply laminate has another important advantage , for now both outer exposed surfaces are paper . this makes it possible when the laminate is converted in standard equipment for this purpose into an envelope or grocery bag in which the sheeting is slit and folded to form flaps or other elements which must be sealed together , to use conventional , commercially available adhesives for this purpose , rather than the special adhesives that would be dictated if the surfaces to be sealed together included a plastic film surface . as all exposed surfaces of the laminate are paper , they can be readily printed . as explained above , the paper layers are optional , so that different embodiments can be made by omitting one or more of paper layers 115 , 120 and 125 . the resulting products can beremoved from the line after the desired laminations are made , such as at the points where laminates fp , fpf , or fpfp are formed . of course , the elimination of paper layer 115 would produce a film - film laminate at point fpf . thus a versatile laminate producing sstem is provided by the arrangement of fig7 . an example of a product fabricated from a five - ply laminate in accordance with the invention is shown in fig8 this being an envelope 300 . the envelope 300 has the form of a conventional paper envelope , except that its exterior surface 305 is one paper facing sheet component of the laminate and its interior surface 310 is the other paper component thereof , the films and interior paper plies being sandwiched between the outer paper layers . the flap 315 of the envelope is provided with an adhesive band 320 which may be a standard starch adhesive or a pressure - sensitive adhesive . while embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , it will be appreciated that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention . for example , the plastic films themselves can be colored or clear . coloration of the films can be made over the entire film or only on selective portions . metallization of the films can be provided in the same manner . when clear plastic films are utilized in a plastic - plastic laminate , the contents of the envelope or pouch are visible so that the recipient can readily determine what is included therein . this can be used for safety or quality control purposes . | 1 |
the data communication system utilizes a bidirectional power controller that controls power to a radiotelephone and facsimile machine , computer , or other accessory coupled to the radiotelephone . thus , when an accessory is needed , power to that accessory is enabled . the preferred embodiment of the data communication system is illustrated in fig1 . the system is comprised of a microprocessor or microcontroller ( 103 ) ( hereinafter referred to as the controller ) to control the system . the controller ( 103 ) controls power switches ( 106 - 108 ) to an external accessory ( computer , facsimile machine , etc .) ( 109 ), as well as to the modem ( 102 ) and radiotelephone ( 101 ), as required by the process of the present invention , illustrated in fig2 a and b . the power control switches ( 106 , 108 ) to the accessory and the radiotelephone are coupled to ground while the switch ( 107 ) to the modem is coupled to the radiotelephone &# 39 ; s battery or other power source . the external accessory ( 109 ) communicates commands and data to the controller ( 103 ) via an asynchronous communications interface adapter ( acia ) ( 104 ). the controller ( 103 ) communicates commands and data to the modem ( 102 ) via another acia ( 111 ). if the external accessory ( 109 ) communicates over an rs - 232 bus , a level translator ( 105 ) can be used to convert the rs - 232 logic levels to ttl levels . the radiotelephone ( 101 ) is coupled to the modem ( 102 ) by the radiotelephone &# 39 ; s audio line ( 110 ). the modem ( 102 ) can then transmit or receive modulated data through the radiotelephone &# 39 ; s transmitter or receiver . in the preferred embodiment , the radiotelephone &# 39 ; s battery powers the modem ( 102 ). the battery is coupled to the modem ( 102 ) through a power control switch ( 107 ). referring to fig2 b , the radiotelephone is normally in a low - power stand - by mode when turned on and not in use ( 201 ). the accessory , if not being used , is off or also in a low - power stand - by mode ( 201 ). the modem is off ( 201 ). when a call is received from a base station ( 202 ), the radiotelephone goes into an active mode to receive the call . the call is indicated by a received ring signal that is also coupled to the controller . the controller , in response to this ring signal , turns on the accessory and the modem and the call is answered by the radiotelephone ( 203 ). data is then received from the transmitting party . in one embodiment of the present invention , the controller can return the components of the system to their previous state of power ( 204 ). if the accessory originates a command ( 205 ), the command is executed by the controller ( 206 ). an example of such a command is for the data communication system to originate a data transfer . this data transfer process is illustrated in fig2 a . for this embodiment of the process , the accessory is on while the modem is off and the radiotelephone is off or in the standby mode . the accessory sends a command to the controller ( 220 ). if the controller determines the command is a power control command ( 221 ), the command is executed by the controller ( 223 ), e . g ., the controller turns on the radiotelephone and modem . if the radiotelephone was already on and in the stand - by mode , the transmission of data will cause it to go into the active mode . if the controller determines the command is to retrieve radiotelephone data ( 224 ), the controller turns on the radiotelephone if it was off and retrieves the data ( 225 ). this data could include received signal strength information ( rssi ) or data from the radiotelephone &# 39 ; s memory ( i . e ., telephone numbers ). if the controller determines the command is intended for the modem &# 39 ; s intelligent controller ( 222 ), the controller turns on the modem and passes the command to the modem &# 39 ; s controller ( 226 ). an example of such a command is the &# 34 ; at &# 34 ; dial command . the modem &# 39 ; s controller can then transfer the telephone number , attached to the command , to the radiotelephone for dialing . the accessory can now communicate , through the modem and radiotelephone , to another accessory that is using either a radiotelephone or a landline telephone and a modem . if the accessory ( 109 ) is a computer , a data modem can be used . an example of such a modem is a uds v . 22bis . if the accessory ( 109 ) is a facsimile machine , a facsimile modem can be used . an example of such a modem is a worldport 2496 . once the call has been completed , the controller ( 103 ) removes power from the modem ( 102 ) and the radiotelephone ( 101 ). the accessory ( 109 ) is powered down by its own internal power - down algorithm . an alternate embodiment powers down the modem and radiotelephone automatically a predetermined time after the call has ended . another alternate embodiment would power down the modem and radiotelephone a predetermined time after the last command has been sent from the accessory to the apparatus , if the radiotelephone is not in a call . yet another embodiment would complete the power down procedure only after a command was sent from the computer instructing the power down to occur . another embodiment could use the controlling controller to power - down the accessory after transfer of the data . the data communication system can be built into the accessory ( 109 ). in alternate embodiments , the items of the communication system can be in separate enclosures or share the same enclosures . also in alternate embodiments , all the components of the present invention can share the same power source or be combined in various combinations . the data communication system described reduces the time a battery needs to power a modem combined with a radiotelephone by turning off both components when not needed . by reducing the time these components are drawing power , the battery use can be greatly extended . | 7 |
embodiments of the present invention relate generally to devices , materials and methods for replacing at least a portion of a intervertebral disc nucleus . more particularly , embodiments of the present invention relate to disc nucleus prosthesis structures , including prosthesis bag structures , implant structures , and a combination of prosthesis bag structures and implant structures . while various prosthetic structures discussed herein are presented with reference to replacement of part or all of a human disc , embodiments of the present invention have application beyond human disc replacement . for example , the prosthetic structures discussed herein could be used in or with discs for any suitable vertebrate animal that might need or justify a disc replacement . referring now to fig1 , one embodiment of the present invention comprises an intervertebral disc nucleus prosthetic bag structure 100 that may be used for replacing all or part of a diseased , damaged or otherwise non - functional intervertebral disc nucleus . in the illustrated embodiment , bag structure 100 includes an outer body 110 , an interior cavity 120 , and opening 130 for receiving , for example , an interior implant structure or material . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , bag structure 100 , and in particular , outer body 110 is formed of a flexible material . in some other embodiments , the bag structure 100 , and in particular , outer body 110 is formed of a semi - permeable flexible , resilient , elastic or viscoelastic material . the later materials can have a time dependent deformation quality that dissipates some mechanical energy ; thus , there is a viscoelastic quality to the material in some of these examples . therefore , the bag structure can be compressed , so that it can be implanted in an annulus fibrosis cavity using a delivery device , such as a catheter or the like . once inserted into the intervertebral space , the bag structure can be released from the delivery device , so that it returns to its relaxed unstretched state . implantation of the bag structure will be discussed in more detail below . in one embodiment , outer body 110 of bag structure 100 is formed of an immunologically inert material that is compatible with the environment found within a mammalian body , and in particular , within an intervertebral disc . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , the immunologically inert material does not induce any significant response by the immune system when the structure is implanted into a subject . bag structure 100 can be formed of one or more materials , including in some embodiments , one or more composite materials . in addition , the outer body 110 of bag structure 100 can be formed from one or more layers of material . in some embodiments , bag structure 100 can be formed of one or more different materials , which exhibit semi - permeable , flexible , resilient and / or elastic properties . that is , the material of bag structure 100 is such that it is capable of being easily stretched , expanded or compressed , and then resuming its former shape or close to its former shape . for example , in one embodiment , a bag structure 100 can be formed from a woven or non - woven polymeric fiber material , such as , an aramid material ( e . g ., kevlar ™, nomex ™, twaron ™, etc . ), a polyester fiber material , an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene fiber material , a nylon fiber material , a cellulose fiber material , a polyurethane fiber material , or a polyacrylonitrile based fiber material . in some embodiments the polymeric fiber material can be woven or configured into a 2 - dimensional or 3 - dimensional fabric configuration . in another embodiment of the present invention , bag structure 100 can be made and / or formed from a metallic material , such as nitinol , stainless steel ( eg . heat - treated ph 17 - 7 stainless steel fabric ) or the like . in still other embodiments , bag structure 100 can be made and / or formed from metallic fibers woven into a fabric - type material . in some embodiments , the fabric - type material can be a 2 - dimensional or 3 - dimensional fabric configuration . in further embodiments , bag structure 100 can be made of a combination of materials . for example , one combination might be a combination of a polymeric fiber and a metallic material ; e . g ., an aramid material ( e . g ., kevlar or the like ) and a metallic material ( e . g ., nitinol , stainless steel ). in another embodiment of the present invention , bag structure 100 can be made of a semi - permeable , flexible , composite material , such as a composite comprised of an elastomeric or hydrogel matrix material and a polymeric fiber , a metal fiber or wire , or a ceramic fiber . examples of suitable matrix materials that can be used to form bag structure 100 include , but are not limited to , a natural or synthetic polymer matrix material , an elastomer , a flexible polyolefin polymer , an elastomeric matrix material , or a hydrogel material . discussed above are various examples of classes of materials that can be used to form bag structure 100 . other specific materials that can be used to make bag structure 100 include , but are not limited to , polyaramid fibers , such as kevlar 49 , kevlar 149 — or the like , ultra high molecular weight , highly oriented , highly crystalline polyethylene ( e . g ., dyneema or spectra 900 or spectra 1000 ), polyester fibers , such as dacron , silk fiber , elastin fiber , elastomeric materials for ( polyurethane or other thermoplastic elastomer ), fused ptfe ( polytetrafluoroethylene ), expanded ptfe of generally high tenacity fibers or other high strength woven or non - woven fibers or fabrics . it is also contemplated that any embodiment of the present invention may be accompanied by vertebroolasty to increase the strength of any weakened vertebrae including but not limited to disease , aging or injury . in some embodiments , an interior implant material and / or structure is placed into bag structure 100 so that the combination of the bag structure and interior implant material create a resilient disc nucleus prosthesis . in some embodiments , the interior implant material or structure conforms to at least a portion of the interior cavity of the bag structure , thus creating the resilient prosthetic structure . in accordance with some embodiments of the invention , the interior implant material or device can be , for example , a hydrogel implant , a spiral implant , a biological implant , the implant structure discussed below , or any other suitable disc nucleus implant material or device . in one embodiment , the interior implant material and / or device can be , for example , the spiral implant devices disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 919 , 235 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . further , in other embodiments , the sinusoidal - shaped structural device discussed below can be implanted or positioned within bag structure 100 . the implantation of this device in a bag structure will be discussed in more detail below . referring now to fig2 , a cross - sectional view of a spinal column 200 having a herniated disc or damaged disc is shown . in the illustrated embodiment , the cross - section shows a vertebrae 210 , a spinal cord 220 with nerve roots 225 , and a disc 230 , having an annulus 240 and a disc nucleus 250 . as is illustrated by location 260 in fig2 , a herniated disc occurs when disc nucleus 250 protrudes an opening or weakness in annulus 240 , putting pressure on spinal cord 220 and / or nerve roots 225 . when this occurs , one remedy is to remove the protruding disc nucleus and replace it with a prosthetic nucleus structure and / or material . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , a disc nucleus replacement procedure includes , first removing at least a portion of the disc nucleus . in addition , as one skilled in the art will appreciate , a disc replacement procedure includes estimating the size and conformation required to replace the damaged disc area . in one embodiment of the present invention , the entire disc can be removed and replaced if warranted . in some embodiments , partial and / or total disc replacement can require anchoring of the intervertebral prosthetic structure such as encouraging tissue ingrowth into a structure ( e . g . 2 - or 3 - dimensional weave structure ). these procedures are known in the art , and thus , will not be discussed in detail herein . after at least a portion of the disc nucleus is removed , the prosthetic structure and / or material can be placed within the annulus where the nucleus material was removed . in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , once the nucleus material is removed , a delivery device ( e . g ., a cannula or other catheter device ) can be used to introduce bag structure 100 into the annulus cavity . in one embodiment , bag structure 100 can be stretched and / or compressed and then attached to the delivery device so that it can be delivered through an opening in the disc annulus into the disc nucleus region . for example , in one embodiment , bag structure 100 is compressed into a cannula or onto a catheter , and then delivered into the nucleus region using a balloon catheter delivery technique , or the like . after the bag structure 100 is delivered into the nucleus region , it is released . in some embodiments , upon release , bag structure 100 will expand to substantially its uncompressed original shape . in other embodiments , a balloon device ( e . g ., balloon catheter device ) can be used to deploy bag structure 100 within the disc nucleus region . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , during a balloon catheter delivery procedure , a balloon catheter is used to place bag structure 100 within the disc nucleus , and then a balloon is inflated within the bag structure 100 , causing the compressed bag structure to expand to its original or close to original shape . once the bag structure is expanded , the balloon is deflated and then removed . after bag structure 100 has been positioned within the disc nucleus region , an interior implant structure and / or material can be placed within the interior 120 of bag structure 100 for additional nucleus support . the interior implant structure and / or material can be introduced or positioned within interior 120 of bag structure 100 through opening 130 ( see fig1 a and 1 b ). different delivery devices and / or methods may be used to insert the interior implant into the bag structure , and the delivery devices and / or methods used may differ depending on the type of implant material or structure used . after the interior implant material and / or structure is placed within bag structure 100 , opening 130 of bag structure 100 then can be sealed or closed , thus holding the interior implant material and / or structure within the bag structure . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , any sealing or closing process and / or device can be used to seal the bag structure , such as suturing , clamping , tying , using a single directional opening valve or the like . one aspect of the present invention relates to an interior implant structure , which can act as a disc nucleus replacement prosthesis , or at least as an interior portion of a disc nucleus prosthesis structure ; one embodiment of which is illustrated in fig3 . in the illustrated embodiment , interior implant structure 300 comprises one or more sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 . in accordance with this particular embodiment of the invention , each sinusoidal - shaped structure 305 comprises a plurality of periodic portions 310 , which are formed of a flexible , resilient , elastic material . as illustrated in fig3 , each periodic portion 310 intersecting a longitudinal axis 320 of the interior implant structure 300 at two points , 330 a and 330 b . in one embodiment , the sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 is flexible , such that when stretched in a longitudinal direction ( i . e ., along axis 320 ), the structure sufficiently flattens or otherwise reduces the amplitude of each of the periodic portions 310 , so that it can be placed within a disc nucleus region or holding structure within the disc nucleus region ( e . g ., bag structure 100 , discussed above ). fig3 b illustrates one embodiment of interior implant structure 300 ( i . e ., sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 ) in a stretched configuration . further , sinusoidal - shaped implant structure 300 are formed of a flexible , resilient material , so that when released from a stretched position ( typically , within the disc nucleus region , or in an implant holding structure ), the device returns substantially to its original sinusoidal shape . in one embodiment of the present invention , the original sinusoidal shape of the device includes a configuration where the amplitude of at least one of the periodic portions of the sinusoidal shape when in an unstretched position is large enough to prevent the device from exiting the opening in the bag structure . fig4 illustrates sinusoidal - shaped implant structure 300 positioned within bag structure 100 , which is discussed in detail above . as illustrated in fig3 , one embodiment of the invention can comprise multiple sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 positioned together , or otherwise interwoven with each other . the embodiment illustrated in fig3 shows two sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 interwoven or otherwise joined and positioned in planes that are positioned at or near 90 degrees from one another . in other embodiments , two sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can be positioned in different planes that are not necessarily perpendicular to one another . in still other embodiments , more than two sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can be used . in accordance with yet other embodiments of the invention , sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can include holes 340 through the material at or near the center of the structures ( i . e ., at or near longitudinal axis 320 ). as discussed in more detail below , the holes can be used to accommodate an implantation or delivery device such as a cannula , catheter , etc . as with bag structure 100 discussed above , some embodiments of interior implant structure 300 can be formed of an immunologically inert material that is compatible with the environment found within a mammalian body , and in particular , within an intervertebral disc . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , the immunologically inert material does not induce any significant response by the immune system when the structure is implanted into a subject . further , as with bag structure 100 , interior implant structure 300 can be formed of one or more materials , including in some embodiments , one or more composite materials . in addition , interior implant structure 300 , and in particular , sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can be formed from one or more layers of material . in some embodiments , as with bag structure 100 , sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can be formed of one or more different materials , which exhibit flexible , resilient and / or elastic or viscoelastic properties . that is , the material of structures 305 is such that it is capable of being easily stretched , expanded or compresses , and then resuming its former shape or close to its former shape . for example , in one embodiment , structures 305 can be formed from a woven or non - woven polymeric fiber material , such as , an aramid material ( e . g ., kevlar ™, nomex ™, twaron ™, etc . ), a polyester fiber material , an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene fiber material , a nylon fiber material , a cellulose fiber material , a polyurethane fiber material , or a polyacrylonitrile based fiber material . in some embodiments the polymeric fiber material can be woven or configured into a 2 - dimensional or 3 - dimensional fabric configuration . further , in other embodiments , sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can be made and / or formed from a metallic material , such as nitinol , stainless steel or the like . in still other embodiments , structures 305 can be made and / or formed from metallic fibers woven into a fabric - type material . in some embodiments , the fabric - type material can be a 3 - dimensional fabric configuration . in further embodiments , sinusoidal - shape structures 305 can be made of a combination of materials . for example , one combination might be a combination of a polymeric fiber and a metallic material ; e . g ., an aramid material ( e . g ., kevlar or the like ) and a metallic material ( e . g ., nitinol , stainless steel ). in another embodiment of the present invention , sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can be made of a flexible composite material , such as a composite comprising an elastomeric or hydrogel matrix material and a polymeric fiber , metal fiber or wire , or a ceramic fiber . examples of suitable matrix materials that can be used to form structures 305 include , but are not limited to , a natural or synthetic polymer matrix material , an elastomer , a flexible polyolefin polymer , an elastomeric matrix material , or a hydrogel material . discussed above are various examples of classes of materials that can be used to form sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 . other specific materials that can be used to make structures 305 include , but are not limited to , polyaramid fibers , kevlar 49 , kevlar 149 or the like , polyester fiber ( e . g . dacron ), ultra high molecular weight , highly oriented , highly crystalline polyethylene ( e . g ., dyneema ), silk , elastin , elastomeric ( polyurethane or other thermoplastic elastomer ), fused ptfe ( polytetrafluoroethylene ), expanded ptfe of generally high tenacity fibers or high strength non - woven fabric polyethylene , polyaryl , and peek ( polyetheretherkeytone ). as discussed above , interior implant structures can be placed or positioned within a bag or containment structure , such as bag structure 100 discussed above . in some embodiments , interior implant structure 300 can be placed within bag structure 100 to form a resilient disc nucleus prosthetic structure ( see fig4 ). in one embodiment , one or more sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 can be placed within bag structure 100 to form the disc nucleus prosthesis . in other embodiments , one or more sinusoidal - shaped implant structures 305 can be placed in bag structure 100 , along with one or more other implant materials such as hydrogel implant , a spiral implant , a therapeutic implant , a biologic implant , or a an in - situ curable material . in one embodiment , interior implant structure 300 ( i . e ., sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 ) can be inserted into a bag structure ( e . g ., bag structure 100 ) located in the intervertebral cavity using an external delivery device , such as a cannula , a catheter , or other suitable delivery device . in accordance with one embodiment , a delivery device can be inserted through holes 340 in sinusoidal - shaped structures 305 , and then the structures can be stretched along the delivery device to reduce the height or amplitude of the sinusoidal - shaped devices , as discussed above . once the height of the structure is sufficiently reduced , it can be positioned or placed within the internal cavity 120 of bag structure 100 , for example , through opening 130 in bag structure 100 . once inside the bag structure , interior implant structure 300 ( i . e ., sinusoidal structures 305 ) is released from the delivery device , which will allow structures 305 to expand back to or near its original shape , thus filling the bag structure and at least a portion of the disc nucleus regions . in some embodiments , a coating agent can be applied to a bag structure ( e . g ., bag structure 100 ) and / or an interior implant structure ( e . g ., interior implant structure 300 ). in one embodiment , the coating agent may include one or more of hydrogel , a curable biomaterial that changes states once introduced to the intervertebral disc region ( e . g ., by chemical or heat promotion ), elastomers ( e . g ., thermoset and thermoplastic ), polyolefins , therapeutic agents ( e . g ., anti - bacterial or anti - fungal agents or biological agents ). biological agents can include , for example , tissue extracts , cells ( e . g ., bone derived cells ), growth factors ( e . g ., platelet derived growth factor ( pdgf )), proteins ( e . g . the hormone calcitonin ) or genes ( e . g ., nerve growth or bone growth promoting genes ). the foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to limit the invention to the form or forms disclosed herein . although the description of the invention has included description of one or more embodiments and certain variations and modifications , other variations and modifications are within the scope of the invention , e . g ., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art , after understanding the present disclosure . it is intended to obtain rights , which include alternative embodiments , including alternate , interchangeable and / or equivalent structures , functions , ranges or steps to those claimed , whether or not such alternate , interchangeable and / or equivalent structures , functions , ranges or steps are disclosed herein , and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter . | 0 |
in fig1 a to 1 d it is schematically illustrated how a first component 1 and a second component 2 , which are each made of a thermoplastic layer or laminate composite material having multiple layers , are welded together . in the depicted exemplary embodiment , the two components 1 , 2 are fuselage sections of an aircraft fuselage . the corresponding method is illustrated in fig4 . as shown in fig1 a , the two components 1 , 2 are plate - shaped and comprise a plurality of layers 3 ( five in the example depicted ), which are disposed one on top of the other . the layers 3 are provided in the same number and with the same thickness in each component 1 , 2 . each layer has two opposite extended surfaces 3 a , 3 b , between which lateral or side surfaces 3 c extend ( depicted for only one layer 3 in each case ). in the depicted example , the layers 3 are dimensioned such that the lateral surfaces 3 c of the layers of each component 1 , 2 are aligned with one another and form straight lateral or side surfaces of the components 1 , 2 . each layer 3 is made of a thermoplastic material into which , for the purpose of reinforcement , fibers may be embedded , such as , for example , glass fibers and / or carbon fibers ( not depicted ). the two components 1 , 2 are each subjected to a laser ablation or evaporation step , in which material is removed by means of a laser beam in order to form , on a longitudinal edge of each component 1 , 2 or at an end section of each component 1 , 2 , a step structure 4 having multiple steps 5 . in this regard , each step 5 is preferably formed by an end section of exactly one other of the layers 3 so that , in the depicted example , five steps are created per component 1 , 2 . each step 3 of the component 1 is formed by a surface section of the extended surface 3 a of the corresponding layer 3 and a lateral surface 3 c of the corresponding layer 3 . the surface section of the extended surface 3 a defines the tread , and the lateral surface 3 c defines the rise or height of the step 3 . each step 3 of the component 2 is formed by a surface section of the extended surface 3 b of the corresponding layer 3 and a lateral surface 3 c of the corresponding layer 3 . the surface section of the extended surface 3 b defines the tread , and the lateral surface 3 c defines the rise or height of the step 3 . as can be seen from fig1 b and 1 c , the two step structures 4 complement one another , or are complementary with respect to each other , so that they can be brought into mating engagement with one another . for this purpose , the two components 1 , 2 are disposed before or after the laser evaporation or ablation step in such a way that the formed step structures 4 or the corresponding longitudinal edges or end sections face one another and are disposed at the same level or height . the two components 1 , 2 are then moved towards one another , as indicated by the arrows in fig1 b , until the step structures 4 engage or mesh with one another and the components 1 , 2 abut one another by means of the step structures 4 . this position is shown in fig1 c , from which it can be seen that the two components 1 , 2 are both disposed on the same level . due to this each layer 3 of the first component 1 is associated with exactly one layer 3 of the second component 2 and is disposed at the same level or height as it . the front faces 3 c of these layers 3 associated with one another abut one another in a butt joint . due to this arrangement of the two components 1 , 2 , the two outer surfaces 6 of the combination or conjunction of the two components 1 , 2 have no step , which ensures good aerodynamic properties . in this abutting position , the two components 1 , 2 are then welded together by means of laser welding , specifically , in each case at the abutting surface sections 3 a of the steps 3 . as depicted in fig1 d , four welded connections or joints 7 are thus produced between four pairs of steps . during laser welding , the laser beam used is in each case focused on the desired welding area , so that the layers lying above it are penetrated by the laser beam without causing damage to the material . due to the separate welded connection of multiple layers of the two components 1 , 2 , a high strength and reliability of the connection is achieved . in an alternative embodiment of the method , the two components 1 , 2 are , after the formation of the two step structures 4 , again moved towards one another in accordance with fig1 b until the step structures 4 matingly engage with one another and the components 1 , 2 abut one another by means of the step structures 4 , but in such a way that the two components 1 , 2 are disposed offset to one another by one layer . this alternative abutting position is depicted in fig2 a , from which it can be seen that the layer 3 of the component 1 , which layer 3 is bottommost in the figure , is disposed below the bottommost layer 3 of the component 2 , the uppermost layer 3 of the component 2 is disposed above the uppermost layer 3 of the component 1 , and all remaining layers 3 of the two components 1 , 2 are each associated with exactly one layer 3 of the other component 1 , 2 and are disposed at the same level as the associated layer 3 of the other component 1 , 2 . the front faces 3 c of these layers 3 associated with one another each abut one another in the butt joint . due to this arrangement of the two components 1 , 2 , the two outer surfaces 6 of the combination or conjunction of the two components 1 , 2 each have a step , which is , however , only a layer thickness in height . in this alternative abutting position , the two components 1 , 2 , just like in the case of fig . ld , are then welded together by means of laser welding , and specifically in each case on the abutting surface sections 3 a of the steps 3 . as shown in fig2 b , five welded connections 7 are thus produced between all five pairs of steps . the slightly reduced aerodynamic properties compared with the example of fig1 d , thus go hand in hand with an even greater strength and reliability of the connection , because separate welded connections or joints now exist for all layers 3 of the two components 1 , 2 . in general , the method for connecting or joining the two components 1 , 2 in accordance with the two exemplary embodiments thus comprises , as depicted in fig4 , the step 10 of laser evaporation or ablation for the formation of the step structure 4 of the first component 1 , the step 11 of laser evaporation or ablation for the formation of the step structure 4 of the second component 2 , the step 12 of arranging the first component 1 and the second component 2 in the abutting position , as is shown , for example , in fig1 c and 2 a , and the step 13 of welding together the first component 1 and the second component 2 , by welding together the abutting surface sections 3 a of the steps 3 of the first and second step structures 4 . fig3 a to 3 d depict an advantageous possibility of how the above method steps may be carried out , which are generally and schematically illustrated in fig1 a to 2 d . the two components 1 , 2 , which are shown in fig3 a to 3 d as curved plate - shaped fuselage segments , are disposed and supported in such a way on a first support device 22 provided with castors 21 that their longitudinal edges or end sections 23 , at which the step structures 4 are to be formed , face upwards and are therefore freely accessible for a laser evaporation or ablation . for this purpose , the first support device 22 comprises support surfaces 24 a , 24 b , 24 c and 24 d , which are adapted to the shape of the components 1 , 2 . with the aid of the castors 21 , the first support device 22 can be moved to a laser device 25 which is mounted on a robot arm 26 . this allows the step structures 4 to be automatically produced on the two longitudinal edges or end sections 23 by means of laser evaporation or ablation controlled by a control device . for this purpose , the control device stores information about the dimensions and the layer construction of the two components 1 , 2 , which are taken into account when controlling the robot arm 26 and the laser device 25 . the two components 1 , 2 are then disposed spaced apart from one another on a second support device 27 provided with castors 21 and are supported on the second support device 27 , which support device has a curved support surface 28 , the curvature of which corresponds to the curvature of the two components 1 , 2 ( see fig3 c ). the positioning is effected such that the two step structures 4 face one another , and specifically in such a way that , simply by moving the two components 1 , 2 towards one another ( see the arrows in fig3 c ), they can be pushed into one another and then abut one another in the manner described above and depicted in fig2 a . for this purpose , a step 29 is provided in the support surface 28 , which is as high as a layer thickness of the layers 3 and which ensures an arrangement of the two components 1 , 2 offset by the thickness of one layer . the support surface 28 easily guides the two components 1 , 2 into the position shown in fig2 a and 3 d . finally , the support device 27 is once again moved with the aid of the castors 21 to the laser device 25 mounted on the robot arm 26 and is welded by it in the manner depicted in fig2 b . while at least one exemplary embodiment of the present invention ( s ) is disclosed herein , it should be understood that modifications , substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure . this disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment ( s ). in addition , in this disclosure , the terms “ comprise ” or “ comprising ” do not exclude other elements or steps , the terms “ a ” or “ one ” do not exclude a plural number , and the term “ or ” means either or both . furthermore , characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise . this disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority . | 1 |
in fig1 is shown the complete ball retrieving apparatus wherein a football 10 , of the well known size and shape is formed of a plastic foam material , and has the familiar ellipsoidal configuration . it is tethered by a length of elasticized bungy cord 12 which is connected at its opposite end to an adjustable wrist band 14 consisting of a flat , flexible rectangular - shaped member capable of being entrapped around the wrist of a thrower and having stitched thereto a pair of velcro patches 16 , which patches may be brought into confrontation with each other after the step of wrapping the band around the person &# 39 ; s wrist has been completed , all to tie the tether to the thrower . the ball is provided with a central end - to - end hollow chamber 20 along its longitudinal axis , into which chamber is seated an end - to - end plastic tube 22 . at the rightward ball end , as viewed in fig4 a right end cap 24 , having a curved exterior surface conforming to the exterior surface of the ball , is provided for covering the nose of the ball in a hollow - chamber - enclosing manner . the right end cap also has a central , inwardly - projecting tubular extension 26 integral therewith , which extension snugly nests within the rightward terminus of tube 22 , the extension diameter being slightly less than the tube diameter to allow this . a throw opening 28 extends centrally of the end cap and extension . at the leftward ball end , a left end cap 30 , having a curved exterior surface for conforming to the exterior surface of the ball is provided for covering the opposite nose of the ball . the left end cap has a central inwardly - projecting tubular extension 32 integral therewith , which extension is of a diameter so as to snugly fit around the exterior of the leftward terminus of tube 22 . the left end cap is provided with an enlarged central through opening 34 defining an annular shoulder 36 approximately midway therethrough . an end cap plug 38 is nestably receivable within the outer end of the opening 34 of the left end cap . a tubular swivel housing 40 is so dimensioned so as to be receivable within the left terminus of tube 22 and is provided with a flared outer annular rim 42 which is seatable upon the annular shoulder 36 of the left end cap . a swivel housing plug 42 is nestably receivable within the outer opening of tubular swivel housing 40 . and a central opening 46 extends through the inner end wall of the swivel housing . the end of the tether on assembly is extended through opening 28 in the right end cap 24 , through the length of tube 22 , and through opening 46 in the swivel housing . the terminus of the tether has a cup shaped swivel 50 sleeved thereon , which swivel is held fast to the tether by virtue of a knot 52 formed at the extreme end of the tether , it being appreciated that swivel and tether terminus are disposed within the swivel housing when the arrangement is completely assembled . the novel arrangement of the tubular guides , allows the bungy cord to spin freely within the ball and imparts the spiralling motion to the ball as it proceeds in its trajectory , when thrown . an invention has been disclosed which fulfills the objects thereof as set forth hereinabove and provides a new and useful tethered football of novelty and utility . slight changes and modifications or alterations in the teachings hereof may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof . as such , it is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims . the arrangement is such that the tether is loosely confined within the football body and is anchored at the leftware end ( as viewed in fig4 ) so as to allow a swivelling motion of the left end cap when the ball is in operational use thereby defining a twisting trajectory when thrown . | 0 |
fig2 shows a diagram of the measurement and control signals which are included in the air flow control and the limiting controls which are associated therewith . under the &# 34 ; summary of the invention &# 34 ; a description is given of how both the set value and the actual value for the air flow control is produced . the production of these quantities are therefore shown only symbolically in fig2 in the form of the set value calculator 23 and the actual value calculator 24 . input signal to the set value transducer is , in the example shown , the bed level &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; which is assumed to have been obtained in some known way , for example via the pressure difference measurement between p o and p b as previously described . the determination of the actual value for the air flow is performed , as mentioned above , with the aid of measured values for pressure upstream and downstream of the high - pressure compressor , the temperature downstream of the high - pressure compressor and the speed of the high - pressure unit , which values are supplied to the actual value calculator which , with access to stored characteristics for normalized air flow of the high - pressure compressor for different π - values for normalized speeds thereof , may supply an actual value for air flow . fig2 also shows the pid - connected air flow regulator 13 according to fig1 . the output of the regulator , that is , the control signal to the operating member of the guide vane if this control is switched on , is supplied to the selection system 25 which will be described in detail below . as mentioned , the selection system determines which control system is to be switched on and the output signal from the selection system is supplied to the operating device 11 of the guide vane according to fig1 . to avoid an intermittent transition between the different control systems when the selection system determines that another control means is to become activated , each control will be supplied with a follow - up set value fset , as described above and shown in fig2 which continuously ensures that each control system receives a control output signal which differs , by a small deviation only , from the control signal which is activated . under normal operation the compressors must operate within a certain operating range . if the working point approaches the limits of the working range , problems with so - called surging and choking may arise . these phenomena may lead to considerable damage on the compressor and must therefore be avoided . if the working point of the compressor should arrive outside the working range and below the curve corresponding to the choking limit , choking occurs , and if the working point should arrive outside the working range and above the curve corresponding to the surging limit , surging occurs . the air flow control is therefore supplemented by a limiting control referred to as π hc - control , symbolically shown at 26 in fig2 . to obtain a certain margin to the actual limit curves , this control is based on a π - surging limit curve which lies below the actual limit curve for surging and a π - choking limit curve which lies above the actual limit curve for choking . as is otherwise clear from fig2 this control has as input signal the π hc - value and the normalized speed n n of the high - pressure compressor , which both values are obtained in connection with the production of the actual value for the air flow control as well as the pressure after the high - pressure compressor . the π hc - control comprises two regulators , one of which supplies a control signal &# 34 ; min π &# 34 ; and the other a control signal &# 34 ; max π &# 34 ; which , when the operating range starts to approach the respective limit regions , exert an influence on the air flow control in such a way that these signals , via the selection system , are determining for the position of the guide vane ring . in the same way as for the pid regulator , the π hc - regulators are supplied with the follow - up set value f set to avoid disturbing jerks in the control when any of these controls is switched on . a brief description as to when the surging and choking problems arise and how the max - π and min - π values are obtained for the different air flows will now be given . on each one of the curves for normalized speeds in the multitude of curves which provides the relationship between π and the compressor air flow there is a point where surging and choking , respectively , are initiated . if the points for surging on all the curves in the multitude of curves are linked together , a coherent curve is obtained which is called the surging curve , and if in similar manner the points for choking are linked together , a coherent choking curve is obtained . the region between these two curves defines the permissible working range of the compressor . to provide margins to these limit curves , π - limit curves according to the above have been decided . the max - π regulator then sees to it that a set value for the max - π control is generated which has such a value that the working point of the compressor by a certain margin does not come too close to the π - surging limit curve , that is , lies below the π - surging limit curve . suitably , a maximum curve is assumed which is determined by a curve equal to 0 . 9 times the π - surging limit curve . in a corresponding manner , the min - π regulator provides a set value for min - π control when an operating position approaching the region for choking is about to be obtained . for reasons of process technique a margin in relation to the π - choking limit curve has been selected which is dependent on the pressure after the high - pressure compressor , that is , p 4 , and for that reason also a measured value for this pressure is supplied to the π - regulator . when the pressure after the high - pressure compressor is greater than a certain pressure , for example 3 . 5 bar , a min - π value is used which is determined by the π - choking limit curve and when the pressure is lower , a curve which is a few per cent lower than the π - choking limit curve is used . however , this value , of course , also permits a satisfactory margin in relation to the actual choking limit curve . as already mentioned , the low - pressure unit is not allowed to operate at speeds below a certain minimum speed or above a certain maximum speed . if there are tendencies in that direction , the limitation is to take over the control of the guide vane ring via the selection system . the measured value for the speed of the low - pressure unit , as it can be obtained from the transducer 20 in fig1 is therefore supplied to the n lc control 27 in fig2 . from there a signal &# 34 ; minspeed lc &# 34 ; is obtained if the actual speed drops to the lowest permissible speed and a signal &# 34 ; maxspeed lc &# 34 ; is obtained if the speed is increased to the highest permissible . one of these signals will determine the mode of running of the air flow system via the selection system if this signal is the predominant one of all control signals that is , having the highest control priority . as is clear from the figure , also this control is supplied with the follow - up set value f set . as previously described , an electric machine 10 according to fig1 is connected to the shaft of the high - pressure unit . during normal operation this machine operates as a generator and delivers electrical power to the power network . the same machine may also advantageously be used as a motor for start - up of the high - pressure unit and then draws power from the network . in order not to overload the shaft between the high - pressure compressor and the turbine , however , the power from the network to the machine operating as a motor must be limited . a measured value of this power is therefore supplied to a maximum power control device 28 according to fig2 . this control device operates in exactly the same way as the dp control . this means that the output signal follows the output signal of the selection system because of the follow - up set value f set for as long as the input signal , that is mw , lies below a maximally allowed value set in advance . when the supplied power amounts to the maximally allowed value , a control signal &# 34 ; max mw &# 34 ; is obtained which , in the same way as for the other control systems , is supplied to the selection system . the air flow which is supplied to the pressure vessel tends to give this vessel an overpressure in relation to the combustor . the difference pressure must be limited to a maximum value and the measured value dp of the difference pressure dp , obtained with the aid of the transducer 21 according to fig1 is therefore supplied to the difference pressure control device 29 according to fig2 . this control device operates in the same way as the other control systems in that the output signal , for as long as the difference pressure is below a permissible maximum value set in advance with a certain margin , because of the follow - up set value delivers a signal which follows the signal which is currently switched on . if , on the other hand , the input signal , that is dp , exceeds the set value , the dp control delivers a &# 34 ; max dp &# 34 ; signal which , if the other conditions are fulfilled , is allowed to determine the movement of the guide vanes via the selection system . the maximum permissible difference pressure in a plant designed according to the invention has been set at 0 . 55 bar . the status of the fuel injection concerns the operating state of the whole pfbc plant and information about the condition ( fo ) must therefore be supplied to the selection system . if , for some reason , the gas turbine unit comes outside its permissible working range so that , for example , surging of the low - pressure compressor and surging of the high - pressure compressor occur , that the maximum speed of the low - pressure compressor is exceeded , that vibrations occur on the units , and the like , a function called gt trip is triggered . upon a gt trip , special measures must be taken and it is therefore important that the selection system is informed of this ( gt ). as mentioned above , during start - up of the plant the high - pressure unit is driven by the electric machine , connected to the common shaft and fed from the network . only when the speed of the unit has reached the speed which corresponds to the necessary speed to be able to phase the machine into the network , is it opened for air supply to the pressure chamber and also for gas outlet from the combustor . this opening is performed with the intercept valve 22 according to fig1 . it is therefore important for the selection system to know whether the intercept valve has opened or not ( io ). information about the states of the above functions is obtained in the form of logical 0 - and 1 - signals which are supplied to the selection system . that part of the selection system which is to process these input signals must then be designed for logic processing and is for this purpose designed such that the 0 - and 1 - signals have the following meaning : ______________________________________fuel injection , off yes = 1 , no = 0intercept valve , on yes = 1 , no = 0gt trip yes = 1 , no = 0______________________________________ the selection system 25 according to fig2 can be designed in a plurality of different ways depending on the desired control and protection strategy and whether input and output signals are analog and / or digital signals . the selection system may also be built up in a more or less integrated form within the scope of the invention . a preferred embodiment is shown in fig3 . since the input signals in the described embodiment consist of both analog and digital signals , the selection system must comprise both analog and digital selectors for the logic decisions that are to be made . all the digital selectors in fig3 are drawn in a position in which the activation signal from the logic inputs are 0 . selector v1 is a first minimum selector whose output signal u1 is the smaller of the control signal and the signal minspeed lc . the output signal is passed to a maximum selector v2 whose output signal u2 consists of that of the input signals thereto which is the greater . besides u1 , the input signals also comprise the signals from min - π , maxspeed lc and the signals u3 and u4 from a first digital selector d1 , and a reference signal a1 = 0 . when d1 is not activated , both u3 and u4 will have the value zero because of the reference signal a2 = 0 . the first digital selector is activated , as is clear from fig3 by the signal fuel injection when this changes from 0 to 1 . u3 will then be equal to a max mw signal filtered in the filter f and u4 will be equal to the max dp signal . the greatest of all the input signals to v2 will now , as the signal u2 , be supplied to a second minimum selector which there are also supplied the signal from max - π and a reference signal a3 = 100 . the output signal from v3 , that is u5 according to fig3 consists of the control signal which is passed to the operating device of the guide vane unless the logical signals from intercept or gt trip are activated and request otherwise . if none of a second digital selector d2 and a third digital selector d3 is activated , the output signal u6 from d3 , because the reference a4 of d2 corresponds to the maximum control signal to the operating device of the guide vane , will thus be guided towards an open guide vane ring . in such a state the control signal u5 to the operating device will be disconnected . if d3 is activated , that is , if a gt trip is obtained , the output signal u6 from d3 , because of the feedback according to the figure , will retain the value of the signal prevailing prior to the activation independently of the state of d2 . as is clear , the signal u5 also forms the follow - up set value f set . the activation state of the digital selector d2 is determined by the logical signals from intercept and gt trip . as is clear from the figure , these signals are passed to a memory m with a subsequent time lag element t . the relationship between the input signals to the s - and r - inputs on the memory and its output is clear from the following summary : ______________________________________intercept signal s 0 1 0 1gt trip r 0 0 1 1m signal m1 0 1 0 0______________________________________ as will be clear , it is only the combination of s = 1 and r = 0 , that is , normal operating state with a switched - on intercept valve and no gt trip , that may trigger d2 , which can be done at the earliest , after a certain time determined by the time lag element t . this means that during normal operation the two control signals u5 and u6 have the same value , and if a gt trip should occur , d3 will be locked to the control signal prior to the occurrence of a gt trip . then when a gt trip has been corrected , that is , the gt trip signal becomes zero , u6 is increased 100 %. only when the intercept valve is opened , does the normal control switch in u6 = u5 . | 5 |
the present invention will be hereinafter described with reference to the attached drawings . fig1 illustrates an example of the bit clock reproducing circuit according to the invention . the bit clock reproducing circuit , generally designated as 10 in fig1 is composed of 2 d - type flip - flops 11 and 12 , an exclusive or gate 13 , a counter 14 and a rom ( read - only memory ) 15 connected as shown . input data i is supplied through an input terminal 16 to the d - input terminal of the d - type flip - flop 11 , and a master clock i . e . clock signal c 0 of high frequency is supplied through an input terminal 17 to a t - input terminal of the d - type flip - flop 11 . the output at a q - output terminal of the d - type flip - flop 11 is supplied to a d - input terminal of the d - type flip - flop 12 and the clock signal c 0 is supplied to a t - input terminal of the d - type flip - flop 12 . the exclusive or gate 13 is supplied with the outputs from the q - output terminals of the d - type flip - flops 11 and 12 and produces a detecting pulse lp for detecting the edges of data . the counter 14 is of a load type , and is supplied at its load terminal ld with the data edge detecting pulse lp from the gate 13 as a load pulse signal and receives at its clock terminal ck the clock signal c 0 . in this example , the frequency of the clock signal c 0 is selected to be 16 times that of a bit clock which is to be provided , so that the counter 14 is of the 4 bits and hexadecimal type . in the counter 14 , numerical values are applied to its load input terminals l 0 , l 1 , l 2 and l 3 and are , respectively , loaded to its output terminals q 0 , q 1 , q 2 and q 3 on the negative edge of the load pulse lp . the rom 15 corresponds to the counter 14 , and both the rom 15 and the counter 14 utilize 16 words of 4 bits each . the outputs q 0 to q 3 of the counter 14 are applied to the address input terminals a 0 , a 1 , a 2 and a 3 of the rom 15 and the numerical values corresponding thereto are respectively read out and delivered to output terminals d 0 , d 1 , d 2 and d 3 of the rom 15 . the read out numerical values are fed to the load input terminals l 0 to l 3 of the counter 14 . thus , the counter 14 is loaded at every negative edge of the data edge detecting pulse lp with such numerical values in response to the state of the outputs q 0 to q 3 just before the occurence of the negative edge of the data edge detecting pulse lp . the relationship of the numerical values obtained at the output terminals d 0 to d 3 of the rom 15 correspond with those at the address input terminals a 0 to a 3 and are by way of example , shown in the table of fig2 a . the most significant bit in the outputs appearing at the terminal q 3 of the counter 14 is derived as an output bit clock c bit . in this case , the d - type flip - flops 11 , 12 and counter 14 each operate at , for example , the positive edge of the clock signal c 0 . in fig1 designates a d - type flip - flop which is provided to extract data and receives at its d - input terminal the input data i which is the same as that applied to the d - type flip - flop 11 and receives at its t - input terminal the clock bit c bit . the input data i is extracted at , for example , the positive edge of the clock bit c bit and is delivered through a q - output terminal of the d - type flip - flop 20 to an output terminal 21 as the binary value data i 0 . the operation of the bit clock reproducing circuit 10 of the invention shown in fig1 is as shown in fig3 . that is , the exclusive or gate 13 generates , based upon the input data i and the clock signal c 0 applied thereto , the data edge detecting pulse lp which rises at the positive edge of the clock signal c 0 and is generated immediately after the edge of the input data i and falls down at the positive edge of the following clock signal c 0 . at every falling edge i . e . negative edge of the data edge detecting pulse lp , the contents of the rom 15 according to the state of the outputs at terminals q 0 to q 3 of the counter 14 immediately before the negative edge of the pulse lp will be loaded into the counter 14 . after the loading of the contents into the counter 14 , the counter 14 counts up one step for each step on every positive edge of the clock signal c 0 . at the time when the value of the counter 14 becomes 8 , which means that 1 appears at its output terminal q 3 , the output bit clock c bit signal rises up , and at the time when the value of the counter 14 becomes 0 , which means that the value at the output terminal q 3 has again returned to 0 , the output bit clock c bit will fall down . as shown by the first data edge in fig3 if the counter 14 is 0 immediately before the negative edge of the data edge detecting pulse lp , the value 1 at the output terminals d 0 to d 3 of the rom 15 which corresponds to the case where the values at the input terminals a 0 to a 3 of the rom 15 are 0 will be loaded into the counter 14 . in other words , in this case the counter 14 changes in the sequence similar to the case where no value is loaded into it . if the phase of the second data edge is not shifted as shown at the central position in fig3 the data edge detecting pulse lp reaches a position shown in the third row in fig3 and at the negative edge of the pulse lp the counter 14 will be loaded from 0 to 1 similar to the above example . when the phase of the second data edge is shifted in the direction and advanced by one period of the clock c 0 as shown by + 1 in fig3 the data edge detecting pulse lp will also be shifted as shown in the second row in fig3 . thus , at the negative edge of the pulse lp the counter 14 is loaded from 15 to 0 as in the example where the inputs a 0 to a 3 are 15 as shown in fig2 a . when the phase of the second data edge is shifted in the direction and advanced by two periods of the clock signal c 0 as shown by + 2 in fig3 the data edge detecting pulse lp is also shifted as shown in the first row in fig3 . thus , at the negative edge of the pulse lp the counter 14 is loaded from 13 to 15 as shown in the second row in the figure and as in the example where the inputs a 0 to a 3 are 13 in fig2 a , and the phase of the bit clock c bit is shifted in the direction to advance it by one period of the clock signal c 0 as shown in the second row in the figure . when the phase of the third data edge is shifted in the direction to advance it by four periods of the clock signal c 0 shown by + 4 in fig3 the data edge detecting pulse lp is shifted as shown in the first row in the figure . thus , at the negative edge of the pulse lp the counter 14 is loaded from 12 to 15 as shown in the first row and as in the example where the inputs a 0 to a 3 are 3 in fig2 a , and the phase of the bit clock c bit is shifted in the direction to advance it by two periods of the clock signal c 0 as shown in the first row in the figure . when the phase of the third data edge is shifted in the direction to delay it by three or four periods of the clock signal c 0 as shown by - 3 or - 4 in fig3 due to the operation which is similar to the example where the phase advances as described above , the phase of the bit clock c bit will be shifted in the direction to delay it by one or two periods of the clock signal c 0 as shown in the fourth or fifth row in the figure . that is , when the phase shift of the data edge is more than ± 3 , the phase of the bit clock c bit will be shifted in the direction the same as that of the phase shift of the data edge which is less than it by 2 . in the above manner , the memory contents as shown in fig2 a give the relationship between the phase shift of the data edge and that of the bit clock signal which is indicated by a solid line a in the graph of fig4 and the back - lash of ± 2 occurs as shown . it is not necessary that the relationship between the state of the outputs q 0 to q 3 of the counter 14 , which are fed to the address input terminals a 0 to a 3 of the rom 15 , and the numerical values which are read out at the output terminals d 0 to d 3 of the rom 15 and which are applied to the load input terminals l 0 to l 3 of the counter 14 be limited to those shown in fig2 a , but the relationships shown in fig2 b and 2c can be used . in fig2 b , the relationship between the phase shift of the edge of the data and the bit clock signal is as indicated by broken line b in fig4 while in the case of fig2 c , the same relationship is as indicated by the one - dot chain line c in fig4 . according to the invention , it is possible to use in place of the load type counter 14 a plurality of flip - flops of , for example , 4 bits for the above example . in this case , when the data edge is detected , the numerical value corresponding thereto is read out from the rom 15 with the output from the flip - flops of 4 bits and the read out value is returned to the flip - flops of 4 bits . in the example of the invention shown in fig1 and in the above modified example , a logic circuit composed of combined gates , may be used in place of the rom 15 . as described above , according to the present invention a certain constant numerical value is not unconditionally loaded into the counter at the edge of the data as in the prior art , but the numerical value determined by the state of the output from the counter at that time is loaded into the counter . therefore , according to the invention , the response characteristic of the bit clock to the jitter of the data edge can be easily determined , and a back lash , for example , appears in the characteristic so as to avoid the generation of jitter in the bit clock signals which are caused by fine jitter due to the peak shift of the data edge etc ., and a fly - wheel effect occurs so as to obtain a response characteristic similar to that of the analog pll type circuit bit clock reproducing circuit , and the generation of clock bits with extremely short or long periods can be avoided . it will be apparent that many modifications and variations could be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirits or scope of the novel concepts of the present invention so that the spirits or scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims . | 6 |
the present invention relates generally to a furnace for use in a manufactured home . in particular , the present invention relates to a panel and filter assembly for such furnaces . in site - built residential homes , the furnace typically delivers conditioned air to the home by means of ductwork contained within the walls , floor , basement , and / or attic of the home . the air returns to the furnace by means of a return air ductwork . the furnace then conditions the air and delivers it back to the home . in these systems air filtration generally occurs at some point in the return air ductwork . in contrast , manufactured homes typically do not contain return air ductwork . instead , the air returns to the furnace by means of the interior of the home . typically , the furnace is installed in a closet or utility room in such a way that the front panel of the furnace is exposed . this front panel usually contains a plurality of louvers . the return air enters the furnace through these louvers . the furnace conditions the air and then delivers it back to the home . generally , these furnaces contain filters located behind this louvered front panel . typically , these furnaces use clips , brackets , or wire retainers to hold the filters in place behind the front panel . these fasteners often make it difficult for the homeowner to replace the filters . the homeowner must remove the clips , brackets or retainers , remove the old filter , insert a new filter . and then reinstall the clips , brackets , or retainers . this requires a certain amount of mechanical ability . as a result , many homeowners either never replace their filters or remove their filters and never install new ones . this results in diminished furnace performance . it also results in the circulation of dirtier air throughout the home . in addition , many manufactured home furnaces use permanent filters as opposed to disposable air filters . often , commonly available disposal filters will not fit the space behind the front panel of the furnace . permanent filters have many drawbacks . first , replacements are difficult to find because usually they are specially made to fit the furnace . second , they require the homeowner to remove and clean the filter . as already stated , removing the filter alone can be problematic . in practice , very few homeowners clean these filters . in many cases after removing the filter , the homeowner either never replaces the filter or replaces it with a filter that does not fit . in either case this results in both reduced performance and cleanliness . the present invention is a panel and filter assembly for a manufactured home furnace . it includes at least one filter , a panel , a top and bottom flange on the panel , and at least two brackets . the top and bottom flanges are sized to provide a support to hold the filter vertically in position when the filter is installed . at least one bracket is fixed to each respective side of the panel . each bracket has a generally z - shaped configuration such that the bracket prevents the filter from moving outwardly away from the panel or horizontally when the filter is installed . the brackets and flanges cooperate to retain at least one filter behind said panel and are spaced such that the filter can be readily installed or removed without adjusting the brackets or flanges . in another embodiment , the panel and filter assembly includes a plurality of brackets on one side of the panel and a plurality of brackets on the opposite side of the panel . in a further embodiment , the panel and filter assembly includes a single elongated bracket on each respective side of the panel . the brackets are spaced from the flanges to permit the filter to be bent slightly and inserted or removed from the panel . in another embodiment , the panel and filter assembly includes at least two filters , at least two panels , a top and bottom flange on each panel , and at least two brackets on each panel . the top and bottom flange on each panel are sized to provide a support to hold one filter vertically in position behind each panel , when the filter is installed . at least one bracket is fixed to each respective side of each panel . each bracket has a generally z - shaped configuration such that the bracket prevents the filters from moving outwardly away from the panel or horizontally when the filter is installed . the brackets and flanges cooperate to retain one filter behind each panel and being spaced such that the filter can be readily installed or removed without adjusting the brackets or flanges . in a further embodiment , the front panel assembly comprises a single elongated bracket on each respective side of each panel , the brackets being spaced from the flanges to permit the filter to be bent slightly and inserted or removed from the panel . in another embodiment , the front panel assembly comprises two panels and two filters . in a further embodiment , the panels are manufactured from an injection molding process . additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows , and in part will be obvious from the description , or may be learned by practice of the invention . the objects and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims . it is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention , as claimed . the accompanying drawings , which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification , illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description , serve to explain the principles of the invention . fig1 is a perspective view of a furnace embodying the present invention . fig2 is a perspective view of the rear face of the panel and filter assembly . reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . fig1 shows a furnace containing one embodiment of the present invention . the furnace 1 is of the type used in manufactured homes . the furnace 1 consists of a casing 2 with a partially open front . at its front , it includes a panel and filter assembly 3 with a filter system for delivering return air to the furnace . the furnace itself can be any one of a number of conventional furnaces used in a manufactured home , as well as future improvements of such furnaces . these furnaces require a front closure panel assembly to accept and filter return air . when the furnace 1 is installed in a manufactured home , the installer places the furnace in a closet or utility room . the furnace is installed such that the front panel is exposed . during operation , the furnace delivers air to the home by means of ductwork . the air circulates through the home and returns to the furnace through the panel and filter assembly 3 . the furnace then conditions the air and returns it to the home . fig2 is a perspective view of the rear face of one embodiment of the panel and filter assembly 3 . in this embodiment the panel assembly consists of two panels . the panel assembly , however , can include one or more panels . in the preferred embodiment , two generally z - shaped metal brackets 4 & amp ; 5 are connected to the interior face of the panels . the brackets have a top flange , a generally parallel base , and a wall connecting the two . preferably , the wall is perpendicular to the flange and the base . in this embodiment , fasteners 8 , such as push nuts , connect the brackets 4 & amp ; 5 to the molded panels . as shown , the push nuts press tightly over cylindrical embossments on the rear of the panel , thereby holding the rails in place . while this embodiment uses push nuts , other fasteners such as screws could also be used to connect the brackets to the panels . the two brackets 4 & amp ; 5 in this embodiment , in combination with a top and bottom flange 9 and 10 , cooperate to securely hold filters 6 & amp ; 7 in place directly behind each panel . the top flange of the bracket keeps the filter from moving outwardly away from the panel assembly 3 and the connecting wall of the bracket . the z - shape of the brackets 4 & amp ; 5 is closely fit to the dimensions of the filters 6 & amp ; 7 and prevents the filters 6 & amp ; 7 from sliding horizontally . the filters are prevented from sliding vertically by the flanges 9 and 10 located on both panels . as shown , in fig2 the flanges 9 and 10 preferably do not extend outwardly from the panel as far as the flange on the brackets 4 & amp ; 5 , thereby providing more space for inserting and removing a filter . as shown , the top and bottom of the brackets are spaced vertically from the flanges 9 and 10 . preferably , the brackets are spaced generally from ⅛ inch to { fraction ( 3 / 16 )} inch from the flanges 9 and 10 . this spacing allows the filter to be easily installed and removed , while still holding the filter securely in place once it is installed . the filters are made of materials that allow the filter to be bent when it is installed and then return to its original position , whereby the filter is securely held in place . in the illustrated embodiment , the brackets 4 & amp ; 5 are permanently fixed to the panel , when the panel is assembled . therefore , a person removing or installing a panel does not have to loosen or release any aspect of the panel assembly to install or remove a filter . as a result , a person can easily install or remove the filters by bending the end of the filter slightly until it clears the flanges 9 and 10 and then sliding it in or out of the space enclosed by the bracket . although in the preferred embodiment continuous brackets 4 & amp ; 5 and flanges 9 and 10 hold the filter in place , other permanent brackets could be used as guides according to the principles of the invention . other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims . | 1 |
referring now to fig1 - 5 , a camera support in accordance with the present invention is shown at 10 . support 10 includes a mounting bracket 12 for releasable securement to a tree trunk 14 . the inner end of a boom 16 is releasably fastened to bracket 12 . the outer end of boom 16 carries a camera mount 18 to which a video camera 20 is releasably fastened . mounting bracket 12 is t - shaped having a screw 22 and a handle 24 that is affixed at its midpoint to the rearward end of screw 22 for applying torque . as shown , screw 22 is a cylindrical rod incised with one or more helical or advancing spiral threads . also , screw 22 is tapered and pointed at its forward end for the easy penetration of tree trunk 14 . handle 24 is a plain , cylindrical rod having a length that is substantially the same as that of screw 22 . screw 22 is driven into tree trunk 14 by placing its pointed end against tree trunk 14 and , then , turning it by twisting handle 24 . with handle 24 being vertically oriented , boom 16 can be readily attached to it . fig5 shows an alternate mounting bracket 26 for securing camera support 10 tree trunk 14 or a similar thing . mounting bracket 26 has a base portion 28 through which a tree - encircling belt 30 is extended . mounting bracket 26 can be secured to tree trunk 14 at any height without damaging tree trunk 14 . base portion 28 has a rectangular base plate 32 having a rigid tab 34 affixed to both the top and the front thereof . tab 34 extends downwardly toward the bottom of base plate 32 and forms a narrow slot 36 between itself and base plate 32 for receiving belt 30 . beneath tab 34 , a threaded bore 38 is provided in the bottom of base plate 32 . a tubular sleeve 40 is affixed to the front of base plate 32 to reinforce base plate 32 adjacent bore 38 and to elongate bore 38 . an l - shaped , mounting pin 42 is affixed to the front of base plate 32 between tab 34 and sleeve 40 . pin 42 has a horizontal member 44 that projects forwardly from base plate 32 beyond tab 34 and a vertical member 46 that projects upwardly from the free end of horizontal member 44 . a collar 48 is affixed to the vertical member 46 and serves as a stop for the inner end of boom 16 . a thumbscrew 50 is threadably engaged with bore 38 . belt 30 is a strip of webbing with a ratchet - type winder ( not shown ) affixed to one of its ends . belt 30 is sized for easy extension through slot 36 and has a length sufficient to extend around tree trunk 14 . by ratcheting the winder , the free end of belt 30 is reeled in to pull tight against tree trunk 14 . releasing the ratchet mechanism of the winder frees belt 30 and bracket 26 from tree trunk 14 . boom 16 has four arms 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 that are pivotally connected together . arms 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 move in such a manner that camera mount 18 can be yawed from side to side , pitched up and down and rolled , much like an airplane in flight . thus , a user of support 10 is afforded substantial freedom in the positioning of camera 20 on mount 18 while making a movie . first arm 52 includes a first bar 60 having an inner end and an outer end and a socket member 62 affixed to the inner end so as to provide first arm 52 with an l - shaped profile . socket member 62 extends downwardly from first bar 60 and is open at its bottom so as to receive one end of handle 24 therein . a threaded bore 64 penetrates socket member 62 and threadably receives a thumbscrew 66 . when tightened , thumbscrew 66 clamps the end of handle 24 in socket member 62 thereby preventing first arm 52 from pivoting on handle 24 . loosening thumbscrew 66 , however , permits a pivoting movement akin to the yaw of an airplane . remote from socket member 62 , a vertical bore 68 extends through the outer end of first bar 60 and receives therein a first bolt 70 which threadably carries a first , wing nut 72 . second arm 54 is substantially the same length as first arm 52 and is carried by first arm 52 . second arm 54 includes a second bar 74 having an outer end and an inner end . a horizontal bore 76 passes through the outer end of second bar 54 and receives therein a second bolt 78 which threadably carries a second , wing nut 80 . additionally , a vertical bore 82 passes through the inner end of second bar 74 and is adapted for registration with vertical bore 68 . bolt 70 extends through vertical bore 82 so as to releasably fasten second arm 54 to first arm 52 . tightening wing nut 72 on bolt 70 locks bars 60 and 74 together . loosening wing nut 72 , on the other hand , permits bars 60 and 74 to pivot about a vertical axis defined by bolt 70 . this pivoting action serves to yaw camera mount 18 and camera 20 carried thereby . a washer 84 positioned on first bolt 70 between bars 60 and 74 prevent bars 60 and 74 from binding when pivoted relative to one another . third arm 56 measures about one - sixth the length of first arm 52 and is carried by second arm 54 . third arm 56 includes a third bar 86 having an outer end and an inner end . a vertical bore 88 passes through the outer end of third bar 86 and receives therein a third bolt 90 which threadably carries a third , wing nut 92 . also , a horizontal bore 94 passes through the inner end of third bar 86 and is adapted for registration with horizontal bore 76 . second bolt 78 extends through horizontal bore 94 so as to releasably fasten third arm 56 to second arm 54 . tightening wing nut 80 on second bolt 78 locks bars 74 and 86 together , and loosening wing nut 80 , allows bars 74 and 86 to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by second bolt 78 . this pivoting action serves to pitch camera mount 18 , and camera 20 carried thereby , up and down . a washer 96 positioned on second bolt 78 between bars 74 and 86 prevent bars 74 and 86 from binding when pivoted relative to one another . fourth arm 58 is about one - half as long as first arm 52 and includes a fourth bar 98 having both an outer end and an inner end . camera mount 18 is affixed to the outer end of fourth bar 98 . a vertical bore 100 passes through the inner end of fourth bar 98 and is adapted for registration with vertical bore 88 in third bar 86 . third bolt 90 extends through vertical bore 100 so as to releasably fasten fourth arm 58 to third arm 56 . tightening wing nut 92 on third bolt 90 locks bars 86 and 98 together , and loosening wing nut 92 , allows bars 86 and 98 to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by third bolt 90 . this pivoting action serves to roll camera mount 18 and camera 20 . a washer 102 positioned on third bolt 90 between bars 86 and 98 prevent bars 86 and 98 from binding when pivoted relative to one another . for user comfort , a gauntlet 104 is affixed to fourth bar 98 adjacent bolt 90 . gauntlet 104 is a ring that extends around bar 98 and serves as a rest for the hand of a user which is expected to manipulate boom 16 by grasping bar 98 above gauntlet 104 and applying pushing and pulling forces to position camera 20 at a desired orientation . gauntlet 104 also prevents the hand of a user from inadvertently turning wing nut 92 . camera mount 18 comprises a flat plate 106 that is affixed atop fourth arm 58 . plate 106 is provided with a transverse slot 108 remote from fourth arm 58 through which a thumbscrew 110 passes upwardly . thumbscrew 110 is turned into an internally threaded socket ( not shown ) provided in the bottom of camera 20 to releasably secure camera 20 to mount 18 . to dampen vibrations and ensure a firm grip of mount 18 upon camera 20 , a resilient , foam rubber pad 112 is affixed to the top of plate 106 . video camera 20 is attached by mount 18 to the outer , free end of boom 16 . camera 20 is digital in type and conventional in construction . camera 20 has a lens 114 for gathering light and a microphone 116 for capturing sound . light passing through lens 114 contacts an imager ( not shown ) that converts the incident light into an electronic video signal which is delivered to a recorder ( not shown ) for storage and subsequent playback . microphone 116 is an acoustic - to - electric transducer that converts sound into an electronic signal that is delivered to the recorder for simultaneous playback with the video signal . camera 20 , of course , can be any light - gathering , optical instrument the use of camera support 10 is straightforward . first , mounting bracket 12 is placed at a suitable height adjacent tree trunk 14 and fastened thereto by turning screw 22 with handle 24 . then , socket member 62 is positioned atop one end of handle 24 and fixed there by tightening thumbscrew 66 . ( alternately , mounting bracket 26 is fastened to tree trunk 14 at a convenient height by means of belt 30 and socket member 62 is positioned on vertical member 46 of mounting pin 42 . afterward , thumbscrew 66 is tightened to snugly grip vertical member 46 .) now , camera 20 is attached to mount 18 by tightening thumbscrew 110 inserted into camera 20 . once camera 20 is energized , arms 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 can be moved about to easily , comfortably and stably point camera 20 in any direction for recording video or still images and audio . only a few minutes are required to set up support 10 . while carried by support 10 , camera 20 can be turned in any orientation . it can be yawed from side to side , pitched up and down and rolled simply by manipulating boom 16 while grasping fourth arm 58 above gauntlet 104 . if the user desires to fix the position of camera 20 on boom 16 , he need merely tighten wing nuts 72 , 80 and 92 to lock the positions of arms 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 relative to one another . loosening wing nuts 72 , 80 and 92 , of course , permits 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 to move with a desired amount of freedom . taking down support 10 requires less time than setting it up . first , camera 20 is disconnected from mount 18 by loosening thumbscrew 110 . then , support 10 is removed from tree trunk 14 by reversing the steps outlined in the previous paragraph . after arms 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 are folded upon one another , support 10 can be transported and stored in a compact state . support 10 is ready for immediate reuse . an alternate camera support 410 is illustrated in fig6 . support 410 is substantially identical to support 10 except that mounting brackets 12 and 26 used therewith are replaced by a boom arm 310 having integral mounting features described hereinbelow . these mounting features permit support 410 to be freestanding . support 410 includes a boom 416 that supports a camera mount 418 at its free end . boom 416 has five arms 310 , 452 , 454 , 456 , and 458 that are pivotally connected together and permit camera mount 418 to be yawed from side to side , pitched up and down and rolled . a user of support 410 , like support 10 , is afforded substantial freedom in the positioning of camera 420 on mount 418 . auxiliary arm 310 has an auxiliary bar 312 with an inner end and an outer end . a crossbar 314 is affixed at its midpoint to the inner end of auxiliary bar 312 . the outer ends of two , ground - penetrating spikes 316 are affixed to crossbar 314 in a spaced apart relationship and provide auxiliary arm 312 with a configuration of a fork with spikes 316 serving as tines and bar 312 acting like a handle . remote from crossbar 314 , a horizontal bore 318 extends through the outer end of auxiliary bar 312 and receives therein an auxiliary bolt 320 which threadably carries an auxiliary , wing nut 322 . first arm 452 is substantially the same length as auxiliary arm 310 and is carried by auxiliary arm 310 . first arm 310 includes a first bar 460 having an inner end and an outer end . a vertical bore 468 extends through the outer end of first bar 460 and receives therein a first bolt 470 which threadably carries a first , wing nut 472 . a horizontal bore 476 passes through the inner end of first bar 460 and is adapted for registration with horizontal bore 318 in auxiliary bar 312 . bolt 320 extends through horizontal bore 476 so as to releasably fasten first arm 452 to auxiliary arm 310 . tightening wing nut 322 on bolt 320 locks bars 312 and 460 together . loosening nut 322 , however , permits bars 312 and 460 to pivot about a vertical axis defined by bolt 320 . this pivoting action serves to pitch up and down camera mount 418 and camera 420 carried thereby . a washer 324 positioned on first bolt 320 between bars 312 and 460 prevents bars 312 and 460 from binding when pivoted relative to one another . second arm 454 is substantially the same length as first arm 452 and is carried by first arm 452 . second arm 454 includes a second bar 474 having an outer end and an inner end . a horizontal bore 476 passes through the outer end of second bar 474 and receives therein a second bolt 478 which threadably carries a second , wing nut 480 . additionally , a vertical bore 482 passes through the inner end of second bar 474 and is adapted for registration with vertical bore 468 in first bar 460 . bolt 470 extends through vertical bore 482 so as to releasably fasten second arm 454 to first arm 452 . tightening wing nut 472 on bolt 470 locks bars 460 and 474 together . loosening wing nut 472 , however , permits bars 460 and 474 to pivot about a vertical axis defined by bolt 470 . this pivoting action serves to yaw camera mount 418 and camera 420 carried thereby . a washer 484 positioned on first bolt 470 between bars 460 and 474 prevent bars 460 and 474 from binding when pivoted relative to one another . third arm 456 measures about one - sixth the length of first arm 452 and is carried by second arm 454 . third arm 456 includes a third bar 486 having an outer end and an inner end . a vertical bore 488 passes through the outer end of third bar 486 and receives therein a third bolt 490 which threadably carries a third , wing nut 492 . also , a horizontal bore 494 passes through the inner end of third bar 486 and is adapted for registration with horizontal bore 476 in second bar 474 . second bolt 478 extends through horizontal bore 494 so as to releasably fasten third arm 456 to second arm 454 . tightening wing nut 480 on second bolt 478 locks bars 474 and 486 together , and loosening wing nut 480 , allows bars 474 and 486 to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by second bolt 478 . this pivoting action serves to pitch camera mount 418 , and camera 420 carried thereby , up and down . a washer 496 positioned on second bolt 478 between bars 474 and 486 prevent bars 474 and 486 from binding when pivoted relative to one another . fourth arm 458 has a length that is about one half that of first arm 452 and includes a fourth bar 498 having both an outer end and an inner end . camera mount 418 is affixed to the outer end of fourth bar 498 . a vertical bore 500 passes through the inner end of fourth bar 498 and is adapted for registration with vertical bore 488 in third bar 486 . third bolt 490 extends through horizontal bore 500 so as to releasably fasten fourth arm 458 to third arm 456 . tightening wing nut 492 on third bolt 490 locks bars 486 and 498 together , and loosening wing nut 492 , allows bars 486 and 498 to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by third bolt 490 . this pivoting action serves to roll camera mount 418 and camera 420 . a washer 502 positioned on third bolt 490 between bars 486 and 498 prevents bars 486 and 490 from binding when pivoted relative to one another . the use of camera support 410 is straightforward . first , auxiliary arm 310 is positioned at a desired spot on the ground and spikes 316 are driven into the earth by stepping on crossbar 314 . next , arms 452 , 454 , 456 and 458 are sequentially elevated above auxiliary arm 310 and secured in place by tightening wing nuts 322 , 472 , 480 and 492 . then , camera 420 is attached to mount 418 . once camera 420 is energized , arms 452 , 454 , 456 and 458 are moved about to easily , comfortably and stably point camera 420 in any direction for recording video or still images and audio . only a few minutes are required to set up support 410 . while carried by support 410 , camera 420 can be turned in any orientation . it can be yawed from side to side , pitched up and down and rolled simply by manipulating boom 416 while grasping fourth arm 458 . if the user desires to fix the position of camera 420 on boom 416 , he need merely tighten wing nuts 322 , 472 , 480 and 492 to lock the positions of arms 452 , 454 , 456 and 458 . loosening wing nuts 322 , 472 , 480 and 492 permits arms 452 , 454 , 456 and 458 to move with a desired amount of freedom . taking down support 410 requires minimal time . first , camera 420 is disconnected from mount 418 . then , support 410 is disengaged from the ground by reversing the steps outlined in the previous paragraph . after arms 310 , 452 , 454 , 456 and 458 are folded upon one another , support 410 can be transported and stored in a compact state . support 410 is ready for immediate reuse . while camera supports 10 and 410 have been described with a high degree of particularity , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the field that modifications can be made to them . for example , the lengths and numbers of the arms forming booms 16 and 416 can be varied as a matter of design choice . making arms 56 and 58 longer , however , might be make support 10 cumbersome to use since pitching and rolling movements of camera 20 must take place within a comfortable range of heights within the reach of a user . also , the various orientations of the bores and bolts that permit the pitching , yawing and rolling movements of mounting plates 18 and 418 can also be varied in accordance with the needs of a user . of course , any number of spikes 316 can be used to attach support 410 to the ground with greater numbers offering greater stability and fewer numbers providing lightness . therefore , it is to be understood that my invention is not limited merely to camera supports 10 and 410 , but encompasses any and all camera supports within the scope of the following claims . | 6 |
the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . fig1 depicts an exemplary motor vehicle 10 having a seat 12 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . seat 12 includes a head restraint assembly 14 , a seat back 16 and a seat bottom 18 . seat back 16 is pivotally coupled to seat bottom 18 . head restraint assembly 14 is adjustably coupled to seat back 16 such that the head restraint assembly may be vertically positioned relative to the seat back depending on the physical characteristics of the vehicle occupant . it should be appreciated that the “ 2 - way ” adjustable embodiment shown is merely exemplary and that the head restraint assembly of the present invention may be used in conjunction with a “ 4 - way ” adjustable seat and head restraint assembly without departing from the scope of the present invention . fig2 - 4 depict seat back 16 including a frame 20 , bushings 22 and end caps 24 . frame 20 includes a pair of side rails 26 interconnected by a top rail 28 . top rail 28 includes a pair of apertures 30 extending therethrough . bushings 22 are positioned within apertures 30 . each bushing 22 includes a tubular segment 32 having a flange 34 positioned at one end . tubular segments 32 extend through top rail 28 . each flange 34 abuts an upper surface 36 of top rail 28 when bushings 22 are mounted to frame 20 . end caps 24 are coupled to bushings 22 and provide an aesthetically pleasing cover for the bushings . one of the end caps 24 includes a locking mechanism with a release lever 38 extending therefrom . the locking mechanism normally engages a portion of the head restraint assembly 14 to maintain the vertical position of the head restraint assembly relative to the seat back . if adjustment of the vertical height of the head restraint assembly relative to the seat back is desired , the vehicle occupant operates release lever 38 to disengage the locking mechanism and allow movement of head restraint assembly 14 relative to seat back 16 . head restraint assembly 14 includes a head restraint post 40 , a support member 42 and a pad 44 . head restraint post 40 is preferably constructed from a metal tube or rod bent to resemble the shape shown in the figures . head restraint post 40 includes a pair of substantially parallel , vertically oriented leg portions 46 interconnected by a substantially horizontally oriented crossbar portion 48 . each leg portion 46 includes a seat back engaging section 50 , a pad engaging section 52 and a transitional section 54 interconnecting seat back engaging section 50 and pad engaging section 52 . support member 42 is preferably an injection molded plastic component . however , support member 42 may be constructed from sheet steel , aluminum or any other suitable structural material . support member 42 includes an arcuate wall 56 bounded by end walls 58 . arcuate wall 56 and end walls 58 define a generally hollow shell 60 . inner clips 62 are integrally formed with and extend from an inner surface 64 of arcuate wall 56 . ribs 65 provide structural support for inner clips 62 along inner surface 64 . each inner clip 62 includes an inner arcuate surface 66 engaging crossbar portion 48 of head restraint post 40 . inner arcuate surface 66 defines an arc length greater than 180 degrees . accordingly , inner clips 62 are snap - fit to crossbar portion 48 to retain support member 42 to head restraint post 40 . outer clips are formed integral with and adjacent to end walls 58 of support member 42 . each outer clip 68 includes an arcuate wall 70 having a slot 72 extending therethrough . each wall 70 includes an inner surface 74 engaging a leg portion 46 of head restraint post 40 . inner surface 74 defines an arc length greater than 180 degrees to assist in retaining support member 42 to head restraint post 40 . arcuate wall 56 of support member 42 includes an outer convex surface 76 . outer convex surface 76 defines a radius in the range of 10 to 60 millimeters . this radius range has been shown to be beneficial in distributing load imparted to head restraint assembly 14 by a vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s head during a rear impact collision . a radius of 50 mm may be preferable . as was mentioned earlier , it is highly desirable to limit the maximum neck deflection of a vehicle occupant during a rear impact collision . by sizing convex surface 76 as previously described , the maximum deflection of the vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s neck is reduced . pad 44 is preferably constructed from a urethane foam of a type typically used to make head restraint pads . pad 44 encompasses support member 42 to provide an aesthetically pleasing and comfortable surface for supporting the vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s head . pad 44 may be separately molded and slit to accept support member 42 or may be directly injection molded over support member 42 and the uppermost section of head restraint post 40 . a fabric cover 78 encloses pad 44 . pad 44 is sized and shaped to minimize the deflection of the vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s neck during a rear end collision . specifically , head restraint pad 44 includes an outer convex surface 80 spaced apart from outer convex surface 76 of support member 42 . outer convex surface 80 defines a radius sized to conform to the geometry of the posterior side of an occupant &# 39 ; s head and neck . a thickness 82 of pad 44 located between outer convex surface 80 and outer convex surface 76 is defined to be in the range of 20 to 60 millimeters . this range of thickness assures that a vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s head is sufficiently cushioned during the collision while at the same time assuring that load is transferred to support member 42 to resist further neck deflection of the vehicle occupant . fig5 and 6 depict the angular relation of a vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s head to its torso before and during a rear impact collision . specifically , angle a of fig5 exists when the occupant is traveling in a vehicle under “ normal ” conditions . fig6 shows the change in head to torso orientation as increased angle b . because support member 42 effectively reduces thickness 82 of pad 44 , the maximum neck - deflection is reduced . furthermore , because support member 42 includes specifically sized outer convex surface 76 , the magnitude of load imparted to the posterior side of the vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s head is maintained within reasonable limits . additionally , the amount of foam between the vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s head and the support structure has been reduced by the present invention to store less energy within the foam during the rear impact event . as such , the tendency of the compressed foam to fling the vehicle occupant &# 39 ; s head forward after the rear impact event is reduced . fig7 depicts an alternate embodiment seat 84 . alternate embodiment seat 84 is substantially similar to seat 12 . accordingly , like elements will maintain the previously introduced reference numerals . seat 84 includes a head restraint post 86 including a pair of substantially parallel leg portions 88 interconnected by a crossbar portion 90 . crossbar portion 90 follows a serpentine shape having two peaks 92 interconnected by a trough 94 . it should be appreciated that inner clips 62 of support member 42 are spaced apart to engage peaks 92 of head restraint post 86 or the corresponding locations of the crossbar portion 48 of head restraint post 40 . by constructing support member 42 in this manner , a single support member may be used in seats utilizing either embodiment head restraint post . furthermore , the foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention . one skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion , and from the accompanying drawings and claims , that various changes , modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . for example , head restraint post 40 may be formed from alternate materials such as aluminum , magnesium , plastic or any number of structural materials . additionally , the head restraint post need not be formed as a unitary tubular structure , but may include rectangular cross - sectional portions , flanges and additional support brackets as deemed necessary without departing from the scope of the present invention . | 1 |
although detailed illustrative embodiments are disclosed herein , other suitable structures for practicing the invention may be employed and will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art . consequently , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are representative only ; they merely describe exemplary embodiments of the invention . turning to fig1 a preferred embodiment of a dust cover 10 provided in accordance with practice of the present invention is illustrated . the structural features of the dust cover 10 that comprise an assembly for enabling the attachment of a preformed lanyard , include a flange 12 , a groove 14 adjacent the flange and a slot 16 through the flange . the slot 16 forms an angle 18 , which is defined relative to the centerline of the dust cover 10 . in one preferred embodiment , the attachment assembly portion of the dust cover is manufactured by lathing a round rod of aluminum . the lathe turns down the diameter of the rod to create the flange 12 and the groove 14 and then a milling machine is used to create the slot 16 . anodizing the aluminum rod completes the manufacturing process . however , other methods of construction that result in the creation of a groove and a flange with a slot in it can also be used . turning now to fig2 a in addition to fig1 there is shown a lanyard 20 with a preformed loop 22 which can be attached to the dust cover 10 by means of the attachment assembly . the lanyard 20 is typically constructed from a flexible nylon covered wire formed into a loop using a crimping sleeve 24 . however , preformed plastic lanyards can also be used . turning now to fig2 b , an embodiment of a plastic lanyard 20 ′ provided in accordance with practice of the present invention comprising a preformed loop 22 ′ is illustrated . referring back to fig1 the external surface of the dust cover 10 is preferably cylindrical , however , any shape is appropriate . the flange 12 is preferably a disk at one end of the dust cover possessing a diameter larger than the inside diameter of the preformed loop 22 . however , the flange 12 can be any shape so long as the combination of the flange shape and size prevents the removal of the lanyard 20 without the use of the attachment assembly once it has been attached to the dust cover . the groove 14 is preferably a circular groove around the dust cover comprising a hub with a diameter “ d ” located adjacent the flange 12 . however , the groove 14 can be any shape so long as its shape can be contained within the preformed loop 22 . the groove 14 is constructed so that the hub diameter “ d ” is less than the internal diameter of the preformed loop 22 , when it is substantially formed as a circle as shown by the imaginary line 26 in fig2 a . turning now to fig3 a - 3 d , a process provided in accordance with practice of the present invention for attaching the preformed loop 22 to the dust cover 10 is illustrated . a portion of the preformed loop 22 is placed in the slot 16 . the dust cover 10 and the preformed loop 22 are then rotated relative to each other and the motion of rotation guides the preformed loop 22 into the groove 14 . the direction of rotation required to attach the preformed loop 22 is as shown in fig3 a - 3 d . referring now to fig3 c and 3 d , when a single rotation is almost complete , the majority of the preformed loop 22 has been guided into the groove 14 and a small segment remains outside of the groove 14 . as the rotation completes , the portion of the preformed loop 22 remaining outside of the groove 14 disengages from the slot 16 and proceeds into the groove , so that the entire preformed loop 22 is inside the groove 14 . in embodiments that use flexible nylon coated wire lanyards , the preformed loop 22 disengages from the slot 16 and proceeds into the groove 14 because the crimping sleeve creates a loop that is not exactly circular . in embodiments utilizing plastic lanyards , such as the lanyard shown in fig2 b with circular preformed loops 22 , the elastic properties of the plastic enable the preformed loop 22 to disengage from the slot 16 and proceed into the groove 14 . the preformed loop 22 can be detached by performing the above process in reverse . due to the fact that the preformed loop 22 must be placed in the slot 16 for detachment to occur , the attachment assembly can be designed to virtually eliminate the possibility that the preformed loop 22 will detach during the regular usage of the dust cover 10 . referring again to fig1 and fig2 a in addition to fig3 a - 3 d , the ability to attach the preformed loop 22 to the dust cover 10 using the dust cover attachment assembly of the present invention is dependent on the angle 18 of the slot 16 relative to the dust cover center line , the width of the slot 16 ( shown as “ s ” in fig1 ), the internal diameter of the preformed loop 22 when it is substantially formed as a circle as shown by the imaginary line 26 of fig2 a , the diameter of the flange 12 ( shown as “ d ” in fig1 ), the width of the flange 12 ( shown as “ f ” in fig1 ), the hub diameter “ d ” of the groove 14 , the width of the groove 14 ( shown as “ g ” in fig1 ) and the materials used to construct the dust cover 10 and the lanyard 20 . in one preferred embodiment of the dust cover 10 , it is constructed from anodized aluminum and the preformed loop 22 and lanyard 20 are constructed using nylon coated wire . the angle of the slot 18 is 45 °, the width “ s ” of the slot is 0 . 065 in , the internal diameter of the preformed loop 22 of the lanyard 22 is 1 . 0 in , when it is substantially formed as a circle as shown by the imaginary line 26 of fig2 a , the diameter “ d ” of the flange 12 is 1 . 2 in , the width “ f ” of the flange 12 is 0 . 08 in and the hub diameter “ d ” of the groove 14 is 0 . 99 in . turning now to fig4 a and 4 b , in one embodiment of the dust cover 10 of the present invention , the slot 16 has an outside leading edge 30 , an inside leading edge 32 , an outside trailing edge 34 and an inside trailing edge 36 . the outside leading edge 30 and inside trailing edge 36 are rounded . referring again to fig1 and 3 a - 3 d in addition to fig4 a and 4 b , decreasing the angle 18 of the slot 16 causes the preformed loop 22 of the lanyard 20 to catch against the outside leading edge 30 and the inside trailing edge 36 of the slot as the lanyard is being guided into groove 14 . catching of the preformed loop 22 of the lanyard 20 against the edges of the slot 16 can be alleviated by reducing the width “ f ” of the flange 12 , increasing the width “ g ” of the groove 14 or decreasing the friction between the attachment assembly and the preformed loop 22 . increasing the angle of the slot 18 increases the ease with which the preformed loop 22 can be attached to the dust cover 10 using the dust cover attachment assembly provided in accordance with practice of the present invention . however , two problems result when the angle 18 is increased . the first is that the outside leading edge 30 and the inside trailing edge 36 of the slot 16 can cut into the preformed loop 22 as it is being attached to the dust cover 10 , causing the loop 22 to break . a closer inspection of fig4 b reveals that the outside leading edge 30 and inside trailing edge 36 of the slot 16 are rounded to prevent breakage from occurring . the extent of the required rounding increases as the angle 18 of the of the slot 16 increases . the second problem that arises from increasing the angle and thus increasing rounding is that the rounding increases the width “ s ” of the slot 16 at its opening into the groove 14 . increasing the width “ s ” of the slot 16 opening increases the likelihood that the preformed loop 22 will inadvertently detach from the dust cover 10 , because the greater the slot width “ s ” the more likely a portion of the preformed loop 22 of the lanyard 20 will enter the slot . once the preformed loop 22 has entered the slot 22 , then rotation of the preformed loop relative to the attachment assembly can result in the detachment of the preformed loop from the attachment assembly . for example , the preformed loop 22 can inadvertently detach if a portion of the preformed loop proceeds into the slot 16 and then the preformed loop is rotated relative to the dust cover 10 in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation shown in fig3 a - 3 d causes the loop to slide through the slot and off the attachment assembly . the minimum width “ s ” of the slot 16 is constrained by the width of the material used to construct the lanyard 20 . when the slot angle 18 is large , unwanted detachment can be avoided by increasing the friction between the preformed loop 22 and the attachment assembly . increasing the friction has the effect of requiring a greater force be used to detach the preformed loop 22 and reduces the likelihood of use of the dust cover 10 resulting in detachment of the preformed loop from the attachment assembly . in alternative embodiments of the dust cover constructed from the same materials and with the same dimensions as the embodiment described above , acceptable performance was achieved for slot angles 18 in the range of 30 ° to 60 °. other factors that influence the ease with which the attachment assembly enables the preformed loop 22 of a lanyard 20 to be attached to or detached from the dust cover 10 include the hub diameter “ d ” of the groove 14 and the internal diameter of the preformed loop 22 . increasing the hub diameter “ d ” of groove 14 has the effect of requiring more force to attach and detach the preformed loop 22 using the attachment assembly of the dust cover . conversely , increasing the internal diameter of the preformed loop 22 has the effect of requiring less force to attach and detach the preformed loop 22 of the lanyard 20 using the attachment assembly . in an alternative embodiment of the dust cover in accordance with practice of the present invention , the plastic lanyard 20 ′ of fig2 b is attached to the dust cover using the attachment assembly . the material used to construct the plastic lanyard 22 is chosen such that it has a flexural modulus large enough to enable the preformed loop 22 to be deformed to lift out of the slot 16 during attachment , but small enough to prevent the preformed loop 22 from detaching from the dust cover 10 without proceeding through the slot 16 of the attachment assembly . for the preferred embodiment of the dust cover 10 described above , a lanyard 20 ′ with a circular preformed loop 22 ′ constructed from a material having a flexural modulus in the range of 330 - 420 kilo pounds per square inch (“ kpsi ”) can be used , such as an injection molded lanyard constructed from engineering grade nylon 6 / 6 , which has a flexural modulus of 380 kpsi . plastics with a flexural modulus lower than 330 kpsi can be used . however , a plastic lanyard constructed from a material with a flexural modulus lower than 330 kpsi and a circular preformed loop 22 cannot be used in combination with the dust cover 10 described above because the preformed loop could not be deformed to lift out of the slot 16 during attachment . a plastic lanyard constructed from a material with a flexural modulus lower than 330 kpsi and constructed to have a non - circular shape similar to the shape of the preformed loop of the flexible lanyard shown as 22 in fig2 a can be used in combination with the dust cover 10 described above , because the irregular shape enables the preformed loop to lift out of the slot during attachment . although the embodiments recited above relate to the attachment of a preformed loop to a dust cover , the methods and techniques described above are equally adaptable to the attachment of a preformed loop to any structure having a groove and a flange with a slot in it . in other embodiments , the attachment assembly can be used to attach preformed loops to a wide variety of objects including covers for containers , computers , luggage , merchandise , clothing , shoes , buildings , seagoing vessels or any other object that requires the attachment of a lanyard . while the above description contains many specific features of the invention , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention , but rather as an example of one preferred embodiment thereof . many other variations are possible . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated , but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents . | 5 |
this invention relates to nesting blocks for bees and more particular , a nesting block for the leaf cutter bee . in areas where alfalfa and other crops are grown , it is known that pollination greatly improves the yield . honey bees , wasps , and other insects have been found to pollinate crops , but it is the leaf cutter bee which is one of the superior pollinaters . unfortunately , the leaf cutter bee does not fly far from its nesting site . as such , it is necessary to bring the nesting site closer to the areas to be pollinated . in nature , the leaf cutter bee finds a crevice or hole in a tree or log and lays its eggs therein , sealing the opening of the hole with a small piece of cut leaf . the cut leaf discourages other leaf cutter bees from entering and laying eggs in the same hole , and also prevents parasites and other intruders from entering the hole . it is known in the art to simulate the natural nesting habitat of the leaf - cutter bee by using a block of wood with holes bored therein as an artificial nesting site . these nest blocks , once filled with eggs , are moved into the fields where pollination is required . once the young bees hatch they restrict their area of pollination and travel to the new nesting site . the wooden blocks are expensive to produce , heavy , and difficult to clean . a multiplicity of thin wooden boards having parallel grooves on one face from edge to edge have also been used . such a device is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 936 , 894 . this device allows the larvae to be viewed and the nesting holes to be cleaned . a disposable type of nesting device has also been used . it is cheaper , more economical , and easier to handle . boards similar to those described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 936 , 894 are made of expanded polystyrene beads and placed together . finally the inventor of the present invention made and used a one piece nesting block constructed out of expanded polystyrene beads , with a plurality of holes molded therein . it has been found , however , that there is not a sufficient amount of permeability of moisture travel through the expanded polystyrene block , and that mold and other damage occurs with loss of the larvae . it is therefore an object of the present invention to construct a one piece nesting block with the desired characteristics of both environmental water dissipation and permeability of air and moisture through the construction . it has now been discovered that a mixture of vermiculite and expanded polystyrene beads offers the desirable properties . therefore , this invention provides for a one piece molded nesting block for leaf cutter bees comprising a mixture of at least one permeable substance and expanded polystyrene beads , including a plurality of bore holes formed therethrough , said bore holes being of sufficient diameter for a leaf cutter bee to pass therein . in another embodiment of the invention , one end of a certain number of said bore holes are molded closed such that in operation when a backing sheet is applied to one side of said nesting block said molded closed holes are inaccessible to bees . in a preferred embodiment , a rectangular nesting block is formed from a mixture of vermiculite and expanded polystyrene beads . the vermiculite portion of the mixture is from 5 to 30 %, preferably 10 %. the block is molded with 2 to 4 bore holes in each square inch of area . the holes are of sufficient size for a leaf cutter bee to pass therethrough ( approximately 1 / 4 inch in diameter ). the holes continue through the entire thickness of the rectangular block , which is approximately 3 inches . in operation , a porous backing sheet , such as paper or adhesive or screen , is placed on one side of the block so that the holes are accessible by the bees from one side only . the blocks are placed in the field near an existing nesting area of leaf cutter bees and after eggs are layed therein , the blocks are removed from the field and placed in over winter storage . the vermiculite mixture in the blocks allows air and some moisture to permeate throughout the block , thereby preventing mold from forming around the eggs or larvae . the invention is more fully described in conjunction with the following drawings , wherein : fig1 is a perspective view of a nesting block of the present invention ; fig3 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the invention ; and in fig1 a nesting block 1 is comprised of eps beads 2 and vermiculite 3 . bore holes 4 pass directly through the entire thickness of the nesting block 1 . in fig2 the holes 4 are shown passing through the entire thickness of the nesting block 1 . in fig3 a number of the holes 4a are molded shut on side 7 . in fig4 an adhesive , porous , or other satisfactory backing sheet 5 is applied to the nesting block on one side 6 when the block is placed in the field in operation . when the backing sheet 5 is applied to this nest block , holes 4a are inaccessible to the bees while holes 4 are accessible only from side 7 . because of the vermiculite 3 within the block , moisture and air can travel throughout the block and the closed holes allow for greater permeability . | 0 |
referring now to fig1 - 3 of the drawings in general , there is shown the type of new and improved paperboard tray shown generally by the numeral 10 of the type for which the applicant &# 39 ; s machine is designed to set up . the tray 10 comprises a bottom panel 12 having front and rear end panels 14 and 16 hingedly attached to side panels 18 and 20 and to the bottom panel 12 . folded corner gusset panels 22 and 24 are hingedly attached to each side and end panel as is known in the art and one of the gusset panels 22 has formed thereon corner flap 26 which is hingedly attached to the gusset panel 22 by means of the score line 28 . an upwardly turned top flap 30 is hingedly attached to the front end panel 14 and the rear end panel 16 by means of the score line 28 and is designed to seal against a top lid which later is placed over the erected tray to prevent the product from slopping over the front or rear of the tray . the remaining dashed lines shown in fig2 of the drawing indicate score lines as is known in the art and are used to allow the production blank shown generally by the numeral 32 to be easily folded to the desired position . by referring to fig2 and 3 in combination with fig1 it can be readily seen how each of the various panels and flaps are folded to provide the erected carton shown in fig1 of the drawing . the applicant &# 39 ; s new and improved tray forming machine is then directed to forming the tray in the manner shown in fig1 through the various forming stations which will hereinafter be described . referring now to fig4 of the drawing , there is shown a diagrammatic of the applicant &# 39 ; s new and improved tray forming machine showing the steps through which the various panels and flaps are folded in the erection of the carton . a plurality of paperboard blanks 32 are removed from a feeder hopper and are positioned over a plurality of endless traveling mandrels which are fixedly attached to an endless conveyor 34 . in the first step in the erection sequence on the applicant &# 39 ; s machine , the front end panel 14 is folded downwardly from the bottom panel 12 . thereafter in the second step , the rear end panel 16 is folded downwardly in a manner similar to the folding of the front end panel 14 . the third step in the folding sequence is to influence the gusset panels 22 and 24 on the front of the carton in proximity to the front end panel 14 so that they assume their proper inwardly folded position inwardly of the folded tray . the fourth step in the folding sequence then is to influence the rear gusset panels 22 and 24 in proximity to the rear end panels 16 in a manner similar to the manner previously obtained in influencing the front gusset panels . in the fifth step of the applicant &# 39 ; s new and novel tray forming machine , the side panels 18 and 20 are then folded downwardly so that the carton at this position in the machine appears in a downwardly positioned open rectangular configuration having four corner flaps 26 facing downwardly in the direction of the endless conveyor 34 . in the sixth step , a pre - determined quantity of adhesive is sprayed on the front portion of the side panels 18 and 20 by means of adhesive guns 36 positioned on each side of the traveling tray . in the seventh step , a pair of plows 38 , positioned on each side of the front end panel 14 , are used to plow the corner flaps 26 upwardly and outwardly in the direction shown by the arrow 40 . in the eighth step , a pre - determined quantity of adhesive is applied to the rear corner flaps 26 by means of the adhesive guns 36 and in the ninth step the plows 38 are used to position the rear corner flaps 26 upwardly and outwardly as shown by the arrow direction 42 . during the application of the adhesive by means of the adhesive guns 36 and the plowing of the corner flaps 26 by means of the plows 38 , an endless conveyor belt is utilized to hold the previously positioned corner flaps 26 in their glued position until the adhesive sets . this is shown diagrammatically in fig4 by the use of the arrow 44 representing an inward force applied by the endless conveyor which will be described hereinafter to hold the corner flaps 26 against the previously applied adhesive . during the travel of the production blank 32 through the applicant &# 39 ; s new and improved machine , the endless coveyor 34 will be traveling in the direction shown by the arrow 46 . it will be understood that the steps 1 - 11 referenced herein when referring to fig4 all take place on top of the conveyor 34 and it should be understood that several of the steps are combined in one area of the machine which will be shown hereinafter when referring to later figures of the drawings . the diagrammatic reference of fig4 is shown for purposes of clarity in order to understand how the various panels and flaps are folded and glued in order to more fully understand the applicant &# 39 ; s new and novel machine . referring back to fig4 in the tenth step the front top flap 30 is pre - broken inwardly as will be described more fully hereinafter and is positioned in the direction shown by the arrow 48 while in the eleventh step the rear top flap 30 is pre - broken inwardly in the direction shown by the arrow 50 . thereafter the entire carton is now in a position to have its direction reversed 180 ° as shown by the arrow 52 whereupon it now travels in the reverse direction shown by the arrow 54 when it is released from the beforedescribed mandrel . in the twelfth step the carton is dropped onto a second in - line conveyor 56 which carries the package to the food filling section of the customer &# 39 ; s food line . while on the conveyor 56 , the front and rear top flaps 30 are pre - broken by a second means and positioned inwardly as shown by the arrow direction 58 and 60 to a pre - determined angle internally of the tray . referring now to fig5 of the drawings , there is shown in greater detail , by means of a cross sectional view , the applicant &# 39 ; s new and novel machine showing the various steps hereindescribed . it should be noted in fig5 that the cross sectional view taken through the applicant &# 39 ; s machine is shown in the reverse direction than that shown in the diagrammatic of fig4 and this is done for purposes of clarity in order to try to visually understand where each of the parts of the machine fit together and how they inter - relate to each other so that later on when looking in still greater detail at the applicant &# 39 ; s machine , the various steps and parts will not be confused in the reader &# 39 ; s mind . as has been beforementioned , a hopper 62 is mounted on a frame 64 for containing a plurality of production blanks 32 . the production blanks 32 are withdrawn from the bottom of the hopper by means of a suction cup 66 attached to an arm 68 and to the arms 70 and 72 by means known in the art . a segmental drive wheel 74 is positioned above a circular drive wheel 76 to catch the paperboard blank as it is removed from the hopper 62 . the segmental drive 74 is rotating in the direction shown by the arrow 78 while the circular drive wheel 76 is rotating in the direction shown by the arrow 80 to force the production blank 32 downwardly across the tray 82 onto the endless conveyor 34 having positioned thereupon a plurality of mandrels 84 as has been beforedescribed . the feeding hopper 62 and its feeding mechanism hereinbefore described is of the type known in the prior art and is utilized in combination with the other features of the applicant &# 39 ; s invention to form the applicant &# 39 ; s complete machine . a pair of guide rolls 86 and 88 guide and drive the paperboard blank 32 onto the mandrels 84 as will be seen more clearly in fig6 of the drawing . it can be seen also in fig5 of the drawing how the second in - line conveyor 56 is positioned below the applicant &# 39 ; s tray forming machine and is designed to rotate in the direction shown by the arrow 90 so as to be in position to receive the set up and glued production blank as it is removed from the mandrels 84 which will be described more fully hereinafter when referring to fig1 and 13 of the drawings . it can also be seen more clearly in fig5 how the thirteenth step of the applicant &# 39 ; s folding sequence is accomplished wherein the front and rear top flaps 30 are pre - broken by the pre - breaking means shown generally by the numeral 92 which is designed to move upwardly and downwardly as shown by the arrow direction 94 . there can also be seen in fig5 how the adhesive tank 96 would be positioned on the one end of the applicant &# 39 ; s tray forming machine so that the adhesive hose 98 would be able to be easily positioned in the proper position for applying adhesive to the corner flaps 26 . referring now to fig6 of the drawing , there is shown the first and second steps in the folding process for the paperboard tray . the production blank 32 is moving in the direction shown by the arrow 46 having been removed from the hopper 62 as has been beforementioned and has been positioned on top of the mandrel 84 . therefore , the first means for folding the front panel downward over the mandrel comprises a rotating rectangular bar 100 which is fixedly attached to the shaft 102 and to a means for rotating the shaft not shown in the drawing . as the production blank 32 passes underneath the rotating rectangular bar 100 the rear end panel 16 is folded downwardly over the mandrel 84 by means of the second folding means in the form of another rotating rectangular bar 104 fixedly attached to the shaft 106 . the shaft 106 is also attached to a means for rotating the shaft not shown in the drawing and is timed to the rotation of the shaft 102 as well as to the movement of the mandrel 84 by means of the conveyor 34 as is known in the art of mechanical timing . the shafts 102 and 106 are also carried by the frame 64 in bearings of the type known in the art also . when the front and rear end panels 14 and 16 were folded downwardly by the rotating rectangular bars 100 and 104 , a spring loaded plate 116 and 118 are used to retain the front and rear end panels 14 and 16 in their vertically downward position . the plates 116 and 118 are fixedly attached to a horizontal frame 120 and 122 which are also attached to a horizontal bar 124 and 126 . the horizontal bars 124 and 126 are fixedly attached to the endless conveyor chain 34 by means well known in the art and not shown in the drawings . by referring now to fig6 and 7 , there can be seen the third step in the folding of the paperboard production blank 32 wherein a first pair of gusset influencers , in the form of rotating fingers 108 and 110 , are used . the gusset influencers 108 and 110 are fixedly mounted to the shaft 112 to rotate in the direction shown by the arrow 114 . the purpose of the rotating finger gusset influencers 108 and 110 is to influence or partially fold the front gusset corner panels 22 and 24 inwardly so that the side panels 18 and 20 may be next positioned downwardly by the next step in the machine process . when the rotating fingers 108 and 110 influence the gussets 22 and 24 , it will become apparent that the side panels 18 and 20 will partially be turned downwardly and a pair of channels 128 and 130 are then utilized to hold the side panels 18 and 20 in their partially downwardly turned position . the side channels 128 and 130 are fixedly attached to the frame 64 by means known in the art and not shown in the drawing . referring now to fig8 of the drawing , there is shown the fourth and fifth step in the folding process whereby a second pair of gusset influencers , in the form of a pair of rotating fingers 132 and 134 , are fixedly attached to the shaft 136 and are used to influence the rear gusset corner panels 22 and 24 to position them inwardly as shown so that the side panels 18 and 20 may be folded downwardly in the next step . as has been beforementioned , it can be seen in fig8 how the spring loaded plate 118 attached to the frame 122 is used to hold the previously positioned rear end panel 16 in its vertically downward position . in the fifth step of folding the production blank 32 into the erected tray , it can be seen how a pair of vertically positioned circular segmental plates 138 and 140 , which are also fixedly attached to the shaft 102 , are then used to complete the downward folding of the side panels 18 and 20 to the position shown in fig8 . the circular segmental plates 138 and 140 are positioned adjacent to a pair of circular plates 142 and 144 which are fixedly attached to the shaft 102 . a threaded stud 146 , shown in fig6 is positioned in a arcuate slot 150 and is tightly held in position by a threaded nut 148 . in this manner , it can be seen how the circular segmental plates 138 and 140 may be rotated through the length of the arcuate slot 150 in order to properly time the circular segmental plates 138 and 140 moving downwardly and folding the side panels 18 and 20 into their vertical position . referring to fig9 of the drawing , there can be seen the steps 6 through 9 which consist generally of the application of hot melt to the side panels 18 and 20 and the folding of the corner flaps 26 over the side panels 18 and 20 onto the previously applied hot melt . a hot melt adhesive gun 36 is positioned on each side of the traveling package at the appropriate point in the folding process and is utilized to spray a quantity of adhesive 152 on the front portion of the side panels 18 and 20 and also to apply a pre - determined quantity of adhesive 154 on the rear portion of the side panels 18 and 20 . it can be seen in fig9 that the previously folded production blank 32 has had adhesive applied to the front portion of the side flaps 18 and 20 and is having a quantity of adhesive applied to the rear portion of the same flaps . it can also be seen in fig9 how the front corner flap 26 is being turned upwardly by a pair of plows 156 and 158 positioned on either side of the production blank and fixedly attached to the angle 160 and 162 . it can be seen by referring to fig8 and 9 how the angles 160 and 162 are used as a guide to guide the corner flaps 26 along until the plows 156 and 158 are able to plow the corner flaps upwardly in the direction shown by the arrow 164 . a plurality of top rails 166 and 168 are used to hold the formed tray in the erect inverted position over the mandrel 84 and a plurality of side rails 170 and 172 are used for the same purpose of the sides . referring now to fig1 of the drawing , there can be seen how the previously upwardly plowed corner flaps 26 are held against the side panels 18 and 20 by means of a pair of conveyor belts 174 and 176 which are rotated around a belt pulley 178 and 180 . the belt pulleys 178 and 180 are fixedly attached to the rotating vertically positioned shafts 182 and 184 and are also attached to means for rotating the shafts of the type known in the art and not shown in the drawing . the conveyor belts 174 and 176 are used to hold the upwardly turned corner flaps 26 tightly against the side panels 18 and 20 until the previously applied hot melt adhesive 152 and 154 is able to set . it can also be seen in fig1 how the tenth step of the folding sequence for the production blank 32 is obtained where a portion of the front panel is pre - broken at a pre - determined angle internally of the tray . the front panel 14 contains a top flap 30 as has been beforedescribed which is hingedly attached thereto by means of a score line 186 . the first pre - breaking means comprises a pair of horizontally positioned rotating rectangular bars 188 and 190 which are fixedly attached to a plurality of gears 192 and 194 which in turn are rotatably turned by a plurality of gears 196 and 198 . the gears 196 and 198 are fixedly attached to means for rotating the gears of the type known in the art and not shown in the drawing for purposes of clarity . in fig1 , the endless conveyor chain 34 is also not shown for purposes of clarity . in order to tightly hold the conveyor belts 174 and 176 against the upwardly turned corner flaps 26 , there is provided a pair of angles 200 and 202 fixedly attached to the machine frame 64 by a plurality of bolts and nuts 204 . referring now to fig1 of the drawing , there is shown the eleventh step in the folding sequence whereby the production blank 32 has its rear top flap 30 which is hingedly attached to the rear end panel 16 pre - broken so that the top flap 30 is positioned at a pre - determined angle internally of the tray . this is accomplished by a second pair of bars 208 and 210 which are fixedly attached to a rotating gear 212 and 214 . the gears 212 and 214 are also rotated by means of the pair of gears 216 and 218 as well as the pair of gears 220 and 222 . the gears 216 and 218 are fixedly attached to the shafts 224 and 226 while the gears 220 and 222 are fixedly attached to the shafts 228 and 230 . these shafts are also attached to means for rotating the shaft of the type known in the art and not shown in the drawing . it can be seen in fig1 how the conveyor belts 174 and 176 are positioned around a pair of pulleys 232 and 234 thereby continuing to hold the upturned corner flaps 26 tightly against the side panels 18 and 20 . at this point in time in the machine , the corner flaps 26 have their adhesive set sufficiently so that no further holding is required of these flaps by the conveyor belts 174 and 176 . a pair of arcuate turning rails 236 and 238 are then used in combination with lower turning rails not shown in the drawing for turning the folded tray downwardly in the direction shown by the arrow 52 and reversing its direction to that shown by the arrow 54 in fig1 of the drawing . it can be seen by referring now to fig1 of the drawing that the completely folded , glued and erected tray is still contained on the mandrel 84 which is now also moving in the direction 54 since the conveyor chain 34 has been reversed in direction also as can be more readily seen by referring to fig5 of the drawing . a second in - line conveyor 56 moving in the direction shown by the arrow 240 is positioned immediately below the applicant &# 39 ; s tray forming machine and is designed to carry the formed tray after it has been removed from the mandrel onto the filling station of the food processor &# 39 ; s filling line . a pair of side rails 242 are positioned on each side of the frame 244 and are bolted thereto by means of the bolts 246 and the bolts 248 which pass through the angle 250 to hold the side rails in place . referring now to fig1 - 15 , there will be shown in detail how the formed tray 10 is removed from the mandrel 84 during the twelfth step in the folding sequence for the tray . as has been beforementioned , the tray 10 has been reversed in direction by means of the conveyor chain 34 traveling in the arcuate path shown by the arrow 52 . thereafter , the mandrel 84 connected to the endless conveyor chain 34 is traveling in the direction shown by the arrow 54 and the folded tray is in the position shown in fig1 of the drawing where it is positioned around the mandrel 84 . a plurality of brushes 252 are positioned on each side of the tray 10 and are inwardly inclined so as to be utilized to aid in guiding the tray 10 downwardly when it is released from the mandrel 84 . in fig1 of the drawing , only one brush 252 is shown for purposes of clarity and it will be understood that a similar brush is positioned on the other side of the mandrel 84 . positioned behind the brushes 252 are a plurality of air nozzles 254 directing air from an air compressor through the air compressor lines 256 into a chamber 258 positioned downwardly and inwardly in the same general direction as the brushes 256 . the purpose of the air nozzles 254 is to further aid in directing the path of the tray 10 as it is ejected downwardly from the mandrel 84 so that the tray 10 is positioned between the side rails 242 on the second in - line conveyor 56 . by referring now to fig1 , it can be seen how the releasing means positioned internally of the mandrel 84 is utilized to eject or release the tray 10 from the mandrel 84 . the releasing means comprises a scissors mechanism shown generally by the numeral 260 which travels in the direction shown by the arrows 262 and 264 . the releasing means comprises a pair of pivotably fastened arms 266 and 268 , pivotably held together by means of the horizontal rod 270 positioned midway between the positioning of the arms . a similar pair of arms 266 and 268 is positioned on the other side of the mandrel 84 and the horizontal rod 270 is positioned between both sets of arms . by the use of the releasing scissors mechanism shown in fig1 , it can be seen how the tray 10 is removed from the mandrel 84 whenever the scissors mechanism is activated and the tray is positioned between the side rails 242 being aided in its downward journey by means of the pair of brushes 252 and the air nozzles 254 positioned within the air chamber 258 . referring now to fig1 and 15 , there will be shown simplified longitudinal views of the releasing means scissors mechanism shown in fig1 of the drawing . fig1 would be a longitudinal sectional view showing the scissors mechanism extended . as has been beforementioned , a pair of arms 266 and 268 are pivotably connected together by means of the horizontal rod 270 . the pair of arms 266 positioned on each side of the mandrel 84 are fixedly attached to members 272 which also has rotatably mounted thereon a pair of cam followers 274 on each side of the mandrel . the members 272 are bolted to the arms 266 by means of the bolts 273 . the cam followers 274 are designed to ride on the cam surface 276 which is positioned in proximity to the mandrel and serves to activate the releasing scissors mechanism at a pre - determined time in order to remove the formed tray 10 from the mandrel 84 . the cam followers 274 are held on the members 276 by means of the pins 278 and are designed to allow the cam followers to rotate on the pins 278 and to ride upwardly on the inclined cam surface 276 . a connecting arm 280 is positioned on each end of the arms 266 and is pinned thereto by means of the pins 282 and is also pinned at the other end thereof by means of the pin 284 connected to the member 286 . in a similar manner , a connecting arm 288 is pinned to the arms 268 by means of the pins 290 and is also pinned at the other end thereof by means of the pin 292 to the member 294 . the members 286 and 294 are fixedly attached to the endless conveyor chain 34 thereby moving the internally positioned releasing scissors mechanism of the mandrel 84 in the direction shown by the arrow 54 . prior to the releasing mechanism being activated by the cam follower 274 riding on the inclined cam surface 276 , the scissors mechanism will be in the position shown in fig1 . whenever the endless chain 34 moves the entire mandrel mechanism so that the cam follower 274 rides on the cam surface 276 then it can be seen how the scissors mechanism will activate and the ends 298 and 300 of the arms 268 and 266 will eject the tray 10 from the mandrel 84 downwardly in the direction shown by the arrows 262 and 264 and as shown in fig1 of the drawing . referring now to fig1 of the drawing , there is shown a longitudinal sectional view similar to fig1 showing the scissors mechanism positioned within the mandrel 84 and showing the scissors mechanism before it has been activated to eject the tray 10 shown positioned over the mandrel 84 . it can be seen in fig1 how the rod 270 is positioned through the pair of arms 266 and 268 to carry the arms in the position shown in fig1 . fig1 also shows the scissors mechanism after it has been activated and has been retracted into the mandrel 84 . the carton 10 has not been shown in fig1 for purposes of clarity . referring now to fig1 and 17 , there will be shown in greater detail the thirteenth and last step in the folding sequence of preparing the production blank into a folded and glued tray ready for filling by a filling station downstream of the applicant &# 39 ; s machine . as has been beforementioned , the erected tray 10 contains a plurality of top flaps 30 which had previously been pre - broken inwardly and now are further pre - broken so that the upwardly turned top flaps are positioned to a pre - determined position which permits a lid to be later positioned over the tray so that the top flaps 30 are tightly sprung against the underside of the lid . the tray 10 is driven along the second in - line chain conveyor 56 by means of a plurality of fingers 302 which are fixedly attached to the endless chain conveyor 56 . the fingers 302 drive the tray 10 in the direction shown by the arrow 54 . at the appropriate position in the applicant &# 39 ; s machine , a pair of folding plates 304 and 306 are moved downwardly in the direction shown by the arrow 308 to further pre - break the top flaps 30 to the exact position desired . the folding plates 304 and 306 are carried on a horizontally positioned frame 310 and are pinned thereto by means of the pivot pins 312 and 314 carried by the arms 316 and 318 . the frame 310 is also carried by a plurality of arms 320 and 322 which are pinned to the frame 310 by means of the pins 324 and 326 . counter - weights 328 and 330 are fixedly attached to rotating shafts 332 and 334 which also carry the other ends of the arms 320 and 322 . the counter - weight 328 and 330 rotate in the direction shown by the arrows 336 and 338 and force the frame 310 downwardly in the direction shown by the arrow 308 . referring to fig1 of the drawing , it can be seen how the counter - weights 328 and 330 have moved in their complete downward position and are now moving upwardly in the direction shown by the arrows 340 thereby lifting the frame 310 to the upward position in the direction shown by the arrow 344 . the shafts 332 and 334 that rotate the counter - weights 328 and 330 are rotated by means for rotating the various shafts contained within the machine and are timed so as to be timed with the ultimate timing of the various rotating parts in the machine using known techniques in the art . it can be seen in fig1 that when the rotating counter - weights 328 and 330 are positioned as shown in the figure , the tray 10 has had its top flaps 30 positioned to the desired position and the tray is able then to be moved onto the filling portion of the packaging line by means of the pair of fingers 302 moving the tray on the conveyor . from the foregoing , it can be seen that there has been provided by the subject invention a new and novel tray forming machine for forming from a flat production blank a paperboard tray of the type hereindescribed . it should become apparent from a review of the drawings and the description of the preferred embodiment that many changes may be made in the various parts of the applicant &# 39 ; s machine without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it should also be noted that the applicant &# 39 ; s invention is not to be limited to the exact embodiment shown which has been given by way of illustration only . | 1 |
the authors of the present invention have surprisingly found that the saccharification process of plant biomasses may be improved by reducing the regions of de - esterified hga in pectin , decreasing the “ glue ” feature of the middle lamellas , rich in pectins , which join the cell walls of two adjacent cells . it is therefore the object of the present invention the use of plants having a reduced content of de - esterified homogalacturonan ( hga ) in the pectins of said plants cell walls and a reduced resistance to saccharification with respect to control plants in a saccharification process of plant biomasses . preferably , the plants are obtained by genetic transformation with a gene encoding an agent able to reduce the content of de - estherified hga in the pectins . still preferably the gene encoding a polygalacturonase is from aspergillus niger . yet preferably the gene encoding a polygalacturonase is modified to produce an enzyme having a reduced specific activity . in a preferred embodiment the gene encodes a polygalacturonase having a reduced specific activity and having the amino acid sequence of seq id no . 2 . in a still preferred embodiment the gene encoding a polygalacturonase having a reduced specific activity has the nucleotide sequence of seq id no . 1 . preferably , the plants are obtained by transformation with a gene encoding an inhibitor of pectin methylesterases or with a gene encoding encoding a pectate lyase . still preferably , the gene encoding an inhibitor of pectin methyl esterases is of plant origin . yet preferably , the gene encodes an inhibitor of pectin methyl esterases having the amino acid sequence of seq id no . 4 . still preferably , the gene encoding an inhibitor of pectin methyl esterases has the nucleotide sequence of seq id no . 3 . preferably , the gene encoding encoding a pectate lyase is of bacterial origin . still preferably , the gene encodes a pectate lyase having the amino acid sequence of seq id no . 6 . yet preferably , the gene encoding a pectate lyase has the nucleotide sequence of seq id no . 5 . in a preferred embodiment the plants are obtained by selecting natural or mutagenesis induced variants . plants with reduced contents of de - esterified hga in pectins are obtainable with different methods , all comprised within the protection scope of the invention . they are produced transgenically , transforming wild plants with a gene coding for an agent capable of reducing the contents of de - esterified hga in pectins . as particular embodiment , the plants are transformed with a nucleic acid of a nucleotidic sequence coding for a polygalacturonase , preferably from aspergillus niger , more preferably a mutant ( variant ) thereof , such as to code for an enzyme with reduced specific activity ; even more preferably , a mutant ( variant ) of the sequence of gene pgaii ( genbank id n . xm 001397030 , nt 166530 ), preferably deleted of the sequence from nt . 1 to nt . 81 coding for the signal peptide of 21 aa . and for the propeptide from aa . 22 to aa . 27 ), and with such modifications as to have a deletion of the treonin amino acid in position 34 and a replacement of the amino acidic residue asparagin 178 with an aspartate ( n178d ). such positions refer to the non - mature native protein . the nucleotidic sequence coding for the mature mutated protein ( pgaiim ) is as follows ( seq id no . 1 ): the amino acidic sequence coding the mature mutated protein ( pgaiim ) is as follows ( seq id no . 2 ): as an alternative example , the plants are transformed with a gene coding a pectin methylesterase inhibitor , preferably from a plant source , more preferably of sequence ( locus tag : at3g17220 ; ncbi n . nm — 112599 and np — 188348 ). the full length nucleotide sequence is as follows ( seq id no . 3 ): the amino acid sequence coding the protein is as follows ( seq id no . 4 ): as a further and alternative example , arabidopsis plants are transformed with a gene coding a bacterial pectate lyase from a bacterial source ( pel1 pectate lyase 1 of pectobacterium carotovorum ) ( bartling , 1995 ) ( ncbi n . x81847 and caa57439 ) here named pl1 plants . the full length nucleotide sequence is as follows ( seq id no . 5 ): the amino acid sequence coding the protein is as follows ( seq id no . 6 ): the use of plants already with reduced contents of de - esterified hga made transgenic as described above , or double transgenic plants , is also within the scope of the invention . the present invention shall now be described by the following figures with reference to explanatory examples non - limiting the scope of protection . fig1 . saccharification of pg ( fungal polygalacturonase ) and pme1 ( pectin methylesterase inhibitor ) plants . the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis , expressed as percentage of total sugars released in the medium , at the indicated times was measured in leaf tissues of non transformed ( wt ) and transgenic plants with cellulases ( celluclast 1 . 5 l ) and ( a ), wt tobacco plants and anpgll ( aspergillus niger endopolygalacturonase ii , pg )); ( b ) arabidopsis wt and expressing pgallm ( pg ), ( c ) arabidopsis wt and expressing atpme12 ( a . thaliana - specific pectin methyl esterase inhibitors , pmei ); ( d ) saccharification of leaf tissues of wt , pg and pmei plants pre - treated with diluted acids before enzymatic hydrolysis . the bars represent the average ± s . e . m ( n & gt ; 6 ). the asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between wt and transgenic plants , according to the t test of student (*, p & lt ; 0 . 05 ; ***, p & lt ; 0 . 01 ). the panels in the inserts demonstrate the maceration of the wt and transgenic representative samples after 48 hours of digestion . fig2 . immunodot analysis of fractions of cell wall . fractions of cell wall enriched in pectin ( chass chelating agents soluble solids ) extracted from cell wall material from leaves of wt , pmei or anpgii ( pg ) plants were applied on nitrocellulose to the dilutions indicated and tested with jim5 and pam1 monoclonal antibodies . fig3 . efficiency of saccharification of arabidopsis wt plantules in the presence of beta - estradiol and pl1 plants with and without beta - estradiol inductor . saccharification carried out on seedlings of non transformed ( wt ) and transgenic ( pl1 ) lines with cellulose ( cellulast 1 . 5 l 0 . 1 % v / v ) previously treated and not treated with beta - estradiol . the efficiency of the enzymatic hydrolysis is expressed as percentage of reducing sugars released in the medium compared to the total sugars of the tissue at the times indicated . the panel in the inserts shows the maceration after 24 hours of digestion of wt seedlings incubated with 50 μm beta - estradiol , pl1 seedlings non induced and induced with beta - estradiol . plants of arabidopsis thaliana , ecotype columbia ( col .- 0 ) were obtained from g . redei and a . r . kranz ( arabidopsis information service , frankfurt , germany ). the generation pmei plants and tobacco plants expressing pgallm has been described ( 23 , 24 ). for the transgenic expression of pgallm in arabidopsis , an expression cassette was used which included the promoter of the 35s of the cauliflower mosaic virus ( camv ) of the binary vector pbi121 ( stratagene : genbank id af485783 ), the coding gene pgallm fused with peptide signal of pgip1 from phaseolus vulgaris ( corresponding to the first 87 nt . of the sequence x64769 ( 3 ) and the terminator of the gene nopaline synthase ( nos ) of the vector pbi121 , excised from the construction described in ( 2 ) by double digestion of plasmid with pstl and ecori . the fragment of dna excised was cloned in the binary vector pcambia3300 ( cambia , can berra , australia ) and the recombinant vector used to transform the strain gv3101 ( pmp90rk ) of agrobacterium tumefaciens through electroporation ( 31 ). arabidopsis ( ecotype col - 0 ) plants of 4 week were stably transformed with the floral - dip method ( 32 ). the transgenic plants pg or pmei t2 plants were selected on the soil after irroration with basta ( 300 um phosphinothricin , ppt ). the resistant lines were transferred to soil without herbicide and the seeds collected . the t2 progeny was selected on solid sterile murashige - skoog soil with 8 mg l − 1 of ppt , and the lines with a ratio of segregation of 3 : 1 by resistance to ppt were selected for analysis . the homozygous lines were analyzed for protein expression and activity by western blot analysis and test of diffusion in agar as described in ( 24 ). the growth of wt and transformed plants was carried out in controlled environment rooms , at 22 ° c ., 70 % of relative humidity with a photoperiod of 16 - h light and 8 - h dark ( 100 μmol m − 2 s − 1 of fluorescent light ). for the quantification of the fresh weight ( fw ) and dry weight ( dw ) of the rosette after 15 days of growth , the plants were transferred to a photoperiod of 12 - h ( 100 m − 2 s − 1 of fluorescent light ). the tobacco plants were grown in a greenhouse at 23 ° c . and 60 % relative humidity with a photoperiod of 16 - h light and 8 - h darkness ( 130 μmol m − 2 s − 1 of fluorescent light ). for the transgenic expression of pel1 in arabidopsis , the gene was fused to the peptide signal of pgip1 from phaseolus vulgaris ( corresponding to the first 87 nt of the sequence x64769 ) and to the ha of the hemagglutinin of the virus of human influenza ( corresponding to the 27 nt from 10 to 37 of the sequence ef014106 ) and was cloned in the vector of expression in plant inducible by estrogen pmdc7 ( zuo , 2000 ). such vector was used to transform strain gv3101 of agrobacterium tumefaciens ( 31 ) by electroporation . arabidopsis ( col - 0 ) plants of 4 week were transformed with floral - dip method ( 32 ). the t1 pl1 transgenic plants were selected after a growth of 4 days in darkness on solid soil murashige - skoog ( ms ), 0 . 5 % sterile sucrose containing hygromycin 20 mg / l . the plants resulting positive after selection were transferred to soil and the seeds collected . the pl1 lines selected with antibiotic were induced with 50 μm beta - estradiol and analyzed for protein expression enzymatic activity by western blot analysis using commercial antibodies against ha and enzymatic activity was detected by agar diffusion assay as described in ( 24 ) with the following modifications : the substrate was prepared by dissolving polygalacturonic acid ( pga ) in 0 . 1m tris - hci ph 8 and 0 . 3 mm cacl 2 . pl1 seedlings selected in solid soil containing hygromycin were grown in light in rooms with controlled atmosphere ( 22 ° c . photoperiod 16 h light / 8 h darkness 100 μmol m − 2 s − 1 of fluorescent light ) for three days and afterwards 10 plants ( fresh weight of approximately 200 mg ) were transferred to liquid sterile culture medium ms , 0 . 5 % sucrose . after 7 days following the transfer , the plants were transferred to sterile water containing 50 im beta - estradiol to induce the expression of the pel1 . after 24 hours of induction with beta - estradiol , the plants were treated with 0 . 1 % cellulose ( cellulast 1 . 5 l ) at various times as indicated in the figure at 37 ° c . in a solution of 50 mm buffer sodium acetate at ph5 . 5 , sterilized through filtration . leaf explants from wt , pg and pmei plants ( 100 mg of fresh weight sterilized in a solution of 1 % sodium hypochlorite for 1 minute and washed two times with sterile water to avoid microbial contamination ) were incubated for 20 hours at 37 ° c . in a solution containing 50 mm sodium acetate buffer ph 5 . 5 , and 0 . 5 % celluclast 1 . 5 l ( cellulase from trichoderma reesei ; sigma , st louis , mo . ), already sterilized through filtration . the reducing sugars released in solution were quantified with the test pahbah assay ( 4 ) after centrifugation . the total sugars before enzymatic hydrolysis are determined with the dubois ( 33 ) method . the leaf material was mixed with dilute sulfuric acid ( final concentration 1 . 3 %) and pre - treated at 110 ° c . for 20 minutes . after the pre - treatment , the hydrolyzates were separated and collected through filtration and the residual biomass washed with water . ais ( insoluble solids in alcohol ) were extracted as described in ( 23 ). after washing with chloroform : methanol , the material was washed twice with 80 % acetone and air dried . to obtain fractions of soluble solids in chelating agents ( chass ), the ais ( approximately 10 mg ) were homogenized twice in a buffer containing 50 mm tris - hci and 50 mm trans - 1 , 2 - cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid ( cdta ) ph 7 . 2 , at 80 ° c . after centrifugation at 10 , 000 rpm for 10 minutes , the two supernatants were united and lyophilized . squares of 6 × 6 mm were marked on membranes of nitrocellulose ( amersham , uk ) with a pencil and equal quantities of chass fractions from each line were dissolved in water and applied in the squares drawn on the nitrocellulose , respectively in dilutions of about 3 ×. specific peptic epitopes were revealed with the monoclonal antibodies pam1 ( 25 , 26 ) and jim5 ( 26 ) ( provided by prof . p . knox university of leeds ). the membranes were blocked in mpbs ( 1 × pbs with 3 % “ membrane blocking reagent powder ”, amersham , uk ) for 1 hour before the incubation with the primary ab ( supernatants of hybridomas of jim5 and lm7 diluted 1 / 10 or of pam1 diluted 1 / 20 in 3 % mpbs ) for 1 . 5 h . after washing in 1 × pbs , the membranes were incubated with the secondary ab ( anti - rat conjugate with peroxidase from radish , amersham , uk ) diluted 1 / 1000 for jim5 and with an anti - histidine antibody conjugate with peroxidase from radish ( sigma a - 7058 ) diluted 1 / 1000 for pam1 . the membranes were washed as described and subsequently treated with the ecl reagent ( amersham , uk ) for the measurement of the peroxidase activity . the authors analyzed the efficiency of saccharification from leaf tissues of transgenic plants expressing a polygalacturonase from aspergillus niger ( pg plants ) and of plants overexpressing an inhibitor of the pme ( pmei plants ) ( 24 ). the pg plants show reduced levels of hga , while the pmei plants have a reduced activity of pme and an increased methylation of hga . in pg plants of arabidopsis or tobacco ( fig1 a and b ) and pmei plants of arabidopsis ( fig1 c ), the treatment of leaf tissues with commercial cellulase ( celluclast 1 . 5 l ) for 24 hours causes a release of higher amount of sugars than in control wt plants . the saccharification of pg and pmei plants is accompanied by an increased maceration of the tissues ( see inserts in the fig1 a - c ). after an incubation of 24 hours without cellulase no release or sugars or maceration of the tissues was noted in both transformed and wt plants . this proves that the reduction in the hga content or in its methylation does not cause by itself the disassembling of the tissues and the saccharification , but rather promotes the capacity of the cellulases to degrade the cellulose in the intact tissue . furthermore , the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis on acid pre - treated leaves from wt transgenic ( pg and pmei ) plants does not differ significantly ( fig1 d ). it must be noted that , after 24 hours of saccharification , the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis obtained with acid pre - treated leaves of all the plants is the same as that observed with the transgenic plants not pre - treated . no significant release of sugars is obtained after acid pre - treatment alone , regardless of the plants used . the results indicated that the degradability of the cellulose is improved in tissues from pg and pmei plants and that it is not necessary to pre - treat such plants with acid to obtain a good saccharification . a possible explanation is the reduced content of “ junction zones ” due to the particular hga characteristics in these plants . pg plants from tobacco have been described to show a reduced content of galacturonic acid ( gala ) ( 23 ), which reduces the possibility that long chains of hga are formed , which are necessary for the formation of “ junction zones ”. on the other hand , even if the pmei plants have the same content of gala as the wt , they show an increased level of pectin methylation ( 24 ) which also prevents the formation of “ junction zones ”. to verify the presence of de - esterified regions of hga in pg and pmei plants compared to the wt ones , the following are used : a monoclonal antibody pam 1 , which specifically recognizes large de - esterified blocks of hga ( at least 30 continuous units of gala ) ( 25 , 26 ) and a monoclonal antibody jim5 , which binds to pectin of low methylation level ( level of methylesterification up to 40 %) ( 26 ). serial dilutions of pectic polysaccharides enriched in polyuronides ( chelating agents solid solubles , chass ), extracted from leaves of wt or arabidopsis transgenic plants as in lionetti et al . ( lionetti , v . et al . 2007 ). the pam1 antibody binds epitopes both in pg and pmei plants , but to a lesser extent than in wt plants , indicating that both the transformed plants show a reduced quantity of de - methylated hga . the jim5 also binds epitopes in pg and pmei plants , but to a lesser extent than in wt plants ( fig2 ), indicating the presence of hga with a higher degree of methylesterification . in conclusion , the authors have demonstrated that the reduction of de - esterified hga in cell walls increase the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis in the plant tissues . this change is advantageously used to improve the process of saccharification used in the production of bio fuels and other bio - products . the reduction of de - esterified hga in the cell walls of plant tissues can be obtained in different ways , such as genetic transformation for the obtention of pg and / or pmei transgenic plants ; selection of natural or mutagenesis - induced variants having elevated levels of endogenous pmei or lower level of pme . the pmei plants have a better saccharification and also an increased yield of biomass production ( approximately 80 % increase ) ( table i ) ( 17 , 24 , 28 ). the data represents the average ± s . e . m . of at least 6 independent samples . the asterisks indicate significant differences compared to wt according to the t test of student ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). moreover , the plants of the invention , in particular pmei plants display an increased resistance to microbial pathogens ( 24 ) and are therefore an ideal source of biofuels and of other commercial products . 1 . poorter , h . & amp ; villar , r . in plant resource allocation . eds . bazzaz f a & amp ; grace j . 39 - 72 ( academic press , san diego , usa ; 1997 ). 4 . willke , t . & amp ; vorlop , k . d . appl . microbiol . biotechnol . 66 , 131 - 142 ( 2004 ). 5 . ogier j c , et al ., j oil gas sci technol 54 , 67 - 94 ( 1999 ). 6 . yu , z . & amp ; zhang , h . bioresour . technol 93 , 199 - 204 ( 2004 ). 8 . iiyama , k ., lam , t ., & amp ; stone , b . a . plant physiol 104 , 315 - 320 ( 1994 ). 10 . klinke , h . b ., et al ., appl . microbiol . biotechnol . 66 , 10 - 26 ( 2004 ). 11 . cosgrove , d . j . nat . rev . mol . cell biol . 6 , 850 - 861 ( 2005 ). 12 . lynd , l . r . et al nat . biotechnol . 26 , 169 - 172 ( 2008 ). 13 . carpita , n . c . & amp ; mccann , m . c . in biochemistry and molecular biology of plants . eds . buchanan , b . b ., gruissem , w ., & amp ; jones , r . 52 - 109 ( american society plant physiologists , rockville , md . ; 2000 ). 14 . chen , f . & amp ; dixon , r . a . nat . biotechnol . 25 , 759 - 761 ( 2007 ). 15 . ezaki , n ., et al ., plant and cell physiology 46 , 1831 - 1838 ( 2005 ). 16 . proseus , t . e . & amp ; boyer , j . s . ann . bot . 98 , 93 - 105 ( 2006 ). 17 . derbyshire , p ., mccann , m . c ., & amp ; roberts , k . bmc plant biology 7 , ( 2007 ). 18 . ridley , b . l ., o &# 39 ; neill , m . a ., & amp ; mohnen , d . phytochemistry 57 , 929 - 967 ( 2001 ). 19 . voragen , a . g . j ., et al ., g . c . in food polysaccharides and their applications . ed . stephen , a . m . 287 - 339 ( marcel dekker inc ., new york ; 1995 ). 20 . brown , j . a . & amp ; fry , s . c . plant physiol . 103 , 993 - 999 ( 1993 ). 21 . zhang , g . f . & amp ; staehelin , l . a . plant physiol . 99 , 1070 - 1083 ( 1992 ). 22 . pelloux , j ., rusterucci , c ., & amp ; mellerowicz , e . j . trends plant sci . 12 , 267 - 277 ( 2007 ). 25 . willats , w . g ., gilmartin , p . m ., mikkelsen , j . d ., & amp ; knox , j . p . plant j 18 , 57 - 65 ( 1999 ). 26 . willats , w . g . et al carbohydr . res . 327 , 309 - 320 ( 2000 ). 27 . willats , w . g . t . & amp ; knox , j . p . anal . biochem . 268 , 143 - 146 ( 1999 ). 28 . hasunuma , t ., fukusaki , e ., & amp ; kobayashi , a . j . biotechnol . 111 , 241 - 251 ( 2004 ). 29 . grabber , j . h . and hatfield , r . d . ( 2005b ) j . of agricult . and food chem . 53 : 1546 - 1549 . 31 . koncz , c . and schell , j . ( 1986 ). mol . gen . genet . 204 : 383 - 396 . 32 . clough , s . j . and bent , a . f . ( 1998 ). plant j 16 : 735 - 43 . 34 . bartling s , wegener c , olsen o . microbiology ( 1995 ), 141 , 873 - 881 35 . zuo j , niu q - w , chua n - h the plant journal ( 2000 ) 24 ( 2 ), 265 - 273zuo j , niu q - w , chua n - h the plant journal ( 2000 ) 24 ( 2 ), 265 - 273 | 2 |
embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawings . fig2 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus having functions of a facsimile , a printer , and a copying apparatus . reference numeral 1 denotes an image forming apparatus having the following component elements 2 to 8 . a reception signal of a facsimile from a telephone line 10 is decoded into an image signal of a bit map form by a decoding device 8 . after that , the decoded signal passes through an interface 3 and is visualized by a visualizing device 4 . an image signal from a computer 9 passes through the interface 3 and is visualized by the visualizing device 4 . in case of copying , an image signal from a reader 2 for photoelectrically converting and reading an original image passes through the interface 3 and is visualized by the visualizing device 4 . the reader 2 , interface 3 , visualizing device 4 , and a display unit 5 are controlled by a cpu 6 by mutually communicating . the cpu 6 includes memory means having an area in which control procedures as shown in fig1 , and 5 , which will be explained hereinlater , have been stored and a work area of the cpu 6 . fig3 is a schematic diagram of a cross section of a main section of the visualizing device 4 in the image forming apparatus 1 . by scanning a laser beam 12 for emitting a light in response to the inputted image signal , an electrostatic latent image is formed onto the surface of an image holding member 20 charged uniformly by a primary charging device 11 . the electrostatic latent image is developed to a toner image by a developing device 13 . the toner image is transferred to a transfer material 15 by a transfer device 14 . after that the toner image on the transfer material 15 is fixed onto the transfer material 15 by a fixing device ( not shown ). in the embodiment , a uniform charged potential on the surface of the image holding member 20 is set to - 700 v , a latent image potential corresponding to a blank portion of the image is set to - 700 v , and a latent image potential corresponding to a black portion of the image is set to - 250 v . the developing device 13 is a device for developing the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the image holding member 20 to the toner image by allowing a developing agent holding member 16 to which a developing bias voltage including a dc component was applied to face the image holding member 20 . as a developing system of the developing device 13 , an inversion developing system using a toner of a minus polarity is used . a value of the dc component of the developing bias voltage which is supplied from a developing bias power supply 17 to the developing agent holding member ( developing sleeve ) 16 changes in accordance with a control signal which is sent from the cpu 6 . a toner remaining amount detecting device 18 to detect a remaining amount of the toner is provided in the developing device 13 . the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 is constructed by a piezoelectric element or the like and informs the cpu 6 of a judgment result about whether the toner amount in the developing device 13 has decreased to a predetermined amount or not . when the toner remaining amount reaches the predetermined amount , a signal from the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 is set to an on state . fig1 shows a flowchart for the image forming operation in the first embodiment using the above construction . after a power source of the image forming apparatus 1 was turned on and the memory and the like were initialized , first in step s1 , when the signal which is sent from the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 to the cpu 6 is off , namely , when the toner remaining amount in the developing device 13 exceeds the predetermined amount , step s2 follows . in step s2 , a check is made to see if the image signal has been inputted . even in any one of the image signals inputted from the telephone line 10 , computer 9 , and reader 2 , the processing routine advances to step s3 . the image formation is executed on the basis of the inputted image signal . the processing routine is returned to step s1 . in step s1 , when the signal which is sent from the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 to the cpu 6 is on , namely , when the toner remaining amount in the developing device 13 is equal to or less than the predetermined amount , a toner supply lamp ( not shown ) of the display unit 5 is lit on in step s4 . in step s5 , the device waits for the input of the image signal . when the image signal is inputted , step s6 follows and a check is made to see if the inputted signal is a facsimile signal . only when the inputted image signal is the facsimile signal from the telephone line 10 , the image formation based on the image signal is executed in step s7 . the processing routine is returned to step s1 . when the inputted image signal is the image signal from the computer 9 in step s6 , step s8 follows and the input of the image signal is inhibited . the cpu 6 transmits a message indicating that the image formation is inhibited because of the lack of the toner remaining amount to the computer 9 through the interface 3 . the processing routine is returned to step s1 . when the inputted image signal is the image signal from the reader 2 in step s6 , the input of the image signal is inhibited in step s8 . the cpu 6 transmits a message indicating that the image formation is inhibited due to the lack of the toner remaining amount to the display unit 6 . the processing routine is returned to step s1 . according to the embodiment , after the toner remaining amount detection signal was turned on , the absence of the toner is detected at a level such that about 500 standard originals of 7 % can be printed . according to the embodiment , with respect to only the image signal of the facsimile which was transmitted from the operator at a remote location where the toner cannot be supplied even if the toner remain amount in the developing device decreases to the predetermined amount or less , the image formation is executed , so that the operator at a remote location can transmit the information irrespective of the toner remaining amount state of the image forming apparatus on the reception side . according to the embodiment , when the toner remaining amount in the developing device decreases to a predetermined amount , in the case where the image signal other than the facsimile signal is inputted , the image formation is not executed . therefore , not only the supply of the toner can be strongly promoted to the operator who is present near the device but also the entire amount of toner remaining in the developing device is used as toner for reception of the facsimile signal , so that a large amount of facsimile signals can be received until the toner is completely eliminated . in the second embodiment , the bias voltage which is applied to the developing agent holding member 16 which is executing the image formation is changed in accordance with the signal from the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 , fig4 shows a flowchart for the image forming operation also including a change in bias voltage in the embodiment . characteristics portions in the embodiment will now be mainly explained . processing steps which are common to those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals . first in step s1 , when the signal which is sent from the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 to the cpu 6 is off , namely , in the case where the toner remaining amount in the developing device 13 exceeds the predetermined amount , step s2 follows . when the image signal is inputted , the processing routine advances to step s9 so as to immediately execute the image formation irrespective of the image signal inputted from any one of the devices such as telephone line 10 , computer 9 , and reader 2 . in order to set an image density of the visualized image to an enough density , the developing bias voltage which is supplied to the developing agent holding member 16 is set to - 600 v by the control signal from the cpu 6 . the processing routine advances to step s3 . in step s1 , when the signal which is sent from the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 to the cpu 6 is on , namely , when the toner remain amount in the developing device 13 decreases to the predetermined amount or less , the processing routine advances to step s6 through steps s4 and s5 . only when the inputted image signal is the facsimile signal from the telephone line 10 , in order to execute the image formation of the image signal , the developing bias voltage which is supplied to the developing agent holding member 16 is set to - 450 v by the control signal from the cpu 6 . the processing routine advances to step s7 . even when the developing bias voltage is set to - 450 v , since a development contrast decreases , the image density slightly decreases . however , there is no information to be dropped . according to the embodiment , in addition to the effects of the first embodiment , the image formation based on the reception signal of the facsimile which is executed after the toner remaining amount in the developing device was reduced to the predetermined amount is executed by decreasing a toner amount to be consumed by changing the developing bias voltage . thus , there is an effect such that a larger amount of facsimile reception signals can be visualized until the toner is perfectly eliminated . in the above example of the operation , the means for reducing the toner amount to be consumed when the image formation is executed is not limited to only the change in developing bias voltage . for example , a light amount of the laser beam 12 , the uniform charging potential of the image holding member 20 , or the like can be also changed . even if the image is reduced and outputted , the consumption amount of the toner can be reduced . in the case of using an ink jet system as a visualizing device , it is sufficient to reduce an emission amount of the ink by changing the electric power which is supplied to a nozzle for emitting the ink . in this embodiment , a counter n to count the number of image forming times of the facsimile reception signal which was executed after the toner remaining amount detecting device 18 had detected that the toner remaining amount in the developing device 13 had decreased to the predetermined amount is provided on the memory means in the cpu 6 . when a count value reaches a predetermined number of times , the facsimile reception is not executed . with this construction , it is possible to prevent that the visualized image of the reception signal of the facsimile is outputted as a blank paper . fig5 shows a flowchart for the image forming operation in the third embodiment . in the diagram , processing steps common to those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals . characteristic portions in the embodiment will be mainly described . after the processing routine was started , first in step s0 , the counter n is reset to 0 and step s1 follows . in the case where the facsimile signal is received in step s6 , step s11 follows and a check is made to see if the count value n is less than 100 . when n is less than 100 , step s7 follows . if no , step s8 follows . after completion of the execution of step s7 , step s12 follows and the count value of the counter n is increased by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the processing routine is returned to step s4 . in the third embodiment , therefore , after the toner amount in the developing device 13 was reduced to the predetermined amount , the image formation based on the reception signal of the facsimile can be executed only 100 times . after that , the reception of the facsimile is inhibited . in step s8 , a message indicating that the facsimile reception is inhibited due to the lack of the toner is informed to the device on the transmission side . according to the embodiment , it is possible to prevent that the visualized image of the facsimile reception signal is outputted as a blank paper . in this embodiment , a first predetermined amount and a second predetermined amount are provided as reference values for the remaining amount of the toner which is detected by the toner remaining amount detecting means 18 , in which there is a relation of ( the first predetermined amount )& gt ;( the second predetermined amount ). when the toner remain amount detecting means detects that the remain amount of the toner has reduced to the first predetermined amount , the image formation of only the reception signal of the facsimile is executed . when the toner remaining amount detecting means detects that the toner remaining amount has reduced to the second predetermined amount , the input of all of the image signals is inhibited . thus , it is possible to prevent that the visualized image of the facsimile reception signal is outputted as a blank paper . fig6 shows a schematic diagram of the developing device 13 which can be applied to the fourth embodiment . a first toner remaining amount detecting device 21 can detect that the remaining amount of toner has been reduced to the first predetermined amount . a second toner remaining amount detecting device 22 can detect that the toner remaining amount has been reduced to the second predetermined amount . the first and second toner remaining detecting devices 21 and 22 can be constructed by piezoelectric devices or the like . a difference between the first and second predetermined amounts is set to a value such that about 500 standard originals can be visualized . the construction in which the image formation of only the facsimile reception signal is executed even if the toner remain amount in the developing device 13 decreased to the predetermined amount has been described in the above embodiments . however , the kind of image signal which permits the execution of the image formation even if the toner remain amount in the developing device 13 decreased to the predetermined amount , is not limited to the facsimile reception signal . in the case where the computer 9 in the first embodiment is arranged at a remote location in a manner similar to the facsimile , the image formation of the image signal from the computer 9 is also executed after the signal of the toner remaining detection signal was turned on . if the kind of device for executing the image formation even if the remain amount decreased to the predetermined amount can be preset by an operating unit ( not shown ) or the like of the image forming apparatus 1 , the effect of the invention can be further enhanced . the visualizing device of the invention is not limited to the electrophotographic system which uses the toner but even in case of the ink jet system using the ink or the like , a similar effect can be obtained . in each of the above embodiments , in a device having a memory for substitution reception as in case of a paper absent state or the like , even if the toner is completely eliminated due to the visualization of the facsimile reception image after the toner remaining amount detection signal was turned on , the memory substitution reception can be continued until a vacant capacity of the memory is eliminated . the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments but many modifications and variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the appended claims of the invention . | 7 |
the present invention provides novel processes and intermediates useful in the preparation of certain n -( indole - 2 - carbonyl )- β - alaninamides . more particularly , the invention provides novel processes for preparing the compound 5 - chloro - n -[( 1s , 2r )- 3 -[ 3r , 4s ]- 3 , 4 - dihydroxy - 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 2 - hydroxy - 3 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl ) propyl ]- 1h - indole - 2 - carboxamide ( i ). the invention further provides intermediates useful in the preparation of the aforementioned compound , and processes for the production of such intermediates . in one aspect of the invention , there is provided a process for preparing a compound of structural formula ( i ) with 3 - pyrroline to provide an amide derivative of structural formula ( ib ) ( b ) oxidizing the amide derivative ( ib ) formed in step ( a ) to provide the compound of structural formula ( i ). in the coupling reaction set forth in step ( a ), the compound of structural formula ( ia ) prepared according to the methods disclosed in the aforementioned u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 107 , 329 , 6 , 277 , 877 , and 6 , 297 , 269 , is coupled with 3 - pyrroline to provide the compound of structural formula ( ib ) such coupling reaction may be effected according to standard synthetic methodologies known to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , such coupling may be effected using an appropriate coupling reagent such as 1 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl )- 3 - ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride ( edc ), in the presence of 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ( hobt ), 2 - ethyloxy - 1 - ethyloxy - carbonyl - 1 , 2 - dihydroquinone ( eedq ), cdi / hobt , propanephosphonic anhydride ( ppa ), or diethylphosphorylcyanide , and the like , in an aprotic , reaction - inert solvent , such as dichloromethane , acetonitrile , diethylether , tetrahydrofuran , optionally in the presence of a tertiary amine base , such as triethylamine or n , n ′- diisopropylethylamine ( hunig &# 39 ; s base ). such coupling is typically effected at a temperature range of from about 0 ° c . to about the reflux temperature of the solvent employed . in a preferred embodiment , the coupling reaction is effected at ambient temperature in tetrahydrofuran using edc , and a catalytic amount of hobt , in the presence of an organic base selected from triethylamine or hunig &# 39 ; s base . the use of hunig &# 39 ; s base in such coupling is especially preferred . the 3 - pyrroline starting material may be obtained from commercial sources . the oxidation reaction set forth in step ( b ) may be effected according to synthetic methodologies known to one of ordinary skill in the art for converting olefins into cis - diols . such oxidation may be carried out using ruthenium ( iii ) chloride , with sodium periodate as a co - oxidant , ago ( j . org . chem ., 61 , 4801 ( 1996 )), osmium tetroxide , or a catalyst with n - methylmorpholine n - oxide ( nmo ) in a reaction - inert , polar organic solvent such as acetonitrile , tetrahydrofuran , alkyl ethers , and the like . in a preferred embodiment , the oxidation of ( ib ) to compound ( i ) is effected using catalytic osmium tetroxide and n - methylmorpholine n - oxide ( nmo ) in tetrahydrofuran ( rosenberg , et al . ; j . med . chem ., 33 , 1962 ( 1990 )). the product of step ( b ) is then preferably isolated according to well - known methodologies known to one of ordinary skill in the art . in another aspect , the invention provides a process for preparing a compound of structural formula ( i ) ( b ) cleaving the acetonide derivative ( iia ) formed in step ( a ) to furnish the compound of structural formula ( i ). the coupling of compound ( ia ) with ( ivi ) to form the acetonide derivative ( iia ) can be effected according to the methods disclosed hereinabove for the preparation of compound ( ib ). preferably , the coupling is performed using edc and hobt in the presence of hunig &# 39 ; s base . the hobt may be employed catalytically , i . e ., in an amount less than one equivalent . generally , a range of from about 0 . 05 to about 0 . 50 equivalents may be employed in the coupling step , however , it is generally preferred that the hobt be employed in a catalytic ratio of about 0 . 15 to about 0 . 25 molar equivalents of acid ( ia ). although acetonide ( iia ) can be employed directly in the subsequent cleavage step , it may occasionally be preferable , for reasons of improved color and purity , to isolate acetonide ( iia ) prior to such cleavage . the isolation of the less polar acetonide ( iia ) allows a purge of more polar impurities then , following the deprotection step , the more polar substrate ( i ) is isolated by crystallization , thereby allowing for a purge of less polar impurities that may be present . the conversion of acetonide ( iia ) into compound ( i ) may be effected according to generally known methods , for example , by treatment of the isolated acetonide ( iia ) with a mineral acid , such as hydrochloric or hydrobromic acid , or an organic acid , such as methanesulfonic or p - toluenesulfonic acid , all in the presence of water . alternatively , compound ( i ) may also be conveniently prepared by the production , and in situ cleavage , of acetonide ( iia ). the preparation of a solution of acetonide ( iia ) in a suitable solvent may be effected as outlined hereinabove . the in situ conversion of acetonide ( iia ) into compound ( i ), described in example 5 hereinbelow , may also be conveniently effected according to known methods , for example , by treating the solution of acetonide ( iia ) with an aqueous mineral acid , such as hydrochloric or hydrobromic acid , or an organic acid , such as methanesulfonic , or p - toluenesulfonic acid , also under aqueous conditions . compound ( i ) so produced may then be isolated according to known preparative methods . in another aspect of the invention , there is provided a process for preparing a compound of structural formula ( i ) ( b ) desolvating the ethanol solvate ( iiia ) formed in step ( a ) to furnish the compound of structural formula ( i ). the coupling of compound ( ia ) to form ethanol solvate ( iiia ) may be performed according to those coupling methods previously described hereinabove for the preparation of compound ( ib ) and acetonide ( iia ). preferably , the coupling is effected using edc and hobt in the presence of a tertiary amine base , such as triethylamine , or hunig &# 39 ; s base . the use of hunig &# 39 ; s base is especially preferred . the ethanol solvate ( iiia ) may be desolvated to form compound ( i ) by dissolving ( iiia ) in an aprotic solvent , such as ethyl acetate or toluene , distilling the solution to remove residual ethanol , treating the solution with water such that a concentration of water in the range of between about 1 % to about 3 % water is achieved , and warming the aqueous solution to reflux temperature , at which point crystallization of ( i ) begins . the addition of seed crystals to the aqueous solution prior to reflux is typically preferred . the reflux period may comprise from a few hours to one or more days , preferably from about eight to about twenty hours . once crystallization is essentially complete , excess water is removed by azeotropic distillation , preferably at atmospheric pressure , and the slurry is then cooled to between about 5 ° to about 30 ° c ., preferably , about room temperature , where the isolation of ( i ) is performed according to standard methods , such as by filtration . in yet another aspect , the present invention provides a process for preparing a compound of structural formula ( i ) the coupling of compound ( ia ) with cis - 3 , 4 - dihydroxypyrrolidine free base ( v ) to form compound ( i ) may also be performed according to those coupling methods previously described hereinabove for the preparation of compound ( ib ), acetonide ( iia ), or ethanol solvate ( iiia ). the free base of cis - 3 , 4 - dihydroxypyrrolidine ( v ) may be prepared according to the several synthetic methods described in detail hereinbelow including , for example , the process disclosed in example 18 . the compound of structural formula ( i ) so prepared is then preferably isolated according to standard methodologies that are well known to one of ordinary skill in the art . another aspect of the invention provides synthetic methods useful for preparing compound ( v ), and the acid addition salts thereof , which compound , or which acid addition salts , are intermediates useful in the preparation of compound ( i ). these exemplary synthetic methods are described in detail hereinbelow in schemes 1 to 7 . the cis - 3 , 4 - dihydroxypyrrolidine , p - toluenesulfonate salt ( vi ) may be obtained commercially . in one aspect , the invention provides a process useful in preparing compound ( v ), or an acid addition salt thereof , which process comprises the steps outlined hereinbelow in scheme 1 . as shown in scheme 1 , the 3 - pyrroline starting material ( aldrich chemical co ., milwaukee , wis .) is protected with boc - anhydride in the presence of an organic or brönsted base in an aprotic solvent . the mixture of protected n - boc - 3 - pyrroline products ( va ) may then be oxidized to the corresponding diol ( vb ) according to known methods , for example osmium tetroxide oxidation , the use of catalytic osmium tetroxide with a co - oxidant , the use of ruthenium ( iii ) chloride / sodium periodate ( shing , t . k . m ., et al ., angew . chem . eur . j ., 2 , 50 ( 1996 ), or shing , t . k . m ., et al ., angew . chem . int . ed . engl ., 33 , 2312 ( 1994 )), potassium permanganate , or similar reagents and conditions that will be well - known to one of ordinary skill in the art . the boc protecting group of ( vb ) may be subsequently removed by treatment with a suitable acid , for example , trifluoroacetic acid , methanesulfonic acid , and the like , in the presence of a reaction - inert solvent such as tetrahydrofuran , dichloromethane , or acetonitrile , to form ( v ). preferably , compound ( v ) is then isolated , either in the form of the free base , or in the form of an acid addition salt thereof , wherein such acid addition salt may be prepared according to known methods . such acid addition salts , may include , for example , the hydrochloride , hydrobromide , sulfate , hydrogen sulfate , phosphate , hydrogen phosphate , dihydrogen phosphate , acetate , succinate , citrate , methanesulfonate ( mesylate ), and 4 - methylbenzenesulfonate ( p - toluenesulfonate ) acid addition salts . such acid addition salts may be prepared readily by reacting compound ( v ) with an appropriate conjugate acid . when the desired salt is of a monobasic acid ( e . g ., hydrochloride , hydrobromide , tosylate , acetate , etc . ), the hydrogen form of a dibasic acid ( e . g ., hydrogen sulfate , succinate , etc . ), or the dihydrogen form of a tribasic acid ( e . g ., dihydrogen phosphate , citrate , etc . ), at least one molar equivalent , and usually a molar excess , of the acid is employed . however , where such salts as the sulfate , hemisuccinate , phosphate , or hydrogen phosphate are desired , the appropriate and stoichiometric equivalent of the acid will generally be employed . the free base and the acid are normally combined in a co - solvent from which the desired acid addition salt then precipitates , or can be otherwise isolated by concentration of the mother liquor , or by the precipitative effect resulting from the addition of a non - solvent . especially preferred acid addition salts of compound ( v ) comprise the p - toluenesulfonate ( vi ) and hydrochloride acid addition salts . an alternative method that may be used to prepare compound ( v ), or an acid addition salt thereof , comprises the process outlined hereinbelow in scheme 2 . as shown in scheme 2 , the dibromo diketone starting material is reduced in the presence of a suitable reducing agent , such as sodium borohydride , in a reaction - inert solvent , such as an ether ( tetrahydrofuran or methyl tert - butyl ether ), or other suitable solvent ( s ) to provide a mixture of the syn - and anti - alcohols ( via ) and ( via ′). alcohols ( via ) and ( via ′) are then cyclized with benzylamine in the presence of a suitable base , such as sodium bicarbonate , to yield diol ( vib ). the use of an additive , such as potassium iodide , has been shown to improve the rate of cyclization . see , for example , larock , comprehensive organic transformations , vch , new york , 337 - 339 ( 1989 ). the benzyl protecting group of ( vib ) may be subsequently removed by standard methods , such as hydrogenation using a catalyst such as palladium on carbon in a reaction - inert solvent , such as an alcohol or ether , to form compound ( v ), followed by acid addition salt formation , if desired . yet another alternative method that may be employed in the preparation of ( v ), or an acid addition salt thereof , comprises the process depicted in scheme 3 . in scheme 3 , meso - tartaric acid is cyclized with benzylamine to give diol ( viib ). such cyclization is typically effected in a reaction - inert solvent such as methylene chloride , tetrahydrofuran , or ethyl acetate at temperatures generally above ambient temperature . see , for example , march , advanced organic chemistry , 4 th ed ., wiley interscience , 420 ( 1992 ). it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that such amide bond formations from carboxylic acids may be aided by addition of coupling agents such as dicyclohexylcarbodiimide , n , n ′- carbonyidiimidazole , or ethyl - 1 , 2 - dihydro - 2 - ethoxy - 1 - quinolinecarboxylate ( eedq ). diol ( viib ) is then reduced to diol ( vib ) through the use of known reducing reagents , such as lithium aluminum hydride , diborane , or sodium borohydride , in the presence of boron trifluoride . the benzyl protecting group of ( vib ) may be subsequently removed by standard methods , such as hydrogenation using a catalyst such as palladium on carbon in a suitable solvent , such as an alcohol or ether , to form compound ( v ), followed by acid addition salt formation , if desired . yet another method useful in the preparation of compound ( v ), or an acid addition salt thereof , comprises the steps shown in scheme 4 . in scheme 4 , the butane - tetraol starting material is converted to diactetate ( viia ) under standard conditions , such as treatment with hydrobromic acid and acetic acid , or by those methods described in talekar , d . g ., et al ., indian j . chem ., sect . b , 25b ( 2 ), 145 - 51 ( 1986 ), or lee , e ., et al ., j . chem . soc ., perkin trans . 1 , 23 , 3395 - 3396 ( 1999 ). diacetate ( viiia ) is then cyclized with benzylamine in the presence of a suitable base , such as sodium bicarbonate , to give ( vib ). as disclosed hereinabove , the use of an additive , such as potassium iodide , to assist cyclization may be employed if desired , or appropriate . the benzyl protecting group of ( vib ) may be subsequently removed by standard methods , such as hydrogenation using a catalyst such as palladium on carbon in a suitable solvent , such as an alcohol or ether , to form compound ( v ), followed by acid addition salt formation , if desired . yet another method useful in the preparation of ( v ), or an acid addition salt thereof , comprises the process shown in scheme 5 . in scheme 5 , ( e )- 1 , 4 - dichloro - 2 - butene is di - hydroxylated to furnish diol ( ixa ) employing conditions known to one of ordinary skill in the art , for example , hydrogen peroxide and formic acid , or m - chloroperoxybenzoic acid and water . diol ( ixa ) is then cyclized with benzylamine in the presence of a suitable base , such as sodium bicarbonate , to give diol ( vib ). as disclosed hereinabove , the use of an additive , such as potassium iodide , to assist cyclization may be employed if desired , or appropriate . the benzyl protecting group of ( vib ) may be subsequently removed by standard methods , such as hydrogenation using a catalyst such as palladium on carbon in a reaction - inert solvent , such as an alcohol or ether , to form compound ( v ), followed by acid addition salt formation , if desired . yet another method useful in the preparation of ( v ), or an acid addition salt thereof , comprises the process depicted in scheme 6 . in scheme 6 , ( z )- 1 , 4 - dichloro - 2 - butene is di - hydroxylated to furnish diol ( ixa ) according to synthetic methods known to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , such oxidation may be effected employing a mixture of sodium periodate and a ruthenium salt in a reaction - inert , aprotic solvent such as acetontrile , or a halogenated hydrocarbon solvent such as chloroform , methylene chloride , or carbon tetrachloride . where appropriate or desired , solvent mixtures comprising reaction - inert , aprotic solvents , for example , acetonitrile and ethyl acetate , may also be utilized . in a preferred embodiment , the oxidation reaction is effected utilizing ruthenium ( iii ) chloride hydrate and sodium periodate in a cooled acetonitrile / ethyl acetate solvent mixture . diol ( ixa ) is then cyclized using benzylamine in the presence of a suitable base , such as sodium bicarbonate , to furnish compound diol ( vib ). as disclosed hereinabove , the use of an additive , such as potassium iodide , to assist in cyclization may be employed if desired , and / or appropriate . the benzyl protecting group of ( vib ) may be subsequently removed by standard methods , such as hydrogenation using a catalyst such as palladium on carbon in a suitable solvent , such as an alcohol or ether , to form compound ( v ), followed by acid addition salt formation , if desired . yet another method of preparing compound ( v ), or an acid addition salt thereof , comprises the process shown in scheme 7 . as shown generally in scheme 7 , the aminodiol starting material is protected with boc - anhydride in the presence of an organic or brönsted base in an aprotic solvent . the boc protected diol ( xia ) is then oxidized to dialdehyde ( xib ) by methods generally known to those skilled in the art . for example , diol ( xia ) may be oxidized using a strong oxidant such as potassium permanganate , ruthenium tetroxide , manganese dioxide , or jones &# 39 ; reagent ( chromic acid and sulfuric acid in water ). alternatively , oxidation of ( xia ) to ( xib ) may be effected by catalytic dehydrogenation using reagents such as copper chromite , raney nickel , palladium acetate , copper oxide , and the like . for additional examples see , for example , march , advanced organic chemistry , 2 nd edition , wiley - interscience , 1992 . the dialdehyde ( xib ) may then be cyclized to boc - protected diol ( vb ) via pinacol coupling . known methods of effecting such coupling may comprise direct electron transfer using active metals such as sodium , magnesium , or aluminum , or through the use of titanium trichloride . the boc - group of ( vb ) can then be removed by treatment with a suitable acid as described hereinabove . preferably , compound ( v ) is then isolated , either in the form of the free base , or in the form of an acid addition salt thereof , wherein such acid addition salt may be prepared as described hereinabove . another aspect of the instant invention provides synthetic methods useful for preparing compound ( iv ) hereinbelow , and the acid addition salts thereof , which compound and acid addition salts , are also intermediates useful in the preparation of compound ( i ). such exemplary synthetic methods are depicted in detail hereinbelow in schemes 8 to 10 . in one aspect , compound ( iv ), or an acid addition salt thereof , may be prepared according to the process shown in scheme 8 . as shown in scheme 8 , ribose is protected by forming the acetonide derivative ( xiia ) thereof . such acetonide formation can be effected in a variety of ways , for example , according to those methods described in greene , t . w ., et al ., protective groups in organic synthesis , 2 nd edition , wiley - interscience , ( 1991 ). as an example , the formation of protected diol ( xiia ) may be performed using acetone in the presence of iodine . the oxidation of ( xiia ) to ( xiib ) may be effected using reagents including sodium periodate in methanol . the reduction of ( xiib ) may be performed according to known methods , for example , through the use of lithium aluminum hydride or sodium borohydride in the presence of acid , such as acetic acid . amine ( ivc ) is prepared by treating ( xiib ) with benzylamine in methylene chloride or similar reaction - inert solvents . the benzyl protecting group of ( ivc ) can be subsequently removed according to standard methods , such as hydrogenation , using a catalyst such as palladium on carbon in a suitable solvent , such as an alcohol or ether , to form compound ( iv ). preferably , compound ( iv ) is then isolated , either in the form of the free base , or in the form of an acid addition salt thereof , wherein such acid salt may be prepared as described hereinabove . especially preferred acid addition salts of compound ( iv ) are the p - toluenesulfonate ( ivi ) and hydrochloride acid addition salts . yet another method for the preparation of compound ( iv ), or an acid addition salt thereof , comprises the process illustrated in scheme 9 . wherein piv represents the pivaloyl moiety , i . e ., ( ch 3 ) 3 c ( o )—. as shown in scheme 9 , meso - erythritrol is protected using standard methodologies to form the di - pivaloyl derivative ( xiiia ). such protection is preferably effected using pivaloyl chloride in the presence of a strong organic base , such as pyridine . the resulting diol ( xiiia ) may be protected by formation of the acetonide ( xiiib ) by treatment of ( xiiia ) with tosic acid in acetone or by treatment with 2 , 2 - dimethoxypropane ( dmp ). the piv - groups of ( xiiib ) may be subsequently removed according to standard methods , for example those methods disclosed in greene , t . w ., et al ., protective groups in organic synthesis , 2 nd edition , wiley - interscience , ( 1991 ), to form deprotected derivative ( xiiic ). as an example , the deprotection of ( xiiib ) may be effected using a strong inorganic base , such as sodium or potassium hydroxide , in an aqueous solvent , such as an alcohol . mesylate activation of the diol ( xiiic ), in a suitable non - reactive solvent in the presence of a base such as triethylamine , gives compound ( xiiid ). cyclization of ( xiiid ) with benzylamine in the presence of a base , such as an organic amine , affords ( ivc ). the benzyl protecting group of ( ivc ) can be subsequently removed according to standard methods , such as hydrogenation , using a catalyst such as palladium on carbon in a suitable solvent , such as an alcohol or ether , to form compound ( iv ). preferably , compound ( iv ) is then isolated , either in the form of the free base , or in the form of an acid addition salt thereof , wherein such acid salt may be prepared as described hereinabove . in another aspect , the invention provides a generally preferred process for the preparation of compound ( iv ), or the preferred p - toluenesulfonate acid addition salt ( ivi ) thereof , which process is depicted hereinbelow in scheme 10 . the oxidation of n - benzylmaleimide to diol ( viib ) may be performed according to synthetic methods known to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , such oxidation may be effected employing a mixture of sodium periodate and a ruthenium salt in a reaction - inert , aprotic solvent such as acetonitrile , or a halogenated hydrocarbon solvent such as chloroform , methylene chloride , or carbon tetrachloride . where appropriate or desired , solvent mixtures comprising reaction - inert , aprotic solvents , for example , acetonitrile and ethyl acetate , may also be utilized . in a preferred embodiment , the oxidation reaction is effected utilizing ruthenium ( iii ) chloride hydrate and sodium periodate in a acetonitrile / ethyl acetate solvent mixture at below ambient temperature . the formation of acetonide ( ivb ) may be effected according to synthetic methodologies known to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , such protection may be performed by condensing diol ( viib ) with acetone , 2 , 2 - dimethoxypropane , or a mixture of both , in the presence of an acid catalyst , such as sulfuric , p - toluenesulfonic , or methanesulfonic acid . in a preferred embodiment , the protection reaction is effected by condensing diol ( viia ) in 2 , 2 - dimethoxypropane with a catalytic amount of methanesulfonic acid . the reduction of acetonide ( ivb ) to ( ivc ) may be effected according to synthetic methodologies known to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , such reduction may be performed using a boron or aluminum hydride complex including , for example , bh 3 thf , bh 3 etherate , or red - al ® ( sodium bis ( 2 - methoxyethoxy ) aluminum hydride ; aldrich chemical co ., milwaukee , wis . ), in an aprotic , reaction - inert solvent , such as toluene or diethylether . in a preferred embodiment , the reduction of protected acetonide ( ivb ) to ( ivc ) is effected using red - al ® in toluene . the deprotection of ( ivc ) may be effected according to synthetic methodologies known to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , such using palladium salts , or complexes , such as pd ( oh ) 2 , or pd / c in polar , protic solvents , such as methanol or ethanol , in a non - protic solvent , such as tetrahydrofuran , or in a mixture of such solvents . alternatively , such deprotection may be effected under hydrogenation - transfer conditions , i . e ., pd / c with cyclohexene . in a preferred embodiment , the deprotection reaction is effected using pd ( oh ) 2 / c in methanol . the deprotected product ( iv ), is then preferably isolated , in the form of the preferred p - toluenesulfonate acid addition salt ( ivi ) thereof , which may be either prepared as described hereinabove , or obtained commercially . the present invention is illustrated by the following examples . it is to be understood , however , that the examples hereinbelow are provided solely for the purpose of illustration , not limitation . the cis - 3 , 4 - dihydroxypyrrolidine , p - toluenesulfonate salt ( vi ) was purchased from aldrich chemical co ., fine chemicals division , milwaukee , wis . a 5 . 00 g ( 0 . 0134 mmol ) sample of ( αr , βs )- β -[[( 5 - chloro - 1h - indol - 2 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino ]- α - hydroxy - benzenebutanoic acid ( ia ) ( prepared according to the methods disclosed in the aforementioned u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 107 , 329 , 6 , 277 , 877 , and 6 , 297 , 269 ) and 3 - pyrroline ( 1 . 11 g , 0 . 015 mmol ) ( aldrich chemical co ., milwaukee , wis .) were slurried in 100 ml of tetrahydrofuran at a temperature of between 20 ° and 25 ° c . the mixture was treated with 0 . 6 g ( 0 . 33 equiv .) of 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate ( hobt ) and the mixture was cooled to between 0 ° and 5 ° c . n , n - diisopropylethylamine ( 2 . 08 ml , 2 . 1 equiv .) was added to the mixture over 15 minutes at 0 ° to 5 ° c . the mixture was then treated with 1 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl )- 3 - ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride ( edc ) ( 2 . 78 g , 1 . 1 equiv .) at − 10 ° to − 6 ° c . the reaction was allowed to warm to about 20 ° c . and was stirred at ambient temperature for about 24 hours . the reaction mixture was treated with water ( 50 ml ) and ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ) to give a two - phase mixture . the layers were settled and the organic layer was separated and concentrated to furnish a solid by distillation under partial vacuum . a total of 5 . 1 g ( 92 . 7 % yield ) of the pure title product was isolated . a 1 . 59 g ( 3 . 75 mmol ) sample of ( ib ), n - methylmorpholine n - oxide ( 413 mg , 3 . 52 mmol ), and osmium tetroxide ( 3 . 6 g , 0 . 352 mmol ) were combined in 15 ml of tetrahydrofuran and the resulting mixture was stirred overnight under a blanket of nitrogen . the solvent was evaporated in vacuo and the residue was partitioned between ethyl acetate and saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate . the layers were separated , and the organic layer was washed twice with sodium sulfite solution , and then sodium bicarbonate . the aqueous washes were backwashed with ethyl acetate , dried over sodium sulfate , stirred with decolorizing charcoal , and evaporated in vacuo . the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel and flash chromatographed eluting with ethyl acetate : methanol ( 9 : 1 ). the product - containing fractions were combined , treated with decolorizing charcoal , and evaporated to a foam which was triturated overnight with hexanes to furnish 505 mg ( 25 % yield ) of a tan solid , m . p . 150 °- 155 ° c . a 25 g ( 0 . 067 mol ) amount of ( ia ) and ( ivi ) ( 22 . 2 g , 0 . 0704 mol ) were stirred in 125 ml of dichloromethane and 125 ml of tetrahydrofuran at 20 ° to 25 ° c . n , n - diisopropylethylamine ( 23 . 4 ml , 0 . 134 mole ) was added to the mixture over 15 minutes at 20 ° to 25 ° c . the reaction solution was cooled to between 0 ° and − 10 ° c . and treated with 1 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl )- 3 - ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride ( edc ) ( 14 . 2 g , 0 . 0741 mol ), and hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate ( hobt ) ( 10 . 0 g , 0 . 074 mol ). the reaction mixture was stirred at − 6 ° to − 10 ° c . for about 30 minutes . the reaction was allowed to warm to ambient temperature over about 45 minutes and stirred for about 2 hours . the reaction mixture was treated with 50 % aqueous sodium hydroxide to give a ph of about 10 , and the two - phase mixture was allowed to settle . the organic layer was concentrated to an oil by rotary evaporation using partial vacuum . a total of 31 g ( 88 % yield ) of title compound was isolated . a 2 . 0 g sample of acetonide ( iia ) was dissolved in a mixture of 10 ml tetrahydrofuran and 10 ml of water . the ph was adjusted to 1 . 8 with 6n hydrochloric acid , and the solution was heated to reflux . after refluxing overnight , the ph was adjusted to about 7 to 8 with 50 % sodium hydroxide , and the mixture was atmospherically distilled to remove the tetrahydrofuran . the layers were separated , the organic layer was washed with 10 ml of water , and to the combined organic layers were added 25 ml of heptane . the resulting white crystalline precipitate was stirred for about one hour , collected by filtration , and washed with heptane . the solid was dried overnight in vacuo to provide 1 . 7 g of the title compound . a 10 g ( 0 . 027 mole ) sample of ( ia ), an 8 . 88 g ( 0 . 028 mole ) sample of ( ivi ) and 0 . 06 g ( 0 . 044 mole ) of hobt were combined in 50 ml of tetrahydrofuran , and the resulting slurry was cooled to − 10 ° to − 5 ° c . a total of 4 . 15 g ( 0 . 032 mole ) of hunig &# 39 ; s base , and 5 . 66 g ( 0 . 03 mole ) of edc were added and the resulting solution was stirred at ambient temperature for about 12 hours . the solution was diluted with 50 ml of water , and the ph was adjusted to about 1 . 7 using 1 . 5 ml of concentrated hcl . the reaction mixture was then heated to reflux for about 10 hours . the ph was adjusted to 6 . 5 to 7 . 5 with 50 % sodium hydroxide , and the solution was reduced to a small volume by atmospheric distillation at a pot temperature of about 90 ° c . a total of 100 ml of ethyl acetate was added , the organic layer was washed with 50 ml of water , and the organic layer was diluted with 50 ml of toluene . the mixture was refluxed overnight , stirred for about 10 hours at ambient temperature , and filtered . the residual solid was dried in vacuo at a temperature of about 45 ° c . to afford 10 . 4 g ( 86 . 6 % yield ) of the title product . a 53 kg ( 142 . 2 mol ) sample of ( ia ) was suspended in 35 gallons of n , n - dimethylformamide . the resulting mixture was treated with ethyl acetate ( 70 gallons ) and cooled to between 0 ° to 5 ° c . the cooled mixture was treated in order with n , n - diisopropylethylamine ( 36 . 6 kg , 284 . 3 mol ), 1 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl )- 3 - ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride ( 30 kg , 156 . 4 mol ), and 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate ( 24 kg , 156 . 38 mol ). the reaction mixture was then treated with cis - 3 , 4 - dihydroxypyrrolidine , p - toluenesulfonate ( vi ) ( 41 . 1 kg , 149 . 3 mol ) and the reaction was allowed to stir for about 30 minutes at 0 ° to 5 ° c . the reaction was then warmed to ambient temperature and stirred for about 6 hours . the reaction mixture was treated with water ( 175 gallons ), stirred for about 1 hour , and then allowed to settle . the aqueous layer was separated off and was washed twice with ethyl acetate ( 2 × 35 gallons ). the ethyl acetate layers were combined and washed three times with aqueous sodium bicarbonate ( 2 × 23 . 8 kg sodium bicarbonate in 70 gallons of water and 1 × 11 . 9 kg sodium bicarbonate in 35 gallons of water ). the ethyl acetate solution was combined with 20 gallons of ethyl acetate and 35 gallons of water , stirred for about 30 minutes and then allowed to settle . the ethyl acetate layer was separated off , treated with decolorizing charcoal ( 0 . 55 kg ), and then stirred for about 15 minutes . the mixture was filtered to remove the charcoal and the solution was concentrated in vacuo to a volume of about 80 gallons . the ethyl acetate was displaced by distillation using ethanol ( 4 × 55 gallons ), whereupon a thick white slurry formed at a final volume of about 110 gallons . the product was stirred at ambient temperature for about 18 hours . a total of 83 . 2 kg of the title compound was isolated by filtration as an ethanol - wet cake . a 74 kg sample of ( iiia ) and 88 gallons of ethyl acetate were combined and the resulting slurry was stirred at ambient temperature until a complete solution was obtained . the mixture was concentrated by atmospheric distillation until about 44 gallons of distillate had been collected ( distillate refractive index = 1 . 3716 ). a thick white slurry , formed upon cooling below about 40 ° c . water ( 6 . 1 l ) was added to the slurry to form an almost clear solution , and then hexanes ( 54 gallons ) was added over a period of between 2 and 3 hours . the resulting slurry was stirred at ambient temperature for about 2 . 5 days . the solids were filtered off , washed with ethyl acetate ( 8 gallons ), and then blown dry under a nitrogen stream . the solid was dissolved in ethyl acetate and the solution was stirred at ambient temperature for about 11 days , whereupon a solid product gradually formed . the solid was then filtered off and vacuum dried at 30 ° to 45 ° c . to give the title compound ( 30 . 9 kg , 71 . 6 % yield ). a solution of n - benzylmaleimide ( 50 . 0 kg ), in 125 l of acetonitrile and 859 l of ethyl acetate was combined with an aqueous mixture of 0 . 499 kg of ruthenium ( iii ) chloride hydrate in 352 l of water , and the resulting reaction mixture was cooled to about 5 ° c . sodium periodate ( 74 . 4 kg ) was added with stirring to the reaction solution in small portions , while maintaining the reaction temperature between 3 ° c . and 5 ° c . once the addition was complete , the reaction was quenched with an aqueous solution of sodium thiosulfate ( 45 kg ) in 38 l of water , and the resulting slurry was granulated for about 20 minutes . the inorganic salts were removed by suction filtration , and the filter cake was washed with ethyl acetate . the combined filtrates were washed with water and allowed to settle . the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate and the product - rich organic layers were combined and washed with a solution of 8 kg of sodium chloride in 72 l of water . the organic extracts were concentrated by atmospheric distillation at a temperature of about 75 ° c ., cooled to room temperature , and allowed to granulate for 2 to 4 hours . hexanes ( 360 l ) was added to the cooled ( 5 ° c . to 15 ° c .) slurry and granulation was continued for about 1 hour . the precipitated solids were collected by suction filtration , washed well with ethyl acetate followed by hexanes , and then dried in vacuo at a temperature of about 40 ° c . to about 45 ° c . to provide the title compound ( 42 . 0 kg , 71 % yield ) as a white solid . to a slurry of 58 . 6 kg of ( iva ) in 117 . 2 l of 2 , 2 - dimethoxypropane was added 1 . 72 l of methanesulfonic acid and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 6 to 9 hours until the reaction was complete . a total of 322 l of diisopropyl ether was added to the reaction mixture and the resulting slurry was granulated . after cooling to − 10 ° to − 15 ° c ., the granulation was continued for an additional 2 hours . the precipitated solids were collected by filtration , washed with diisopropyl ether , and dried under vacuum for about 12 hours at 40 to 45 ° c . to provide the title compound ( 57 . 8 kg , 84 % yield ). a total of 56 . 1 kg of ( ivb ) and 563 l of toluene were combined and the mixture was warmed to between 50 ° c . and 60 ° c . until an almost complete solution had been achieved . the resulting solution was filtered to remove some trace insolubles and was then added to a solution of 277 . 6 kg of red - al ® ( 65 wt . % solution of bis ( 2 - methoxyethoxy ) aluminum hydride in toluene ) in 141 l of toluene . the resulting solution was heated to reflux for about 4 hours and was then cooled to about room temperature . to the reaction solution was slowly added a solution of 224 l of a 50 % aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide in 623 l of water , while carefully maintaining an internal temperature of between 10 ° c . and 30 ° c . following addition , the mixture was stirred for about 20 minutes and the layers were allowed to settle . the organic layer was washed twice with 74 gal . portions of water , dried , and the toluene was removed by atmospheric distillation , displacing with methanol . the resulting oil ( 93 % yield ) was employed directly in the next step . a solution of 47 . 5 kg of ( ivb ) in 378 . 5 l of tetrahydrofuran was concentrated to about ¾ volume by distillation , cooled , and sampled for water content . while maintaining a temperature of between 10 ° c . and 20 ° c ., a total of 263 kg of borane - tetrahydrofuran complex ( 2m in tetrahydrofuran ) was added under nitrogen at a rate of about 1 . 0 kg / minute . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature for about 4 hours , after which time the reaction was quenched by the addition of 238 . 5 ml of methanol while maintaining a temperature of 10 ° c . and 20 ° c . during the addition . following the methanol addition , the mixture was stirred for about 1 hour at room temperature , then at 35 ° to 45 ° c . for about 2 hours , and then to reflux temperature where the tetrahydrofuran was displaced with methanol by concentrating the reaction mixture to about 145 l via atmospheric distillation at a temperature of 55 ° c . to 65 ° c . the mixture was cooled to 30 ° c . and 50 ° c ., 473 l of methanol was added , and the mixture was concentrated to a final volume of about 145 l again by atmospheric distillation as previously described . the concentrate was cooled to about room temperature and about 1 l of water was added . the resulting solution of the title compound was used directly in the following step . a 195 l sample of ( ivc ) was combined in a hydrogenation vessel with 7 . 1 kg of 20 % palladium hydroxide on carbon ( 50 % water wet ), and the mixture was hydrogenated at about 50 psig for about 10 hours at about 20 ° c . upon reaction completion , the mixture was filtered to remove the catalyst , and the filter cake was washed well with methanol . the reaction mixture was concentrated by atmospheric distillation to a volume of about 80 l and 288 l of methyl ethyl ketone was added . the solution was reduced in volume to about 133 l by atmospheric distillation , and the solution filtered . the resulting solution was then treated , over a time period of about 1 hour , with a solution of 34 . 6 kg of p - toluenesulfonic acid in 102 l of methyl ethyl ketone and the mixture was allowed to granulate for about 5 hours at 10 ° c . to 20 ° c . the slurry was cooled to between 0 ° c . and 5 ° c ., and granulated for a further 2 hours . the precipitated product was collected by filtration , washed with cold methyl ethyl ketone , and dried in vacuo at 40 ° c . to 45 ° c . to furnish the title compound ( 44 . 8 kg , 74 % yield ) as a white crystalline solid . to a 500 ml flask equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged d - ribose ( 20 . 0 g , 0 . 13 mol ). acetone ( 200 ml ) was added and stirring was commenced . iodine ( 0 . 01 g , 0 . 40 mmol ) was added and the solution was stirred at room temperature until a clear brown solution was obtained . sodium thiosulfate ( 0 . 50 g , 3 . 16 mmol ) was added and the slurry stirred until the solution had become colorless . diatomaceous earth ( 5 . 00 g ) was added to the slurry and the mixture was filtered . the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo affording 25 . 0 g ( 99 % yield ) of the title compound as a thick yellow oil , which was used directly without further purification . thin layer chromatographic analysis ( ethyl acetate ; silica gel ; visualized with phosphomolybdic acid ) indicated four spots : r f = 0 . 89 , 0 . 72 major ( product ), 0 . 38 , and 0 . 00 . 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz ; cdcl 3 ): δ6 . 47 ( d , 1h ), 5 . 32 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 96 ( t , 1h ), 4 . 82 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 53 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 32 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 64 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 48 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 32 ( s , 3h ) to a three - necked flask equipped with a reflux condenser , mechanical stirrer , and a temperature controller , was added ( xiia ) ( 20 . 0 g , 0 . 11 mol ), and anhydrous methanol ( 500 ml ). the stirred reaction mixture was then placed under a nitrogen atmosphere . sodium periodate ( 44 . 8 g , 0 . 21 mol ) was added and the stirred mixture was heated to about 40 ° c . overnight . the solution was allowed to cool to room temperature , diatomaceous earth ( 10 g ) was added , and the slurry was filtered . the resulting filtrate was concentrated to a thick oil which was dissolved in 300 ml of methylene chloride . the resulting filtrate was washed successively with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate ( 200 ml ), 2 % aqueous sodium thiosulfate ( 200 ml ), and saturated aqueous sodium chloride ( 200 ml ). the organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered , and concentrated in vacuo to afford 13 . 2 ( 66 % yield ) of the title compound as a yellow oil . this material was used directly without further purification . thin layer chromatographic analysis ( 1 : 1 ethyl acetate / hexanes ; silica gel ; visualized with phosphomolybdic acid ) indicated two spots : r f = 0 . 82 , 0 . 66 major ( product ). 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz ; cdcl 3 ) [ diasteriomeric mixture ]: δ5 . 43 ( 2s ), 5 . 41 and 5 . 28 ( 2d ), 5 . 05 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 85 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 68 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 98 and 3 . 98 ( s ), 3 . 43 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 36 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 53 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 38 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 47 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 32 ( s , 3h ). methylene chloride ( 400 ml ) was charged to a three - necked flask equipped with a pressure equalizing addition funnel , mechanical stirrer , and thermometer . sodium borohydride ( 7 . 20 g , 0 . 19 mol ) was added , stirring was commenced , and the slurry was cooled to about 5 ° c . with an ice bath . acetic acid ( 37 . 1 g , 0 . 62 mol ) was added dropwise over about 45 minutes . the cooling bath was removed and the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature where it was allowed to stir for about two hours . benzylamine ( 7 . 10 g , 0 . 07 mol ) was added , followed immediately by the addition of a solution of ( xiib ) ( 12 . 0 g , 0 . 63 mol ) in 30 ml of methylene chloride . the solution was stirred overnight at room temperature . the reaction was quenched with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution ( 200 ml ), and the resulting bi - phasic mixture was stirred vigorously for about thirty minutes . the organic layer was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted with methylene chloride ( 200 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed successively with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate ( 200 ml ), and 10 % aqueous sodium chloride ( 200 ml ). the combined organic extracts were dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered , and concentrated in vacuo . this afforded 14 . 5 g ( 98 . 6 % yield ) of the title compound as a yellow oil . thin layer chromatographic analysis ( 20 % ethyl acetate / hexanes ; silica gel ; visualized with phosphomolybdic acid ) indicated two spots : r f = 0 . 36 major ( product ), 0 . 02 . 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz ; cdcl 3 ): δ7 . 2 - 7 . 4 ( m , 5h ), 4 . 65 ( d , 2h ), 3 . 62 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 06 ( d , 2h ), 2 . 17 ( dd , 2h ), 1 . 58 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 32 ( s , 3h ). to a round - bottomed flask equipped with a reflux condenser and a magnetic stirring bar was added ( ivd ) ( 5 . 00 g , 0 . 02 mol ). ethanol ( 10 ml ) was added and stirring was commenced . concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 7 ml , 0 . 09 mol ) was added and the solution was heated to reflux . after about four hours , the solution was allowed to cool to room temperature and concentrated in vacuo to afford a thick oil . ethanol ( 10 ml ) was added and the resulting solution was stirred at room temperature . isopropyl acetate ( 35 ml ) was added dropwise resulting in crystallization of the product . the slurry was stirred overnight , filtered , and the filter cake was washed with isopropyl acetate ( 20 ml ). the filter cake was dried overnight at room temperature under reduced pressure ( about 30 mm hg ) to afford 2 . 7 g ( 56 % yield ) of the title compound as an off - white solid , m . p . 122 - 123 ° c . 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz ; cdcl 3 ): δ7 . 58 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 45 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 48 ( br d , 2h ), 4 . 38 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 32 ( br s , 2h ), 4 . 25 ( br s , 1h ), 4 . 08 ( br s , 1h ), 3 . 42 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 32 3 . 13 ( m , 1h ), 302 ( m , 1h ). a 3 . 34 kg sample of ( vib ) was dissolved in 1 . 8 l of ethyl acetate and added to a mixture of 669 g of 10 % pd / c ( 50 % water wet ) in 9 gallons of methanol . the resulting mixture was hydrogenated with agitation at a pressure of about 50 psi for about 73 hours . the catalyst was removed by filtration , and the filter cake was rinsed with methanol . the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to 1 . 98 kg of thick , amber - colored oil that partially crystallized . to the oily residue was added about 2 l of isopropanol , and the suspension was azeotropically distilled to remove residual traces of water , resulting in the collection of about 1 l of distillate . an additional 1 l of isopropanol was added and the resulting suspension was stirred at ambient temperature for about 48 hours . the mixture was filtered , the collected solid was washed with 420 ml of isopropanol , and the product dried in vacuo at ambient temperature to furnish 826 g of the title free base as a hygroscopic white solid , m . p . 108 °- 119 ° c . an additional 97 g of product was obtained from the concentrated filtrate . 1 hnmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ2 . 46 - 2 . 51 ( m , 2h , 2 ′ h , 5 ′ h ), 2 . 81 - 2 . 87 ( m , 2h , 2 ″ h , 5 ″ h ), 3 . 30 ( br s , 1h , 1 - nh ), 3 . 74 - 3 . 77 ( m , 2h , 3 - h , 4 - h ), 4 . 39 ( br s , 2h , both oh ). anal . calc &# 39 ; d , for c 4 h 9 no 2 : c , 46 . 59 ; h , 8 . 80 ; n , 13 . 58 . found : c , 46 . 62 , h , 9 . 36 ; n , 13 . 43 . a 3 . 05 kg amount of ( ia ) was dissolved in a mixture of 6 . 1 l of dimethylformamide and 4 gallons of ethyl acetate . the reaction solution was cooled to between 0 ° and 5 ° c . and treated with hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate ( hobt ) ( 1 . 38 kg ), followed by 1 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl )- 3 - ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride ( edc ) ( 1 . 72 kg ). while maintaining the internal temperature at about 5 ° c ., a total of 884 . 4 g of cis - 3 , 4 - dihydroxypyrrolidine free base ( v ) was added , and the reaction was allowed to stir at ambient temperature for about 15 hours . the reaction was then cooled to between 10 ° and 15 ° c ., and quenched slowly with 39 l of water . the lower , product layer was removed and the aqueous layer was then washed with about 2 gallons of ethyl acetate . the organic and product layers were combined and washed three times with sodium bicarbonate solutions ( one wash with a solution of 1 . 37 kg sodium bicarbonate in 4 gallons water , followed by two washes with a solution of 687 g sodium bicarbonate in 2 gallons water ). the organic layer was treated with decolorizing charcoal , filtered , and the residue washed with 1 gallon of ethyl acetate . the filtrate was concentrated to a volume of about 2 gallons , diluted with 16 l of ethanol , and then concentrated in vacuo to a volume of about 8 l . an additional 10 l of ethanol was added , and the resulting suspension was stirred overnight . an additional 10 l of ethanol was added , and the mixture was filtered . the collected solid was washed with 3 l of ethanol , and dried in vacuo at a temperature of about 35 ° c . to furnish 2 . 47 kg of the title compound . | 2 |
a carrier according to the invention illustrated in fig1 and 4 to 7 is denoted in its entirety by reference sign 10 , while a carrier illustrated in fig2 and 3 has the reference sign 12 and the carrier illustrated in fig8 has the reference sign 14 . the carriers 10 and 12 illustrated in fig1 and 2 represent two main exemplary embodiments of the carriers according to the invention . both carriers 10 and 12 have a base area 16 and 18 , respectively , which substantially replicates the shape of a human jaw . the base area 16 of the carrier 10 is laterally delimited to the outside with respect to a jaw by the wall 20 and to the inside by the wall 22 . the carrier 12 from fig2 correspondingly comprises the wall 24 toward the outside and the wall 26 toward the inside . here it is possible to see clearly the difference in the inwardly situated walls 22 and 26 between carrier 10 and carrier 12 . while the wall 26 of the carrier 12 from fig2 has a parallel profile with respect to the outwardly situated wall 24 , which profile is embodied such that the teeth of the dentition to be surrounded are held as in a groove , the inwardly situated wall 22 of the carrier 10 from fig1 is initially , proceeding from the base area 16 , also embodied parallel to the outwardly situated wall 20 but , in the further extent , it is oriented parallel to the palate of the patient . hence , with respect to fig1 , the inwardly situated wall 22 is upwardly closed , while the wall 26 finishes toward the top with an edge 27 . as a result of their embodiments with the base areas 16 and 18 and also the laterally delimiting walls 20 and 22 as well as 24 and 26 , respectively , both carriers 10 and 12 have a u - shaped cross - sectional profile as seen perpendicularly to the arch - shaped profile of the respective base area 16 and 18 , respectively . these carriers 10 and 12 are used to take impressions of the human jaw in patients . to this end , they are provided with an impression material 28 which is described in more detail below in conjunction with fig6 and which , for reasons of clarity , is not illustrated in fig1 to 5 and 7 and 8 . furthermore , to this end , the carrier 10 or 12 must be placed onto an impression tray 30 or inserted therein , as will be explained in more detail below on the basis of fig3 to 5 . in fig3 the impression tray 30 is illustrated on its own . this impression tray 30 comprises a handle 32 and a holder 34 , which serves to hold the carrier 10 . in this exemplary embodiment of the impression tray 30 , this holder 34 comprises an area 36 which is matched to the base area 16 of the carrier 10 and onto which this base area 16 can be placed . in order moreover to ensure a secure hold of the carrier 10 on the impression tray 30 , the latter has additional fastening means on the holder 34 . in the present exemplary embodiments , these fastening means are embodied as latching openings 38 , into which corresponding latching pins ( not shown in any more detail in this context ) of the carrier 10 can be inserted . however , instead of these latching openings 38 illustrated here in an exemplary fashion , all other conventional connection methods known from the prior art for a connection between holder 34 and carrier 10 which permit a correspondingly fast and comfortable connection between carrier and impression tray are also feasible . tongue and groove , screw - in and magnetic connections or similar are mentioned here in an exemplary fashion . a corresponding combination of inserted carrier 10 and impression tray 30 can be seen in fig4 . however , since this arrangement in accordance with fig4 merely allows an impression to be taken of only one jaw of the patient , an alternative embodiment provides for the holder 34 to be allowed to hold a further carrier 10 on its opposite side . this is illustrated in fig5 . as a result , it is now possible to simultaneously make an impression of upper and lower jaw . in the preceding figures , the already - mentioned impression material 28 , and also the electronic sensors 42 and optical elements 40 according to the invention , were not illustrated for reasons of clarity . here the impression material 28 should initially be discussed in more detail on the basis of fig6 . such an impression material 28 is preferably curable . as already explained at the outset , the present invention is based on a measurement method which is based on interplay between electronic sensors 42 , as will be described in more detail in conjunction with fig7 c , and a corresponding impression material 28 . in order to carry out the measurement method , the carrier 10 with the impression material 28 is inserted into a suitable impression tray , for example the impression tray 30 . since the carrier 10 is transparent in the present case , the impression tray 30 comprises illumination elements for illuminating the impression material , and optical sensors for measuring light emerging from the impression material . in order to measure e . g . a jaw , the impression tray illuminates the compound arranged in the carrier and causes the compound to phosphoresce , for example . the user then presses the teeth or the jaw to be measured into the impression material . the impression tray is then used to measure the light emerging from the impression material . here the measured light can originate directly from the luminescence of the compound , with it being possible for the digitized model of the jaw to be determined via the specific luminescence , i . e . the light yield per unit volume . however , it is also feasible to measure the reflections on the structures to be measured in the form of image information , with the luminescent material leading to a particularly good illumination , and to calculate the digital model on the basis of the image information . furthermore , the method can also be based on a combination of the aforementioned measurements . here , it is indispensable in this method for the impression material to be free from impurities or inclusions such as air , for example . here , even the smallest air - bubble inclusions , which cannot be identified with the naked eye , are a potential cause of significant errors , which can lead to imprecision in the established data and hence also in the image of the dentition . this is extremely undesirable because this can result in subsequent errors during the production of implants or prostheses , which leads to discomfort for the patient and may , for example , lead to an implant that cannot be used . for the same reasons it is also important that the impression material 28 is introduced uniformly in the carrier 10 or 12 , i . e . that this also reduces the imprecision during the measurement to a minimum . both can be reduced by virtue of the impression material 28 already being filled in a corresponding carrier 10 or 12 when it is supplied to the dentist or dental technician . the impression material 28 is filled into a space 43 defined by the walls 20 and 22 and the base area 16 as can be seen from fig6 . it can thereby be seen from the differently shaded regions of the impression material 28 that the latter is subdivided into two regions in this preferred embodiment . these regions consist of an at least already partly cured region 44 and a non - cured or less cured region 46 . the already at least partly cured region 44 , which also extends along the base area 16 ( which cannot be seen here ), prevents the patient from being able to bring their teeth as far as the base area 16 or onto the inwardly situated walls 22 or outwardly situated walls 20 when the patient presses their jaw into the impression material 28 . this is necessary in particular when use is made of the corresponding impression material 28 with the preferred fluorescing or phosphorescing materials . this is due to the fact that , as already described above , the amount of light which is re - emitted by the impression material 28 after corresponding irradiation is used to determine a distance . if no impression material 28 is present between the electronic sensors 42 and the teeth of the patient ( not illustrated here ), for example because the tooth of the patient lies directly on the base area 16 , then it is not possible to determine a distance value in this case either . this leads to errors and , in particular , to imprecision when measuring the jaw of the patient . however , if the at least partly cured region 44 is present , the tooth finally meets this region 44 after passing through the not yet cured region 46 . the former region then prevents further penetration , for example up to the base area 16 . as already mentioned above , appropriate electronic sensors 42 are required for creating the image of the jaw . the sensors register light which originates from a reflection at the teeth or from the luminescent impression material already described above and is induced by light which is emitted by illumination means 48 . these illumination means 48 will be described in more detail below . in one embodiment , the electronic sensors 42 can already be present in impression trays 30 , which is not illustrated in any more detail in the present figures . for this case , the carriers 10 and 12 then have a multiplicity of corresponding optical elements 40 , as are described in more detail in conjunction with fig7 a and 7b . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , these optical elements 40 can for example be lenses , optical fibers , filters or combinations of these . depending on the type and use of the utilized electronic sensors 42 , these optical elements can be arranged in such a way that , for example as shown in fig7 a , they are arranged in the base area 16 of a carrier 10 . here , the optical elements are illustrated schematically in fig7 as circular objects . a further option for arranging the optical elements 40 lies in merely arranging these in the walls 20 and / or 22 . here , fig7 b illustrates the embodiment in which the optical elements are present both in the outwardly lying wall 20 and in the inwardly lying wall 22 . in addition to the embodiments shown in fig7 a and 7b , provision is naturally also made within the present invention for those embodiments in which the optical elements 40 are arranged both in the base area 16 and in the walls 20 and / or 22 . these aforementioned exemplary embodiments of the carriers 10 with the optical elements 40 provide for the light , which is irradiated between optical elements 40 and , for example , a tooth of the patient ( not illustrated in any more detail here ), after the above - described reflection , or for the luminescence light emitted by the impression material to be able to pass through the optical elements 40 without significant losses to the electronic sensors 42 . additionally , in particular in the case of using optical fibers as optical elements 40 , it is also feasible for a uniformly distributed arrangement of the optical elements 40 only to be present on an inner side 50 of the carrier 10 , and for the corresponding entrance for the light to be formed as a result thereof . compared to this , the exit , which is formed by the other end of the optical fibers , is embodied as at least an optical fiber bundle . this optical fiber bundle ( not shown in any more detail here ) can then be routed to corresponding electronic sensors 42 . an illustration corresponding to this embodiment , in which merely the inner side 50 has been provided with identifiable optical elements 40 or the ends thereof , is illustrated in an exemplary fashion for the walls 20 and 22 in fig7 c . there it is possible to see that an outer side 52 lying opposite to the inner wall 50 does not comprise any ends of optical elements 40 . however , in contrast to the above - described exemplary embodiment , the electronic sensors 42 can also be arranged such that these electronic sensors are likewise contained in the carrier 10 or 12 and therefore form part of the optical elements 40 . a corresponding embodiment would then be designed like the one illustrated in exemplary fashion in fig7 c for the walls 20 and 22 . in this case , the electronic sensors 42 could either be a multiplicity of individual sensors which are distributed on the inner side 50 at the desired points of the carrier 10 . however , if use is made of optical fibers or else of lenses , an embodiment would also be feasible in which the optical elements 40 form at least one group , the optical information of which is conveyed to at least one common electronic sensor 42 . the exemplary embodiment in which the electronic sensors 42 are part of the optical elements 40 in the carrier 10 also differs from the aforementioned exemplary embodiment , in which the electronic sensors 42 are arranged at corresponding points in the impression tray 30 , by virtue of the transmission of the collected data . in the first - mentioned exemplary embodiment , the data are initially transmitted through light connectors still in the form of the corresponding light , while in the second embodiment the data are transmitted already in the form of digital data . depending on the type of the electronic sensor 42 , this data could also already be processed at least to a certain extent . here the second embodiment is preferred in view of the data transmission because , in addition to a simpler data - transmission connector between carrier 10 and impression tray 30 , this digital data transmission is also less susceptible to errors . the connector not shown in any more detail here for transmitting the optical or digital data can , for example , be arranged in the front 54 , visible in fig3 , at the end of the area 36 on the impression tray 30 . continuing with reference to the embodiments of fig7 a to 7c , provision is additionally made in a preferred embodiment for the base area 16 and / or the walls 20 and / or 22 to be mirrored at least in part on the inner side 50 . irradiated or emitted light is therefore reflected by the walls 20 , 22 and / or the base area 16 rather than being absorbed . hence the resultant amount of light available for the measurements is greater , increasing the accuracy . however , what is important in this case is that unwanted mirroring of the optical elements 42 is omitted because this interferes with the measurement . fig8 shows another carrier 14 according to the invention , which is similar to the carriers 10 and 12 and detachably attached to an impression tray 46 . the impression tray 56 is comparable to the impression tray 30 illustrated in fig3 to 5 , but it does not have an area 36 for holding the carrier 14 . in this exemplary embodiment of fig8 , the fastening to the impression tray 56 takes place via a connection end 58 , which is comparable to the front 54 of the impression tray 30 and has additional fastening means in accordance with the explanations made above in respect of the area 36 . in contrast to all previous illustrations of the carriers 10 and 12 , the carrier 14 in fig8 can be seen from underneath . here , it is possible to see that illumination means 48 are arranged in the base area 60 . these illumination means 48 are connected via actuation lines 62 to one another and / or to a control and power supply ( not shown in any more detail here ). these can be arranged both in the carrier 14 and in the impression tray 56 . in the latter case , the connection between the actuation line 62 with the control in the impression tray 56 takes place via a connection point ( not shown in any more detail here ) in the connection end 58 , for example a plug - in connection . the illumination means 48 , which are illustrated here as circular objects , can preferably be leds , or else oleds , laser leds or combinations of these . a further preferred embodiment also provides for embodying the illumination means 48 as chemiluminescent elements , both on their own and in combination with the aforementioned illumination means . in addition to the embodiment shown in fig8 , in which the illumination means 48 are arranged in the base area 60 of the carrier 14 , provision is likewise made within the scope of this invention for the illumination means to be arranged either in an outwardly lying wall 64 and / or an inwardly lying wall 66 , as well as both in the walls 64 and / or 66 and in the base area 60 . so that the light emitted by the illumination means 48 , in accordance with the illustration for the carriers 10 and 12 , also impinges on the teeth of the dentition of the patient arranged on the inner side 50 or on the impression material 28 , the exit openings of the illumination means 48 must be arranged on the inner side 50 . as an alternative to this , it would also be possible for the light of the illumination means 48 to pass through corresponding optical elements 40 , such as e . g . optical fibers , lenses , filters or combinations of these , which are situated on the inner side 50 . in a further alternative embodiment it would also be feasible for the material of the carrier 14 , or of the carriers 10 and 12 , to have a transparent design . acrylate polymers , preferably polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma ), should be mentioned as a preferred option for this . as a result of this , the corresponding light of the illumination means 48 could emerge through this if the latter are arranged in the carrier 14 or on the outer side 67 thereof . in addition to the appropriate material selection , provision is furthermore made within the scope of the present invention for the carriers 10 , 12 and 14 to be preferably embodied as injection - molded parts . as a result , a corresponding industrial production is made possible . since use is often made of silicone - based impression materials 28 when the impression material 28 is used in the corresponding carriers 10 , 12 and 14 , the carriers 10 , 12 and 14 are , in a preferred embodiment , provided with a surface 68 on their inner side 50 , see fig1 , which has increased adherence to silicone . this prevents the impression material 28 from inadvertently detaching from the carrier 10 or 12 . in one embodiment , the carriers 10 , 12 and 14 , shown above , can be embodied as repeatedly reusable objects . however , by contrast , they can preferably also be designed for single use . the latter preferred embodiment is advantageous in that the manufacturer can already fill carriers 10 , 12 or 14 with an impression material 28 so that the latter , as already explained above , is free from non - uniformity and unwanted inclusions . the customer , i . e . the dentist or the dental technician , can then , according to the invention , use the carriers with a corresponding impression tray 30 or 56 and simply dispose of them after obtaining the corresponding impression data . cleaning and disinfecting , which are time - consuming and costly , are dispensed with . building thereon , yet a further preferred embodiment also comes into consideration , in which the producer already produces a complete set of impression tray 30 or 56 , carrier 10 , 12 or 14 and impression material 28 as its own embodiment . the latter can then likewise be supplied to the dentist or dental technician , who can then likewise dispose of this after use or , in view of the electronics contained therein , return it to the producer within the scope of a recycling program . within the scope of this invention , such a recycling program would also be feasible for the above - described carriers 10 , 12 or 14 with the impression material 28 . | 0 |
the present invention provides a process and an apparatus for determining useful properties of individual building blocks of a material library which do not have the disadvantages of the methods previously used in the analysis of such material libraries and , in addition , provide in a simple and rapid manner information on useful properties , preferably catalytic properties , in this case in particular activity and selectivity , of building blocks of a material library . the term “ material library ” used in the context of the present invention describes here an arrangement of at least two , preferably up to 10 , further preferably up to 100 , in particular up to 1000 and further preferably up to 100 , 000 , building blocks which are situated in at least two different substrate sections which are separated from one another . the term “ building block ” describes a single defined unit which is situated in the respective substrate sections which are separated from one another and which single defined unit can consist of one or more components . the term “ substrate ” comprises in principle all devices having a rigid or semirigid surface which can be either flat or have depressions or boreholes or channels . the substrate must be suitable for physically separating from one another the at least two individual building blocks in the at least two different sections which are separated from one another . the building blocks can be disposed in the substrate one -, two - or three - dimensionally , that is to say next to one another and one above the other in various planes . preferably the substrate comprises continuous channels in parallel and can have , inter alia , a wire grid or foamed ceramic . further preferably it is a tube - bundle reactor . the geometric disposition of the individual sections to one another can be chosen freely in this case . for example , the sections can be disposed in the manner of a row ( quasi one - dimensionally ), a chessboard pattern or honeycomb - like ( quasi two - dimensionally ). in the case of a substrate having parallel continuous channels , preferably a tube - bundle reactor having a multiplicity of tubes parallel to one another , the disposition becomes clear when considering a cross - sectional area perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tubes : a surface results in which the individual tubular cross sections reflect the different regions at a distance from one another . the sections or tubes can , for example for tubes having a circular cross section , also be present in a dense packing , so that different rows of sections are disposed offset from one another . the term substrate describes a three - dimensional article which has a multiplicity ( at least two ) of “ sections ”. preferably , these sections are tubes , but they can also be individual sections physically separated from one another of a substrate which is flat or has depressions , for example in the form of a spotting plate . preferably , the sections are constructed as channels . the channels thus connect two surface regions of the substrate and run through the substrate . preferably , the channels are essentially , preferably completely , parallel to one another . the substrate in this case can be made up of one or more materials and can be solid or hollow . it can have any suitable geometric shape . preferably it has two surfaces which are parallel to one another , in each of which there is an opening of the channels . the channels in this case preferably run perpendicularly to these surfaces . an example of a substrate of this type is a parallelepiped or cylinder in which the channels run between two parallel surfaces . however , a multiplicity of similar geometries is also conceivable . the term “ channel ” describes a connection running through the substrate between two openings present on the body surface , which connection permits , for example , the passage of a fluid through the body . the channel can have any desired geometry in this case . it can have a cross - sectional area which is variable over the length of the channel or it can preferably have a constant channel cross - sectional area . the channel cross section can have , for example , an oval , round or polygonal periphery having straight or curved connections between the points of the polygon . preference is given to a round or equilateral polygonal cross section . preferably , all channels in the body have the same geometry ( cross section and length ) and run parallel to one another . the term “ tube bundle reactor ” describes combined parallel dispositions of a multiplicity of channels in the form of tubes , with the tubes being able to have any desired cross section . the tubes are disposed in a fixed spatial relationship to one another , are preferably spatially separated from one another and are preferably enclosed by a housing or shell which includes all tubes . through this , for example , a heating medium or cooling medium can be passed through the shell , so that all tubes are heated or cooled uniformly . the term “ block of a solid material ” describes a substrate made of a solid material ( which in turn can be made up of one or more starting materials ) which has the channels , for example in the form of boreholes . the geometry of the channels ( boreholes ) can be selected freely , as described in general for the channels above . the channels ( boreholes ) need not be introduced by drilling , but can be left open , for example even during moulding of the solid body / block , for instance by extrusion of an organic and / or inorganic moulding composition ( for example by an appropriate nozzle geometry during extrusion ). in contrast to the tube bundle reactors or heat exchangers , the space in the body between the channels in the block is always filled by the solid material . preferably , the block is made up of one or more metals . the term “ predetermined ” means that , for example , a number of different or identical building blocks , for example catalysts or catalyst precursors , are introduced to , for example , a tube bundle reactor or heat exchanger in such a manner that the assignment of the respective building blocks , for example catalysts or catalyst precursors , to the individual tubes is recorded and can be retrieved later , for example when determining useful properties , for example activity , selectivity and / or long - term stability of the individual building blocks , for example catalysts , in order to enable clear assignment of defined measured values to defined building blocks . preferably , the building blocks are prepared and distributed onto the different regions under computer control , the respective composition of a building block and the position of the section in the substrate , for example tube bundle reactor , into which the catalyst or catalyst precursor is introduced being stored in the computer and being able to be retrieved later . the term “ predetermined ” thus serves for differentiation from a chance or random distribution of the individual building blocks among the substrate sections . thus the present invention relates in particular to a process of the type in question here , which is characterized in that the substrate is a tube bundle reactor or heat exchanger and the regions are channels , preferably tubes , or the substrate is a block of a solid material which has regions , preferably channels . in addition , the at least two individual building blocks have preferably useful properties and further preferably are heterogeneous catalysts and / or their precursors , further preferably inorganic heterogeneous catalysts and / or their precursors and in particular solid catalysts or supported catalysts and / or their precursors . they are present here preferably in each case as catalyst bed , tube - wall coating or auxiliary coating . in the context of the present processes the individual building blocks can be identical or different from one another . if they are different from one another , the selected reaction conditions during the reaction can be identical or different ; if the building blocks are identical , preferably the reaction conditions are different in the individual regions . the process according to preferred embodiments of the present invention relates to the following steps . the material libraries and / or the individual building blocks present therein may be prepared , as described in general terms below , with reference being made with respect to further details to wo 99 / 19724 , wo 96 / 11878 and wo 99 / 41005 . in detail , the following methods may be mentioned : processes for applying thin films , for example electron beam vaporization , sputtering , thermal vaporization , plasma vaporization , molecular beam epitaxy , precipitation from the gaseous phase , precipitation by a modulatable laser ; co - precipitation and impregnation ; impregnation of suitable support materials which , for example porous silicon dioxide or aluminium oxide , as previously are each introduced into the substrate sections . the active component ( s ) can be applied by introducing solutions , suspensions or pastes , each of which comprise the active component ( s ) or one or more suitable compounds thereof . with respect to the supports which can be used , there are no restrictions , reference here in particular being made to porous and monolithic supports . in addition , it is also possible to prepare material libraries which comprise homogeneous building blocks , for example homogeneous catalysts . for this purpose , for example , organometallic or inorganometallic compounds and / or any desired complex molecules , for example enzymes , are used , employing a suitable device , for example a suitable pipette having a plurality of channels in order to introduce the building blocks into the appropriate sections separated from one another . in particular , the material libraries studied according to the invention may be prepared by the following procedures which are described by way of example with reference to the inorganic heterogeneous catalysts and / or their precursors also preferably used in the context of the present invention . reference is made to wo 99 / 41005 with respect to further details of the procedures ( a ) to ( f ) described below . a1 ) production of solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions of elements and / or element compounds of the elements present in the catalyst and / or catalyst precursor , and if appropriate of dispersions of inorganic support materials , a2 ) if appropriate introduction of adhesion promoters , binders , viscosity regulators , ph - regulating agents and / or solid inorganic supports into the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions , a3 ) simultaneous or sequential coating of the substrate channels with the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions , a predetermined amount of the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions being introduced into each channel in order to obtain a predetermined composition , and a4 ) if appropriate heating the coated body , in the presence or absence of inert gases or reactive gases , to a temperature in the range from 20 to 1500 ° c . for drying and if appropriate sintering or calcining the catalysts and / or catalyst precursors . b1 ) production of solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions of elements and / or element compounds of the elements present in the catalyst and / or catalyst precursor , and if appropriate of dispersions of inorganic support materials , b2 ) if appropriate introduction of adhesion promoters , binders , viscosity regulators , ph - regulating agents and / or solid inorganic supports into the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions , b3 ) simultaneous or sequential coating of the catalyst supports present in the substrate channels with the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions , a predetermined amount of the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions being introduced into each channel in order to obtain a predetermined composition on the catalyst supports , and b4 ) if appropriate heating the substrate together with the coated catalyst supports in the channels , in the presence or absence of inert gases or reactive gases , to a temperature in the range from 20 to 1500 ° c . for drying and if appropriate sintering or calcining the catalysts and / or the catalyst precursors . c1 ) production of solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions of elements and / or element compounds of the chemical elements present in the catalyst and / or catalyst precursor , and if appropriate of dispersions of inorganic support materials , c2 ) mixing predetermined amounts of the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions and if appropriate precipitation aids in one or more reaction vessels operated in parallel , c3 ) if appropriate introduction of adhesion promoters , binders , viscosity regulators , ph - regulating agents and / or solid inorganic supports into the resultant mixture ( s ), c4 ) coating one or more predetermined channels of the substrate with the mixture or a plurality of mixtures , c5 ) repeating steps c2 ) to c4 ) for other substrate channels until the channels are coated with the respectively predetermined catalyst compositions and / or catalyst precursor compositions , c6 ) if appropriate heating the coated substrate , in the presence or absence of inert gases or reactive gases , to a temperature in the range from 20 to 1500 ° c . for drying and if appropriate sintering or calcining the catalysts and / or catalyst precursors . c1 ) production of solutions of element compounds of the chemical elements present in the catalyst except for oxygen , and if appropriate of dispersions of inorganic support materials c2 ) mixing predetermined amounts of the solutions or dispersions and if appropriate precipitation aids in one or more reaction vessels operated in parallel with precipitation of the chemical elements present in the catalyst , c3 ) if appropriate introduction of adhesion promoters , binders , viscosity regulators , ph - regulating agents and / or solid inorganic supports into the resultant suspension , c4 ) coating one or more predetermined tubes of the tube bundle reactor or heat exchanger with the suspension , c5 ) repeating steps c2 ) to c4 ) for different tubes of the tube bundle reactor or heat exchanger until the tubes are coated with the respectively predetermined catalyst compositions , c6 ) heating the coated tube bundle reactor or heat exchanger , in the presence or absence of inert gases or reactive gases , to a temperature in the range from 20 to 1500 ° c . for drying and if appropriate sintering or calcining the catalysts . d1 ) production of solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions of elements and / or element compounds of the chemical elements present in the catalyst and / or catalyst precursor , and if appropriate of dispersions of inorganic support materials , d2 ) mixing predetermined amounts of the solutions , emulsions and / or dispersions and if appropriate precipitation aids in one or more reaction vessels operated in parallel , d3 ) if appropriate introduction of adhesion promoters , binders , viscosity regulators , ph - regulating agents and / or solid inorganic supports into the resultant mixture ( s ), d4 ) coating catalyst supports present in one or more predetermined substrate channels with the mixture or one or more of the mixtures , d5 ) repeating steps d2 ) to d4 ) for other ( that is to say generally not yet coated ) catalyst supports in the substrate channels until the ( preferably all ) catalyst supports present in the substrate channels are coated with the respectively predetermined ( generally differing from one another ) catalyst compositions and / or catalyst precursor compositions , d6 ) if appropriate heating the substrate , together with the coated catalyst supports in the channels , in the presence or absence of inert gases or reactive gases , to a temperature in the range from 20 to 1500 ° c . for drying and if appropriate sintering or calcining the catalysts and / or catalyst precursors . in this case the adhesion strength of the channels ( for example of the inner surface of the tubes ) of the substrate or of the catalyst supports can be increased before the coating by chemical , physical or mechanical pretreatment of the inner walls of the channels ( for example inner tubes ) or of the catalyst supports or by applying an adhesion layer . this relates in particular to the procedures ( a ) and ( c ), and ( b ) and ( d ), respectively . e1 ) production of different heterogeneous catalysts and / or their precursors in the form of solid catalysts having a predetermined composition , e2 ) charging in each case one or more predetermined substrate channels which are secured against the heterogeneous catalysts falling out with in each case one or more of the heterogeneous catalysts and / or their precursors having a predetermined composition , e3 ) if appropriate heating the body together with the heterogeneous catalysts and / or their precursors in the channels , in the presence or absence of inert gases or reactive gases , to a temperature in the range from 20 to 1500 ° c . for drying and if appropriate sintering or calcining the catalysts and / or catalyst precursors . f1 ) coating and if appropriate heating predetermined catalyst supports for producing predetermined supported catalysts in the manner defined above in process b ) or d ) outside the body , f3 ) if appropriate heating the charged substrate , in the presence or absence of inert gases or reactive gases , to a temperature in the range from 20 to 1500 ° c . for drying and if appropriate sintering or calcining the catalysts . preferably , here , the external shape of the supported catalysts corresponds to the shape of the channel interior in the body , at least substantially , preferably approximately or completely . the procedures outlined above are suitable for preparing a multiplicity of catalyst systems , as described , for example , in g . ertl , h . knozinger , j . weitkamp , editors “ handbook of heterogeneous catalysis ”, wiley — vch , weinheim , 1997 . with respect to further details regarding the production of a material library according to ( i ) of the inventive process , reference is made to the section “ production of the inorganic heterogeneous catalyst arrays ” of wo 99 / 41005 . in this section , the production of a material library ( there termed “ array ”) is described in detail with reference to producing a material library of inorganic heterogeneous catalysts . the content of this section of wo 99 / 41005 is , moreover , incorporated in its entirety in the context of the present invention by reference . obviously , the concept described there may also be applied to other building blocks , for example homogeneous catalyst systems , in particular organometallic systems , organic substances , for example pharmacological active compounds , polymers , composite materials , in particular those made of polymers and inorganic materials . in principle , the inventive process is applicable to all areas of the technique in which formulations , that is to say compositions having more than one constituent , are produced and are studied for their useful properties . fields of application outside material research are , for example , drug formulations , formulations of foods and food supplements , feeds and cosmetics . accordingly , the present invention is not restricted to determining the useful properties of certain catalyst materials and catalyst compositions . the production of the abovementioned mixtures can be carried out here in parallel or sequentially and is generally carried out in automated form , for example using an automated pipetting system or pipetting robot , by inkjet processes , as described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 449 , 754 , and automated sputtering or electrolysis processes . in addition to the procedures ( a ) to ( f ) described above , obviously , it is also possible to prepare different heterogeneous catalysts in the form of solid catalysts or supported catalysts by known processes , for example combinatorial processes , having a predetermined composition and charging in each case one or more predetermined sections , preferably tubes of a tube bundle reactor or heat exchanger or tubes or auxiliary supports introduced into these , with each of these prefabricated heterogeneous catalysts . the chemical or physical , or chemical and physical , conversion of the starting material in the at least two substrate sections which are separated from one another , with an effluent stream comprising at least one conversion product being obtained , according to step ( ii ) can be carried out as follows . firstly , if necessary , the catalyst can be activated in the substrate . this can be carried out by thermal treatment under inert gases or reactive gases or other physical and / or chemical treatments . the substrate is then brought to a desired reaction temperature and then a fluid starting material , which can be a single compound or a mixture of two or more compounds , is passed through or along one , a plurality of , or all the sections , preferably channels , of the substrate . the fluid starting material consisting of one or more reactants is generally in the liquid state , or preferably in the gaseous state . preferably , oxidation catalysts , for example , are tested by parallel or sequential impingement of individual , a plurality of , or all sections , preferably tubes of a coated tube bundle reactor , with a gas mixture comprising one or more saturated , unsaturated or polyunsaturated organic starting materials . those which may be mentioned in this case are , for example , hydrocarbons , alcohols , aldehydes etc ., and oxygen - containing gases , for example air , o 2 , n 2 o , no , no 2 , o 3 and / or , for example , hydrogen . furthermore , an inert gas , for example nitrogen or a noble gas , may also be present . the reactions are generally carried out at temperatures of from 20 to 1200 ° c ., preferably from 50 to 800 ° c ., and in particular from 80 to 600 ° c ., the parallel or sequential separate removal of the respective gas streams from individual , a plurality of , or all sections being ensured by means of a suitable device . the resultant effluent stream comprising at least one reaction product is then collected either from individual substrate sections or a plurality of substrate sections and preferably analysed separately , sequentially or preferably in parallel , if analysis of the effluent stream after the inventive processes is required for the respective section . a plurality of reactions , in each case interrupted by a purge step with a purge gas , can be carried out sequentially at the same or different temperatures and analysed . obviously , identical reactions at different temperatures are also possible . preferably at the start of the process , the collected effluent stream of the entire library is analysed in order to establish whether a reaction has taken place at all . in this manner , groups of building blocks may be analysed very rapidly as to whether they have any useful properties , for example catalytic properties , at all . obviously , after carrying out this “ coarse screening ”, individual groups of building blocks may in turn be analysed together in order to establish in turn which group of building blocks , if there are a plurality of such groups of building blocks present in the material library , have catalytic properties . the invention permits the automated preparation and catalytic testing for the purpose of mass screening of , for example , heterogeneous catalysts for chemical reactions , in particular for reactions in the gas phase , very particularly for partial oxidations of hydrocarbons in the gas phase with molecular oxygen ( gas - phase oxidations ). reactions and conversions suitable for study are described in g . ertl , h . knozinger , j . weitkamp , editor , “ handbook of heterogeneous catalysis ”, wiley — vch , weinheim , 1997 . examples of suitable reactions are principally listed in this reference in volumes 4 and 5 under numbers 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 . examples of suitable reactions are the decomposition of nitrogen oxides , the synthesis of ammonia , the oxidation of ammonia , oxidation of hydrogen sulphide to sulphur , oxidation of sulphur dioxide , direct synthesis of methylchlorosilanes , oil refining , oxidative coupling of methane , methanol synthesis , hydrogenation of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide , conversion of methanol to hydrocarbons , catalytic reforming , catalytic cracking and hydrocracking , coal gasification and liquefaction , fuel cells , heterogeneous photocatalysis , synthesis of ethers , in particular mtbe and tame , isomerizations , alkylations , aromatizations , dehydrogenations , hydrogenations , hydroformylations , selective or partial oxidations , aminations , halogenations , nucleophilic aromatic substitutions , addition and elimination reactions , dimerizations , oligomerizations and metathesis , polymerizations , enantioselective catalysis and biocatalytic reactions and for material testing , and , in this case , in particular for determining interactions between two or more components on surfaces or substrates , in particular in the case of composite materials . the effluent streams of the respectively selected sections comprising at least one reaction product and / or the starting material which is preferably obtained separately from the individual sections are preferably removed via a device which is connected gas - tightly to the respective sections . in particular those which may be mentioned are sample removal using suitable flow guidance , for example valve circuits and mobile capillary systems ( sniffing apparatus ). in this manner the individual effluent streams of the individual , plurality of , or all sections can be removed separately and then analysed separately via a valve circuit . the , for example , computer - controlled mechanically movable “ sniffing apparatus ” comprises a sniffing line or sniffing capillary for the effluent stream to be taken off which is positioned essentially automatically on , in / or above the exit of the respective section and then takes off the effluent stream . details with respect to the arrangement of such a “ sniffing apparatus ” may also be taken from wo 99 / 41005 which has been cited repeatedly above . the measurement of the first parameter under step ( iii ) may be carried out at all sections . in principle , there is freedom of choice of the measurement method , but it should be in this case a relatively rapid and simple measurement method , since in some preferred embodiments a great number of sections must be analysed . the purpose of this first measurement is preselection of those sections which are to be analysed under step ( iv ). the preferred measurement method which may be mentioned is infrared thermography which may be accomplished simply using an infrared camera . in this case the temperature development of the individual sections may be taken from the infrared image recorded , preferably using digital image processing . in the event of a small number of sections , if appropriate , a temperature sensor may be assigned to each individual section , for example a pyrometric element or a thermocouple . the results of temperature measurement for the individual sections can all be passed to a data processing system , which preferably controls the inventive process . in order to eliminate substantially interfering environmental effects , the substrate together with the sections to be tested should preferably be situated in a thermally insulated housing having a controlled atmosphere . if an infrared camera is used , this should preferably be situated outside the housing , observation of the substrate being enabled by infrared - transparent windows , in particular made of sapphire , zinc sulphide , barium difluoride , sodium chloride etc . on the basis of the results of measurement of the first parameter , using a data processing system or a computer , those sections are selected from which the second parameter is to be measured . in this case various selection criteria are conceivable . firstly , those sections can be selected for which the first parameter is “ better ” than a predetermined limit value , or secondly the “ best ” x % of all sections on a substrate can alternatively be selected for measuring the second parameter . the said minimum requirements or the number of sections to be selected depends firstly on the respective quality requirements of the materials to be tested and secondly on the time which is available for testing a substrate . if there is a predetermined limit value with respect to the minimum requirement of the first measured value , this need not be constant for all sections of a substrate , but it can , for example , be predetermined as a function of other properties of the respective building components for the individual sections . the measurement of the at least one further parameter is preferably carried out on the effluent stream of the selected sections . in principle the further sensor ( see fig1 and 2 , reference nos . 35 , 135 ) is not subject to any restrictions provided that it is suitable for measuring a further parameter which gives indications of a further property of the building block under test . preferably , the further sensor is based on a spectroscopic method which is selected from the group comprising mass spectrometry , gas chromatography , a combination of these two techniques , raman spectroscopy and fourier transformation ( ft - ir ) spectroscopy . on the basis of these preferred methods , more precise information on the effluent stream of the respective sections or building blocks may be obtained . using these spectroscopic methods , the concentration of a desired product , or the concentration of parallel products and the residual concentration of the starting materials can be determined , from which , for example , for catalytic building blocks , information on selectivity may be derived . for mass spectroscopy , preferably a quadrupole mass spectrometer is used , although tof mass spectrometers ( real - time mass spectrometers ) are conceivable . the effluent stream of the sections under test is fed to the mass spectrometer , or other sensors , preferably via a pipe system , with this being , in particular , a sniffing capillary , which is positioned in the effluent stream of the respective sections using an xyz robotic system . for optical systems such as raman spectrometers and ft - ir spectrometers , it is conceivable that light is directed onto each of the sections under test and is received from each of the sections under test using scanning mirrors . according to another embodiment of the present invention , an apparatus is provided as shown in fig1 and 2 . the inventive apparatuses 10 ; 110 each have a housing 11 ; 111 , which is provided with at least one heater ( not shown ) in order to control the temperature in the housing . the cylindrical housing 11 ; 111 has a planar support which is constructed as a wire grid or foamed ceramic 14 ; 114 and in which parallel cylindrical sections 13 ; 113 are arranged for receiving the building blocks . in the embodiment shown in fig1 the starting material gas is introduced above the support into the entire space above the sections 13 and can flow downwards through the sections , the exhaust gas leaving the housing at an outlet ( which is not shown ). in contrast thereto , in the case of the apparatus 110 shown in fig2 the starting material gas is passed specifically by means of a pipe system 112 below the respective cylindrical sections 113 . the gas then flows through the cylindrical sections , and if appropriate the planar support 114 , the reaction products or the remaining starting material leaving the upper housing part as exhaust gas through an outlet ( which is not shown ). the exemplary embodiments shown have as the first sensor an infrared camera which is positioned so that it can determine simultaneously the temperature of all cylindrical sections . for this purpose the temperature values in the temperature distribution recorded as an image are each assigned to the sections whose position corresponds to an image region . the assignment can be made according to varying criteria . firstly , the temperature of each section can be retrieved by determining the temperature in each image region which corresponds to a section position . secondly , the temperature distribution observed in the image can also be used as a starting point , with the associated sections only being determined for temperature values of “ interest ”, for example extreme values or values within or below or above one or two threshold values . the second procedure is recommended , in particular , for systems having a large number of sections in which only “ particularly promising ” sections are to be studied further . the infrared camera 30 is preferably positioned outside the housing in order to protect it from the starting materials and products in the housing . observation of the substrate even from outside the housing is possible via an infrared - transparent window 15 , for example a sapphire disc . other suitable materials for the disc are calcium fluoride , barium fluoride , zinc sulphide etc . as a second sensor , a mass spectrometer ( 35 ; 135 ) is provided , to which the effluent stream from selected sections is fed via a capillary 20 ; 120 . the upper layer of the substrate 14 ; 114 preferably consists of a material whose emissivity properties ideally approach those of a black - body radiator , with particular preference being given to natural slate . in this manner , interference in the temperature measurement by the substrate is substantially eliminated . the capillary for this purpose is positioned via an xy robot or an xyz robot ( not shown ) with its intake orifice in each case in the effluent stream of a selected section . the robot is controlled via the data processing system ( 40 , 140 ), which selects the sections for the second measurement on the basis of the measured results of the first measurement . the above - described combination of an integral analytical method which may be employed with relatively low expenditure to a multiplicity of samples or sections with a more precise or more complex analytical method which , however , is only carried out for selected sections , allows , for example , in the development of catalysts , the activity and selectivity of materials having promising activity to be determined very rapidly and effectively . finally , reference may also be made to the fact that what is termed the “ sniffing capillary ” would also be usable as a sample inlet system for other analytical techniques , for example chromatographic methods . other expedient analytical combinations are ir thermography / gc - ms , ir thermography / raman spectroscopy , ir thermography / dispersive ft - ir spectroscopy , colour detection using chemical indicator / ms , colour detection using chemical indicator / gc - ms , colour detection using chemical indicator / dispersive ft - ir spectroscopy and others . as a further preferred alternative embodiment of the above - described embodiments , an integrated apparatus comprising a heatable substrate and carriers is disclosed . according to the invention the apparatus is characterized in that the substrate comprises a block made of electrically conducting material exhibiting sections having the form of channels , said block being heatable by the principle of a resistance heating , whereas the substrate is characterized in that each channel comprises a carrier . in principle , an electrically conducting , preferably metallic material being heatable via a resistance heating comprising preferably channels in numbers , shape and orientation , as respectively described above , serves as a substrate . further materials that may be used instead of metals as the substrate are , e . g ., alloys , particularly metal alloys , graphite and ceramics . on a preferably round metal disk , which has holes , e . g ., in the form of a narrow screen , an array of channels is generated . then , a ceramic carrier may be directly synthesized into these channels . according to the invention the substrate is characterized in that the carrier is synthesized into the channels . by way of particularly the “ in situ synthesis ” of the ceramic carrier into the channels , each channel may individually be provided with catalytic active components . each individual channel penetrates the disk and exhibits a certain cross section . with regard to the plurality of possible shapes of the cross section of the channel , reference is made to the above description thereof . the carrier may preferably be a porous ceramic material , such as sio 2 , al 2 o 3 , zro 2 , tio 2 , ceolites , mixtures thereof , oxides , carbides , foam ceramics , which are filled into the channels by means of “ in situ synthesis ”, such that these channels are preferably completely filled . due to the pore size distribution in the range of large meso pores or macro pores , this filling of the channel allows for preferably gas mixtures of starting materials to flow through these channels . the pore size lies preferably at values of larger than 20 nm , preferably within the micrometer to millimeter range . furthermore the substrate according to the invention is characterized in that the carrier and / or the channel comprises at least one building block . by means of conventional coating methods , such as dip - coating , spraying processes , sequential impregnation of the channels , integral ( simultaneous ) coating of all channels , sol - gel - processes , colloidal solutions , etc ., the individual channels may be provided with building blocks ( active components ), which are preferably different from each other . this provision is preferably carried out automatically , e . g . by way of a robotic . the construction of this substrate having dimensions , which are preferably adapted to the apparatus according to the invention , renders it possible to integrate the substrate into the apparatus according to the invention without any problems via an easy modification of the reactor . this concept allows for a fast modular change of individual substrates ( material libraries ). this results in a more effective testing and analysis of individual building blocks with regard to preferably catalytic properties . the substrates may exhibit a statistical coating of preferably different building blocks or concentration lines of preferably four materials , which are preferably a coating having a concentration gradient . other coating variants are also possible , e . g . by forming sections of different materials having a shape which is different from lines or rows , e . g . a polygonal form . all coatings are provided automatically , e . g . with a robotics system . in a preferred process for generating a material library comprising multiple components having a large diversity , the substrate together with the channels and carriers is immersed in e . g . a solution of an active component and subsequently again pulled out . by increasing the velocity during such a “ dip coating process ”, the coating of a first component having a concentration gradient is possible . subsequently , the substrate is dried and rotated by 90 °. the same procedure is repeated when coating the preferably three more components . subsequently , the substrate is treated at elevated temperature , i . e . between 100 and 1000 ° c . for a longer period of time , such that on the individual sections of the substrate new compounds are formed . in this manner , it is possible to form a new compound in each individual channel , which may be tested with regard to preferably useful properties . as an alternative to the “ dip coating ”, spray processes may be used , wherein one or more nozzles provide individual sections of the substrates with solutions of active components in variable velocity . by providing voltage on contacts , which are preferably provided outside of the substrate , the preferably disk - like substrate exhibiting a number of carriers may , dependant on the height of the provided voltage , be brought to a freely chosen temperature , which lies under the melting point of the respective material of the substrate in a very homogenous manner . each individual channel of the substrate provides for a practically punctual heat transfer on e . g . carrier and building block by an electrically conducting enclosure . the preferably disk - like substrate preferably exhibits a thickness in the range of 1 mm to 30 cm , particularly preferred in the range of 5 to 50 mm . the disk - like substrate exhibits a diameter preferably in the range of 1 cm to 100 cm , particularly preferred 5 cm to 50 cm . the diameter of the channels lies preferably in the range of 1 μm to 10 cm , particularly preferred in the range of 1 to 10 mm . depending on the diameter of the substrate and the channels , the substrate may exhibit 1 to 100 , 000 , preferably 100 to 2000 and particularly preferred 500 to 1000 channels . while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments . | 1 |
in fig2 , a internal - combustion four - stroke , for example spark - ignition , engine comprises four cylinders 10 or a multiple of four cylinders , such as eight or twelve straight or v cylinders . in the example of fig1 , the cylinders are successively referred to as cylinder no . 1 , cylinder no . 2 , cylinder no . 3 and cylinder no . 4 from the bottom of fig2 . each cylinder comprises at least one intake means 12 , here two intakes , with an intake valve 14 and an intake pipe 16 , and at least one exhaust means 18 , also two exhausts , with an exhaust valve 20 and an exhaust pipe 22 . intake means 12 open onto an intake manifold 24 whereas exhaust means 18 open onto an exhaust manifold 26 . the intake manifold is connected by a line 28 to the outlet of compression section 30 of a single - inlet turbosupercharger 32 whereas exhaust manifold 26 is connected by a line 34 to the single inlet of turbine 36 of the supercharger . each cylinder also comprises a piston ( not shown ) driven into a reciprocating translation motion by means of a connecting rod 38 connected to a crankpin of a crankshaft 40 , a crankpin bearing reference numbers 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 respectively for the pistons of cylinders no . 1 , no . 2 , no . 3 and no . 4 . in the example shown in this figure , the engine works with a cycle referred to as 1 , 3 , 4 , 2 wherein , during the combustion cycle and at a determined angle of rotation of the crankshaft , a cylinder , such as cylinder no . 1 , is in the intake phase with a scavenging stage of the burnt gases present in the combustion chamber by simultaneous opening of the intake and exhaust valves , the next cylinder ( cylinder no . 2 ) is in the compression phase with the exhaust and intake valves in closed position , cylinder no . 3 is in the exhaust phase with opening of the exhaust valves and the last cylinder ( cylinder no . 4 ) is in the expansion phase , the exhaust and intake valves being closed . in order to prevent the exhaust gases from cylinder no . 3 from disturbing discharge of the exhaust gases during the burnt gas scavenging stage of cylinder no . 1 in the intake phase , the start of the exhaust phase of cylinder no . 3 is shifted in relation to the start of the intake phase of cylinder no . 1 . more precisely , this exhaust stage is designed to be carried out in such a way that the exhaust pressure peak , as mentioned above , does not occur during the burnt gas scavenging stage of the cylinder at the start of the intake phase . by way of example , this can be carried out either by starting this exhaust phase once exhaust valve 20 of cylinder no . 1 in the intake phase is closed , or practically closed , i . e . the scavenging stage is completed or practically completed , or by starting the intake phase of cylinder no . 1 after the exhaust pressure peak generated by the exhaust gases from cylinder no . 3 is finished or practically finished , i . e . once the exhaust pressure of this cylinder is stabilized or practically stabilized in the manifold or at the inlet of the supercharger . this shift between the intake phase of cylinder no . 1 and the exhaust phase of cylinder no . 3 is obtained using , as illustrated in fig3 , a crankshaft of which at least two crankpins , here crankpins 44 and 46 connecting the pistons of cylinders no . 2 and no . 3 , are not in the same plane p as the remaining crankpins , i . e . crankpins 42 and 48 connecting the pistons of cylinders no . 1 and no . 4 . preferably , the crankpins connected to the pistons of cylinders no . 2 and no . 3 have a clockwise circumferential angular offset d in relation to plane p or an anticlockwise offset d of the same order . plane p is understood to be the plane usually passing through the crankpins and the axis of rotation of the crankshaft . in the example described , plane p is considered to pass through crankpins 42 and 48 and through the axis of rotation of crankshaft 40 . by way of example , the running of such an engine is explained with reference to fig4 a to 4d which show cylinder no . 1 at the start of the intake phase with the burnt gas scavenging stage and wherein crankpin 42 is in the plane p passing through a vertical axis intersecting the axis of rotation of crankshaft 40 ( fig4 a ) and cylinder no . 3 with an anticlockwise offset d of crankpin 44 in relation to plane p ( fig4 b ). the other cylinders are not shown for the description hereafter to be clear , these cylinders being , for cylinder no . 2 , in the compression phase and , for cylinder no . 4 , in the expansion phase . during the running cycle , cylinder no . 1 in the intake phase and crankpin 42 , and consequently piston 50 , are in the vicinity of its top dead center ( tdc ). in this position , intake valves 14 and exhaust valves 20 are open for scavenging of the burnt gases present in the combustion chamber of this cylinder ( fig4 a ). at this time , piston 50 of cylinder no . 3 has not yet reached its bottom dead center position because crankpin 46 to which it is connected is set back in relation to the bottom dead center ( bdc ). the position shown in fig4 b substantially corresponds to the end of the expansion phase of cylinder no . 3 during which the inlet 14 and exhaust 20 valves are closed . after some degrees of clockwise rotation of crankshaft 40 , piston 50 of cylinder no . 1 is in the position illustrated in fig4 c and crankpin 42 has left its top dead center ( tdc ) position and reached the position illustrated in the figure by means of an angle of rotation a of crankshaft 40 . in this position , exhaust valves 20 close and only the intake valves remain open to continue the intake phase until the bottom dead center ( bdc ) is reached . during this rotation a of the crankshaft , crankpin 46 of cylinder no . 3 moves clockwise to reach the bottom dead center ( bdc ) position , as illustrated in fig4 d . this position , wherein piston 50 is in the vicinity of the bottom dead center , corresponds to the start of the exhaust phase of this cylinder and exhaust valves 20 start to open or have started to open . thus , between the position of fig4 a and the position of fig4 c , burnt gas scavenging has been carried out in cylinder no . 1 whereas the exhaust phase of cylinder no . 3 has not started yet or is just going to start . at the start of the exhaust phase of cylinder no . 3 , as mentioned above , an exhaust pressure peak occurs , but this pressure peak has no influence on scavenging of the burnt gases , which is completed or practically completed in cylinder no . 1 when this peak appears in exhaust manifold 26 . in a variant of the invention , as illustrated in fig5 a to 5d , the offset d of crankpin 46 of cylinder no . 3 in relation to plane p is a clockwise offset as shown in fig5 d , whereas crankpin 42 of cylinder no . 1 in the intake phase is in the vicinity of the top dead center as can be seen in fig5 c . thus , when cylinder no . 1 is in the intake phase as shown in fig5 c with simultaneous opening of the intake 14 and exhaust 20 valves for the burnt gas scavenging stage , cylinder no . 3 has already started its exhaust phase , exhaust valves 20 having been opened from the bottom dead center ( bdc ). more precisely , the exhaust pressure peak has already occurred between the bottom dead center and the position of crankpin 46 shown in fig5 d . thus , when crankpin 46 of cylinder no . 3 is at the bottom dead center ( fig5 b ) which corresponds to the start of its exhaust phase , crankpin 42 of cylinder no . 1 has not yet reached its top dead center position ( fig5 a ) corresponding to its intake phase . in these positions , cylinder no . 3 starts its exhaust phase and exhaust valves 20 are open , and cylinder no . 1 has nearly finished its exhaust phase , exhaust valves 20 being open . from this position illustrated in fig5 a and 5b , the crankshaft is driven into a clockwise rotation of some degrees ( angle a ) and crankpin 46 of cylinder no . 3 shifts from the position of fig5 b to the position of fig5 d . during this progress , the exhaust pressure peak generated by the exhaust of cylinder no . 3 is produced in the exhaust manifold , then the pressure is stabilized in this exhaust manifold . at the pressure peak production end , cylinder no . 1 starts its intake phase with burnt gas scavenging by opening intake valve 14 . the pressure peak therefore cannot disturb the burnt gas discharge from cylinder no . 1 during the scavenging stage . of course , in the above description , when reference is made to the top dead center or bottom dead center for a crankpin , this also applies for the position of the piston to which it is connected by the connecting rod . similarly , when we mention that the piston or the crankpin is in the vicinity of the top dead center or the bottom dead center , it is understood that the piston or the crankpin is some degrees or some ten degrees before or after the dead center . | 5 |
the present invention relates to a security label , that can be preferably machine applied , designed to activate a security device that generates an electronic field , such as an electronic gate , so as to prevent the theft of a retail item on which the security label is placed . the security label 10 , as shown in fig1 and 8 , is comprised of a top label 12 , having a sub - assembly label 14 located within the periphery of the top label . importantly , the sub - assembly label 14 does not contact the edges of the top label 12 . this allows for a metal strip 16 or similar material to be hidden below the surface of the top label so that it is more difficult for a potential thief to locate the metal strip 16 . such strip 16 is necessary to activate the security device . as such , the sub - assembly label 14 , as shown in fig1 , and 6 will be comprised of the metal strip 16 held by a substrate material 18 . the top label 12 is shown in a preferred construction in more detail in fig3 and will be comprised of an outer edge , which can be a continuous edge or multiple edges , and opposed faces . the top label can have any of a variety of shapes and dimensions , including rectangles , boxes , strips , half - moon shapes , circles , triangles , and a variety of other shapes and designs . more preferably , the top label 12 will have a rectangular shape so that it has four edges 28 , 30 , 32 , and 34 , as shown in fig3 . additionally , as shown in fig1 and 3 , the top label 12 will have opposed faces 36 and 38 , with one face 36 having adhesive located thereon , also known as the adhesive face , and the opposite face or print face 38 having scripting , or printing , located thereon . the print face 38 can alternatively be a blank or white . preferably , the top label will be formed from a material comprised of two distinct layers 44 and 46 , shown in fig4 a paper or face layer 44 , which is used to form the print face , and a carrier or polyester layer 46 , which is used to form the adhesive face . the paper layer is desired because it can readily be printed on . if the paper layer is not printed on , it can be made into a blank or white label . thus , the paper layer 44 will form the print face 38 . the polyester layer 46 is desired because it imparts rigidity and strength to the top label , with the polyester layer forming the adhesive face 36 . any type of adhesive that will allow the sub - assembly label 14 and the top label 12 to be attached fixedly to one another , if that is the desired construction , can be used . while the adhesive can be used to fixedly attach the top label and sub - assembly label together , it is necessary , and more important , for the adhesive to be of a sufficient strength to allow the security label 10 to be attached fixedly to a video cassette or game . the design of the top label 12 is preferred so that , if desired , printing or scripting can be placed on one face 38 of the top label 12 to impart information to consumers . while the top label can be of any length , width , shape , and dimension , it is generally preferred for the top label to be approximately 14 . 5 centimeters ( cm ) or greater in length , and have a width equal to at least 1 cm . such dimensions are desired , ad as they allow for a top label that will sufficiently conceal the metal strip 16 , as well as allowing the metal strip to have a sufficient length to activate a security system . any dimension , however , can be used , as long as the top label sufficiently conceals the security activating material , with enough material present to activate a security device . the sub - assembly label 14 is shown with greater specificity in fig2 , 6 , and 7 . as mentioned , the sub - assembly label will be comprised of a metal strip 16 fixedly held by a substrate material 18 . as such , the sub - assembly label 14 will have opposed faces 40 and 42 , shown in fig2 and 7 , and at least one outer edge . like the top label , the sub - assembly label can be of any of a variety of shapes and dimensions , including rectangles , boxes , strips , half - moon shapes , circles , triangles , and a variety of other shapes and designs . more preferably , the sub - assembly label will have a rectangular construction , similar to the top label 12 , so that the sub - assembly label 14 has four edges , 20 , 22 , 24 , and 26 . any design , however , can be used , as long as the metal strip 16 , or security activating material , can be attached fixedly to or held by the substrate material 18 to form the sub - assembly label 14 that can be placed on and concealed within the top label 12 , while still allowing for activation of a security device . the substrate material 18 is preferably made from a semi - rigid material , such as polyester ; however , any material may be used , as long as the metal material can be placed thereon so as to prevent curling and the metal material is fixedly held onto the substrate material . in forming the security label 10 , it is necessary to simply attach the metal strip 16 to the substrate material 18 . this can be accomplished in any of a number of ways , including placing a glue or adhesive on a face of the sub - assembly label 14 and attaching the metal strip to the surface so that the glue will fixedly hold the metal strip to the substrate material . it is more preferred if the substrate material 18 is comprised of two discrete layers , 48 and 50 , shown in fig5 and 6 , a clear or semi - gloss layer 48 also known as a face sheet , and a rigid or polyester layer 50 . the preferred two layer construction for the sub - assembly layer is shown in fig4 . preferably , the clear layer 48 corresponds to face 42 and the polyester layer 50 to face 40 . the two layer construction is desired because the two layers , 48 and 50 , can be separated with the metal strip 16 inserted , thereby making it more difficult to remove the metal strip 16 from the security label . this is shown in fig6 . also , the semi - gloss or clear layer 48 can be colored , preferably darkened , shown in fig7 so as to further conceal the metal strip 16 from the potential thief &# 39 ; s view . the metal strip 16 can be made from any of a variety of metals or compositions that will activate an electronic security device , with the metal strip 16 having any of a variety of shapes and dimensions . more particularly , the metal strip can be any material that can be placed on a label , hidden , and used to activate a security system when a thief tries to steal a tape or game . thus , the metal strip 16 can be made from any of a variety of magnetic metals , including amorphous metal , that will activate a security device . the metal strip is most preferably a metallic glass or amorphous metal . the metal strip 16 must be of a sufficient construction to allow it to be located on the sub - assembly label 14 without the metal strip curling or pulling away from the substrate material . in particular , the metal strip should lay flat on the substrate material . also , the security material or metal strip must be sufficiently magnetic so that a comparatively small strip can be used while still activating the security device . an example of a metal strip of suitable size is one whereby the metal strip is about 8 cm long and about 2 mm wide . while a strip construction is preferred because it will lay flat , and sufficient metal can be included to activate the device , any design or construction can be used that will sufficiently activate the device , including squares , chips , circular shapes , and a variety of other constructions and designs . once the top label 12 and the sub - assembly label 14 have been formed , they can be attached to one another to form the security label 10 . importantly , the sub - assembly layer 14 must be attached in a manner so that a sub - assembly layer is within the periphery of the top label 12 . it is important that the metal strip 16 not be located on or near an edge of the top label so as to thereby make it more difficult to remove , or “ zipper out ”, the metal strip . preferably , the sub - assembly layer is located at least 1 mm from the outer edge of the top label . more preferably , the sub - assembly label is located at least 5 mm from the top label edges . the sub - assembly 14 can be fixedly attached by locating such label on the adhesive face 36 of the top label 12 . in the alternative , it is more preferred to separate layers 44 and 46 of the top label 12 and to locate the sub - assembly label 14 between layers 44 and 46 , as shown in fig8 . when this is done , the sub - assembly label 14 should be located such that the metal strip does not contact the edges of the top label . once the sub - assembly layer 14 is inserted , the layers 44 and 46 are returned to the previous position and sealed to form the security label 10 . other methods can be used , as long as the sub - assembly label is fixedly attached to the top label and the metal strip is located within the periphery of the top label . while polyester is preferred for use in both the top label 12 and the sub - assembly label 14 , any semi - rigid material can be used that will adequately hold a metal strip . preferably , the material will have a machine direction elongation equal to 150 % and cross direction break equal to 110 %. also , the material should have a tear strength equal to 36 , 000 psi in the machine direction and 40 , 000 psi in the cross direction . the method for forming the security label 10 includes forming the sub - assembly layer 14 , with the metal material or material designed to activate the security system held by the sub - assembly layer . preferably , the method includes separating two layers that comprise the material used to form the sub - assembly label , so that a metal strip is located therebetween , and the two layers are remarried . this can be achieved using any of a variety of different types of equipment which are common in the industry that are designed to separate a face layer from a carrier layer . such equipment is readily available . after the two sub - assembly layers are remarried , the reformed sub - assembly material is passed through a die and cut to the desired size to prepare for placement on the top label . the top label 12 material will then be preferably separated by a known machine with the sub - assembly label 14 located between the two separated layers , with the layers then remarried to form a unitary material . this material is then passed through a standard die and cut to the desired label size . the labels are then ready to be placed on any retail item that can hold a label , including dvd discs , video tapes or games , by hand or , more preferably , by a label machine . attempted theft of an item having the security label should become less likely , as it will be difficult to remove the metal strip , which activates the security device , from the video cassette or game . thus , there has been shown and described a security label product which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought therefore . it is apparent to those skilled in the art , however , that many changes , variations , modifications , and other uses and applications for the security label product are possible , and also such changes , variations , modifications , and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow . | 8 |
reference is now made to fig1 - 6 showing the mining machine 10 of the present invention for the continuous mining of a mineral seam . such a mining machine may be utilized in a highwall mining system of the type described in , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 112 , 111 and 5 , 261 , 729 to addington et al . owned by the assignee of the present invention . the full disclosure presented in these patent documents is incorporated herein by reference . advantageously , highwall mining systems of the type described allow for operation in thin seams to a depth of substantially 5 - 10 times greater than that possible with conventional auger mining . since a large percentage of the remaining coal reserves around the world exists in relatively thin seams too low to mine with current underground methods and so situated to make surface mining impractical , highwall mining is expected to move to the forefront of coal recovery methods in the future . as best shown in fig1 and 3 the mining machine 10 includes a main frame 12 supported for moving or propelling relative to the ground by means of a pair of crawler assemblies 14 , one on each side of the mining machine . these crawler assemblies 14 are powered by electric or hydraulic motors ( not shown ) carried on the frame 12 in a manner well known in the art . the mining machine 10 also includes a means , generally designated by reference numeral 16 , for winning aggregate material from the mineral seam . more particularly , the winning means comprises a three piece rotary cutter drum assembly 18 carried on the forward end of a boom 20 that is pivotally mounted to the frame 12 . more specifically , as known in the art the cutter drum assembly 18 includes a series of picks 19 for ripping , breaking or cutting aggregate material from the mineral seam for subsequent recovery . as shown , the cutter drum assembly 18 is substantially cylindrical in shape . it should be appreciated , however , that other shaped drum assemblies may be utilized ( e . g . barrel shaped with a bulging midline tapering toward the opposing ends ). the boom 20 includes a pair of spaced , lateral arms 22 , each arm being pivotally mounted to the frame 12 through a trunnion 24 . a pair of hydraulic actuators 26 ( only one shown in the figures ) allow the selective angular positioning of the boom 20 relative to the frame 12 . one actuator 26 is operatively connected between the frame 12 and each of the boom arms 22 . as should also be appreciated , one motor 28 and cooperating gear case 30 are carried by each arm 22 to drive the cutter drum assembly 18 . accordingly , it should be appreciated that the cutter drum assembly 18 being described is of conventional design and operates in a conventional manner well known in the art . as best shown in fig3 - 5 , a loading shovel 32 is pivotally mounted to the front of the frame 12 so as to extend in a forward direction immediately below the boom 20 and below and behind the cutter drum assembly 18 . the orientation of the loading shovel relative to the frame 12 is controlled by a pair of hydraulic actuators 33 mounted on the frame 12 ( only one shown in the drawing figures ). one actuator 33 is operatively connected to each side of the loading shovel 32 . the loading shovel 32 includes an inclined , reinforced front lip 34 , a floor pan 36 and a pair of cooperating sidewalls 38 that form a scoop . as shown in fig1 and 4 , a rear section of the sidewalls 38 converge toward a twin chain conveyor 40 as they extend in a rearward direction . as best shown in fig3 and 4 , the twin chain conveyor 40 may include a series of interdigitating flights 42 . as will be described in greater detail below , the interdigitating flight conveyor 40 includes relatively larger flights that convey aggregate material from a larger surface area of the loading shovel 32 thereby reducing aggregate material residence time in the shovel and increasing carrying capacity of the conveyor . it should be recognized , however , that conveyors of other design including aligned flights could also be utilized . the particular design of the conveyor 40 utilized is simply a matter of determining which design has characteristics meeting the needs of the mine operator . a forked section 44 with a deviation - from - centerline angle of between substantially 1 °- 60 ° and more preferably 20 °- 40 ° is provided at the forwardmost end of the conveyor 40 so that the conveyor extends toward the outer corners of the loading shovel 32 ( see fig6 ). in fact , by utilizing a relatively small diameter ( e . g . 4 inches ) reversing roller 45 at the forwardmost end of each leg of the forked section 44 of the conveyor 40 it is possible to position the conveyor flights 42 to sweep within substantially 5 inches and , more preferably , substantially 3 inches of the front lip 34 and sidewalls 38 of the loading shovel 32 . further , the front lip 34 preferably provides a rise of approximately 7 inches so that the aggregate material carrying surface thereof extends at a tangent to the reversing roller 45 . this structural arrangement insures prompt and efficient loading of the conveyor 40 thereby minimizing the residence time of the aggregate material in the loading shovel 32 . in accordance with another important aspect of the present invention it should be appreciated that the cut aggregate material is conveyed rearwardly from the loading shovel 32 to the rear end of the frame 12 on the conveyor 40 in a continuous and uninterrupted manner . as best shown in fig5 when the loading shovel 32 is in the scoop position for loading aggregate material from the mine floor , the conveyor 40 extends rearwardly along a pathway of substantially constant acclivity without any humps or dips to interfere with the efficient conveyance of the aggregate material . preferably , the acclivity follows an inclination angle of between substantially 3 °- 7 ° and more preferably substantially 5 °. such a slope or grade allows efficient conveyance without significant spillage over the flights and undesired breakage of the aggregate material . further , as a result of the present design , greater space or flow volume is available for the movement of material both into and along the conveyor 40 . this is accomplished in at least four ways . first , the hydraulic or electric drive motor 46 is provided at the rear or discharge end of the conveyor 40 opposite the loading shovel 32 where space is readily available to accommodate drive components . further , the drive components are less likely to be contaminated with water and mud when housed in this position away from the mine floor . still further , by driving at the discharge end , the motor 46 pulls the chains 50 from the load side thereby providing maximum operating efficiency and chain service life . as a further result , it is only necessary to provide sufficient space in the loading shovel for the relatively small return or reversing roller 45 for each of the chains 50 of the conveyor 40 . this results in significant space savings in the loading shovel 32 and increases the open space for movement of the aggregate material . second , the relatively low profile of the reversing roller 45 noted above allows the receiving end of the conveyor 40 to be extended nearly to the lip 34 of the loading shovel 32 . in effect , the conveyor 40 is made self - loading and there is no need to provide gathering arms or centripetal / centrifugal loading arms for moving coal into the conveyor 40 in accordance with continuous miners of conventional design . through the elimination of the gathering arms and their associated gearing and drive motors from the area of the loading shovel 32 , clearance for those mechanical components is no longer required and , accordingly , the pan may be lower in overall height and present a relatively low angle of rise ( e . g . 3 °- 7 °). this reduces the work necessary to push the aggregate material into the conveyor 40 . further , it allows a minimum clearance of 12 inches to be maintained between the floor pan 36 and boom 20 to furnish unimpeded conveyance of the aggregate material . such large clearance is noteworthy in a mining machine with an overall height of less than 50 inches and more preferably 48 inches . thirdly , greater open space is also provided for the flow of aggregate material which can then proceed unconstricted and uninterrupted in a far more efficient manner than possible in prior art equipment . in fact , the conveyor pathway opening has a minimum throat opening area of at least 10 ft 2 throughout the length of the conveyor 40 . this is also noteworthy in a mining machine of less than 50 inches in height . of course , the greater available space allows the individual flights 42 to be made both wider and deeper . hence , the carrying capacity of the conveyor 40 is substantially increased over a conveyor on a conventionally designed machine of the same size that includes a gathering arm mechanism . as a result , conveyor efficiency / capacity is no longer limiting and mining productivity may also be increased . fourthly , the design of the conveyor 40 allows one to take full advantage of wider flights 42 and the added conveying capacity such flights provide in the critical loading zone on the loading shovel 32 . this is done while still meeting space limitation requirements at other , rearward parts of the mining machine 10 . more specifically , the flights 42 of width w ( e . g . 30 inches ) provide a conveying capacity flight width of ( w + w ) ( e . g . 60 inches ) along the forked section 44 of the conveyer 40 on the loading shovel 32 . rearwardly of the forked section 44 , the flights 42 on the opposing chains 50 of the chain conveyor 40 are interdigitated . thus , the overall width of the conveyor 40 may be reduced to less than ( w + w ) ( e . g . perhaps 48 inches ) in order to provide clearance to extend along a narrow pathway defined between other mining machine components such as traction motor housings . accordingly , the conveyor 40 incorporated into the mining machine 10 of the present invention meets the seemingly conflicting concerns of providing enhanced conveyance capacity within limited space confines . other advantages also result from the forward placement of the conveyor 40 and the elimination of gathering arms . more specifically , actual aggregate material handling is reduced . this has the two - fold benefit of increasing the size consist of the aggregate product while reducing the production of fines that are a waste product of the coal cleaning process . additionally , spillage is minimized . spillage is a serious problem in conventional mining machines as the stirring action of the gathering arms results in a significant portion of the aggregate material being thrown from the gathering pan where it remains , unrecovered , on the mine floor . in accordance with yet another important aspect of the present invention , it should be appreciated that the loading shovel 32 is of relatively low profile ( note particularly fig2 ). more specifically , the elimination of all haulage drive systems from the area of the loading shovel 32 reduces space and , therefore , height requirements necessary to accommodate the bulky components associated with such systems . further , it should be appreciated that in a highwall mining process , one bore hole is cut between opposing sidewalls of the mineral seam . these seam walls cooperate with the loading shovel 32 and particularly the sidewalls 38 to direct cut aggregate material onto the conveyor 40 . of course , the presence of the mineral seam sidewalls means that the sidewalls 38 of the loading shovel 32 may also assume a relatively low profile . advantageously , the low profile of the loading shovel 32 allows the mining machine 10 to accommodate a boom 20 of an increased size or vertical dimension while still maintaining an overall height low or lower than possible with conventional mining equipment . accordingly , the boom 20 may be outfitted with larger drive motors 28 and symmetrical gear cases 30 so as to provide more horsepower to the cutter drum assembly 18 . as a result , aggregate material may be removed from the mineral seam at a faster rate . advantageously , since the conveyor 40 also includes a receiving end adjacent the lip 34 for self - loading as well as deeper and wider flights 42 , the faster cutting rate may also be accommodated by the conveyor system so that overall mining efficiency and therefore productivity is significantly enhanced . yet another advantage of the low profile loading shovel 32 is its ability to accommodate the operation of a straight or flat boom 20 . more particularly , it is not necessary to provide a hump or arch in the boom 20 to provide the necessary clearance to lay over the loading shovel 32 . advantageously , the flat cutter boom 20 provides enhanced forward visibility through cameras ( not shown ) that allow for remote operation of the mining machine 10 . further , it should be appreciated that conventional miners incorporating arched or humped booms present an obstacle that may lead to the miner becoming trapped in the event of a roof fall . in contrast , the straight or flat boom 20 of the present mining machine 10 significantly reduces this possibility by eliminating the arch that otherwise serves as a catch point . it should further be appreciated , that the elimination of all haulage drive systems from the loading shovel 32 significantly reduces the weight of the shovel . accordingly , the frictional loading of the loading shovel 32 against the mine floor is significantly reduced as the miner sumps forward . thus , again , it should be appreciated that improved operating efficiency is the beneficial result . still further , it should be appreciated that the low profile loading shovel 32 and the straight or flat boom 20 function in combination to provide all of these benefits while still further providing an overall lower profile mining machine 10 capable of operation in thinner seams . this is a significant advantage as most of the remaining coal reserves in the world today are in seams too thin to be mined by a conventional continuous miner . in summary , numerous benefits result from employing the concepts of the present invention . the mining machine 10 of the present invention advantageously allows for the application of more powerful motors and stronger or higher rated gear boxes to power the cutter drum assembly 18 for the more efficient winning of aggregate material from the mineral seam . increased conveyance capacity and efficiency is provided by moving the receiving end of the conveyor 40 forward so as to become self - loading , increasing the height and width of the conveyor flights 42 and removing bottlenecks and / or constrictions to flow . together , the increased cutting capacity and increased conveying capacity compliment one another allowing the operator to receive the full benefits of the increases in performance . the total elimination of the gathering arm mechanism also serves to significantly simplify the mechanical structure of the mining machine , reducing the necessary downtime to perform maintenance / service operations . thus , production or operation time is increased so as to provide an overall improvement in mining productivity relative to conventional continuous mining machines . additionally , all of these benefits are achieved while allowing operation in relatively thinner seams . thus , it should be appreciated that the mining machine of this invention represents a significant advance in the art . the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment 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 . obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings . for example , while the present invention has been described with reference to utilization in a highwall mining system , it can also be utilized in underground mining . the embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . all such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with breadth to which they are fairly , legally and equitably entitled . | 4 |
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . fig1 shows an optical pickup 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , the optical pickup 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention comprises light source 110 , collimate lens 120 , beam splitter 130 , diffraction grating 140 , wavelength plate 150 , object lens 155 , condensing lens 160 and light detecting means 170 , and an optical storage 180 may be placed before the object lens 155 . the light source 110 generate laser beam and the collimate lens 120 transforms the light generated by light source 110 into a parallel beam . the beam splitter 130 which is a light dividing means transmits the incident light from collimate lens 120 depending on the polarizing direction of the light or reflects the light reflected by the optical storage 180 to the condensing lens 160 . the transmission light through beam splitter 130 passes through the diffraction grating 140 and then is transformed to a circularly polarized light by quarter wavelength plate 150 . the circularly polarized light passes through the object lens 155 and is reflected by the optical storage 1380 having land and groove structure and goes back to the object lens 130 . the reflected light is transformed to a parallel beam by the object lens 130 and then is polarized by quarter wavelength 150 so that its polarizing direction is reversed . and then the light is diffracted by the diffraction grating 140 . the diffraction grating 140 diffracts and divides the reflected light by the optical storage 180 into a main beam and two sub beams , in which the diffracted lights of main beam and sub beams form a baseball pattern as shown in fig3 . the diffraction grating 140 comprises two grating pattern regions which have different polarization direction from each other . the first grating pattern performs diffracting and dividing of the reflected light by the optical storage and excludes the ac signal causing area i . e . the region which the sub beam region and the main beam region overlap . the second grating pattern covers the region which the sub beam region and the main beam region overlap and diffracts the lights to a direction different from case of the first grating pattern . the diffracted light by the second grating pattern does not enter the light detecting means and is excluded from error detecting process . the detailed structures of the diffraction grating 140 will be described below with reference to fig4 and the following drawings . the main beam out of the divided by the diffraction grating 140 is 0 th beam and is detected as an mpp signal at the light detecting means 170 , the sub beams thereof are + 1st beam and − 1st beam and detected as first spp signal and second spp signal at the light detecting means 170 respectively . the diffracted light from the diffraction grating 140 is reflected by beam splitter 130 and transmits to the light detecting means via condensing lens 160 . the light detecting means 170 is a light - to - electrical conversion device such as photo diode , receives 0 th beam , + 1 st beam − 1 st beam and generates mpp signal , first spp signal and second spp signal and detects tes ( track error signal ) therefrom . fig2 a illustrates the diffraction of light by optical storage . as shown in fig2 a , the incident light into optical storage 180 is diffracted by the track structure of land / groove on the optical storage 180 with a certain angle θ and forms 0 th , + 1 st and − 1 st beams . and the 0 th , + 1 st and − 1 st beams form circular pattern ( s ). the size of circular pattern formed by 0 th , + 1 st and − 1 st beams may be equivalent to epd ( entrance pupil diameter ) of the object lens placed right before the optical storage and can be calculated by the following equation . fig2 b illustrates forming of a baseball which is formed by diffracted light at the optical storage 180 . as shown in fig2 b , when a circular patterned beam is incident into the optical storage 180 , it is diffracted to form three beams b 1 , b 2 , b 3 . the circular patterns formed by side beams b 1 , b 3 are shifted from the central pattern by the central beam b 2 , wherein the amount of shift can be calculated by the following equation . wherein “ the dimension of the sub beam is + 1 or − 1 , reflected by the optical storage 180 , three beams b 1 , b 2 , b 3 from a baseball patter as shown in fig3 . the size and overlapping area is dependent upon the kind of the optical storage 180 . for example , the overlapping area tends to be relatively large in case of bd ( blu ray disk ) or dvd rw . the baseball pattern p 1 , p 2 , p 3 formed by reflection at the optical storage 180 is transformed to a parallel beam by object lens 155 , and passes through wavelength plate 150 and diffraction grating 140 . fig4 shows a plane view of the first embodiment of a diffraction grating according to the present invention which may be used in the optical pickup 100 in fig1 . in the optical pickup 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention , the structure of diffraction grating 140 a is equivalent to circular patterns p 1 , p 2 , p 3 . beams passing through sub beam (± 1 st beam ) region ( p 4 , p 6 ) and the overlapped region p 7 of main beam region p 5 and sub beam region p 4 , p 6 are diffracted to other direction than to the light detecting means 170 so that they are excluded from the process of detecting tes signal . the ac signal is caused by the overlapped region of sub beam region and main beam region . by preventing the ac signal from reaching light detecting means 170 , it enhance detecting the accurate tes . referring to fig4 , assuming y axis lies along the track direction and x axis lies along the tangential direction , in the diffraction grating 140 a , the first grating pattern a 1 covers the area except sub beam region and main beam region which overlaps with the sub beam regions and the second grating pattern a 2 covers the rest of the diffraction grating 140 a . the second grating pattern a 2 prevent the ± 1 st beam from reaching the optical storage , so that ac signal is excluded from the process of detecting tes signal . fig5 shows a plane view of the second embodiment of a diffraction grating according to the present invention which may be used in the optical pickup 100 in fig1 . referring to fig5 , similarly to the first embodiment , the second embodiment of diffraction grating 140 b comprises the first grating pattern a 3 and the second grating pattern a 4 . the first grating pattern a 3 is in the shape of rectangle which does not overlap with circular pattern of sub beam p 4 , p 6 . the second grating pattern a 4 covers the rest of the diffraction grating 140 a . preferably , one side of the first grating pattern a 3 is in contact of the circular pattern of sub beam as shown in the fig5 . the width and length of the rectangle is variable within the scope of the present invention . fig6 shows a plane view of the third embodiment of a diffraction grating according to the present invention which may be used in the optical pickup 100 in fig1 . referring to fig6 , similarly to the first embodiment , the third embodiment of diffraction grating 140 c comprises the first grating pattern a 5 and the second grating pattern a 6 . the first grating patter a 5 comprises two horizontally long rectangles , each of rectangles being placed in the top and the bottom respectively . similarly , the first grating patter p 5 does not overlaps with the circular patterns of sub beams p 4 , p 6 and the second grating pattern a 6 covers the rest of the diffraction grating 140 a . the one side of the first grating pattern a 5 passes through upper or lower two of four intersection points at which the circular pattern of main beam and those of sub beams . the width and length of the rectangle of the first grating pattern is variable within the scope of the present invention . fig7 shows push - pull signals mpp generated by 0 th and spp1 and spp2 generated by ± 1 st beams after being reflected by track structure on the optical storage and transmitting the first , second or third diffraction grating 140 a , 140 b , 140 c of present invention . note that there is substantially no ac signal in the push - pull signals generated by ± 1 st beam . by transmitting the diffraction gratings 140 a , 140 b , 140 c of present invention dc offset is excluded from the signal detected by the light detecting means 170 which will be described with reference to fig9 a and the following drawings . meanwhile , tracking error level from tracking error signal detected by the light detecting means 170 can be calculated by the following equation . it is noted the tracking error level is improved by the present invention since the ac signal of spp signal is excluded before it reaches the optical storage . tracking error level = mpp signal − k ×( the first spp 1 signal + the second spp signal ) ( equation 3 ) wherein “ k ”= dc level of mpp signal ÷( 2 × dc level of spp signal ) the first grating patterns a 1 , a 3 , a 5 just pass the main beam b 2 without phase shift , and shift the phase of the sub beams b 1 , b 3 , so that the phase - shifted sub beams are excluded from the process of detecting tracking error signal . the gratings of the second grating patterns a 2 , a 4 , a 6 have different direction from those of the first grating patterns a 1 , a 3 , a 5 , for example , by 90 ° so that they can divert beam towards a certain position other than light detecting means 170 . fig8 shows positions where main beam and sub beams reach over the optical storage according to the present invention . the main beam b 2 is on the border line between the unrecorded area u and recorded area r and the sub beams are shifted by about ½ tp from the border line , which corresponds to the track lines on the optical storage . fig9 a shows change of offset voltage dependent on time when there is no radial shift of object lens and fig9 b shows change of offset voltage dependent on time when there is radial shift of object lens , in both cases the object lenses being placed on - axis . before time = 0 along time axis , it represent offset voltage in the unrecorded area , and after time = 0 along time axis , offset voltage in the unrecorded area . the difference between the unrecorded area u and recorded area r appears as difference of reflection ratio . when applying ddp method using three beams , comparing fig9 a and 9 b , there occurs a voltage level difference between the unrecorded area and the recorded area by the radial shift of object lens , i . e . by moving object lens over the optical storage . there is no change of offset voltage level between before and after t = 0 when there is no radial shift of object as shown in fig9 a , while there occurs a difference of offset voltage level between before and after t = 0 when there is radial shift of object as shown in fig9 b . fig1 shows change of offset voltage dependent on time when sub beam error occurred in which the object lenses are placed on - axis . in fig1 , sub beam error occurred , so that sub beam was de - tracked towards 0 th beam by 10 tp . as such , offset voltage level change was increased near t = 0 . fig1 shows change of offset voltage dependent on time when sub beam error occurred and there is radial shift of object lens in which the object lenses are placed on - axis . note that offset voltage level change was even more increased near t = 0 . fig1 a and 12 b show change of offset voltage dependent on time when there is radial shift of object lens by 1 au ( arbitrary unit ) and 5 au respectively in which the object lenses are placed off - axis . comparing fig1 a and 12 b , it is noted that the more radial shift there is , the more serious the offset voltage level change gets . in on - axis configuration in which two objects are along the radial direction , ± 1 st beams are shifted from the 0 th beam by ½ tp and the shift amount is fixed with the object lens moving , so that there occurs relatively small amount of offset change . in contrast , in off - axis configuration in which two objects are along the track direction , ± 1 st beams are shifted from the 0 th beam by ½ tp and the shift amount varies depending the distance from the center of optical storage , so that there can occur very large amount of offset level change . fig1 a shows change of offset voltage dependent on time when there is radial shift of object lens by 5 au and sub beam error occurred in which the object lenses are placed on - axis and fig1 b shows change of offset voltage dependent on time when there is radial shift of the object lens by 5 au and sub beam error occurred in which the object lenses are placed off - axis . comparing fig1 a and fig1 b , it is noted that there occurs more serious offset voltage level change near t = 0 in fig1 b than fig1 a . fig1 shows change of offset voltage dependent on time detected by using the optical pickup according to the present invention , given the same conditions as those of fig1 b measured in an optical pickup according the present invention . comparing fig1 and fig1 a or 13 b , it is noted that the amplitude of ac signal is slightly changed at t = 0 but there is substantially no offset voltage level change near t = 0 . fig1 shows a schematic diagram of an optical pickup 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , the optical pickup 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention comprises light source 210 , collimate lens 220 , beam splitter 230 , wavelength plate 250 , object lens 255 , diffraction grating 240 , condensing lens 260 and light detecting means 270 , and an optical storage 280 may be placed before the object lens 255 . the structure of the second embodiment of the optical pickup of fig1 is similar to the second embodiment of fig1 , but is different in that the diffraction grating 240 is positioned between beam splitter 230 and condensing lens 260 . the optical pickup according to the first embodiment of the present invention of fig1 can employ all of three embodiment of diffraction gratings 140 a , 140 b , 140 c , while the optical pickup according to the second embodiment of the present invention of fig1 cannot employ second embodiment of diffraction grating 140 b . referring to fig5 , when there is radial shift of object lens , i . e . object lens moves along the radial direction , which is corresponds to the horizontal direction of the paper in fig5 , the first grating pattern region a 3 of the second embodiment of diffraction grating 140 b can intrude the second grating pattern region a 4 . in this case , there may be a significant error in detecting tracking error signal , which makes the second embodiment of the diffraction grating unavailable . detailed description regarding other components in fig1 will be the same as that of fig1 and is omitted . the optical pickup according to the present invention provides following advantages : the offset voltage level change can be prevented when off - axis configuration is employed and the object moves over the border of unrecorded area and recorded area . it is possible to alleviate the offset voltage level change without being affected by radial shift , sub beam error etc . and without dpp level and light efficiency being degraded when performing tracking servo over hd dvd , dvd - r , dvd - rw , bd which have different track structures . | 6 |
by reference to the drawings , a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention is described by taking a cordless telephone as an example . fig1 is a block diagram showing a cordless telephone according to an embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 , ( a ) is a block diagram showing a transmission function of a master device ( a first communication terminal ), and ( b ) is a block diagram showing a receiving function of a slave device ( a second communication terminal ). for the sake of convenience , fig1 illustrates only the transmission function of the master device and the receiving function of the slave device . however , each of the master device and the slave device has both functions . the cordless telephone includes the master device 10 and one or more slave devices 20 , as shown in fig1 . the cordless telephone is a wireless communication device that establishes a digital link on a wireless channel between the master device 10 and the slave device 20 ; that compresses a sound signal by adaptive pulse code modulation ; and that performs a communication while containing the thus - compressed sound signal in a sound packet by means of tdma ( time division multiple access )/ tdd ( time division duplex ). g . 722 that is the itu - t ( international telecommunication union telecommunication standardization sector ) recommendation is adopted for the codec . the master device 10 includes a sound input unit 11 , a pcm conversion unit 12 , an adpcm encoding unit 13 , a transmission conversion table 14 , a transmission conversion table switching unit 15 , a transmission packet generation unit 16 , and a wireless transmission circuit 17 . the sound input unit 11 inputs a sound signal formed from signal that is delivered by way of a telephone line network or an ip network . the sound input unit 11 corresponds to a microphone that is built in a handset if the master device 10 is provided with the handset . the pcm conversion unit 12 samples the sound signal at a predetermined cycle and quantizes the thus - sampled signal into an integral value including a predetermined number of bits . the adpcm encoding unit 13 generates digital sound data ( hereinafter referred to simply as “ sound data ”) by means of g . 722 wideband adpcm ( adaptive differential pulse code modulation ). the adpcm encoding unit 13 first separates input data into a high frequency signal and a low frequency signal by means of a quadrature mirror filter and performs adpcm encoding on the high frequency signal and the low frequency signal , respectively . fig2 is a diagram for explaining a low frequency adpcm encoder of the adpcm encoding unit 13 . the low frequency adpcm encoder shown in fig2 includes a 60 - level adaptive quantizer 13 a , a bit mask unit 13 b , and a 15 - level adaptive dequantizer 13 c , and an adaptive predictor 13 d . the bit mask unit 13 b extracts bits which are set as core bits , from a 6 - bit low frequency adpcm code generated by the adaptive quantizer 13 a . in the embodiment , four higher order bits are set as core bits and input to a feedback loop . the 15 - level adaptive dequantizer 13 c calculates a quantized differential signal from data pertinent to the core bits ( four bits ), outputting a calculation result . the differential signal output from the 15 - level adaptive dequantizer 13 c is delivered to the adaptive predictor 13 d and an adder 13 f . the adder 13 f adds a prediction signal generated in the encoder to the differential signal , to thus generate a regenerative signal . the adaptive predictor 13 d generates a prediction signal from the differential signal originating from the 15 - level adaptive dequantizer 13 c and the regenerative signal originating from the adder 13 f . an input signal sent from the pcm conversion unit 12 is delivered to the adder 13 e , and the adder 13 e calculates a difference between the input signal sent from the pcm conversion unit 12 and the prediction signal sent from the adaptive predictor 13 d . a resultant difference signal generated by the adder 13 e is delivered to the 60 - level adaptive quantizer 13 a , and the 60 - level adaptive quantizer 13 a generates a 6 - bit low frequency adpcm code . in the meantime , the high frequency adpcm encoder performs 2 - bit high frequency adpcm encoding on an input high frequency signal according to g . 722 standards . the high frequency adpcm encoder does not have a bit mask unit and is configured so as to input all bits into the adaptive dequantizer . the high frequency adpcm encoder can be analogous to the low frequency adpcm encoder except this configuration , and hence its detailed explanations using the drawings are omitted . the adpcm encoding unit 13 multiplexes the thus - generated 6 - bit low frequency adpcm code and the 2 - bit high frequency adpcm code by use of a multiplexer as shown in fig1 , thereby generating an 8 - bit wideband adpcm code . in the embodiment , the adpcm encoding unit 13 of the master device 10 generates adpcm data that are a low frequency signal having a data rate of 48 kbps . in the adpcm data , low frequency sound data are assigned six bits , and highest order bits include a positive code bit and a negative code bit . accordingly , as shown in fig3 , the 6 - bit low frequency adpcm data are represented as 000000 to 111111 . since the adpcm data represent a difference between data that have been digitized immediately before and the current data . hence , 000000 designates the positive minimum value , and 111111 designates the negative minimum value . in addition , 011111 denotes the positive maximum value , and 100000 designates the negative maximum value . in conformance with g . 722 standards , four bits of the 6 - bit low frequency adpcm code are set as core bits , and remaining two bits are set as enhancement bits in the embodiment . specifically , the adpcm encoding unit 13 generates adpcm data while taking four higher order bits as core bits , and the decoding unit of the receiving side also performs decoding operation while taking the four higher order bits as core bits . as above , so long as the same number of core bits is set on the encoder and the decoder , respectively , a prediction signal generated by the adaptive predictor 13 d assumes the same value at both the encoder and the decoder . accordingly , even when enhancement bits are used in another application , like a data communication , great degradation of sound quality cannot be avoided . in fig1 , the wideband adpcm code generated by the adpcm encoding unit 13 is delivered to the transmission conversion table 14 , and the transmission conversion table 14 converts the 4 - bit sound data output from the adpcm encoding unit 13 into 4 - bit transmission data to be output to the slave device 20 . fig4 is a diagram for explaining the transmission conversion table 14 . the transmission conversion table 14 is now described in detail by reference to fig4 . the transmission conversion table 14 contains a table t 1 and a table t 2 . when receiving condition is excellent , the table t 1 is employed , and input sound data are output while assuming exactly the same value . when receiving error information on the receiving side reaches a predetermined level , the table t 2 is used . the table t 2 is configured such that two bits of the high frequency adpcm data and four higher order bits among six bits of the low frequency adpcm data respectively assume exactly the same values as their originally input values and that two lower order bits act as even parity bits for the two bits of the high frequency adpcm data and the four higher order bits of the low frequency adpcm data , respectively . in short , in relation to the two lower order bits of the table t 2 ; namely , b 6 ( the next least significant bit ( lsb )) and b 7 ( the least significant bit ), the “ next least significant bit ” is reversed such that the number of “ is ” in the two bits becomes even according to the number of “ is ” in the two bits of the high frequency adpcm data , and the “ least significant bit ” is reversed such that the number of “ is ” in the four bits become even according to the number of “ 1s ” in the four higher order bits of the low frequency adpcm data , thereby letting the two bits act as a parity signal . by means of converting the sound data by use of the table t 2 , the two lower order bits b 6 and b 7 of eight bits per one sample value of a sound data sequence to be transmitted ; for instance , eight bits b 0 , b 1 , . . . , b 7 shown in fig3 , act as a parity signal . in fig1 , the transmission conversion table switching unit 15 performs switching between two tables ( the table t 1 and the table t 2 ) of the transmission conversion table 14 according to the receiving error information sent from the slave device 20 . fig5 is a diagram for explaining the transmission conversion table switching unit 15 . a function of the transmission conversion table switching unit 15 is now described by reference to fig5 . by use of a changeover switch 15 a intended for connection with the adpcm encoding unit 13 and a changeover switch 15 b intended for connection with the transmission packet generation unit 16 , the transmission conversion table switching unit 15 toggles between the table t 1 and the table t 2 in accordance with the receiving error information so as to apply any one of the tables to the adpcm encoding unit 13 and the transmission packet generation unit 16 . when an excellent communication environment is maintained and when there is no need for transmission conversion , the changeover switches 15 a and 15 b are switched to the table t 1 . when transmission conversion is required as a result of deterioration of the communication environment , the changeover switches 15 a and 15 b are switched to the table t 2 , thereby converting transmission data such that two lower order bits of the transmission data act as a parity signal . in fig1 , the transmission packet generation unit 16 accumulates sound data output from the transmission table 14 by an amount corresponding to 10 msec , thereby generating a sound packet . by reference to fig5 , the sound packet is described . fig6 is a diagram showing a format of the sound packet and a configuration of a field for storing sound data in the embodiment . the sound packet shown in fig6 is made up of a sync field ( 16 bits ) where sync data ( a sync word ) are to be stored , a field a ( 48 bits ) where control signal data are to be stored , a field - a crc ( 16 bits ) where a crc ( cyclic redundancy check ) for the field a is to be stored , a field b ( 640 bits ) where sound data are to be stored , and a field - b crc ( four bits ) where a crc for the field b is to be stored . in the embodiment , wideband adpcm sound data to be stored in the field b are assigned eight bits per sample value , and two lower order bits ( b 6 , b 7 ) of the eight bits are allocated for a parity signal . in addition , two higher order bits ( b 0 , b 1 ) are assigned for high frequency adpcm data , and subsequent four bits ( b 2 , . . . , b 5 ) are assigned for four core bits of the lower frequency adpcm code . further , in the embodiment , when conversion is carried out by reference to the table t 2 , the transmission side sends per sample , as low frequency adpcm data , 5 - bit data that are made up of four bits of adpcm data ( core bits ) and one least significant bit that is to act as a parity bit . the transmission side also sends per sample , as high frequency adpcm data , 3 - bit data that are made up of two bits of adpcm data and one next least significant bit that is to act as a parity bit . thus , the transmission side transmits both the parity bit for a low frequency signal and the parity bit for a high frequency signal without changing the number of bits ( eight bits ) per sample . the crc for the field b does not take the entirety of 320 - bit field b as a target and partially takes only data pertinent to predetermined bit positions as a target . to be specific , the field - b crc takes , as a target , sound data that are distributed in ten locations every 16 bits . the sound data are only a total of 160 bits that are represented by bit numbers : b 48 to b 63 , b 112 to b 127 , b 176 to b 191 , . . . , b 560 to b 575 , and b 624 to b 639 . in fig1 , the wireless transmission circuit 17 functions as a transmission circuit unit that modulates the sound packet output from the transmission packet generation unit 16 into a wireless signal and that transmits the wireless signal from the antenna 17 a . as above , in the master device 10 , data transmission section is configured by the transmission conversion table 14 that converts a portion of the adpcm sound data into a parity bit , the transmission packet generation unit 16 that generates a sound packet including the thus - converted sound data , and the wireless transmission circuit 17 that transmits the sound packet as a wireless signal to the slave device 20 . the slave device 20 is now described by reference to ( b ) in fig1 . the slave device 20 includes a wireless reception circuit 21 and an antenna 21 a . a signal received by the wireless reception circuit 21 is processed by a received data processing unit 30 , whereupon the thus - processed signal is output as high frequency adpcm data and low frequency adpcm data . the received data processing unit 30 is provided with a received packet processing unit 22 , a reception conversion table 23 , a receiving error processing unit 24 , and a reception conversion table switching unit 25 . further , the slave device 20 is provided with the adpcm decoding unit 26 , a pcm conversion unit 27 , a sound output unit 28 , and a received signal strength indicator processing unit 29 . the wireless reception circuit 21 acts as a reception circuit unit that receives by way of an antenna 21 a the wireless signal output from the master device 10 , demodulates the thus - received signal , and outputs the thus - demodulated signal as a sound packet to the received packet processing unit 22 . the wireless reception circuit 21 measures a received strength indicator ( rssi ) of the received sound packet , outputting the thus - measured indicator to received field strength processing . the received packet processing unit 22 detects a sync error when a predetermined sync word is not acquired , a crc error for the field a or the field b , and a parity error in sound data , sending the error to the receiving error processing unit 24 and extracting the sound data and outputting the thus - extracted sound data to the reception conversion table 23 . the reception conversion table 23 converts the 4 - bit sound data received from the master device 10 , outputting a conversion result . by reference to fig7 and fig8 , the reception conversion table 23 is now described in detail . fig7 is a diagram for explaining a table pertaining to a low frequency signal in the reception conversion table 23 , and fig8 is a diagram for explaining a table pertaining to a high frequency signal . as shown in fig7 and fig8 , the reception conversion table 23 includes tables r 1 to r 4 for each of a low frequency signal and a high frequency signal . in any event , the table r 1 is configured so as to output input sound data in exactly the same values . in fig7 and fig8 , the table r 2 is configured so as to replace the sound data with mute data when results on the parity check of the two bits of the high frequency adpcm data and the six bits of the low frequency adpcm data show occurrence of a parity error . in conformance with an even parity rule , the transmission side ( the master device 10 ) identifies occurrence of a high frequency parity error by means of the number of “ is ” in a total of three bits ; namely , the two bits of the high frequency adpcm data and the “ next least significant bit p 1 .” specifically , a parity error is identified by means of “ 001 ,” “ 010 ,” and “ 111 ” that include an odd number of is . likewise , occurrence of a low frequency parity error is identified by means of the number of “ is ” in a total of five bits ; that is , four higher order bits of the low frequency adpcm data and the “ least significant bit p 2 .” during the conversion performed by the table r 2 of the reception conversion table 23 , sound data are exactly output without change unless a parity error occurs . in contrast , if occurrence of a parity error is identified ( when the number of “ is ” in target bits is determined to be odd ), sound data are replaced with mute data . in the embodiment , high frequency signal mute data are assigned “ 11 ,” and low frequency signal mute data are assigned “ 111111 ” or “ 000000 .” however , the mute data are not limited to them , and another mute data can also be used . as above , in response to occurrence of a parity error , the reception conversion table 23 converts the sound data including the error with mute data , thereby preventing reproduced sound from being affected by the error . in connection with high frequency data , the table r 3 converts data including a parity error with mute data as does the table r 2 . in addition to this , in connection with low frequency data , the table r 3 is configured so as to add one to four higher order bits of data that are free of an error , thereby replacing the data with sound data that will attenuate a sound . in the case of ; for instance , “ 1001 ,” “ 1010 ,” and “ 1100 ,” they are converted into “ 1010 ,” “ 1011 ,” and “ 1101 ” by addition of one . the table r 4 is configured so as to replace all of the sound data with mute data regardless of occurrence of the parity error ; in other words , the high frequency data with “ 11 ” and the low frequency data with “ 111111 ” or “ 000000 .” in ( b ) of fig1 , the receiving error processing unit 24 is an error determination section that has a counter ( to be described in detail later ) which performs count - up operation at the time of occurrence of a reception error , such as a sync error detected by the receiving packet processing unit 22 , a field a error , and a field b error and which performs count - down operation at the time of occurrence of no error . a value of the counter is sent to the reception conversion table 25 , whereupon the reception conversion table 23 is switched in accordance with the counter value . the reception conversion table switching unit 25 acts as a data conversion section ( a receiving side processing unit ) along with the reception conversion table 23 by switching among four tables ( the tables r 1 to r 4 ) of the reception conversion table 23 in accordance with a command from the slave device 20 by way of the receiving error processing unit 24 or a received signal strength indicator signal originating from the received signal strength indicator processing unit 29 . the reception conversion table switching unit 25 is now described by reference to fig9 . fig9 is a diagram for explaining the reception conversion table switching unit 25 . by means of changeover switches 25 a and 25 b , the reception conversion table switching unit 25 switches among the tables ( r 1 to r 4 ) used in the reception conversion table 23 . for instance , when conversion processing is not performed , the received packet processing unit 22 and the adpcm decoding unit 26 are switched to the table r 1 . in the meantime , when parity processing is practiced , the received packet processing unit 22 and the adpcm decoding unit 26 are switched to the table r 2 . in addition , when parity processing and attenuation processing are performed , the received packet processing unit 22 and the adpcm decoding unit 26 are switched to the table r 3 . the adpcm decoding unit 26 shown in ( b ) of fig1 separates 8 - bit input data sent from the reception conversion table 23 into a high frequency signal and a low frequency signal by means of a separator , subsequently performing adpcm decoding on the respective signals . in other words , even when the 8 - bit data include two lower order bits of parity bits and the mute data , all of the eight bits are decoded into sound data . the adpcm decoding unit 26 is now described by reference to fig1 . fig1 is a diagram for explaining a low frequency adpcm decoder of the adpcm decoding unit 26 . the low frequency adpcm decoder shown in fig1 is now described . the low frequency adpcm decoder includes a feedback adaptive dequantizer 26 a , a feedforward adaptive dequantizer 26 b , a bitmask unit 26 c , and an adaptive predictor 26 d . the bitmask unit 26 c extracts core bits from the adpcm code input , and only the thus - extracted core bits are input to the feedback adaptive dequantizer 26 a . the feedback adaptive dequantizer 26 a calculates a quantized differential signal , outputting the thus - calculated , quantized differential signal . the thus - output , quantized differential signal is added to the prediction signal by the adder 26 e , and a result of addition is input to the adaptive predictor 26 d , where a prediction signal is generated . the feedforward adaptive quantizer 26 b calculates a quantized differential signal by use of all bits in the adpcm data , outputting a calculation result . when the low frequency sound data are 48 kbps , a 6 - bit adpcm code input is output . the adder 26 f adds the prediction signal calculated only from the core bits to the quantized differential signal calculated from all six bits , whereby a low frequency regenerative signal is output . in the meantime , the essential requirement for the high frequency adpcm decoder of the adpcm decoding unit 26 is to perform processing conforming to the known g722 standard . the bitmask unit is not necessary , and all of the bits are input to the adaptive dequantizer . the high frequency adpcm decoder is analogous to the low frequency adpcm decoder except absence of the bitmask unit , and hence its detailed explanations are unnecessary . the adpcm decoding unit 26 combines the thus - decoded low frequency signal and the high frequency signal together by means of a receiving rectangular mirror filter , to thus generate a wideband sound signal . even when a parity bit is transmitted without changing the number of bits per sample ( eight bits ), the receiving side uses the low frequency adpcm data as they are without changing four core bits thereof to generate a prediction signal . the receiving side also processes the high frequency adpcm data while taking them as two bits , so that deterioration of sound quality is small , and a conversation can be performed while a certain degree of sound quality is maintained . in ( b ) of fig1 , the pcm conversion unit 27 generates an analog sound signal from the reproduction signal . the sound output unit 28 may be a speaker that reproduces the sound signal , for example . the received electric field strength processing unit 29 functions as the received electric field strength level determination means that determines the change of the received electric field strength measured by the wireless reception circuit 21 and outputs the result of the determination to the reception conversion table switching unit 25 . this determination is made in a manner such that , in the case where the master device 10 and the slave device 20 are spaced apart from each other , the received electric field strength is lowered , and if the received electric field strength is lower than a threshold value a ( a first threshold value ), the communication environment is inferior . further , in the case where the master device 10 and the slave device 20 are close to each other , the communication environment becomes good and the received electric field strength is elevated . if the received electric field strength exceeds a threshold value b ( a second threshold value ), the communication environment becomes good . however , in determination , the threshold value b is set to be higher than the threshold value a . the received electric field strength processing unit 29 outputs information on the communication environment to the reception conversion table switching unit 25 , and the reception conversion table switching unit 25 selects the table r 1 that does not perform the parity check if the communication environment is good . further , if the communication environment is inferior , the reception conversion table switching unit 25 performs the parity check ( the transmission side : table t 2 ), the reception side selects any one of other tables ( tables r 2 to r 4 ) to be sound - processed . the received electric field strength processing unit 29 performs the synchronization between the master device 10 and the conversion table by transferring the determination result information that is obtained by determining the change of the received electric field strength to the master device 10 using a control packet . by setting the threshold value b to be larger than the threshold value a , switching is performed from the table r 1 in which the parity check is not performed to the tables r 2 to r 4 in which the parity check is performed and the sound process is performed when the communication environment is deteriorated , and even if the communication environment becomes good thereafter , the switching is not performed at the same electric field strength as that switched by the reception conversion table 23 . since the parity check is stopped after the communication environment reaches a sufficiently good level , the reception conversion table 23 and the transmission conversion table 14 are prevented from being frequently switched . a communication method of the cordless telephone as configured above according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings . first , in communication between the master device 10 and the slave device 20 , a case where the communication environment is good and no reception error occurs will be described . in this case , it is assumed that the table t 1 illustrated in fig4 is selected in the transmission conversion table 14 , and the table r 1 illustrated in fig7 and 8 is selected in the reception conversion table 23 . the sound signal from the sound input unit 11 is quantized by the pcm conversion unit 12 , and one code is compressed into 8 - bit sound data through adpcm by the adpcm encoding unit 13 . this 8 - bit sound data is input to the table t 1 of the transmission conversion table 14 , and then the sound data having the same value as the input is output from the table t 1 as the transmission data . the sound data output from the transmission conversion table 14 is included in the sound packet by the transmission packet generation unit 16 , and is transmitted to the slave device 20 through the antenna 17 a by the wireless transmission circuit 17 as the wireless signal . in the slave device 20 , the wireless signal from the master device 10 is received in the wireless reception circuit 21 through the antenna 21 a . the wireless signal received in the wireless reception circuit 21 is demodulated and output to the received packet processing unit 22 as the sound packet . the received packet processing unit 22 checks the occurrence of the reception error of the sound packet , extracts the 8 - bit sound data included in the sound packet , and outputs the extracted sound data to the reception conversion table 23 . if the sound data is input to the table r 1 of the reception conversion table 23 , 8 - bit sound data having the same value as the input is output from the table t 1 . the sound data output from the reception conversion table 23 is input to and expanded by the adpcm decoding unit 26 , converted into a sound signal by the pcm conversion unit 27 , and is reproduced by the sound output unit 28 . in this case , since the master device 10 that is the transmission side transmits the sound to the slave device 20 as it is without processing all the 8 - bit adpcm sound data , high - quality sound can be transmitted . next , a case where the slave device 20 detects the reception error will be described . if the received packet processing unit 22 of the slave device 20 detects the reception error such as a sync error or a crc error , it transmits reception error information regarding the effect that the reception error has occurred to the master device 10 using a transmission function ( not illustrated ). the master device 10 can recognize that the communication environment is deteriorated through the notification of the reception error information . accordingly , the transmission conversion table switching unit 15 performs switching of the connections of the transmission conversion table 14 to be applied between the adpcm encoding unit 13 and the transmission packet generation unit 16 from the table t 1 to the table t 2 . by doing so , the two lower order bits of the 8 - bit sound data is converted into the parity bit ( see fig3 ). the parity bit generation using the transmission conversion table 14 is simpler than the parity bit calculation through operation . the slave device 20 instructs , in synchronization with the notification of the reception error to the master device 10 , the reception conversion table switching unit 25 to perform switching of the reception conversion table 23 from the table r 1 to the table r 2 . that is , the reception conversion table 23 is switched to the table r 2 as a reception conversion table pertinent to the low frequency signal as shown in fig7 , and switched to the table r 2 as a reception conversion table pertinent to the high frequency signal as shown in fig8 . as described above , the conversion by the table r 2 is performed in a manner such that the sound data is output as it is if the parity error has not occurred , and the sound data is converted into the mute data if the parity error has occurred . next , the influence on the sound packet in the related art and the influence on the sound of the sound packet according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described based on fig1 to 12 . fig1 is a diagram illustrating sound processing in a sound packet in the related art . fig1 is a diagram illustrating sound processing in a sound packet according to the embodiment of the present invention . in the sound packet in the related art as illustrated in fig1 , since a crc of a b - field is added to 16 - bit sound data that is distributed in ten locations in the b - field , sound data that is not the subject of the crc is present , and the reception error for all the sound data may not be detected . accordingly , even in the case where not only the crc error of the b - field but also the error of data for synchronization and the crc error ( crc error of an a - field ) added to data for a control signal are detected , it is necessary to perform the sound process such as mute with respect to the entire one frame on the assumption that there is a high possibility that the error has occurred even in the sound data that is not the subject of the crc of the b - field . as illustrated in fig1 , sound data of about 10 msec is included in one frame , and if the sound data for one frame is processed , it exerts a great influence on the sound . in the sound packet according to the embodiment , a parity bit is added for each 8 - bit sound data , and thus the error can be detected every 8 bits . accordingly , as illustrated in fig1 , by converting only the sound data in which the parity error has occurred into the mute data , it is not required to perform the sound process with respect to the whole one frame . in a conventional method in which a crc is added to 16 - bit sound data that is distributed in about ten locations in the b - field of one frame of a sound packet , it is required to perform sound processing such as muting with respect to the whole of one frame if the crc error is detected . on the other hand , according to the embodiment , it is possible to detect an error in a minute unit in a sound packet and replace the sound packet . thus , since the influence range corresponds to only the replaced sound data , it exerts a low influence on the sound . the sound data output from the reception conversion table 23 is input to and expanded by the adpcm decoding unit 26 , converted into a sound signal by the pcm conversion unit 27 , and is reproduced by the sound output unit 28 . in reproducing the sound , since the two lower order bits are used as the parity bit while the data rate is maintained , the sound quality is somewhat deteriorated in comparison to the case where all the 8 bits are used as the sound data , but high sound quality can be secured in comparison to the case where sound data for one frame is processed in a state of the sync word error or the crc error due to the deterioration of the communication environment . next , a method of switching transmission and reception conversion tables that is performed by the reception error processing unit 24 will be described based on fig1 a to 17 . fig1 a and 13b are diagrams illustrating a counter installed in the reception error processing unit 24 . fig1 a is a diagram illustrating a frame error counter , and fig1 b is a diagram illustrating a sound data error counter . fig1 is a flowchart illustrating a reception conversion table switching process , and fig1 is a flowchart illustrating a reception conversion table switching process continuously performed from fig1 . fig1 is a diagram illustrating a reception conversion table switching process that is determined by the received electric field strength , and fig1 is a diagram illustrating a reception conversion table switching process that is determined by a frame error counter . as shown in fig1 a and 13b , the reception error processing unit 24 has two counters that count number according to the contents of error notification from the received packet processing unit 22 . these counters include , as illustrated in fig1 a , a frame error counter c 1 that counts up by the sync word error , a - field crc error , or b - field crc error and counts down by no error , and , as illustrated in fig1 b , a sound data error counter c 2 that counts up when the 8 - bit sound data is the parity error and counts down by no error . in this embodiment of the present invention , count - up corresponds to + 1 and count - down corresponds to − 1 . however , the count - up / down may be set to have different values in order to change the weight . it is possible to appropriately determine these values according to the communication environment where the cordless telephone is installed . as illustrated in fig1 , the reception error processing unit 24 determines whether or not the frame system error , such as the sync word error , a - field crc error , or b - field crc error , has occurred in the received packet processing unit 22 ( s 100 ). if the error has occurred , the reception error processing unit 24 increases the frame error counter c 1 by + 1 ( s 110 ), while if the error has not occurred , the reception error processing unit 24 increases the frame error counter c 1 by − 1 ( s 120 ). next , the reception error processing unit 24 determines whether or not the reception conversion table 23 that is currently used is the table r 1 ( s 125 ). if the reception conversion table 23 is the table r 1 , the reception error processing unit 24 determines whether or not the frame error counter value is equal to or larger than a threshold value c ( s 130 ). if the frame error counter value is equal to or larger than the threshold value c , the reception error processing unit 24 invalidates a flag of the table r 1 ( s 135 ). that is , as illustrated in fig1 , since the error is increased due to an interference radio wave or the like , the reception error processing unit 24 invalidates the flag of the table r 1 , and performs switching of the reception conversion table 23 from the table r 1 that does not perform the parity check to the tables r 2 to r 4 that perform the parity check or the sound processing . by doing so , the reception error processing unit 24 can detect the error of the sound data that occurs according to the deterioration of the communication environment at high accuracy . if the frame error counter value is smaller than the threshold value c in s 130 , the table r 1 of the reception conversion table 23 is used as the current state , and the flag of the table r 1 is in a valid state . further , if it is determined that the reception conversion table 23 that is currently used is not the table r 1 in s 125 as illustrated in fig1 , the reception error processing unit 24 determines whether or not the frame error counter value is smaller than a threshold value d ( s 140 ). if the frame error counter value is smaller than the threshold value d , the reception error processing unit 24 validates the flag of the table r 1 ( s 150 ). that is , as illustrated in fig1 , in the case where no error has occurred due to the nonexistence of the interference radio wave , the reception error processing unit 24 validates the flag of the table r 1 , and performs switching of the reception conversion table 23 from the tables r 2 to r 4 that perform the parity check or the sound processing to the table r 1 that does not perform the parity check . by doing so , the communication environment becomes good , and thus communication of the sound data can be performed with a better sound quality . if the frame error counter value is not smaller than the threshold value din s 140 , the tables r 2 to r 4 of the reception conversion table 23 are used as the current state , and the flag of the table r 1 is in an invalid state . next , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 determines whether or not the reception conversion table 23 currently used is the table r 1 ( s 160 ). if the reception conversion table 23 is the table r 1 , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 determines whether or not the received electric field strength measured by the wireless reception circuit 21 is lower than the threshold value a ( s 170 ). if the received electric field strength is lower than the threshold value a , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 invalidates the flag of the table r 1 ( s 180 ). that is , as illustrated in fig1 , since the received electric field strength is lower than the threshold value a due to the long distance between the master device 10 and the slave device 20 or the like , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 invalidates the flag of the table r 1 , and performs the switching of the reception conversion table 23 from the table r 1 that does not perform the parity check to the tables r 2 to r 4 that perform the parity check or the sound processing . by doing so , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 can detect the error of the sound data that occurs according to the deterioration of the communication environment at high accuracy . if the received electric field strength is not smaller than the threshold value a in s 170 , the table r 1 of the reception conversion table 23 is used as the current state , and the flag of the table r 1 is in a valid state . further , if it is determined that the reception conversion table 23 currently used is not the table r 1 in s 160 shown in fig1 , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 determines whether or not the received electric field strength is equal to or higher than the threshold value b ( s 190 ). if the received electric field strength is equal to or higher than the threshold value b , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 validates the flag of the table r 1 ( s 200 ). that is , as illustrated in fig1 , since the received electric field strength is equal to or higher than the threshold value b due to the short distance between the master device 10 and the slave device 20 or the like , the received electric field strength processing unit 29 validates the flag of the table r 1 , and performs the switching of the reception conversion table 23 from the tables r 2 to r 4 that perform the parity check or the sound processing to the table r 1 that does not perform the parity check . by doing so , the communication environment becomes good , and thus communication of the sound data can be performed with a better sound quality . if the received electric field strength is smaller than the threshold value b in s 190 , the tables r 2 to r 4 of the reception conversion table 23 are used as the current state , and the flag of the table r 1 is in an invalid state . next , as illustrated in fig1 , the reception error processing unit 24 determines whether or not the sound data error that is the parity error of the sound data has occurred ( s 210 ). if the error has occurred , the reception error processing unit 24 increases the sound data error counter c 2 by + 1 ( s 220 ), while if the error has not occurred , the reception error processing unit 24 increases the sound data error counter c 2 by − 1 ( s 230 ). next , the reception error processing unit 24 determines whether or not the flag of the table r 1 is valid ( s 240 ). if the flag of the table r 1 is valid , it means that the frame error rate is low and the communication environment is good , and thus regardless of the count value of the sound data error counter c 2 , the side of the master device 10 is switched to the table t 1 and the side of the slave device 20 proceeds to s 300 to be switched to the table r 1 . next , the reception error processing unit 24 determines whether or not the sound data error counter c 2 is within a range of the level b ( s 250 ). this level b is in a range where the frame system error rate has been elevated , but the sound data error rate is determined to be still low . accordingly , in order to perform the parity check of the sound data , the reception conversion table 23 validates the flag of the table r 2 that selects the table r 2 ( s 260 ), and then proceeds to s 300 . if the sound data error counter c 2 is not within the range of the level b , the reception error processing unit 24 then determines whether or not the sound data error counter c 2 is within the range of the level c ( s 270 ). this level c is in a range where it is determined that the sound data error rate has been gradually elevated . accordingly , the reception error processing unit 24 validates the flag of the table r 3 , which selects the table r 3 that not only replaces the sound data with the mute data in the case where the parity error of the sound data has occurred but also replaces the sound data with the sound data that mutes the high frequency sound and attenuates the low frequency sound even in the case where the parity error has not occurred ( s 280 ), and then proceeds to s 300 . if the sound data error counter c 2 is not within the range of the level c , it means that the sound data error counter c 2 is within the level d , and the reception error processing unit 24 validates the flag of the table r 4 . this level d is in the range where the communication environment is worst . accordingly , the table r 4 which replaces all the sound data with the mute data is selected in the reception conversion table 23 ( s 290 ). in s 300 , the reception error processing unit 24 performs the switching of the reception conversion table 23 according to the flag . for example , if the flag of the table r 1 is valid , the reception error processing unit 24 instructs the reception conversion table switching unit 25 to perform switching of the reception conversion table 23 to the table r 1 . further , the reception error processing unit 24 transmits a control packet to the master device 10 so that the master device 10 switches the transmission conversion table 14 to the table t 1 . further , if any one of flags of the tables r 2 to r 4 is valid , the reception error processing unit 24 instructs the reception conversion table switching unit 25 to perform switching of the reception conversion table 23 to any one of the tables r 2 to r 4 . further , the reception error processing unit 24 notifies the master device 10 of the error information , and instructs the master device 10 to perform switching of the transmission conversion table 14 to the table t 2 . as described above , since the reception error processing unit 24 determines the increase / decrease of the error rate by adding the frame system error , such as the sync word error , the a - field crc error , or the b - field crc error , to the parity error of the sound data , it can cope with the occurrence of the error with higher accuracy . further , if it is determined that the error has occurred by the parity bit value of the sound data , the reception error processing unit 24 makes the sound data error counter c 2 count up , while if it is determined that the error has not occurred , the reception error processing unit 24 makes the sound data error counter c 2 count down . by increasing / decreasing the error rate by the sound data error counter c 2 , the reception error processing unit 24 can cope with the communication environment in which the reception level is deteriorated or becomes good . further , in the table r 2 of the reception conversion table 23 , the sound data in which the parity error has occurred is converted into the mute data . however , a click noise may occur depending on the sound data . accordingly , by performing switching of the reception conversion table 23 to the table r 3 , the sound data for which the error does not occur in the same frame is converted so that the sound is attenuated , and thus the influence of the click noise can be suppressed . further , in the case where the communication environment is further deteriorated , by performing switching of the reception conversion table 23 , which converts the whole sound data in the same frame into the mute data , to the table r 4 , the click noise can be suppressed more effectively . as described above , the embodiment of the present invention has been described thus far , but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment . for instance , in the embodiment , the high frequency signal is muted by means of a parity error for a high frequency signal , and the low frequency signal is muted by means of a parity error for a low frequency signal . however , both the high frequency signal and the low frequency signal can be muted by means of either of the two parity errors . fig1 a and 18b are diagrams collectively showing an example of received data processing used for setting the reception conversion table 23 . explanations are hereunder provided along fig1 a and 18b . in an example shown in fig1 a , when a sound data error counter c 2 in the receiving error processing unit 24 shows “ low ” or “ level b ” that is below a threshold value of one , “ mute ” processing is performed for a high frequency sound when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng .” “ mute ” processing is performed for a low frequency sound when a low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” in the example shown in fig1 a , when the sound data error counter c 2 shows “ level c ” or a threshold value which is more than one to less than two and when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ,” “ mute ” processing is performed . further , in connection with a low frequency sound achieved when the sound data error counter c 2 represents “ level c ,” even when the low frequency signal parity bit and the high frequency signal parity bit are normal ; namely , “ ok ,” “ attenuation ” is performed . if the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ,” “ attenuation ” will be performed . further , if the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng ,” “ mute ” processing will be performed . in the example shown in fig1 a , when the sound data error counter c 2 shows a threshold value of more than two , or deterioration proceeding up to ; namely , “ level d ,” both the high frequency signal and the low frequency signal are muted regardless of whether both the low frequency signal parity bit and the high frequency signal parity bit are “ ok ” or “ ng .” in the examples shown in fig1 a and 18b , first signal processing corresponds to high frequency sound processing that is practiced when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ” or when the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” the second signal processing corresponds to low frequency sound processing that is practiced when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ” or when the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” in the example shown in fig1 b , in a case where the sound data error counter c 2 in the receiving error processing unit 24 shows “ low ” or “ level b ” that is below a threshold value of one , “ mute ” processing is performed for a high frequency sound when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ” or when the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” in a case where the sound data error counter c 2 represents “ level b ,” “ mute ” processing is performed for the low frequency sound when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ” or when the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” in the example shown in fig1 b , when the sound data error counter c 2 shows “ level c ,” or a threshold value which is more than one to less than two , “ mute ” processing is performed for the high frequency sound if the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ” or if the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” further , when the sound data error counter c 2 represents “ level c ,” “ attenuation ” processing is performed even when both the low frequency signal parity bit and the high frequency signal parity bit are normal ; namely , “ ok .” in addition , when the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ level c ,” “ mute ” processing is performed for a low frequency sound if the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng ,” and “ mute ” processing is performed for a low frequency sound if the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” in the example shown in fig1 b , when the sound data error counter c 2 shows a threshold value of more than two , or deterioration proceeding up to ; namely , “ level d ,” both the high frequency signal and the low frequency signal are muted regardless of whether both the low frequency signal parity bit and the high frequency signal parity bit are “ ok ” or “ ng .” third to fifth signal processing corresponds to the following processing in the example shown in fig1 b . the third signal processing corresponds to high frequency sound processing that is performed when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng .” the fifth signal processing corresponds to high frequency sound processing that is performed when the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” the fourth signal processing corresponds to low frequency sound processing that is performed when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng .” in addition , the sixth signal processing corresponds to low frequency sound processing that is performed when the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 represents “ ng .” in the embodiment , lower order bits of sound data are employed as error detection bits ; namely , parity bits . however , the least significant bit can also be generated by means of another error detection method . in the above embodiment , an error detection code including a total of two bits ; namely , the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 and the low frequency signal parity bit p 2 , is generated , and the error detection codes are assigned to two lower order bits of the sound data . however , in another embodiment , only one parity bit of entire data that include both a high frequency signal and a low frequency signal is assigned to the error detection code , and both the high frequency signal and the low frequency signal can also be muted in accordance with the parity error code . specifically , there may be generated a parity bit ( the third parity bit : p 3 ) that reverses bits in accordance with the number of “ 1s ” in a series of data including both high frequency adpcm data and low frequency adpcm data , and a least significant bit of the low frequency adpcm data can be also replaced with the third parity bit p 3 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , processing is performed by use of only the parity bit p 3 . to be specific , if the sound data error counter c 2 represents “ small ,” or “ level b ” which is a threshold value below one , “ mute ” processing will be performed for high frequency sound if the parity bit p 3 represents “ ng .” further , “ mute ” processing will be performed even for a low frequency sound if the parity bit p 3 represents “ ng .” moreover , in the embodiment , when the sound data error counter c 2 shows “ level c ,” or a threshold value which is more than one to less than two , “ mute ” processing is performed for the high frequency sound when the high frequency signal parity bit p 1 represents “ ng .” further , when the sound data error counter c 2 represents “ level c ,” “ attenuation ” processing is performed for the low frequency sound regardless of whether the parity bit p 3 is normal , that is , “ ok ,” or “ ng .” furthermore , in the example , when the sound data error counter c 2 shows a threshold value of more than two , or deterioration proceeding up to “ level d ,” both the high frequency signal and the low frequency signal are muted regardless of whether the parity bit p 3 represents “ ok ” or “ ng .” since the system that is based on a wideband fixed - size sound packet can enhance accuracy in error detection while assuring a certain degree of sound quality when a communication environment becomes worse , the present invention is preferable for a wireless communication device and a communication terminal that practice a communication by means of a wideband sound packet . the present application is a continuation - in - part of international patent application no . pct / jp2013 / 077016 filed on sep . 27 , 2013 claiming the priority of japanese patent application no . 2012 - 215890 filed on sep . 28 , 2012 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . | 7 |
referring to fig1 to 6 , an embodiment of the present invention of a preservation container cover comprises a flexible film 2 adapted to contact with a rim of a container ( not shown in figures ), an upper sealing ring 1 and a lower sealing ring 3 , wherein the upper sealing ring 1 and the lower sealing ring are adapted to affix a periphery portion 21 of the flexible film 2 . the upper sealing ring 1 has a ring slot 11 provided along the periphery portion 21 of the flexible film 2 . the lower sealing ring 3 comprises a ring plug 31 extended along the periphery portion 21 of the flexible film 2 . the ring slot 11 and the ring plug 31 forms the clamp structure to affix and retain the periphery portion 21 of the flexible film 2 in the ring slot . the upper sealing ring 1 , flexible film 2 , and the lower sealing ring are firmly and rigidly connected together by fusing . the upper sealing ring 1 comprises an upper shoulder 12 corresponding to an edge portion 22 of the flexible film 2 and the lower sealing ring comprises a lower shoulder 32 corresponding to the edge portion 22 of the flexible film 2 , wherein the upper shoulder 12 and the lower shoulder 32 form a clamp construction to affix the edge portion 22 of the flexible film 2 in position . the lower shoulder 32 of the lower sealing ring 3 has an insertion slot 33 provided therearound , wherein a bottom sealing ring 4 is embedded in the insertion slot 33 . an extruding portion 41 of the lower bottom sealing ring 4 forms an expanding structure of the lower shoulder 32 of the lower sealing ring 3 . the flexible film 2 has an extending portion 23 extending beyond from the rim of the container , the extending portion 23 is constructed as a vacuum releasing element of the flexible film 2 which is used to release the vacuum after vacuum sealing the container . the upper sealing ring 1 comprises a handle 13 with respect to the extending portion 23 of the flexible film 2 , so that the handle 13 is able to apply an upward force to the vacuum releasing portion of the flexible film 2 for releasing the vacuum . the flexible film 2 is made of thermoplastic material , selected from a group consisting of polycarbonate , polyethylene , polyvinylidene chloride , and propylene , which is non - toxic to human body . the operation and principle of the cover of the present invention are described hereinafter . the cover is adapted to be used with all kinds of container , regardless of the types and sizes thereof , as long as the cover is larger than the opening of the container . vacuum sealing : slightly push down the flexible film 2 of the cover softly that squeezes the air out of the container from its rim , the flexible film 2 and the container are sealed by vacuum . vacuum releasing : to press the handle 13 with a thumb while pressing the extending portion 23 of the flexible film 2 , i . e . the vacuum releasing portion , the air is able to enter into the container while pulling the extending portion 23 , so that the vacuum is released and the cover can be removed . in the present invention , the shape of periphery of the cover can be circular which is close to the shape of the container , or can be oval , rectangular , square , or other polygon . of course , it can also be other shape which is not mentioned above . referring to fig7 to 15 , in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , the cover comprises an upper ring 1 ′, a flexible film 2 ′, and a lower ring 3 ′. the upper ring 1 ′ comprises an inner block ring 11 ′ and an outer block ring 13 ′. the inner block ring 11 ′ and the outer block ring 13 ′ form a clamp ring 12 ′ with an opening thereof facing downward , wherein a cross section of the clamp ring is in a “ u ” shape . the lower ring 3 ′ comprises an inner expanding ring 31 ′ and an outer expanding ring 33 ′. the inner expanding ring 31 ′ and the outer expanding ring 33 ′ form an expanding ring 32 ′ with an opening thereof facing upward , wherein a cross section of the expanding ring 32 ′ is in a “ u ” shape . the opening of the clamp ring 12 ′ and the opening of the expanding ring 32 ′ are facing each other and coupled by clamping and expanding which affixes the periphery portion 21 ′ of the flexible film 2 ′. the inner expanding ring 31 ′ comprises a shoulder 311 ′ corresponding to the press surface 111 ′ of the inner block ring 11 ′. the shoulder 311 ′ further comprises a conical ring 312 ′ integrally extended from the shoulder 311 ′, wherein the conical ring 312 ′ is plugged into the inner wall of the inner block ring 11 ′. the shoulder 311 ′ and the press surface 111 ′ provide a vertical pressure to the periphery portion 21 ′ of the flexible film 2 ′, and the conical ring 312 ′ provides an inner tilt pressure to the periphery portion 21 ′ of the flexible film 2 ′. the outer expanding ring 13 ′ comprises a conical expander 331 ′. the expander 331 ′ further provides an outer tilt pressure to the periphery portion 21 ′ of the flexible film 2 ′. the outer block ring 13 ′ comprises a loop 14 ′ on the inner wall thereof , wherein the loop 14 ′ limits the position of the terminal 332 ′ of the conical expander 331 ′ of the outer expanding ring 33 ′. because the loop 14 ′ provides the limit to the terminal 332 ′ of the conical expander 331 ′ of the outer expanding ring 33 ′, the expanding ring 32 ′ can be plugged into the opening of the clamp ring 12 ′ that is not easy to be detached . the handle 15 ′ of the upper ring 1 ′ comprises a date indicator 4 ′ for indicating the preservation period . the flexible film 2 ′ comprises an extending portion 22 ′ extending beyond the rim of the container outwardly . the extending portion 22 ′ forms a vacuum releasing element for detaching the flexible film 2 ′ from the rim of the container after the container is vacuum sealed . in the present invention , the flexible film 2 ′ is generally made of high - quality polymeric materials such as polystyrene . the operation and principle of the cover of the present invention are described hereinafter . the cover is adapted to all kinds of container regardless of types and sizes thereof , as long as the cover is larger than the opening of the container . vacuum sealing : slightly push down the flexible film 2 of the cover softly to squeeze the air out of the container from the rim thereof , the flexible film 2 and the container are sealed by vacuum . vacuum releasing : to press the handle 13 by the thumb while pressing the extending portion 23 of the flexible film 2 , i . e . the vacuum releasing element , the air is able to enter into the container by pulling the extending portion 23 so as to release the vacuum and remove the cover . one skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting . it will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished . it embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles . therefore , this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims . | 1 |
the accompanying drawings are used for purposes of illustrating the invention only and should not be used to construe the claims in a limiting fashion . fig1 is a schematic illustration of a high enthalpy plasma torch to which is attached a water - cooled nozzle for injection of a carbon - containing gas feed ; fig2 is a schematic illustration of a plasma torch wherein a nozzle is shown that includes separate injection lines for carbon - containing gas and a carrier gas and for catalyst particles and a carrier gas ; fig3 a is a schematic illustration of a portion of a plasma torch and a nozzle which provides for metal catalyst injection downstream of the plasma torch nozzle assembly ; fig3 b is a schematic illustration of a high enthalpy plasma torch to which is attached a water - cooled nozzle for injection of a carbon - containing gas feed and wherein a hollow graphite cylinder is provided within the reactor ; fig4 is a schematic illustration of a plasma torch attached to a synthesis reactor with water - cooled walls and an off - gas cooling system ; fig5 is a schematic illustration of the nozzle walls shown in fig1 to 4 with carbon nanotubes depicted thereon ; fig6 to 13 are electron microscopy images taken of cnt product obtained by operation of the method of the invention in helium at 200 torr pressure ; fig1 a - c are electron microscopy images taken of product obtained by operation of the method of the invention in helium at 500 torr pressure at various magnifications ; and fig1 is an electron microscope image showing well dispersed small catalyst particles in the soot ; fig1 gives the element analysis spectra obtained on the black particles visible in fig1 ; and fig1 is an electron microscope image talcen of cnt product obtained by operation of the method of the invention in argon at 200 torr pressure . the following exemplifies the type of apparatus which may be employed to conduct the method of the invention . a high enthalpy plasma torch an example of which is found in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 998 can be used to generate the plasma . at the torch 1 outlet is attached a water - cooled nozzle 2 ( see fig1 ) for the injection of the carbon - containing gas feed 4 . experiments were carried out using tetrachloroethylene ( tce , c 2 cl 4 ) as the carbon source . the invention however is not limited to this gas as other mixtures of hydrocarbon have been shown to yield the fullerene precursor molecules . for example , see u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 395 , 496 ; 5 , 985 , 232 ; 6 , 162 , 411 ; 6 , 083 , 469 ; 6 , 099 , 696 ; 6 , 350 , 488 b1 ; 6 , 261 , 532 b1 ; 6 , 303 , 094 b1 ; 6 , 221 , 330 b1 ; 6 , 331 , 209 b1 ; and 6 , 333 , 016 b1 for examples of other gases and mixtures thereof . thus various carbon halides can be used , as can various hydrocarbons . typically , the carbon - containing gas may be characterized generally as a c 1 - c 6 compound having as hetero atoms h , o , n , s or cl , optionally mixed with hydrogen and mixtures thereof . the carbon - containing gas was carried to the nozzle and injected using a transporting gas such as helium or argon . the transporting gas is typically referred to as the carrier gas . experiments described herein for cnt growth were made both with helium and argon gas . cnt production with argon ( see fig1 ) has an important advantage of lower cost of operation . typically , but not necessarily , the transporting gas is the same type as that used as the main plasma forming gas 5 inside the plasma torch . the method described above and illustrated schematically in fig1 is based on the method described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 395 , 496 for fullerene production . the electrode material in contact with the electric arc inside the plasma torch constitutes , through the arc erosion process , the source of material for the production of nano - particles of catalyst . the torch design used in the tests is based on u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 998 with tungsten as the electrode surface material . alternatively , fine metal particles can be injected along with the carbon in the carrier gas or by using a separate injection line 11 in the nozzle as shown in fig2 . alternatively , metal catalyst injection 12 can also be made downstream of the plasma torch - nozzle assembly using powders or metal samples melted and vaporized by the strong heat flux of the plasma flame as shown in fig3 a . alternatively , metal catalyst nanoparticles can be added in the liquid carbon precursor and injected either downstream of the plasma torch . alternatively , metal catalyst nanoparticles added in the liquid carbon precursor can be injected directly in the plasma when using an injection probe inserted in an inductively coupled thermal plasma torch ( tp - icp ) instead of a dc plasma torch . the plasma torch may be attached to a synthesis reactor 17 with water - cooled walls 7 and an off gas cooling system 8 as illustrated in fig1 and 4 . the pressure in the reactor can be controlled between 200 torr and 800 torr . peripherals may be attached to the reactor and may be selected from units for off gas cleaning , pumping , cooling , control and electrical power supply for the plasma torch . inside the reactor is a provision for product recovery on a water - cooled plate 10 facing the plasma torch at some adjustable position . provisions to control the temperature profile and residence time in some given temperature zone can be added in the main chamber through the use of an inner enclosure surrounding the plasma jet . a hollow graphite cylinder 30 cm long is used as the inner enclosure in the present embodiment of the invention ( see fig3 b ). in the experiments described herein , tungsten electrodes were used to generate the nano - particles of catalyst . the very high boiling point of tungsten ( 5660 ° c .) results in the metal particles being generated directly within the nozzle , and as the nearby area of the nozzle wall has a temperature typically in the range of 1000 - 1500 ° c ., the resulting fast quench of the metal vapor induces nanometer size particle nucleation . in such a scenario , an significant amount of long cnt structures 35 are produced directly on the nozzle walls as seen in fig5 , as this region corresponds to a good catalyst particle nucleation zone from the strong thermal gradients occurring close to the nozzle 34 wall . also , the nucleation of catalyst particles from the thermal gradients generated by the cold tce injection ( compared to the hot plasma ) also occurs in the main stream . these particles exit the plasma torch 36 and enter the main reactor chamber for cnt growth in the gas phase . a change in electrode material to a metal with a lower boiling point , and / or a change in surface temperature of the nozzle , and / or a change of the nozzle geometry inducing a given flow pattern and quenching rate , and / or a change in the position of the carbon - containing gas acting as a quench , and / or the insertion of a quenching surface within the plasma torch tailflame , and / or alternate source of catalyst as illustrated in fig2 and 3a , all result in modifying and controlling the position of cnt formations . thus the cnt formed may be single - walled , multi - walled ( depending mainly on the size of metal particles ), and the lengths of the tubes may be affected by any of these changes . fig6 to 13 , and 16 , show electron microscopy images of the cnt formed within the nozzle . fig6 , 7 , 8 are lower magnification scanning electron microscope ( sem ) images showing that very long fibers are produced with lengths up to 50 μm , and the presence of fibers throughout and strongly imbedded within the carbon soot particles . fig9 , 10 , 11 are higher magnification sem images of these fibers , revealing a typical tube diameter from 10 to 30 nm , and a good uniformity of the tubes over their lengths . fig1 and 13 are transmission electron microscope ( tem ) images showing that nano - fibers are effectively nanotubes with inside diameters around 2 nm . fig1 also shows the catalyst particles ( black dots ) of tungsten located at the tip of the tube and responsible for the tube growth . fig1 presents the results of an energy dispersive x - ray analysis ( edax ) of the black particles visible in fig1 , showing the tungsten peaks . fig1 shows similar cnts produced using argon instead of helium as the plasma and carrier gas . one important aspect of the present application is the ability of the method to generate the nanometer sized metal particles . fig1 shows other images of tubes formed outside the torch - nozzle assembly and collected on a water - cooled plate . in fig1 , the metal sample vaporization technique of fig3 was used with iron wires inserted into graphite holders at the outlet of the torch . demonstration of cnt generation using the present method was made at the 55 kw power level . fig1 shows an additional sem of well dispersed small catalyst particles in the soot . good dispersion and homogeneity of the nano - particles is a difficult task considering strong agglomeration effects encountered at this scale length . the present method solves this problem through in situ generation of the catalyst , this occurring within the plasma at the site of tube growth . the present invention can involve the use of a plasma torch 1 as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 998 on which a water - cooled nozzle assembly is added for carbon - containing gas injection . typically , the material for the nozzle is tungsten when using tetrachloroethylene ( tce ) as a carbon source gas . the electrodes used in the demonstration experiment were coated with tungsten , although electrode surfaces containing either fe , ni , co , cr , mo , pd , pt , ru , rh , hf and gd should also show significant catalytic effects . using tce as a carbon source gas , an evaporator 23 is used to transform the liquid tce 22 ( at room temperature ) to a gas carried in heated lines at 200 ° c . with a helium or argon flow 19 . flowrates used are typically 20 standard liters per minute ( slpm ) of helium and 0 . 05 to 0 . 54 mol / min tce . higher power dc plasma torches or inductively coupled thermal plasma torches ( tp - icp ) can provide the flexibility to inject the liquid tce directly into the torch . in such cases , nanoparticles of catalyst can also be incorporated into the liquid feed and simultaneously injected into the plasma . the plasma torch 1 , nozzle 2 and carbon / carrier gas 4 feed lines are assembled to a reactor chamber 17 made of stainless - steel with water cooling 7 using a double wall system . provision is made for access inside the chamber for product recovery on the walls and / or on a collecting plate / receptacle . for continuous operation , further provision should be made for product removal during plasma torch operation . the reactor chamber is to be operated at pressures between 200 and 800 torr he . experiments the results of which are shown in fig6 to 13 were made at 200 torr he , while the experiments for which the results are shown in fig1 were made at 500 torr he , and those for fig1 were made at 200 torr argon . provision is made for pumping of the off gases 8 using a water ring vacuum pump 25 in the scheme using tce as the carbon source gas . provision is also made at the reactor outlet for off gas cooling 9 before its transport to the vacuum pump . using the scheme of tce carbon source , a chlorine separation / recovery system 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 and 26 is used at the outlet of the vacuum pump . helium or argon gas is supplied to the main plasma torch 5 gas inlet at a volumetric rate of typically 200 to 225 slpm . this rate is very much dependent on the plasma torch employed . in the experiments described herein , a plasma torch sold by pyrogenesis inc . model rpt - 2 , 100 kw high enthalpy plasma torch was used . the use of other torches would dictate the rate . plasma torch operation also requires water cooling lines and electrical power line connections 6 . typically , tp - icp plasma torch systems require much lower flowrates . a summary of the experimental conditions used for the production of the carbon nanotubes described in the present application is provided in the following table i . at startup , the tce injection system is brought up to its optimal temperature . water cooling systems are then actuated as well as off gas cleaning systems . these comprise conventional equipment known in the art . the reactor is then evacuated to the desired pressure and a torch preheat is made in the first minute using argon or helium plasma gas and the carrier gas . this provides the high nozzle temperature for tce injection and prevents a condensation of the tce in the inlet lines . the type and flow rate of plasma gas can then be adjusted to the desired values . tce flow is admitted to the evaporator 23 and injected into the torch nozzle 2 at a desired flow rate . adjusting the electric current supplied to the plasma torch sets the quantity of metal vapor in the main plasma stream . tests were made with arc current at 350 a . cnts are produced and collected in the nozzle wall , and / or on the walls of the chamber or on collecting surfaces that may be located along the plasma jet at the outlet of the nozzle . generally , the current , voltage and flow rates are all interdependent parameters which depend on the plasma torch , use of metal electrode or metal particles to generate the catalyst and the plasma gas . preliminary demonstration experiments were made with a tungsten nozzle geometry that allows for an expansion of the plasma jet in order to provide a rapid cooling of the metal vapour at a position corresponding to tce injection . computational fluid dynamic ( cfd ) modeling of the temperature / flow patterns in the nozzle provided the basic knowledge for nozzle geometries enabling nucleation of the nano - particles of metal . experiments with the expansion nozzle resulted in rapid production of tungsten nanoparticles inside the nozzle itself , solid tungsten nucleation occurring at the very high temperatures attained in this zone the system . long cnt ( mainly multi - wall nanotubes — mwnt ) of over 50 micrometers in length and typically 30 nanometer in external diameter were produced from the tungsten nano - particles directly inside the nozzle expansion zone . these nanotubes were grown both in argon and helium , and were found in high concentration inside a soot adhering strongly to the nozzle walls . experiments with increasing reactor pressure were aimed at pushing the nanotube formation outside the nozzle area into the reactor . similarly , experiments with iron catalyst wires held and vaporized by the plasma jet outside of the reactor also allowed for cnt formation on the iron droplets projected onto the water cooled surface facing the plasma torch . this showed that providing catalyst nano - particles within the plasma jet outside of the plasma torch in a zone where atomic carbon is present enables the possibility of growing the cnt in the gas phase . reactor optimization may be achieved through the selection of a metal electrode catalyst ( for example fe or ni / co ) that will nucleate nano - particles downstream of the nozzle ( i . e . outside the nozzle ), and further inject these particles in a controlled temperature and flow velocity zone optimizing the nanotube formation and elimination of the by - products such the chlorinated compounds ( mainly c 2 cl 4 ). various nozzle geometries can be used to attain the necessary cooling rates of the metal vapours . also , an inner wall made of a hollow cylinder of graphite is added inside the main reactor to better control the temperature and flow pattern in order to attain uniform temperature ( typically around 1000 ° c .) and long residence times . a fast cooling of the plasma jet at the nozzle exit contributes to achieving nucleation of the metal vapour into nanometer - sized particles having a narrow size distribution . the invention may be varied in any number of ways as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art and all obvious equivalents and the like are meant to fall within the scope of this description and claims . the description is meant to serve as a guide to interpret the claims and not to limit them unnecessarily . | 2 |
fig1 shows a schematic form , by way of example , of a cross - section of an apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention . apparatus 10 facilitates washing and drying of one or more semiconductor wafers w , with the wafers w being substantially free of watermarks ( water spots ) after drying . the apparatus 10 comprises an airtight housing 12 , a wash tank 14 , a wafer holding and lifting rack 16 , a water cooling unit 18 , and a pump 20 . other elements of the apparatus 10 , or within the housing 12 , are not shown but may be such as found with similar apparatus commercially available . one such apparatus is sold by dai nippon screen ( das ) co . of japan . illustratively , the wash tank 14 is three dimensional in shape with four vertical walls 22 , a bottom 26 , no top , and a top lip 28 . the tank 14 is continuously filled with de - ionized water ( diw ) 60 via a supply pipe 30 through one tank wall 22 near the bottom 26 of the tank 14 . there is an hermetic seal 32 around the pipe 20 where it passes through a wall of the housing 12 to the tank 14 . the pipe 30 runs to the water cooling unit 18 which in turn is supplied via a pipe 34 from a diw supply ( not shown ). cold ( chilled ) diw 60 close to freezing temperature ( e . g ., at about 50 ° c . ), running into the bottom of the tank 14 continuously flows upward within the tank and drains out of the tank over its top lip 28 . we have discovered that the use of cold water enhances the &# 34 ; marangoni effect &# 34 ; and results in a substantial reduction in watermarks being left on the wafers w as a result of the washing and drying process . the water overflowing the tank 14 falls to the bottom of the housing 12 and is pumped out via a drain pipe 36 and the pump 20 . the tank 14 is deep enough so that when the wafer rack 16 is in its down position as seen in fig1 the wafers w are completely submerged in diw washing upward over and around them . the housing 12 is hermetically sealed when apparatus 10 is in operation . the interior of the housing 12 during wafer - washing is maintained at atmospheric pressure . during wafer drying the interior of the housing 12 is maintained at a low pressure . this low pressure is typically a fraction of a torr and can be from about one torr or less . the interior of the housing 12 above the tank 14 comprises a space 38 which is continuously supplied with an organic vapor such as ipa in dry nitrogen via a pipe 40 , as indicated by an arrow 41 . the pipe 40 is connected to a supply ( not shown ). to suppress ipa condensation in the vessel containing the chilled diw , the temperature of the ipa / n 2 mixture may be reduced as it is introduced into the process chamber . the temperature is reduced to equal or less than about the temperature of the diw . in one embodiment , the temperature of the ipa / n 2 mixture is reduced by chilling the n 2 gas and / or the ipa vaporizer . by lowering the temperature of the mixture , the ipa concentration may be maintained less than the saturation value . by this method , even though the chamber temperature is reduced due to the presence of chilled diw , condensation of ipa in the tank may be suppressed . the n 2 and / or the vaporizer can be chilled using the same cooler to chill the diw . as such , no additional hardware is necessary for the chilled n 2 / ipa supply . after the wafers w have been sufficiently washed in diw 60 ( e . g ., during an elapsed time of 10 to 20 minutes ), the rack 16 and the wafers w held thereby are raised within the sealed housing 12 . a mechanism ( not shown ) raises wafers and rack at a controlled rate ( e . g ., over an elapsed time of 5 to 10 minutes ) vertically from the down position shown until they are entirely out of the wash tank 14 , as indicated by a vertical arrow 42 . only after the wafers are entirely out of the wash tank 14 is the pressure in the housing 12 reduced to low value such as mentioned above . as the wafers w are gradually raised by the holder 16 above the top lip 28 ( water level ) of the tank 14 , the wafers w become exposed to ipa vapor molecules in the upper space 38 of the housing 12 ( still at atmospheric pressure ) and , in accordance with one feature of the invention , enhanced &# 34 ; marangoni effect &# 34 ; fluid flow takes place . the flow is a convection current of diw with absorbed ipa molecules down away from and off of the face of the wafers w into the wash water . this enhanced action , together with other features of the invention , substantially eliminates the formation of watermarks on the wafers w after dying , as will now be explained . referring to fig2 there is shown a greatly enlarged schematic representation of a portion of apparatus 10 of fig1 with a semiconductor wafer w therein being pulled out of tank 14 and into space 38 at the top of housing 12 . the wafer w is being withdrawn generally vertically from the wash tank 14 ( see fig1 ) at a controlled rate in the direction of the arrow 42 from a body of wash water ( diw ) 60 in the tank 14 . a top surface 62 of the diw 60 is level with the tank lip 28 . as was mentioned previously , the space 38 within the upper part of the housing 12 is continuously supplied with organic vapor ( ipa / n 2 ), and molecules of the vapor , indicated by &# 34 ; dots &# 34 ; 64 , are absorbed into the diw 60 . there is much higher concentration of the organic molecules 64 at and near the surface 62 of the diw 60 than deeper into it . the continuous flow of the diw 60 up and over the tank lip 28 helps keep the organic molecules 64 concentrated near the water surface 62 . a front face 70 of the wafer w is shown partially in and partially out of the diw wash water 60 of the tank 14 . a rear face and other portions of the wafer w are broken away and not shown . the wafer face 70 is configured into ics ( as is well known in the art ). by way of example , three &# 34 ; trenches &# 34 ;, an upper trench 72 , a middle trench 74 , and a lower trench 76 are shown etched into the face 70 of the wafer w to illustrate surface details of the ics ( other details being not shown ). the trenches 72 , 74 and 76 are microscopically small in size ( less than one micron ). diw wash water 60 flows by capillary action into the trenches 72 , 74 and 76 ( and on other surface details of the ics not shown ) during washing of the wafer w . it is important that all such water which may remain after washing be expeditiously removed from these trenches ( and from other such surface details ) on the face 70 of the wafer w as it is removed from the wash tank 14 in order to preclude the formation of watermarks , as was explained previously . the vertical face 70 of the wafer w , as it is drawn upward , is in contact with a meniscus generally indicated at 80 , of diw 60 . an upper , thin zone 82 of the meniscus 80 is rich in absorbed molecules 64 of ipa as indicated by the high concentration of &# 34 ; dots &# 34 ; representing these molecules . on the other hand , lower down along the meniscus 80 the concentration of ipa molecules 64 is much less because of , among other reasons , the continuous flow of diw 60 up and over the tank lip 28 , as was explained previously . the surface tension ( st ) of liquid ipa is less than the surface tension of diw . thus where there is a high concentration of ipa molecules 64 in the diw 60 , as in the meniscus zone 82 , the surface tension ( st ) of the liquid mixture is lower than the st of diw alone . this differential in sts gives rise to an internal flow of liquid , indicated by an arrow 84 , from a region of lower st ( zone 82 ) to a region of higher st ( the main body of diw 60 ). such internal liquid flow is termed the &# 34 ; marangoni effect &# 34 ;. as was mentioned previously diw 60 supplied to the tank 14 is chilled to near freezing ( e . g ., 50 ° c .) by the cooling unit 18 . the wafer w as it is withdrawn from the diw 60 is thus relatively cold . this promotes the condensation of ipa vapor on the exposed face 70 of the wafer w . and this condensed ipa continuously flows down the face of the wafer further concentrating ipa molecules 64 in the meniscus zone 82 . moreover , as diw is cooled to near freezing , as here , its st increases faster than the st of ipa as it is cooled . thus the differential in sts between diw mixed with ipa and diw alone is in fact increased by the cold temperature here compared to ambient of about 20 ° c . this feature of the invention enhances the &# 34 ; marangoni effect &# 34 ;. also , because diw is less active as a solvent at lower temperature ( e . g ., 50 ° c .) than at ambient or higher temperatures , smaller amounts of silicon of the wafer w are dissolved by the diw . this further inhibits the formation of watermarks . while the wafer w is immersed in the diw 60 , the continuous flow of wash water up and over the wafer flushes away any diw with dissolved silicon ( or other contaminants ) in it . as indicated schematically in fig2 the lower trench 76 in the face 70 of the wafer w is below water level and is filled with almost pure diw . the middle trench 74 however , is in the thin meniscus zone 82 where the diw is rich in ipa molecules 64 , as was previously explained . the trench 74 accordingly is filled with liquid ( diw with a high concentration of ipa ) which has a lower st than diw alone . accordingly , as the wafer w is further raised above the meniscus 80 and the zone 82 , liquid in the trench 74 will be drawn in the direction of the arrow 84 by the &# 34 ; marangoni effect &# 34 ; out of and down away from the trench 74 leaving it free of diw . such a liquid - free condition is illustrated in fig2 for the upper trench 72 which is shown already above the meniscus 80 . any microscopic amounts of diw which may still remain in the trenches 72 , 74 , 76 , or on other surface details of the wafer w after it has been completely withdrawn from the tank 14 are quickly evaporated as will now be explained . as soon as the wafers w are completely out of the wash water in the tank 14 ( i . e ., entirely above the top surface 62 of the dwi 60 ) the supply of organic vapor ( ipa / n 2 ) to the housing 12 via the pipe 40 is turned off . at the same time the pump 20 is operated at a rate to quickly reduce the pressure within the housing 12 and the upper space 38 to less than about one torr . at this low pressure any residual diw ( and ipa ) on a wafer w quickly evaporates . this considerably shortens the time during which such residual diw can dissolve silicon from the body of the wafer and thereby subsequently leave watermarks after drying . also because the residual diw and wafer w are cold ( e . g ., near freezing ) any residual diw is further inhibited in dissolving silicon from the wafer . low pressure , shortened time and cold temperature here all contribute to virtually zero incidence of watermarks . thus the apparatus 10 provides improved washing and drying of semiconductor wafers w and insures substantially better prevention of watermarks than do previous systems . various modifications in the apparatus and method disclosed may occur to those skilled in the art and can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims . for example , the temperature and pressure values mentioned can be changed , and the washing and drying times for particular wafers may be as best suited for them . moreover , organic vapor other than ipa in nitrogen can be used . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary communication system for configuring a mobile terminal to provide a time varying random password in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the system includes a computer network 100 and a wireless network 130 . the computer network 100 includes a server 105 that is accessible over a computer network 100 by a client terminal 115 in a physical location 117 . the computer network 100 is any electronic or optical information distribution network and can comprise any combination of a variety of communication media , such as , but not limited to , the internet , the public switched telephone network , a local area network ( lan ), and a wide area network ( wan ). the server 105 may provide access to a database storing sensitive information or the like , or allow individuals to perform various transactions . accordingly , it is important to control access to the server 105 . as a result , the server 105 requires a password from the client terminal 115 that validates the identity of the user at the client terminal 115 . as an additional layer of security , the computer network 100 requires the authorized user to access the computer network 100 from the physical location 117 . the particular physical location 117 is preferably a physically secured location that is not accessible by the general public . when an authorized user attempts to access the computer network 100 , the computer network 100 requests the user to provide a password . additionally , the computer network 100 uses the wireless network 130 , via terminal 125 to locate the position of a mobile terminal 120 associated with the user . the terminal 125 is a terminal that has access to the wireless network 130 , either directly , or via another network . for example , the terminal 125 can comprises a computer connected to either the wireless network 130 or the public switched telephone network . the computer network 100 grants access to the user , if the user provides the proper password , and the mobile terminal 120 is located in the physical location 117 . it is noted now that an unauthorized user needs , not only an authorized user &# 39 ; s password , but also the ability to place the authorized user &# 39 ; s mobile terminal 120 at the physical location 117 to access the computer network 100 . furthermore , even if an unauthorized user succeeds in remotely accessing the client terminal 115 , the computer network 100 will not grant the unauthorized user access to the computer network 100 . accordingly , remote access need not be cut off from the client terminal 115 . this allows the client terminal 115 to be used for other purposes , such as accessing the internet . in one embodiment , as an additional security feature , the computer network 100 can use time varying randomly generated passwords . the time varying randomly generated passwords can be displayed on the mobile terminal 120 . exemplary systems and methods for the foregoing are described in “ integration of secure identification cards into cell phone ”, u . s . application for patent ser . no . 10 / 801 , 470 , by relan , et al ., filed mar . 16 , 2004 , which is incorporated herein by reference . during access , the authorized user provides the time varying randomly generated password displayed on the mobile terminal 120 . this additional feature virtually assures that the accessing user himself is at the physical location 117 . the mobile terminal 120 can also be integrated into the client terminal 115 for ease of use . referring now to fig2 , there is illustrated a block diagram describing the operation of the server 105 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . at 155 , the server 105 receives a request for access to the computer network 100 . at 160 , the server 105 requests the password from the user . as noted above , a number of schemes can be used for allocating the password . in one embodiment , the password can be a time varying randomly generated alpha - numeric number . at 165 , the server 105 determines whether the password provided is the correct password . if at 165 , the password provided during 160 is incorrect , the server 105 requests the password again from the user a predetermined number of times . if after the predetermined number of times ( 175 ) the user has failed to provide the correct password , the server 105 denies access ( 180 ). when the user provides the correct password at 165 , the server 105 then requests , via terminal 125 , a wireless network to check ( 185 ) the location of the mobile terminal 120 to determine ( 190 ) if the mobile terminal 120 is located within location 117 . if the mobile terminal 120 is within location 117 , the server 105 grants access ( 195 ) to the authorized user . if the mobile terminal 120 is not within the location 117 , the server 105 denies ( 180 ) access . the server 105 checks the location of the mobile terminal 120 using a wireless network 130 . the wireless network 130 can comprise a variety of communication networks , such as , but not limited to , the global system for mobile ( gsm ) communications , or the personal communication services ( pcs ) network , ieee 802 . 11 wireless lan network , ethernet etc . referring now to fig3 there is illustrated a block diagram of a global system for mobile communication ( gsm ) public land mobile network ( plmn ) 210 . the pmln 210 is composed of a plurality of areas 212 , each with a node known as a mobile switching center ( msc ) 214 and an integrated visitor location register ( vlr ) 216 therein . the msc / vlr areas 212 , in turn , include a plurality of location areas ( la ) 218 , which are defined as that part of a given msc / vlr area 212 in which a mobile terminal 120 may move freely without having to send update location information to the msc / vlr area 212 that controls the la 218 . each location area 212 is divided into a number of cells 222 . the mobile terminal 220 is the physical equipment , e . g ., a car phone or other portable phone , used by mobile subscribers to communicate with the cellular network 210 , each other , and users outside the subscribed network , both wireline and wireless . the msc 214 is in communication with at least one base station controller ( bsc ) 223 , which , in turn , is in contact with at least one base transceiver station ( bts ) 224 . the bts is a node comprising the physical equipment , illustrated for simplicity as a radio tower , that provides radio coverage to the geographical part of the cell 222 for which it is responsible . it should be understood that the bsc 223 may be connected to several base transceiver stations 224 , and may be implemented as a stand - alone node or integrated with the msc 214 . in either event , in one embodiment , the bsc 223 and bts 224 components , as a whole , are generally referred to as a base station system ( bss ) 225 . at least one of the mscs 214 are connected to the public switched telephone network ( pstn ). the plmn service area or wireless network 210 includes a home location register ( hlr ) 226 , which is a database maintaining all subscriber information , e . g ., user profiles , current location information , international mobile subscriber identity ( imsi ) numbers , and other administrative information . the hlr 226 may be co - located with a given msc 214 , integrated with the msc 214 , or alternatively can service multiple mscs 214 , the latter of which is illustrated in fig3 . the vlr 216 is a database containing information about all of the mobile terminals 120 currently located within the msc / vlr area 212 . if a mobile terminal 120 roams into a new msc / vlr area 212 , the vlr 216 connected to that msc 214 will request data about that mobile terminal 120 from the hlr database 226 ( simultaneously informing the hlr 226 about the current location of the mobile terminal 120 ). accordingly , if the user of the mobile terminal 120 then wants to make a call , the local vlr 216 will have the requisite identification information without having to re - interrogate the hlr 226 . in the afore - described manner , the vlr and hlr databases 216 and 226 , respectively , contain various subscriber information associated with a given mobile terminal 120 . the gsm plmn 210 also includes the capabilities of locating a mobile terminal 120 , using what is known as a global positioning system ( gps ). the gps uses a number of btss 224 in the vicinity of the mobile terminal 120 to determine the physical location of the mobile terminal 120 . each of the number of btss 224 use radio signals to determine the distance of the mobile terminal 120 from each bts 224 . the btss 224 transmit signals to the mobile terminal 120 . responsive to receiving the signal from the btss 224 , the mobile terminal 120 transmits radio signals . the radio signals transmitted by the mobile terminal 120 are indicative of the time that the mobile terminal 120 transmits the signals . accordingly , the distance between the mobile terminal 120 and the btss 224 can be determined from the time delay between the transmission of the signals and the receipt of the signals at the btss 224 . a gps node 236 determines and triangulates the distances from several btss 224 to determine the physical location of the mobile terminal 120 . in one embodiment of the present invention , during an attempted access by a user , the computer network 100 requests the gsm plmn 210 to use the gps to locate the mobile terminal 120 . responsive thereto , the gsm plmn 210 reports the location of the mobile terminal 120 to the computer network 100 . the computer network 100 then determines whether the mobile terminal 120 is within the physical location 117 . if the mobile terminal 120 is within the physical location 117 and the user provides the correct password , the computer network 100 grants access . referring now to fig4 , there is illustrated a signal flow diagram describing the operation of the communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . a user requests access to the computer network 100 by providing a password ( signal 405 ) to the server 105 of the computer network 100 . the server 105 then validates the password ( 410 ). upon validating the password , the server 105 then sends a request ( signal 415 ) for the position of the mobile terminal 120 associated with the authorized user , to a gps node 236 associated with the wireless network 130 . the infrastructure of the wireless network 130 routes the request to an msc 214 associated with the mobile terminal 120 . the msc 214 commands ( signal 420 ) several btss 224 to determine the distance between the said bts and the mobile terminal 120 . the btss 224 transmit radio signals ( signal 425 ) to the mobile terminal 120 and receive radio signals ( signal 430 ) from the mobile terminal 120 . the radio signals transmitted by the mobile terminal 120 are indicative of the time that the mobile terminal 120 transmits the signals . accordingly , the distance between the mobile terminal 120 and the btss 224 can be determined from the time delay between the transmission of the signals and the receipt of the signals at the btss 224 . the btss 224 provide the time of receipt of the signals from the mobile terminal 120 to a gps node 236 ( signal 435 ). the gps node 236 determines and triangulates ( 440 ) the distances from several btss 224 to determine the physical location of the mobile terminal 120 . the gps node 236 then provides the physical location ( signal 445 ) of the mobile terminal 120 to the server 105 , via terminal 125 . the server 105 then determines ( 450 ) whether the mobile terminal 120 is within the physical location 117 and denies or grants access , thereon . referring now to fig5 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary server 105 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . a cpu 60 is interconnected via system bus 62 to random access memory ( ram ) 64 , read only memory ( rom ) 66 , an input / output ( i / o ) adapter 68 , a user interface adapter 72 , a communications adapter 84 , and a display adapter 86 . the input / output ( i / o ) adapter 68 connects peripheral devices such as hard disc drives 40 , floppy disc drives 41 for reading removable floppy discs 42 , and optical disc drives 43 for reading removable optical disc 44 ( such as a compact disc or a digital versatile disc ) to the bus 62 . the user interface adapter 72 connects devices such as a keyboard 74 , a mouse 76 having a plurality of buttons 67 , a speaker 78 , a microphone 82 , and / or other user interface devices such as a touch screen device ( not shown ) to the bus 62 . the communications adapter 84 connects the computer system to a data processing network 92 . the display adapter 86 connects a monitor 88 to the bus 62 . an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented as a file resident in the random access memory 64 of one or more computer systems 58 configured generally as described in fig5 . until required by the computer system 58 , the file may be stored in another computer readable memory , for example in a hard disc drive 40 , or in removable memory such as an optical disc 44 for eventual use in an optical disc drive 43 , or a floppy disc 42 for eventual use in a floppy disc drive 41 . the file can contain a plurality of instructions executable by the computer system , causing the computer system to perform various tasks , such effectuating the flow chart described in fig2 . it is noted that the physical storage of the sets of instructions physically changes the medium upon which it is stored electrically , magnetically , or chemically so that the medium carries computer readable information . while the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope . therefore , it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed , but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
referring initially to the drawing ( fig1 - 6 ), there is shown flotation vessel or swimming aid or walker 10 . this walker 10 is preferably configured in a square or rectangular shape , best illustrated in fig1 and 5 , but it can also be round or circular , or any other shape , if so desired . walker 10 basically consists of outer support members 12 and inner support means 14 which are integrally secured together by braces or supports 16 for strength and rigidity . inner support means 14 is designed so as to be unobtrusive to the user , thereby providing him with maximum open area for freedom of movement of his arms and legs while also safely supporting him well above the water &# 39 ; s surface . outer support members 12 provide buoyancy to walker 10 . these members 12 can consist of hollow tubing , such as plastic piping , or they can consist of foam covered supports ( the supports being either solid or hollow with the foam providing the necessary buoyancy ). regardless of the construction of such members 12 , it is preferable for them to be wrapped or enclosed within a soft outer padding 11 so as to protect the user ( as well as others ) from injury . this outer padding will also protect the integrity of the foam covered supports if such is the construction of walker 10 ( in which case this soft outer padding may simply be a durable fabric ). such a soft outer padding is desired so that outer members 12 may be hit or kicked without harming the user . also , it is preferable for such buoyancy or outer members 12 to be constructed of a non - rusting , durable material so that the fear of breaking due to corrosion is eliminated , especially since such soft outer padding ( or foam ) may inadvertently trap moisture next to such members 12 while walker 10 is being stored . as shown in fig1 and 5 , outer support or buoyancy members 12 are interconnected to each other ( or integral ) to form the continuous enclosure of walker 10 . one embodiment of walker 10 employs lengths of plastic piping ( such as pvc piping ) that is only a few inches in diameter ( in the range of about 2 to 6 inches ). this size piping , when closed or sealed , provides the buoyancy desired . the four corners 13 of walker 10 then simply consist of four 90 ° elbows which connect the lengths of piping together . for additional comfort and safety , all of this piping and these fittings would preferably be wrapped in soft outer padding 11 . in this manner , walker 10 may be easily assembled and disassembled as needed , especially if soft outer padding 11 consists of a slit foam tube that simple presses over such piping and fittings . interior of buoyancy members 12 , and connected thereto , is positioned support means 14 . this support means 14 consists of a series of longitudinal and transverse braces or supports 15 , 16 , respectively , which support seat assembly 18 . these braces or supports 15 , 16 are generally constructed of the same material as buoyancy members 12 , but of a much smaller diameter or cross - section . for example , should walker 10 be constructed of pvc piping , then braces or supports 15 , 16 can be constructed of the same material , but of about one ( 1 &# 34 ;) inch diameter or so . such braces 15 , 16 can be secured to buoyancy members 12 by reduced fittings and &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; connectors if so desired . any connections between the braces 15 , 16 themselves would be via normal sized fittings . however , if desired , braces 15 , 16 and buoyancy members 12 may be bolted , glued , welded or otherwise secured together depending upon the material from which members 12 and braces 15 , 16 are constructed . in any event , no matter how they are connected , braces 15 , 16 provide rigidity to buoyancy members 12 while also centrally supporting seat assembly 18 . seat assembly 18 is also generally constructed of the same material as braces 15 , 16 . in this embodiment , seat assembly 18 comprises a closed loop or enclosure 20 that is supported from opposing sides by a plurality of braces , transverse braces 16 . the rear portion 25 of closed loop or enclosure 20 is also secured to buoyancy members 16 via a plurality of braces , longitudinal braces 15 . however , the final configuration of the manner of support of seat assembly 18 may vary as needed . in any event , as indicated in the drawing , the user is generally surrounded by two separate concentric enclosures 12 , 20 while positioned in walker 10 . the first enclosure is defined by outer support or buoyancy members 12 while the second enclosure is defined by closed loop 20 of seat assembly 18 . suspended within closed loop 20 is seat 22 . generally seat 22 is slung from opposite portions or ends 23 , 25 of closed loop 20 in the manner of a hammock , thereby providing two leg openings on either side of seat 22 between it and closed loop 20 . such openings are large enough to enable the legs of the user 40 ( in phantom ) to freely move or kick as needed , as best illustrated in fig6 . also , seat 22 is constructed of a soft pliable material , such as a nylon fabric , so that it may be easily crumpled between the user &# 39 ; s legs without chafing or any discomfort while still providing the necessary strength when the user is in the sitting position . in this fashion , should the user 40 ( in phantom ) desire to walk along the bottom of the water , as best illustrated in fig6 seat 22 will not interfere with such leg movement , however , should the user decide instead to float upon the water , the user need only sit upon seat 22 , in which case the back of closed loop 20 can act as a backrest . to retain seat 22 in place without slippage to one side or the other of closed loop 20 , seat 22 is fastened to closed loop 20 on opposite sides of transverse braces 16 and to at least one of brace 15 , as best shown in fig1 and 5 . thus , by this construction , these braces 15 , 16 prevent seat 22 from sliding one way or the other , thereby keeping it centrally positioned within closed loop 20 . immediately in front of seat assembly 18 is hand rest 24 . hand rest 24 is also constructed of the same material as braces 15 , 16 and closed loop 20 . this hand rest 24 is generally centrally located along the front buoyancy member 12a some distance from seat assembly 18 , as best seen in fig1 and 5 , but without any connection between the two . hand rest 24 is generally u - shaped with each of its open ends 27 , 29 rigidly secured to this front buoyancy member 12a in the normal fashion thereby also forming a closed loop . also , if desired , the size ( length &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ;, fig2 and 5 ) of the opening defined by hand rest 24 may be the same as closed loop 20 or such opening sizes may be different . additionally , if desired , hand rest 24 may be centrally aligned with respect to seat assembly 18 for ease of use and grasping . by this configuration and as seen in fig1 and 2 , large areas on opposite sides of hand rest 24 and closed loop 20 remain open and unobstructed , thereby enabling the user to swim or otherwise use his arms for play or exercise . an alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown in phantom in fig1 and comprises the parallel mounting of railing 30 to the upper side of float members 12 . railing 30 comprises piping similar to braces 15 , 16 and loop 20 and hand rest 24 , thus being of smaller diameter then members 12 . railing 30 has portions 31 mounted on the upper side of and parallel to members 12 by means of vertical supports 32 spaced therearound . as with members 12 , rail portions 31 can be connected by four ( 4 ) 90 ° elbows 33 or formed integrally into a rectangular shape as that of members 12 ( or circular shape , etc . ), as the case may be . railing 30 can be secured to supports 32 which in turn can be secured to members 12 in the conventional way ( welding , etc .) or be formed integrally therewith . railing 30 gives the user an additional means of support during operation . the use of walker 10 would involve placing the user 40 ( in phantom in fig6 ) within seat assembly 18 while walker 10 is floating upon the water . if walking is desired , the user would simply stand upright within closed loop 20 while moving his legs since seat 22 would easily be crushed together between the user &# 39 ; s legs . if continuous or temporary support is needed or if the user falters for any reason , the user need only grasp transverse braces 16 or transverse bar 26 of front hand rest 24 to again regain balance ( as illustrated in fig6 ). also , if desired , the user could lean upon or grasp any side of closed loop 20 for further stability as needed . on the other hand , if the user desires to float in a sitting position , he need only sit upon seat 22 ( and use the back of closed loop 20 as a backrest ) so that his legs no longer touch the bottom of the water . the large open areas on either side of seat assembly 18 and hand rest 24 permit the user to easily maneuver or steer walker 10 by moving his arms and hands in the water . also , if desired , the user may kick with his legs underneath walker 10 to further move or steer walker 10 . now , should the user desire to swim in a more horizontal position , he need only lean forward upon the front of closed loop 20 . in this position , the user &# 39 ; s hands and feet are both free for kicking or swimming strokes while walker 10 safely supports the user above the water . due to the relatively large configuration of walker 10 , stability is provided whether the water is flat and smooth or whether it is rough with waves . also , by providing more than sufficient buoyancy , walker 10 enables the user to move about in the water independent of any other person , yet if desired , another person or persons can also grasp and rest upon walker 10 in deeper water . also , as can be seen , walker 10 provides either continuous support to the user ( such as when in the floating position ) or such support is supplied only intermittently as needed ( such as when the person falters while walking or wading - fig6 ). also , while walker 10 is ideal for use by a handicapped or physically impaired person , it can also be successfully used by any person whose mobility has been compromised for any reason , including age or illness . because many varying and differing embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught and because many modifications may be made in the embodiment herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirement of the law , it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 0 |
this method stores a file thumbnail at a telecommunications message server in the event the destination client device is not immediately available . in the preferred embodiment the destination client is a wireless mobile device and the rich communications suite and the sip and msrp protocols are used to transfer the file thumbnail and associated file to and from an rcs server . the file thumbnail is retained for delivery at the server until the recipient client becomes available and the server determines , by any of several new methods , if the messaging client is available and is accepting file thumbnails . in one embodiment , as shown in fig1 , the registration occurs on the message server , which might know immediately from an onboard database , the thumbnail capabilities of the recipient client as well as when the client becomes available . when the recipient client becomes available and it is determined the recipient client supports thumbnail service , the server includes the thumbnail to the recipient client . the sip invite command , for example , could be used to communicate the thumbnail to the recipient client . the msrp send command could be repeatedly used to transmit the body of the associated file , if requested by the client . for networks without a presence server , as in fig2 the message server ( shown as rcs server in the figure ) can store the thumbnail with the file on the message server . the message server can initiate a sip options to obtain the recipients capabilities after it is notified of the client registration . this allows the message server to make an informed decision as to if the thumbnail should be included in the file transfer request , shown as a later sip invite in the diagram . note that the sip options request / response is only between the message server and the recipient client ( client 2 in the diagram ). the sip invite command is used to communicate the thumbnail to the recipient client , if the client supports that capability , and one or more msrp send commands can optionally be used to transmit the body of the file if requested . in some networks the registration is handled by the ims core with use of a separate presence server . in this case the message server stores the thumbnail with the associated file . when the message server is notified by the ims core of the availability of the client and based upon , for example , the message server local policy and local knowledge of the recipient , the rcs server may initiate a sip subscribe to the local presence server to obtain the recipients capabilities as shown in fig3 . the presence server responds with a sip notify containing the recipient &# 39 ; s capabilities . the sip invite is again used to transmit the thumbnail and one or more msrp send commands can be used to transmit the file if requested by the client . | 7 |
fig1 shows , in the form of a perspective view , a metal component 1 in the form of a guide vane cluster 2 which for the purpose of forming a complete ring , is assembled with a plurality of such clusters to give a ring shape . such a guide vane cluster consists of two shrouds 3 , 4 and a multiplicity of airfoils 5 extending between said shrouds 3 , 4 . the shrouds 3 , 4 and the airfoils 5 are fashioned from solid material by cutting and / or other removal processes . the airfoils 5 have a complexly twisted geometry and are very closely spaced apart , i . e . there are only very narrow spaces 6 between the individual airfoils 5 . the complex geometry consequently results in curved edge regions and curved surfaces in the transition between the airfoils 5 and the shrouds 3 , 4 or at the surfaces of the shrouds 3 , 4 and at the surfaces of the airfoils 5 themselves , which , after the metal component 1 or its sections ( shrouds 3 , 4 , airfoils 5 ) have been pre - machined using appropriate working processes , have to be finish - machined using the method according to the invention . an apparatus as shown in fig2 as a diagrammatic illustration is used for this purpose . the apparatus comprises a manipulator element 7 in the form of a multi - axis , preferably at least five - axis , robot 8 which carries a cathode 9 which serves for the ecm of the metal component 1 , which is arranged on a corresponding work holder 10 . the cathode 9 is a nozzle - like , narrow tube which can be moved in any desired manner in space via the robot 8 , such that any desired three - dimensional structures can therefore be traversed and machined . in addition to the mobility of the cathode 9 , it is also possible for the work holder 10 to be movable , either translationally along one or more space axes or rotationally about one or more space axes , or both translationally and rotationally , as indicated by the motion arrows . a liquid electrolyte , for example an nacl solution , is delivered via the cathode 9 directly into the working region , for which reason the electrode 9 is embodied , as described , as a nozzle or tube . provided for this purpose is an electrolyte reservoir 11 , from which the electrolyte 12 is directed to the cathode 9 via a controlled pump 13 and a suitable electrolyte feed line 14 . provided at the robot 8 is a corresponding connection box 15 , at which the line opens out and at which the cathode 9 is also interchangeably accommodated . the volumetric flow of the electrolyte can be monitored via a flow meter 16 , and the fluid pressure can be monitored via a pressure gage 17 . furthermore , a temperature measuring device 18 , a heating controller 19 and a ph measuring instrument 20 and a conductivity measuring instrument 21 are provided in the electrolyte reservoir 11 in order to be able to correspondingly set or monitor the electrolyte properties . the electrolyte collected after delivery via the cathode 9 is fed back into the electrolyte reservoir 11 by an electrolyte feed line 23 , i . e . a circuit is established . the robot 8 and the work holder 10 are provided in an enclosure 24 , i . e . the apparatus is closed to this extent with regard to the working region . furthermore , the apparatus comprises a process energy source 26 , via which the working voltage and the process current can be applied . the parameters are correspondingly monitored via an ammeter 27 and a voltmeter 28 . a supply line 29 runs , once again , to the connection box 15 ; it makes contact with the cathode 9 . the supply return line 22 leads from the metal component 1 back to the process energy source 26 . in the process , the circuit is closed by the electrolyte stream . finally , a gas supply , in this case shown embodied as a compressed air supply , for example in the form of a compressor 30 , is provided , from which an air feed line 31 runs likewise to the connection box 15 . this air feed line is connected in turn to the cathode , which is embodied as a double - walled tube . the electrolyte is fed in the central passage ; in the outer passage , an air curtain which encloses the electrolyte can be blown out via the fed compressed air . a controlled restrictor valve 32 and a flow meter 33 , via which the air flow can be measured , are provided in the air feed line 31 . three roughly distinguishable regions are therefore provided , namely the “ process energy ” region a , the “ electrolyte supply ” region b and the “ compressed air supply ” region c . finally , a control device 34 is provided . the control device controls the operation of the robot 8 , that is to say the free movement in space of the cathode 9 and the movement of the work holder 10 , if provided . it is of course also possible to control and monitor all the sub - components of the apparatus in fig2 for the electrolyte and gas supply and the process energy source 26 ( that is to say the regions a , b and c ) via the control device 34 . fig3 shows , as a diagrammatic illustration , the tip of the cathode 9 in a sectional view . the electrolyte 12 flows through the tubular , nozzle - like cathode 9 . the anodically polarized metal component 1 , for example the guide vane cluster 2 known from fig1 , is at a distance from the cathode 9 . as illustrated by the arrow diagram , the cathode 9 can be moved translationally in the three directions in space , just as it can also be moved rotationally about each of the three directions in space . the robot 8 is accordingly activated for this purpose via the control device 34 . control is based here on a stored model of the metal component 1 , which defines the surface along which the electrode 9 is to be moved . it can be seen that the electrolyte 12 is conveyed through the nozzle - like or tubular cathode 9 and delivered to the metal component 1 . an electric flow field 36 forms in the electrolyte stream 12 . electrochemical , locally limited metal removal takes place in the region 37 , i . e . a cavity forms in the metal component 1 . the corresponding removal depth is obtained in accordance with the process parameters selected . fig4 shows , as a diagrammatic illustration , the movement of the cathode 9 , which , for example in the case of a round cross - sectional geometry , has a diameter of three millimeters and is at a distance of , for example , one millimeter from the original workpiece surface . it can be seen that a linear region 37 can be removed by a horizontal movement of the cathode 9 , as shown by the arrow p . whereas only a movement along one space coordinate is shown in fig4 , it is possible , as described , for the cathode 9 to be moved in any desired manner in space , i . e . the round edge regions of the guide vane cluster 2 shown in fig1 or the three - dimensionally twisted airfoils 5 , etc ., can be readily traversed in order to remove material there to the desired extent . finally , fig5 shows a further embodiment of the cathode 9 , which is embodied as a double - walled tube . the electrolyte 12 is directed in the central passage 38 . the compressed air fed via the gas feed device , shown in fig2 as air feed device 31 , is discharged in the outer passage 39 . as fig5 shows , a gas curtain 40 enclosing the electrolyte stream 12 all around is formed . this reduces the effect on adjacent metal component surfaces . even though a cathode 9 of round cross section is shown by way of example in the figures , the cathode can of course also have an elongated cross section or any other desired cross section . it can have , for example , in the electrolyte passage , a length of 10 mm and a width of 3 mm , such that a long , but narrow , zone can be machined , which is expedient in particular for machining relatively large areas . if a gas curtain is present , the corresponding air passage has , of course , a corresponding geometry . | 1 |
the sole figure illustrates a cone beam 3d ct imaging apparatus that operates in accordance with the principles of the present invention . except as to be specifically described later with respect to implementation of image reconstruction processing in accordance with the present invention , the illustrated imaging apparatus is constructed and operates substantially the same as described in the forenoted u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 257 , 183 and 5 , 446 , 776 . as shown in the figure , a computer controlled manipulator 6 , in response to control signals from an appropriately programmed computer 8 , cause a source 10 of a cone beam of energy ( such as x - rays ) and a two - dimensional pixelated detector array 12 to cooperate ( scan ) at a plurality of discreet , sequentially occurring adjacent source positions , along a pre - defined source scanning path . in the illustrated embodiment the scanning path is shown as a spiral scan path 14 centered on a predetermined axis 15 of an object 16 . as a result of the source / detector cooperation detector 12 acquires complete cone beam measurement data which is then used for reconstructing an image of object 16 . alternatively , and equivalently , object 16 could be rotated and translated to cause scanning by a fixed position source and detector . furthermore , the scanning can be accomplished in a continuous or stepwise manner , and the spiral path can have equally spaced turns ( sometimes referred to as stages ), or turns with decreasing pitch at the top and bottom edges of a region of interest of the object . even furthermore , although source 10 is shown as an x - ray source , other types of imaging energy might be useful , such as neutrons , positrons , etc . computer 6 , manipulator 8 , source 10 and detector 12 cooperate to accomplish scanning of the object in a manner generally well understood by those skilled in this art , i . e ., such as described in detail in the forenoted u . s . pat . no . 5 , 463 , 666 , and therefore discussion of further details of this portion of the operation of the cone beam imaging apparatus is deemed not necessary . after the x - ray energy passes through the field of view of the imaging apparatus , measurement signals corresponding to the sensed x - ray energy falling on the elements ( pixels ) within detector 12 are supplied to a data acquisition system ( das ) 17 which , like the previously described portions of fig1 may operate in a fashion well known to those of ordinary skill in this technology for digitizing and storing of the acquired measurement signals . the measurement signals from das 17 are supplied to a buffer memory and image reconstruction processor 18 , which may be a computer programmed to perform various data conversions that process the measurement signals so as to reconstruct an image in accordance with the steps generally illustrated by blocks 20 to 24 within processor 18 . more specifically , at block 20 the measurement signals are subjected to various forms of conventional nonlinear pre - processing steps , such as logarithmic processing for converting the acquired measurement signals into measurement data representative of attenuation , as well as other processing needed to correct the measurement data due to non - uniformities in the imaging system . it is noted that alternatively , the non - linear pre - processing of block 20 can be incorporated into the function of das 17 , thereby making block 22 the first block of processor 18 . at block 22 the non - linearly processed measurement data is processed for calculating the radial derivative of the 3 - d radon transform of the imaged object , or more correctly stated , a sampled version of this function . for brevity , these samples are referred to hereinafter as &# 34 ; radon samples &# 34 ;. without benefit of the present invention , the processing provided by block 22 is complex and very time consuming , and would be accomplished using the prior art techniques described in the background portion of this application as reconstruction processing steps ( 1 ) and ( 2 ). at block 24 the radon samples are integrated for developing samples of the radon transform , which are then subjected to inverse 3d radon transformation processing ( as is conventional and well known ). a suitable technique for a two - step 3d radon inversion is known and described , for example , in the forenoted u . s . pat . no . 5 , 257 , 183 . alternatively the two - step 3d radon inversion technique of u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 940 , 324 of sauer et al , incorporated herein by reference , could be used to reduce the size of the detector weight list , by use of the concept of &# 34 ; local radon origins &# 34 ;. the final result is reconstructed image data representative of the spatial distribution of the 3d object , sampled in a cartesian coordinate system ( x , y , z ). the image data developed thereby stored at block 26 and then fed from reconstruction processor 18 to a display 28 , which may operate in known fashion , to provide a 3d ct view of object 16 . except for the determination and use of a detector weight list 21 by block 22 for developing the radon samples , to be described next , a more detailed description of the blocks of the figure can be found in the forenoted patents and patent applications . the present inventors realized that by organizing the image reconstruction processing as shown in the sole figure , the calculations needed at block 22 to develop the radon samples will only involve linear operations . hence , at the input to block 22 , each measurement datum contributes to a given radon sample in proportion to its measured value . the corresponding proportionality factor is essentially the weight of the contribution . one can also understood these weights as the point - spread - function from detector / measurement space to the 3 - d radon space . the present inventors also realized that these weights are determined solely by the given geometry of the scanner and detector array , and by the desired sampling of the source path and the radon space . consequently , in accordance with the principles of the present invention , these weights are pre - calculated and then stored in a &# 34 ; detector weight list &# 34 ; 21 . consequently , calculation of the radon samples from the acquired measurement data during the run - time operation of the imaging apparatus is reduced to an accumulation of simple multiplications of measurement data by corresponding weights . thus , in accordance with the invention , after the raw measurement signals are ( non - linearly ) pre - processed , the sampled derivative of the object &# 39 ; s radon transform is calculated at block 22 of processor 18 by accumulating the contributions of the measurement data one after the other . source position after source position , detector element after detector element , detector weight list 21 is used to look up the target radon samples and corresponding weights to which each measurement datum contributes , and then the value of each measurement datum is multiplied with the corresponding weight from weight list 21 and the result is added to the value stored for that target radon sample . initially , the stored value is set to zero . consequently , the calculations to be performed by block 22 of processor 18 are reduced to simple and fast - acting multiply and add operations . it is noted that the processing function of integrating the samples of the radon derivative before radon transform inversion is advantageously not included in the function of block 22 , since the integration process results in a &# 34 ; smearing &# 34 ; of the measurement datum into many samples of the radon transform , which would unduly burden the storage requirements of detector weight list 21 . the detector weight list database 21 can be sorted according to the radon samples or as may be more appropriate in some circumstances , according to the measurement data acquired by the detector elements . in the illustrated embodiment the latter case is considered . for each measurement datum , the list can include several entries . each entry specifies a &# 34 ; target &# 34 ; radon sample , i . e . a radon sample the measurement datum contributes to , and the corresponding weight factor with which it contributes . thus , the weight factors are essentially a substitute for a sequence of linear processing operations that were conventionally separately performed in the prior art , such as detector mapping ( cylindrical to flat ), detector masking , linear interpolation , line integration , derivative calculation , etc . the weight list may be ordered according to the source positions ( i . e . in the same order the scan path is traversed and the measurement data will be received ). as previously noted , the weight list contains information for each source position . the information , stored for each source position , lists for each detector element , to which radon samples it contributes and with which weight it does so . consequently , let w -- s k be the block of information stored for source position # k . then , w -- s k contains blocks of information w -- de i , j which relate to the detector elements with indices i , j . each w -- de i , j is a list of target radon samples r l , m , n and weights w . accordingly , weight list ={ w -- s k | for all source positions s k } w -- s k ={ w -- de i , j | for all detector elements i , j } w -- de i , j ={ r l , m , n , w | for all radon samples r l , m , n , to which detector element i , j at source position s k contributes } thus , there has been shown and described a novel method and apparatus for greatly speeding up exact image reconstruction processing in a cone beam ct imaging apparatus . many changes , modifications , variations and other uses and applications of the invention will , however , become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and its accompanying drawing , which disclose a preferred embodiment thereof . all such changes , modifications , variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the general teaching of the invention described herein , are deemed to be covered by this patent , which is limited only by the claims which follow , as interpreted in light of the foregoing description . | 6 |
fig2 depicts the inventive circuit in which the hf is generated by a balanced hp bc , as preferred for maximum fd , and the lf is generated by the same rung elements operating as a balanced lp bc . these characteristics are essential to insure that coil achieves similar rf magnetic field profiles at the two homogeneous frequencies with the best possible performance at the highest fd products . operation is understood in general terms most easily by first assuming the capacitors c p are not needed and ignoring the hf traps , l th , and the lf traps , l tl . a small - value , high - q inductance l 1 is placed in parallel with each ring capacitance c e to form a ring trap with isolated resonance ( resonance when disconnected from the rest of the circuit ) generally a little below the desired hf frequency f h but at least greater than 0 . 5 f h . then , at the lf , the ring trap appears as a small additional inductance in series with l e , and at the hf it appears as a small capacitor . hence , at the lf , the ladder network looks like a balanced lp bc , with lf feeds , for example , at lf - a , lf - b , lf - c , and lf - d , having relative phases of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, and 270 °. and at the hf , the ladder network looks like a balanced hp bc , with hf feeds , for example , at hf - a , hf - b , hf - c , and hf - d , having relative phases of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, and 270 °. hence , assuming the lf and hf are widely separated and the number of sections is at least 8 , the reactance of the ring traps at f h , normally the proton resonant frequency , will be large compared to that of c 1 at f h . note that because there may be significant stray capacitance in the structure in parallel with c e , in some cases the isolated resonance of the ring trap could be up to 1 . 1 f h . while standard two - point quadrature drive may be used at the lf , for example at lf - a and lf - b , coil symmetry , in particular at the lf , is improved from the use of a four - point matching network , according to the prior art . one attribute of the dbdt coil of fig2 is that substantial lf and hf voltages are present at all available feed points . hence , traps are required , as shown , on all feed lines . the lf feed lines driving the lf feed points require series hf isolation traps ( l th and its parallel capacitor ), and the feed lines driving the hf feed points require lf isolation traps ( l tl and its parallel capacitor ). moreover , these traps must have high q to avoid degrading performance of their respective frequencies . the lf isolation traps are less critical , as a small capacitance may be used to match to the hf , which would have high reactance at the lf . other standard coupling arrangements could also be used . for fd above 25 mhz - m , it is not difficult to achieve high hf efficiencies — i . e ., very low losses in the circuit components relative to the losses in the sample . this is mostly because the sample losses increase quickly with frequency , but also because the parallel resistance of the ring trap at the hf is easily made quite large compared to its reactance . minimizing the relative ring trap losses at the lf is more of a challenge , largely because the sample losses are lower , but also because it is difficult to achieve very low series resistance in the ring trap inductance . partly for this reason , but perhaps mostly for manufacturing simplifications , there is a strong incentive to use the minimum practical number of sections , which in general is eight , as illustrated in fig2 and in subsequent figures . because there are two significant inductances , l 1 and l e , and two significant capacitances , c e and stray ( not shown ), in each ring section as well as distributed rung coupling , the mode structure is not as simple as the above discussion implies , especially for more than 4 sections . in the 8 - section case , a parasitic inhomogeneous mode will generally be present relatively near f h and often close enough to adversely affect homogeneity and efficiency of the desired hf resonance . this inhomogeneous mode is characterized by an m = 2 voltage pattern and thus is most conveniently shifted relative to the homogeneous hf mode by addition of a reactive element between adjacent rung ends . a relatively small capacitor , c p , may be used to shift the parasitic mode downward relative to f h . alternatively , a relatively large inductor may be used here to shift the parasitic mode upward . in either case , the magnitude of the reactance of the element designated as c p is generally at least twice that of c e at the hf . fig3 shows the copper foil pattern laid out flat for an 8 - section dbdt coil . here , one sees two parallel copper bands 31 , 32 for each rung element , as first used by crozier in an hp bc , as this reduces stray capacitance without significantly increasing rung inductance or resistance and thus permits operation at higher fd for a given number of sections . note that the axial inductive element comprised of the two parallel bands 31 , 32 is represented in fig2 as the series combination of two trls and two mutual inductances , as , for example , the circuit elements between nodes 2 and 7 . at least for fd up to 40 mhz - m , an insulated cross - over at the center between the two parallel bands , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 060 , 882 , is of further benefit in improving rf field homogeneity , though it makes it much more time consuming to achieve the precision in the full - wave simulations needed for accurate tune - up , owing to the fine mesh elements needed at the cross - over . a short 33 between the two bands near the center may be useful in suppressing an inhomogeneous mode that sometimes appears for fd above 40 mhz - m . fig4 illustrates in perspective view a rung section containing an insulated crossover 34 between adjacent inductive subroutes at the center . fig5 gives a perspective view of the 8 - section dbdt coil without the external shield or coupling networks . as noted earlier , l 1 is of small value , at most four times l e and typically about twice l e , which is generally as small as practical — usually under 20 nh . but if l t is too small , it may become more difficult to shift the parasitic mode sufficiently away from the hf . because of the practical difficulties of making low - inductance inductors of very high q , it is advantageous to use two parallel inductors 44 , 45 of twice the desired inductance for l 1 , as seen in fig5 . each ring trap inductor is of heavy copper wire and of relatively large diameter for high q . for further reductions in coil and capacitor losses , it is preferably to use two axially spaced capacitors 46 , 47 of half the desired capacitance for c e . and it is preferable to use two azimuthally spaced capacitors 48 , 49 of half the desired capacitance for c 1 . a further clarification is needed on the distinction between two - ring and four - ring birdcages , as it may appear that the structure shown in fig5 , based on that of fig3 , is a four - ring birdcage . however , as was noted earlier , the reactance of c p is generally at least twice that of c e . moreover , the spacing between the c p trace and the end ring on which the l 1 / c e tanks are mounted is a minimum practical spacing — in part to maintain matched field profiles at the two frequencies . so the energy in the fields between the end ring and the c p trace is negligible at both frequencies . in four - ring bcs on the other hand , as previously disclosed by murphy - boesch and others , the adjacent rings at each end are well spaced , and the magnetic fields between the adjacent rings are substantial and play an integral role in establishing the resonant frequencies . it should be noted that at high fd products , such as for a 3 t head coil , there will be significant differences between the rf fields at the two frequencies because of dielectric resonance effects even though the rung current distributions are essentially identical for both frequencies . however , the field matching is about as good as is practical under such conditions , and s / n may be nearly ideal at both frequencies . fig6 is a perspective view of an 8 - section dbdt bc with enclosure and external rf shielding , which is generally required for sufficiently stable tuning and reduced radiation losses at the hf . the 8 - section coil leaves sufficient space between sections for useful access windows , as shown . it will thus be appreciated that one embodiment of the invention is an mri rf double - balanced double - tuned ( dbdt ) coil comprising 4n substantially identical adjacent ladder sections , where n is a small integer , on a substantially cylindrical dielectric coilform of diameter d f , for use in polarizing field b 0 . in the figures , n is 2 , but n up to 4 or 5 may be justified in some special cases . the dbdt coil is further characterized as including means for orthogonal coupling at a lower frequency f l and a higher frequency f h . the ladder section is further characterized as comprising serially connected ring sections at each end and rung sections axially there between . the rung sections are further characterized as each comprising an axial inductive element having opposite rung ends and a rung capacitance c 1 series connected to each rung end . the ring sections are further characterized as each comprising a ring inductive element l e and a ring trap . the rung capacitance c 1 is further series connected to an adjacent ring inductive element . the ring trap comprises the parallel combination of a ring capacitance c e and a ring trap inductance l 1 . the ring trap is further characterized as providing interconnection between adjacent ring inductive elements , the c e and the l 1 are further characterized as having reactances of equal magnitudes at a frequency denoted as the ring - trap isolated resonant frequency f t , where said f t is greater than 0 . 5 f h but less than 1 . 1 f h . optionally l 1 may be less than four times l e . optionally c 1 has a magnitude of reactance at f h that is small compared to that of said ring trap at f h . optionally there may be a reactive mode - shifting element connected between adjacent rung ends , said mode - shifting element having a magnitude of reactance greater than twice that of c e at f h . optionally the axial inductive element may comprises two azimuthally spaced inductive subroutes in parallel . optionally the dbdt coil may include an external cylindrical rf shield . optionally f h may be the 1 h resonant frequency in said b 0 . optionally c 1 may be a plurality of azimuthally spaced capacitors in parallel . optionally l 1 may be a plurality of axially spaced trap inductors in parallel . optionally c e is further characterized as comprising a plurality of axially spaced capacitors in parallel . optionally the means for orthogonal coupling at a lower frequency includes a series isolation trap tuned to f h . optionally the subroutes are foil strips with an insulated cross - over at the axial center of said axial inductive element . optionally the dbdt coil may including access windows through said rf shield between said rung sections . optionally the trap inductor may be a solenoid of diameter greater than 0 . 04 d f and made of wire of diameter greater than 0 . 005 d f . it will be appreciated that although the invention is described with respect to particular embodiments , the invention itself is not so limited , and those skilled in the art will have no difficulty whatsoever in devising myriad obvious variants and improvements , all of which are intended to be encompassed within the claims which follow . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 an input reactor l1 is connected to a dc power supply dc . a primary winding n1 and a tertiary winding n3 of a transformer tr and a main switch q1 are connected in series to input reactor l1 . a diode d1 is connected in parallel across main switch q1 so that current flows only in an opposite direction to that of main switch q1 . a snubber capacitor cs is also connected in parallel with the main switch q1 . a series circuit consisting of a resonance capacitor c2 , a resonance reactor l2 and an auxiliary switch q2 is connected in parallel with snubber capacitor cs . a diode d2 is connected in parallel with auxiliary switch q2 , so that current flows in a direction opposite to the current flow in auxiliary switch q2 . a diode d3 is connected between auxiliary switch q2 and the connection point of primary winding n1 and tertiary winding n3 . a series combination of capacitor c1 and diode d3 is connected in parallel with primary winding n1 . referring now to fig2 auxiliary switch q2 is switched on in advance of main switch q1 being switched on . when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero . switching auxiliary switch q2 on also engages a first resonance series of resonance capacitor c2 , resonance reactor l2 , and snubber capacitor cs . a resonance circuit is completed through auxiliary switch q2 . the voltage across auxiliary switch q2 drops to zero , and the current through auxiliary switch q2 increases very slowly as the current through snubber capacitor cs drops to zero . the low current allows auxiliary switch q2 to execute zero - current switching . when the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero , main switch q1 is switched on , thus achieving zero - voltage switching . as main switch q1 switches on , a second resonance series of resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l2 is engaged . a resonance circuit is completed by main switch q1 and diode d2 . when current flows through diode d2 , the voltage across auxiliary switch q2 is zero . auxiliary switch q2 is then switched off and achieves zero - voltage switching . since the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , main switch q1 achieves zero - voltage switching when it is switched off . when main switch q1 is switched off , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs rises gradually to a steady value . furthermore , switching main switch q1 off regenerates the charge in capacitor c1 from the electric charge stored in resonance capacitor c2 . capacitor c1 is further recharged by the energy stored in the leakage inductance of the primary winding n1 via diode d3 . referring now to fig3 a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a second embodiment of the invention is shown . the circuit of fig3 is similar to that of fig1 except for the absence of resonance capacitor c2 . also in fig3 resonance reactor l2 is directly connected to auxiliary switch q2 . the circuit of fig3 functions similarly to that of the above described circuit of fig1 . auxiliary switch q2 is switched on in advance of main switch q1 , forming a resonance circuit with the resonance series of snubber capacitor cs and resonance reactor l2 . when switched on , auxiliary switch q2 has very little current flowing through it and is thus able to achieve zero - current switching . main switch q1 achieves zero - voltage switching by being switched on when the voltage across snubber capacitor is zero . when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , the voltage of snubber capacitor cs decays to zero . switching main switch q1 on keeps the voltage of snubber capacitor cs at zero . when main switch q1 is switched off , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs gradually rises to a steady value . thus when it is switched off , main switch q1 achieves zero - voltage switching . furthermore , when main switch q1 is switched off , the energy stored in the leakage inductance of primary winding n1 is regenerated to capacitor c1 via diode d3 . referring now to fig4 a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown . in this embodiment , tertiary winding n3 of fig1 is replaced with a reactor l3 . as with the circuit of fig1 auxiliary switch q2 is switched on in advance of main switch q1 . auxiliary switch q2 makes a resonance circuit which includes the resonance series of snubber capacitor cs , resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l2 . very little current flows through the resonance series prior to auxiliary switch q2 switching on , which achieves zero - current switching . the circuit of fig4 otherwise operates in the same manner as that of fig1 and a duplicated explanation is therefore omitted . the replacement of tertiary winding n3 in fig3 with reactor l3 does not otherwise alter the operability of the circuit . referring now to fig5 a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a fourth embodiment of the invention is shown . in this embodiment , diode d3 of fig1 is omitted and tertiary winding n3 is short - circuited to provide primary winding n1 with further windings in transformer tr . as with the circuit of fig1 auxiliary switch q2 is switched on in advance of main switch q1 . when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero . switching auxiliary switch q2 on provides a resonance circuit that includes first resonance series of snubber capacitor cs , resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l2 . very little current flows through the resonance series prior to auxiliary switch q2 switching on , which achieves zero - current switching . when the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero , main switch q1 is switched on , thus achieving zero - voltage switching . as main switch q1 switches on , a second resonance series of resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l2 is engaged . a resonance circuit is completed by main switch q1 and diode d2 . when current flows through diode d2 , the voltage across auxiliary switch q2 is zero . auxiliary switch q2 therefore achieves zero - voltage switching upon being switched off . the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , and remains zero during the period when main switch q1 is switched on . when main switch q1 is switched off , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs is still zero , thus achieving zero - voltage switching . once main switch q1 is switched off , the voltage of snubber capacitor cs rises gradually to a steady value . furthermore , switching main switch q1 off regenerates the charge in capacitor c1 from the electric charge stored in resonance capacitor c2 . referring now to fig6 a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a fifth embodiment of the invention is shown . a dc input is connected in series to a main switch q1 and a primary winding n1 of a transformer tr . a diode d1 is connected in parallel across main switch q1 so that current flows through diode d1 only in a direction opposite to that of main switch q1 . a snubber capacitor cs is connected in parallel with main switch q1 . a series circuit consisting of a resonance capacitor c2 , a resonance reactor l2 and an auxiliary switch q2 is connected in parallel with the snubber capacitor cs . a diode d2 is connected in parallel across auxiliary switch q2 so that current flows only in an opposite direction to that of main switch q1 . as with the circuit of fig1 auxiliary switch q2 is switched on in advance of main switch q1 . when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero . switching auxiliary switch q2 on provides a resonance circuit that includes first resonance series of snubber capacitor cs , resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l2 . very little current flows through the resonance series prior to auxiliary switch q2 switching on , which achieves zero - current switching . when the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero , main switch q1 is switched on , thus achieving zero - voltage switching . as main switch q1 switches on , a second resonance series of resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l2 is engaged . a resonance circuit is completed by main switch q1 and diode d2 . when current flows through diode d2 , the voltage across auxiliary switch q2 is zero . auxiliary switch q2 therefore achieves zero - voltage switching upon being switched off . the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , and remains zero during the period when main switch q1 is switched on . when main switch q1 is switched off , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs is still zero , thus achieving zero - voltage switching . once main switch q1 is switched off , the voltage of snubber capacitor cs rises gradually to a steady value . referring now to fig7 a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a sixth embodiment of the invention is shown . in this embodiment , input reactor l1 of fig1 is replaced by a quaternary winding n4 of a transformer tr . as with the circuit of fig1 auxiliary switch q2 is switched on in advance of main switch q1 . when auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , the voltage across snubber capacitor cs decays to zero . switching auxiliary switch q2 on provides a resonance circuit that includes first resonance series of snubber capacitor cs , resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l2 . very little current flows through the resonance series prior to auxiliary switch q2 switching on , which achieves zero - current switching . the circuit of fig7 otherwise operates in the same manner as that of fig1 and a duplicated explanation is therefore omitted . moreover , the replacement of input reactor l1 with quaternary winding n4 in fig3 and 5 does not otherwise alter the operability of the circuit . the following embodiments focus on providing a switching power supply that exhibits a high power factor . referring now to fig8 a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a seventh embodiment of the invention is shown . a pulsed dc input is connected to an input reactor l1 . a series circuit consisting of a primary winding n1 of a transformer tr and a main switch q1 is connected in series to the input reactor l1 . a diode d1 is connected in parallel across main switch q1 so that current flows through diode d1 only in a direction opposite to that of main switch q1 . a series circuit consisting of a capacitor c1 and an auxiliary switch q2 is connected in parallel with the series circuit of primary winding n1 and main switch q1 . a diode d2 is connected in parallel across auxiliary switch q2 so that current flows through diode d2 only in a direction opposite to that of auxiliary switch q1 . a diode d3 is connected between auxiliary switch q2 and the connection point of primary winding n1 and main switch q1 . the switching power supply operates by first switching on main switch q1 to provide an input current flow . switching main switch q1 on improves the power factor of the power supply because input current flows even with low input voltage . when main switch q1 is switched off , a portion of the excitation energy within transformer tr is stored in capacitor c1 which is connected in parallel with primary winding n1 of transformer tr through diode d3 . auxiliary switch q2 is then switched on , causing the energy stored in capacitor c1 to be transferred to input reactor l1 through a rectifier rec . switching auxiliary switch q2 off then causes the energy stored in input reactor l1 to be transferred to the transformer tr . the result is that the energy stored in capacitor c1 is fed to the load . referring now to fig9 a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention is shown . this embodiment is substantially the same as that of fig8 except that input reactor l1 in fig8 is replaced with a tertiary winding n3 of transformer tr . the operation of the switching power supply of fig9 is substantially the same as that of the switching power supply of fig8 and an explanation will therefore be omitted for the sake of simplicity . referring now to fig1 , a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention is shown . this embodiment is substantially the same as that of fig8 except that input reactor l1 in fig8 is omitted . a tertiary winding n3 of a transformer tr is connected between a capacitor c1 and an auxiliary switch q2 . the operation of the circuit is otherwise substantially the same as that of the switching power supply of fig8 and an explanation will therefore be omitted for the sake of brevity . the embodiments of the present invention presented to this point represent switching power supplies with fly - back - type power converters . as explained below , the present invention is also applicable to switching power supplies with fly - forward - type power converters . referring now to fig1 , a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention is shown . in this embodiment , a high - speed reverse - recovery diode d2 is connected in series between a tertiary winding n3 and a primary winding n1 of a transformer tr . tertiary winding n3 is connected in series to a rectifier rec that rectifies an input ac voltage to a pulsed dc voltage . an electrolytic capacitor c1 is connected between primary winding n1 and the common connection of rectifier rec . a semiconductor switch q1 is connected in series with primary winding n1 . a diode d1 is connected in parallel with semiconductor switch q1 so that current flows through diode d1 only in a direction opposite to that of semiconductor switch q1 . the circuit of fig1 operates by first switching on semiconductor switch q1 . when semiconductor switch q1 is switched on , a voltage is generated across tertiary winding n3 in opposite polarity to diode d2 . the opposite polarity voltage causes diode d2 to be reversed biased . since the reverse recovery of diode d2 occurs at high speed , the current is quickly interrupted and no current flows through rectifier rec . the characteristic of high speed current interruption provided by diode d2 makes it unnecessary to specify that rectifier rec have high - speed reverse - recovery performance . rectifier rec can then be constructed from conventional low - speed diodes , thus significantly reducing the manufacturing costs associated with the switching power supply . referring now to fig1 , a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention is shown . in this embodiment , a semiconductor switch q1 is connected in series to a primary winding n1 of a transformer tr . a diode d1 is connected in parallel across semiconductor switch q1 so that current flows through diode d1 only in a direction opposite to that of semiconductor switch q1 . a series circuit consisting of a quaternary winding n4 of transformer tr , a diode d3 and an electrolytic capacitor c1 is connected between primary winding n1 and a common connection of rectifier rec . a series circuit consisting of a tertiary winding n3 of the transformer tr and a semiconductor switch q2 is connected in parallel with the electrolytic capacitor c1 . a diode d2 is connected in parallel across second semiconductor switch q2 so that current flows through diode d2 only in a direction opposite to that of semiconductor switch q2 . semiconductor switch q1 provides a portion of the control of the operation of the switching power supply . when semiconductor switch q1 is switched on , energy is stored in primary winding n1 of transformer tr . as energy is stored in primary winding n1 , a voltage is generated across quaternary winding n4 of transformer tr . the voltage across quaternary winding n4 has a polarity that is positive towards the connection to rectifier rec and negative towards the connection to electrolytic capacitor c1 . this voltage across quaternary winding n4 prevents electrolytic capacitor c1 from being charged up . switching semiconductor switch q1 off causes the energy stored in primary winding n1 to be transferred to secondary winding n2 and quaternary winding n4 of transformer tr . energy transferred to secondary winding n2 is fed to the load through a rectifier rec 1 . as energy is transferred from primary winding n1 , a voltage is generated across quaternary winding n4 . the polarity of the voltage across quaternary winding n4 is negative towards the connection to rectifier rec and positive towards the connection to electrolytic capacitor c1 . this voltage across quaternary winding n4 feeds energy through diode d3 to charge electrolytic capacitor c1 . semiconductor switch q2 provides another portion of the control of the operation of the switching power supply . when semiconductor switch q2 is switched on , electrolytic capacitor c1 is discharged through tertiary winding n3 . the discharging current stores energy tertiary winding n3 of transformer tr . as energy is stored in tertiary winding n3 , a voltage is generated across quaternary winding n4 of the transformer tr . the polarity of the voltage across quaternary winding n4 is positive towards the connection to rectifier rec and negative towards the connection to electrolytic capacitor c1 . this voltage across quaternary winding n4 prevents electrolytic capacitor c1 from being charged . switching semiconductor switch q2 off causes the energy stored in tertiary winding n3 to be transferred to secondary winding n2 and quaternary winding n4 of transformer tr . the energy transferred to secondary winding n2 is fed to the load through rectifier rec1 . as energy is transferred from tertiary winding n3 , a voltage is generated across quaternary winding n4 . the polarity of the voltage across quaternary winding n4 is negative towards the connection to rectifier rec and positive towards the connection to electrolytic capacitor c1 . this voltage across quaternary winding n4 feeds energy through diode d3 to charge electrolytic capacitor c1 . in the above described circuit operation , quaternary winding n4 discharges either by switching semiconductor switch q1 or semiconductor switch q2 . an input current therefore flows through the path connecting quaternary winding n4 , diode d3 , electrolytic capacitor c1 , rectifier rec and alternating power supply ac , even when the input voltage is lower than that of electrolytic capacitor c1 . the uninterrupted current flow widens the conduction angle and improves the power factor . the operation of the above described circuit provides a voltage sum applied to capacitor c1 . the voltage across quaternary winding n4 and the input voltage combine during specific intervals to apply a charge voltage to capacitor c1 . this voltage charges capacitor c1 to a value that is greater than the peak value of the input voltage . the voltage of power supply ac drops during specific intervals to the point where the sum of the voltage of power supply ac and quaternary winding n4 is less than the voltage of the electrolytic capacitor c1 . when the combined voltage of power supply ac and quaternary winding n4 reaches falls to this point , electrolytic capacitor c1 is not charged . during the interval when electrolytic capacitor c1 is not charged , a current still flows through the series circuit consisting of primary winding n1 and semiconductor switch q1 . the current flows through rectifier rec and widens the conduction angle , thus improving the power factor of the circuit . in the above described circuit operation , semiconductor switch q1 and semiconductor switch q2 have been described as operating independent of each other . it should be recognized that the circuit also operates properly when semiconductor switches q1 , q2 are switched simultaneously or in sequence . television sets and other similar portable devices generally have a so - called waiting mode when operating normally . in this waiting mode the load on the power supply from the device is about 1 / 100 as great as the rated load of the device . under this type of light - load condition the conversion efficiency of the power supply is greatly diminished . this loss of efficiency is particularly notable when the electric power to the device is regulated by a conventional switching power supply as shown in fig1 . the loss of efficiency is related to the switches being driven for the rated load , which produces electric power much too great for the light load . moreover , the transformer is energized with a rectangular wave that is shaped to deliver power for the rated load . the shape of the energizing wave produces a high peak current in a short interval . thus , when the load on the transformer lightens , energy within the transformer is dispersed through high copper losses . furthermore , the loss of efficiency due to high driving power and copper losses results in the battery of the portable device being rapidly consumed . the operational life of the portable device is therefore shortened . the shortened operating life presents further difficulties in meeting power consumption regulations . referring now to fig1 , a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention is shown that facilitates obviating the foregoing problems . in this embodiment , a series circuit consisting of a resonance reactor l1 , a resonance capacitor c2 and an auxiliary switch q2 is connected in parallel with a main switch q1 . auxiliary switch q2 is rated at a value which is about 1 / 10 as high as that of main switch q1 . the switching power supply of fig1 operates by storing energy in a transformer tr when main switch q1 is switched on . a snubber capacitor cs connected in parallel with main switch q1 is charged when the circuit operates and auxiliary switch q2 is switched off . auxiliary switch q2 is switched on in advance of main switch q1 being switched on . switching auxiliary switch q2 on causes the electric charge in snubber capacitor cs to be discharged through resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l1 . once the voltage of snubber capacitor cs has fallen to zero , main switch q1 is switched on . switching main switch q1 on while snubber capacitor cs is discharged achieves zero - voltage switching with main switch q1 . when the power supply is operating under light - load conditions such as , for example , in waiting mode , auxiliary switch q2 is switched on while main switch q1 is switched off . when only auxiliary switch q2 is switched on , a current flows through the series circuit consisting of primary winding n1 , resonance capacitor c2 and resonance reactor l1 . due to the presence of resonance capacitor c2 , the load is driven only with current flowing through the resonance series circuit and auxiliary switch q2 . when this current drives the load , the voltage of primary winding n1 decreases as the voltage of resonance capacitor c2 increases . when the voltage of resonance capacitor c2 exceeds the input voltage , the voltage of primary winding n1 reverses polarity and current flows in through primary winding n1 in an opposite direction . the current through primary winding n1 supplies a voltage across secondary winding n2 . the voltage across secondary winding n2 increases until it exceeds an output voltage vo . when the voltage of secondary winding n2 exceeds output voltage vo , a diode d1 becomes forward biased and transfers the energy stored in secondary winding n2 to the load . when a rated load is driven , main switch q1 is on and the input voltage is applied directly to primary winding n1 of transformer tr . the current that flows through primary winding n1 in this instance has a triangular wave form . when a light load is driven , only auxiliary switch q2 is switched on . the current in this instance is suppressed to a value determined by the impedance of resonance capacitor c2 , resonance reactor l1 and the excitation inductance of transformer tr . in this configuration , resonance capacitor c2 is selected to have a capacitance corresponding to the rating of the light load . the smaller capacitance of resonance capacitor c2 reduces the current through transformer tr , so that the peak value of the current is less than the peak value of the triangular wave form of the rated current . a lower peak value for the current reduces losses in transformer tr and conduction losses in switches q1 , q2 . since the rating of auxiliary switch q2 is approximately 1 / 10 of that of main switch q1 , the electric power that drives the light load is suppressed to approximately 1 / 10 of the electric power that drives the rated load . referring now to fig1 , a circuit diagram of a switching power supply according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention is shown . in this embodiment , resonance reactor l1 of fig1 is replaced by a tertiary winding n3 of a transformer tr . the circuit of fig1 operates in substantially the same manner as the circuit of fig1 . the main difference is that switching auxiliary switch q2 on connects primary winding n1 in series with tertiary winding n3 . the excitation inductance of tertiary winding n3 is proportional to the square of the number of turns of the winding . the excitation inductance of tertiary winding n3 is made very large by adding only a few turns to primary winding n1 of transformer tr . the high excitation inductance of tertiary winding n3 achieves a lower peak value for the current through transformer tr . in addition , resonance reactor l1 is a constituent element of the circuit in fig1 . replacing resonance reactor l1 with tertiary winding n3 reduces the number of constituent elements , while still providing the capability of efficiently driving a light load . although the switching power supply of fig1 or 14 are described driving the rated load and the light load ( in the waiting mode of operation ) with the same circuit , two separate circuits are usually used to drive the rated load and the light load , respectively . referring now to fig1 , a circuit diagram of a general switching power supply for driving a light load and a rated load is shown . in this embodiment , the switching power supply includes a main power supply and a sub power supply . the main power supply includes capacitors c1 , c3 and c4 , a transformer tr1 , a power integrated circuit (&# 34 ; power ic &# 34 ;) ic1 and diodes d5 , d6 . the sub power supply includes capacitors c5 , c 11 , a transformer tr2 , a power ic ic2 and a diode d7 . power ic ic1 includes a mosfet q1 and a control integrated circuit (&# 34 ; control ic &# 34 ;) ic11 . power ic ic2 includes a mosfet q11 and a control ic ic21 . when a load ( not shown ) is driven , dc power is fed to a main circuit power supply that includes diode d5 and capacitor c3 , and to a cpu power supply that includes diode d6 and capacitor c4 . the dc power is generated by switching mosfet q1 on and off such that an ac voltage is applied to transformer tr1 . control ic ic11 adjusts the main circuit power supply to a specific value by detecting and comparing the output voltage with a reference voltage . the results of the comparison are used to regulate the on - off time ratio of mosfet q1 . when driving a light load in the waiting mode of operation , mosfet q11 is switched on and off and mosfet q1 is not driven . switching mosfet q11 on and off applies an ac voltage to transformer tr2 which in turn supplies dc power to only the cpu power supply . in this configuration , dc power provided through diode d7 and capacitor c5 is fed only to the cpu power supply . control ic ic21 adjusts the cpu power supply to a specific value by detecting and comparing the output voltage with a reference voltage . the results of the comparison are used to regulate the on - off time ratio of mosfet q11 . in this configuration the consumed power is reduced to several watts which provides compliance with various energy regulations . referring now to fig1 ( a )-( b ), top plan views of power ic ic1 and ic2 are shown . each power ic package includes a chip that has an insulative substrate on which a copper pattern is formed . the chip must be electrically isolated from a terminal and from a casing to function properly . this requirement increases the size of the respective power ics and also adds to their cost . referring now to fig1 , a top plan view of a power ic package according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown . this embodiment obviates the above described problems inherent in the individual power ic packages . the ic package according to the present invention mounts the structure of power ics ic1 and ic2 on a common insulative substrate . the common mounting reduces the total area needed to realize the power ic and thus reduces the total cost of the power ics ic1 and ic2 . referring now to fig1 , a top plan view of another power ic package according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown . in this embodiment , the functions of the control ics ic1 and ic2 are integrated into a single control ic . this integration is possible because control ics ic1 and ic2 have almost the same structure and function . integration of various switching power supply devices is not limited to that described in connection with the general switching power supply illustrated in fig1 . the various switching power supplies shown and described in fig1 through 14 may also be integrated and achieve equivalent efficiencies in cost and size . when any of the various switching power supplies described in fig1 through 15 must handle a light load associated with the waiting mode of operation , control ics may be used in place of main and auxiliary switches . alternatively , a control ic may be used that has common main and auxiliary switches disposed thereon . the following are some examples of the advantages of the various embodiments of the present invention . since zero - voltage switching and zero - current switching are obtained , the switching loss is reduced . the switching power supply according to the invention is adaptable to tv sets and display devices that synchronize the switching frequency with the deflection frequency . the power factor is improved and noise is reduced . moreover , the output voltage is easily compensated , since the energy stored in the primary side capacitor is fed to the load at instantaneous service interruption . the manufacturing costs of the switching power supply are reduced , since a high - speed reverse - recovery diode is used on the primary side of the transformer and , therefore , general low - speed diodes are satisfactorily employable to the rectifier . the power factor is improved , since the input current is made flow as far as the switching power supply is operating . and , the output voltage is compensated easily at instantaneous service interruption , since it is possible for the voltage of the electrolytic capacitor to exceed the peak value of the input voltage . the switching power supply may be used for a longer period of time , since the driving electric power in the waiting mode is small due to the small rated values of the auxiliary switch and , therefore , the power consumption is reduced . therefore , it is possible to meet the power consumption regulations for the tv sets and such instruments . it is not necessary to install any additional switching power supply , the rated values thereof are 1 / 100 as large as those of the main switching power supply . therefore , a small , light - weight and low cost switching power supply is obtained . the number of the packaging parts such as an insulative substrate is reduced , the dimensions of the package are minimized and the costs of the switching power supply are reduced , since the switch for the main power supply , the control ic for controlling the switch for the main power supply , the switch for the sub power supply and the control ic for controlling the switch for the sub power supply are installed on a common package . moreover , the common control ic that controls the switches for the main power supply and the sub power supply facilitates further down - sizing and cost reduction . having described preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 7 |
a valve 20 is shown in fig1 a having a valve pin 22 . valve pin 22 has a head 24 that selectively seats in a valve seat 26 to control the flow of a fluid from an upstream location 35 , to a port 36 , through the valve seat 26 , and to a downstream port 38 in a downstream connection 40 . the valve pin 22 is coupled at 28 to a support shell 30 . the support shell 30 is received within a bore 31 , and coupled at 32 to the housing 34 . the coupling at 28 and 32 may be performed by welding or other techniques known in the art . the support shell 30 is formed of a material having a different coefficient of thermal expansion than the valve pin 22 . the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion may be selected such that the coefficient of one of the materials will be at least twice the coefficient of the other . this will provide significant movement that can be achieved in a relatively short period of time to provide better control over the amount of a sample fluid , as an example . in one embodiment , the support shell 30 and the housing 34 are formed of a stainless steel , and in particular stainless steel 304 . in that same embodiment , the valve pin 22 may be formed of a tungsten . with such materials , the stainless steel will expand with a coefficient of thermal expansion that is three or four times the coefficient of the tungsten . while the support shell 30 is shown in fig1 a as a cylindrical element surrounding a cylindrical valve pin , other embodiments of the support shell 30 which support the valve pin 22 for movement relative to the valve seat 26 can be utilized . as an example , spaced legs , or even a single support leg may support the valve pin 22 and cause movement of the valve pin 22 relative to the valve seat 26 . when exposed to heat , the support shell 30 will expand more than the valve pin 22 . since the two are connected together , this will cause the valve pin 22 to move to the left as shown in fig1 a , and such that the head 24 moves from the position shown in fig1 b at which it seals the connection , to the position shown at fig1 a , wherein it allows fluid flow . a heater 42 may be provided to drive the expansion . alternatively , the valve 20 may be responsive to environmental heat to provide this movement . the present invention is capable of providing very precise movement of the valve pin 22 , such that extremely small amounts of fluid can be metered between port 36 to port 38 . the valve 20 is particularly well suited for applications in which it is desirable to gather a small metered quantity of a gas . while the valve pin 22 is described as having the lower coefficient of thermal expansion relative to the support shell 30 or housing 34 , the opposite could be utilized . in addition , while heating is disclosed as actuating the valve 20 , in fact cooling can be used to actuate the valve 20 in other embodiments . for example , depending upon the materials selected for the valve pin 22 and the support shell 30 , the valve 20 can be configured to passively open or close responsive to an increase or decrease temperature . fig2 shows another embodiment of a valve 51 wherein a valve pin 43 is received within a support shell 44 , and a heater coil 46 is provided . the valve pin 43 has a head 48 selectively received in an opening 54 in a diaphragm 50 , where the diaphragm 50 at opening 54 serves as a valve seat for valve pin 43 . diaphragm 50 is secured within a housing 52 . an inlet 56 extends into a chamber 57 , and an outlet 58 extends outwardly of the chamber . a vacuum connection 62 is applied to an opposed side of the diaphragm . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , the materials and basic mounting of the support shell 44 and valve pin 43 may be as shown for the support shell 30 and valve pin 22 of the fig1 a embodiment . as shown in fig2 , the support shell 44 is supported within the housing 52 . a weld joint 100 secures the diaphragm 50 within the housing 52 . a frit 70 , which may be formed of a powdered sintered metal , allows a controlled amount of leakage across its surface area in a pre - determined period of time . in this embodiment , a very precise amount of gas may be sampled by simply actuating the valve 51 to pull the valve pin head 48 away from the opening 54 , and while a vacuum is applied . this will sample a very precise amount of the fluid flowing between inlet 56 to outlet 58 . the sample is drawn across the frit 70 and into connection 62 . in the embodiments as depicted in fig1 a and 2 , the valve pins 22 and 43 may be held against the valve seat 26 and opening 54 in diaphragm 50 to provide a very tight fit , and a very secure seal to prevent leakage . the diaphragm 50 also allows the embodiment to be utilized in extremely cold environments . in such a cold environment , thermal expansion will operate to cause the sleeve and pin to be drawn toward the diaphragm to provide a very tight fit . the flexible diaphragm allows this movement , without damage to the overall valve . in prior art valves having moving valve parts , to provide a solid or high force holding the valve pin against the seat requires that same high force to be overcome . however , since the expansion of the materials in the disclosed embodiments is what causes the movement here , that concern does not apply as much as in the prior art . also , very precise movement of a valve element relative to its housing is provided by the disclosed embodiments , and precise metering can be achieved . in one application , an embodiment of the valve 20 of fig1 a was made to close off a fused silica capillary with an internal dimension of 100 micrometers ( 0 . 0039 inches ). with a two inch ( 50 . 8 mm ) tungsten pin and 200 degree f . ( 93 . 33 degrees c .) rise in temperature , the gap between the valve pin 22 and the valve seat 26 is 0 . 0029 inches ( 73 . 66 mm ). this gap is well suited for this 100 micrometers capillary application . the diameter of valve pin 22 and the wall thickness of the support shell 30 may be selected such that the valve seat 26 can be operated within the elastic limits of the material and hold helium leak rate of less than 10 **− 10 standard cubic centimeter per second ( sccs ). a worker of ordinary skill in the art , armed with the coefficients of expansion , and the particular sizes of the components , would be able to calculate the relative movement of the valve pin 22 , and the support shell 30 to achieve this tight control . in many valve applications , both the valve pin and the valve seat are polished after formation . however , it is preferred in this embodiment that only the valve pin is polished , with the valve seat left unpolished . then , during initial run - in , the valve will form the actual contour of the valve seat such that a very tight and precise seat will be provided that will block almost all leakage . the valves 20 and 51 of fig1 a and 2 have no moving parts , making the valves 20 and 51 very reliable and simple to manufacture . dead volume is very small , which is well suited for applications requiring low leak rate , low dead volume and reliable applications such as gas chromatography , flow switching devices , and vacuum systems . of course , any other size and material may be used . although embodiments of this invention have been disclosed , a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention . for that reason , the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention . | 8 |
in that form of the present invention chosen for purposes of illustration in fig1 a telephone is shown , indicated generally at 2 , having a base unit 4 and a handset , shown in phantom at 6 . the telephone handset may be formed in substantially any desired shape and may be formed of any conventional material . the handset , as shown , is the traditional handset with a generally triangular shaped stem joining a rounded mouthpiece 9 and earpiece 11 . however , in order to overcome the disadvantages of prior art telephones , as discussed above , a cover 8 is provided for the handset 6 formed of soft , resilient material , such as fabric , plastic , leather or the like . moreover , if desired , the cover may be provided with cushioning material , such as a layer 10 of cotton batting , polyurethane foam , foam rubber or the like . the cover 8 contains a cavity formed to closely overlie the handset 6 and can be provided with openings 12 and 14 in front of the mouthpiece cover 13 and earpiece cover 15 so as not to interfere with sound transmission to or from the handset . alternatively , the fabric cover can extend over the mouthpiece and earpiece covers 13 , 15 and be provided with perforations so that sound waves can reach the sound transducers without undue interference . as best seen in fig3 the cover 8 is formed with an opening 16 in the rear surface 18 thereof . suitable releaseable closure means are provided along the edges 20 , 22 of the opening 16 in the rear surface to permit the cover 8 to be removed from the handset 6 to permit cleaning or sterilization of the cover 8 . the edges 20 and 22 of the opening 16 are formed to overlap and suitable cooperative closure means , such as releaseable , touch fastening &# 34 ; velcro &# 34 ; closure strips 24 , are provided on the facing surfaces of the edges 20 and 22 to permit the cover 8 to be releaseably secured on the handset 6 . it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that other forms of closure means , such as hooks , snaps , zippers or the like may be substituted for the strips 24 . the opening can contain an overlapped welted seam 25 to provide an attractive finish to the closure means and increased comfort to the user . fig4 shows an alternative form of handset 26 in which the central portion 28 of the handset has been reduced to a thickness , just sufficient to house the cables connecting the mouthpiece to the earpiece . this permits the thickness of the layer 10 of cushioning material to be greatly increased to provide increased comfort for the user , and / or to reduce the overall profile of the handset . also , as seen in fig4 a thin layer of material 30 , may be provided over the openings 12 and 14 to provide protection for the speaker and earpiece of the handset 26 . however , when this is done , it is preferred that only an annular ring 29 , 27 of the cushioning layer 10 is provided in front of the mouthpiece 31 and earpiece 33 . these rings 29 , 27 displace the cover material 30 from the surfaces of the mouth and ear pieces 31 , 33 which minimizes interference with the sound transmission to or from the handset 26 . in this embodiment , the opening 36 , which permits the handset 26 to be inserted into or removed from the cover 8 is located on the underside of the cover 8 , as seen at 32 in fig4 and 5 . it will be apparent that the cover can be formed of substantially any suitable material , either natural fabrics such as cotton or silk or wool or synthetics such as nylon or polyester or even fur - like materials . moreover , many different stuffing materials may be used for the cushioning layer 10 such as cotton or foam . in the model in which the handset is reduced to a minimum size to house the wiring etc ., the soft inner stuffing layer could be thicker to fill out the shape . rather than moving the covering of the handset to gain access to the wiring , access could be via the annular ring . the round parts at either end would also be reduced and filled with stuffing to maintain the shape of the receiver . the end caps could have external threads and received in internally threaded ends of the handset . the caps would unscrew to allow access . the ends would be finished , i . e ., closed with material so the cushoning material would not fall out and when screwed into the central portion of the handset would join smoothly to feel and fit like one continuous piece . this embodiment could also have the outer removable light cover with a seam with velcro or other fasteners . also the base of the phones could be soft and matching the receivers . the dialing mechanism could be either on the base as in the older , traditional phone design or can be provided on the handset as in most modern phones . it is to be understood that these and other modifications , variations , etc . may be made without departing from the present invention . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the forms of the present invention described above and shown in the accompanying drawing are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention . | 8 |
throughout all the figures , same or corresponding elements may generally be indicated by same reference numerals . these depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way . it should also be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols , phantom lines , diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views . in certain instances , details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted . turning now to the drawing , and in particular to fig1 , there is shown a motor vehicle 10 moving in a driving direction indicated by the arrow 14 . the motor vehicle 10 has two front wheels 16 a and 16 b arranged proximate to its front side 12 . these are connected with each other by way of a front axle 24 . the motor vehicle also includes two rear wheels 16 c and 16 d . vertical actuators 18 a to 18 d , which are part of an abc ( active body control ) actuator system , are associated with each of the wheels 16 a to 16 d in one to one correspondence . the vertical actuators 18 a to 18 d are controlled by an abc control device 20 . in this way , the vertical lift of each individual wheel can be individually adjusted . for example , the vertical actuators 18 a can affect the vertical wheel position of wheel 16 a . the abc control device 20 is connected with a control device 22 which controls a semi - automatic vehicle guidance system . alternatively , the abc control device 20 and the control device 22 may also form part of a common control device . the motor vehicle 10 also includes a sensor 32 configured for measurement of the instantaneous transverse acceleration of the motor vehicle 10 . the sensor 32 is connected with the control device 22 and transmits to the control device 22 the measurement information about the transverse acceleration . the front wheels 16 a to 16 d can be steered via a steering system 26 , i . e . the steering angle b can be adjusted with the steering system 26 . in particular , the steering system 26 includes a steering wheel that can be operated by a driver 30 . in addition to manual steering , the motor vehicle 10 also includes a steering actuator 28 , with which the steering angle b of the wheels 16 a and 16 b can be automatically adjusted . to this end , the steering actuator 28 is connected with the control device 22 . in particular , the steering actuator 28 is constructed so that a superimposed steering angle δb can be superimposed on the steering angle b adjusted by the driver 30 with the steering system 26 , resulting in a steering angle b + δb . however , the steering wheel angle c of the steering wheel of the steering system 26 should continue to be the angle corresponding to the steering angle b . the driver 30 then does not receive a haptic feedback on the steering wheel relating to the superimposed steering angle δb . fig2 shows a schematic rear view of a motor vehicle with a conventional roll control . in the exemplary embodiment , the motor vehicle 10 travels through a left - hand turn . to enhance the driving comfort for the occupants of the motor vehicle 10 , the vertical actuators 18 a to 18 d are controlled such that the body of the motor vehicle 10 tilts into the left - hand turn . the tilt is accomplished by a rotation about the roll axis w , which extends parallel to a roadway 34 . when traveling in a straight line , no transverse forces act on the motor vehicle 10 , so that its body is oriented substantially parallel to a plane e 1 . in a left - hand turn , the body is actively tilted by the vertical actuators 18 a to 18 d by a roll angle a . the body is then substantially parallel to a plane e 2 which is no longer parallel to the roadway 34 . the plane e 2 then encloses the roll angle a with the plane e 1 . because the vehicle body now leans into the turn , the transverse acceleration experienced by the driver 30 is improved . fig3 shows three possible trajectories t 1 , t 2 and t 3 along which the motor vehicle moves , depending on which systems affecting the driving dynamics are activated . the motor vehicle travels along the trajectory t 1 when the steering angle b is set by the driver 30 . in this example , neither does the motor vehicle 10 actively lean into the turn ( see fig2 ), nor does the steering actuator 28 actively intervene in the steering . the situation illustrated in fig2 will now be described , where the motor vehicle 10 tilts actively into the left - hand turn shown in fig3 by the roll angle a . the motor vehicle 10 then no longer travels along the trajectory t 1 , although the steering angle b is set , but travels instead on the trajectory t 2 , which is tighter , i . e . has a smaller radius of curvature than the trajectory t 1 . active rolling produces a yaw moment towards the left into the turn . the active rolling increases the yaw angle of the motor vehicle 10 in relation to the yaw angle associated with the trajectory t 1 , although the steering angle b remains the same . this corresponds to the situation known in the art . in order to be nevertheless able to travel along the trajectory t 1 , the driver 30 must correctively intervene in the steering system 26 by moving the steering wheel further to the right , i . e . by reducing the steering angle b . the driving characteristics of the motor vehicle 10 then appear unfamiliar to the driver 30 . the driver 30 may be surprised that he must steer back to the right which may endanger the driving safety . the corrective steering intervention is therefore performed automatically . the situation is illustrated again in fig4 . the control device 22 computes a superimposed steering angle δb which is applied on the steering system 26 by way of the steering actuator 28 , thereby producing an effective steering angle b + δb . the steering wheel angle c remains unchanged and keeps the value corresponding to the steering angle b . the control device 22 uses several input variables to compute the superimposed steering angle δb . these are , in particular , the roll angle a , the steering angle b , and optionally the speed v of the motor vehicle 10 . the superimposed steering angle δb and the roll angle a are functionally correlated by way of a curve k . a roll angle a of 5 ° causes , for example , a superimposed steering angle δb of − 1 °. rolling to the left causes a superimposed steering angle δb to the right and vice versa . as a result , the actual trajectory t 3 traveled by the motor vehicle 10 runs on the right of the trajectory t 2 . the radius of curvature associated with t 3 is greater than the radius of curvature associated with t 2 . ideally , the superimposed steering angle δb is selected so that the trajectories t 1 and t 3 coincide . the driver 30 then experiences the familiar cornering performance of the motor vehicle 10 . correlating automatic rolling and automatic counter steering is particularly advantageous when the motor vehicle 10 is steered manually , or in the so - called chauffeur mode . the system composed of control device 22 and steering actuator 28 can also be referred to as superimposed steering system and may be constructed as an ads . the roll angle a is adjusted by acquiring with the control device 22 signals from the sensor 32 and determining with the control device 22 the transverse acceleration from these signals . depending on the respective value of the transverse acceleration , the control device 22 now determines a suitable transverse tilt with the roll angle a and a suitable superimposed steering angle δb . the transverse tilt is adjusted by transmitting signals from the control device 22 to the abc control device 20 , wherein the latter controls the corresponding lift of the individual vertical actuators 18 a to 18 d . the superimposed steering angle is adjusted by transmitting corresponding signals from the control device 32 to the steering actuator 28 which intervenes in the steering system 26 so as to define a particular steering angle for the wheels 16 a and 16 b . while the invention has been illustrated and described in connection with currently preferred embodiments shown and described in detail , 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 and scope of the present invention . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and practical application to thereby enable a person skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . | 1 |
referring now to fig1 a , a transmission link 101 carries packets between a source a and a destination b . a transmission link 102 carries packets between source b and destination a . a monitoring point 103 makes copies of packets travelling on both transmission links 101 , 102 . processors 301 , 302 , 303 each process a subset of the packets copied by the monitoring point 103 . a packet filter 201 , 202 , 203 is associated with each processor . the packet filter 201 determines which packets are processed by processor 301 . the packet filter 202 determines which packets are processed by processor 302 . the packet filter 203 determines which packets are processed by processor 303 . alternatively there may be a separate filter for packets travelling on each transmission link . in fig1 b packet filters 401 , 402 determine which packets are processed by the processor 301 . packet filters 403 , 404 determine which packets are processed by the processor 302 and packet filters 405 , 406 determine which packets are processed by the processor 303 . in this description the term network refers to any interconnected set of transmission paths , the term packet filter refers to any device which selects which packets to process and which to discard . it will be understood that a filter may be implemented in hardware or in software or a combination of both hardware and software . in a packet switched network each packet has a header which contains fields indicating the source and destination of the packet . for example the packet may contain internet protocol ( ip ) addresses and / or user datagram port ( udp ) addresses . fig2 illustrates an example of such a packet 12 . when two packets represent transmission in opposite direction within the same call in a voice over ip transmission then the source field and the destination field contain complementary portions , such packets will be referred to as complementary packets . for example , in fig2 a if the source address 13 of a packet 12 contains fields ip_src_address_high 13 a ip_src_address_low 13 b udp_src_port 13 c , where ip_src_address_high 13 a represents the 16 most significant bits in a 32 bit ip address and ip_src_address_low 13 b represents the 16 least significant bits in the 32 bit ip address and udp_src_port 13 c represents a 16 bit udp port address , then the destination address 17 of the complementary packet 14 ( fig2 b ) will contain ip_dest_address_high cp 15 a ip_dest_address_low cp 15 b udp_dest_port cp 15 c a pair of fields comprising the same portion of the source address 13 and destination address 16 within a single packet 12 ( eg ip_src_address_high 13 a and ip_dest_address_high 16 a ) will be referred to as pairs of complementary portions . in order to filter packets a filter value is calculated using the source address 13 and destination addresses 16 from a packet 12 , and then the packet is either processed or discarded in dependence upon this filter value . known methods of filtering / routing packets may involve performing a hash function on the source and / or destination addresses usually using modulo arithmetic . such methods do not necessarily allow complementary packets ( ie packets representing the same call ) to follow the same route as one another . in the method of the present invention a function is performed on the source and destination addresses in which the part of the function applied to pairs of complementary portions of the packet source and destinations addresses is commutative . eg using the examples above the filter value may be formed from a combination of alternatively different operators may be used for different pairs of complementary portions of the addresses , for example the results of these commutative operations may be combined using either commutative or non commutative operators . the result of such an operation is that the filter value is the same for complementary packets . fig3 illustrates the method of the present invention . at step 40 one or more pairs of complementary portions of the source and destination address of the packet are selected . at step 42 a commutative operation is performed on each pair of selected complementary portions . at step 44 the results of the commutative operation ( s ) are combined to provide a filter value ( clearly if a single pair of complementary portions is selected at step 40 then this step is unnecessary ). in order to aid load balancing between processors 301 , 302 , 303 at step 46 a modulo operation is performed on the filter value and at step 48 the packet is either processed or discarded depending upon the final result . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the filter value check1 is calculated as follows : ie the commutative operations and the combining operations are all performed using the exclusive or function . a modulo operation is then applied to check1 ( step 48 ) to form a value check2 that is derived from all of the bits in check1 in the preferred embodiment a prime number is chosen which in this case is 251 . check2 is then compared with an upper and lower limit . if the value of check2 lies between the two limits , the packet is processed , otherwise the packet is discarded , i . e . : check2 is treated as an address space and each processor is allocated a subset of this address space . note that the size of the subset need not be the same for all processors and the whole address space need not be covered , for example , if it is only desired to monitor a proportion of transmission paths . furthermore if more than one type of monitoring process is desired then some portions of the address space may be selected by more than one filter . if separate filters are provided for packets travelling on different transmission lines , as illustrated in fig1 b then the function applied and the upper and lower limit must be the same for each filter associated with a particular processor . fig4 illustrates schematically a packet switched network connecting a plurality of sources 10 to a plurality of destinations 20 via a plurality of routers 30 . it can be seen that there are a plurality of possible paths between a particular source 10 ′ and destination 20 ′. for example two such routes are illustrated in bold . it will be appreciated that the method of packet filtering described may also be used in a routing application to ensure that packets traveling in both directions between a particular source and a particular destination are routed via the same path as each other . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the processes described above may be implemented on a conventional programmable computer , and that a computer program encoding instructions for controlling the programmable computer to perform the above methods may be provided on a computer readable medium . it will also be understood that various alterations , modifications , and / or additions may be introduced into the specific embodiment described above without departing from the scope of the present invention . | 7 |
as used herein “ small molecules ” means compounds having a molecular weight of less than 1000 dalton , preferred are compounds having a molecular weight of less than 800 dalton . “ modulating and normalizing an impaired haemostatic balance ” means achieving an effect on the coagulation system measurable in vitro assays and / or animal models which effect diminishes the risk for thrombosis or bleedings . “ treatment ” means the administration of an effective amount of a therapeutically active compound of the invention with the purpose of preventing any symptoms or disease state to develop or with the purpose of curing or easing such symptoms or disease states already developed . the term “ treatment ” is thus meant to include prophylactic treatment . a fviia / tf related disease or disorder or a thrombotic or coagulopathic related disease or disorder is meant to include inflammatory responses and chronic thromboembolic diseases or disorders associated with fibrin formation including vascular disorders such as deep venous thrombosis , arterial thrombosis , post surgical thrombosis , coronary artery bypass graft ( cabg ), percutaneous transdermal coronary angioplastry ( ptca ), stroke , tumour metastasis , angiogenesis , thrombolysis , arteriosclerosis and restenosis following angioplastry , acute and chronic indications such as inflammation , septic chock , septicemia , hypotension , adult respiratory distress syndrome ( ards ), disseminated intravascular coagulopathy ( dic ), pulmonary embolism , platelet deposition , myocardial infarction , or the prophylactic treatment of mammals with atherosclerotic vessels at risk for thrombosis , and other diseases or disorders . the fviia / tf related disorder is not limited to in vivo coagulopatic disorders such as those named above but includes ex vivo fviia / tf related processes such as coagulation that may result from the extracorporeal circulation of blood , including blood removed in - line from a patient in such processes as dialysis procedures , blood filtration , or blood bypass during surgery . “ inhibitors of fviia - tf activity ”: compounds with the general formula i inhibit fviia / tf - activity in in vitro assays of amidolytic and proteolytic activity and thus are able to prolong by preventing the formation of a fviia / tf complex the tf - induced coagulation in human plasma . they may do so by inhibiting fviia activity , by inhibiting the activity of fviia / tf complex , by preventing the binding of fx to fviia / tf complex , or by preventing the activation of factor x when bound to fviia / tf . compounds which solely inhibit the proteolytic activity of fviia / tf and / or prolong the coagulation time may do so by preventing the association of factor x with the fviia / tf complex or by preventing the activation of factor x bound to the complex . the compounds may hinder the tf / fviia activation of fx by binding to either tf , fvii , or fx , thus hindering either the formation of the tf / fvii complex , the binding between the tf / fviia complex and fx , or the binding of fx to either fvii or tf . structures binding to fvii or fx may do this either at the active site — thus hindering the progress of the coagulation cascade — or in areas outside the active site . preferred compounds are the ones which have low activity at the fx active site as seen from a fxa amidolytic assay screen and which exhibit a medium to low effect on the fvii active site as seen from a fviia / tf amidolytic assay . activity on other serine proteases should be minimal . in this context , the term half - maximal inhibition means reducing the activity of the respective enzyme or enzyme - cofactor complex in the absence of inhibitory compound by 50 %. “ modulators of the tf / fviia pathway ”: compounds that modulate the coagulation process through an inhibitory action on the tf / fviia complex or on tf activity . the activity of fviia in complex with tf , in particular its activation of factor x , can be inhibited by a low - molecular weight compound . by this action , the initiation and acceleration of the blood coagulation cascade upon exposure of tf to flowing blood is prevented . “ modulating and normalizing an impaired haemostatic balance ” means achieving an effect on the coagulation system measurable in vitro assays and / or animal models which effect diminishes the risk for thrombosis or bleedings . in another aspect , the present invention includes within its scope pharmaceutical compositions comprising ; as an active ingredient , at least one of the compounds of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent . optionally , the pharmaceutical composition of the invention may comprise a compound combined with one or more other compounds exhibiting anticoagulant activity , e . g ., platelet aggregation inhibitor . the compounds may be formulated into pharmaceutical composition comprising the compounds and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent . such carriers include water , physiological saline , ethanol , polyols , e . g ., glycerol or propylene glycol , or vegetable oils . as used herein , “ pharmaceutically acceptable carriers ” also encompasses any and all solvents , dispersion media , coatings , antifungal agents , preservatives , isotonic agents and the like . except insofar as any conventional medium is incompatible with the active ingredient and its intended use , its use in the compositions of the present invention is contemplated . the compositions may be prepared by conventional techniques and appear in conventional forms , for example , capsules , tablets , solutions or suspensions . the pharmaceutical carrier employed may be a conventional solid or liquid carrier . examples of solid carriers are lactose , terra alba , sucrose , talc , gelatine , agar , pectin , acacia , magnesium stearate and stearic acid . examples of liquid carriers are syrup , peanut oil , olive oil and water . similarly , the carrier or diluent may include any time delay material known to the art , such as glyceryl monostearate or glyceryl distearate , alone or mixed with a wax . the formulations may also include wetting agents , emulsifying and suspending agents , preserving agents , sweetening agents or flavouring agents . the formulations of the invention may be formulated so as to provide quick , sustained , or delayed release of the active ingredient after administration to the patient by employing procedures well known in the art . the pharmaceutical compositions can be sterilized and mixed , if desired , with auxiliary agents , emulsifiers , salt for influencing osmotic pressure , buffers and / or colouring substances and the like , which do not deleteriously react with the active compounds . the route of administration may be any route , which effectively transports the active compound to the appropriate or desired site of action , such as oral or parenteral , e . g ., rectal , transdermal , subcutaneous , intranasal , intramuscular , topical , intravenous , intraurethral , ophthalmic solution or an ointment , the oral route being preferred . if a solid carrier for oral administration is used , the preparation can be tabletted , placed in a hard gelatine capsule in powder or pellet form or it can be in the form of a troche or lozenge . the amount of solid carrier may vary widely but will usually be from about 25 mg to about 1 g . if a liquid carrier is used , the preparation may be in the form of a syrup , emulsion , soft gelatine capsule or sterile injectable liquid such as an aqueous or non - aqueous liquid suspension or solution . for nasal administration , the preparation may contain a compound of formula i dissolved or suspended in a liquid carrier , in particular an aqueous carrier , for aerosol application . the carrier may contain additives such as solubilizing agents , e . g . propylene glycol , surfactants , absorption enhancers such as lecithin ( phosphatidylcholine ) or cyclodextrin , or preservatives such as parabenes . for parenteral application , particularly suitable are injectable solutions or suspensions , preferably aqueous solutions with the active compound dissolved in polyhydroxylated castor oil . tablets , dragees , or capsules having talc and / or a carbohydrate carrier or binder or the like are particularly suitable for oral application . preferable carriers for tablets , dragees , or capsules include lactose , corn starch , and / or potato starch . a syrup or elixir can be used in cases where a sweetened vehicle can be employed . a typical tablet , which may be prepared by conventional tabletting techniques , contains the compounds of the invention may be administered to a mammal , especially a human , in need of such treatment , prevention , elimination , alleviation or amelioration of various coagulation - related diseases as mentioned above . such mammals also include animals , both domestic animals , e . g . household pets , and non - domestic animals such as wildlife . the compounds of the invention are effective over a wide dosage range . for example , in the treatment of adult humans , dosages from about 0 . 001 to about 100 mg , preferably from about 0 . 05 to about 100 mg per day may be used . a most preferable dosage is about 0 . 1 mg to about 70 mg per day . in choosing a regimen for patients , it may frequently be necessary to begin with a dosage of from about 20 to about 70 mg per day and when the condition is under control to reduce the dosage as low as from about 0 . 1 to about 10 mg per day . the exact dosage will depend upon the mode of administration , on the therapy desired , form in which administered , the subject to be treated and the body weight of the subject to be treated , and the preference and experience of the physician or veterinarian in charge . generally , the compounds of the present invention are dispensed in unit dosage form comprising from about 0 . 1 to about 100 mg of active ingredient together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier per unit dosage . usually , dosage forms suitable for oral , nasal , pulmonal or transdermal administration comprise from about 0 . 001 mg to about 100 mg , preferably from about 0 . 01 mg to about 50 mg of the compounds of formula i admixed with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent . the compounds may be administered concurrently , simultaneously , or together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent , whether by oral , rectal , or parenteral ( including subcutaneous ) route . the compounds are often , and preferably , in the form of an alkali metal or earth alkali metal salt thereof . suitable dosage ranges varies as indicated above depending upon the exact mode of administration , form in which administered , the indication towards which the administration is directed , the subject involved and the body weight of the subject involved , and the preference and experience of the physician or veterinarian in charge . the compounds are dissolved in dmso and mixed with a solution of fviia in ca 2 + - containing buffer ( 1 + 5 ). 30 μl of this mixture was then mixed with 45 μl tf ( relipidated in pc / ps vesicles ) and 25 μl of a solution containing fx , all in ca 2 + - containing buffer . this gives final concentrations of 100 pm fviia , 5 pm tf , 175 nm fx and various concentrations of the compounds . after a 5 - min incubation , the fviia / tf - catalyzed activation of fx is terminated by the addition of 50 μl buffer containing enough edta to give an excess over the ca2 + ions present . 50 μl of a 2 - mm solution of s - 2765 ( fxa substrate ) is then added and the fxa formed is allowed to hydrolyze the substrate for 10 minutes during which the absorbance at 405 nm is continuously monitored in a spectramax ™ 340 plate reader . the slope of the absorption curve is compared to that of a control where dmso alone was added to fviia / tf / fx . the test compounds , 20 mm in dmso , are diluted in citrated normal human plasma just before the analysis ( 1 + 19 ) and placed in the sample carousel . 55 μl sample ( compound in plasma ) is mixed with 55 μl of thromboplastin ( innovin , dade ) and incubated for 5 min . the clotting reaction is started by adding 55 μl of a 25 - mm cacl 2 solution , yielding a final compound concentration of 0 . 33 mm . the clotting time is measured using an acl 300 r coagulometer . the ratio between the clotting time in the presence and absence of test compound is used to quantify the anticoagulant efficiency . counterscreeninq assays to eliminate compounds directed towards the active site of fviia or fxa ( the fviia / tf amidolytic assay also detects compounds interfering with fviia / tf complex assemble ): compound solutions and buffer are the same as in the above fx activation assay . 150 microliters of fviia ( 13 . 3 nm in buffer ), 20 microliters of soluble tf . ( 250 nm in buffer ), 10 microliters of test compound ( various concentrations in dmso ) and 20 microliters of substrate s - 2288 ( 10 mm in water ) is mixed in microtiter plate well . this gives final concentrations of fvii ( a , tf and s - 2288 of 10 nm , 25 nm and 1 mm , respectively . the absorbance at 405 nm is measured continuously for 20 minutes . the degree of inhibition is calculated from the slope of the absorbance curve compared to the curve obtained when using dmso without test compound . compound solutions and buffer are the same as in the above fx activation assay . 170 microliters of fxa ( 1 . 17 nm in buffer ), 10 microliters of test compound ( various concentrations in dmso ) and 20 microliters of substrate s - 2765 ( 10 mm in water ) is mixed in a microtiter plate well . this gives - final concentrations of fxa and s - 2765 of 1 nm and 1 mm , respectively . the absorbance at 405 nm is measured continuously for 20 minutes . the degree of inhibition is calculated from the slope of the absorbance curve compared to the curve obtained when using dmso without test compound . the compounds of this invention can be used to modulate and normalise an impaired haemostatic balance in mammals caused by deficiency or malfunction of blood clotting factors or their inhibitors . the fviia and in particular the fviia / tf activity plays an important role in the control of the coagulation cascade , and modulators of this key regulatory activity such as the present invention can be used in the treatment of coagulation - related diseased states . the pharmaceutical composition according to the invention is useful for modulating and normalising an impaired haemostatic balance in a mammal . in particular , the pharmaceutical composition may be useful for the treatment of coagulation - related diseased states . more particularly , the pharmaceutical composition may be useful as an inhibitor of blood coagulation in a mammal , as an inhibitor of clotting activity in a mammal , as an inhibitor of deposition of fibrin in a mammal , as an inhibitor of platelet deposition in a mammal , in the treatment of mammals suffering from deep vein thrombosis , pulmonary embolism , stroke , disseminated intravascular coagulation ( dic ), vascular restenosis , platelet deposition and associated disorders , myocardial infarction , angiogenesis , tumour growth , tumour invasion , metastasis , and in the prophylactic treatment of mammals with atherosclerotic vessels at risk for developing thrombosis . compound solutions and buffer are the same as in the above fx activation assay . 150 microliters of fviia ( 13 . 3 nm in buffer ), 20 microliters of soluble tf ( 250 nm in buffer ), 10 microliters of test compound ( various concentrations in dm80 ) and 20 microliters of substrate s - 2288 ( 10 mm in water ) is mixed in microtiter plate well . this gives final concentrations of fviia , tf and s - 2288 of 10 nm , 25 nm and 1 mm , respectively . the absorbance at 405 nm is measured continuously for 20 minutes . the degree of inhibition is calculated from the slope of the absorbance curve compared to the curve obtained when using dmso without test compound . compound solutions and buffer are the same as in the above fx activation assay . 170 microliters of fxa ( 1 . 17 nm in buffer ), 10 microliters of test compound ( various concentrations in dmso ) and 20 microliters of substrate s - 2765 ( 10 mm in water ) is mixed in a microtiter plate well . this gives final concentrations of fxa and s - 2765 of 1 nm and 1 mm , respectively . the absorbance at 405 nm is measured continuously for 20 minutes . the degree of inhibition is calculated from the slope of the absorbance curve compared to the curve obtained when using dmso without test compound . the compounds are dissolved in dmso and mixed with a solution of fviia in ca 2 + - containing buffer ( 1 + 5 ). 30 μl of this mixture was then mixed with 45 μl tf ( relipidated in pc / ps vesicles ) and 25 μl of a solution containing fx , all in ca 2 + - containing buffer . this gives final concentrations of 100 pm fviia , 5 pm tf , 175 nm fx and various concentrations of the compounds . after a 5 - min incubation , the fviia / tf - catalyzed activation of fx is terminated by the addition of 50 μl buffer containing enough edta to give an excess over the ca 2 + ions present 50 μl of a 2 - mm solution of s - 2765 ( fxa substrate ) is then added and the fxa formed is allowed to hydrolyze the substrate for 10 minutes during which the absorbance at 405 nm is continuously monitored in a spectramax ™ 340 plate reader . the slope of the absorption curve is compared to that of a control where dmso alone was added to fviia / tf / fx . the test compounds , 20 mm in dmso , are diluted in citrated normal human plasma just before the analysis ( 1 + 19 ) and placed in the sample carousel . 55 μl sample ( compound in plasma ) is mixed with 55 μl of thromboplastin ( innovin , dade ) and incubated for 5 min . the clotting reaction is started by adding 55 μl of a 25 - mm cacl 2 solution , yielding a final compound concentration of 0 . 33 mm . the clotting time is measured using an acl 300 r coagulometer . the ratio between the clotting time in the presence and absence of test compound is used to quantify the anticoagulant efficiency . compounds having an ic50 of & lt ; 20 μm in a ), ic50 & gt ; 100 μm in b ), and ic50 & gt ; 100 μm in c ) are selected , and the anticoagulant potency is tested in a fviia / tf - induced plasma clotting assay . the selected compounds show a clot ratio & gt ; 1 . | 8 |
in the current z / architecture there exist the rxe format as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 105 , 126 ( incorporated fully by reference ) shown here and in that patent as fig1 , and also rse , shown here as fig2 , instruction formats . there are existing instructions in the z / architecture which use the base register plus 12 unsigned displacement or base register plus index register plus 12 bit unsigned displacement to form the operand storage address . in accordance with our preferred embodiment the invention creates three new formats rxy , fig3 , rsy , fig4 , and siy , fig5 . these new formats are used to provide a 20 bit signed displacement field that can be used to form the operand storage address base register plus 20 bit signed displacement or base register plus index register plus 20 bit signed displacement . this new 20 bit signed displacement field can be used for support of new instructions or can allow prior instructions that only had a 12 bit unsigned displacement to now have access to a signed 20 bit signed displacement . it is a feature of our invention that any software code created under the prior instruction formats will operate as they were originally defined , with a 12 bit unsigned displacement , while especially , any new software code created under the new instruction formats can operate with the new 20 bit signed displacement ( chosen as comprising signed long displacement bits numbering , in the preferred embodiment 20 ). the new 20 bit signed displacement is done as two parts that are adjacent to each other . the two parts of the displacement value while being located in adjacent fields in the instruction text are not sequentially numbered bit ranges . the dl1 or dl2 field in the instruction formats is the least significant 12 bits of the 20 bit signed displacement and are in the same location in the rxy , rsy , and siy instruction formats as the 12 bit unsigned d2 field in the existing rxe and rse formats . the dh1 or dh2 field in the rxy , rsy , or siy instruction formats are defined as the 8 most significant bits of the 20 bit signed displacement field and is located in an undefined area of the rxe and rse instruction formats . by reference to the figures it will be appreciated that d 1 and d 2 refers to the displacement field for operand one and the displacement field for operand two of an instruction while , as dl is an acronym for “ displacement low ” while dh is an acronym for “ displacement high ” for which it will be appreciated that dl 1 and dh 1 will refer to the displacement fields for operand one and dl 2 and dh 2 will refer to the displacement fields for operand two . in fig6 , # 501 shows a computer memory storage containing instructions and data . the long displacement instructions described in this invention would initially stored in this computer . # 502 shows a mechanism for fetching instructions from a computer memory and may also contain local buffering of these instructions it has fetched . then the raw instructions are transferred to an instruction decoder , # 503 , where it determines what type of instruction has been fetched . # 504 , shows a mechanism for executing instructions . this may include loading data into a register from memory , # 501 , storing data back to memory from a register , or performing some type of arithmetic or logical operation . this exact type of operation to be performed has been previously determined by the instruction decoder . the long displacement instructions described in this invention would be executed here . if the long displacement instructions are being executed natively on a computer system , then this diagram is complete as described above . however , if an instruction set architecture , containing long displacement instructions , is being emulated on another computer , the above process would be implemented in software on a host computer , # 505 . in this case , the above stated mechanisms would typically be implemented as one or more software subroutines within the emulator software . in both cases an instruction is fetched , decoded and executed . more particularly , these architected instructions can be used with a computer architecture with existing instruction formats with a 12 bit unsigned displacement used to form the operand storage address and also one having additional instruction formats that provide a additional displacement bits , preferably 20 bits , which comprise an extended signed displacement used to form the operand storage address . these computer architected instructions comprise computer software , stored in a computer storage medium , for producing the code running of the processor utilizing the computer software , and comprising the instruction code for use by a compiler or emulator / interpreter which is stored in a computer storage medium 501 , and wherein the first part of the instruction code comprises an operation code which specified the operation to be performed and a second part which designates the operands for that participate . the long displacement instructions permit additional addresses to be directly addressed with the use of the long displacement facility instruction . in a commercial implementation of the long displacement facility computer architected instruction format the instructions are used by programmers , usually today “ c ” programmers . these instruction formats stored in the storage medium may be executed natively in a z / architecture ibm server , or alternatively in machines executing other architectures . they can be emulated in the existing and in future ibm mainframe servers and on other machines of ibm ( e . g . pseries servers and xseries servers ). they can be executed in machines running linux on a wide variety of machines using hardware manufactured by ibm , intel , amd , sun microsystems and others . besides execution on that hardware under a z / architecture , linux can be used as well as machines which use emulation by hercules , umx , fxi or platform solutions , where generally execution is in an emulation mode . in emulation mode the specific instruction being emulated is decoded , and a subroutine built to implement the individual instruction , as in a “ c ” subroutine or driver , or some other method of providing a driver for the specific hardware as is within the skill of those in the art after understanding the description of the preferred embodiment . various software and hardware emulation patents including , but not limited to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 551 , 013 for a “ multiprocessor for hardware emulation ” of beausoleil et al ., and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 009 , 261 : preprocessing of stored target routines for emulating incompatible instructions on a target processor ” of scalzi et al ; and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 574 , 873 : decoding guest instruction to directly access emulation routines that emulate the guest instructions , of davidian et al ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 308 , 255 : symmetrical multiprocessing bus and chipset used for coprocessor support allowing non - native code to run in a system , of gorishek et al ; and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 463 , 582 : dynamic optimizing object code translator for architecture emulation and dynamic optimizing object code translation method of lethin et al ; and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 790 , 825 : method for emulating guest instructions on a host computer through dynamic recompilation of host instructions of eric traut ; and many others , illustrate the a variety of known ways to achieve emulation of an instruction format architected for a different machine for a target machine available to those skilled in the art , as well as those commercial software techniques used by those referenced above . in the preferred embodiment the existing instruction formats form the operand storage address by the summing of the base register and 12 bit unsigned displacement or the base register , the index register , and the 12 bit unsigned displacement and the new instruction formats form the operand storage address by the summing of the base register and the 20 bit signed displacement or the base register , the index register , and the 20 bit signed displacement . as illustrated by fig6 , these instructions are executed in hardware by a processor or by emulation of said instruction set by software executing on a computer having a different native instruction set . in accordance with the computer architecture of the preferred embodiment the displacement field is defined as being in two parts , the least significant part being 12 bits called the dl , dl 1 for operand 1 or dl 2 for operand 2 , and the most significant part being 8 bits called the dh , dh 1 for operand 1 or dh 2 for operand 2 . furthermore , the preferred computer architecture has an instruction format such that the opcode is in bit positions 0 through 7 and 40 through 47 , a target register called r 1 in bit positions 8 through 11 , an index register called x 2 in bit positions 12 through 15 , a base register called b 2 in bit positions 16 through 19 , a displacement composed of two parts with the first part called dl 2 in bit positions 20 through 31 and the second part called dh 2 in bit positions 32 through 39 . this computer architecture has an instruction format such that the opcode is in bit positions 0 through 7 and 40 through 47 , a target register called r 1 in bit positions 8 through 11 , an source register called r 3 in bit positions 12 through 15 , a base register called b 2 in bit positions 16 through 19 , a displacement composed of two parts with the first part called dl 2 in bit positions 20 through 31 and the second part called dh 2 in bit positions 32 through 39 . furthermore , our computer architecture instructions having a long displacement facility has an instruction format such that the opcode is in bit positions 0 through 7 and 40 through 47 , a target register called r 1 in bit positions 8 through 11 , a mask value called m 3 in bit positions 12 through 15 , a base register called b 2 in bit positions 16 through 19 , a displacement composed of two parts with the first part called dl 2 in bit positions 20 through 31 and the second part called dh 2 in bit positions 32 through 39 . as illustrated , our preferred computer architecture with its long displacement facility has an instruction format such that the opcode is in bit positions 0 through 7 and 40 through 47 , an immediate value called 12 in bit positions 8 through 15 , a base register called b 2 in bit positions 16 through 19 , a displacement composed of two parts with the first part called dl 1 in bit positions 20 through 31 and the second part called dh 1 in bit positions 32 through 39 . our long displacement facility computer architecture operates effectively when using new instructions which are created that only use the instruction format with the new 20 bit unsigned displacement . a specific embodiment of our computer architecture utilizes existing instructions which have the instruction formats that only have the 12 bit unsigned displacement and are now defined to be in the new instruction formats to have either the existing 12 bit unsigned displacement value when the high order 8 bits of the displacement , field dh , are all zero , or a 20 bit signed value when the high order 8 bits of the displacement , field dh , is non - zero . while the preferred embodiment to the invention has been described , it will be understood that those skilled in the art , both now and in the future , may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow . these claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described . | 6 |
this invention is directed to novel membranes made from polyurethane - polyether and polyurea - polyether block copolymers . the invention is also directed at processes for separating one or more polar gases from a gaseous mixture using such membranes . the polyurethane - polyether and polyurea - polyether block copolymers are produced by reacting at least one polyether glycol with either an aromatic or aliphatic diisocyanate followed by reaction with at least one aliphatic diol ( to form a polyurethane - polyether ) or with at least one aliphatic diamine ( to form a polyurea - polyether ). the resulting polymers contain polyether soft segments and polyurethane or polyurea hard segments . embodiments of this invention are directed to membranes made from certain polyurethane - polyether and polyurea - polyether block copolymers that exhibit a unique combination of both high permeability and high permselectivity for the separation of various gas mixtures . another aspect of this invention is directed to the separation of gases using said block copolymers . the block copolymers are produced by reacting at least one polyether glycol with either an aromatic or aliphatic diisocyanate followed by reaction with at least one aliphatic diol ( to form a polyurethane - polyether ) or with a at least one aliphatic diamine ( to form a polyurea - polyether ) in the presence of a catalyst , such as organotin compounds , such as dibutyltindilaurate , but other catalysts known to one skilled in the art may be used . during polymerization the temperature is preferably about 150 °- 260 ° c . the resulting polymers contain segments ( noted as “ i ”) that are soft ( noted as “ s ”) comprising polyether soft segments ( noted as “ i s ”) and hard ( noted as “ h ”) comprising polyurethane or polyurea hard segments ( noted as “ i h ”). depending on the chemical components , glycol excess , catalyst , and temperature , the polymerization is complete within about 4 - 8 hours . preferably this process is carried out at ambient pressure , but it may also be conducted at other pressures known to one skilled in the art for polymerization . the synthesized or resultant block copolymers are represented by the repeating units of formulas ( i s ) and ( i h ): in which r i of formulas ( i s ) and ( i h ) is an aliphatic or aromatic radical of at least about 2 - 18 carbon atoms ; ( pe ) of formula ( i s ) is a polyether segment having a number average molecular weight , m n ( which is essentially equivalent to m n of the repeating formula ( i s )), ranging from about 600 to 8000 , and preferably about 1000 to 4000 ; and r a of formula ( i h ) is a linear or branched aliphatic radical of at least about 2 - 18 carbon atoms ; and , x is an oxygen atom or — nh —. if x is oxygen , the block copolymer is a polyurethane - polyether , and if x is — nh —, the block copolymer is a polyurea - polyether . within the block copolymer , the number of carbon atoms in the repeating units may vary and there may be varieties and combinations of numbers of carbon atoms therein . the number average molecular weight of the repeating formula ( i h ) is preferably in the range of about 200 to 3000 , and more preferably about 200 - 1000 . in a preferred embodiment of the invention r i is linear —( ch 2 ) 6 —, or a moiety of composition selected from the group primarily comprising formula ( s ), formula ( t ), formula ( u ), or ( v ) below , and a combination or mixtures thereof . these structures correspond 1 , 6 - hexanediisocyanate , tolylene - 2 , 6 - diisocyanate , tolylene - 2 , 4 - diisocyanate , 1 , 3 - xylylenediisocyanate , and 4 , 4 ′- methylenebis ( phenylisocyanate ), respectively . it has been discovered that the oxygen content and molecular weight of the polyether glycol affects permeation properties of the resulting block copolymers . thus , the polyether segment , ( pe ), is derived preferably from a polyether glycol of number average molecular weight of about 600 - 8000 , and more preferably about 1000 - 4000 , and preferably an oxygen / carbon ratio of about 0 . 2 - 0 . 5 . preferred polyether glycols are hydroxyl terminated polyethylene glycol , hydroxyl terminated 1 , 2 - polypropylene glycol , and hydroxyl terminated 1 , 4 - polybutylene glycol , although other glycols known or used by one skilled in the art may be used . the hard segment of the block copolymer is derived from the reaction of residual aliphatic or aromatic diisocyanate end groups or monomer with either at least one aliphatic diol or at least one aliphatic diamine . preferred diols or diamines contain at least about 2 - 18 carbon atoms and can be linear or branched . most preferred are diols or diamines containing at least about 2 - 6 carbon atoms . typical diols and diamines are ethylene glycol , 1 , 3 - propanediol , 1 , 2 - propanediol , 1 , 4 - butanediol , 1 , 6 - hexanediol , 1 , 2 - diaminoethane , 1 , 4 - diaminobutane , 1 , 5 - diaminopentane , 1 , 5 - diaminohexane , 1 , 6 - diaminohexane , and dl - serine ( 3 - amino - 2 - hydroxypropionic acid ), although other diols and diamines known or used by one skilled in the art may be used . typically , the polymers of this invention exhibit a number average molecular weight in the range from about 23 , 000 to 400 , 000 and preferably about 50 , 000 - 280 , 000 . as shown from the variety of combinations of components , a wide range and variety of types of polyurethane - polyether and polyurea - polyether block copolymers are contemplated and disclosed herein . it has also been discovered that the ratio of soft segment to hard segment of these block copolymers is critical to gas separation properties of the polymer and the ability to fabricate the polymers into suitable membranes . preferably , the soft segment comprises about 50 - 90 weight % of the polymer weight , and most preferably , about 60 - 85 %. these block copolymers exhibit superior permeability and permselectivity with respect to several gaseous mixtures and particularly with respect to separating polar gases from non - polar gases . they can be fabricated into various membrane structures , depending on the particular end use . gas separation membranes prepared from such block polymers possess an excellent balance of gas permeation rate and permselectivity for one gas over other gases in a multi - component gas mixture . it has been discovered that the membranes of this invention exhibit extremely high permeability for polar gases , and excellent permselectivity versus non - polar gases . thus , these membranes are ideally suited for the separation of polar gases , such as carbon dioxide , hydrogen sulfide , and sulfur dioxide from non - polar gases , such as helium , hydrogen , nitrogen , oxygen , and methane . since the separation of carbon dioxide from hydrogen is a difficult separation with high industrial significance , it was chosen to demonstrate the utility of the membranes of this invention . it was found that the polyurethane - ether and polyurea - ether membranes exhibit significantly higher carbon dioxide permeability than prior - art membranes while maintaining excellent carbon dioxide / hydrogen selectivity , thus clearly differentiating them from the prior art . the high gas permeability of these membranes is believed to be due to the propensity of the polyether soft segment to absorb high amounts of the more permeable gas . the high selectivity of these membranes is believed to be due to the interactions between the semi - crystalline polyurethane or polyurea hard segments and the polyether soft segments . the preferred polyurethane - polyether and polyurea - polyether block copolymers are insoluble or only slightly soluble in most common solvents . suitable solutions for membrane fabrication can be made using highly polar solvents such as n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , n , n - dimethylacetamide , m - cresol and the like although other highly polar solvents known or used by one skilled in the art may be used . alternatively , membranes in accordance with this invention can be melt - processed at elevated temperatures , generally above 200 ° c . the polymer can be formed into films or hollow fiber membranes by any of the diverse techniques known or used by one skilled in the art . a preferred form of the membrane is a composite structure comprising a non - selective microporous support layer coated with a thin layer of the block copolymer to provide the separation function . typically , the support layer of such a composite membrane is made by solution - casting a film or spinning a hollow fiber . the selective layer is usually solution coated on the support in a separate step . alternatively , hollow - fiber composite membranes can be made by co - extrusion of both the support material and the separating layer simultaneously as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 085 , 676 . the membranes of the invention may be housed in any convenient type of separation unit . for example , flat - sheet membranes can be stacked in plate - and - frame modules or wound in spiral - wound modules . hollow - fiber membranes are typically potted with a thermoset resin in cylindrical housings . the final membrane separation unit can comprise one or more membrane modules . these can be housed individually in pressure vessels or multiple modules can be mounted together in a common housing of appropriate diameter and length . in operation , a mixture of gases is contacted with one side of the membrane . under a suitable driving force for permeation , such as imposing a pressure difference between the feed and permeate sides of the membrane , one gas , usually called the “ fast ” gas , passes to the permeate side at higher rate than other gases in the mixture . this produces a “ fast ” gas - enriched or concentrated stream which is withdrawn from the permeate side of the membrane . the “ fast ” gas - depleted residue , occasionally referred to as the “ retentate ”, is withdrawn from the feed side . the membranes of this invention are particularly suited for separating polar gases from non - polar gases . that is , the polar gases permeate faster than the non - polar gases . for example , the membranes of this invention are well suited for separating carbon dioxide ( polar gas ) from hydrogen , or carbon dioxide from methane or nitrogen . thus a gas mixture that contains carbon dioxide and hydrogen can be separated into a carbon dioxide - rich stream , and a carbon dioxide - depleted stream . the carbon dioxide - rich stream , often referred to as the “ permeate ”, is collected at lower pressure on the permeate side of the membrane , and the carbon dioxide - depleted stream , occasionally referred to as the “ retentate ”, is withdrawn from the feed side . the novel process can operate under a wide range of conditions and is thus adapted to accept a feed stream supplied from diverse sources . if the feed stream is a gas that exists already at a sufficiently high , above - atmospheric pressure and a pressure gradient is maintained across the membrane , the driving force for separation can be adequate without raising feed stream pressure farther . otherwise , the feed stream can be compressed to a higher pressure and / or a vacuum can be drawn on the permeate side of the membrane to provide adequate driving force . preferably the driving force for separation should be a pressure gradient across the membrane of about 0 . 7 to about 11 . 0 mpa ( 100 - 1600 psi ). a ) providing a two - sided , selective permeable membrane comprising a block copolymer having the repeating units of formulae ( i s ) and ( i h ), b ) contacting a first side of the membrane with a feed gas mixture , c ) causing the component gases of the feed mixture to selectively permeate through the membrane , thereby forming on the second side of the membrane a permeate composition which has a greater concentration of a more permeable species than that of the feed mixture , d ) removing from the second side of the membrane a permeate composition enriched in the more permeable species , and e ) withdrawing from the first side of the membrane a gas composition depleted in the more permeable species . this invention is now illustrated by examples of certain representative embodiments thereof , wherein all parts , proportions and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated . all units of weight and measure not originally obtained in si units have been converted to si units . a flame - dried 3 - necked round bottomed flask , equipped with a mechanical stirrer , an addition funnel , and a nitrogen inlet , was charged with the hydroxyl terminated polyether glycol , t - 12 catalyst ( dibutyltindilaurate ), and n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone (“ nmp ”). the diisocyanate , dissolved in nmp , was added drop - wise to the solution over a 5 - minute period . the solution was gradually heated to around 90 ° c . for 2 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere . the solution was then cooled to room temperature and the diol ( or diamine ), dissolved in nmp , was added drop - wise over a 5 - minute period . the polymer solution was then heated to around 80 - 90 ° c . for 2 hours . after cooling the polymer solution to room temperature , the copolymer was precipitated by pouring the solution into acetone at room temperature , and ground up in a blender . the polymer was filtered and washed with acetone ( 2 ×). the polymer was air - dried overnight at room temperature and then further dried in a vacuum oven at 80 ° c . for 36 hours . a film was solution cast from a solvent such as nmp or m - cresol , or melt - pressed . for the solution cast method , a 20 % ( by weight ) polymer solution was cast onto a glass plate that has been preheated to around 80 - 100 ° c . the film is kept of the plate for 12 - 18 hours to ensure the removal of most of the solvent . after removing the film from the glass plate , the film is further dried in a vacuum oven at 80 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere for 3 days . for the melt pressed film , the polymer is pressed at an elevated temperature ( generally around 200 ° c .) in a melt - press at about 5000 psi using a 0 . 10 mm ( 4 mil ) template . the material was maintained at the elevated temperature for 1 - 2 minutes , and then allowed to gradually cool in the press . the film is then removed from the template . a sample disk of 47 mm diameter was cut from a sheet of polymer film ( generally 0 . 05 to 0 . 30 mm thick ) and placed in a 47 - mm ultrafiltration permeation cell ( millipore ) modified for gas permeation measurement . permeation measurements were conducted by placing the cell in an oven maintained at 35 ° c . hydrogen , at a pressure of 1 . 5 mpa ( 200 psig ), followed by carbon dioxide at ( 1 . 5 mpa ) was introduced into the cell , in that order . the permeate pressure was maintained at 4 - 20 mmhg . the permeate flowrate was determined from the rate of increase in pressure over time in the fixed - volume permeate chamber of the permeation cell with a baratron pressure sensor . the permeation performance of the polymer was characterized in terms of carbon dioxide permeability and carbon dioxide / hydrogen permselectivity . the permeability is the permeate flowrate normalized by the film surface area and the film thickness and by the pressure difference across the film . units of permeability are barrers . one barrer is 10 − 10 cm 3 ( stp )· cm /( sec · cm2 · cm hg ). the carbon dioxide / hydrogen permselectivity is the ratio of the carbon dioxide and hydrogen permeabilities . a sample disk of 47 mm diameter was cut from a sheet of polymer film ( generally 0 . 050 to 0 . 30 mm thick ) and placed in a 47 - mm ultrafiltration permeation cell ( millipore ) modified for gas permeation measurement . the cell was equipped with ports for a feed stream and a retentate stream on the upstream side of the sample disk and for a permeate stream on the downstream side of the sample disk . permeation measurements were conducted by placing the cell in an oven maintained at 35 ° c . a feed gas mixture of 20 % carbon dioxide in hydrogen was provided as the feed stream at a pressure of 1 . 5 mpa ( 200 psig ). the feed flowrate was set high enough to ensure less than 1 % conversion of the feed into permeate . the permeate pressure was 4 - 20 mmhg . the composition of the feed and permeate streams was measured by gas chromatography with a thermal conductivity detector and high - purity nitrogen as carrier gas . the permeate composition was in the range 20 to 80 % carbon dioxide . the permeate flowrate was determined from the rate of increase in pressure over time in the fixed - volume permeate chamber of the permeation cell with a baratron pressure sensor . the permeation performance of the polymer was characterized in terms of carbon dioxide permeability and carbon dioxide / hydrogen permselectivity . the carbon dioxide permeability is the flowrate of carbon dioxide across the film normalized by the film surface area and film thickness and by the carbon dioxide partial pressure difference across the film . units of permeability are barrers . one barrer equals 10 − 10 cm 3 ( stp )· cm /( sec · cm 2 · cm hg ). the carbon dioxide / hydrogen permselectivity is simply the ratio of the carbon dioxide and hydrogen permeabilities . a film pebax mh1657 , a polyether - block co - polyamide polymer from atofina chemicals , inc , 2000 market street , philadelphia , pa ., 19103 , was melt pressed at 250 ° c . at 5000 psig using a 3 - mil template (˜ 3 . 0 g of polymer ). the sample was maintained at 250 ° c . for 1 minute at pressure , then allowed to cool to 10 ° c . a disk of the film was tested for gas permeation properties as described above . a flame - dried 3 - necked 250 ml round bottomed flask , equipped with a mechanical stirrer , an addition funnel , and a nitrogen inlet , was charged with 15 . 0 g ( 0 . 0075 mol ) of ppg - 2000 ( hydroxyl terminated poly - 1 , 2 - propylene glycol , mw ˜ 2000 ), 0 . 10 g of t - 12 catalyst ( dibutyltindilaurate ), and 80 ml of nmp . the solution was stirred at room temperature and 3 . 785 g ( 0 . 0225 mol ) of hdi [ hexane - 1 , 6 - diisocyanate ], dissolved in 20 ml of nmp , were added drop - wise to the solution over a 5 - minute period . the solution was gradually heated to around 90 ° c . and kept at this temperature for 2 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere . the solution was then cooled to room temperature and 1 . 352 g ( 0 . 015 mol ) of 1 , 4 - butane diol , dissolved in 20 ml of nmp , were added drop - wise over a 5 - minute period . the polymer solution was then reheated to 80 - 90 ° c . for 2 hours . after cooling the polymer solution to room temperature , the polyurethane - ether was precipitated into water and ground up in a blender . the polymer was filtered and washed with water ( 3 ×). the polymer was air - dried overnight at room temperature and then further dried in a vacuum oven at 80 ° c . for 36 hours . the polymer had an inherent viscosity of 0 . 60 dl / g in nmp at 25 ° c . a film was cast from a 20 % ( by weight ) nmp solution onto a glass plate at around 100 ° c . for 12 hours . the film was then removed from the plate and allowed to air - dry at room temperature overnight . the film was then further dried in a vacuum oven at 80 ° c . for 72 hours . a flame - dried 3 - necked 250 ml round bottomed flask , equipped with a mechanical stirrer , an addition funnel , and a nitrogen inlet , was charged with 15 . 0 g ( 0 . 005 mol ) of ppg - 3000 ( hydroxyl terminated poly - 1 , 2 - propylene glycol , mw ˜ 3000 ), 0 . 10 g of t - 12 catalyst ( dibutyltindilaurate ), and 80 ml of nmp . the solution was stirred at room temperature and 2 , 523 g ( 0 . 015 mol ) of hdi [ hexane - 1 , 6 - diisocyanate ], dissolved in 20 ml of nmp , was added drop wise to the solution over a 5 - minute period . the solution was gradually heated to around 90 ° c . and kept at this temperature for 2 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere . the solution was then cooled to room temperature and 1 . 022 g ( 0 . 010 mol ) of 1 , 5 - diaminopentane , dissolved in 20 ml of nmp , was added drop wise over a 5 - minute period . the polymer solution was then reheated to around 80 - 90 ° c . for 2 hours . after cooling the polymer solution to room temperature , the polyurea - ether was precipitated into water and ground up in a blender . the polymer was filtered and washed with water ( 3 ×). the polymer was air - dried overnight at room temperature and then further dried in a vacuum oven at 80 ° c . for 36 hours . the polymer had an inherent viscosity of 0 . 77 dl / g in nmp at 25 ° c . a film was cast from a 20 % ( by weight ) m - cresol solution onto a glass plate at around 100 ° c . for 12 hours . the film was then removed from the plate and allowed to air - dry at room temperature overnight . the film was then further dried in a vacuum oven at 80 ° c . for 72 hours . various polymers were made using the ingredients depicted in table 1 utilizing the synthesis techniques of example 1 and example 2 . dense films were either cast from solution or melt pressed to form films for permeation testing . gas permeation results are shown in table 1 . it should be noted that the gas permeabilities could also be tested at other suitable temperatures and / or pressures . typically , the membranes are used to separate gases which are at about 0 ° c . to about 120 ° c . additionally , the membranes of this invention may vary in thickness and can be of about 0 . 00005 mm about 0 . 30 mm or of other thickness known or used by one skilled in the art . all gas testing results are by the single gas test method unless the example number is designated with an *, in which case the mixed gas test was used it is clear from the above examples that the polyurethane - ether and polyurea - ether membranes of this invention exhibit significantly higher carbon dioxide permeability than prior - art polymers while maintaining excellent carbon dioxide / hydrogen selectivity , thus clearly differentiating them from the prior art . although specific forms of the invention have been selected for illustration in the preceding description is drawn in specific terms for the purpose of describing these forms of the invention fully and amply for one of average skill in the pertinent art , it should be understood that various substitutions and modifications which bring about substantially equivalent or superior results and / or performance are deemed to be within the scope and spirit of the following claims . | 8 |
a preferred embodiment of the present invention is now described with reference to the figures where like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements . some portions of the detailed descriptions that follow are presented in terms of stochastic optimization agents which can be implemented by those skilled in data processing art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . it should be noted that the stochastic optimization agents of the present invention could be embodied in software , could be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by a variety of operating systems . the present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein . this apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes , or it may comprise a general - purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in a computer . furthermore , the computers referred to in the specifications may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability . the stochastic optimization agents presented herein are not inherently related o any particular computer of other apparatus . various general - purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teaching herein , or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus . the required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below . in addition , the present invention is not described with reference to any programming language . it will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as describe herein , and any references below to specific languages are provided for disclosure of enablement and best mode of the present invention . accordingly , the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative , but not limiting , of the scope of the invention , which is set forth in the claims . fig1 provides an overview of the processing completed by the stochastic optimization agents of the multimedia resource discovery and retrieval system . processing starts in this system 110 when the data extraction portion of the stochastic optimization component extract multimedia files from a mapping of an information ecosystem 111 to selected areas of the network structure of the internet infrastructure 112 which provides access to external databases 113 , web data 114 , organization system databases 115 , or internal data warehouses 116 . fig2 presents the adaptive stochastic optimization agents 221 - 230 for the stochastic optimization component of multimedia resource discovery and retrieval system based on the information discovery model . this model has built - in mechanisms that allow each stochastic optimization agent to adapt its operational parameters to a changing environment . the stochastic optimization agents 221 - 230 are applied to the ever - changing environment of local area network ( lan ) and / or a wide area network ( wan ) traffic which varies considerably , depending on : 1 ) time of day , 2 ) time zones , 3 ) various holiday and / or vacation patterns that exist throughout the world , and 4 ) naturally occurring disasters . the stochastic optimization further agents 228 - 230 communicate via message passing mechanisms 231 , 232 , and emulate stochastic optimization information search strategies for : locating forage sources , and detecting and avoiding foraging congestion . stochastic optimization probe further agents 228 are deployed throughout the information ecosystem 111 in search of isps hosting multimedia services in order to initiate the development of customized routes for the retrieval of multimedia files by stochastic optimization forager further agents 230 . stochastic optimization scout further agents 229 use information obtained by the stochastic optimization probe further agents 228 to detect network congestion . the various objectives just mentioned are monitored by the stochastic optimization agents 221 , 222 and stochastic optimization regulatory agents 223 - 226 using rescaled adjusted range ( rs ) statistics . the stochastic optimization agents 221 , 222 focus on performance monitoring of the interaction between stochastic optimization regulatory agents 223 - 226 . the stochastic optimization probe agents 224 , 228 and stochastic optimization forager agents 225 , 229 form crucial components of the stochastic optimization component of the multimedia resource discovery and retrieval systems . each located isp is identified as useful by stochastic optimization probe regulatory agents 224 if it provides the desired multimedia services . these marked sites are provided to the stochastic optimization scout regulatory agent 225 . the stochastic optimization probe further agents 228 are not concerned with network congestion or any other aspect of file retrieval . the stochastic optimization scout regulatory agents 225 proceed with the site metrics provided by only its group stochastic optimization probe regulatory agents 224 . stochastic optimization scout further agents 229 are released to each selected site periodically to gather and update information ecosystem 111 congestion traffic metrics . the stochastic optimization scout regulatory agent 225 use these metrics on a per - site basis to determine the feasibility of retrieving multimedia files from a selected site . site rankings are based on the results of the feasibility tests which use rs statistics to perform time series analysis on each site &# 39 ; s congestion metrics . the feasibility results for each site vary based on the time of day , time zone location with respect to the location of the stochastic optimization agents of multimedia resource discovery and retrieval system , localized holiday and vacation patterns , and natural disasters . the periodic feasibility update of each site occurs within a random time period and is based on the workload of each stochastic optimization scout regulatory agent 225 and stochastic optimization forager regulatory agent 226 coupled with the update rate of the newly located sites provided by its corresponding stochastic optimization probe regulatory agents 224 . the stochastic optimization regulatory agents 223 - 226 contain those features essential for releasing and coordinating the stochastic optimization further agents 227 - 230 . each stochastic optimization regulatory agents 223 - 226 has a finite scope , limiting its activity to those isps inscribed within an area whose radius is given by a value v ( its visibility ). the stochastic optimization probe regulatory agent 224 provide stochastic optimization scout regulatory agent 225 with results in the form of ip addresses reflecting initial visits to random isps . the stochastic optimization scout regulatory agent 225 use the ip address of the appropriate isp in order to start the process of determining / charting the optimal ( customized ) route using rs statistics . the stochastic optimization forager regulatory agent 226 uses the selected ip address if the rs statistics indicate that the corresponding information server meets the required qos . this methodology has the ability to discover new isps as well as new sub - hosts , thus providing services to both new and existing information clients — this in turn resulting in faster discovery of new and updated documents . each stochastic optimization further agent 227 - 230 is : 1 . reactive — can interact with the information ecosystem 111 within appropriate time limits 2 . independent — can act on its own 3 . robust — can cope with the ever - changing network environment within the information ecosystem the efficiency of the stochastic optimization forager further agents 230 is due to customized isp router tables which are discovered by the stochastic optimization scout further agents 229 — the result of periodic searches for optimized routes that exist for short periods of time . the initial step in this methodology is the releasing of stochastic optimization probe further agents 228 for all isps in a manner similar to reliable flooding . the rapid release of a series of stochastic optimization further agents ( probe / scout / forager sets 228 - 230 ) can have an adverse affect on the receiving host ( isp server ) as well as on the releasing stochastic optimization regulatory agent 224 - 226 . each stochastic optimization regulatory agent 223 - 226 creates a series of stochastic optimization further agents 227 - 230 which can exhaust the resources of the system resources allocated to the stochastic optimization regulatory agent 223 - 226 . the stochastic optimization further agents 228 - 230 are most effective in the event / case of reliable flooding , where monitoring stochastic optimization agents 221 , 222 and stochastic optimization regulatory agents 224 - 226 are used to adequately control and coordinate valuable information returned by each individual process . the isp hosting multimedia services may interpret the simultaneous requests as a form of flooding , resulting in requests being queued at the router level and / or server level . in the worst - case scenario , the life - span of a stochastic optimization further agent agents 228 - 230 will exceed the amount of time needed to establish communication with the selected isp and retrieve the requested information . attempts to avoid worst - case scenarios are made through the use of rs statistics provided by the stochastic optimization scout further agents 229 . the stochastic optimization regulatory agents 223 - 226 needed for retrieving multimedia documents require some form of adaptive methodology since each stochastic optimization further agent 227 - 230 searches for efficient paths ( routes ) to an uncongested source of information ( documents ) in order to build the stochastic optimization component of multimedia resource discovery and retrieval system isp router tables . the stochastic optimization forager regulatory agent 226 receives input from the stochastic optimization scout regulatory agent 225 which makes retrieval decisions based on the conversion of congestion detection information into high - level congestion avoidance mechanisms before releasing stochastic optimization forager further agents 230 . the release of stochastic optimization forager further agents 230 can only occur if the stochastic optimization scout regulatory agent 225 indicates that the feasibility results pass the qos requirements imposed by the stochastic optimization component of multimedia resource discovery and retrieval systems . this layer of congestion avoidance incorporates network metrics from mechanisms used to customize routes between the location of the stochastic optimization component of multimedia resource discovery and retrieval systems and each selected isp . snapshots of source / destination traffic flow can change drastically over relatively short periods of time — depending on the release and return of each stochastic optimization scout further agents 229 . the second layer of congestion avoidance is handled implicitly by information ecosystem and internet routers and switches 111 , 112 between the source 110 and destination 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 . | 6 |
the present invention provides a non - volatile memory ( nvm ) transistor that takes advantage of the threshold instability of a negatively biased p - channel transistor at a high temperature . fig1 is a layout diagram illustrating a five - terminal p - channel nvm transistor 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . fig2 a is a cross sectional view of p - channel nvm transistor 100 along section line a - a of fig1 . fig2 b is a cross sectional view of p - channel nvm transistor 100 along section line b - b of fig1 . as described in more detail below , p - channel nvm transistor 100 is controlled to operate as a non - volatile memory cell . p - channel nvm transistor 100 , which is fabricated in p - type substrate 201 and n - type well region 202 , includes p - type source / drain regions 101 - 102 , n - type well contact region 103 , field dielectric region 105 , gate electrode 110 , electrically conductive contact elements 121 - 125 , electrically conductive traces 131 - 135 and dielectric sidewall spacers 140 . p - channel transistor 100 is fabricated using conventional cmos processing techniques . in the described embodiments , p - type substrate 201 is a monocrystalline semiconductor substrate ( e . g ., silicon ). n - type well region 202 is formed in substrate 201 using conventional cmos processing techniques ( e . g ., n - type ion implantation ). field dielectric region 105 is formed in the upper surface of n - type well region 202 as illustrated . in the illustrated embodiments , field dielectric region 105 is a shallow trench isolation ( sti ) region , which is created by forming a trench in substrate 201 , and then filling the trench with a dielectric material , such as silicon oxide . however , in other embodiments , field dielectric region 105 can be formed by the local oxidation of silicon ( locos ). a gate dielectric layer 106 is formed over the upper surface of n - type well region 202 . the gate dielectric layer 106 can be , for example , thermally grown silicon oxide having a thickness in the range of about 10 to 25 angstroms . a conductively doped polycrystalline silicon ( polysilicon ) layer 111 is formed over the upper surface of the gate dielectric layer 106 . in the described embodiment , polysilicon layer 111 has a thickness in the range of about 500 to 1500 angstroms . in this embodiment polysilicon layer 111 is doped with boron to a dopant concentration in the range of about 10 20 atoms / cm 3 . a layer of refractive metal polysilicide 112 is formed over the upper surface of polysilicon layer 111 . in one embodiment , metal polysilicide layer 112 is formed by depositing a layer of refractive metal , such as titanium ( ti ), nickel ( ni ) or cobalt ( co ), on polysilicon layer 111 . a subsequent thermal anneal causes the refractive metal to react with the underlying polysilicon layer , thereby forming metal polysilicide layer 112 . alternately , a layer of metal polysilicide ( tisi or cosi ) can be deposited directly on polysilicon layer 111 . in accordance with one embodiment , metal polysilicide layer 112 has a thickness in the range of about 1000 to 2000 angstroms . the metal polysilicide layer 112 and polysilicon layer 111 are patterned to form gate electrode 110 . gate electrode 110 includes a first end 110 a dimensioned to receive a first contact element 123 , a second end 110 b dimensioned to receive a second contact element 124 , and a central region 110 c dimensioned to define a channel region 104 of p - channel nvm transistor 100 . lightly doped source / drain regions ( p −) are formed in n - well region 202 , wherein the edges of these p − regions are self - aligned with edges of gate electrode 110 . dielectric sidewall spacers 140 ( e . g ., silicon nitride , silicon oxide , or silicon oxynitride ) are formed adjacent to gate electrode 110 . heavily doped source / drain contact regions ( p +) are formed in n - well region 202 , wherein the edges of these p + regions are self - aligned with edges of sidewall spacers 140 . the p + and p − regions form p - type source / drain regions 101 and 102 . in an alternate embodiment , lightly doped p − regions and sidewall spacers 140 can be eliminated . heavily doped n - well contact region 103 ( n +) is formed in n - well region 202 , away from source / drain regions 101 - 102 . in one embodiment , self - aligned metal polysilicide ( i . e ., salicide ) can be formed over exposed upper surfaces of source / drain regions 101 - 102 , n + type contact region 103 and polysilicon layer 111 , in a manner known to those of ordinary skill in the semiconductor processing art . electrically conductive contact elements 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 and 125 are formed through a first dielectric layer ( not shown ), thereby contacting source / drain region 101 , source / drain region 102 , the first end 110 a of gate electrode 110 , the second end 110 b of gate electrode 110 , and n + contact region 103 , respectively . contact element 123 ( coupled to first end 110 a ) and contact element 124 ( coupled to second end 110 b ) may be coupled to separate nodes in a circuit , thereby allowing for independent control of first end 110 a and second end 110 b of gate electrode 110 . in the described embodiment , contact elements 121 - 125 are tungsten . however , other materials can be used to form contact elements 121 - 125 in other embodiments . electrically conductive traces 131 - 135 , which are formed over the first dielectric layer , contact the contact elements 121 - 125 , respectively . although traces 131 - 135 are all illustrated as part of a first conductive layer ( e . g ., the first metal layer ), it is understood that these traces may be located in different conductive layers in other embodiments , as required by the layout of the associated device . in accordance with one embodiment , five - terminal p - channel nvm transistor 100 is controlled to operate as a non - volatile memory cell in the manner described below . nvm transistor 100 is programmed by applying a first program control voltage to the first end 110 a of gate electrode , a second program control voltage to the second end 110 b of gate electrode 110 , and a third program control voltage to the body / substrate ( i . e ., n - well 202 ) of nvm transistor 100 . the first program control voltage is selected to be greater than the second program control voltage , such that a programming current flows through gate electrode 110 , thereby generating localized heat . the third programming control voltage is selected to be greater than the second programming control voltage , such that p - channel nvm transistor 100 is negatively biased . the localized heat and negative bias causes an accelerated threshold voltage shift within p - channel nvm transistor 100 . in the present embodiment , p - channel nvm transistor 100 is programmed by applying a first positive supply voltage to the first end 110 a of gate electrode 110 , a second positive supply voltage to n - well 202 , and a ground supply voltage to the second end 110 b of gate electrode 110 . the first positive supply voltage is a core supply voltage v cc , which is typically used to operate the core logic of a cmos device , or an input / output supply voltage v dd , which is typically used to operate the input / output logic of a cmos device . for example , core supply voltage v cc may have a nominal value of 1 volt . the second positive supply voltage can be an input / output supply voltage v dd , which is typically used to operate the input / output logic of a cmos device . for example , input / output supply voltage v dd may have a nominal value of 2 . 5 or 3 . 3 volts . note that both supply voltages v cc and v dd are normal operating voltages of the cmos device . under the above - described conditions , a current of about 10 to 20 milli - amperes passes through gate electrode 110 , thereby heating the polysilicon and metal polysilicide layers of gate electrode 110 . also under these conditions , the second end 110 b of gate electrode 110 is negatively biased with respect to n - well region 202 . the heat generated within gate electrode 110 and the negative bias voltage on this gate electrode 110 results in a bias temperature degradation effect on p - channel nvm transistor 100 . in accordance with one embodiment , the programming operation is performed for a duration of about 100 microseconds to 100 milliseconds . during this time , gate electrode 110 reaches a temperature in the range of about 400 ° c . to 900 ° c . under these conditions , the threshold voltage of transistor 100 shifts ( i . e ., becomes more negative ), such that transistor 100 will not conduct current when a conventional read control voltage ( e . g ., 0 volts ) is applied to gate electrode 110 . for example , the threshold voltage of p - channel transistor 100 may shift from a range of about − 0 . 3 to − 0 . 4 volts , to a range of about − 1 . 1 to − 2 . 0 volts . it is important to note that the programming operation permanently shifts the threshold voltage of p - channel transistor 100 , such that this transistor operates as a non - volatile memory cell . to read the programmed / non - programmed state of p - channel nvm transistor 100 , a ground supply voltage ( 0 volts ) is applied to both ends 110 a and 110 b of gate electrode 110 and to source / drain terminal 102 . the v cc supply voltage is applied to n - well region 202 and source / drain region 101 . current sense circuitry ( not shown ) is coupled to source / drain region 101 . if nvm transistor 100 is programmed , the threshold voltage of this transistor is negative enough to prevent current from flowing between source / drain regions 101 - 102 . thus , the current sense circuitry fails to detect a significant read current when nvm transistor 100 is programmed . the current sense circuitry identifies the absence of read current as a first logic stage ( e . g ., a logic “ 1 ” value ). conversely , if nvm transistor 100 is not programmed , the threshold voltage of this transistor is less negative , thereby allowing a significant read current to flow between source / drain regions 101 - 102 . thus , the current sense circuitry detects a significant read current when nvm transistor 100 is not programmed . the current sense circuitry identifies the presence of a read current as a second logic state ( e . g ., a logic “ 0 ” value ). in this manner , the current sense circuitry is able to identify the programmed / non - programmed state of p - channel nvm transistor 100 . in the described embodiment , the duration of the read operation is comparable to the duration of a read operation of a conventional non - volatile memory cell , on the order of 1 microsecond . p - channel nvm transistor 100 may be placed in an off ( standby ) state , wherein no current flows between source / drain regions 101 - 102 , by applying the v cc supply voltage to gate electrode 110 , source / drain region 101 and n - well region 202 , and applying the ground supply voltage to source / drain region 102 . one advantage of p - channel nvm transistor 100 is that this transistor can be fabricated using a conventional cmos process , without requiring any additional process steps or masks . in addition , nvm transistor 100 can be programmed without a high programming voltage ( i . e ., a voltage greater than the normal operating voltage of other transistors formed on the same substrate as transistor 100 ). nvm transistor 100 can advantageously be used in an application such as repairing bad circuitry ( i . e ., disabling faulty circuitry and enabling redundant circuitry ). a plurality of nvm transistors identical to transistor 100 can be used to store an encryption key in a device for security applications . nvm transistor 100 has an advantage over conventional fuse - based nvm technology in an encryption key application . when using conventional fuse - based nvm technology , a visual inspection of the fuse - based elements may reveal the encryption key , because the physical characteristics of programmed and non - programmed fused - base nvm devices are different . however , the physical differences between the programmed and non - programmed nvm transistor 100 are subtle , thereby making it difficult to reverse engineer the contents of this nvm transistor 100 . although the invention has been described in connection with several embodiments , it is understood that this invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed , but is capable of various modifications , which would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art . for example , although a single p - channel nvm transistor has been described , it is understood that an array of these transistors can be created . such an array could be used in any application where a non - volatile memory fabricated using a standard cmos process would be desirable , for instance in a programmable read - only memory ( prom ) or a programmable logic device ( pld ). as another example , other types of transistors , such as n - type transistors , may be used in accordance with the present invention . thus , the present invention is only limited by the following claims . | 8 |
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