Split (3)

train · 25k rows

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referring to fig1 - 8 , the centrifugal friction clutch 20 transmits torque from a source means m for supplying rotational power , such as a well - known motor , powering chain c driving sprocket s attached to clutch 20 at studs 22 with nuts 24 , to an output means for receiving said rotational power such as axle 25 . it is well - known that sprocket s typically may be composed of separate semicircular halves which may be easily removed from axle 25 , and typically the tooth ratio between a driving gear on the motor and sprocket s will be such that a reduction in rotational speed , such as an 8 to 1 reduction in speed , is performed between the motor and sprocket s . clutch 20 includes a wheel 26 secured for simultaneous rotation with output means or axle 25 using well - known securing means such as key 28 in slots 30 and 32 in axle 25 and coaxial bore 34 through wheel 26 , respectively . it shall be understood that many equivalent means , such as bolts or the like , for securing wheel 26 to an output means for receiving rotational power , are well - known . wheel 26 is preferably mounted for rotation within a clutch housing 36 using bearings 38 which fit in clutch housing cover 40 and housing body 42 , and may be anchored from longitudinal movement on axle 25 using collars 44 , secured to axle 25 using any well - known means such as screws or the like . housing cover 40 may be secured to housing body 42 by well - known hex socket screws 45 extending into tapped holes 43 in housing body 42 . referring to fig3 - 7 , clutch 20 is seen to also comprise a clutch band 46 encircling wheel 26 . clutch band 46 preferably comprises a metal band portion 48 and preferably has a fiber lining 50 bonded to the surface thereof , by well - known rivets or adhesives , for frictional contact with surface 51 of wheel 26 . clutch 20 includes means for securing clutch band 46 from rotation relative to housing 36 such as a pair of securing brackets 52 , 54 , one at either end of clutch band 46 , attached as by rivets thereto , thereby causing rotational power imparted by the source means to sprocket s to be transferred to clutch band 46 and rotationally driving same , in a manner hereinafter described . each securing bracket 52 , 54 respectively has a lip 56 &# 39 ;, 56 forming a recess 58 &# 39 ;, 58 opening away from each respective end of band 46 into which keeper struts 60 , 62 are inserted . strut 60 spans the distance between recess 58 &# 39 ; in bracket 52 and a corresponding recess 63 formed by lip 65 on the inner surface of housing body 42 , and will be understood to prevent the counterclockwise rotation of clutch band 46 relative to housing body 42 and therefore , housing 36 . clutch 20 also includes centrifugal means 64 for tightening clutch band 46 about wheel 26 for frictional contact therewith . in the preferred embodiment , centrifugal means 64 includes camming means such as cam member 66 for tightening band 46 about wheel 26 and centrifugal mechanism 68 shown in fig1 - 2 for centrifugally actuating cam member 66 . cam member 66 preferably includes an upper cylindrical portion 70 and a lower cylindrical portion 72 about which cam member 66 is rotated , each disposed in cylindrical bores 74 , 76 in housing cover 40 and body 42 , respectively . an offset camming portion 78 is formed in cam member 66 , preferably having a lip 80 defining a recess 82 for receipt of strut 62 . it will be understood , by examination of fig3 - 5 , that as cam member 66 is rotated counterclockwise , camming action of offset camming portion 78 acting against strut 62 will cause free end 84 of clutch band 46 to move toward anchored end 86 of clutch band 46 , thereby tightening clutch band 46 about wheel 26 . it will also be understood that , because strut 62 , acting against recesses 58 and 82 , prevents clockwise rotation of clutch band 46 relative to housing 36 , and further that strut 60 , as previously described , prevents counterclockwise rotation of clutch band 46 relative to housing 36 , that wheel 26 will be caused to simultaneously rotate with housing 36 , driven by sprocket s , when clutch band 46 is tightened about wheel 26 . clutch band 46 also preferably has one or more compression or restoring springs 88 , acting in opposition to brackets 90 attached or riveted to either ends of clutch band 46 , for restoring clutch band 46 to the untightened condition about wheel 26 when released by cam member 66 . turning to fig1 and 2 , centrifugal mechanism 68 is seen to include a centrifugal arm 92 mounted for pivotal rotation about post 94 and secured thereto by nut 96 . post 94 , threadedly secured into housing cover 40 , defines a point of rotation for arm 92 about which arm 92 may move in response to centrifugal forces in a manner hereinafter described . centrifugal arm 92 may include a weight 98 disposed a distance from the point of rotation , thereby determining a well - known inertial moment therewith . preferably , the moment of weight 98 about the point of rotation may be varied , as by attaching weight 98 to arm 92 by screws 100 and nuts 102 , as shown , or by using alternate attachment holes 104 spaced a different distance from the point of rotation . it will be understood that the centrifugal forces caused by the rotation , typically counterclockwise , of clutch housing 36 act upon weight 98 , forcing weight 98 to be driven outwardly and causing arm 92 to rotate clockwise about post 94 in response thereto . increasing the moment of weight 98 by increasing the distance of weight 98 from post 94 necessarily increases the actuating force that arm 92 applies to cam member 66 , in a manner hereinafter described . centrifugal arm 92 is operably interconnected to cam member 66 preferably through adjustable linkage 106 and actuating arm 108 . actuating arm 108 is fixedly secured for simultaneous rotation with cam member 66 , as by square hole 110 in arm 108 mating with square post 112 extending from upper cylindrical portion 70 , and by screw 114 extending through washer 116 and into threaded hole 118 in cam member 66 . linkage 106 is attached to arms 92 , 108 using hex screws 120 , and may be moved to various linkage points on arms 92 , 108 by placing screws 120 through alternate holes 122 in arms 92 , 108 , thereby causing greater or lesser leverage effect of centrifugal arm 92 toward turning of cam member 66 , in a manner that will now be understood by those skilled in the art , due to the varied distance of holes 122 from the points of rotation of arms 92 , 108 , namely , post 94 and screw 114 , respectively . linkage 106 has opposingly threaded portions 124 , 126 , allowing the turning of barrel 128 , having well known mating interior threaded bores , not shown , to shorten or lengthen linkage 106 in a manner that will now be apparent . barrel 128 may be secured from rotation by nut 130 once a particular length of linkage 106 has been chosen . centrifugal means 64 also preferably includes a compression spring 132 urging actuating arm 108 , and thereby , centrifugal arm 92 , to a position where clutch band 46 is not tightened about wheel 26 . spring 132 operates against spring retainers 134 at either end thereof , and screw 136 which may increase or decrease the restorative urging force exerted by spring 132 against arm portion 138 of arm 108 by compressing spring 132 . it will be understood that screw 136 may extend as preferably shown from arm portion 138 to spring 132 , or may equivalently extend from housing body 42 to spring 132 . nut 140 is used to lock screw 136 once adjustment of the screw has been completed in a manner hereinafter described . the present invention may be now seen to comprise adjustment means 142 for establishing the rotational speed of clutch housing 36 at which tightening of clutch band 46 about wheel 26 occurs , in a manner now described . the actuation of cam member 66 by centrifugal mechanism 68 must be of sufficient force to overcome the restorative force of springs 88 and to frictionally tighten band 46 about wheel 26 to cause clutch engagement , as shown in fig2 . several forces interact to cause this actuation . first , the force exerted by spring 132 urging centrifugal mechanism 68 to the disengaged position may be varied by turning screw 136 . a typical variation caused by screw 136 might be a variation of 400 rpm in the engagement speed for each full adjustment turn of screw 136 . the nominal force exerted by spring 132 can be altered by replacing spring 132 with another spring having a greater or lesser spring constant . the lever action of centrifugal mechanism 68 can be altered by the placement of linkage 106 into alternate holes 122 in arms 92 , 108 , as previously described . the centrifugal force exerted on arm 92 may be varied by adding heavier or more weights 98 , or by altering the moment of weight 98 about post 94 by using alternate attachment holes 104 . any , and preferably all , of these methods of adjustment may be present in the present invention , and the adjustment means 142 for establishing the rotational speed of clutch housing 36 at which clutch engagement occurs may include one or more of these methods . in operation , adjustable linkage 106 will be adjusted so that when the clutch mechanism is in the position shown in fig1 clutch band 46 will not be tightened about wheel 26 , and , when arm 92 is urged toward the position shown in fig2 band 46 becomes securely tightened about wheel 26 . it shall be understood that the position shown in fig2 is a somewhat exaggerated and extreme position , with weight 98 shown resting against housing body 42 . in practice it will be understood that the engaged condition of the clutch will be reached before weight 98 fully reaches the position shown in fig2 allowing for some stretching of clutch band 46 and wear of lining 50 . operation of the friction clutch will typically generate heat at the points of contact between band 46 and wheel 26 . therefore , housing 36 is preferably filled with oil to dissipate the heat from band 46 to housing 36 . housing 36 may have one or more fins 144 formed in the exterior thereof for dissipating heat from housing 36 , and preferably has recessed o - rings to contain the oil within housing 36 . such o - rings include upper and lower o - rings 146 on wheel 26 sealably contacting bearings 38 , o - ring 148 between housing cover 40 and body 42 , and o - ring 150 on upper portion 70 of cam member 66 . for safety and also to conceal clutch mechanism 68 from view , a protective cover 152 may be installed using screws 154 into tapped holes 156 , see fig1 , and 7 . an access and view hole 158 may be provided in cover 152 adjacent screw 136 for allowing an allen wrench to be inserted therethrough for adjustment of screw 136 and for allowing nut 140 to be tightened . to reduce both the static and inertial weight of clutch 20 , wheel 26 is preferably constructed with a multitude of spokes 160 having openings 162 therebetween ; for strength , each spoke 160 may have a radial rib 164 . similarly , housing cover 40 may have one or more depressions 166 and radial ribs 168 . although the present invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a preferred embodiment and a preferred use therefor , it is not to be so limited since modifications and changes can be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention .	5
this invention relates to a dimethacrylate compound represented by the structure : ## str13 ## where ## str14 ## is a saturated , 6 membered , monocyclic , hydrocarbyl ring system ; r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are the same or different and are hydrogen or alkyl or alkoxy groups having 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; and r 4 and r 5 are the same or different and are hydrogen or groups of the formula : ## str15 ## where r 6 is an aliphatic , aromatic or cycloaliphatic group having 1 to 14 carbon atoms , provided that at least one of the groups r 4 and r 5 is a group of the formula : ## str16 ## dimethacrylate compounds of this formula are referred to hereinafter as compounds of the present invention . a preferred compound of the present invention is represented by the above formula when r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are each hydrogen . it will be understood that structures given herein are intended to connote all possible sterioisomers and combinations thereof . although not wishing to be strictly limited to any particular means for forming the compounds of the present invention , it is noted that these compounds may be described as adducts of isocyanates with adducts of methacrylic acid with 1 , 4 - bis ( glycidoxymethyl ) cyclohexane or ring substituted derivatives thereof . thus , for example , methacrylic acid may be reacted with a 1 , 4 - bis ( glycidoxymethyl ) cyclohexane compound of the formula : ## str17 ## where ## str18 ## r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are defined as above . thus , the saturated 6 membered , monocyclic , hydrocarbyl ring represented by ## str19 ## may be substituted by alkyl or alkoxy groups in up to 3 positions . in this regard , alkyl or alkoxy groups may be substituted once in each of the 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 or 6 positions or even twice in each of the 2 , 3 , 5 or 6 positions . as mentioned previously , r 1 , r 2 and r 3 may be alkyl or alkoxy groups having up to 12 carbon atoms . such alkoxy groups may be represented by the formula -- or 7 where r 7 defines the same class of alkyl substituents as r 1 , r 2 and r 3 , i . e . alkyl groups having 1 to 12 carbon atoms . preferably r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 7 have 1 to 4 carbon atoms . examples of r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 7 include methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , isobutyl , tert . butyl , straight or branched chain pentyl , straight or branched chain hexyl , straight or branched chain heptyl , straight or branched chain octyl , straight or branched chain nonyl , straight or branched decyl , straight or branched chain undecyl and straight or branched chain dodecyl . in forming the compounds of the present invention , the 1 , 4 - bis ( glycidoxymethyl ) cyclohexane compound may be reacted with methacrylic acid at a temperature of about 85 - 140 ° c . the reaction mixture may also contain a suitable electron donating catalyst such as triphenylphosphine and a polymerization inhibitor such as bht . more information on reactions of carboxylic acids with epoxides may be found in h . frankel - conrat and h . s . olcott , j . am . chem . soc . 66 , 1420 ( 1944 ). the adduct of methacrylic acid and 1 , 4 - bis ( glycidoxymethyl ) cyclohexane or ring substituted derivatives thereof is a dihydroxy compound , represented by the following formula : ## str20 ## this dihydroxy compound may then be converted to compounds of the present invention , e . g . mono - and / or dicarbamates of this dihydroxy compound , by reacting same with isocyanates of the formula where r 6 has the meaning defined above , i . e ., an aliphatic , aromatic or cycloaliphatic group having 1 to 14 carbon atoms , e . g . hydrocarbon groups or haloaryl groups such as chloroaryl groups . examples of groups represented by r 6 include methyl , ethyl , n - butyl , isoamyl , n - amyl , hexyl , n - octyl , isooctyl , dodecyl , tetradecyl , phenyl , p - ethyl benzyl , p - tolyl , p - butylphenyl , xylyl , α - napthyl , p - chlorophenyl , benzyl , cyclopentyl , m - chlorophenyl and cyclohexyl . a preferred group represented by r 6 is n - butyl . as hydrocarbon groups for r 6 there can be used for example , alkyl , aryl , aralkyl and cycloalkyl . reaction of the above - mentioned dihydroxy compound intermediate with various proportions of isocyanates may produce dicarbamates , monocarbamates or mixtures thereof . the dimethacrylates of the present invention may be combined with other polymerizable unsaturated materials , such as acrylic or methacrylic monomers or prepolymers , and polymerized . thus , the dimethacrylates of the present invention may be polymerized to form either homopolymers or copolymers , e . g ., containing at least 10 % by weight of these dimethacrylate moieties . preferably , copolymers of the dimethacrylates of the present invention may contain at least 40 % by weight of these dimethacrylate moieties , e . g ., wherein the moieties of the dimethacrylates of the present invention represent the predominate unit , e . g ., terpolymers containing 40 % of units compounds of the present invention and 30 % each of two other units . as used herein , the term &# 34 ; moiety &# 34 ; shall connote an entire repeating polymeric unit and not some lesser fragment thereof . polymers of the dimethacrylates of the present invention are characterized in that they may have a high degree of crosslinking . accordingly , these dimethacrylates may be added to mono - functional acrylic and methacrylic monomers and polymerized to form cross - linked polymers . example of these acrylic and methacrylic compounds include acrylic and methacrylic acid and esters thereof with alcohols containing , e . g ., 1 to 4 carbon atoms . examples of such acrylic and methacrylic esters include methylmethacrylate , ethylmethacrylate , butylmethacrylate , methylacrylate , ethylacrylate and butylacrylate . copolymers having an even higher degree of cross - linking may be produced by copolymerizing the dimethacrylates of the present invention with other polyfunctional acrylic ester or methacrylic ester monomers , i . e ., monomers containing two or more acrylic or methacrylic functionalities . one class of these polyfunctional monomers includes monomers which are used as diluents in dental materials . such polyfunctional acrylic ester or methacrylic ester monomers include alkylene glycol diacrylates , alkylene glycol dimethacrylates , polyalkylene glycol diacrylates , polyalkylene glycol dimethacrylates , alkanetriol triacrylates and alkanetriol trimethacrylates , e . g ., containing from 8 to 18 carbon atoms . examples of such monomers include ethylene glycol dimethacrylate , di -, tri - or tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate , 1 , 6 - hexanediol dimethacrylate , the dimethacrylate formed by the reaction of methacrylic acid with butanediol , trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate and the acrylic esters corresponding to these methacrylates , e . g . ethylene glycol diacrylate . as far as polyfunctional acrylates and methacrylates are concerned , these monomers are characterized by relatively low molecular weight ( e . g ., 339 or less ) and low viscosity . the above - mentioned polyglycol dimethacrylates are further characterized by low surface tension . another class of polyfunctional acrylates and methacrylates includes the relatively high molecular weight ( e . g ., 364 or more ) acrylic or methacrylic monomers used in dental compositions . such polyfunctional compounds include , especially , dimethacrylates such as 2 , 2 - bis [ 4 &# 39 ;( 3 &# 34 ;- methacroyl - 2 &# 34 ;- hydroxypropoxy ) phenyl ] propane ( i . e . bis - gma ), 2 , 2 - bis [ 4 &# 39 ;( 2 &# 34 ;- methacroylethoxy ) phenyl ] propane ( i . e ., eba ), 2 - methacroylethyl - 3 - methacroyl - 2 - hydroxypropyl tetrahydrophthalate , 2 - methacroylethyl - 3 - methacroyl - 2 - hydroxypropyl hexahydrophthalate and 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 &# 39 ;- methacroylphenyl ) propane ( i . e . badm ). further polyfunctional monomers containing up to four acrylic or methacrylic functionalities are described in the stoffey et al u . s . pat . no . 3 , 721 , 644 , the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference and relied upon . accordingly , copolymers may be formed from polymerizable materials comprising at least one dimethacrylate of the present invention and , e . g ., at least 10 % by weight of one or more of the copolymerizable materials described herein . polymerization of the dimethacrylates of the present invention may be initiated by known means for initiating the polymerization of dimethacrylates such as heat , chemical means or electromagnetic irradiation . thus , in order to induce curing of dimethacrylates , a free - radical catalyst may be incorporated therein . organic peroxide initiators , such as methyl ethyl ketone peroxide , t - butyl peroctoate , iso - propyl percarbonate , cumene hydroperoxide , dicumyl peroxide , and especially benzoyl peroxide , are preferred . the ability of the initiator to cure dimethacrylates may be enhanced through the use of activators or accelerators . thus , a peroxide initiator can be activated with a tertiary aromatic amine such as n , n - dimethyl - p - toluidine or n , n - bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- p - toluidine . the amount of free - radical catalyst may be selected according to the curing rate desired . for instance , if a relatively slow curing rate is desired , a minimum catalytically effective amount , such as 0 . 5 % by weight based on the polymerizable components , may be selected . on the other hand , when faster rates of cure are desired , greater amounts of free - radical catalyst , such as 4 . 0 % or more by weight based on the polymerizable components , may be selected . accordingly , the amount of catalyst may range from about 0 . 5 to about 4 . 0 % by weight based upon the weight of the polymerizable components . as with the free - radical catalyst , the amount of the activator selected may vary , e . g ., from about 0 . 5 to about 4 . 0 % by weight of the polymerizable components , depending upon the desired curing rate . polymerization of the dimethacrylates of the present invention may also be initiated by ultraviolet or visible light using known light activated polymerization initiators such as benzoin , benzoin methyl ether , benzil and other commercially available photoinitiators . for example , one may select from about 0 . 5 % to about 5 % by weight based on the polymerizable components of a sensitizer capable of initiating polymerization when exposed to uv light between about 3550 a . to about 3720 a . the various components of a material containing a dimethacrylate of the present invention may be combined in any suitable manner . however , since chemically initiated polymerization starts immediately upon admixture of all three of ( 1 ) a methacrylate , ( 2 ) an initiator and ( 3 ) an activator , it is necessary to separate at least one of these components from the others until immediately before polymerization of the methacrylate . this separation may be achieved through the use of a two - package product , wherein various components of a material containing a dimethacrylate of the present invention are separately contained until the time of polymerization . therefore , the components of such a composition may be separated by means of a two - package product into two parts , one part containing the polymerization initiator and the other part containing the polymerization accelerator . it is helpful to package polymerizable methacrylates with inhibitors , such as butylated hydroxytoluene ( bht ) or hydroquinone methyl ether . thus , bht may be included in an amount from about 0 . 1 to about 0 . 3 % by weight based on the polymerizable components to increase the storage stability of these polymerizable components . ultraviolet stabilizers such as 2 - hydroxy - 4 - methoxybenzophenone ( cyasorb uv - 9 , a tradename of american cyanamide ) may be included to enhance the stability of the polymerizable components as well as polymers resulting therefrom . for example , from about 0 . 4 to about 1 . 6 % by weight of cyasorb uv - 9 based on the weight of the polymerizable components may be used for this purpose . in addition to polymerizable unsaturated material , inorganic or polymeric fillers may also be added to the monomers of the present invention prior to polymerization of these monomers . accordingly , the term &# 34 ; polymer &# 34 ; as used herein may connote a polymeric matrix material which binds together various fillers . up to about 6 . 5 parts of filler material per part of polymerizable unsaturated material may be included . particular inorganic filler materials include silica materials ( e . g ., powdered quartz , barium glasses , borosilicate glasses , sio 2 , fumed silica and lithium aluminum silicate ) and alumina materials ( e . g ., al 2 o 3 ). these inorganic filler materials may be treated with coupling agents , such as [ 3 -( methacroyl ) propyl ] trimethoxysilane , in order to assure the proper incorporation of filler into the polymeric matrix of the cured product . other materials such as pigments may also be included in polymerizable materials comprising the dimethacrylates of the present invention . it is noted that by varying the nature and proportions of curable compositions comprising one or more dimethacrylates of the present invention , a variety of such curable compositions as well as a variety of cured compositions resulting therefrom may be obtained . for example , curable compositions containing a relatively large amount of fillers , and relatively small amounts of low viscosity acrylic or methacrylic diluents , as well as minimum amounts catalysts and activators , may have a thick , doughlike consistency and a slow curing rate permitting working of the composition by molding and shaping before setting occurs . on the other hand , compositions containing little or no filler and relatively large amounts of low viscosity diluents , catalysts and accelerators may be flowable and fast curing , permitting brush - on application where little or no molding or shaping is required . polymerizable materials containing dimethacrylates of the present invention may now be described by way of examples of various dental materials . in this regard , composite restorative materials are given particular emphasis . composite restorative materials , as the name implies , is a composite material of a polymerizable material and a suitable filler . these materials are capable of curing in situ on teeth to restore a hardened surface thereto . these materials are generally applied as a filling material to prepared or drilled teeth . accordingly , composite restorative materials should be of a thick , workable consistency suitable for application to a prepared tooth and capable of being shaped or molded thereon before setting occurs . thus , composite restorative materials are relatively slow curing . the thick consistency of composite restorative materials , as well as the desirable properties of the cured product formed from these materials , are largely a function of the relatively large amounts of filler materials employed therein . more particularly , composite restorative materials may contain glass or ceramic fillers in excess of the polymerizable material employed therein . when the polymerizable material of the composite restorative contains one or more dimethacrylate monomers of the present invention , the weight ratio of filler to polymerizable material may range from about 1 . 5 : 1 to about 6 . 5 : 1 and , most especially , from about 4 : 1 to about 6 : 1 . suitable ceramic or glass fillers include silica materials , such as powdered quartz , barium glasses , borosilicate glasses , sio 2 and lithium aluminum silicate , and alumina materials , such as al 2 o 3 . since composite restorative materials must be capable of conforming to the confined space of prepared tooth and hardening therein to achieve restoratuve properties , the particle size of these fillers must be sufficiently small . generally , the particle sizes of these fillers may range from about 1 to about 150 microns , preferably from about 1 to about 40 microns . the average particle size of these fillers is preferably less than about 25 microns . suitably , composite restorative materials may contain a mixture of two or more fillers , such as a mixture of a ceramic filler ( e . g . powdered quartz ) and glass filler ( e . g ., powdered glass ). according to techniques well known in the art , the fillers of composite restorative materials may be treated with one or more organosilane coupling agents . these coupling agents are also sometimes referred to as finishing or keying agents and include materials such as [ 3 -( methacroyl ) propyl ] trimethoxysilane . a sufficient coupling amount of such coupling agent may be a small amount such as from about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 0 part of coupling agent per 100 parts of filler . methods for treating fillers with coupling agents are described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 066 , 112 ( bowen ), wherein an aqueous solution of tris ( 2 - methoxyethoxy ) vinyl silane is catalyzed with sodium hydroxide to give a ph of 9 . 3 to 9 . 8 , and the filler is treated with this solution , for example , one - half percent of silane per weight of fused quartz . a slurry so formed is dried at about 125 ° c . and cooled . another technique for treating filler with a coupling agent is described in the passage extending from column 3 , line 40 to column 4 , line 4 of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 862 , 920 ( foster et al ). as indicated previously , the filler , rather than polymerizable material , constitutes a major portion of the composite restorative material . perhaps for this reason the polymerizable material in composite restoratives is sometimes referred to as a &# 34 ; binder &# 34 ;. the polymerizable materials for forming a composite restorative material may contain at least two monomeric components , termed herein a first monomer and a second monomer . this first monomer is at least one dimethacrylate monomer according to the present invention , and the second monomer is at least one relatively low molecular weight diluent monomer which , among other purposes , serves to reduce the overall viscosity of the composite restorative materials . the first monomer of the polymerizable material may be present in an amount of from about 20 to about 90 % by weight , preferably from about 30 to about 80 % by weight , of the polymerizable material . the second monomer may be present in an amount from about 10 to about 80 %, preferably from about 20 to about 30 % by weight , of the polymerizable material . as a second monomer , an acrylic or methacrylic diluent , which is used for this purpose in dental materials , may be selected . more particularly , this diluent may be a di - or trimethacrylate having from 10 to 18 carbon atoms . diluents falling within this class of compounds include relatively low molecular weight ( e . g ., 339 or less ) alkylene glycol dimethacrylates , polyalkylene glycol dimethacrylates and alkanetriol trimethacrylates . particular examples of such diluents include di -, tri - or tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate , 1 , 6 - hexanediol dimethacrylate , and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate . triethylene glycol dimethacrylate is a preferred diluent . the polymerizable material of composite restoratives may also contain at least one third monomer . this third monomer may be a relatively high molecular weight ( e . g ., 364 or more ) polyfunctional acrylic or methacrylic monomer used in dental compositions . such polyfunctional compounds include dimethacrylates such as 2 , 2 - bis [ 4 &# 39 ;( 3 &# 34 ;- methacroyl - 2 &# 34 ;- hydroxypropoxy ) phenyl ] propane ( i . e . bis - gma ), 2 , 2 - bis [ 4 &# 39 ;( 2 &# 34 ;- methacroylethoxy ) phenyl ] propane ( i . e ., eba ), 2 - methacroylethyl - 3 - methoacroyl - 2 - hydroxypropyl tetrahydrophthalate , 2 - methacroylethyl - 3 - methacroyl - 2 - hydroxypropyl hexahydrophthalate and 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 &# 39 ;- methacroylphenyl ) propane ( i . e . badm ). although the third monomer constitutes a different class of materials than the first monomer , the first monomer and third monomer serve similar functions . therefore , the third monomer may be used as a replacement for a portion of the first monomer , provided that the polymerizable material contains at least 20 % by weight of the first monomer . this third monomer may be used in quantities close to the quantities of first monomer . for example , the weight ratio of the first monomer to the third monomer may range from about 3 : 5 to about 5 : 3 . accordingly , when the first monomer is present in an amount ranging from about 30 to about 50 % by weight of the polymerizable material , the third monomer may also be present in an amount ranging from about 30 to about 50 % by weight of the polymerizable material . preferably , however , the weight percent of the first monomer is greater or equal to the weight percent of the third monomer . in describing various composite restorative compositions , mention has been made of various specific compounds , such as triethylene glycol trimethacrylate and bis - gma , which fall into classes of compounds referred to as a second monomer or third monomer . however , it will be understood that the polymerizable material of the composite restorative material may contain further compounds which may fall within these categories of second or third monomers and / or may even fall in some separate and distinct category . for example , the polymerizable material may contain a small amount of methacrylic acid . however , due to the objectionable odor and properties of methacrylic acid , this monomer should not be present in quantities in excess of about 2 % by weight ( e . g ., between about 1 and 2 % by weight of the polymerizable material ). composite restorative compositions may be cured by any suitable means , a chemically initiated system being preferred . this initiating system involves the use of a catalyst and an accelerator . peroxide catalysts such as benzoyl peroxide and tertiary amine accelerators such as n , n - bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- p - toluidine are preferred . the amounts of catalyst and accelerator may each be from about 0 . 5 to about 2 . 0 % by weight of the polymerizable materials . desirably , initial curing of the composite restorative material should take place in about 1 to about 2 minutes upon admixture of the components thereof in order to permit adequate mixing and manipulation of these components outside the mouth prior to application to a prepared tooth . however , final curing is desirably delayed for 4 to 6 minutes from the initial contacting of restorative components in order to permit proper molding and shaping inside the mouth . it is noted that template structures are sometimes used in this molding process . composite restorative materials having such curing characteristics may enable a dentist to perform a complete restoration of a prepared tooth within about ten minutes , including grinding and polishing the restorative material after final setting . composite restorative materials may be packaged in any suitable manner . preferably , a two - package system is used wherein each package contains filler and polymerizable material in roughly equal amounts , one package containing the catalyst and the other package containing the accelerator . however , other systems are also possible . for example , according to another two - package system , one package may contain both filler and catalyst and the other package may contain polymerizable material and accelerator . another system involves packaging together each of the components excluding the catalyst component . when this system is used , polymerization can be initiated by introducing catalyst dropwise from a stock solution thereof . such a stock solution is described in the taylor u . s . pat . no . 3 , 541 , 068 ( note particularly column 6 , lines 23 - 50 ). whatever packaging system is used , it is helpful to package polymerizable materials with one or more polymerization inhibitors such as bht in order to enhance storage life . also , shelf life of components containing accelerators may be improved by removing traces of peroxides from these components with a reducing agent . cured composite restoratives containing at least one monomer according to the present invention have desirable properties and may be capable of holding up under strong mastication forces . for instance , these materials may have a water sorption at 37 ° c . of 0 . 5 mg / cm 2 or less ( preferably 0 . 42 mg / cm 2 or less ), a compressive strength of 40 , 000 psi or more ( preferably 42 , 000 psi or more ); a diametral tensile strength of greater than 5 , 000 psi ( preferably 6 , 000 psi or more ), a hardness ( barcol ) of greater than 98 ( preferably 100 or more ), and a linear shrinkage of 0 . 4 % or less ( preferably 0 . 38 % or less ). while particular emphasis has been devoted herein to the use of the monomers of the present invention in composite restorative materials , it will be understood that these monomers may also be used in other dental materials . examples of these other dental materials are given in the waller u . s . pat . no . 3 , 629 , 187 ( note particularly column 11 , line 26 to column 15 , line 36 ) and in the kirk - othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology , third edition , volume 7 ( 1979 ), pages 501 - 508 and 515 - 517 . waller characterizes these materials as , e . g ., dental cements , dental cavity liners and dental lacquers . kirk - othmer characterizes these materials as , e . g ., unfilled tooth - restorative resins , pit and fissure sealants and adhesives . in addition to one or more monomers according to the present invention , dental materials may contain one or more of the copolymerizable materials described herein , provided that such copolymerizable material is acceptable for oral application associated with dental treatment . particular examples of such copolymerizable material include those methacrylate monomers mentioned herein with respect to composite restorative materials . the fillers described herein with respect to composite restorative materials may also be used in certain other dental materials . certain dental materials may contain various amounts of filler , while other dental materials contain no filler at all . for instance , the dental cements described in the waller u . s . pat . no . 3 , 629 , 187 may contain little or no filler if a transparent cement is desired , but these cements may contain up to about a 1 : 1 ratio of filler to polymerizable material if a translucent cement is acceptable . it is noted that fillers used in dental cements generally have smaller particle sizes ( e . g ., an average particle size of 10 microns or less ) with respect to fillers used in composite restorative materials . an example of a dental material containing no filler may be characterized as a fissure sealer or as a bonding agent for use as an under coating for a composite restorative or orthodontic adhesive . such a material may comprise polymerizable material comprising 65 - 75 % by weight of at least one dimethacrylate of the present invention and 35 - 45 % by weight of a suitable diluent such as triethylene glycol trimethacrylate . such a material may be rapidly curable and capable of brush - on application . these sealers or bonding agents may cure to form a semi - translucent polymer having a barcol hardness of 80 or more . the bonding strength to phosphoric acid etched human enamel may be from 1100 - 1200 psi . an example of a dental material containing a relatively small amount of filler is an orthodontic adhesive containing as a polymerizable material 50 - 60 % by weight of the dimethacrylate of the present invention and 40 - 50 % by weight of a suitable diluent such as diethylene glycol dimethacrylate . the filler , e . g ., fumed silica , may comprise 10 - 15 % by weight of the sum of the combined weights of polymerizable material plus filler . the bonding strength of such an adhesive to etched human enamel may be 1200 - 1300 psi and the bonding strength to mesh - type orthodontic bracket bases may be 14 - 40 pounds depending on bracket size and individual design of the bracket bases . dental materials may be cured by a photoinitiation technique using known light polymerization initiators or by chemically initiated systems including those systems using sulfonic acid activators . in addition to fillers and polymerizable material , dental materials may contain other substances . for instance , pigments may be included . also , ultraviolet absorbers or stabilizers may be included to lessen discoloration of the cured material . furthermore , fluorides , bacteriostatic agents and antibiotics may also be included . dental materials may be applied to teeth in a variety of manners depending upon the nature of the material and the desired use . for instance , thick , slow - curing materials , such as composite restoratives , may be molded and shaped in the mouth before final curing takes place . on the other hand , flowable , fast - curing materials , such as cavity liners may be simply brushed on the surface of the treated tooth . dental materials such as restoratives , sealers , bonding agents , cements and orthodontic adhesives containing in their resin part 20 - 90 % of the dimethacrylate of the present invention exhibit most desirable properties , especially in respect to color stability , low water absorption , high mechanical strength and low polymerization shrinkage . the following examples describe certain embodiments of the invention . it is to be understood that these examples are given only to illustrate the nature of the invention and should not , in any way , be understood as limiting the scope of this invention , defined in the claims . were placed in a round bottom reaction flask equipped with a condenser , heater and mechanical stirrer . the mixture was heated up to 100 ° c . and maintained at this temperature while stirring until the epoxy equivalent reached a value of 0 . 012 or below . the excess of methacrylic acid was then distilled off . the reaction product , called decd , consists of a medium viscosity liquid having a refractive index n d 25 1 . 487 . 460 g of decd was placed in a round bottom flask to which 300 ml of ethyl ether was added . the ether was then distilled off in a gentle stream of dry air in order to remove any traces of water . 170 g of butyl isocyanate was added slowly with stirring over a period of 1 hour while maintaining temperature of the reaction mixture at 45 ° c . this temperature and stirring was maintained for 10 hours after which the reaction mixture was allowed to stand overnight at room temperature of 23 °- 27 ° c . the reaction product constitutes a light yellow colored viscous liquid and represents a mixture of n - butyl mono - and di - carbamates of 1 , 4bis [( 3 &# 39 ;- methacroyl - 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxypropoxy ) methyl ] cyclohexame called hereafter deci . a dental material for use as a fissure sealer or as a bonding agent to be used under composite restorative or orthodontic adhesives has been formulated as follows : ______________________________________part a part b ( parts by weight ) ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________57 deci 5738 . 5 diethyleneglycol dimeth - 40 acrylate0 . 1 bht 0 . 10 . 4 cyasorb uv - 9 0 . 44 . 5 n , n -- bis ( 2 - hydroxy - -- ethyl )- p - toluidine -- benzoyl peroxide 2 . 5______________________________________ parts a and b when mixed in equal amounts cured in 120 seconds forming a semi - translucent polymer having a barcol hardness of 80 . the adhesive bond strength to phosphoric acid etched human enamel was 1100 - 1200 psi . color stability in sunlight was excellent . a dental composite restorative for use as a filling material in anterior and posterior restorations has been formulated as follows : ______________________________________part a part b ( parts by weight ) ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________38 deci 3826 triethyleneglycol dimeth - 26 acrylate31 bis - gma 31 . 90 . 9 cyasorb uv - 9 -- 0 . 1 bht 0 . 14 n , n bis ( 2 - hydroxy - -- ethyl )- p - toluidine -- benzoyl peroxide 4500 5 : 1 mixture of pow - 500 dered barium and boro - silicate glasses below 44 microns , treated with meth - acroylpropyl trihydroxy - silane______________________________________ parts a and b when mixed in equal amounts cured in 120 seconds . the resulting material had the following characteristics : ______________________________________part a part b ( parts by weight ) ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________44 deci 4438 . 4 diethyleneglycol dimeth - 39 acrylate . 6 cyasorb uv - 9 -- 4 n , n -- bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- -- p - toluidine -- benzoyl peroxide 413 fumed silica 13______________________________________ this adhesive cured in 60 seconds , when parts a and b were mixed to equal amounts . bonding strength to etched human enamel was 1200 - 1300 psi and bonding strength to mesh - type orthodontic bracket bases was 14 - 40 pounds depending on bracket size and individual design of the bracket bases . while the use of the monomers of the present invention has been described primarily with respect to dental materials , particularly composite restorative materials , it is noted that these monomers may also be used in other materials such as bone cements and uv curable inks . thus while certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purposes of illustrating the invention , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . it will further be understood that the invention may comprise , consist essentially of or consist of the steps or materials recited herein .	0
referring to the drawing , a portable pill crusher embodying the present invention is identified by the general reference 10 . device 10 comprises an upstanding rectangular housing 11 including detachable base plate 12 having a plurality of foot pads 13 depending therefrom suitable to support device 10 on a suitable horizontal surface , such as a counter , a table top and the like . housing 11 further comprises a top 14 , generally parallel sides 15 , 16 , a rear plate 17 and a front plate 18 . frontal plate is provided with a first rectangular opening 19 in which a suitable switch 20 is mounted and a second rectangular opening 21 of sufficient dimensions to receive drawer 22 for sliding movement therein as will hereinafter be described in more detail . the operating mechanisms of device 10 are essentially mounted within housing 11 and will now be described . in a preferred embodiment of device 10 , device 10 is totally portable and self powered by a 12 v nickel cadmium battery pack 24 mounted on upper surface 25 of base plate 12 . nicad batteries are preferred because they are rechargeable , long lasting and are capable of producing a consistent voltage at a high current rate for longer periods than other battery types currently available . a conventional battery charger 26 is also mounted on base plate 12 adjacent battery pack 24 and connected thereto to conveniently maintain fully charged batteries in device 10 without having to remove battery pack 24 . battery pack 24 and battery charger 26 also contribute to the stability of device 10 during operation as their weight and lower center of gravity serves to offset the forces generated by the movement of ram 28 as will hereinafter appear . ram 28 is preferably powered by 12 v dc electric motor 29 mounted in housing 11 above battery pack 24 and the drive of electric motor 29 is transmitted into gearcase 30 to produce a constant 200 rpm output to cam drive shaft 31 . gearmotor mounting plate 32 which is connected to support plate 33 in turn is mounted on base plate 12 and extends upwardly therefrom supports both motor 29 and gearcase 30 . drive shaft 31 is secured by a shoulder mount 34 . additional flexibility which protects the shaft from undo stress during operation is provided by two shoulder bolts 35 which secure the shoulder mount 34 over the shaft 31 as shown in fig4 . bolts 35 fit into the gearmotor mounting plate 32 . tension applied to cam drive 31 is controlled by washer 36 and die spring 37 which circumscribes each shoulder bolt 35 . in operation , ram 28 will move up and down very rapidly into and out of the medicine cup 40 which contains the pill or table to be crushed . medicine cup 40 is seated in a suitable defined recess 41 defined in drawer 22 . an eccentric cam 42 , preferably made of steel , is mounted on the end of cam drive shaft 31 and as it rotates , engages and depresses ram 28 . as is apparent from fig2 and 3 , cam 42 is so mounted on drive shaft 31 to create an eccentric perimeter path in response to the rotation of the cam shaft 31 . cam 42 rides on a ball bearing 43 mounted on a bearing shaft 44 adjacent the top of ram 28 which alleviates friction and allows cam 42 to turn smoothly as it depresses ram 28 . a return spring 45 disposed in circumscription about ram 28 , causes ram 28 to raise out of drawer 22 when cam 42 reaches its minimum position , that is , when the least mass is disposed between shaft 31 and ram 28 . a cylindrical guide block 46 is mounted with dowel pins 47 and secured with a socket head cap screw 48 to the support plate 33 . block 46 mounted slightly above the top of the drawer 22 which is configured to contain medicine cup 40 therein which in turn holds the item to be pulverized . in the center of guide block 46 is an opening having an inside diameter just sufficient to allow ram 28 to reciprocate freely through it . when ram 28 is in its uppermost position , the bottom 50 of ram 28 will extend just below guide block 46 . because of the tight fit between ram 28 and guide shaft 49 of guide block 46 , contamination of the inner workings of the unit by pulverized particles is prevented . microswitch 51 , is mounted within housing 11 and is employed in the operation of device 10 and senses when drawer 22 is closed . until switch 51 senses that drawer 22 is closed , the power to motor 29 is interrupted and device 10 will not operate . this safeguard prevents such serious occurences as damage to the unit and possible loss of pulverized particles . pulverization of a pill , tablet , or similar small object takes place in the following manner : the object to be crushed is placed within a medicant cup 40 . the medicant cup 40 is then seated within drawer 22 and drawer 22 is closed by sliding it through opening 21 and into the body of device 10 . microswitch 51 senses when drawer 22 is completely closed and will prevent delivery of power to device 10 until drawer 22 is properly closed . after drawer 22 is closed , the operation switch 20 is pressed to activate the mechanism and held while motor 29 operating through gearcase 30 causes the cam 42 to rotate and press ram 28 down within its guide block 46 into the medicant cup 40 and into crushing contact with the medicament disposed therein causing the medicine to be broken and pulverized into a fine powder . the depression of switch 20 causes the motor 29 to continue rotating cam 42 until largest mass of cam 42 returns to its uppermost position whereupon switch 20 is released and ram 28 recoils in response to compression spring 45 which circumscribes ram 28 and causes the ram 28 to move upwardly out of the medicant cup 40 and container drawer 22 when the counter force of cam 42 is removed from the upper end of ram 28 . the container drawer 22 is now opened and the medicant cup 40 containing the pulverized medication or nutriment is removed and the powder thus formed delivered to the user in the appropriate fashion . clean up involves simply wiping the lower end 50 of ram 28 with an alcohol soaked swab or the like to remove any powder remaining thereon . from the foregoin , it becomes apparent that new and useful device has been herein described and illustrated which fulfills all of the aforestated objectives in a remarkable unexpected fashion . it is of course understood that such modification , alterations and adaptations as may readily occur to an artisan having the ordinary skills in the art to which this invention pertains are intended within the spirit of the present invention which is limited solely by the scope of claims appended hereto .	8
d =[ . . . d 1 ( n − p ) , d 2 ( n − p ) , . . . , d k ( n − p ) , . . . , d 1 ( n ) , d 2 ( n ) . . . , d k ( n ) . . . , d 1 ( n + p ) , d 2 ( n + p ) , . . . , d k ( n + p ) . . . ] above d 1 ( n − p ) , d 2 ( n − p ) , . . . , d k ( n − p ) means ( n − p ) th symbol of all k users . above d 1 ( n ) , d 2 ( n ) . . . , d k ( n ) means n th symbol of all k users . above d 1 ( n + p ) , d 2 ( n + p ) , . . . , d k ( n + p ) means ( n + p ) th symbol of all k users . s =[ . . . ŝ 1 ( n − p ) , ŝ 2 ( n − p ) , . . . , ŝ k n − p ) , . . . , ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) . . . , ŝ 1 ( n + p ) , ŝ 2 ( n + p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n + p ) . . . ]. above ŝ 1 ( n − p ) , ŝ 2 ( n − p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n − p ) means ( n − p ) th symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) means n th symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( n + p ) , ŝ 2 ( n + p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n + p ) means ( n + p ) th symbol of all k users . let us define ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) as s ( n ) . since the multi - path spread in td - scdma is assumed to be less than 12 chips , and the spreading factor for downlink is 16 , so there are no isi from symbols more than 2 symbols away . also the mai and isi part from any particular other user symbol is always much less than desired user symbol amplitude . to recover d ( n ) = d 1 ( n ) , d 2 ( n ) . . . , d k ( n ) , influence from symbols in s ( t ) ( t & lt ; n − p , or t & gt ; n + p ) can be neglected . it means d ( n ) can be recovered from received symbols s p ( n ) =[ ŝ 1 ( n − p ) , ŝ 2 ( n − p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n − p ) , . . . , ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) . . . , ŝ 1 ( n + p ) , ŝ 2 ( n + p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n + p ) ]. above ŝ 1 ( n − p ) , ŝ 2 ( n − p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n − p ) means ( n − p ) th symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) means n th symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( n + p ) , ŝ 2 ( n + p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n + p ) means ( n + p ) th symbol of all k users . assume p is large enough . r p ={ r i , j }, i , j = 1 . . . ( 2 p + 1 ) k here r i , j is the element of r in the i th row and j th column . v i , j ( m ) =( r − 1 p ) i +( m − 1 ) k , j , i = 1 . . . k , j = 1 . . . ( 2p + 1 ) k , m = 1 . . . 2p + 1 here r − 1 p means matrix inversion . when p + 1 ≦ n ≦ n − p , d ( n ) can be recovered as { circumflex over ( d )} ( n ) is the estimation of transmitted symbol . when n ≦ p , i . e . the interference symbol before d ( n ) is less than p , d ( n ) can be recovered as s p ( n ) =[ ŝ 1 ( 1 ) , ŝ 2 ( 1 ) , . . . , ŝ k ( 1 ) , . . . , ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) . . . , ŝ 1 ( 2p + 1 ) , ŝ 2 ( 2p + 1 ) , . . . , ŝ k ( 2p + 1 ) ]. above ŝ 1 ( 1 ) , ŝ 2 ( 1 ) , . . . , ŝ k ( 1 ) is first symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) is n th symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( 2p + 1 ) , ŝ 2 ( 2p + 1 ) , . . . , ŝ k ( 2p + 1 ) is 2p + 1 th symbol of all k users . when n ≧ n + 1 − p , and the interference symbols after d ( n ) is less p , d ( n ) can be recovered as s p ( n ) =[ ŝ 1 ( n − 2p ) , ŝ 2 ( n − 2p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n − 2p ) , . . . , ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) . . . , ŝ 1 ( n ), ŝ 2 ( n ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n ) ]. above ŝ 1 ( n − 2p ) , ŝ 2 ( n − 2p ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n − 2p ) is n − 2p th symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) . . . , ŝ k ( n ) is n th symbol of all k users . above ŝ 1 ( n ) , ŝ 2 ( n ) , . . . , ŝ k ( n ) ], is n th symbol of all k users . in addition , the simplified de - correlation method can be named as partial de - correlation whose meaning is that use de - correlation method to eliminate the influence of the symbols which are earlier or later than the current on current symbols only according to p group of symbols which are earlier or later than current symbols . fig1 is the structure sketch map of the adopted advice according to the simplified de - correlation method . it includes k match filters 1 , k buffer storage 2 which are correspondingly connected with k match filters , relative calculation device 3 to define partial correlation matrix r p , matrix inversion device 4 and drawing out device 5 which tag after the relative calculation device to define new matrix v ( m ) . the output of the mentioned buffer storage 2 and the output of the drawing out device 3 are connected with the input of the matrix - vector multiplication 6 . the mentioned baseband symbols of k users respectively are inputted to k match filters 1 and k buffer storage 2 to get received symbol s p n . 1 and 2 are connected with each other correspondingly the mentioned user signature sequence c ( k ) =( c 1 ( k ) , c 2 ( k ) , . . . c q ( k ) ) t , channel impulse response h ( 1 ) , h ( 2 ) , . . . , h ( k ) , channel specific multiplication factor is respectively inputted to the relative calculation device 3 to obtain partial correlation matrix , then obtain the inverse matrix v of matrix r p through matrix inversion device 4 and drawing out device 5 , and draw out partial matrix v ( m ) from it . through matrix vector multiplication 6 symbol estimation value { circumflex over ( d )} ( n ) can be obtained from mentioned received symbol s p ( n ) and v ( m ) . the present invention is not restricted to above advice and method , so all the technical changes known by ordinary technician of the present fields should fall into the protective scope of the present invention .	7
the novel features believed characteristic of this invention are set forth in the appended claims . the invention itself , however , may be best understood and its objects and advantages best appreciated by reference to the detailed description below in connection with the accompanying drawings . referring now to fig4 and 6 , there are shown three alternate perspective views of the contra - rotating wind turbine systems 10 , 30 and 40 incorporating the features of this invention for efficient use of wind farms to produce more power . although the present invention will be described with reference to three embodiments shown in the drawings , it should be understood that the present invention could be embodied in many alternate forms or embodiments . in addition , any suitable size , shape or type of elements or materials could be used . in fig4 the wind turbine apparatus 10 is seen to include two rotor assemblies 11 , 12 two alternators 13 , an upright mast 18 supporting the turbine assembly base 19 including front and rare rotor gear boxes 16 . the leeward ( downwind ) rotor blades 12 are generally longer than the upwind rotor blades 11 and its hub is placed farther downstream from the vertical axis so that the system can self align to the wind as the wind changes its direction . the self - aligning feature results from larger leeward rotor drag and longer lever arm from its plane of rotation . consequently , a light duty servomotor is sufficient to position the system aligned to the wind . two disc brakes 15 are provided on the low speed rotor shafts 23 , 24 to shut down the system for servicing or in high - speed wind conditions . the arrow 20 denotes the wind direction , while arrows , 21 and 22 denote the rotational direction of the front and rear rotors respectively . certain communities that are far removed from accessible grid power source , a self - sustaining wind farm could be established by the use of small jet engines ( not shown ) mounted at the tip of the blades of rotors 11 and 12 to drive the generator during low wind or no wind conditions . detailed discussion of this innovation is disclosed in a forth - coming us patent issued to appa ( ref . 6 ). in fig5 is seen an alternate arrangement using a single generator 13 driven by two contra - rotating rotors 11 , 12 . the slowly spinning windward rotor 11 is coupled to the gear boxes 16 , generally of a planetary type . the high - speed end of said gearbox is coupled to the windward end of the generator shaft . the leeward end of the generator shaft is coupled to the high - speed end of a specially designed gear box 17 , while the low speed end of said gearbox is coupled to said leeward rotor . once again , the subassemblies comprising rotors , generator , gear boxes and servo control units are arranged in such a way that the mass center lies slightly towards the downwind direction to render the self aligning feature of the contra - rotating wind turbine system and is guaranteed to be statically and dynamically stable . once again said jet assisted hybrid configuration can also be implemented with this system . [ 0081 ] fig6 shows still another alternative arrangement of the tandem rotors 11 , 12 that drive a specially designed low speed direct drive generator 41 . the slowly spinning windward rotor 11 is directly coupled to the windward end of the generator shaft 23 . while the leeward end of the generator shaft 24 is first coupled to an adapter 25 , which in turn is coupled to the leeward rotor 12 . once again , the subassemblies comprising rotors , generator , and servo control units are arranged in such a way that the mass center lies slightly towards the downwind direction so that the self aligning feature of the contra - rotating wind turbine system is guaranteed to be statically and dynamically stable . said jet assisted hybrid configuration can also be implemented with the direct drive generator system . let us now consider the theoretical aspects of the invention , which demonstrates the benefits of contra - rotating tandem rotors in improving wind farm energy production and revenue at reduced cost . the contra - rotating wind turbine system though looked into never went beyond paper work . the main reason could be that by extending the rotor diameter the same extra power could be produced without the need for a complex configuration . this may hold true for a single tower in an open field , but it is not the best way to maximize the efficiency of an energy - rich wind farm . for an energy rich wind farm , which is a rare commodity , its full utilization becomes a very demanding factor . energy production and revenue depends on wind farm power density ( i . e . megawatts per square kilometer or acre ). if large diameter rotors are used , there will be fewer rotors ( since 5 to 8 diameter spacing limits number of rotors ) per acre resulting in no extra power . hence , the tandem rotor arrangement helps to increase farm power density . consequently , more power and revenue can be produced from the same wind farm . a brief discussion is presented next . the present invention introduces a new terminology , “ farm power density or fpd as an acronym ,” which denotes a measure of wind energy utilization of a wind farm . fpd is defined as mega watts per kilometer square , ( mw / km 2 ). consider a wind farm measuring 1000 meters wide and 1000 meters long in the wind stream direction . let , md and nd be the wind turbine spacing in lateral and longitudinal directions respectively , where d is the diameter of the rotor in meters . then , the number of turbines that can be installed in a kilometer square farm is , p = n ( π d 2 / 4 ) p =( π * 10 6 )/( 4 mn )* p watts per km 2 . p =( π / 4 mn )* p mega watt / km 2 ( mw / km 2 ) ( 2 ) where , p is the rotor power density in watts / m 2 . the wind farm power density , as shown in equation ( 2 ) is not directly related to the rotor diameter , but its spacing ( m , n ) and the rotor power density , p . the turbine spacing ( m , n ) is primarily a fixed quantity based on the aerodynamic characteristics of the rotors . thus , it is seen that the wind farm power density is directly proportional to the rotor power density ; p . if a novel approach is used to increase the rotor power density , then it is possible to enhance the wind farm power production and its revenue . such a novel approach is discussed next . in a recent study funded by the california energy commission under grant no . 51809a / 00 - 09 , a contra rotating wind turbine model was built ( fig1 ) and the concept feasibility was demonstrated by field - tests . fig2 summarizes the field test data in terms of power curves derived from two rotors . a theoretical analysis using the elementary blade theory as well as the wind stream power data are also shown for comparison with the field test results . the field test data are seen to agree well with the blade theory prediction up to wind speeds less than 16 mph . at higher speeds the blades might have stalled and hence the departure . fig3 shows the power coefficient ( a measure of power conversion efficiency ) distribution for each rotor and the net power coefficient . the rear rotor power coefficient is seen to be in excess of 40 % of first rotor power . especially at low rotor speeds , the net power coefficient is seen to be around 72 %, which is 13 % higher than betz &# 39 ; s prediction of a single rotor case ( ref . 1 ), and 8 % higher than jest &# 39 ; s two - rotor momentum theory ( ref . 2 ). in general , the leeward rotor is seen to produce more than 40 % of power at slow rotor speeds . this fact suggests that the velocity compounding by contra - rotation is seen to be more beneficial to utility scale mega watt wind turbines that turn slowly at 16 to 20 rpm . in that case , we may expect even better than 40 % power enhancement . thus , the contra - rotating tandem rotor wind turbine system has demonstrated that the rotor power density is 30 to 40 per cent more than that of a single rotor system . since from equation 2 the wind farm power density is directly proportional to rotor power density , the wind farm power production and revenue could be increased by 30 to 40 per cent with the tandem rotor arrangement . thus , the power density of the contra - rotating wind turbine is given by , with this amount of energy produced in a wind farm , the retrofit cost could then be recovered in 3 to 5 years . another interesting observation of these field tests was that the well - known buffeting phenomena did not occur . one possible reason could be that the leeward rotor running in opposite direction might have swept away the vortices . thus , the anticipated blade vibration may have been avoided . from the foregoing , consider some of the advantages of the proposed wind turbine system over the known single rotor system : 1 . these innovations disclosed here are expected to increase the wind farm energy production by 30 to 40 per cent more than similar single rotor units , 2 . dual tandem rotor assembly is expected to reduce stress levels on the supporting structure due to torque load balancing and counter weighting rotor loads , 3 . the dual rotor system posses naturally self aligning stability characteristics , 4 . jet assisted hybrid wind turbine system is self sustaining unit requiring no auxiliary power system , 5 . buffeting phenomenon is seen to be alleviated due to contra - rotation of the vortices . it should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention . various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention . accordingly , the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variances , which fall within the scope of the appended claims .	8
preferred embodiments of the present invention provide significant advantages over previous memory array architectures using single polycrystalline silicon eeprom memory cells as will become evident from the following detailed description . the present inventors have disclosed a single polycrystalline silicon eeprom cell in u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 462 , 076 , filed jul . 28 , 2009 , and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . the following discussion briefly describes that eeprom memory cell to provide a more complete understanding of the present invention . in the following discussion , p and n are used to indicate semiconductor conductivity type . a “+” or “−” sign after the conductivity type indicates a relatively high or low doping concentration , respectively , of the semiconductor region . furthermore , the same reference numerals are used in the drawing figures to indicate common circuit elements . referring to fig1 , there is a top view of a single polycrystalline silicon gate ( poly ) eeprom memory cell that may be used with the present invention . the cell includes n − isolation regions 120 and 126 . these n − isolation regions serve to electrically isolate p − well regions 160 and 162 , respectively , from a p type substrate . in operation , they are preferably biased to a positive supply voltage at terminals 100 and 102 . a control gate terminal 104 contacts p + region 140 as well as n + region 122 , both of which are formed within p − well region 160 . a tunnel gate terminal 106 contacts p + region 142 as well as n + region 130 , both of which are formed within p − well region 162 . a single polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 overlies a part of both p − well regions and is self aligned with n + regions 122 and 130 . an n - channel sense transistor is formed between the p − well regions 160 and 162 . the sense transistor includes drain terminal 108 , source terminal 110 , and control gate 152 . the sense transistor operates to indicate the data state of the polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 as will be explained in detail . the polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 is often referred to as a floating gate , since it is only capacitively coupled and not directly connected to other elements of the memory cell . the polycrystalline silicon gate forms one terminal of a control gate capacitor 150 as well as one terminal of a tunnel gate capacitor 154 . referring now to fig2 , there is a cross sectional view of the eeprom cell of fig1 at the plane a - a ′. an n + buried layer 202 together with n − isolation region 120 electrically isolates p − well region 160 from p substrate 210 . likewise , another n + buried layer 204 together with n − isolation region 126 electrically isolates p − well region 162 from p substrate 210 . shallow trench isolation regions 200 isolate active regions such as control gate capacitor 150 , sense transistor 152 , and tunnel gate capacitor 154 . an upper plate of the control gate capacitor is formed by a first part of polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 . a lower plate of the control gate capacitor to is formed adjacent the upper plate by p − well region 160 . the upper and lower plates are separated by a dielectric region to form the control gate capacitor 150 . in a similar manner , an upper plate of the tunnel gate capacitor 154 is formed by a second part of polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 . a lower plate of the tunnel gate capacitor 154 is formed adjacent the upper plate by p − well region 162 . the upper and lower plates are separated by a dielectric region to form the tunnel gate capacitor 154 . referring now to fig3 and 4 , a programming operation of the control gate layer of the memory cell will be explained in detail . numeric voltage values in the following discussion and throughout the instant specification are given by way of example for the purpose of illustration and may vary with different manufacturing processes . fig3 is a schematic diagram of the memory cell of fig1 - 2 . n − isolation regions 120 and 126 as well as n + buried layers 202 and 204 are biased at 5 v throughout the operation . a 5 v signal is applied to control gate terminal 104 . p + region 140 is electrically connected to p − well region 160 . thus , p − well region 160 is also at 5 v . the capacitance of control gate capacitor 150 ( c cg ) is much larger than the total capacitance ( c t ) of tunnel gate capacitor 154 , sense transistor gate 152 ( c xtr ), and associated parasitic capacitance . the coupling ratio c cg /( c cg + c t c xtr ) is at least 0 . 8 and preferably 0 . 9 or greater . the polycrystalline silicon gate layer voltage , therefore , is approximately 4 v to 4 . 5 v . a − 5 v signal is also applied to the tunnel gate terminal 106 . p + region 142 is electrically connected to p − well region 162 which is , therefore , also at − 5 v . an inversion layer is formed adjacent a second part of polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 at the tunnel gate capacitor 154 below the intervening dielectric region . this dielectric region is preferably silicon dioxide or other suitable dielectric material as is known in the art . n + region 130 provides a source of electrons for the inversion layer and remains in conductive contact with the inversion layer . thus , a high electric field is generated across the relatively thin dielectric region sufficient to induce fowler - nordheim tunneling of electrons from the inversion layer to the polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 . this relatively higher concentration of electrons significantly increases the threshold voltage of sense transistor 152 and renders it nonconductive in a subsequent read operation . this eeprom memory cell offers several advantages over memory cells of the prior art . first , the critical electric field necessary for fowler - nordheim tunneling is developed by positive and negative voltages of comparable magnitudes . this avoids the need to generate a high voltage power supply or to incorporate special high voltage transistors in the manufacturing process . second , programming by fowler - nordheim tunneling greatly reduces the power requirement compared to prior art hot carrier generation methods such as avalanche multiplication and band - to - band tunneling . third , fowler - nordheim tunneling from the inversion layer to the polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 provides uniform current density over the entire area of the tunnel gate capacitor 154 . thus , current density is much less than with methods of the prior art where current flow was through a much smaller area . such areas were edge - dependent and determined by overlapping gate and underlying implant regions . the reduced programming current density of the present invention greatly increases program / erase cycles and corresponding reliability of the memory cell . referring now to fig4 , an erase operation of the control gate layer of the memory cell will be explained in detail . fig4 is a schematic diagram of the memory cell of fig1 - 2 . as previously discussed , n − isolation regions 120 and 126 as well as n + buried layers 202 and 204 are biased at 5 v throughout the operation . a − 5 v signal is applied to control gate terminal 104 . p + region 140 is electrically connected to p − well region 160 . thus , p − well region 160 is also at − 5 v . due to the coupling ratio of control gate capacitor 150 ( c cg ) and the total capacitance ( c t ) of tunnel gate capacitor 154 , sense transistor gate 152 , and associated parasitic capacitance the polycrystalline silicon gate layer voltage is approximately − 4 v to − 4 . 5 v . the voltage difference across control gate capacitor 150 forms an inversion layer adjacent a first part of polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 below the intervening dielectric region . the inversion layer is electrically connected to n + region 122 and , therefore , maintains the high coupling ratio between c cg and c t . a 5 v signal is also applied to the tunnel gate terminal 106 . p + region 142 is electrically connected to p − well region 162 which is , therefore , also at 5 v . the voltage difference between the polycrystalline silicon gate 156 and the p − well region 162 forms an accumulation region at the lower plate ( p − well region 162 ) of tunnel gate capacitor 154 . the resulting high electric field generated across the relatively thin dielectric region is sufficient to induce fowler - nordheim tunneling of electrons from polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 to the accumulation region . thus , a relatively lower concentration of electrons significantly decreases the threshold voltage of sense transistor 152 and renders it conductive in a subsequent read operation . the previously discussed advantages of the eeprom memory cell are also present during an erase operation . the critical electric field necessary for fowler - nordheim tunneling is developed by positive and negative voltages of comparable magnitudes . this avoids the need to generate a high voltage power supply or to incorporate special high voltage transistors in the manufacturing process . programming by fowler - nordheim tunneling greatly reduces the power requirement compared to prior art hot carrier generation methods such as avalanche multiplication and band - to - band tunneling . finally , fowler - nordheim tunneling from the polycrystalline silicon gate layer 156 to the accumulation region provides uniform current density over the entire area of the tunnel gate capacitor 154 . thus , current density is much less than with methods of the prior art where current flow was through a much smaller area . such areas were edge - dependent and determined by overlapping gate and underlying implant regions . the reduced programming current density of the present invention greatly increases program / erase cycles and corresponding reliability of the memory cell . turning now to fig5 a - 5d , stress on unselected memory cells as in fig1 - 2 of a memory array during programming of selected memory cells will be discussed in detail . voltage stress on these unselected memory cells is due to the coupling ratio as previously discussed with regard to fig3 and 4 . in the following discussion it should be understood that this stress may degrade data stored on the unselected memory cells after many programming ( or erase ) operations are performed on nearby selected memory cells . in particular , fig5 a is a schematic diagram showing stress on an unselected eeprom cell storing a logical one for v cg = 0 v and v tg =− 5 v . by way of example , the floating gate voltage ( v fg ) for a logical one is 4 v . when v tg =− 5 v for programming a selected memory cell , the unselected memory cell of fig5 a has approximately − 8 . 5 v across tunnel gate capacitor 154 . this stress causes positive charge loss 500 over many programming or erase operations , which greatly reduces the number of memory program / erase cycles and corresponding reliability of the memory cell . referring to fig5 b , there is a schematic diagram showing stress on an unselected eeprom cell storing a logical one for v cg =+ 5 v and v tg = 0 v . as previously discussed , the floating gate voltage ( v fg ) for a logical one is 4 v . when v cg =+ 5 v for programming a selected memory cell , the unselected memory cell of fig5 b has approximately − 8 . 0 v across tunnel gate capacitor 154 . this stress will also cause positive charge loss 502 over many programming or erase operations . referring next to fig5 c , there is a schematic diagram showing stress on an unselected eeprom cell storing a logical zero for v cg = 0 v and v tg =+ 5 v . here , however , the floating gate voltage ( v fg ) for a logical zero is − 4 v . when v tg =+ 5 v for programming a selected memory cell , the unselected memory cell of fig5 c again has approximately + 8 . 5 v across tunnel gate capacitor 154 . this stress causes negative charge loss 504 over many programming or erase operations , which greatly reduces the number of memory program / erase cycles and corresponding reliability of the memory cell . finally , referring to fig5 d , there is a schematic diagram showing stress on an unselected eeprom cell storing a logical zero for v cg =− 5 v and v tg = 0 v . as previously discussed , the floating gate voltage ( v fg ) for a logical zero is − 4 v . when v cg =− 5 v for programming a selected memory cell , the unselected memory cell of fig5 d has approximately 9 v across tunnel gate capacitor 154 . this stress will also cause negative charge loss 506 over many programming or erase operations . turning now to fig6 , there is a schematic diagram of an eeprom memory cell with surrounding circuitry that forms an element of the array architecture of the present invention . recall from the previous discussion regarding fig5 a - 5d that stress on unselected memory cells occurs when a selected memory cell on the same tunnel gate lead or the same control gate lead is programmed . this stress depends on the voltage applied to the tunnel gate lead or control gate lead as well as the data state of the unselected memory cell . according to the present invention , program data lead 606 is selectively connected to tunnel gate lead 106 by switch 602 . likewise , complementary program data lead 608 is selectively connected to control gate lead 104 by switch 604 . both switches 602 and 604 are controlled by row select signal ( rowsel ) applied to lead 600 . both program data leads 606 and 608 are generally perpendicular to the row select signal in the memory array . only a selected cell , therefore , will have programming voltages applied to leads 606 and 608 when switches 602 and 604 are turned on by an active row select signal on lead 600 . this advantageously eliminates any stress to unselected memory cells that might degrade stored data states . referring now to fig7 , there is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the array architecture of the present invention . for the purpose of illustration , the memory array includes selected memory cells 730 and 740 , which are already programmed to logical zero and one , respectively . the memory array also includes unselected memory cells 750 , 760 , and 770 . memory cells 730 and 740 are connected to row select leads 700 and 702 , which are oriented horizontally through the memory array . memory cell 730 is connected to program data lines 704 and 706 via switches 712 and 714 , respectively . program data lines 704 and 706 are oriented vertically through the memory array and generally perpendicular to row select leads 700 and 702 . memory cell 740 is connected to program data lines 708 and 710 , via switches 722 and 724 , respectively . program data lines 708 and 710 are also oriented vertically through the memory array and generally perpendicular to row select leads 700 and 702 . finally , memory cells 730 and 740 include respective access transistors 716 and 726 to couple their stored data states to respective read bit leads 718 and 728 . unselected memory cells 750 and 760 share the same program data leads as selected memory cells 730 and 740 , respectively . the switches of unselected memory cells 750 and 760 , however , share different row select leads from selected memory cells 730 and 740 . thus , the switches of unselected memory cells remain off when selected memory cells 730 and 740 are programmed and are not stressed as previously described with regard to fig5 a - 5d . moreover , the control gate and tunnel gate leads of memory cell 750 are connected to ground or a suitable reference voltage by equalization transistors 752 and 754 . likewise , the control gate and tunnel gate leads of memory cell 760 are connected to ground or the suitable reference voltage by equalization transistors 762 and 764 . unselected memory cells 750 and 760 , therefore , are not stressed and their respective data states remain intact when memory cells 730 and 740 are programmed . unselected memory cell 770 shares the same row select leads as selected memory cells 730 and 740 . the switches of unselected memory cell 770 , therefore , are on when the switches of selected memory cells 730 and 740 are on . the program data leads of unselected memory cell 770 , however , remain at zero volts or a suitable reference voltage . the control gate and tunnel gate leads of memory cell 770 , therefore , are not stressed as previously described with regard to fig5 a - 5d . in a first embodiment of fig7 , the switches of each memory cell are formed from complementary metal oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) pass gates . each cmos pass gate is formed from an n - channel transistor in parallel with a p - channel transistor . furthermore , in this first embodiment of the present invention , the voltage swing of the control gates of the switches is the same as the voltage swing on the program data leads (+ v p to − v p ), so that the switches of unselected cells are completely off when selected memory cells in the same column are programmed . the maximum voltage across the control gate dielectric of the n - channel and p - channel transistors is generally the same as the programming voltage across the tunnel gate dielectric . this may be acceptable in some applications where programming time of the memory cells is not critical and some fowler - nordheim tunneling through the switch transistors is acceptable . in a second embodiment of the present invention , the switch transistors are separately ion implanted to preferentially grow a slightly thicker gate dielectric than that of the tunnel gate capacitors . in this second embodiment , programming voltage across tunnel gate capacitors may be safely increased and programming time decreased without damage to the switch transistors . turning now to fig8 a , there is a modified memory cell that may be used in a third embodiment of the memory array of fig7 . the modified memory cell of fig8 a differs from the previously described memory cells of fig7 in three respects . first , each cmos pass gate or switch now includes series - connected voltage divider transistors such as transistors 800 and 804 as well as switching transistors 802 and 806 . second , row select signal rowsel operates at a reduced voltage swing of 0v to 5v (+ v p ). complementary row select signal rowsel_operates at a reduced voltage swing of 0v to − 5v (− v p ). third , n - channel transistors 811 and 813 are added to the equalization circuit to hold control gate lead 104 and tunnel gate lead 106 to ground ( 0 v ) when the memory cell is unselected . operation of the modified memory cell of fig8 a will now be explained in detail with reference to the program / erase timing diagram of fig8 b . the left half of the timing diagram ( fig8 b ) illustrates operation when the memory cell is on a selected row . the memory cell row is selected at time t 0 when rowsel is high ( 0 v ), rowsel_ is low ( 0 v ), and eq is low (− 5 v ). in this case , leads tg 106 and cg 104 are driven to − v tn as illustrated by voltage levels 830 and 840 , respectively , by n - channel transistors of the cmos switches . at time t 1 program data leads pgmdata and pgmdata_ of the to memory cell column are driven high and low , respectively , to program a positive charge on floating gate 156 . at time t 2 , pgmdata and pgmdata_ return to 0 v . however , tg is pulled down to + v tp 832 by the p - channel transistor of the cmos switch . correspondingly , cg is pulled up to − v tn by the n - channel transistor of the cmos switch . thus , tg and cg follow pgmdata and pgmdata_ , respectively , but will only reach + v tp or − v tn depending on the previous voltage level of pgmdata and pgmdata_ . at time t 3 program data leads pgmdata and pgmdata_ of the memory cell column are driven low and high , respectively , to erase the positive charge on floating gate 156 . at time t 4 , pgmdata and pgmdata_ return to 0 v . however , tg is pulled up to − v tn 834 by the n - channel transistor of the cmos switch . correspondingly , cg is pulled down to + v tp 844 by the p - channel transistor of the cmos switch . when any cell is on a selected row and pgmdata and pgmdata_ are 0 v , therefore , tg and cg will only reach + v tp or − v tn depending on the previous voltage level of pgmdata and pgmdata_ . this produces a total cell stress equal to a sum of the magnitude of v tp + v tn across the floating gate 156 . for normal operating parameters , this is approximately 2 . 5 v compared to a programming voltage of 10 v . at this level , there is negligible effect on the programmed or erased data state . since rowsel and rowsel_ are both at 0 v , no more than 5 v appears across any transistor gate oxide of the cmos switch . furthermore , the gates of n - channel transistors 810 and 812 are at 0 v while the gates of n - channel transistors 811 and 813 are at − 5 v . in this state , if v tg is + 5 v , transistor 810 acts as a voltage divider so that the common terminal between transistors 810 and 811 is − v tn . likewise , if v cg is + 5 v , transistor 812 acts as a voltage divider so that the common terminal between transistors 812 and 813 is − v tn . therefore , no more than 5 v appears across any transistor gate oxide of the equalization circuit . time t 5 and beyond represents a cell on an unselected row and a selected column . here , eq is high (+ 5 v ), rowsel is low (− 5 v ), and rowsel_ is high (+ 5 v ). both cmos switches are off . n - channel transistors 810 - 813 of the equalization circuit are on and drive tg and cg to ground . thus , voltage levels of pgmdata and pgmdata_ have no effect on any memory cell in an unselected row . in this state , transistors 800 and 804 act as voltage dividers for either a positive or negative voltage of pgmdata . thus , common terminals between p - channel transistors 800 and 802 or between n - channel transistors 804 and 806 do not exceed a magnitude of v tn or v tp . therefore , no more than 5 v appears across any transistor gate oxide of the cmos switch for any voltage level of pgmdata and pgmdata_ . still further , while numerous examples have thus been provided , one skilled in the art should recognize that various modifications , substitutions , or alterations may be made to the described embodiments while still falling with the inventive scope as defined by the following claims . for example , inventive concepts of the present invention are readily adapted to alternative switch designs and voltage levels as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having access to the instant specification . for example , each cmos pass gate might be replaced by a single n - channel or p - channel transistor with suitable gate voltage levels . additionally , programming voltages might range from 0 v to 10 v or from 0 v to − 10v rather than from − 5v to 5 v . other combinations will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having access to the instant specification .	6
referring to fig1 this real - time signal separator comprises a &# 34 ; decorrelator - conditioner &# 34 ; 1 able to provide , on its p outputs 2 , p decorrelated signals s ( t ) from the p received , sensed and sampled signals e ( t ) which are applied to it on its p inputs ( 3 ). the operation of the decorrelator - conditioner 1 is well known per se , and is for example described in an article by j . g . whirter and t . j . shepherd published in &# 34 ; proceedings spie &# 34 ;, vol . 975 , advanced algorithms and architectures , san diego , 1988 , and also in a communication by p . comon , gretsi colloquium , june 1989 , juan - les - pins , pages 137 to 140 . the p outputs s ( t ) at 2 are applied to a device 4 able to perform the calculation of the abovementioned orthogonal matrix q , such that : x ( t ) being the required source - signals obtained at 5 on the p outputs of block 4 . this block 4 is here called the &# 34 ; rotator &# 34 ;, since , as will be seen later , obtaining the orthogonal matrix q amounts to identifying a rotation . the structure of the rotator is represented in fig2 . the p signals s ( t ) are processed in a calculation chain in order to obtain the matrix q . in the cell denoted f , the product of q times the signals s ( t ) is performed . the p output signals x ( t ) are statistically independent and reproduce the absolute value of the normalized source - signals . an algorithm ii using the cumulants of order 4 , in particular with respect to narrow - band source - signals . the calculation chain is composed of a cell c for calculating moments or cumulants . it possesses p inputs and the number of output thereof depends on the algorithm chosen . it is also composed of ## equ5 ## &# 34 ; elementary rotators &# 34 ; q . sup . ( 1 ), q . sup . ( 2 ), . . . q . sup . ( j ), . . . q . sup . ( m ), associated in cascade with ( m - 1 ) multiplication cells x . with each sampling period , that is to say with each arrival of p samples of signals s ( t ), the calculations are performed . these calculations are now described : cell c performs the calculation of the moments g ijk : where the symbol (*) denotes the complex conjugate , and where the triple ( i , j , k ) describes the subset of { 1 , 2 , . . . p } 3 for which i ≦ j ≦ k . in this expression , a and b are the omission factors . they are real numbers from ] 0 to 1 [ satisfying a 2 + b 2 = 1 . it is possible to adapt a or b in order to adjust the power of the statistical averaging , and simultaneously the duration of the local stationarity exploited . for a small value of a , there will be much averaging , and the stationarity of the processes will be assumed to be lengthy ( the equivalent equiweighted duration of averaging is of the order of 1 / a 2 ). for example , 0 . 01 ≦ a ≦ 0 . 05 is reasonable . cell q . sup . ( j ) ( see fig3 ) has the role of evaluating the two numbers , c and s , characterizing the elementary rotation matrix q ( q , r ), denoted q . sup . ( j ) for simplicity . when 1 ≦ q & lt ; r ≦ p , p ( p - 1 )/ 2 pairs ( q , r ) are described , this corresponding to p ( p - 1 )/ 2 elementary rotators . choosing a description of rows , q . sup . ( 1 ) = q ( 1 , 2 ), q . sup . ( 2 ) = q ( 1 , 3 ), . . . q . sup . ( p ) = q ( 1 , p ), q . sup . ( p + 1 ) = q ( 2 , 3 ), . . . this clearly establishes a bijective relationship between j and the pair ( q , r ). in fig2 the lower wire 6 therefore transports the values of the cumulants of the inputs s i ( t ) whereas the value of the cumulative matrix h ( j )= q . sup . ( j - 1 ). . . q . sup . ( 2 ) q . sup . ( 1 ) travels on the top wire 7 , and the output from each cell q . sup . ( j ) appears at 8 . the unit matrix is applied to the first cell at 9 . with the aid of the information coming from the top wire 7 and from the bottom wire 6 ( cf . fig3 ), the updating of the 4 cumulants g qqq , g qqr , g qrr , and g rrr is firstly performed in cell q . sup . ( j ) through the formula : ## equ6 ## once this updating is completed ( it will be rapid since many of the h jv are null or equal to 1 ), the cell will evaluate two numbers , c and s , defined by : ## equ7 ## after calculating θ in the manner described below : ## equ8 ## then calculate ## equ9 ## ( k being equal indifferently to 0 or 1 ). cell x produces the product of the matrix described by the data coming from the bottom at 8 , times the matrix pxp coming from the left ( cf . fig4 ). two numbers , c and s , arrive from the bottom on the lower input of the cell , as well as two indices , q and r . the matrix delivered at output ( on the right of the cell ) is defined by h output = q . sup . ( j ) h input , where the matrix q . sup . ( j ) differs from the unit matrix only in four coordinates : this cell does fairly little work since most of the rows of q input are unchanged in the calculation h output = q . sup . ( j ) h input ( only two of them need be calculated ). the last cell x provides the matrix q which corresponds to ## equ10 ## we note that if the observations are complex and have been obtained after fourier transformation of real signals , these observations satisfy the property termed &# 34 ; circularity &# 34 ; which implies that m hj = 0 and m ik = 0 . it is therefore possible to forgo calculation of these terms . furthermore , if the decorrelator operates correctly , it should in a steady state enforce m jk = 0 if j ≠ k and m jj = 1 if j = k . if the means of calculation are modest , it will also be possible for these terms to be replaced by their ideal value at the cost of a slight decrease in the speed of convergence . with the aid of the information coming from the top wire and from the bottom wire , the updating of the 3 cumulants g qqqr , g qqrr , and g qqqr [ sic ] is firstly performed in cell q . sup . ( j ) through the formula : ## equ11 ## as previously , the two numbers c and s are nest evaluated after calculating θ in the manner described below : referring now to the graphs of results obtained ( fig5 to 7 ), the numbers of samples are plotted as abscissae on these graphs , and the signal amplitudes as ordinates . the three source - signals ( fig5 ) are , in this stimulation , composed of noise 10 , a sawtooth signal 11 , and a sinusoid 12 . the three signals 13 , 14 , 15 actually observed are represented in fig6 : they have no resemblance to the source - signals of fig5 . after processing by the separator which has just been described , this separator using the algorithm ii in this example , the three signals 16 , 17 , 18 represented in fig7 are obtained . these three signals are obtained for 1 / a 2 = 100 . note that these signals are obtained on non - corresponding channels , and apart from the sign , this not being a very big disadvantage . the sinusoid 12 is obtained at 16 , on the first channel instead of the third , and with opposite sign . the noise 10 is obtained at 17 , on the second channel instead of the first , and with opposite sign , and the sawtooth 11 is obtained at 18 , on the third channel instead of the first and without reversal of sign . the signals which correspond to the sinusoid and to the noise are obtained with a change of sign . among the advantages of the invention as compared with the other prior art can be cited : equally good operation in regard to real signals as in regard to complex signals , the possibility of operation when the number of sources is less than or equal to p ; the possibility of using 2 algorithms , one of order 3 , the other of order 4 ; only algorithm ii operates in respect of narrow - band signals , the real - time operation made possible by virtue of a single calculation of g ijk or g ijkl , even when p & gt ; 2 , the use of a conditioning test ( algorithm i ) or of a break - even threshold ( algorithm ii ) in each of the elementary rotators : see the conditions regarding g for the calculation of ρ . among the novel applications made possible by virtue of this method , it is expedient to note : the processing operates on all real signals whose statistics are known ; elimination of strong jamming sources very similar to the useful signal , or even of exactly identical statistics ( the separator is capable of separating processes of like statistics ); identification of a &# 34 ; cocktail - party &# 34 ;; as will be apparent , the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment which has just been described , but on the contrary it is well able to be employed in other embodiments using equivalent means , even if they are more sophisticated .	6
the following definitions are provided to determine how terms used in this application , and in particular how the claims , are to be construed . the organization of the definitions is for convenience only and is not intended to limit any of the definitions to any particular category . “ amine source ” means any inorganic or organic compound comprising an ammonium ion and / or moiety which can be oxidized and / or halogenated by an oxidizing halogen . “ asynchronous mixing ” means mixing such that over a discrete period of time the amount or concentration of a material mixed and then fed into a system fluctuates . asynchronous mixing of biocides is more likely to result in the particular formulation ideal for killing the particular organism present happening to result and it also creates a dynamic environment which makes it difficult for organisms to adapt to . “ batch process ” means chemical process in which only a finite number of reagents can he fed into a reaction operation over a period of time having a discrete start time and end time and which produces a finite amount of product . “ channeling ” means a process in which mixture of materials flowing through a line separates into different flowing layers sorted by density , viscosity , temperature or some other property . channeling can be prevented by use of a wide space in the mixing line . “ chlorine demand ” means the quantity of chlorine that is reduced or otherwise transformed to inert forms of chlorine by substances in the water . “ concentrated ” means the materials are used as delivered , without the addition of a diluent . where sodium hypochlorite is used , the concentration will range from 3 - 18 % as total available chlorine . the concentration of the amine solutions may range from 5 - 80 %. “ continuous process ” means an ongoing chemical process , which is capable of theoretically continuing over an unlimited period of time in which reagents can be continuously fed into a reaction operation to continuously produce product . continuous process and batch process are mutually exclusive . “ fouling ” means the unwanted deposition of organic or inorganic material on a surface . “ oxidizing halogen ” means a halogen bearing composition of matter including but not limited to chlorine , bromine or iodine derivatives , most preferably a chlorine or bromine derivative such as hypochlorous acid or hypobromous acid , wherein the composition is capable of oxidizing an amine source . “ wide space ” means an area in the mixing line where the diameter of the line is larger than the largest individual reagent supply line leading into it and in which the transition from the smaller to larger diameter is not streamlined , whereby when a liquid flows into this area the change in diameter results in eddies which mix the fed materials in an erratic manner and prevents channeling . this wide space allows for adequate mixing , functioning differently than a standard conduit . the wide space could be an isolated batch tank . in the event that the above definitions or a description stated elsewhere in this application is inconsistent with a meaning ( explicit or implicit ) which is commonly used , in a dictionary , or stated in a source incorporated by reference into this application , the application and the claim terms in particular are understood to be construed according to the definition or description in this application , and not according to the common definition , dictionary definition , or the definition that was incorporated by reference . in light of the above , in the event that a term can only he understood if it is construed by a dictionary , if the term is defined by the kirk - othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology , 5th edition , ( 2005 ), ( published by wiley , sohn & amp ; sons , inc .) this definition shall control how the term is to be defined in the claims . in at least one embodiment chloramine is generated by a process in which the chemical reagents are introduced into a wide space for the production of chloramine . in at least one embodiment one or more of the reagents are introduced either automatically via a controller device , such as a plc device or a timer , or manually . any number of measurements can be used to regulate the flow of reagents , including but not limited to tank volume , orp , residual chlorine , ph , temperature , and microbial activity . the wide space can take the shape of a plumbed wide zone in a conduit that is then connected to the process being treated or can be a separate container , for example a tank . a diluent which is any appropriate liquid including but not limited to water is also streamed into the wide space . in fig1 - 19 there are shown a number of arrangements for an apparatus used in the inventive method . these apparatuses involve the feeding of at least three items into the wide space ( 4 ). feed item a ( 1 ) is a concentrated or a diluted chlorine source , typically sodium hypochlorite . feed item b ( 2 ) is a concentrated or a diluted stabilizer composition which is a nitrogen hearing composition . the nitrogen hearing portion can be an organic material or an ammonium salt . the salt form can be a result of the nitrogen bearing item being in the form of a sulfate , bromide or chloride . the nitrogen bearing material can also include ammonium sulfamate . at some point feed hem a ( 1 ), feed item b ( 2 ), come into contact with a diluent ( 3 ). in at least one embodiment the diluent comprises water . in at least one embodiment the diluent comprises enough caustic to maintain the ph of the combination of feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) to no more than 12 . 5 . other means of caustic addition include adding caustic to the halogen and / or stabilizer solution to maintain the ph of the combination of feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) to no more than 12 . 5 . referring now to fig1 there is shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are added as concentrates or as diluted products . additional diluent ( 3 ) may or may not be added or the products may he batch diluted on - site . the setup optional mixer to aid mixing of the different components . the chloramine as produced in the tank is then introduced into the process water system ( 7 ) needing to be treated . the introduction may be by way of a pump ( 6 ). the chloramine is produced in the wide space ( 4 ) and is then introduced into the process water system needing to be treated . referring now to fig2 there is shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are diluted continuously as they are introduced into the wide space ( 4 ). feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) and diluent ( 3 ) may be blended in any order . in at least one embodiment not all components are diluted . the setup may contain an optional in - line or static mixer to aid mixing of one or more chemical components and the diluent . also , the setup may include a mixer in the tank to aid in the blending of the different solutions . the chloramine as produced in the tank is then introduced into the process water system requiring treatment . referring now to fig3 there is shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are either concentrates or diluted and are mixed with each other prior to being introduced into the tank . the setup may contain an optional in - line mixer to aid mixing of the chloramine and the diluent . also , the setup may include a mixer in the tank to aid in the blending of the different solutions . the diluent can optionally be introduced into the tank in a separate stream . referring now to fig4 there is shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) can he mixed prior to entering the tank followed by the addition of the diluent to the conduit before entering the wide space ( 4 ). feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) may be concentrates or diluted prior to blending . the setup may contain an optional in - line mixer to aid in the blending of the chloramine and the diluent . also , the setup may include a mixer in the tank to aid in efficient blending of the different solutions . referring now to fig5 there is shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are added sequentially to a stream of the diluent . the combination of feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) result in the formation of the chloramine , which is then introduced into the wide space ( 4 ) along with the diluent . the setup may contain an optional in - line mixer to aid mixing of the chemical components and the diluent . also , the setup may include a mixer in the tank to aid in efficient mixing of the different solutions . referring now to fig6 - 13 there are shown methods in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are synchronously or asynchronously combined in a diluted form ( concentrate added to a diluent ) via a controller device , such as a plc device or a timer , or manually and the resulting chloramine is introduced , synchronously or asynchronously , into the process to be treated . in this method , any number of chemical components can be introduced into the diluent stream . the diluent can be water or any other liquid stream appropriate for the dilution of the chemical components . the method may comprise a valve ( 5 ) to control the flow . a solid arrow line after the valve ( 5 ), depicts a continuous flow while a dashed line represents an interrupted or discontinuous flow . referring now to fig6 there is shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are added sequentially into the conduit in a continuous manner and the feed of the resulting chloramine to the process being treated is continuous . referring now to fig7 there is shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are added sequentially into the conduit in a continuous manner but the feed of the resulting chloramine to the process being treated is discontinuous . referring now to fig8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 there are shown a method in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are added sequentially into the conduit but the addition of one of feed items a or b is periodic . the feed of the resulting chloramine to the process being treated can be either continuous or periodic . referring now to fig1 and 13 there are shown methods in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 .) are added sequentially into the conduit but the addition of all the chemical components is periodic . the feed of the resulting chloramine to the process being treated can be either continuous or periodic . referring now to fig1 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , and 19 there are shown methods in which feed items a and b ( 1 , 2 ) are added simultaneously at the same location in the conduit and the addition of all the reactants can be continuous or periodic . the feed of the resulting chloramine to the process being treated can be either continuous or periodic . the inventive methods facilitate the production of chloramine in ways that display numerous advantages . the method facilitates batch production and can be performed under dilute conditions . the ability to fine tune the amounts of chloramine , stabilizer , and halogen components allows for enhanced process compatibility and program performance through optimized chemical use . in at least one embodiment the production is coupled to a monitor device which measures quantity produced , and / or product quality . as described earlier , the production of a halogenated amine disinfectant ( for example chloramine ) utilizes an amine source , an oxidizing halogenated compound and a diluent ( preferably water ) as chemical components . the concentration of the amine source in the concentrate form of the solution can range from 5 %- 80 % and in the dilute form it can range from 0 . 01 %- 5 %. similarly , the concentration of the oxidizing halogenated composition in the concentrated form can range from 3 %- 18 % and in the dilute form it can range from 0 . 01 %- 3 %. from the perspective of blending ratio between the reactants , the molar ratio can range from 0 . 1 : 1 ( n : cl ) to 10 : 1 ( n : cl ). the ratio at which blending optimizes the formation of chloramine will determine the flow rates of the reactant in relation to time ( invented method # 1 above ) or in relation to the flow rate of the diluent ( invented method # 2 above ). the need for ph control at the time of blending may be achieved through the addition of other chemical components , for example caustic or an acid , or other means . among other reasons , this invention is superior to the prior art because it results in a form of stabilized - chlorine that has enhanced persistence of chlorine in fouled water systems thus providing for improved biofouling control . the invention also moots the need for continuous operation of the chloramine feed system . also , since the chloramine is produced in a dilute batch mode , the equipment required for production is simplified and the need for expensive , compatible materials is reduced . this also results in a safer system as there is no danger of a “ runaway ” reaction in controlled batch production that exits in continuous reactions . the controlled nature of the reaction also allows for precise dose changes in response instant changes in the reaction conditions . the chloramine can be produced in a batch mode and then be dosed continuously or intermittently into the system being treated . this method also provides the ability to periodically deliver shock doses at much higher concentrations than would normally be applied and then allowing the chlorine residual to decay prior to subsequent treatment . application of chloramine in such a shock dose regime provides for more persistent and widely distributed chlorine residual . enhanced persistence of chlorine allows for better control over microbiological populations that may not be adequately controlled at lower chlorine doses or that may tend to develop as ‘ resistant ’ populations . in at least one embodiment the chloramine is added according to an asynchronous mixing process . unlike for example in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 132 , 628 and 5 , 976 , 386 the asynchronous mixing of the reagents is more likely to result in the particular formulation ideal for killing the particular organism present happening to result and it also creates a dynamic environment which makes it difficult for organisms to adapt to . such a moving target allows for a more thorough biocidal effect . in at least one embodiment the asynchronous mixing process is a batch process . the reagents are made in discrete batches and are blended and added for a discrete period of time . in at least one embodiment the asynchronous mixing process is a continuous process . the flow of reagents is not linked to a single blending . at any time there is an alternation of which reagents are fed . at some times all of the reagents are being fed and at other times some or none of the reagents are fed . in at least one embodiment the flow of reagents is inhibited and does not pass directly from the conduit in which it is mixed into the system to be treated . instead the reagent flow is stopped for a period of time in a tank or wide space for a period of time where at least some mixing occurs and only then do the reagents continue on to the system being treated . in at least one embodiment , the chloramine is produced by the blending of an amine and chlorine ( or bromine ) source in a certain ratio . chloramines provide for a more persistent chlorine residual in fouled water systems . therefore , there are times when it would be beneficial to not dose chloramine but to dose only one of the two reactants ( amine source or the chlorine compound ). the need for such a strategy will vary from one application to another . for example , in conditions where there is the likelihood of low halogen consumption , a periodic addition of the amine source alone ( no halogen ) will aid quenching the free hypochlorous acid , formed or introduced , and thereby reduce corrosion . minimizing free halogen also provides for improved compatibility with other chemicals that might he added to water systems , including but not limited to strength aids , retention or drainage aids , sizing chemicals , optical brightening agents , and dyes . similarly , under conditions of high halogen demand , it would be prudent to periodically administer the oxidizing halogen alone ( without amine ) so that the halogen reduces some of the chlorine demand and improves the long - term persistence of the chloramine and chlorine residual in the water system . in at least one embodiment the process water system being treated for microbial control include but are not limited to cooling water systems , domestic water systems , boiler water systems , biofouling control or cleaning of ro membrane systems , in food and beverage applications such as flume water treatment , washing of fruits , salads and vegetables , treatment of waste water systems , ballast water systems , and paper , tissue , towel and board manufacturing processes , including machine chests , head box waters , broke chests , shower water etc . in at least one embodiment the flow of at least one of the reagents is governed by a feeding mechanism . the feeding mechanism may be in informational communication with one or more forms of diagnostic equipment . the diagnostic equipment may measure and transmit the measurement of such variables as ph , temperature , amount of biological infestation , type of biological infestation , and concentrations of one or more compositions of matter . the measurement may he of any portion of the system he treated and / or in any portion of the teed line ( s ). in at least one embodiment at least one of the forms of diagnostic equipment is at least one form of equipment described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 981 , 679 . in at least one embodiment the feeding mechanism is constructed and arranged to increase , decrease , or cease the flow of at least one reagent in response to receiving at least one transmitted measurement . in at least one embodiment the asynchronous flow of reagents is accomplished according to a “ slug dose ” strategy . in a slug dose the feeding alternates between low or non doses of one or more reagents and then concentrated feedings . for example over a 2 . 4 hour period extending between hour 0 and hour 24 , at some point between hour zero and hour 6 nothing is fed into the system , then tee up to 6 hours bleach or ammonium sulfate is added , then for up to 6 hours both bleach and ammonium sulfate are added . in this regiment . the concentration of free bleach free ammonium sulfate chlorine and formed chloramine varies . the slug dose can be targeted to be in synch with the expected growth and persistence of particular thrills of biological infestation . in at least one embodiment multiple slug doses can be fed per 24 hour period interspersed with periods of time in which nothing is fed to the system . in at least one embodiment the asynchronous flow of reagents is accomplished according to a “ continuous dose ” strategy . in a continuous dose there is constantly some reagent being fed into the system but what and how much of each reagent changes . for example over a 24 hour period extending between hour 0 and hour 24 , at some point between hour zero and hour 6 all of the reagents are fed into the system , then for up to 6 hours only bleach or only ammonium sulfate is added , then for up to 6 hours both bleach and ammonium sulfate are added . in this regiment the concentration of free bleach free ammonium sulfate chlorine and formed chloramine also varies . in addition the continuous dose can also be targeted to be in synch with the expected growth and persistence of particular forms of biological infestation . in at least one embodiment multiple doses of only bleach and / or only ammonium sulfate can be fed per 24 hour period interspersed with periods of time in which both are fed to the system . while this invention may be embodied in many different forms , there described in detail herein specific preferred embodiments of the invention . the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated . all patents , patent applications , scientific papers , and any other referenced materials mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety . additionally , the invention also encompasses any possible combination of some or all of the various embodiments described and incorporated herein . furthermore the invention also encompasses combinations in which one , some , or all but one of the various embodiments described and / or incorporated herein are excluded . the above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive . this description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art . all these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims where the term “ comprising ” means “ including , hut not limited to ”. those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims . all ranges and parameters disclosed herein are understood to encompass any and all subranges subsumed therein , and every number between the endpoints . for example , a stated range of “ 1 to 10 ” should be considered to include any and all subranges between ( and inclusive of ) the minimum value of 1 and the maximum value of 10 ; that is , all subranges beginning with a minimum value of 1 or more , ( e . g . 1 to 6 . 1 ), and ending with a maximum value of 10 or less , ( e . g . 23 to 9 . 4 , 3 to 8 , 4 to 7 ), and finally to each number 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 contained within the range . this completes the description of the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention . those skilled in the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein which equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto .	2
referring now to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a drive system 10 that includes a milner ball variator 12 , and two planetary gearsets 14 , 16 . an engine 18 is connected to the gearset 16 . a pulley 20 is connected to gearset 16 . the milner ball variator 12 , two planetary gearsets 14 and 16 , and the pulley 20 are concentric with the engine crankshaft centerline 33 . a pulley 22 is driveably connected to an electric machine 24 . a drive belt 23 driveably connects pulleys 20 and 22 and other vehicle accessories of the fead . the pulleys 20 and 22 and drive belt 23 provide a fixed speed relationship between the electric machine 24 and pulley 20 . the electric machine is an electromagnetic device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy to charge the battery and power the vehicle &# 39 ; s electric system when its engine is running . in this mode , it replaces the alternator that is more conventionally used . it also converts electrical energy to mechanical energy to drive the vehicle accessories of the fead when the engine is stopped as well as to restart the engine when required . the milner ball variator 12 includes spherical balls 26 and is a type of variable geometry , 4 - point contact ball bearing . the inner race is divided in two parts 28 , 29 , and the outer race is divided in two parts 30 , 31 . by varying the axial distance between the parts of the outer race 30 , 31 the distance between the parts of the inner race 28 , 29 changes and the balls 26 are displaced radially between the inner and outer races . as the position of the balls change relative to the races , the location of the contact between the balls 26 and the races varies , thereby changing the speed ratio of the variator . as used in this description , the inner race 28 , 29 is the input to the variator 12 , the outer race 30 , 31 is grounded at 32 against rotation preferably on a case or chassis , and the ball carrier 34 , which rotates about axis 33 , is the variator output . the output speed of variator 12 is always less than the speed of its input 28 , 29 . planetary speed change gearset 14 includes a sun gear 36 , secured to the inner races 28 , 29 ; a grounded ring gear 38 , a carrier 40 , and a set of planet pinions 42 supported for rotation on the carrier 40 and in meshing engagement with the sun gear 36 and ring gear 38 . planetary mixing gearset 16 includes a sun gear 44 , secured to the ball carrier 34 ; a ring gear 46 , driveably connected to the shaft 48 of the engine 18 ; a carrier 50 ; and a set of planet pinions 52 supported for rotation on the carrier 50 and in meshing engagement with the sun gear 44 and ring gear 46 . carriers 40 and 50 are secured mutually and are , driveably connected to pulley 20 . the variator 12 in combination with two planetary gearsets 14 , 16 comprise a transmission that produces an infinitely variable speed ratio . beta , the ratio of the ring gear pitch diameter and the sun gear pitch diameter of a planetary gearset , is chosen for planetary gearsets 14 and 16 so that , when used with the available speed ratio range of the variator 12 , the overall speed ratio of the engine 18 to the pulley 20 can be varied between 0 and 1 , or slightly more than 1 . fig2 shows the betas of gearsets 14 , 16 . the engine 18 can be smoothly restarted by the electric machine 24 by changing the speed ratio of the drive system 10 from 0 to about 1 : 1 , which is accomplished by changing the speed ratio of the variator 12 from 0 . 625 towards 0 . 24479 . the speed ratio of the variator 12 is defined as the speed of ball carrier 34 divided by the speed of the variator &# 39 ; s inner race 28 , 29 and sun gear 36 . when the engine 18 is driving the electric machine 24 , the speed ratio of variator 12 is preferably 0 . 24479 . in this condition , inner race 28 , 29 and sun gear 36 rotate 4 . 0851 times faster than carriers 40 , 50 and pulley 20 rotate . the electric machine 24 can drive the vehicle accessories , such as the air conditioning system compressor and power steering pump , through the fead when the engine 18 is stopped . as fig3 shows , when the variator speed ratio is 0 . 62500 and the electric machine is driven in rotation by the vehicle &# 39 ; s battery , engine speed is zero . when axial positions of the inner race 28 , 29 and outer race 30 , 31 of the variator are controlled such the variator &# 39 ; s speed ratio decreases to 0 . 43490 , the engine speed increases to one - half the speed of pulley 20 . when the variator &# 39 ; s speed ratio decreases to 0 . 24479 , the engine speed is equal to the speed of pulley 20 . when the variator speed ratio decreases to 0 . 15625 , the engine is overdriven at a speed that is 1 . 2329 time the speed of pulley 20 . also the engine 18 can drive the pulley 20 at a variable speed ratio , from about 1 : 1 to an overdrive speed at which the pulley 20 rotates faster than engine 18 . as fig3 shows , when the variator speed ratio is 0 . 35885 and the engine is driving , the pulley 20 is overdriven relative to the engine at a speed that is 1 . 4286 times engine speed , and the speed of the sun gear 36 and the inner race 28 , 29 is 5 . 8359 times the speed of the engine 18 . when the variator speed ratio increases to 0 . 47292 and the engine is driving , the pulley 20 is overdriven relative to the engine at a speed that is 2 . 500 times engine speed , and the speed of the sun gear 36 and the inner race 28 , 29 is 10 . 2128 times the speed of engine 18 . fig4 shows the system 10 with a one - way clutch 60 producing a one - way drive connection between the carrier 40 of speed change gearset 14 , which is driveably connected to the pulley 20 , and the engine shaft 48 . in this case , when the engine 18 is running , pulley 20 is driven directly through the one - way clutch 60 at a 1 : 1 ratio , thereby eliminating variator and gearing efficiency losses when the electric machine only needs to be driven by the engine at engine speed . the pulley 20 could still be overdriven relative to the engine as necessary . if a one - way clutch 60 is used , the alternate driving o / d operation shown in fig3 , in which engine 18 is being driven by the pulley 20 at a speed greater than that of the electric machine is not available , and the variator speed ratio cannot be lower than 0 . 24479 for the preferred beta ratios of the planetary gearsets 14 , 16 . the drive system allows engine 18 to remain at zero speed while electric machine 24 is driving the vehicle accessories , permits the electric machine to drive the engine up to its starting speed when an engine restart is required , and allows the engine to drive both the electric machine and accessories under normal driving conditions . in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes , the preferred embodiment has been described . however , it should be noted that the alternate embodiments can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described .	1
referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first , particularly to fig1 a – 1d thereof , there is shown a sequence of process steps that are passed through on carrying out the process according to the invention . first , a photoresist 2 is produced on a substrate 1 , as shown in fig1 a . the resist film contains a polymer having acid - labile groups and a photo acid generator . in this case , the substrate 1 is , for example , a silicon wafer . the resist film 2 is produced by adding a solution of the photoresist to the substrate 1 , for example by spin - coating , and then evaporating the solvent . the resist film 2 is now exposed , an acid being liberated in the exposed parts 2 a from the photo acid generator as shown in fig1 b , while the resist film remains unchanged in the unexposed parts 2 b . this is followed by a heating step ( peb , post exposure bake ) in which the acid - labile groups of the polymer are cleaved by the liberated acid in the exposed parts 2 a . the exposed resist is then developed with an aqueous alkaline solution , for example a 2 . 38 % strength solution of tetramethylammonium hydroxide in water , the exposed parts 2 a , in which the polarity of the polymer contained in the resist is increased , being detached from the substrate 1 . as shown in fig1 c , the unexposed sections 2 b now form raised parts by which the substrate 1 is protected , whereas the exposed parts 2 a form trenches 3 in which the substrate 1 is bare . in the parts 2 b , the anchor groups are now liberated for linkage of the amplification agent , by first exposing the parts 2 b and then heating the substrate with the exposed resist sections 2 b . the acid - labile groups of the polymer are now eliminated in the resist structures 2 b too and , for example , hydroxyl groups are liberated as anchor groups . a solution of an amplification agent that has isocyanate or thiocyanate groups is then added to the surface of the substrate 1 and of the resist sections 2 b . the resist structures 2 b are swollen by the solvent so that amplification agent can penetrate and can react with the anchor groups on the polymer . incorporation of the amplification agent results in growth of the resist sections 2 b in the horizontal and vertical direction . the resist structures 2 b grow in their dimensions so that the state shown in fig1 d is reached . the layer thickness of the raised resist sections 2 b has increased and the width of the trenches 3 disposed between the raised resist sections 2 b has decreased . the resist structures 2 b include a core 2 c in which no amplification has taken place since the amplification agent could not diffuse into the interior parts of the resist structure 2 b . the core 2 c is surrounded by an amplified layer 2 d in which silicon - containing groups are linked to the polymer . the resist structure 2 d therefore has a greater layer thickness and a smaller width of the trenches 3 compared with the unamplified state shown in fig1 c . as a result of the amplified layer 2 b , which includes silicon - containing groups , the resist structures acquire increased etch resistance to a plasma , in particular an oxygen plasma . in the subsequent step , the structure of the trenches 3 is transferred by a plasma to the substrate 1 . fig2 a – 2d show the process sequence for a two - layer resist . this process variant permits the use of very thin layers of the photoresist and exact focusing of short - wave exposure radiation even when no flat surface is available on the substrate owing to the fact that electronic components have already been integrated . the substantial steps of the process correspond to the process sequence shown in fig1 . first , a bottom resist 4 which is not photosensitive and is formed , for example , from a novolak resin is applied to a substrate 1 . a thin layer of the photoresist 2 is then applied to the layer of the bottom resist 4 . the photoresist contains a polymer having acid - labile groups and a photo acid generator . the photoresist layer 2 is now exposed and developed as described in fig1 b and 1c so that a state shown in fig2 b is reached . raised sections 2 b have formed on the bottom resist 4 , between which sections trenches 3 are disposed . the solution of an amplification agent which includes silicon - containing groups is now applied to the surface of the resist structure 2 b and the bare sections of the bottom resist 4 . the resist structures 2 b are swollen by the solvent so that at the same time the amplification agent can penetrate and reacts with the anchor groups of the polymer contained in the resist . for this purpose , the polymer has isocyanate groups or thiocyanate groups and the amplification agent has a nucleophilic group , for example an amino group . there is an increase in the volume of the resist structures 2 b . the increase leads to a substantial film thickness increase . the constriction of the trenches 3 is less pronounced compared to the process shown in fig1 , owing to the smaller layer thickness of the photoresist 2 . a state shown in fig2 c is reached . amplified sections 2 d whose etch resistance to an oxygen plasma has been increased by the introduction of silicon - containing groups have formed on the bottom resist 4 . the structure of the trenches 3 is now transferred to the bottom resist 4 by using an oxygen plasma . the bottom resist 4 is removed in the sections of the trenches 3 down to the substrate 1 , so that the substrate 1 is bare in the trenches 3 , and the trenches 3 are each bounded on both sides by raised parts that are formed in their upper section from a resist amplified by silicon - containing groups and in their lower section by the material of the bottom resist 4 , as shown in fig2 d . the structure of the trenches 3 can now be etched into the substrate 1 by using a fluorine plasma ( not shown ). to detect the silylation reaction of isocyanates with primary amines , a copolymer including 82 mol % of tert - butyl methacrylate and 18 mol % of isopropenyl isocyanate is dissolved in toluene . the structure of the polymer is shown below : bisamino - oligodimethylsiloxanes are added to the solution and the reaction is monitored by infrared spectroscopy . the decrease in the isocyanate band as a function of time is shown in fig3 . the intensity plotted along the y axis corresponds in each case to the integral over the isocyanate band . the decrease in the intensity of the isocyanate band corresponds to the rate of linkage of the amplification agent to the polymer . the reaction takes place rapidly and the intensity of the isocyanate band decreases to as low as 50 % of its initial intensity within 100 seconds . the reaction therefore takes place more rapidly than a linkage to carboxylic anhydride groups , so that the process according to the invention permits shorter throughput times together with improved preservation of the resist structures . a 200 nm thick layer of the copolymer described in example 1 is produced on a substrate . a silylation solution that contains 10 % by weight of bisamino - oligodimethylsiloxane in heptane is applied to the layer of the copolymer . the amplification reaction is carried out for different reaction times and the film thickness increase of the copolymer film is then determined . after 60 seconds , a film thickness increase of 55 nm is obtained . in a second experimental series , 0 . 2 % by weight of diazabicycloundecene ( dbu ) is also added as a catalyst for the silylating solution . as a result , the film thickness increase , measured 60 seconds after addition of the silylating solution , can be increased to 75 nm . the film thickness increases obtained for the two experimental series are shown in fig4 as a function of time . a rapid increase in the film thickness at the beginning of the amplification reaction , which slows down at longer reaction times , is evident . under catalysis with dbu , greater film thickness increases can be achieved .	6
in fig1 rotor 1 is comprised of axial cam 2 , having , for example , lobes 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 , and an inner circumference of relatively axially oriented detent teeth 10 . a central aperture 11 passes through the axial extent of the rotor except for the upper part of shaft 12 , which shaft extends from the rotor on the side away from cam 2 . shaft 12 is the manual operating element , typically operable with a screw - driver . the number and placement of the cam lobes depends upon the mode of switching desired . the lobes shown in fig2 accomplish switching in a binary coded pattern . table i______________________________________ value 1 2 4 8position terminal ( 29 ) ( 30 ) ( 28 ) ( 31 ) ______________________________________1 o2 o3 o o4 o5 o o6 o o7 o o o8 o9 o o______________________________________ in table i , &# 34 ; o &# 34 ;= common ( spider 16 ) connected to the terminal indicated . in table i the ten positions of the switch , note fig8 are listed vertically in the first column . the further vertical columns list the stationary contacts . contact 29 has a binary value of &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; contact 30 has a value of &# 34 ; 2 ,&# 34 ; contact 28 has a value of &# 34 ; 4 ,&# 34 ; and contact 31 has a value of &# 34 ; 8 .&# 34 ; see fig6 for the positions of these stationary contacts . the &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; s in the table signify a closed circuit between the stationary contact involved and the common electrical connection &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; to spider 16 . the spider is electrically and mechanically connected to the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; contacts by welding or soldering extensions 17 and 18 thereof to them . the external circuit is thus completed through the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; contact terminals and the adjacent external terminal in the group of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; through &# 34 ; 8 .&# 34 ; certain binary values , such as &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; 2 ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; 4 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 8 &# 34 ; are provided by one contact being made by one , 20 through 23 , arm of the common connection &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; spider 16 , while others are provided by contact being simultaneously made by two arms , as 20 and 21 , giving &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;+&# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;=&# 34 ; 3 ;&# 34 ; &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;+&# 34 ; 4 &# 34 ;=&# 34 ; 5 ,&# 34 ; etc . seven is obtained by simultaneously contacting &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 4 .&# 34 ; another illustrative code is the &# 34 ; complement code &# 34 ;, which is the exact opposite of the above binary coded ( decimal ) structure . that is , where there is an electrical contact being made as indicated in table i , above , an electrical contact is not being made there with the complement code . also integrally a part of the one contact spring spider 16 are detent springs 25 and 26 . these are positioned opposite one another so that the pressure exerted by them is balanced with respect to the rotor , and there is no tendency toward asymmetric wear upon central aperture 11 and journal post 14 of base 15 , upon which post the rotor is rotatable . detent teeth 10 are molded into rotor 1 at an angle to the axis of the rotor of approximately 10 °, and at a smaller radius than that of axial cam 2 . detent springs 25 and 26 are bent toward these teeth . the springs each have a &# 34 ; coffee - pot - spout &# 34 ; depression at each extremity of the springs , which fits into the valleys of teeth 10 . the proportions are such that the &# 34 ; spouts &# 34 ; always slip into the valleys and the detenting is certain and precise . beryllium copper is the preferred material for spring spider 16 . lack of fatigue and lack of grain direction are factors . journal post 14 , base 15 , and rotor 1 are preferably fabricated of a glass - filled polyester , perhaps 30 % glass - filled . these parts can be fabricated to a tolerance of 0 . 01 millimeter ( mm ) and will remain in precise fit for many thousands of operations . stationary contacts 29 to 31 and both &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; contacts may be fabricated of flat phosphor bronze and are pushed into snug - fit holes in base 15 . these extend into the inner space of the base a uniform amount , to make contact with cam - follower switch arms 20 to 23 on a selective basis . in either event , a spacing portion , as 39 , extends down from the under - surface of base 15 on each stationary contact . these extensions provide stand - off positioning for the completed switch from the printed - circuit - board upon which it is typically mounted . this is usually approximately 0 . 4 mm , and is to allow solvent cleaning of soldering flux or other material from between the top of the circuit - board and the bottom of the switch . importantly , the stationary contacts extend from the base in a uniform symmetrical pattern , typically according to the universal world - wide printed - circuit - board hole spacing of 0 . 1 inch ( 2 . 54 mm ), and electively , of dip configuration . the stationary contacts are preferably gold plated upon the tops , while the switch arms are gold plated on the under sides , so that gold to gold contact is made . these contacts are also normally tin or solder plated on the portions exterior to the base to facilitate soldering connections thereto . the switch is assembled by placing spider 16 down upon journal post 14 , to rest upon shoulder 37 ( shown in fig3 ). rotor 1 is next placed upon the journal post . an &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring 33 of an inner diameter to fit snugly around shaft 12 is placed upon that shaft . switch housing 35 is a hollow rectangular parallelopiped without a bottom and with an aperture 36 in the top wall of a diameter just large enough to receive shaft 12 . the housing is typically fabricated of glass - filled polyester , as was the base . the several parts are proportioned axially so that when all are assembled , with housing 35 over and extending slightly below base 15 , &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring 33 is sufficiently compressed to seal shaft 12 with respect to aperture 36 . thereafter , epoxy resin 38 is placed upon the bottom of base 15 , and the same cured , preferably at an elevated temperature . the epoxy can be placed over the whole under - side of base 15 , or , as shown in fig1 a central rectangular &# 34 ; island &# 34 ; 32 may be cast upon base 15 , having a thickness equal to the desired thickness of the epoxy . this is approximately 1 mm for a switch of dip size . an aperture 34 is provided in the island through to the interior of the switch to allow air to escape during the epoxy sealing curing process . the aperture is subsequently sealed with room - temperature curing epoxy to provide a fully sealed switch . a diameter of 0 . 5 mm is suitable for aperture 38 . fig2 is a bottom view of the rotor , showing the axial cam and the detent teeth . the surface shaded areas 2 , 2 &# 39 ;, etc . represent the base of the axial cam , without lobes ; so that when any of the cam - follower switch arms 20 through 23 are resting upon this base area , the switch contacts are open . contrarywise , when switch arm 20 is upon cam lobe 3 , it mechanically and electrically contacts stationary contact 29 , and a binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; connection is made . at other rotary positions of rotor 1 other contacts are made , as has been set forth in table i . detent teeth 10 each have a rising portion 10 &# 39 ;, a narrow flat portion 10 &# 34 ; and a descending portion 10 &# 34 ;&# 39 ;. similarly , each cam lobe , as 3 , has a ramp up 3 &# 39 ;, the raised lobe 3 , and a ramp down 3 &# 34 ;. the lobe detail is shown in elevation in fig4 . the contact is shown in the electrically open position . cam 3 is not bearing down upon cam - follower switch arm 20 . cam - follower tab 20 &# 39 ; is seen to actually ride upon the cam surface and the lobes , as the case may be . this tab is cut from the follower on three sides and then bent substantially at right angles to it to ride upon the circumference where the lobes that actuate that follower are to be found . referring to fig1 and 6 , it is seen that each follower tab has a different radial position . fig5 is a duplicate of fig4 except that rotor 1 has moved to the right sufficiently to depress tab 20 &# 39 ; by means of axial cam 3 and so cam - follower switch arm 20 is down against contact 29 , closing the electrical circuit between common c spider 16 connection and contact 29 . the general assembly of the switch is shown in the one - quarter broken away elevation perspective view of fig3 . the various parts shown in the exploded perspective view of fig1 are shown assembled in fig3 . cam - follower switch arm is shown depressed , making mechanical and electrical contact with stationary contact 29 , although the cam lobe is absent because of the broken away view of fig3 . this embodiment of the switch is the flush type . shaft 12 is terminated at the upper surface of housing 35 . half of screw - driver slot 40 and half of indicating arrow 41 are shown on the top surface of shaft 12 . common arm 18 of the spider is shown welded to the adjacent stationary terminal c . the plan view of fig6 shows the proportions of the spider 16 and its relation to base 15 ; this being along line 6 -- 6 in fig1 . square base 15 has shoulder 37 to incrementally space the spider from the upper surface of the base . this insures certain contact of switch arms 20 through 23 to stationary contacts 28 through 31 , respectively , upon actuation downward of a switch arm by a cam lobe . cam - follower tab 20 &# 39 ; is at the largest radius from post 14 . this causes actuation thereof by outer cam lobes , such as lobe 3 . cam - follower tab 21 &# 39 ; is at a smaller radius than that of tab 20 &# 39 ; and so is actuated by cam lobes in the next inner circumference on cam 2 , such as lobe 6 . cam follower tab 23 &# 39 ; is at an even smaller radius and so is actuated by cam lobes at that even smaller radius , such as lobe 4 . cam - follower tab 22 &# 39 ; is at the smallest radius and so is actuated by cam lobes at the smallest radius , such as lobe 5 . see fig2 for the lobe radii . further in fig6 detent springs 25 and 26 , oppositely disposed , are bent upward so that the coffee - pot - spout depression at the extremity of each will engage the 10 ° angled detent teeth 10 , as was previously noted in connection with fig1 . outer dotted line 47 represents a step in the housing that locates the base assembly . fig7 is a side elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the switch . in effect , the switch is mounted with the actuating axis horizontal , rather than vertical , as in fig3 . in use , this allows edge of circuit card adjustment rather than adjustment at right angles to a circuit card , as is required for the embodiment of fig3 . square parallelopiped housing 35 &# 39 ; is the equivalent of housing 35 of fig3 and it contains the switch elements as before . mating further - housing 45 contains the six external connections 28 through 31 and the two common &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; connections . these are now longer and are bent at right angles exterior to the switch elements , to emerge as 29 &# 39 ; and 31 &# 39 ; as seen in fig7 . further - housing 45 is raised where the connections emerge to allow flux , etc to be cleaned away , as before . shaft 46 of fig7 is merely an extension of shaft 12 of fig1 . typically it is formed integrally to shaft 12 . fig8 is a front elevation view of the embodiment of fig7 . it is also a front elevation view of the embodiment of fig1 save for the addition of a screw - driver slot 40 , as seen in fig3 . in either embodiment shaft 12 or 46 has arrow indicator 41 . shaft 46 can be substituted for shaft 12 in fig1 and 3 , to give finger rather than screw - driver adjustment . typically , numerals &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; through &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; are arranged radially around the rotor shaft ; preferably by being molded in the the housing , either raised or depressed . these correspond to the numerals in table i .	7
fig1 schematically illustrates a cross - section of a right - angular plunger pump fluid end 10 of the present invention . fluid end assembly composes a fluid end housing 15 with a central fluid chamber 1 which has a discharge fluid chamber 2 and a suction chamber 3 , wherein discharge fluid chamber 2 contains a discharge valve and seat assembly 20 . said discharge valve and seat assembly includes discharge seat 21 , discharge valve 22 , discharge spring 23 , and discharge cover guide 25 . similarly suction fluid chamber 3 contains a suction valve and seat assembly 30 composed of suction seat 31 , suction valve 32 , suction spring 33 , and suction spring retainer guide 35 . discharge chamber 2 centerline 12 is collinear with suction chamber centerline 13 in the first embodiment . central fluid chamber 1 also contains a plunger bore 40 and associated plunger 41 ; plunger bore 40 and plunger 41 are concentric to plunger centerline 14 . additionally fig1 illustrates discharge fluid chamber 2 which is connected to adjacent discharge fluid chambers 102 , 202 and any additional fluid chambers by dual port discharge manifolds 60 and 70 spaced on opposite sides of fluid chamber 2 . discharge manifold 60 is proximal to the pump power end and discharge manifold 70 is distal to the pump power end . adjacent discharge fluid chambers 102 and 202 are illustrated in fig1 b , 12 c , and 12 d . centerlines of dual port discharge manifolds 60 and 70 are perpendicular to the axis of the plunger bore 40 and parallel to the plane formed by the respective centerlines of all the plungers in fluid end 10 . fig1 a schematically illustrates cross sectional view of fluid end housing 15 of fluid end assembly 10 of fig1 . fluid end housing 15 comprises distal discharge manifold port 70 , proximal discharge manifold port 60 , central fluid chamber 1 , discharge fluid chamber 2 , suction fluid chamber 3 , and plunger bore 40 , defined by plunger bore centerline 14 . fig1 b , 12 c , and 12 d illustrate discharge fluid chambers 2 , 102 , and 202 and adjacent plunger bores 40 , 140 , and 240 respectfully of a multi - plunger pump arranged in a plane defined by plunger bore centerlines 14 , 114 , and 214 respectfully . said plane is collinear with the plane defined by the pump power end crankshaft and crossheads . said adjacent plunger bores contain adjacent plungers 141 and 242 ( not shown .) fig1 b schematically illustrates top sectional view of first embodiment of this invention in which fluid end block 15 is fitted with a distal discharge manifold port 60 and a proximal discharge manifold port 70 . each port being blind bored from opposite sides 18 and 19 of fluid end block 15 . distal port 60 and proximal port 70 each have a connection 61 and 71 respectfully at the exit of the respective ports 60 and 70 to connect the discharge flow of the pump to external piping . connections 61 and 71 can be a threaded type connection as shown or the connection maybe a bolt - on flange type connection , not shown . flange connections typical have male or female weco style union connections for connecting downstream piping . fig1 c schematically illustrates top sectional view a second embodiment of this invention in which fluid end block 16 is fitted with a distal port 80 and a proximal port 90 . each port being through bored into fluid end block 16 . distal port 80 has dual connections 81 and 82 on opposite sides 18 and 19 of fluid end housing to connect the discharge flow to external piping . similarly proximal port 90 has dual connections 91 and 92 on opposite sides 18 and 19 of fluid end housing to connect the discharge flow to external piping . fig1 d schematically illustrates top sectional view of third embodiment of this invention in which fluid end block 17 is fitted with a distal port 60 and a proximal port 50 . each port being blind bored from the same side of fluid end block 17 ; either side 18 or 19 . illustrated in this figure , distal port 60 and proximal port 50 each have a connection 61 and 51 respectfully on side 18 of the fluid end housing 17 at the exit of the respective ports 60 and 50 to connect the discharge flow to external piping . fig1 schematically illustrates an fourth embodiment of the cross - section of a right - angular plunger pump fluid end 10 ′ of the present invention . fluid end assembly composes a fluid end housing 15 ′ with a central fluid chamber 1 ′ which has a discharge fluid chamber 2 ′ and a suction chamber 3 , wherein discharge fluid chamber 2 ′ contains a discharge valve and seat assembly 20 . said discharge valve and seat assembly includes discharge seat 21 , discharge valve 22 , discharge spring 23 , and discharge cover guide 25 . similarly suction fluid chamber 3 contains a suction valve and seat assembly 30 composed of suction seat 31 , suction valve 32 , suction spring 33 , and suction spring retainer guide 35 . central fluid chamber 1 also contains a plunger bore 40 and associated plunger 41 ; plunger bore 40 and plunger 41 are concentric to plunger centerline 14 . discharge fluid chamber 2 ′ illustrated in fig1 is connected to adjacent discharge fluid chambers 102 ′, 202 ′ ( not shown ) and any additional fluid chambers by dual port discharge manifolds 60 ′ and 70 ′ spaced on opposite sides of fluid chamber 2 ′. discharge manifold 60 ′ is proximal to the pump power end and discharge manifold 70 ′ is distal to the pump power end . centerlines of dual port discharge manifolds 60 ′ and 70 ′ are perpendicular to the axis of plunger bore 40 and parallel to the plane formed by the centerlines 14 , 114 , and 214 of the plunger bores 40 , 140 , 240 , and any additional plunger bores respectfully in fluid end 10 ′. discharge fluid chamber 2 ′, discharge valve and seat assembly 20 , and discharge chamber centerline 12 ′ is offset from suction chamber 3 and suction chamber centerline 13 ; said offset in a direction distal from the pump power end . discharge chamber centerline 12 ′ is coplanar with suction chamber centerline 13 of the first embodiment , said plane being defined by suction chamber centerline 13 and plunger bore centerline 14 . although the present invention has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	5
fig1 is a schematic view of a prior art fluidic system of the type used in the above referenced u . s . ser . no . 11 / 688 , 863 . the operation of the system and its individual components are described in detail in u . s . ser . no . 11 / 872 , 719 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . briefly , the printer fluidic system has a printhead assembly 2 supplied with ink from an ink tank 4 via an upstream ink line 8 and waste ink is drained to a sump 18 via a downstream ink line 16 . a single ink line is shown for simplicity . in reality , the printhead has multiple ink lines for full colour printing . the upstream ink line 8 has a shut off valve 10 for selectively isolating the printhead assembly 2 from the pump 12 and or the ink tank 4 . the pump 12 is used to actively prime or flood the printhead assembly 2 . the pump 12 is also used to establish a negative pressure in the ink tank 4 . during printing , the negative pressure is maintained by the bubble point regulator 6 . the printhead assembly 2 is an lcp ( liquid crystal polymer ) molding 20 supporting a series of printhead ics 30 secured with an adhesive die attach film ( not shown ). the printhead ics 30 have an array of ink ejection nozzles for ejecting drops of ink onto the passing media substrate 22 . the nozzles are mems ( micro electromechanical ) structures printing at true 1600 dpi resolution ( that is , a nozzle pitch of 1600 npi ), or greater . the fabrication and structure of suitable printhead ic &# 39 ; s 30 are described in detail in u . s . ser . no . 11 / 246 , 687 the contents of which are incorporated by reference . the lcp molding 20 has a main channel 24 extending between the inlet 36 and the outlet 38 . the main channel 24 feeds a series of fine channels 28 extending to the underside of the lcp molding 20 . the fine channels 28 supply ink to the printhead ics 30 through laser ablated holes in the die attach film . above the main channel 24 is a series of non - priming air cavities 26 . these cavities 26 are designed to trap a pocket of air during printhead priming . the air pockets give the system some compliance to absorb and damp pressure spikes or hydraulic shocks in the ink . the printers are high speed pagewidth printers with a large number of nozzles firing rapidly . this consumes ink at a fast rate and suddenly ending a print job , or even just the end of a page , means that a column of ink moving towards ( and through ) the printhead assembly 2 must be brought to rest almost instantaneously . without the compliance provided by the air cavities 26 , the momentum of the ink would flood the nozzles in the printhead ics 30 . furthermore , the subsequent ‘ reflected wave ’ can generate a negative pressure strong enough to deprime the nozzles . in the majority of cases , the air cavities 26 offer sufficient damping . however , the printhead can operate in modes that excite the ink to one of the resonant frequencies of the ink line . for example , printing black lines across a page at a particular spacing ( for a table , bar code or the like ) requires all the black nozzles to fire simultaneously for brief periods . this cyclic input to the ink line can quickly establish a standing wave oscillating at a resonant frequency . the peak to peak pressures of these standing waves can overwhelm the damping provided by the air cavities 26 and flood or deprime the nozzles . the volume of the air cavities would need to be greatly increased in order to accommodate the peak pressures of the standing waves . fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c , show the three lowest harmonics for printhead assembly shown in fig1 . it should be noted that the main channel responds as if it is a blind end even though it has the outlet 38 . because it is a closed end , the main channel resonates with a quarter wave harmonic , a three quarter wave harmonic , a 1 . 25 wave harmonic and so on . an open end would resonate at 0 . 5 wave , full wave , 1 . 5 wave and so on . the lowest harmonics have the highest amplitude standing waves and therefore , are the most problematic . if these harmonics occur at frequencies at which the printhead can operate , there is the potential for pressure pulses above the flooding threshold and below the deprime threshold . nozzle flooding or deprime occurs when the ink pressure exceeds the laplace pressure of the ink meniscus across the nozzle aperture . obviously , this will depend on nozzle geometry ( as well as other factors such as operating temperature ). fig2 a is the lowest frequency harmonic ; the quarter wave , in which the length l of the lcp main channel is one quarter the wavelength . testing on some of the applicant &# 39 ; s a4 printers has shown this to occur at about 12 hz and has a peak amplitude of about 9 kpa . the next harmonic is the 0 . 75 wave shown in fig2 b . it has a lower amplitude ( approx . 5 kpa ) and occurs at 36 hz . finally , the 1 . 25 wave is shown in fig2 c which has an amplitude of about 2 kpa at 60 hz . as the frequency of the harmonic increases , the amplitude of the wave rapidly attenuates . hence the higher frequency harmonics have peak pressures small enough for the non - priming air cavities to damp . fig3 a shows these pressure peaks as function of frequency . if the deprime and flood thresholds are set at , say , − 3 kpa and 4 kpa respectively , it can be seen that the quarter wave and three quarter wave harmonics have peak pressures that will be problematic for printer operation . however , incorporating a damper that resonates at the quarter wave frequency does not solve the problem . fig3 b shows the change in the frequency response curves when a fluidic damper tuned to the quarter wave is added to the end of the main channel 24 ( see fig1 ). essentially the main channel now responds as if it were an open channel and the half wave , full wave etc harmonics become relevant . one or more of these harmonics may also generate excessive peak pressures . fig3 c shows the frequency response when the fluidic damper is tuned to a frequency between the quarter and half wave harmonics . this attenuates both the quarter and half wave harmonics . the applicant has found that the optimum resonant frequency for the fluidic damper is approximately the root mean square of the quarter wave frequency and the half wave frequency ; that is , the square root of the product of the quarter wave resonant frequency and the half wave resonant frequency . in reality , it is necessary to test several frequencies around the root mean square frequency to find to the optimum resonant frequency for the fluidic damper . irregularities such as ink filters , bends and elasticity in the ink supply line and so on shift the actual pressure response curves from the theoretical curves . fig4 is a schematic representation of the printhead assembly 2 according to the present invention . the lcp molding 20 has a fluidic damper 40 that resonates at a frequency selected to attenuate potentially problematic standing waves at any of the resonant frequencies of the main channel 24 . the fluidic damper 40 has a thin tube 32 filled with ink connecting the main channel 24 to a small cavity of compressible fluid 34 — most typically air . the thin tube of ink has an inertance proportional to its length , cross sectional area and density of the ink . the air cavity is a compliance against which the ink in the thin tube 32 can oscillate . in the printhead assembly shown , the fluidic damper is tuned to a frequency at or near the root mean square of the quarter wave and the half wave resonant frequency of the main channel 24 in the lcp molding 20 . as discussed above , the impedance provided by the damper at the quarter and half wave harmonics is sufficient to keep both of them less than the predetermined pressure threshold . positioning the fluidic damper 40 adjacent the outlet 38 of the main channel 24 is most effective as it transmits the majority of the standing wave and the reflected wave is small . the invention will now be described with reference to the applicant &# 39 ; s printhead cartridge and print engine shown in fig5 and 6 . a printhead cartridge recognizes that individual ink ejection nozzles may fail over time and eventually there are enough dead nozzles to cause artifacts in the printed image . allowing the user to replace the printhead maintains the print quality without requiring the entire printer to be replaced . the print engine 3 is the mechanical heart of a printer which can have many different external casing shapes , ink tank locations and capacities , as well as different media feed and collection trays . fig5 shows a printhead cartridge 2 installed in a print engine 3 . the printhead cartridge 2 is inserted and removed by the user lifting and lowering the latch 126 . the print engine 3 forms an electrical connection with contacts on the printhead cartridge 2 and fluid couplings 120 are formed at the inlet and outlet manifolds , 48 and 50 respectively . fig6 shows the print engine 3 with the printhead cartridge removed to reveal the apertures 122 in the fluid couplings 120 . the apertures 122 engage spouts on the inlet and outlet manifolds ( 48 and 50 of fig5 ). the fluid couplings 120 connect the inlet manifold to an ink tank , and the outlet manifold to a sump . as discussed above , the ink tanks , media feed and collection trays have an arbitrary position and configuration relative to the print engine 3 depending on the design of the printer &# 39 ; s outer casing . fig7 shows the printhead assembly 2 as a printhead cartridge for user insertion and removal from the printer body ( see fig6 ). the printhead cartridge 2 has a top molding 44 and a removable protective cover 42 . the top molding 44 has a central web for structural stiffness and to provide textured grip surfaces 58 for manipulating the cartridge during insertion and removal . the base portion of the protective cover 42 protects the printhead ics ( not shown ) and line of contacts ( not shown ) prior to installation in the printer . caps 56 are integrally formed with the base portion and cover the ink inlets and outlets ( see 54 and 52 of fig9 ). fig8 shows the printhead assembly 2 with its protective cover 42 removed to expose the printhead ics on the bottom surface and the line of contacts 33 on the side surface . the protective cover is discarded to the recycling waste or fitted to the printhead cartridge being replaced to contain leakage from residual ink . fig9 is a partially exploded perspective of the printhead assembly 2 . the top cover 44 has been removed reveal the inlet manifold 48 and the outlet manifold 50 . the inlet and outlet shrouds 46 and 47 have been removed to better expose the five inlet and outlet conduits , 52 and 54 respectively . the inlet and outlet manifolds 48 and 50 form a fluid connection between each of the individual inlets and outlets and the corresponding main channel 24 ( see fig1 ) in the lcp molding 20 . as discussed above , the main channels extend beneath the line of non - priming air cavities 26 . fig1 is an exploded perspective of the printhead assembly without the inlet or outlet manifolds or the top cover molding . the main channels 24 for each ink color and their associated air cavities 26 are formed in the channel molding 68 and the cavity molding 72 . adhered to the bottom of the channel molding 68 is a die attach film 66 . as discussed above in relation to fig1 , the die attach film 66 mounts the printhead ics 30 to the channel molding such that the fine channels on the underside of the are in fluid communication with the printhead ics 30 via small laser ablated holes through the film . flex pcb 70 is adhered to the side of the air cavity molding 72 and wraps around to the underside of the channel molding 68 . the printer controller connects to the lines of contacts 33 . at the other side of the flex pcb 70 is a line of wire bonds 64 to electrically connect the conductors in the flex 70 to each of the printhead ics 30 . the wire bonds 64 are covered in encapsulant 62 which is profiled to have a predominantly flat outer surface . on the other side of the air cavity molding 72 is a paper guide 74 to direct sheets of media substrate past the printhead ics at a predetermined spacing . fig1 a , 1 b and 1 c show the outlet manifold 50 detached from the rest of the printhead cartridge . interface plate 76 has outlet spouts 54 for connection to the ink sump housed in the printer body . the coupling 60 connects to each of the main channels 24 in the channel molding 68 ( see fig1 ). as shown in fig1 b and 11c , the inner side of the interface plate 76 supports the thin inks tubes 32 and the air cavities 34 for the respective main channels . the ink line outlets 38 connect to the thin tubes 32 immediately before the air cavities 34 . the air cavities 34 and the thin tubes 32 are sealed from each other with the heat sealable foil 78 applied to the back of the outlet manifold 50 . the foil 78 is heat sealed around the entire perimeter of the five air cavities and ink tubes as it is essential that they are completely sealed from each other . to ensure the seal is not compromised during use , the heat seal resists internal pressure to 100 kpa . when the printhead assembly primes , the ink flows through the thin tube 32 as far the outlet 38 only . the length of the ink column in the thin tube , the diameter of the tube and the properties of the ink determine an inertance for the ink in the tube . the inertance is equates to the dash - pot in the equivalent mechanical damper and the inductor in an electrical damper . the volume of the air cavity is relatively small ; less than 0 . 4 ml , and typically between 0 . 15 ml and 0 . 3 ml . this provides to the spring in a mechanical damper or the capacitor in the corresponding electrical circuit . as the main channels 24 of the channel molding 68 have slightly different configurations , the resonant frequencies are likewise different . accordingly , the fluidic dampers for each main channel 24 are tuned to resonate at different frequencies for optimum damping of each ink line . the invention has been described herein by way of example only . skilled workers in this field will readily recognize many variations and modifications that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the broad inventive concept .	1
we have found that the secondary amide nitrogen between every pair of monomers of a bis - peptide is an ideal location for incorporating additional chemical functionality . utilizing this position , it is possible to incorporate functionality late in the mono mer synthesis or even on a solid support during assembly of the bis - peptide . for example , a primary amine group can be alkylated with an alkyl halide or the like or reacted with various aldehydes in a reductive amination to introduce the desired functional group and then , in principle , the oligomer or polymer further extended by reaction with another amino acid . however , this synthetic approach does not work well in practice , as the resulting secondary amine is no longer sufficiently nucleophilic to undergo acylation with the next amino acid . we have now discovered that this problem can be solved by introducing a free carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary ( hindered ) amine group . the carboxylic acid group apparently facilitates acylation of the secondary amine group under relative mild conditions , perhaps due to participation by this neighboring group . this result was unexpected , in that a secondary amine group alpha to a carboxylic acid alkyl ester ( e . g ., — co 2 ch 3 ) reacts sluggishly , if at all , with amino acids , especially hindered amino acids . the invention provides a unique class of functionalized dimeric , oligomeric and polymeric compounds ( functionalized bis - peptides ) built from a collection of building blocks ( bis - amino acids ) which may be assembled in different sequences and in different lengths . each building block can display a functional group , although non - functionalized building blocks can also be introduced ( as spacer repeating units , for example ). the functional groups are pendant to the backbone of the bis - peptide , i . e ., they extend out or away from the bis - peptide backbone ( sometimes also referred to as the bis - peptide scaffold ) and thus can be available for interaction with other molecules or chemical species ( e . g ., complexation , reaction , binding ). in one aspect of the invention , the functional group is attached to a nitrogen atom . the invention provides any sequence of bis - amino acid building blocks connected through pairs of amide bonds to create bis - peptides , wherein at least one bis - amino acid building block in the bis - peptide molecule carries a functional group . in one aspect of the invention , a plurality of bis - amino acids in the bis - peptide molecule carry functional groups , wherein functional groups of at least two different types are present in the bis - peptide . in another aspect of the invention , the functional group is attached to a nitrogen atom that is part of a diketopiperazine ring structure in the bis - peptide . such functionalized nitrogen atoms thus can have a tertiary amide structure . the functional groups may be introduced using different approaches , including a submonomer approach ( where an amine group is functionalized during synthesis of the bis - peptide ) as well as an approach where building blocks with the functionality already installed are utilized . in one embodiment , the bis - peptides of the invention are spiroladder macromolecules ( oligomers , polymers ) having no rotatable bonds in their backbones . the present invention provides methods for the introduction of a very wide variety of such functional groups in bis - peptides , including , for example , aromatic - containing groups ( e . g ., phenyl , benzyl , p - cresol , 1 - methoxy - benzene , naphthyl , imidazole , 4 - methyl - phenol , 1 - methoxy - 4 - methyl - benzene , 2 - pyrene , 1 - methylimidazole , indole , 2 - pyridine , 3 - pyridine , triazole , imidazole ), carboxylic acid - containing groups ( e . g ., ethanoic acid , acetic acid , propionoic acid ), ester - containing groups ( e . g ., methyl formate , methyl acetate ), amide - containing groups ( e . g ., ethanoamide , propionamide ), hydroxamic acid - containing groups ( e . g ., carboxhydroxamide , ethanohydroxamide , propionhydroxamide ), amine - containing groups ( e . g ., amine , methanamine , ethanamine , propanamine , n , n - dimethylmethanamine , methyl - guanidine , ethyl - guanidine , propyl - guanidine , dimethylamine , n , n , n - trimethylmethanamine , methylamine , methyl - thiourea , ethyl - thiourea , 1 -( 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl )- 3 - ethylthiourea , or 1 -( 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl )- 3 - ethylurea ), azido - containing groups ( e . g ., methyl - azide , azide ), aliphatic - containing groups ( e . g ., isopropyl , isobutyl , isopentyl , ethyl , methyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , 1 - methyl - propyl ), hydroxyl - or sulfuhydryl - containing groups ( e . g ., hydroxyl , methyl - hydroxyl , thiol , methyl - thiol ), ether - or thioether - containing groups ( e . g ., methyl - ether , ethyl - ether , methyl - thioether , ethyl - thioether ), alkenyl or alkynyl groups ( e . g ., ethene , allyl , ethyne , propargyl ), nucleobase - containing groups ( e . g ., guanine , adenine , cytosine , thymine ). in one aspect of the invention , at least one of the aforementioned functional groups is attached to a carbon atom which in turn is connected to a nitrogen atom , in particular a nitrogen atom that is part of a diketopiperazine moiety contained within the bis - peptide . for example , one of the nitrogen atoms in a diketopiperazine moiety of the bis - peptide may bear a group — chr 1 r 2 , wherein r 1 and r 2 may be the same or different and may be hydrogen (— h ) or one of the aforementioned functional groups . the functional groups may be hydrocarbyl groups ( i . e ., groups containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms ) or substituted hydrocarbyl groups ( i . e ., groups containing one or more atoms other than carbon and hydrogen atoms , such as oxygen , sulfur , nitrogen and / or halogen atoms ). the functional group may be neutral , acidic or basic and may be ionic in character ( e . g ., a salt ). the preceding list of r1 and r2 groups is exemplary . additional exemplary r1 and r2 groups may include hydrogen or any of the following : ar , ( c1 - c6 )- straight or branched alkyl , ( c2 - c6 )- straight or branched alkenyl or alkynyl , ( c5 - c7 )- cycloalkyl substituted ( c1 - c6 )- straight or branched alkyl , ( c5 - c7 )- cycloalkyl substituted ( c3 - c6 )- straight or branched alkenyl or alkynyl , ( c5 - c7 )- cycloalkenyl substituted ( c1 - c6 )- straight or branched alkyl , ( c5 - c7 )- cycloalkenyl substituted ( c3 - c6 )- straight or branched alkenyl or alkynyl , ar - substituted ( c1 - c6 )- straight or branched alkyl , ar - substituted ( c3 - c6 )- straight or branched alkenyl or alkynyl ; wherein any one of the ch 2 groups of said alkyl chains is optionally replaced by a heteroatom selected from the group consisting of o , s , so , so 2 , and nr ; wherein r is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , ( c1 - c4 )- straight or branched alkyl , ( c3 - c4 )- straight or branched alkenyl or alkynyl , and ( c1 - c4 ) bridging alkyl wherein a bridge is formed between the nitrogen and a carbon atom of said heteroatom - containing chain to form a ring , and wherein said ring is optionally fused to an ar group ; wherein ar is a carbocyclic aromatic group selected from the group consisting of phenyl , 1 - naphthyl , 2 - naphthyl , indenyl , azulenyl , fluorenyl , and anthracenyl ; or a heterocyclic aromatic group selected from the group consisting of 2 - furyl , 3 - furyl , 2 - thienyl , 3 - thienyl , 2 - pyridyl , 3 - pyridyl , 4 - pyridyl , pyrrolyl , oxazolyl , thiazolyl , imidazolyl , pyraxolyl , 2 - pyrazolinyl , pyrazolidinyl , isoxazolyl , isotriazolyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazolyl , pyridazinyl , pyrimidinyl , pyrazinyl , 1 , 3 , 5 - triazinyl , 1 , 3 , 5 - trithianyl , indolizinyl , indolyl , isoindolyl , 3h - indolyl , indolinyl , benzo [ b ] furanyl , benzo [ b ] thiophenyl , 1h - indazolyl , benzimidazolyl , benzthiazolyl , purinyl , 4h - quinolizinyl , quinolinyl , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetrahydroquinolinyl , isoquinolinyl , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetrahydroisoquinolinyl , cinnolinyl , phthalazinyl , quinazolinyl , quinoxalinyl , 1 , 8 - naphthyridinyl , pteridinyl , carbazolyl , acridinyl , phenazinyl , phenothiazinyl , and phenoxazinyl ; wherein ar is optionally substituted with one or more substituents which are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , halogen , hydroxyl , nitro , — so 3 h , trifluoromethyl , trifluoromethoxy , ( c1 - c6 )- straight or branched alkyl , ( c2 - c6 )- straight or branched alkenyl , — o —[( c1 - c6 )- straight or branched alkyl ], o —[( c3 - c4 )- straight or branched alkenyl ], — o - benzyl , — o - phenyl , 1 , 2 - methylenedioxy , — nr 5 r 6 , carboxyl , — n —( c1 - c5 - straight or branched alkyl or c3 - c5 - straight or branched alkenyl ) carboxamides , - n , n - di -( c1 - c5 - straight or branched alkyl or c3 - c5 - straight or branched alkenyl ) carboxamides , morpholinyl , piperidinyl , — o - m , — ch 2 —( ch 2 ) q - m , — o —( ch 2 ) q - m , —( ch 2 ) q — o - m , and — ch ═ ch - m ; wherein r 5 and r 6 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , ( c1 - c6 )- straight or branched alkyl , ( c3 - c6 )- straight or branched alkenyl or alkynyl and benzyl ; wherein m is selected from the group consisting of 4 - methoxyphenyl , 2 - pyridyl , 3 - pyridyl , 4 - pyridyl , pyrazyl , quinolyl , 3 , 5 - dimethylisoxazoyl , 2 - methylthiazoyl , thiazoyl , 2 - thienyl , 3 - thienyl and pyrimidyl ; and q is 0 - 2 . r 1 and r 2 may also be linked to each other to form a ring , such as a hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl ring ( e . g ., cyclohexyl , cyclopentyl ). one or both of the end groups of the bis - peptide may contain a diketopiperazine ring in which a carbon atom in the diketopiperazine ring of the end group bears at least one pendant functional group other than hydrogen . this pendant functional group may be any of the types of functional groups previously mentioned . the stereochemistry of the ring carbon atom to which the functional group or functional groups is or are attached may be selected and controlled as may be desired , e . g ., ( s ) or ( r ). the functional group at this position may be utilized to introduce a label , such as a fluorescent label ( a functional group capable of fluorescing , i . e ., a fluorescent tracer such as fluorescein ) into the bis - peptide molecule . the functionalized bis - peptides of the present invention include a large collection of compounds created by a novel synthetic process described herein . like proteins , these compounds position one or more functional groups in precise arrangements in three - dimensional space relative to the backbone . for example , the functionalized bis - peptide may position an imidazole and a base and allow the stereoselective acylation of inexpensive racemic alcohols to create a separable mixture of one stereochemically pure alcohol and one stereochemically pure ester . another functionalized bis - peptide may present three hydrophobic groups in an arrangement that mimics one face of an alpha helix , disrupts the p53 / hdm2 interaction and cause cancer cells to commit apoptosis ( cell suicide ). the invention allows the placement of a variety of chemical functionality on a rigidified macromolecular scaffold . the novel features of the invention include the conformational rigidity of the scaffold , achieved by connecting the molecular building blocks through pairs of amide bonds as well as by incorporating functional groups onto the monomers that , prior to this invention , rendered the building blocks completely inert and terminated the synthesis . with functionalized bis - peptides , because of their fused - ring structure , one can know precisely where functional groups will appear in three - dimensional space . because the sequence of building blocks within the bis - peptide can be specified , it is possible to control the position of functional groups in space . conformational rigidity of the macromolecule allows preorganization of the functional groups , thus enhancing their ability to carry out their unique function . the invention also provides methods for making such compounds . the methods allow the user to incorporate the functional groups onto the building blocks and assemble them into the functionalized bis - peptides . the inventors are unaware of any other practical way of achieving this objective . without wishing to be bound by theory , the acylation of the functionalized secondary amine may occur by the activation of a free carboxylic acid to an anhydride alpha to the hindered amine , followed by a novel rearrangement that transfers the acyl group to the amine . the methods of this invention allow the creation of highly hindered tertiary amides in peptides and highly substituted diketopiperazines that are very difficult to synthesize by other means . hindered amide bonds and highly substituted diketopiperazines are valuable as motifs in drug synthesis . thus , in accordance with the invention , a hindered amide is obtained by acylating a hindered amine , wherein the hindered amine has a secondary amine group and a carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary amine group and is reacted with an acyl compound containing an activated acyl group . fig1 illustrates this type of reaction , where r is a substituent other than hydrogen such as a hydrocarbyl group , substituted hydrocarbyl group , or protecting group and z is an activating group such as f , oat or the like . substituent r may form part of a ring structure including the nitrogen atom of the secondary amine group and the carbon atom to which the free carboxylic acid group is attached ( c 1 in fig1 ). in one embodiment , the hindered amine bears at least one substituent other than hydrogen and the carboxylic acid group on the carbon atom to which both the secondary amine group and the carboxylic acid group are attached ( c 1 in fig1 ). such substituent ( s ) can be any of the functional groups previously described . in one embodiment , the acyl compound is also hindered . for example , the carbon atom adjacent to the c ═ o group in the acyl compound ( c 2 in fig1 ) can be substituted with two or more functional groups other than hydrogen , with any of the functional groups previously described being suitable for such purpose ( e . g ., hydrocarbyl groups and / or substituted hydrocarbyl groups ). in one aspect of the invention , the acyl compound bears an amine group and at least one substituent other than hydrogen ( e . g ., one of the functional groups previously described ) on the carbon atom adjacent to the acyl group . this amine group can be a secondary amine group , wherein the nitrogen atom bears , in addition to a hydrogen atom , a functional group ( which can be any of the functional groups previously described ) or to a protecting group ( i . e ., a group capable of being removed and replaced by a hydrogen atom following a reaction of the acyl compound in which the protected amine group does not participate , e . g ., an fmoc group , a t - boc group , a cbz group or the like ). the secondary amine group may , for example , bear a functional group having structure — ch ( r 1 )( r 2 ) in which r 1 and r 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , hydrocarbyl , and substituted hydrocarbyl groups . the activated acyl group can be any derivative of a carboxyl group that is more susceptible to nucleophilic attack ( specifically , to attack by a secondary amine ) than a free carboxylic acid group or a methyl ester group . illustrative examples of suitable activated acyl groups include acid fluorides , at esters , bt esters , n - hydroxysuccinimide esters , pentafluorophenyl esters , o - acyl - ureas and the like . any of the coupling agents known in the art of peptide coupling can be used to introduce an activated acyl group into the acyl compound ( e . g ., by conversion of a free carboxylic acid group ) including , for example , hatu ( 2 -( 1h - 7 - azabenzotriazol - 1 - yl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl uronium hexafluorophosphate ), bop ( benzotriazol - 1 - yl - oxy - tris ( dimethylamino ) phosphonium hexafluorophosphate ), pybop ( 1h - 1 , 2 , 3 - benzotriazol - 1 - yloxy )- tris ( pyrrolidino )- phosphonium hexafluorophosphate ), hbtu ( o - benzotriazole - n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethyl uronium hexafluorophosphate ), n - hydroxybenzotriazole ( hobt ), o -( 1h - benzotriazole - 1 - yl )- n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate ( tbtu ), dcc ( dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ), dic ( diisopropylcarbodiimide ), chloro - n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethylformamidinium hexafluorophosphate or the like . uronium and phosphonium salts of non - nucleophilic anions such as tetrafluoroborate or hexafluorophosphate are particularly useful . in one embodiment , an onium coupling agent is employed . in one aspect of the invention , which is useful in the construction of bis - peptides , the acyl compound bears an amine group ( which can be a secondary or protected amine group ) alpha to the activated acyl group and the initial acylation yields an amide intermediate which undergoes dehydration and ring closure involving the amine group of the acyl compound and the carboxylic acid group of the hindered amine to form a diketopiperazine ring . the dehydration may be facilitated by the use of a dehydrating agent such as a diimide ( e . g ., diisopropylcarbodiimide , also known as dic ). this type of reaction is illustrated in fig2 , where r 1 and r 2 are the same or different and are independently selected from hydrocarbyl groups , substituted hydrocarbyl groups and protecting groups and a has the same meaning as in fig1 . one or both of r 1 and r 2 may form part of a ring structure which also includes the nitrogen atom of a secondary amine group and the carbon atom adjacent to that secondary amine group marked in fig2 as c 1 or c 2 . in one embodiment of the invention , a functionalized bis - peptide is sequentially assembled in accordance with the following general procedure . a first building block ( which can be attached to a resin or other solid support , if so desired ) is selected which contains both a secondary amine group ( where the amine nitrogen may be part of a ring structure , for example ) and a free carboxylic acid group alpha to that secondary amine group ( for example , the free carboxylic acid group may be attached to a carbon atom adjacent to the amine nitrogen atom , where the carbon atom is part of the same ring structure as the amine nitrogen atom ). this first building block is reacted with a second building block which contains a secondary amine group bearing a pendant functional group and an activated acyl group ( e . g ., an at ester ) alpha to the secondary amine group as well as a protected amine group ( e . g ., ncbz ) and a protected carboxylic acid group ( e . g ., — co 2 - tbu ) alpha to the protected amine group . this reaction yields a bis - peptide containing a diketopiperazine ring formed by the interaction of the secondary amine group and free carboxylic acid group of the first building block with the secondary amine group and activated acyl group of the second building block , with the protected amine group and protected carboxylic acid group of the second building block remaining intact in the bis - peptide . these protecting groups are then removed to provide a secondary amine group and a free carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary amine group , which are subsequently reacted similarly with a third building block which contains a secondary amine group bearing a pendant functional group ( which can be different from the functional group in the second building block ) and an activated acyl group alpha to the secondary amine group as well as a protected amine group and a protected carboxylic acid group alpha to the protected amine group . similar cycles of reaction , deprotection and reaction with further building blocks as may be repeated as desired to increase the length of the bis - peptide macromolecule and introduce different functional groups along the backbone . the stereochemistry and structure of the individual building blocks may be selected so as to vary and control the three - dimensional shape of the bis - peptide . the bis - peptide may be end - capped with various compounds to introduce further functionality at the terminus . for example , the secondary amine group and free carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary amine group at the bis - peptide terminus can be reacted with a functionalized mono - amino acid to form a diketopiperazine ring at the terminus bearing a functional group attached to a carbon atom of the diketopiperazine ring . in another embodiment of the invention , a functionalized bis - peptide is sequentially assembled in accordance with the following general procedure . a first building block ( which can be attached to a resin or other solid support , if so desired ) is selected which contains both a protected primary amine group ( having the structure — nhpr , for example , where pr is a protecting group such as fmoc ) and a protected carboxylic acid group alpha to that protected primary amine group ( for example , the protected carboxylic acid group may be a — c (═ o ) odmab group ). the protected primary amine group is deprotected to provide a primary amine group , which is then functionalized using reductive amination ( reaction with an aldehyde or ketone ) or alkylation ( reaction with an alkyl halide , for example ) to convert the primary amine group to a secondary amine group bearing a functional group . the protected carboxylic acid group is then converted to an activated acyl group ( for example , by deprotection of the carboxylic acid group and reaction of the resulting free carboxylic acid with a peptide coupling agent ). this product is reacted with a second building block which contains a secondary amine group ( which can be part of a ring structure , for example ) and a free carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary amine group as well as a protected primary amine group ( e . g ., nhfmoc ) and a protected carboxylic acid group ( e . g ., — co 2 - dmab ) alpha to the protected primary amine group . this reaction yields a bis - peptide containing a diketopiperazine ring formed by the interaction of the functionalized secondary amine group and activated acyl group of the first building block with the secondary amine group and free carboxylic acid group of the second building block , with the protected primary amine group and protected carboxylic acid group of the second building block remaining intact in the bis - peptide . the protecting group on the protected primary amine group is then removed to provide a primary amine group , which is thereafter functionalized to introduce a functional group onto the nitrogen atom which is the same as or different from the first functional group incorporated into the bis - peptide . the protected carboxylic acid group is then deprotected to provide a free carboxylic acid group alpha to the functionalized secondary amine group . the bis - peptide is subsequently reacted with a third building block which contains a secondary amine group and a free carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary amine group as well as a protected primary amine group and a protected carboxylic acid group alpha to the protected primary amine group . similar cycles of deprotection , functionalization , activation of an acyl group and reaction with further building blocks as may be repeated as desired to increase the length of the bis - peptide macromolecule and introduce different functional groups along the backbone . the stereochemistry and structure of the individual building blocks may be selected so as to vary and control the three - dimensional shape of the bis - peptide . the bis - peptide may be end - capped with various compounds to introduce further functionality at the terminus . in still another embodiment of the invention , a bis - peptide is synthesized starting with a first building block ( which may or may not be immobilized ) that contains a functionalized secondary amine group ( e . g ., — nhr , where the nitrogen atom is not part of a ring structure and r is a functional group ) and an activated acyl group alpha to the functionalized secondary amine group . this first building block is reacted with a second building block containing a secondary amine group ( which can be part of a ring structure ) and a free carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary amine group as well as a functionalized secondary amine group ( where the functional group may be the same as or different from the functional group in the first building block ) and a protected carboxylic acid group ( e . g ., — co 2 dmab ) alpha to the functionalized secondary amine group . this reaction yields a bis - peptide containing a diketopiperazine ring formed by the interaction of the functionalized secondary amine group and activated acyl group of the first building block with the secondary amine group and free carboxylic acid group of the second building block , with the protected carboxylic acid group of the second building block remaining intact in the bis - peptide . the protected carboxylic acid group present in the bis - peptide may be converted to an activated acyl group and the bis - peptide further extended in a similar manner with a third building block containing a secondary amine group and a free carboxylic acid group alpha to the secondary amine group as well as a functionalized secondary amine group ( where the functional group may be the same as or different from the functional group in the first and second building blocks ) and a protected carboxylic acid group alpha to the functionalized secondary amine group . additional cycles of reaction , deprotection , activation and reaction may be carried out with still more such building blocks to introduce different functional groups along the backbone and influence the three - dimensional shape of the bis - peptide . the bis - peptide may be end - capped with various compounds to introduce further functionality at the terminus . the acylation methods described herein can also be readily adapted for use in preparing hindered dipeptides , wherein a first amino acid having a nitrogen atom protected by a protecting group , an activated acyl group , and a carbon atom adjacent to said nitrogen atom and between the nitrogen atom and the activated acyl group , wherein the carbon atom is substituted with one or two groups other than hydrogen , these groups comprising a total of at least two carbon atoms , is reacted with a second amino acid having a secondary amino group , a free carboxylic acid group , and a carbon atom between said secondary amino group and said carboxylic acid group substituted with one or two groups other than hydrogen , said groups comprising a total of at least two carbon atoms . the hindered dipeptide thereby obtained may have the general structure : xhn — c ( r 1 r 2 )— c (═ o )— n ( r 3 )— c ( r 4 r 5 )— co 2 h wherein x is a protecting group , r 1 , r 2 , r 4 and r 5 are the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , hydrocarbyl groups and substituted hydrocarbyl groups , subject to the provisos that r 1 and r 2 are not both hydrogen and r 4 and r 5 are not both hydrogen , and r 3 is a hydrocarbyl group or substituted hydrocarbyl group . r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 and r 5 may , for example , be any of the functional groups previously described . the activated acyl group may be an acid fluoride or an at ester , for example . the first amino acid may have the general structure : wherein x is a protecting group , r 1 and r 2 are the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , hydrocarbyl groups and substituted hydrocarbyl groups , subject to the proviso that r 1 and r 2 are not both hydrogen , and a is an activating group ( e . g ., f , oat ). the second amino acid may have the general structure : wherein r 3 is a hydrocarbyl group or substituted hydrocarbyl group , and r 4 and r 5 are the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , hydrocarbyl groups and substituted hydrocarbyl groups , subject to the proviso that r 4 and r 5 are not both hydrogen . the protecting group may be an fmoc group , a cbz group or a t - boc group or any other group capable of being removed and replaced by a hydrogen atom following a reaction in which the protected amine group does not participate . bis - amino acid monomers may be used to prepare the bis - peptides of the present invention . such monomers may comprise two alpha - amino acids mounted on a cyclic core . such monomers may thus constitute chiral , cyclic building blocks . the cyclic core may be a five - or six - membered ring or a ring structure comprised of a five - membered ring fused with a six - membered ring , for example . typically , the ring or ring structure includes a nitrogen atom as part of the ring or ring structure . such rings / ring structures provide linkages between the diketopiperazine rings in a bis - peptide macromolecule . the amino acids may be suitably protected for the synthesis of bis - peptide oligomers and polymers . for example , the amine group and / or the carboxylic acid group of each amino acid may be protected so as to render that group unreactive during reaction of the monomer with another species , with the protecting group subsequently being removed so as to render the amine group or carboxylic acid group available for reaction . each monomer may have a distinct stereochemistry that defines its shape and the shape that it imparts to bis - peptides into which it is incorporated . the bis - amino acid monomer may be functionalized ( i . e ., an amine group in the building block may bear a functional group ). alternatively , unfunctionalized bis - amino acid monomers may be used to prepare a bis - peptide , wherein an amine group is functionalized after the monomer is incorporated into the bis - peptide . bis - amino acid monomers are known in the art and are described , for example , in levins et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., vol . 124 , 2003 , pp . 4702 - 4703 ; schafmeister et al ., accts . chem . res ., vol . 41 , no . 10 , october 2008 , pp . 1387 - 1398 ; gupta et al ., org . lett ., no . 7 , 2005 , pp . 2861 - 2864 ; habay et al ., org . lett ., no . 6 , 2004 , pp . 3369 - 3371 ; us 2004 - 0082783 ; and us 2004 - 0077879 , each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes . the bis - peptides of the present invention may be synthesized in solution using one or more suitable solvents . solid - phase synthesis techniques may also be utilized , wherein a solid , insoluble resin or other support having functional groups ( linkers ) on which the bis - peptide can be built is employed . suitable functional groups include , for example amine groups ( e . g ., — nh 2 ) and hydroxyl groups (— oh ). aminomethyl polystyrene resins may be utilized . the bis - peptide remains covalently attached to the resin , which may , for example , be in the form of beads , until cleaved from the resin by a reagent such as trifluoroacetic acid . the bis - peptide is thus immobilized on the solid - phase resin during synthesis and can be retained on the resin during a filtration process , wherein liquid - phase reagents and soluble by - products of synthesis are flushed away . the general principle of solid - phase synthesis is one of repeated cycles of coupling - deprotection . that is , a first building block is attached to a resin such that the resin - attached building block contains a free primary or secondary amine group ( in one embodiment , a primary amine group in the first building block , after being attached to the solid support is converted to a secondary amine group in which the nitrogen bears a functional group , e . g ., a functional group — ch ( r 1 )( r 2 ), using reductive amination involving an aldehyde or ketone , halide displacement involving an alkyl halide or other suitable method ). this amine group of the first building block is then coupled to a second building block containing an n - protected amine group as well as a carboxylic acid group ( in one embodiment , an activated acyl group ) to form an amide bond . the amine group of the second building block is then deprotected , revealing a new free amine group to which a further building block may be attached . the structures of the successive building blocks may be selected such that following formation of the initial amide bond , a second amide bond is formed between adjacent building blocks and a diketopiperazine ring is formed . additionally , the building blocks employed may contain different functional groups attached to the secondary amine nitrogen of each building block , resulting in the production of an oligomeric bis - peptide having different pendant functional groups along its backbone , with the placement of the different functional groups being controlled as desired by the order in which the building blocks are reacted with the growing chain . in solution phase synthesis , the development of optimized purification protocols for each intermediate requires a great deal of time . solid state synthesis does not involve purification of intermediates , greatly accelerating the rate at which bis - peptides can be synthesized . solution phase synthesis requires slightly lower quantities of building block because couplings are performed with stoichiometric amounts of monomers . however , the purified yields of bis - peptide intermediates are generally 60 - 70 %, so the savings do not present a compelling advantage for solution phase synthesis . hexasubstituted diketopiperazines may also be prepared in accordance with the present invention , either in solution or by means of solid state synthesis . fig3 illustrates an example of a solution phase synthesis of a symmetric hexasubstituted diketopiperazine , where r may be any of the functional groups previously disclosed . such hexasubstituted diketopiperazines may be suitably protected to also be incorporated into a bis - peptide oligomer or polymer or used as an independent scaffold . although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments , the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims without departing from the invention . the following examples illustrate the synthesis of different functionalized bis - peptides in accordance with the present invention using a sequential solution phase approach . amino acids 2 and ent - 2 ( see fig4 ) were synthesized in 5 and 7 steps respectively from trans - l - 4 - hydroxyproline 1 in 49 % and 18 % overall yield using the procedures described in schafmeister et al ., acc . chem . res . 2008 , 41 , 1387 - 1398 . the synthesis of each amino acid involved only one chromatographic step . the amino acids 2 and ent - 2 were functionalized on the amine nitrogen using reductive amination with the aldehydes a - f shown in table 1 to form compounds 3a - f and ent - 3a - f ( fig4 ) with near quantitative yield . aldehydes a - f were selected for the purpose of demonstrating that a variety of proteogenic and non - proteogenic functional groups can be used in the present invention . a consequence of the hindered nature of the n - alkyl - alpha , alpha - disubstituted amino acids 3a - f and ent - 3 - a - f is that the carboxylic acid group of each compound can be activated as the 7 - azabenzotriazole (— at ) ester to form compounds 4a - f and ent - 4 - a - f ( fig4 ). surprisingly , we found that these active esters do not spontaneously self - react and remain monomeric and active in dmf / ch 2 cl 2 solutions for several hours at room temperature . to synthesize functionalized bis - peptide 8 ( see fig6 ), protected bis - amino acid 5 ( fig5 ) was used as a starting material . this compound was prepared in accordance with the procedures described in schafmeister et al ., acc . chem . res . 2008 , 41 , 1387 - 1398 . the boc group was removed with 50 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa / ch 2 cl 2 ) to produce compound 10 , which was then combined with active ester 4a and stirred at room temperature overnight ( 2 eq dipea , 1 : 2 dmf / dcm ) to provide a mixture of a single amide coupling product and the desired diketopiperazine 14 . one equivalent of diisopropylcarbodiimide ( dic ) was added to dehydrate the single amide coupling product and increase the yield of diketopiperazine 14 . diketopiperazine 14 was treated with hbr in acetic acid ( 1 : 1 33 % hbr in acoh / dcm ) to remove the t - butyl and cbz protecting groups to form amino acid 6 ( fig6 ), which was isolated by c 18 reverse phase hplc in 68 % recovered yield relative to compound 5 . this process was repeated with a new monomer , combining 6 and the activated , 2 - methylenenaphthalene functionalized bis - amino acid 4c to form 7 ( 77 % yield from 6 , following c 18 rp - hplc ) following treatment with dic and hbr in acetic acid . the process was then repeated for a third time , wherein compound 7 was combined with the activated , carboxy - benzoyl amino - propyl functionalized bis - amino acid 4e to provide functionalized bis - peptide 8 ( 59 % yield from 7 , following c 18 rp - hplc ) after treatment with dic and hbr in acetic acid . functionalized bis - peptide 9 ( fig7 ) was similarly synthesized using a different sequence of functionalized monomers ( compound 5 , compound ent - 4b , compound ent - 4d , compound 4f ) with similar recovered yields . the compositions of functionalized bis - peptides 8 and 9 were verified by high - resolution mass spectrometry and the structures were validated using two - dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance experiments . these examples demonstrate the preparation of highly hindered dipeptides in accordance with the present invention . the dipeptides listed in table 2 were synthesized by combining an fmoc - amino acid fluoride with an excess ( 4 eq .) of an unprotected amino acid dissolved in hexafluoroisopropanol ( 0 . 2m ). the acid fluorides were obtained using a slight modification of the procedure described in kaduk et al ., lett . pept . sci . 1996 , 2 , 285 - 288 . before adding the acid fluoride , the amino acid solution was prewarmed to 55 ° c . the mixture was allowed to react at 55 ° c . for varying amounts of time ( depending upon the amino acid ) and then subjected to reverse - phase high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry ( hplc - ms ). fmoc - amino acids activated as 1 - oxy - 7 - azabenzotriazole ( oat ) esters using diisopropylcarbodiimide ( dic ) and 1 - hydroxy - 7 - azabenzotriazole ( hoat ) also produced dipeptides , but these reactions were found to be about 50 % slower than those using acid fluorides . this example demonstrates the preparation of p53 alpha - helix mimics in accordance with the invention using solid state synthesis techniques . building block 17 is prepared by treating compound 35 ( see fig1 ) with 1 ) h 2 , pd / c and 2 ) boc 2 o , dipea , which results in the replacement of the cbz group attached to the ring nitrogen with a boc group . an hmba resin 16 is reacted with building block 17 in the presence of 3 eq msnt and 2 . 25 eq meim to yield resin - immobilized building block 18 as illustrated in fig8 , following removal of the t - butyl and boc protecting groups with 95 % tfa . building block 19 is reacted with resin - immobilized building block 18 and the resulting product treated with dic / hoat ( 1 eq dic , 6 eq hoat , 1 : 2 dmf / dcm , 1 . 5 hours , rt ) to facilitate dehydration of what is believed to be an amide intermediate , thereby yielding bis - peptide 20 . treatment of bis - peptide 20 with 95 % tfa / 5 % tis ( 2 × 1 hour ) removes the t - butyl and boc protecting groups to produce resin - immobilized bispeptide 21 , which contains an isobutyl functional group attached to an amide nitrogen atom of the diketopiperazine ring in the bis - peptide and an amino acid functional group at its terminus . bis - peptide 21 is further extended and functionalized by reaction with building block 22 , dic / hoat and 95 % tfa to yield resin - immobilized bis - peptide 23 , which contains a naphthyl - functionalized amide nitrogen in the second diketopiperazine ring as well as an amino acid functional group at its terminus . further extension and functionalization of bis - peptide 23 is accomplished by reaction with building block 24 + hatu , 95 % tfa , and dic / hoat to yield resin - immobilized bis - peptide 25 , which contains a benzyl functional group attached to a carbon atom of the third diketopiperazine ring in addition to the isobutyl and naphthyl functional groups previously introduced and pendant to the first and second diketopiperazine rings respectively . bis - peptide 25 is reacted with 1 ) 20 % pip / dmf , 2 ) building block 26 and hatu ( 3 eq each ), 3 ) 20 % pip / dmf , and 4 ) 1 : 1 tfa / dcm to produce bis - peptide 27 ( fig9 ). an aminobutyl - functionalized diketopiperazine ring is introduced at the terminus of the bis - peptide molecule and release from the hmba resin is accomplished by treating bis - peptide 25 with 30 % dea / acn , thereby obtaining functionalized free bis - peptide 28 . as shown in fig1 , the primary amine group in bis - peptide 28 is reacted with thiocyanate 29 ( 2 eq , together with 2 eq dipea in dmf ) to yield bis - peptide 30 , containing a fluorescent label ( a fluorescein functional group ) attached to the aminobutyl - functionalized terminus of the bis - peptide scaffold . alternatively , as shown in fig1 , a carboxylic acid - functionalized diketopiperazine ring is introduced by reacting bis - peptide 25 with 1 ) 20 % pip / dmf , 2 ) building block 31 , 3 ) 95 % tfa / tis to obtain bis - peptide 32 . bis - peptide 32 is then treated with 30 % dea / acn to release the bis - peptide from the resin , thereby yielding free bis - peptide 33 . bis - peptide 33 contains four diketopiperazine rings linked in a spiro manner by methylene groups as well as four pendant functional groups ( hoc (═ o ) ch 2 ch 2 —, isobutyl , 2 - naphthyl , and benzyl ). fig1 illustrates the preparation of various building blocks useful in the practice of the present invention . starting material 34 may be obtained from trans - 4 - hydroxy - l - proline using the procedures described in levins et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., vol . 124 , 2003 , pp . 4702 - 4703 and schafmeister et al ., accts . chem . res ., vol . 41 , no . 10 , october 2008 , pp . 1387 - 1398 . fig1 and 14 show how the protected amine groups of such building blocks can be functionalized during a solid state synthesis of a bispeptide oligomer ( the submonomer approach ). the introduction of benzyl functional groups by a halide displacement reaction is specifically illustrated in fig1 and 14 , but other functional groups may also be introduced using similar techniques ( e . g ., through reaction with other halo - substituted hydrocarbons ). other reactions such as reductive amination ( using a aldehyde or ketone ) may also be utilized as methods of attaching various functional groups to a nitrogen atom of the building block once it has been incorporated into the bis - peptide . fig1 illustrates the preparation of other building blocks useful in the practice of the present , wherein such building blocks are pre - functionalized ( i . e ., the functional group is attached to a nitrogen atom of the building block before the building block is reacted to form a bis - peptide ). the introduction of a benzyl functional group by a halide displacement reaction is specifically illustrated in fig1 , but other functional groups may also be introduced using similar techniques . other reactions such as reductive amination may also be utilized as methods of attaching various functional groups to a nitrogen atom of the building block . fig1 and 17 show how such pre - functionalized building blocks can be assembled into a bis - peptide oligomer using a solid state synthesis approach . if so desired , the assembled bis - peptide may be released from the resin once the synthesis is completed . this example demonstrates the preparation of functionalized bis - peptides in accordance with the invention that mimic the hdm2 - bound conformation of the p53 activation domain . two series of bis - peptides were synthesized , one of structural analogs and one of stereochemical analogs , to give entry 1 ( table 4 ), that binds hdm2 at 400 nm , penetrates human liver cancer cells through passive diffusion and suppresses the levels of p53 in a dose - dependent manner . this is the opposite biological effect of nutlin - 3a , mi - 219 and artificial oligomers that have been developed to bind hdm2 . in a liver cancer cell line with mutant p53 , entry 1 increases the levels of hdm2 up to 33 - fold in a dose - dependent manner . without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that entry 1 stabilizes hdm2 to proteolysis and that its moderate affinity for hdm2 allows the elevated levels of hdm2 to ubiquitinate p53 , targeting it for proteolytic degradation . the suppression of p53 by compounds such as entry 1 could find application to temporarily curb p53 - mediated apoptosis in cancer radio - and chemo - therapy and could serve as a chemical probe for effects of p53 suppression . to identify functionalized bis - peptides that could mimic the hdm2 bound conformation of p53 , an in - house developed software package called cando ( see schafmeister et al ., acc . chem . res . 2008 , 41 , 1387 - 1398 ) was used that builds millions of bis - peptides , varying back - bone stereochemistry and conformations as well as side - chain conformations to identify bis - peptides that could present functional groups to mimic the presentation of the ca - cp bond vectors of residues phe19 , trp23 and leu26 of p53 bound to hdm2 from the x - ray crystal structure . cando presented several stereoisomers out of 256 possible ( eight stereocenters ) that modeling suggested could mimic p53 including the stereoisomer with all ( s ) stereochemistry . entries 1 and 3 - 12 were then synthesized on solid support to provide two series of bis - peptides which explore the effects of both functional groups and stereochemistry on the binding to hdm2 . to measure the binding affinity of functionalized bispeptides to hdm2 , a direct binding fluorescence polarization assay was utilized . the binding of the fluorescein labeled bispeptides was measured at 10 nm in the presence of varying concentrations of hdm2 25 - 117 . see zondlo et al . biochemistry 2006 , 45 , 11945 - 11957 . under the conditions of this assay , a fluoresceinated derivative of the p53 peptide ( at 10 nm ) had a measured k d of 0 . 62 μm , in close agreement with previously published results . the initial screen of bis - peptides including entries 3 - 7 was carried out on the bis - peptide backbone containing all ( s ) stereochemistry to identify appropriate functional groups to mimic the side chains of phe19 , trp23 and leu26 of the p53 helix . a representative subset of the bispeptides in this side - chain screen is shown in table 3 . changing either r 1 or r 3 , the surrogates for the side chains of phenylalanine and leucine , had little effect on the binding of the bis - peptides . however , using different substituted aromatic functional groups ( r 2 ) in place of tryptophan showed an 8 - fold improvement in binding by using the dichlorobenzyl group ( bis - peptide entry 7 ) in place of the natural indole ring . a second round of optimization was then undertaken by changing the stereochemistry of the bis - peptide scaffold to the other stereoisomers suggested by cando while keeping the side - chains the same ( table 4 ). examination of the table shows an approximately 60 - fold decrease in k d was achieved by tuning the presentation of the three side chains by changing the stereochemistry of the bis - peptide backbone . entry 1 , the tightest binding bis - peptide identified , had a k d of 0 . 4 μm , and bound more tightly than the fluoresceinated derivative of p53 ( fl p53 14 - 29 ). noteworthy in this stereochemical series of bis - peptides is the subtle relationship between stereochemistry and affinity . for example , entries 12 and 1 are epimers , with only a minor change in their relative orientation of their side chains by modeling , but they have a four - fold difference in binding . in contrast , the epimeric scaffolds 10 and 11 have nearly identical affinity for hdm2 . finally , bis - peptides 9 and 1 change only the stereocenter of the lysine residue to which the fluorophore is attached and display a nearly 17 - fold increase in affinity . modeling suggests that stereoisomer 1 projects the fluorescein side chain toward the protein surface while entry 9 projects it away , albeit far from the hydrophobic cleft normally associated with the binding of p53 to hdm2 . to provide evidence that bis - peptides were binding into the hydrophobic cleft of hdm2 , competition experiments were undertaken with a low nanomolar binding fluoresceinated mutant of the p53 peptide called fl p4 ( k d is 0 . 16 μm for hdm2 ). incubating fl p4 at 10 nm with 2 μm hdm2 and a series of varying concentrations of a bis - peptide which lacked the fluorescein group gave a k i of 5 μm . these results suggest that the bis - peptide lacking a fluorescein was able to compete with a fluorescein labeled p53 - analog that is known to bind to the hydrophobic groove of hdm2 . finally , to demonstrate the selectivity of bis - peptide entry 1 , binding experiments with hdmx , a homolog of hdm2 , were undertaken . entry 1 had a measured k d of 19 μm , demonstrating that it is selective for hdm2 . the effect of the sub - micromolar hdm2 binding bis - peptide 1 in cell - culture was thereafter evaluated . the cell - penetrating capability of two of the functionalized bis - peptides was first examined . entry 3 was incubated with huh7 cells ( human hepatocytic cells ) for 24 hours at a concentration of 2 μm and observed with fluorescence microscopy ( including confocal imaging ), after washing away the media containing the fluorescein labeled bis - peptide . significant uptake of entry 3 was seen as judged by the amount and fluorescent intensity of the cells , including distribution throughout the cytoplasm and nucleus as seen with confocal microscopy . bis - peptide 1 was then incubated with both huh7 cells and hepg2 ( human liver hepatoblastoma cells ) and imaged . fluorescent images verified the distribution of entry 1 throughout the cytoplasm and nucleus . with this evidence of cellular uptake of fluorescently labeled bis - peptides , a determination of whether the uptake was through passive diffusion or active transport was sought . hepg2 cells were pre - cooled for 30 min at 4 ° c . in 475 μl of media and then 25 μl , of bis - peptide 1 in phosphate buffered saline ( ph 7 . 4 ) was added to the media to achieve a concentration of 5 μm of entry 1 . the cells were then incubated at 4 ° c . for 3 . 75 hours and then the media with entry 1 was removed . fluorescence imaging showed substantial uptake of fluorescence that was indistinguishable from control cells treated with entry 1 at 37 ° c . in further experiments , hepg2 cells at 37 ° c . were pre - treated with 10 mm sodium azide together with 50 mm deoxy - d - glucose ( 60 minutes pre - treatment ) followed by addition of entry 1 ; these also showed uptake of fluorescence at levels that were indistinguishable from control cells treated with entry 1 at 37 ° c . incubation of both cell lines with fluorescein at 37 ° c . as a control produced no visible uptake of fluorescence . despite having molecular weights in excess of 1 , 300 daltons , both entry 1 and entry 3 penetrate human cells and entry 1 penetrates cells in a manner consistent with passive diffusion . the lack of flexibility and the fact that five of the eight amides of these compounds are n - alkylated may contribute to their good bioavailability despite their large size . to assess the biological effect of bis - peptide 1 in human cell culture , we carried out a series of western blot analyses using hepg2 cells , which express wild - type p53 and hdm2 . hepg2 cells were incubated with bis - peptide 1 in media at 2 , 5 , 10 and 20 μm for 17 hours at 37 ° c . western blot analysis showed the surprising result that p53 levels dropped up to 2 . 9 - fold in a dose - dependent manner . an increase in p53 levels is seen with nutlin - 3a and other hdm2 ligands . also surprising was that hdm2 levels increased up to 4 - fold as the concentration of entry 1 increased . huh7 cells have a y220p mutation that prevents hdm2 degradation of p53 . huh7 cells were incubated with bis - peptide 1 under the conditions described above for hepg2 and western blot analysis showed a dose dependent increase of hdm2 levels up to 33 - fold relative to control cells . quantitative real - time pcr analysis of huh7 cells treated with bis - peptide 1 showed no effect of 1 on the level of mrna for hdm2 . without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that entry 1 somehow stabilizes hdm2 to proteolysis and , because it is not an extremely tight ligand of hdm2 , the increased levels of hdm2 lead to more ubiquitination and degradation of p53 in the wt - p53 hepg2 cells the level of mrna for hdm2 . a possible hypothesis is that entry 1 somehow stabilizes hdm2 to proteolysis and , because it is not an extremely tight ligand of hdm2 , the increased levels of hdm2 lead to more ubiquitination and degradation of p53 in the wt - p53 hepg2 cells . thus , a series of functionalized bis - peptides were synthesized that screened side - chain compatability and backbone stereochemistry to mimic the conformation of p53 bound to hdm2 . a bis - peptide ( entry 1 in table 4 ) was developed that binds hdm2 , penetrates human cells by passive diffusion and has the effect of stabilizing hdm2 and suppressing p53 in cell culture . these results suggest that bis - peptides in accordance with the present invention , despite their size , can have good drug properties and can be developed to bind protein surfaces . to illustrate the ability to rapidly synthesize diketopiperazine based bis - peptide oligomers in accordance with the present invention , a homologous series of functionalized bis - peptides was synthesized using the following general procedures . the solid - phase syntheses were carried out in polypropylene , open , fritted solid - phase extraction vessels with an attached bottom valve that allows the resin to be drained under vacuum . the resin was pre - swollen in dcm for 30 minutes . initial loading of the benzylhydroxyl group of hmba resin ( 16 , fig8 ) ( 75 mg of hmba resin , 0 . 88 mmole / gm ) was accomplished by combining 3 equivalents of fmoc acid derivative 17 ( fig8 ), 3 equivalents of msnt and 2 . 25 equivalents of meim in dcm at 200 mm concentration of 17 . the solution was allowed to mix with the resin using magnetic stirring for 1 hour , followed by thorough washing of the resin three times ( 1 minute each ) with dcm . the loading esterification was then repeated using the same procedure to ensure quantitative loading of the resin . general procedure b for removal of the boc and tert - butyl groups to simultaneously remove the prolinyl amino acid boc and tert - butyl ester protecting groups of the resin bound oligomer , 95 % trifluoroacetic acid was used in the presence of 5 % triisopropylsilane as a cationic scavenger . 2 ml total of the solution was used per 100 mg of resin . two tfa treatments were used for one hour each , followed by thorough washing of the resin . the resin was then treated with 5 % dipea in dmf ( 1 ml ) for 5 minutes to neutralize tfa salts and then washed three times with dcm ( 1 minute each ). general procedure c for hbr deprotection of cbz and tert - butyl ester groups to simultaneously remove the prolinyl amino acid cbz and tert - butyl ester protecting groups of the resin bound oligomer , the resin was treated with a solution composed of 1 ml of dcm together with 1 ml of hbr ( 33 % in acoh ) for 20 minutes . the treatment was repeated one additional time . the resin was then washed ( 3 × dcm , 1 minute each ) and then treated with 5 % dipea in dmf ( 1 ml ) for 5 minutes to neutralize salts . the resin was then washed ( 3 × dcm , 1 minute each ). the bis - amino acid to be activated ( 3 eq relative to resin loading ) and hoat ( 6 eq relative to bis - amino acid ) were dissolved in 1 : 2 dmf / dcm ( concentration of 55 mm of bis - amino acid ) with stirring . dic ( 1 eq relative to bis - amino acid ) was then added and the activation was allowed to proceed for 1 . 5 hours . this solution was then used immediately for each coupling step . the resin was suspended in dmf (˜ 300 μl ), dipea ( 2 eq relative to resin loading ) was added and the solution containing the activated bis - amino acid ( see general procedure d ) was then added to the resin . the reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 3 hours with stirring , after which time the resin was thoroughly washed ( 3 × dcm , 1 minute each ). the resin was then suspended in 1 . 5 ml of 1 : 1 dcm / dmf with 3 equivalents of hoat ( relative to resin loading ) followed by an additional aliquot of dic ( 3 eq relative to resin loading ). the reaction was allowed to stir for 1 hour followed by thorough washing of the resin with dmf and dcm ( 3 × dmf , 3 × dcm , 1 minute each ). fmoc deprotection was conducted by treatment of the resin with 20 % piperidine in dmf for 5 minutes , washing the resin five times with dmf ( 1 minute each ), treatment with 20 % piperidine in dmf for 15 minutes , and finally washing the resin five times with dmf ( 1 minute each ). the boc - protected amino acid ( 4 eq relative to resin loading ) was dissolved in dmf ( concentration of 200 mm ) with hatu ( 1 eq relative to amino acid ), followed by the addition of 2 eq ( relative to amino acid ) of dipea . the solution was allowed to preactivate for 10 min and then the activation solution was added to the resin . the reaction was allowed to proceed for 45 min , followed by thorough washing of the resin with dmf and dcm ( 3 times each , one minute each ). starting with the hmba resin , the fmoc protected pro4 derivative 17 ( fig8 ) was loaded using the msnt / meim protocol ( procedure a ). following treatment with 95 % tfa to expose the prolinyl amino acid ( procedure b ), the resin was split into approximately two equal portions . to the first portion , boc - homophenylalanine - oh was coupled ( procedure g ), followed by deprotection and diketopiperazine closure . the fmoc group was then removed , the primary amine was acylated with boc - naphthylalanine - oh ( procedure f , g ), and then deprotected ( procedure b ). upon treatment of the resin with 10 % dipea in dmf , diketopiperazine formation and spontaneous release from the resin was affected to give compound 36 ( fig1 ). to the other portion of the resin , an additional functionalized pro4 derivative 19 ( fig8 ), pro4 ( s , s , isobutyl functionalized ) was coupled ( procedures d and e ) and subsequently deprotected ( procedure b ). the resin was again split into two portions ; to one portion was coupled with the same residues as above ( homophenylalanine and naphthylalanine , procedure g ) to give fully rigidified oligomer 37 ( fig1 ). to the other portion was coupled with an additional pro4 monomer , pro4 ( r , s , dichlorobenzyl ) ( procedures d and e ) and then coupled with homophenylalanine and naphthylalanine ( procedure g , b , f , g , b ) on the termini of the oligomer as above to give rigidified pentamer 38 ( fig1 ). this homologous series is shown in fig1 and illustrates the extensible , highly functionalizable nature of bis - peptides in accordance with the present invention .	2
in the following detailed description , reference is made to the accompanying drawing figures which form a part hereof , and which show by way of illustration specific embodiments of the invention . it is to be understood by those of ordinary skill in this technological field that other embodiments may be utilized , and that structural , electrical , as well as procedural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . as a matter of convenience , various embodiments of the invention will be described using exemplary materials , sizes , shapes , and dimensions , but the present invention is not limited to the stated examples . fig1 is a perspective view of pick - up tool 10 , which is shown having handle 15 attached to elongated hollow body 20 at proximal end 25 . first and second pick - up fingers 30 may be attached at their proximal ends to an outside portion of the body using a suitable fastening device or technique including rivets , welding , bolt and nut combinations , straps , clamps , and the like . if desired , cover 35 may be used to conceal the interface between the pick - up fingers and the body , and may additionally aid in the fastening of the pick - up fingers to the body . in general , separate linkages respectively extend from each engagement element , shown in fig1 as cup 45 . both cups are effectively coupled to trigger 50 using linkage components . for example , in the embodiment of fig1 , linkages 40 each extend from a separate cup and pass through at least a portion of the interior of body 20 . both linkages may be attached to a separate linkage component which passes through the hollow body and is coupled to trigger 50 . alternatively , linkages 40 may each directly couple to the trigger . the trigger may be pivotally mounted at proximal end 25 of the body so that the trigger pulls the linkages 40 rearward when the trigger is squeezed by a user . optional thumb lock 52 may be used to secure the pick - up tool in the closed position . pick - up tool 10 is also shown having a lighting assembly composed of light element 55 , an electrical switch ( not shown in this figure ), and magnet 60 . the light element is selectively actuated and will be termed herein as a “ flashlight ” without attaching any special meaning to that term . the flashlight may be coupled to distal end 65 of the body . the magnet is shown secured to an inner side of one of the linkages 40 , such that the magnet is located proximate to the flashlight , and more particularly , to the electrical switch , when the pick - up tool is in the open position . flashlight 55 and magnet 60 may be secured to their respective components of the pick - up tool using a suitable fastener including adhesives , clamps , hook and loop materials such as velcro , straps , and the like . the engagements elements , such as cups 45 , may be formed from an assortment of different materials which allows the pick - up tool to grasp or otherwise engage an item of interest such as , for example , trash , books , coins , clothing , food items , garden debris , and the like . possible engagement elements include arrangements such as cups , claws , arms , scoops , calipers , tongs , blades , and the like . suitable materials for the engagement elements include rubber , plastic , metal , and alloys , among others . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the cups may have a diameter of about 0 . 5 - 2 . 5 inches , or more . however , the cups may be dimensioned to facilitate the retrieval of particular types of items such as cans , books , rocks , coins , golf balls , tennis balls , and the like . body 20 , fingers 30 , and linkages 40 may be formed from any suitably ridged material such as aluminum , steel , steel - alloy , plastic , and the like . the overall length of pick - up tool 10 is typically dependent upon the type of environment ( for example , household , office , medical facility , outdoor garden , roadside , garage , golf course , tennis courts , and the like ), in which the pick - up tool is to be used . other applications include the retrieval of items from water ( for example , swimming pools and ponds ), and from elevated locations such as trees and building roofs and rafters . the pick - up tool may therefore be sized to accommodate such uses , and consequently may have an overall length of about 1 - 7 feet , or more . handle 15 and trigger 20 may be constructed any suitably ridged material . for instance the handle may be formed from two injection - molded , half - handles , which are attached together with rivets , screws , or other types of fasteners . the trigger may be constructed in a similar fashion . exemplary operation of pick - up tool 10 will be now be described with additional reference to fig2 through 5 . fig2 and 4 are close - up top and side views , respectively , of the distal end of the pick - up tool in the open position . conversely , fig3 and 5 are close - up top and side views , respectively , of the same pick - up tool , but in the closed position . to operate the pick - up tool , a user may first grasp the pick - up tool by handle 15 while locating the item for retrieval . as previously noted , situations may arise in which the user is forced to locate an object for retrieval in a dimly lit or dark area . examples of such areas include closets , attics or crawlspaces , under a bed , behind furniture , tool sheds , pantries , outdoors at night , and the like . flashlight 55 is shown secured to the body using adhesive 57 , and may be used to assist users in providing desired illumination . for instance , to activate the flashlight , the user may squeeze trigger 50 in direction 70 . this causes the rearward pull of linkages 40 , resulting in at least a portion of the linkages to withdraw into proximal end 65 of the hollow body . since magnet 60 is attached to one of the linkages , it also moves inwardly toward the proximal end . ultimately , the magnet reaches an effectively close location adjacent to flashlight 55 . in accordance with an embodiment , the magnet interacts with a cooperating electrical switch housed within , for example , the flashlight . whenever the magnet is placed in close physical proximity to the switch , such as that illustrated in fig3 and 5 , the switch causes the flashlight to emit light . a timing circuit within the flashlight maintains the light on or actuated for a predetermined period of time . after the light is actuated , the user may release the trigger and the cups will disengage , as shown in fig2 and 4 . even though magnet 60 is no longer positioned near the electrical switch associated with the flashlight , the flashlight remains illuminated for a predetermined length of time ( 10 - 60 seconds being typical , but it could 0 - 60 seconds ). the length of time that the flashlight remains activated may be controlled using a conventional time delay circuit , such as a resistor / capacitor ( r / c ) time delay circuit . note that 60 seconds is specified here only for practical reasons . it could be longer if desired . this enables the user to see the object to be picked up , even though the engagement elements , or cups , are separated , awaiting the trigger to be squeezed to pick up the object . the just - described process of squeezing and releasing trigger 50 may be repeated as often as necessary to provide additional time periods of illumination . the specifics relating to the electrical switch are discussed in more detail in conjunction with fig6 . an advantage provided by pick - up tool 10 is that the user does not have to utilize a separate lighting device when using the pick - up tool in dimly lit areas . this allows the user to manipulate the pick - up tool with one hand , leaving their other hand free . another benefit is that the flashlight may be activated using the same action which would be required for holding the pick - up tool and retrieving an object . this simplifies the activation of the flashlight since the user does not have to locate a separate flashlight on / off switch . this is especially important when using the pick - up tool in darkened conditions which would make finding the on / off switch difficult . fig6 is an exploded perspective view of the various components of an exemplary lighting assembly which may be used in conjunction with , for example , the pick - up tool illustrated in fig1 . flashlight 55 includes upper and lower housings 100 and 105 , which collectively contain lamp 110 and associated electrical switch 15 . conventional reflector 120 is positioned within the upper and lower housings , relative to the lamp . connector 125 engages cooperating threading located on the upper and lower housings . adhesive 57 may be used to secure the flashlight to body 20 , for example . the adhesive may be any type , including a dual sided peel - and - stick tape or sheet . magnet 60 is shown housed in housing 135 , which facilitates the attachment of this component to linkage 40 . the magnet may be similarly secured to the linkage . the flashlight may be powered using any suitable dc power source ( not shown ), such as one or more aa or aaa sized batteries , for example . in general , switch 115 , which will also be referred to as a proximity switch , may be implemented using known technologies which can sense , react to , or otherwise detect the relative proximity of a sensed device or component . an example of such a sensed device is magnet 60 . in accordance with an embodiment , switch 115 may be implemented as a reed switch . a reed switch is typically composed of an electric switch having a pair of ferrous metal contacts in a hermetically sealed glass envelope . during use , these contacts will pull together and complete an electrical circuit , which activates lamp 110 , whenever the magnet is placed in close proximity to the switch ( fig3 ). that is , whenever a user squeezes trigger 50 , the attached linkages 40 are pulled inwardly , causing attached magnet 60 to be repositioned in close proximity to switch 115 . in accordance with an embodiment , magnet 60 may be alternatively located on one of the fingers 30 . in this embodiment , pulling of the trigger would cause the finger having the magnet to move inwardly toward body 20 . this action would actuate flashlight 55 in a manner similar to that described above . if desired , switch 115 may be further configured with manual override capabilities . this enables a user to turn the flashlight on or off manually , regardless of the relative positioning of the magnet and switch . alternatively or additionally , the timing circuit associated with switch 115 may also be configured with a knob or slider switch , for example , which permits a user to manually specify the total elapsed time for which the flashlight remains activated . while the preferred embodiment is to have the light remain on for some period of time after it is actuated , embodiments of the invention contemplate a light that goes on and off by activating the trigger . another possibility is to remotely mount switch 115 relative to the flashlight . in such embodiments , the flashlight need not be positioned in close proximity to the magnet . the figures show pick - up tool 10 having linkages 40 which pass through the center of body 20 . one possible alternative is to route the linkages along the outside of some or all of the body . in such an embodiment , fingers 30 may be structured to permit the linkages to pass the location at which the fingers are attached to the body . various embodiments have been described in which the lighting assembly has been implemented as a conventional flashlight using a lamp for illumination . however , other lighting elements or devices ( for example , light emitting diodes ( leds ), vertical cavity surface emitting lasers ( vcsels ), and the like ) are possible and within the teachings of the present disclosure . the present disclosure provides various examples of pick - up tools which may be configured with a lighting assembly in accordance with the present invention . the ez grabber , the ez reacher , and the ez assist reacher , all developed by arcoa industries of san marcos , calif ., are several such pick - up tools that may be adapted in accordance with the invention for use with the lighting assemblies disclosed herein . further examples of pick - up tools which may implement a lighting assembly in accordance with the invention are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 962 , 957 and 5 , 577 , 785 , which are both assigned to the assignee of the present invention . while the invention has been described in detail with reference to disclosed embodiments , various modifications within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in this technological field . it is to be appreciated that features described with respect to one embodiment typically may be applied to other embodiments . therefore , the invention properly is to be construed only with reference to the claims .	4
in fig1 to 3 , the device 10 for the enrichment of ventilation or air - conditioning air with fragrances is illustrated in various views . it has a vessel 11 that is surrounded by front walls 12 , 13 , a cylindrical base tub 14 and a flat cover plate 15 . the elongated , transparent cover plate 15 has several elongated air feed openings 16 in the area of its one narrow side . these openings are protected from above with a semi - circular dust protection unit 17 against the penetration of dust or similar material settling down from the outside . the infeed air can enter at the open front surfaces 18 of the dust protective device 17 . in the area of the other narrow side of the vessel 11 there is a single ( in the figure ), circular air exhaust opening 19 , that can be connected via a pipe support 20 and a pipeline 21 to the suction line of a fan 22 ( fig4 ). the vessel 11 can be filled with a dilution liquid , in particular water , via a centrally positioned opening 23 . to do this , a spray head 24 is used that can produce a broadly fanned dilution cone 25 . by means of a magnet valve 26 , the dilution liquid can be added at specified times and in preset quantities . via at least one ( in fig3 two ) additional opening 27 and corresponding connection lines 28 , the vessel 11 can be filled with fragrance or fragrance concentrate from a supply vessel 29 . the exact mixing ratio is adjustable by means of a pump 30 , such as magnetic dosing pump . at the lowest point of the base tub 14 , which can also be inclined to one side ( not actually shown in the figures ), a drain opening 31 is provided that can be opened and closed by means of a magnet valve 32 . all time functions can be triggered by means of at least one time clock 33 . the electrical lines 34 connecting all the various electrically operable components together are not shown in detail ( for simplicity ), since they are already well known to the technician . the time clock 33 can be designed , e . g ., as a weekly timer and can switch on the various valves at the adjusted time on those days when the ventilation or air - conditioning air is to be enriched with fragrance . for instance , if the device 10 , taken out of operation at night and drained , is taken into operation , the fresh water inlet will first be kept open for a preset time period , so that a portion of the water requirement will be sprayed into the vessel 11 . next , the dosing pump 30 will also be set in operation for a likewise preset time period . finally , water will be added again until the desired quantity of water ( e . g . 12 liters of water with 10 cm 3 of fragrance extract ) is completed . now , if the addition of fragrance is to be ended , e . g . in the evening , the vessel 11 will be drained automatically and then it will be sprayed with water for a predetermined amount of time with the magnet valve 32 opened ( cleaning phase ). the operation of the system in progress is best illustrated in fig4 . at the beginning of pipe channel 35 ( shown in sections ) there is a fan 22 that sucks ventilation or air - conditioning air from the intake pipe 36 . this air can flow via a known inlet unit 37 where it is cleaned , moistened , brought to correct temperature and / or treated in another manner . the pipe channel 35 branches off e . g . into air distribution channels 38 that open into air outlet slits 39 at various locations , e . g . in various rooms . during operation of the system in the vessel 11 there is a mixture 40 of dilution liquid , fragrance concentrate and perhaps a known emulsifier . this mixture of liquid 40 forms a free surface ( evaporation surface 41 ). due to the fluid connection between the gas space 42 of the vessel 11 and the intake pipe 36 of the fan 22 , a subpressure develops in the gas space 42 of the vessel 11 which will generate an air flow 43 that is kept in motion . this bypass air passes over the evaporation surface 41 and leads to an exceptionally uniform carry - off of fragrance from vessel 11 and a correspondingly uniform enrichment of ventilation or air - conditioning air with this fragrance . now of course it is understood that the device 10 can also be equipped directly with a fan so that it can be used as a compact unit for ventilation of single rooms . preferably the device will be connected to a ( under some circumstances , already existing ) ventilation or air - conditioning system in particular in the manner shown in fig4 . it is understood that the device can also be connected to several supply vessels 29 for different fragrances , so that on different days or at different times on a single day different fragrance accents can be added into the ventilation or air - conditioning air . another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig5 . fig5 shows a device 110 for the enrichment of ventilation or air - conditioning air with fragrances in a schematic view together with the whole system shown in fig4 . the device 110 has a vessel 111 that is surrounded by walls 112 , 113 , a cylindrical base tube 114 and a flat elongated cover plate 115 . the cover 115 ( which may be transparent if desired ) has an air feed opening 116 at one end of the vessel 111 . near the opposite end of the vessel 111 , there is a circular opening 119 that is connected via a pipe 120 and a pipeline 121 , which includes a noise damper , to a pipe channel 135 . for purpose of clarity , the scale of the vessel 111 and other parts contained in a housing therefor is enlarged with respect to the pipe channel 135 and other parts which belong to the air - conditioning system . the air - conditioning system comprises amongst others a well known inlet unit 137 , an intake pipe 136 , a fan 122 , the pipe channel 135 , air distribution channels 138 with outlet slits 139 leading into living or working rooms , and an air recirculation line conducting outlet air , which is not released to the atmosphere , back to the inlet unit 137 . the vessel 111 is filled with dilution liquid , e . g ., water , via an opening 123 through the front wall 113 using at least one spray head 124 which can produce a broadly fanned dilution cone 125 . by means of a magnet valve 126 , the dilution liquid is added at specific times and in preset quantities . via at least one additional opening 127 in the bottom of the base tube 114 and corresponding connection lines 128 , the vessel 111 can be filled with fragrance or fragrance concentrate from corresponding supply vessels 129 . the exact mixing ratio is adjustable by means of a pump 130 , such a magnetic dosing pump . the bottom of the base tube 114 declines towards one end where a drain opening 131 is provided that can be opened and closed by means of a magnet valve 132 . all time functions can be triggered by means of a time clock 133 which is part of a central control unit . electrical lines 134 are connecting all the various electrically operable components being disclosed hereafter . the device 110 is , in general , operated like the device 10 as explained with respect to the embodiment in fig1 to 4 . in order to control the operation of the whole system in response to sensored process data , there is further provided a maximum and a minimum level sensor which senses the height of the evaporation surface 141 of the mixture 140 contained in the vessel 111 and defines the lower end of the gas space 142 within the vessel 111 . a circulation pump circulates and thereby also mixes the mixture 140 in the vessel 111 via connection pipes leading out from the bottom and leading into the side wall of the vessel 111 . this mixture 140 is circulated via a heater which may be a continuous flow heater for controlling the temperature of mixture 140 . for controlling the air stream conducted over evaporation surface 141 , a fan is provided in pipeline 121 and a volume control flap is provided at the air inlet side of the vessel 111 . the air flow rates from outdoors into the inlet unit 137 and the flow rates of the air recirculation line into the inlet unit are measured and -- as all the other sensor data -- fed via data lines 134 to the control unit which amongst others calculates also the ratio of outdoors air - conditioning air and recirculated air - conditioning air . further data which may be sensored are humidity , temperature and / or pressure in the inlet unit 137 , humidity and / or temperature in the living or working rooms to be air - conditioned as well as flow rate and / or pressure of the outlet air of vessel 111 . as stated before , all other operations / functions of the system according to embodiment in fig5 are similar to those described with respect to fig1 to 4 ( the reference numerals of the different features being the same except a &# 34 ; 100 &# 34 ; being added in front of it ). from the above description of the invention , those skilled in the art will perceive improvements , changes and modifications . such improvements , changes and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be covered by the appended claims .	5
referring now to the drawings , the details of preferred embodiments of the present invention are graphically and schematically illustrated . like elements in the drawings are represented by like numbers , and any similar elements are represented by like numbers with a different lower case letter suffix . referring now to of fig1 , a maskless lithographic system is shown , which implements the subpixel scroll method disclosed by the invention . this lithographic system contains a uv radiation source 103 , a uv condensor optic 104 , a spatial light modulator ( slm ) 101 ( in this implementation , the slm is a digital mirror device ( dmd ), see for example , the discovery 1100 ™ of texas instruments ), a uv projection lens system 105 and a 45 ° mirror actuator 102 . the beams reflected by the slm 101 are optically shifted along the projection axis 208 controlled by the 45 ° mirror actuator 102 . additionally , fig1 shows the control system of digital signal processor ( dsp ) and free programmable logic array ( fpla ) 111 , that controls all functions of the lithographic system . in a computer system ( pc ) 114 the layout data of a pixel pattern are prepared . for a preferred substrate format 600 × 500 mm and a preferred resolution of 12 . 7 : per pixel , the size of the prepared data set is about 275 megabyte . this amount of data is transferred via a fast communication means 112 to the ram 113 . the exact distance d of the projector optics 105 to the substrate 110 is measured and adjusted constantly by the distance substrate projector feature 106 of the dsp / fpla 111 . before beginning the exposure , each new substrate 110 is measured :- exactly and aligned to the scan direction of the scan sled 108 by the substrate alignment feature 107 of the dsp / fpla 111 . the linear measuring system 109 supplies the trigger signals for the :- exact synchronisation of all switching processes of the slm 101 , and the optical displacement of the reflected uv beams 200 by the mirror actuator 102 . the synchronization of all switching processes with only the position indicator signals makes the :- exact lithographic transfer of the patterns independent of the speed of the projection optics relative to the substrate . at low speed about the point of reversal of the scan direction , the uv energy is controlled by variation of the on - off relationship of the mirror elements 201 . fig2 a - 2 f show the process of the present subpixel scroll method with the exposure of a substrate surface element by three mirror elements . in this example , each step of correction by the 45 ° mirror actuator amounts to 0 . 5 pixels ( 6 . 35 :). in the embodiment illustrated in the figures , the 45 ° mirror actuator has a total correction potential of 2 pixels , i . e ., after four steps of correction of 0 . 5 pixels each , the 45 ° mirror actuator must be pulled back to the zero value ( reset ). however , any number of correction steps may be practiced in the present invention under appropriate process control and scale of the actuator mirror 102 . the subpixel scroll method is described with the drawings fig2 a - 2 f . fig2 a shows an exemplary slm 101 with three mirror elements 201 . the mirror element in on - position ( hatched ) 201 a reflects a bundle of uv rays 200 via the 45 ° mirror actuator 202 through the projection optics 205 and onto the associated substrate surface element 210 . fig2 a shows the beginning step of the exposure process . with the 45 ° mirror actuator 202 at the starting position , substrate 210 and projection optics 205 are moving relative to each other . the path traveled is :- exactly measured with the linear position indicator 209 . if a part of the path of 0 . 5 × pixel length = 6 . 35 : is left behind , a correction signal is applied to the 45 ° mirror actuator 202 by the fpla / dsp control system 111 . the movement of the 45 ° mirror actuator 202 compensates the shift accumulated in the cycle 2 a between the substrate 210 and the projection optics 205 . during the relative movement of 0 . 5 pixels , the surface of the substrate surface element was smeared about 0 . 5 pixels . fig2 b shows the situation after a 1st step of correction : the mirror actuator 202 has shifted the bundle of uv rays 200 of mirror element 201 a by ½ pixel . the bundle of rays 200 impinges on the same position of the substrate 210 as in the beginning step of the process shown in fig2 a . fig2 c shows the situation after the 2nd step of correction , the process was similar to that shown in fig2 a and 2 b , and the bundle of rays 200 impinges on the same position of the substrate 210 as in the beginning step of the process . fig2 d shows the situation after the n - th step of correction , the process was similar to that shown in fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c . additional steps of correction are possible under appropriate process control and scale of the actuator mirror 102 . however , in this example , the mirror actuator 202 a only has a total correction potential of 2 . 0 pixels . after the carrying out a maximum of four correction step ( the n - th correction step of fig2 d ), the mirror actuator must be put back to zero - position . fig2 e describes the sequence of this zero - resetting phase . after the end of the n - th step of correction , all mirror elements 201 are switched off by the clear - function of the dmd . after switching - off the mirror elements 201 a , the mirror actuator 202 can be run down to zero without stray exposure of the substrate . at the same time , the next mirror element pattern ( e . g ., of fig2 f ) is prepared within the logic area of the slm 101 . fig2 f . after having reached the zero position of the mirror actuator 202 , the linear measuring system 109 triggers edge - exactly after 2 pixel lengths ( 25 . 4 :) the switching in of the mirror element pattern of 2 f . the sequence of exposure for substrate pixel 210 repeats itself now . the subpixel scroll method exposes a substrate surface element 210 of the substrate 110 while exposure optics and substrate move relative to each other . the blur of the substrate surface element edge depends on the number of correction steps per substrate surface element , can thus amount to 1 / 10 the width of the substrate surface element ( 1 / 20 mil ). the speed of the exposure system is not limited to switching frequency × substrate surface element width , as with known scrolling methods . the maximum scan velocity and thus the exposure time for the entire substrate depends on the correction potential of the mirror actuator , the switching time for loading of a new pattern in the dmd , the resist sensitivity and the effective uv power on the substrate . fig3 a - 3 d show the method for the improvement of the resolution , a more advantageous function of the subpixel scroll method , the increase of the resolution of the pixel pattern by using of a mirror actuator with deflection possibility in x / y . the subpixel scroll method is advantageous because it increases the resolution of the pixel pattern by usage of a mirror actuator with deflection possibility in x / y . a substrate surface 301 is to be exposed , which is larger than two substrate surface elements and has edges , which lie in the raster 0 . 5 × width of the substrate surface element . for known maskless lithographic procedures the resolution is fixed by the size of the mirror elements , the smallest raster thus is 1 × width of the substrate surface element . in particular , fig3 a shows a substrate surface 301 and a mirror element 302 , which exposes substrate surface element 303 with the deflection mirror in zero position and substrate surface element 304 with a deflection mirror deflected in x / y . in fig3 b , a program for processing of pixels generates a mirror pattern that exposes the surface substrate 301 as far as possible with substrate surface elements 303 . in fig3 c , for the non - exposed partial surface of the substrate surface , then a mirror pattern is generated by the program , which exposes these surfaces as far as possible with substrate surface elements 304 . in the corners partial surface squares with an edge length of 0 . 5 × width of a substrate surface element can remain unexposed . fig3 d shows the distribution of the exposure energy in the substrate surface after the exposure illustrated in fig3 b and 3 c . in order to avoid unnecessary scan paths , the process steps illustrated in fig3 b and 3 c should alternate after having carried out a fig2 cycle during the exposure of the substrate surface . the higher resolution of this method is accomplished by doubling of the exposure time . by introduction of further partitioning steps and exposure passages the resolution potentially can be increased at will . in an advantage , the present invention reduces the blur at the edge transition and makes a higher scan velocity possible , whereby the scan velocity depends on the dynamics of the actuator , the effective uv - power of the uv source and the sensitivity of the photosensitive polymer . in another advantage , the present invention provides the possibility of transferring a pattern with higher resolution than given by the mirror element size . multiple variations and modifications are possible in the embodiments of the invention described here . although certain illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and described here , a wide range of modifications , changes , and substitutions is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure . in some instances , some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of the other features . accordingly , it is appropriate that the foregoing description be construed broadly and understood as being given by way of illustration and example only , the spirit and scope of the invention being limited only by the appended claims .	6
please refer to fig4 fig5 and fig6 in conjunction with fig2 . fig4 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of a woofer module according to the present invention . fig5 is a top view of the woofer module 40 shown in fig4 . fig6 is a bottom view of the woofer module 40 shown in fig4 . the woofer module 40 has a housing 42 , a speaker unit 44 , and a bass reflex duct 46 . the housing 42 has a top cover 42 a and a bottom cover 42 b , and a cavity is formed inside the housing 42 . when the speaker unit 44 generates a low - frequency signal , the low - frequency signal resonates in the predetermined cavity 48 between the speaker unit 44 and the bass reflex duct 46 . an air pressure surge is induced from the low - frequency signal to push the air inside the woofer module 40 and generates airflow so that the airflow enters the bass reflex duct 46 via an output vent 50 of the predetermined cavity 48 . in the end , the airflow is outputted from the woofer module 40 thru the output vent 52 . based on the prior art of bass reflex principle , the low frequency extension of the woofer module 40 can be increased via bass reflex duct 46 . in addition , the woofer module 40 is installed onto a chassis 54 . the size of the chassis 54 corresponds to that of the expansion slot 24 a or 24 b shown in fig2 . the woofer module 40 installed on the chassis 54 is inserted into the expansion slot 24 a or 24 b so that the woofer module 40 is electrically connected to the portable computer 20 . as mentioned before , the vibrations and noise occur when the speaker unit 44 generates the low - frequency signals . if the vibrations are transferred to the portable computer 20 , some internal devices may not operate properly . the present embodiment , therefore , uses rubber rings 56 a , 56 b or other shock - absorbing materials to prevent the vibrations , which are generated from the woofer module 40 , from being transferred to the chassis 54 . because the chassis 54 and the expansion slot 24 a or 24 b are connected and fixed through a screw 58 and a corresponding hole 59 , if the vibrations generated from the woofer module 40 transmit to the chassis 54 , the vibrations are further transmitted to the whole portable computer 20 through the screw 58 and the corresponding hole 59 . therefore , when a screw 60 fastens the woofer module 40 and the chassis 54 together via a corresponding hole 61 , two enclosed rubber rings 56 a , 56 b are used to absorb vibrations generated from the woofer module 40 . the disturbance caused by the vibrations is filtered out by the rubber rings 56 a , 56 b without affecting the chassis 54 . in addition , the bass reflect duct 46 has a connector 62 compatible to the interface of expansion slot 24 a or 24 b . for example , the portable computer 20 provides the speaker unit 44 with an appropriate voltage via a pcmcia interface . please refer to fig7 fig8 and fig9 . fig7 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of a woofer module according to the present invention . fig8 is a top view of a woofer module 70 shown in fig7 . fig9 is a bottom view of the woofer module 70 shown in fig7 . the woofer module 70 has a housing 72 , a speaker unit 74 , and a bass reflect duct 76 . the housing 72 has a top cover 72 a and a bottom cover 72 b , and a cavity is formed inside the housing 72 . a screw 73 is used to fasten the top cover 72 a and the bottom cover 72 b . when the speaker unit 74 generates the low - frequency signals , the low - frequency signals resonate in a predetermined cavity 78 between the speaker unit 74 and the bass reflect conduct 76 . an air pressure surge is induced from the low - frequency signal to push the air inside the woofer module 70 and generates airflow so that the airflow enters the bass reflex duct 76 via an output vent 79 of the predetermined cavity 78 . in the end , the airflow is outputted from the woofer module 70 thru the output vent 80 . based on the bass reflex principle , the low frequency extension of the woofer module 70 can be increased via bass reflex duct 76 . in addition , the woofer module 70 has a connector 82 compatible to the interface of expansion slot 24 a or 24 b . the portable computer 20 , therefore , provides the speaker unit 74 with an appropriate voltage via the interface . as mentioned before , the chassis 54 and the expansion slot 24 a or 24 b are connected and fastened through a screw 58 and a corresponding hole 59 . in the present embodiment , the woofer module 70 is not installed onto a chassis 54 as shown in fig4 . in order to make the screw 84 , which pierces housing of the portable computer 20 , fasten the corresponding hole 86 located at the bottom cover 72 b successfully , the housing 72 has a protruded portion 88 positioned under the bass reflect duct 76 , and the hole 86 is positioned on the protruded portion 88 . the screw 84 , therefore , is capable of fastening the woofer module 70 and the corresponding expansion slot 24 a or 24 b with the help of the protruded portion 88 . in other words , the protruded portion 88 takes the place of the chassis 54 shown in fig4 to contact the expansion slot 24 a or 24 b so that the screw 84 works normally without the chassis 54 . please note that the housing 72 , in the preferred embodiment , has a narrow portion corresponding a location where the bass reflect duct 76 is connected to the output vent 79 of the predetermined cavity 78 . it is obvious that the predetermined cavity 78 and the bass reflect ducts 76 are connected through part of the housing 72 surrounding the output vent 79 . because a cross - section area of the narrow portion is inevitably small , and has a great flexibility accordingly , the vibrations generated from the speaker unit 74 are alleviated . as mentioned above , the hole 86 is positioned on the protruded portion 88 , and the protruded portion 88 is located under the bass reflect duct 76 . when the bass reflect duct 76 alleviates vibrations from the speaker unit 74 , the shocks , which pass through the screw 84 and the corresponding hole 86 , are simultaneously alleviated without disturbing the whole portable computer 20 . in contrast to the prior art , the claimed invention provides a removable woofer module that is compatible with an expansion slot positioned in a portable computer . the woofer module has a bass reflect duct used to increase the low frequency extension of the woofer module . in addition , the first embodiment of the claimed woofer module discloses a shock - absorbing apparatus such as a rubber ring for alleviating the vibrations transmitted to the expansion slot . the portable computer is protected against the shocks . as a result , the portable computer works properly . the second embodiment of the claimed woofer module discloses a flexible and narrow portion connecting the bass reflect duct and a resonance cavity so that the shocks are alleviated without affecting operation of the portable computer . to sum up , the claimed invention not only provides the portable computer with low - frequency signals , but also protects the portable computer from being disturbed by the vibrancies induced by the low - frequency signals . the claimed woofer module is capable of sharing the same expansion slot with other removable modules such as a floppy disk drive or a secondary hard - disk drive so that the utilization of limited spare space in the portable computer is more flexible . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention . accordingly , the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims .	6
with a third - generation mobile telephone system , a base station communicates with several mobile devices , the various mobile stations transmitting information simultaneously to the base station and vice versa . the individual signals sent to or from the mobile stations are distinguished by allocating corresponding codes to the subscribers , the corresponding codes being mutually orthogonal . the number of items of information to be transmitted per unit of time can be varied in dependence upon the spreading factor sf , upon which the code is based . to exploit the transmission capacity to the maximum , the signal actually received and / or transmitted by the base station consists of code channels , which provide different spreading factors . each code of a given spreading factor branches again in the plane of the next higher spreading factor into two orthogonal codes . fig1 illustrates this by way of example for the code 4 with a spreading factor 64 ( reference c 4 ). in the next higher code class , that is , with a spreading factor 128 , the code 4 is subdivided into a code 4 with spreading factor 128 ( reference c 4 ′) and a code 68 with the spreading factor 128 ( reference c 68 ). fig1 shows a detail of a code tree diagram with three code classes with the spreading factors 64 , 128 and 256 respectively . the code 32 relating to spreading factor 64 ( c 32 ), shown schematically in fig1 with dark shading , and code 68 relating to spreading factor 128 ( c 68 ) are active . when measuring the signal with the assistance of a signal analyser , which presents each measured power level of the code channels relating to the spreading factor 64 , the power level of the active code channel 32 is presented with an additional power level for the code channel 4 . in this context , the power level of the code channel 4 is a so - called alias power level , which also occurs with an inactive code channel 4 and originates from an actually active code channel 68 of the spreading factor 128 . the code channel 4 of the spreading factor 128 , however , is actually inactive . in the diagrams , inactive code channels are represented by empty circles . fig2 shows a presentation of the power levels of the individual code channels for the basic spreading factor 64 . in this presentation as a bar diagram , the individual code channels are plotted horizontally , so that the height of the bars allocated to the individual code channels indicates the measured power level for each code channel . code channels , which are actually active in the code class presented are marked with the reference 2 in fig2 and are presented , for example , in a given color . the code channels , which are inactive with a basic spreading factor of 64 are preferably presented in another color and are shown in fig2 by way of example with the reference 3 . as already explained in the context of fig1 , the code channel c 4 , which provides an alias power level , is labelled with the reference 5 in fig2 and is marked in a special manner by the display device 1 . for example , with the bar diagram selected in fig2 , a differently colored bar may be used for this purpose . furthermore , a marking 4 is shown in fig2 , which can be allocated by the operator of the measuring device to any desired code channel . in the example presented , the marking 4 is allocated to the color - marked code channel c 4 ( reference 5 ). fig3 provides a presentation of the measured results , as already shown in fig2 , for a spreading factor 128 , that is to say , for the next higher code class . as already explained in the context of fig1 , in the presentation relating to the spreading factor 128 , an unambiguous distinction must be made between the code channel c 68 and the code channel c 4 ′. accordingly , the display device 1 displays only a slight noise power level for the code channel c 4 ′ labelled with the reference 5 ′, which is synonymous with the statement that the code c 4 ′ is actually inactive . by contrast , a relatively high power level is indicated for the code channel c 68 labelled with the reference 5 ″, which means that the code channel c 68 is actually active and has therefore caused the alias power level of the code channel c 4 with spreading factor 64 . since the code channel c 68 provides an actual power level rather than an alias power level , the bar allocated to the code channel c 68 is now no longer marked with a special color . on the contrary , it is shown with the same color as all other active code channels relating to the spreading factor 128 . to make it easier to locate the corresponding code channel , the marking 4 from fig2 is set as the marking 4 ′ on the code channel c 68 in fig3 . this displacement of the marking 4 , 4 ′ corresponds to the occurrence of the alias power level on the basis of the code generation according to the hadamard matrix . other presentations are also possible instead of the preferred presentation in a bar diagram with special coloring of the corresponding code channels , for example , arrow diagrams or line diagrams etc . it is also possible to mark a code channel , which provides an alias power level , by other means than coloring . for example , shading , a border arranged around the bar , a flashing bar or arrow may be considered . fig4 presents a further possibility for the occurrence of the alias power level , as it arises in transmission units with two antennae , wherein the antennae each use codes , which are mutually orthogonal ( orthogonal transmit diversity otd )). in this context , the channels of a first antenna ant 1 and a second antenna ant 2 are each spread with an additional orthogonal spreading factor . this means that the code channels are actually disposed in a plane of the code tree diagram with a doubled spreading factor . in fig4 , this is shown by way of example for the code channel 16 of antenna ant 1 with spreading factor 64 . as indicated by the empty circle , the code channel c 16 ′ of the antenna ant 1 with spreading factor 128 and orthogonal transmit diversity is inactive . the code channel c 144 ( code 16 , antenna ant 2 , spreading factor sf 128 with otd ), however , is active . accordingly , the power level of the code channel c 144 is measured as the alias power level of the code channel c 16 ( code 16 , antenna ant 1 , spreading factor sf 64 with otd ). a corresponding presentation on a display device 1 is again shown in fig5 , for a basic spreading factor 64 . the only - apparently - active code channel c 16 is labelled in fig5 with reference 6 and highlighted by the use of another color in the bar diagram . the marker 7 , allocated in fig5 to the code channel c 16 , is again , in the presentation relating to the spreading factor 128 shown in fig6 , allocated to the code channel c 16 ′, which does not now provide an alias power level and is accordingly shown as inactive . in the presentation shown , all code channels belonging to the antenna ant 1 are presented in such a manner that the code channel causing the alias power level is not recognisable . fig7 shows , by way of example , the occurrence of an alias power level through the active code channels of a higher code class and simultaneous use of orthogonal transmit diversity . in code channel 18 in this diagram ( code 18 , antenna ant 1 , spreading factor sf 64 with otd ), a power level with the next higher spreading factor , which originates from code channel 18 of the next code class ( antenna ant 1 , spreading factor sf 128 ) with orthogonal transmit diversity , can be identified , and also a power level , which originates from code channel 18 of antenna ant 2 with spreading factor 128 with otd . both power levels are mapped in the code channel c 18 of the antenna ant 1 with spreading factor sf 64 with orthogonal transmit diversity and accordingly marked in color in a diagram , which presents the power level distribution of the individual code channels , wherein the marking corresponds , preferably in dependence upon the application , either to the marking of alias power levels of a higher code class or of alias power levels through otd . fig8 shows a schematic presentation of a signal analyser according to the invention . the signal analyser 10 according to the invention has an input connection 11 , to which a cdma signal 12 to be measured is connected . the input connection may be either an antenna connection for the antenna 18 or a connection for a signal line . the incoming signal 12 is supplied from the input connection 11 to an analysis device 13 . in the analysis device 13 , the incoming cdma signal is analysed , so that the actual power level is determined for all active code channels and accordingly , the active code channels can be allocated to the code classes . to display the measured power level of the individual code channels on a display device 14 , an entry is implemented by the operator in an operating field 15 , which is supplied via a connection 16 to the analysis device . the presentation parameters entered in the operating field 15 contain , for example , the selection of specified base spreading factors for the display . the power levels of the code channels to be presented for a specified base spreading factor are communicated by the analysis device 13 via a further connecting line 17 to the display device 14 , on which , once again , the measured power levels of the individual code channels are displayed in a presentation corresponding to the presentation from fig2 , fig3 , fig5 and / or fig6 . if the operator recognises , on the basis of the color presentation of code channels , that a code channel provides an alias power level , he can make an entry via the operating field 15 , in response to which , the analysis device 13 communicates to the display device 14 the information required for a modified presentation of a higher code class with the corresponding higher spreading factor sf . a presentation relating to the smallest spreading factor , for which no alias power level occurs in the code channels , can also be selected automatically . the presentation for a given spreading factor can also be selected directly via the entry , instead of an automatic switching of the presentation relating to a spreading factor . furthermore , fig8 illustrates the case , in which a transmitter 19 transmits via two generally spatially offset antennae ant 1 and ant 2 , wherein the codes used are spread into the next higher code class , as described above . while the present invention has been described in connection with a number of embodiments and implementations , the present invention is not so limited but covers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements , which fall within the purview of the appended claims .	7
referring to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a layer of yarns laid with the process and apparatus of the present invention , including a first course c and a second course c &# 39 ;. as will be apparent , each of the courses is laid at an angle of approximately 45 ° to the direction of the fabric forming mechanism shown by the arrow a . the apparatus and process of the present invention are so adjusted in forming the fabric of fig1 that course c &# 39 ; is laid adjacent course c , without any overlap ; however , as will be apparent , the two courses are parallel to each other . in fig2 a fabric is formed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention where the process and apparatus are adjusted to provide for an overlap of yarns in successive courses . thus , with a fabric forming direction illustrated with the arrow b , a first yarn course d is laid at approximately a 45 ° angle to the fabric forming mechanism . a second course d &# 39 ; is then laid parallel to course d , and overlying approximately one - half of the width of course d . it will be appreciated that fig2 is merely one illustration of the amount of overlap which can be achieved employing the process and apparatus of the present invention , more or less overlap being possible and being dictated by the requirements of the finished fabric . an overview of the placement of the bias laid yarns in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig3 . the system is similar to that described in my u . s . pat . no . 4 , 556 , 440 . two endless conveyors 30 and 31 are shown , respectively , on the left and right hand sides . these conveyors 30 and 31 , which are of the same length , are driven at the same speed by forward pulleys 32 and 33 and are suspended on rearward pulleys 34 and 35 . forward pulleys 32 and 33 are connected by axial member 36 , while rearward pulleys 34 and 35 are connected by axial member 37 . each conveyor includes a plurality of blocks 40 . formed onto , or from , each block are a series of sharp needles 42 best illustrated in fig4 . formed across , but slightly above , the conveyors 30 and 31 are a plurality of guide arms 50 , 51 , 52 . three such arms are illustrated for laying of three layers of yarn , but it will be appreciated that additional guide arms and complete yarn laying assemblies can be provided , depending upon the number of layers of yarn to be incorporated into the bias laid fabric . similarly , the number of such guide arms can be reduced to two . moving along each of the guide arms is a member 53 to which is attached a yarn carrier 54 , each yarn carrier being employed for laying a plurality of yarns 55 . it will be appreciated , from a review of fig3 that regardless of the angling of the guide arms 50 , 51 , 52 , the yarn carrier 54 is placed in a direction parallel to the movement of the conveyors 30 , 31 . as illustrated in my prior patent , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 556 , 440 , the yarn carriers are mounted in a slot so that they dip down below the level of the needles 42 , and similar needles formed on the rake systems , to be described , in order to allow the yarns 55 being carried to be caught in the rake system at either end of the travel of the carriers 54 . as also set forth in that patent , each of the carriers 54 may be mounted on a pneumatic cylinder attached to a source of air or other gas under pressure to allow movement of the carrier 54 rearwardly as the yarns are caught on the rake system . while not illustrated , a device having means to hold the individual yarns in the fabric 60 together is placed at the end of the mechanism illustrated in fig3 just before the pulleys 32 , 33 . this device can be a stitching machine , such as the previously described liba copcentra - hs , can be a different type of stitching machine , a knitting machine , or a device which applies an adhesive at selected points along the fabric length and width in order to hold the yarns together , prior to impregnation . through a driving means the yarn carriers are moved back and forth across the short axis of the fabric being formed . either the bonding mechanism contains a driving means , such as an oscillating crank mechanism , which causes the speed of the yarn carrier to be reduced near the end of its travel , or such an oscillating crank mechanism can be provided , separate and apart from the bonding unit , in order to accomplish the same results . while the slowing down of the carriers 54 near the end of travel , beyond the conveyors , can be omitted when the rake system is employed , this slowing down is an aid to attaining parallelism of the yarns , even with the rake system . in addition to being slowed down by this mechanism at either end of its travel , it is necessary to cause the yarn carrier to drop down below the level of the needles 42 , when the carrier has passed beyond those needles and the associated conveyor . this dropping down is required in order to allow the yarns to be wrapped around the needles , or to be impaled by them . this is accomplished by mounting the yarn carrier on a guide pin which travels in a horizontal slot in a guide arm , that slot being angled downwardly beyond the conveyor and the rake system , so as to cam the yarn carrier downwardly , and move the yarns below the horizontal level of the needles . on the return stroke , the yarn carrier moves upwardly , completing the operation of wrapping the yarns around the needles , or impaling them , and then returns across the fabric being formed . the particular improvement of the present invention involves the rake systems illustrated , on the left hand side of the machine , as numbers 70 , 71 , and 72 and , on the right side of the machine , as 80 , 81 , and 82 . while the general structure of each of these rake mechanisms , and their method of operation , is the same , there are some variations , as will be detailed below . the rake systems and their operation are best illustrated in fig4 , and 6 . as illustrated in fig3 and 4 , the conveyors 30 and 31 have a number of blocks 40 formed on an endless chain . extending from each of the blocks 40 are sharp needles 42 which are spaced equidistantly . as best seen in fig4 the needles extend at , essentially , right angles to the blocks 40 and conveyor 31 . as best illustrated in fig5 the needles 42 are angled slightly upwardly from the blocks 40 . this slight angling upwardly is provided to allow grabbing of the threads and proper interaction of the needles 42 with the rake systems 70 , 71 , 72 , 80 , 81 , and 82 , and the carriers 54 . the amount of angling should be from 10 ° to 40 °, preferably from 20 ° to 30 °. the rake system illustrated in fig4 is , essentially , the one shown in fig3 as 80 . while the guide member 50 is , essentially , at a 45 ° angle to the conveyor 31 , the carrier 54 is , essentially , parallel to that conveyor . the needles 100 formed on rake 80 are at approximately a 45 ° ( 135 °) angle so as to supplement the angle of the guide member 50 and provide the proper interaction with the yarns being carried by the carrier 54 . the angling of the needles 100 on the rake system should correspond , roughly , to the supplement of the angle of the particular guide member in association with which they are used . thus , if the guide member is at 30 °, the needles on the rake system should be at 150 °; if the guide member is at 45 °, the needles on the rake system should be at 135 °; if the guide member is at 60 °, the needles on the rake system should be at 120 °; if the guide member is at 90 ° to the direction of travel of the fabric being formed , the needles 100 on the rake system should be at 90 °. it has been found , however , that the 45 ° rake system can be employed with both the 30 ° and 60 ° guide members . as best illustrated in fig5 the needles 100 on the rake system have an essentially vertical portion 101 , extending upwardly from the rake system 80 , and are then bent over at 102 , so that the point of the needle 103 , is angled downwardly . generally , the angle e between the upstanding vertical portion 101 and the portion of needle 100 on which the point 103 is formed is the same as the angle f between the needle 42 and the block 40 . the angle e may be greater than the angle f , but the point 103 must lie below the needle 42 . preferably , the angle e is approximately 55 °. this is to prevent the yarn from escaping from the rake as the carrier is raised , and then travels back across the conveyor system . the alignment , bending , and angling of the needles 100 from the rake system 80 is best illustrated in fig6 . it will be appreciated , as just described , that the angling of the needles 100 on the rake system 82 will be exactly opposite that shown in fig4 and 6 , and the angling of the needles 100 on the rake systems 71 and 81 will be at essentially right angles to the rake systems 71 and 81 and , therefore , at , essentially , right angles to the conveyors 30 and 31 . the angling of the needles on the rake system 70 will be essentially the same as those on the rake system 82 , while the angling of the needles on the rake system 72 will be essentially the same as those on the rake system 80 . in operation , and referring , particularly , to the rake ; system 80 of fig4 as the conveyor 31 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow g , and the carrier 54 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow h , the yarns 55 are moved to a point beyond the rake system 80 and below the points 103 of the needles , as best illustrated in fig5 . the rake system 80 then moves in the direction indicated by the arrow i in fig4 so as to firmly grasp the yarns 55 which are in the vicinity of the needles 100 formed on the rake system 80 . as previously indicated , the individual yarns 55 may either fall between adjacent needles 100 , or may be impaled on an individual needle 100 . obviously , with certain types of yarns , such as carbon fibers , the sizing and spacing of the yarns 55 and the carrier 54 would be such that none of these yarns would be impaled . as the carrier 54 is raised upwardly , away from the rake system 80 , it begins to move in a direction opposite the arrow h and , because of the tension in the yarns , pulls the yarns off of the rake needles and places them , firmly , on the needles 42 formed on the conveyor 31 , as illustrated by the yarn 55 &# 39 ; in fig4 . when the conveyor 54 has completed its travel across the fabric being formed , to the opposite conveyor 30 , the process is repeated , with one exception . in returning across the fabric being formed to the conveyor 30 , the yarns are beyond , and below , rake system 70 , when the conveyor 54 dips down . in order to assure retention of the yarns 55 in the needles 100 of the rake system 70 , the rake system 70 must first move slightly forward , i . e ., in the same direction as the conveyor 30 is travelling , before it is moved rearwardly for depositing of the yarns 55 on and within the needles 42 of the conveyor 30 . only a slight movement of the rake 70 in a forward direction , i . e ., a distance sufficient to place the yarn over the needles 42 formed on the conveyors 30 and 31 . generally , the forward movement of the rake system 70 is approximately the distance between two of the needles 100 , preferably the distance between two to three of the needles 100 . the amount of movement required tends to vary with the thickness of the yarn . the operation of the rake systems 71 and 81 , and of the rake system 72 is the same as that described for the rake system 80 . this is because the carrier 54 is moving either at right angles , or in a direction opposite the direction of travel of the fabric being formed . the operation of the rake system 82 is the same as that of the rake system 70 , since the carrier 54 , at that point , is moving in the same direction as the direction of travel of the fabric being formed . while the means for moving the various rake systems are not illustrated , any convenient means can be employed . thus , the rakes may be moved pneumatically , mechanically , or by a solenoid movement . as previously indicated , the density of the fabric can be controlled by overlapping of return courses on first courses . this is accomplished without loss of parallelism . further , this increased density is accomplished without requiring too high a concentration of yarns in each carrier , a situation which could lead to difficulty in operation of the mechanism . without the rake systems of the present invention , this overlapping with paralellism could not be accomplished . the amount of overlap accomplished is , generally , based upon the width of the yarns 55 in the carrier . obviously , this width has nothing to do with the denier of the yarns , but rather refers to the dimension w shown in fig3 . as this width increases , with the same travel of the rake system , there is a greater overlap of yarns , while as the width w is decreased , with the same movement of the rake system , there is less of an overlap of yarns . the amount of movement of the rake systems 70 , 71 , 72 , 80 , 81 , and 82 , and of the carriers 54 , in a direction opposite the direction of fabric formation is dependent upon the speed of the conveyor . the speed of the conveyor is dependent upon the number of stitches per inch being placed by the needling machine , when one is used , i . e ., the fewer the number of stitches , the faster can be the fabric formation . as indicated in my prior patent , the number of yarns in the carrier 54 need not correspond to the spacing of the needles 42 formed on the conveyors . similarly , the number of yarns in the carrier 54 need not correspond to the number of needles 100 on the rake system in the same linear dimension , nor do the number of needles 100 in the rake system have to correspond with the number of needles 42 on the conveyor in the same linear dimension . as previously indicated , the ability to impale some yarns aids in control of density uniformity . as indicated , the fabric formed in accordance with the present process is generally used in the formation of structural parts , as in airplanes , and in such a use is wrapped around a mold , or laid into a particular position , after which , or prior to , being impregnated with a resin . when the fabric is fully in place and impregnated , the resin is cured to complete formation of the part . while the description of the present invention has involved a stitching of the various fabric layers together , it will be appreciated that other methods for holding the non - woven fabric in place can be employed . for example , a loose knitting operation , as is known in the art can be employed . further , a light resin spray can be applied to bond the fibers at their crossing points . again , the material which is employed for this bonding , or the materials used , are not of critical importance , as the ultimate strength of the bias laid non - woven fabric comes from the resin which is finally used for impregnation and which is cured with the fabric in place . if the bonding mechanism used for the fabric does not have a device , such as the oscillating crank of the liba copcentra - hs , then such a mechanism can be independently provided for driving of the yarn carriers in order to provide for their reduced speed of motion near the ends of the travel paths . no mention has yet been made in this specification of the loops which are obviously formed , either by the yarns wrapping around the various needles or by being impaled on them . as is apparent , these loops are at the extremities of the width of the fabric being formed . after stitching or other methods of bonding , so that the fabric is generally held together , the loops can be cut away by any known mechanism . once the other bonding means have been put into place , the loops , which had served only the function of holding the fabric in place up until that time , are no longer required . while the invention has been illustrated and described in accordance with the particular embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the invention is not to be considered as limited except as set forth in the appended claims .	3
referring first to fig1 there is shown in simplified form a section of ground having a downwardly sloping earth portion 12 normally subject to undesirable wind and water erosion forces , and upon which erosion - inhibiting ground vegetation is to be grown . covering the sloping earth portion 12 are a series of specially designed vegetation growth - enhancing , erosion control blankets 114 . blankets 114 have a porous construction through which the planned - for ground vegetation may readily germinate and grow . referring still to fig1 , the blankets 114 have elongated , generally rectangular configurations ( zig - zag shaped sides 115 , in this embodiment ) and are conventionally secured to one another and to the underlying sloping earth portion 12 , by a spaced series of ground staples 16 . installed in this manner , the blankets 114 shield the sloping earth portion 12 from both wind and rain until the ground vegetation takes hold . referring still to fig1 , each of the erosion control blankets 114 includes an elongated rectangular mat 118 formed from fibrous material — i . e ., a multiplicity of elongated fibers 20 disposed in a randomly intertwined relationship . wood fibers 20 of the excelsior / wood wool variety are preferably used and collectively define therebetween a multiplicity of relatively small interstitial regions through which ground vegetation , such as the grass 22 may upwardly grow from the sloping earth portion 12 protectively covered by blankets 114 . each mat 118 , in this particular embodiment , has a substantially flat bottom surface 124 , positionable directly against the sloping earth portion 12 , a portion of which being diagrammatically illustrated , as will be described in more detail below . referring now to fig2 , an enlarged , perspective view of a portion of a prior art erosion control blanket 114 is shown . some prior art blankets 114 are formed with straight sides 115 and at least one layer of a photodegradable netting 128 extending across a top side 126 to form a mat 118 . a second plastic net 130 may be attached to the bottom side of the blanket to extend generally parallel to the top net member 128 . netting 128 and 130 serve to flexibly reinforce conventional mats 118 and facilitate their handling during installation of the erosion control blankets 114 . from a structural standpoint , the prior art erosion control blankets 114 are effective for erosion control . one embodiment of the blanket 114 shown in fig2 has been manufactured and sold by the american excelsior company , arlington , tex . under the trade name “ curlex .” however , in accordance with an important aspect of one embodiment of the present invention , the nettings 128 and 130 , which may create ecological problems , have been removed and replaced with a thread binding as described below . referring now to fig3 there is shown an enlarged top plan view of an erosion control blanket 14 illustrating one aspect of the fabrication thereof in accordance with one embodiment of the principles of the present invention . the top surface 26 of erosion control blanket 14 is bound in place by thread 30 . in one embodiment , the thread 30 may be generally biodegradable and made of rayon , cotton , jute or the like . the thread 30 is held in place by stitches 32 that perforate through the top surface 26 of the blanket 14 to the bottom surface 34 of the blanket 14 . in the preferred embodiment , the threads are similarly spaced horizontal threads 30 bound in place by stitches 32 at regular intervals along the blanket 14 . however , other orientations of threads 30 and stitches 32 may be utilized in accordance with aspects of the present invention . for example , vertical or diagonal threads 30 may be implemented and held in place by randomly positioned stitches 32 . referring still to fig3 , the fibers 20 of this particular embodiment are packaged in an intertwined manner and held together with thread 30 and stitches 32 as described above . the fibers 20 , in the preferred embodiment , are wood material shaved to form curlex ® excelsior fibers 20 with barbed edges . 80 % of the fibers 20 are six inches or longer with a consistent width and thickness . the barbed edges and curled orientation of the fibers 20 interlock and assist in holding the blanket 14 together . it should be noted , however , that the fibers 20 of the present invention may include any elongated members of wood wool which may be intertwined into a flexible mat . curlex ® excelsior fibers comprise the preferred embodiment but other wood wool is contemplated by the present invention . referring now to fig4 there is shown a side elevational view of the blanket 14 of fig3 . consistent therewith , the stitches 32 are shown as vertical lines extending from the top surface 26 to the bottom surface 34 substantially near the threads 30 . as previously mentioned , the stitching pattern and threads 30 may be in a variety of orientations other than the preferred embodiment shown . the bottom surface 34 is substantially flat and engages the surface of the sloping earth portion 12 as shown in fig1 to permit the infiltration of soil thereagainst and the stabilization of the blanket 14 thereupon . referring now to fig5 and 6 there is shown a method of manufacturing the control blanket 14 of the present invention . the manufacturing process occurs by accumulating fibrous material 204 , preferably of the excelsior / wood wool variety , placing it within a hopper 206 where it is compacted and discharged from the hopper end 208 . the discharged mat 210 is received upon a conveyor belt 209 which transports the mat 210 to a stitching area . a roller 212 is positioned adjacent a stitcher head 214 to further compress the mat 210 prior to stitching . the stitching head 214 is described with greater detail below with reference to fig6 . the threads 30 are stitched into place and the stitched blanket 14 is later packaged for distribution . referring now to fig7 and 8 , the stitcher head and stitching of the mat 210 are shown in greater detail . stitches 32 are placed through the top surface of the mat 210 at the stitcher head 214 and the blanket 14 formed is then passed under thread tensioning rollers 216 to maintain the proper tension of the thread 30 . the thread 30 runs from an upper area of the machine toward a stitching needle 218 . the stitching needle 218 pulls the thread 30 through the top surface of the mat 210 to the bottom surface of the mat 210 . the stitching needle 218 then returns past the top surface of the mat 210 to prepare for another stitch . the stitching needle 218 engages the mat at appropriate intervals as discussed above . after the mat is stitched , the blanket 14 is compressed and the thread tensioning rollers 216 maintain proper tension of the thread 30 . a pressure adjusting bolt 220 may be utilized to adjust the tension of the rollers 216 . the formed blanket 14 may then be rolled or cut at specific intervals and packaged for distribution . the above - referenced stitching system is useful in the manufacture of an erosion control blanket due to the multiplicity of elongated , intertwined members that collectively define a multiplicity of interstitial regions with which the stitching is permitted to secure the intertwined members together . it has been noted that the propensity of excelsior / wood wool to maintain the intertwined relationship lends itself to the stitching technique defined herein , and provides an erosion control blanket for multiple environmentally - safe applications where other fibrous type materials may not lend themselves to such a stitching operation . as referenced above , a generally biodegradable thread is a preferred embodiment . however , one embodiment includes a thread made of polypropylene or the like . the length of thread in the biodegradable excelsior mat of the present invention presents a more environmentally friendly configuration than prior art “ net ” mats . it is thus believed that the operation and construction of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description . while the method and apparatus shown or described has been characterized as being preferred it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .	4
it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration , where appropriate , reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements . in addition , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein . however , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , methods , procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described . also , the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein . the drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure . several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented . the term “ coupled ” is defined as connected , whether directly or indirectly through intervening components , and is not necessarily limited to physical connections . the connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected . the term “ comprising ,” when utilized , means “ including , but not necessarily limited to ”; it specifically indicates open - ended inclusion or membership in the so - described combination , group , series and the like . referring to fig1 - 3 , an electronic device 100 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown . the electronic device 100 includes a heat dissipating casing 10 , and two electronic components 20 , 30 thermally attached to the heat dissipating casing 10 . the heat dissipating casing 10 is capable of dissipating the heat generated from the electronic components 20 , 30 . the heat dissipating casing 10 includes a top plate 12 , a bottom plate 14 , a pore structure 16 and a working medium 18 located between the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14 . the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14 can be made of metallic material with high heat conductivity , such as copper , aluminum , titanium or nickel . the top plate 12 is parallel to the bottom plate 14 . the top plate 12 is located at an inner side of the electronic device 100 , and the bottom plate 14 is located at an outer side of the electronic device 100 . two opposite ends of each of the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14 slant upwardly , and each has a cross section of circular arc shape . an outer edge of the top plate 12 is coupled to an outer edge of the bottom plate 14 by an annular connecting plate 13 . the pore structure 16 is sandwiched between the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14 to support the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14 . the top plate 12 , the connecting plate 13 and the bottom plate 14 cooperatively form a sealed chamber 101 , and the pore structure 16 and the working medium 18 are received in the sealed chamber 101 . the pore structure 16 is fixed on an inner face of the top plate 12 . the two electronic components 20 , 30 are fixed on an outer face of the top plate 12 . the pore structure 16 produces a capillary force for adsorbing the liquid working medium 18 , and has a porosity ranged from about 35 % to about 65 %. the working medium 18 may be water or alcohol . the pore structure 16 includes a main portion 162 adhered on the whole inner face of the top plate 12 and a plurality of convex portions 164 extending downwards from the main portion 162 and contacting the bottom plate 14 . two opposite ends of the main portion 162 slant upwardly along the two opposite ends of each of the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 14 , and each has a cross section of circular arc shape . each of the convex portions 164 is a long narrow strip . the convex portions 164 are parallel to and spaced from each other with an equal interval . a channel 165 is formed between every two adjacent convex portions 164 for flow of the working medium 18 . in use , the temperature of the electronic device 100 rises due to the heat generated from the electronic components 20 , 30 . since the electronic components 20 , 30 contact the top plate 12 of the heat dissipating casing 10 intimately . the heat is transmitted to the working medium 18 by the top plate 12 , so that the working medium 18 is heated and vaporized to flow downwards through the channels 165 of the pore structure 16 to the bottom plate 14 . the vaporized working medium 18 exchanges heat with the bottom plate 14 and then is condensed to liquid . the condensed working medium 18 then returns to the top plate 12 of the heat dissipating casing 10 . therefore , the heat generated from the electronic components 20 , 30 is dissipated continuously by above phase change cycle of the working medium 18 . the whole heat dissipating casing 10 has a heat transfer coefficient larger than 10000 w /( m 2 * k ), about 30 times as much as that of the copper material . referring to fig4 - 5 , an electronic device 100 a in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown . the electronic device 100 a includes a heat dissipating casing 10 a , and an electronic component 20 a thermally attached to the heat dissipating casing 10 a . the heat dissipating casing 10 a is capable of dissipating the heat generated from the electronic component 20 a . the heat dissipating casing 10 a includes a top plate 12 a , a bottom plate 14 a , a pore structure 16 a and a working medium 18 a . the top plate 12 a and the bottom plate 14 a can be made of non - metallic material or metallic material with high heat conductivity , such as copper , aluminum , titanium or nickel . two opposite ends of each of the top plate 12 a and the bottom plate 14 a slant upwardly , and each has a cross section of circular arc shape . an outer edge of the top plate 12 a is coupled to an outer edge of the bottom plate 14 a by an annular connecting plate 13 a . the differences between the electronic device 100 a of the second embodiment and the electronic device 100 of the first embodiment are in that : the heat dissipating casing 10 a further includes a sealed , flat shell 15 a , in which a sealed chamber 101 a is formed . the pore structure 16 a and the working medium 18 a are received in the sealed chamber 101 a of the sealed shell 15 a . the electronic component 20 a is thermally attached to the sealed shell 15 a . the sealed shell 15 a can be made of metallic material with high heat conductivity , such as copper , aluminum , titanium or nickel . compared to aluminium magnesium alloy , the heat dissipating performance of the heat dissipating casing 10 a increases more than 10 times . the sealed shell 15 a is bent along a longitudinal direction thereof . each of the top plate 12 a and the bottom plate 14 a defines a groove ( not labeled ), corresponding to the sealed shell 15 a . the sealed shell 15 a is embedded in the grooves of the top plate 12 a and the bottom plate 14 a . the sealed shell 15 a is coupled with the top plate 12 a and the bottom plate 14 a by welding or molten way . a protrusion 152 a protrudes from an outer face of one end of the sealed shell 15 a . the electronic component 20 a is thermally attached to the protrusion 152 a of the sealed shell 15 a . the other portion of the sealed shell 15 a except for the protrusion 152 a has a thickness equal to that of the heat dissipating casing 10 a . the pore structure 16 a is fixed on an inner face of the sealed shell 15 a . the pore structure 16 a includes a main portion 162 a and a plurality of convex portions 164 a extending downwards from the main portion 162 a . each of the convex portions 164 a is a long narrow strip . the convex portions 164 a are parallel to and spaced from each other with an equal interval . a channel 165 a is formed between every two adjacent convex portions 164 a for flow of the working medium 18 a . referring to fig6 , an electronic device 100 b in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure is shown . the electronic device 100 b includes a heat dissipating casing 10 b , and an electronic component 20 b thermally attached to the heat dissipating casing 10 b . the heat dissipating casing 10 b is capable of dissipating the heat generated from the electronic component 20 b . the heat dissipating casing 10 b is a sealed structure , and includes a top plate 12 b , a bottom plate 14 b , a pore structure 16 b and a working medium 18 b located between the top plate 12 b and the bottom plate 14 b . an outer edge of the top plate 12 b is coupled to an outer edge of the bottom plate 14 b by an annular connecting plate 13 b . the top plate 12 b , the connecting plate 13 b and the bottom plate 14 b cooperatively form a sealed chamber 101 b , and the pore structure 16 b and the working medium 18 b are received in the sealed chamber 101 b . the two electronic component 20 b is fixed on an outer face of the top plate 12 b . the pore structure 16 b includes a main portion 162 b adhered on the whole inner face of the top plate 12 b and a plurality of convex portions 164 b extending downwards from the main portion 162 b and contacting the bottom plate 14 b . a channel 165 b is formed between every two adjacent convex portions 164 b for flow of the working medium 18 b . the differences between the electronic device 100 b of the third embodiment and the electronic device 100 of the first embodiment are in that : the heat dissipating casing 10 b further includes two heat insulating layers 17 b , 19 b and a cover 11 b . in use , the temperature of a part of the electronic device 100 b adjacent to the electronic component 20 b rises rapidly due to the heat generated from the electronic component 20 b , while the other part of the electronic device 100 b far from the electronic component 20 b has a lower temperature . as a result , the heat in the outer face of the heat dissipating casing 10 b returns back to an interior of the heat dissipating casing 10 b , and the temperature of the interior of the heat dissipating casing 10 b rises continuously . to solve above problem , the heat insulating layer 17 b is adhered on the top plate 12 b of the heat dissipating casing 10 b and surrounds the electronic component 20 b . a user may contact a bottom of the heat dissipation casing 10 b , thus a position of the bottom plate 14 b of the heat dissipation casing 10 b where hands of the user may touch directly is covered by the heat insulating layer 19 b , thereby preventing the hands of the user feeling high temperature of the bottom of the heat dissipation casing 10 b . the heat insulating layers 17 b , 19 b may be an insulating tape , a solidified gas gel layer , or a hollow film . the cover 11 b covers the top plate 12 b and the bottom plate 14 b , the cover 11 b and the top plate 12 b cooperatively form a sealed room ( not labeled ) for receiving the electronic component 20 b therein . in the above embodiments , the electronic device 100 , 100 a , 100 b may be notebook computer . according to the present disclosure , since the heat dissipating casing 10 , 10 a , 10 b defines a sealed chamber therein , and the working medium 18 , 18 a , 18 b and the pore structure 16 , 16 a , 16 b for absorbing the working medium 18 , 18 a , 18 b are received in the chamber , thus the heat generated from the electronic components 20 , 30 , 20 a , 20 b is dissipated by the phase change cycle of the working medium 18 , 18 a , 18 b . both the higher heat radiating efficiency and the demand for ultra - thin electronic products are obtained . the embodiments shown and described above are only examples . many details are often found in the art such as the other features of an electronic device . therefore , many such details are neither shown nor described . even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in the detail , especially in matters of shape , size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure up to , and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims . it will therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims .	7
the electromagnetic clutch in the embodiments of the present invention is explained in detail based on the drawings . fig1 and fig2 illustratively show a first embodiment of an electromagnetic clutch according to the present invention , and fig1 is a sectional side elevation showing a general configuration of an electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment and fig2 is a front view of a hub 6 in fig1 when viewed from the right side in the figure . referring to fig1 and fig2 , the components in fig1 and fig2 which are the same as or similar to the components of a conventional electromagnetic clutch 100 shown in fig1 are denoted by the same reference symbols . referring to fig1 first , the sectional side elevation of the electromagnetic clutch 1 , which is arranged between a compressor ( not shown ) of an air conditioner for a vehicle driven by an engine via belts ( not shown ) and the belts , is shown . the electromagnetic clutch 1 has a structure substantially the same as that of the conventional example shown in fig1 . the electromagnetic clutch 1 comprises an electromagnetic coil 21 accommodated in a stator 22 , a rotor 31 rotatively driven by a vehicle engine , which is not shown , an armature 14 attracted to the rotor 31 by the magnetic force of the electromagnetic coil 21 , and the hub 6 having an outer plate 13 and an inner hub 12 . the transmission of power from the engine to the compressor of the air conditioner for a vehicle via the electromagnetic clutch 1 is basically the same as that in the conventional example described above and , therefore , an explanation will not be given here to avoid duplication . one end of an elastic member 11 is vulcanizedly adhered to an outermost part 12 a of the inner hub 12 and the other is vulcanizedly adhered to the outer plate 13 . the outer plate 13 has an l - shaped section and is coupled to the armature 14 by press fitting etc . of the armature 14 and a bridge part 14 a . as an armature outer ring 13 a and the armature 14 are separate parts , the thicknesses thereof may be different from each other and the outer diameter part in the magnetic circuit can be reduced in thickness and , therefore , reduction in weight is possible . the electromagnetic clutch has a six - pole structure . when current is applied to the coil 21 , an attracting force appears , the elastic member 11 deflects and the armature 14 is attracted to the side of the rotor 31 . the armature 14 and the rotor 31 rotate together by the magnetic force and the power is transmitted to an auxiliary device ( for example , a compressor of an air conditioner for a vehicle ) connected to the inner hub 12 . when the auxiliary device locks for some reason , the electromagnetic clutch 1 slides and the armature 14 produces heat by the friction between the rotor 31 and the armature 14 . in the present embodiment , by integrally forming the outer plate 13 and the armature outer ring 13 a into one piece having an l - shaped section , the heat produced by sliding on the armature outer ring 13 a is transmitted to the elastic member 11 efficiently and the elastic member 11 melts quickly , making it possible to quickly shut off the power transmission . it is preferable for the elastic member 11 to come into contact with the armature 14 , as shown in fig1 , from the standpoint of melting of the elastic member 11 . fig3 shows the sectional side elevation of an electromagnetic clutch 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , the components of the electromagnetic clutch 2 in fig3 which are the same as or similar to the components of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment disclosed in fig1 are denoted by the same reference symbols . according to the second embodiment , the electromagnetic coil 21 has a four - pole structure , in the first embodiment described above , which is the difference from the first embodiment described above . other structures and operations of the electromagnetic clutch 2 are the same as those of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment . fig4 shows the sectional side elevation of an electromagnetic clutch 3 according to a third embodiment of the present invention and fig5 shows the front view of the hub 6 when viewed from the right side in the figure . referring to fig4 and fig5 , the components of the electromagnetic clutch 3 in fig4 and fig5 which are the same as or similar to the components of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment disclosed in fig1 are denoted by the same reference symbols . in the third embodiment according to the first embodiment , an outer plate 13 b and an armature outer ring 13 c are formed as separate parts but they are coupled with each other , by press fitting etc ., so that heat transmission therebetween is integrally carried out as if they are one piece . the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that the outer plate 13 b and the armature outer ring 13 c are formed as separate parts . other structures and operations of the electromagnetic clutch 3 are the same as those of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment . fig6 shows the sectional side elevation of an electromagnetic clutch 4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig6 , the components of the electromagnetic clutch 4 in fig6 which are the same as or similar to the components of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment disclosed in fig1 are denoted by the same reference symbols . according to the fourth embodiment , an outer plate 13 d and the armature 14 are formed as separate parts but the armature 14 is coupled only to the inside of the outer plate 13 d so as to be one piece in a heat - transmissible manner by press fitting , external cylinder drawing ( plastic deformation by reduction in diameter ), or the like in the first embodiment described above . in this point , the fourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above . other structures and operations of the electromagnetic clutch 4 are the same as those of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment . fig7 shows the sectional side elevation of an electromagnetic clutch 5 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig7 , the components of the electromagnetic clutch 5 in fig7 which are the same as or similar to the components of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment disclosed in fig1 are denoted by the same reference symbols . according to the fourth embodiment , the outer plate 13 d and the armature 14 are formed as separate parts and the armature 14 is coupled only to the inside of the outer plate 13 d , the section of which is rectilinear as shown in fig6 , by press fitting etc ., so that heat transmission therebetween is integrally carried out as if they are one piece . in contrast to this , according to the fifth embodiment , an outer plate 13 e and the armature 14 are also formed as separate parts but the section of the outer plate 13 e is not rectilinear but meanders so as to have an s - shape as shown in fig7 . the configuration , in which the armature 14 is coupled to the inside of the outer plate 13 e , by press fitting etc ., so that heat transmission between the armature 14 and the outer plate 13 e is integrally carried out as if they are one piece , is the same as that in the fourth embodiment described above . the fifth embodiment differs from the fourth embodiment described above in that the section of the outer plate 13 e is not rectilinear . other structures and operations of the electromagnetic clutch 5 are the same as those of the electromagnetic clutch 4 in the fourth embodiment . fig8 shows the sectional side elevation of an electromagnetic clutch 7 according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention and fig9 shows its front view . referring to fig8 and fig9 , the components of the electromagnetic clutch 7 in fig8 and fig9 which are the same as or similar to the components of the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment disclosed in fig1 are denoted by the same reference symbols . the electromagnetic clutch 7 in the sixth embodiment is a modification of the electromagnetic clutch 3 in the third embodiment . in the sixth embodiment , an outer plate 13 f and the armature outer ring 13 c are formed as separate parts as in the third embodiment and they are coupled with each other , by press fitting etc ., so that heat transmission therebetween is integrally carried out as if they are one piece . in the present embodiment , the outer plate 13 f is made of non - magnetic metal such as stainless and extends along the entire circumference of the electromagnetic clutch 7 as seen from the front view in fig9 . further , the outer plate 13 f is in contact with the rotor 31 . on the other hand , in the third embodiment , the outer plate 13 b is inserted into the armature 14 partially at four points as shown in fig5 . the sixth embodiment differs from the third embodiment in that the outer plate 13 f extends along the entire circumference , which is clear from the comparison between fig9 and fig5 . in the sixth embodiment , it becomes easier to transmit heat from the outer plate 13 f to the elastic member 11 . other structures and operations of the electromagnetic clutch 7 are the same as those of the electromagnetic clutch 3 in the third embodiment . next , the effect and function of the embodiments described above are explained below . the following effect can be expected from the electromagnetic clutch 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention . the electromagnetic clutch 1 according to the prior art described in patent document 1 has a great damping effect and excellent performance of absorbing torque variations . therefore , by integrally forming the outer plate and the armature into one piece with no gap in between in this structure , the transmission of the heat produced at the frictional surface to the elastic member becomes more efficiently . as a result , it becomes easy to melt the elastic member to stop power transmission . in addition to the effect of the first embodiment described above , the following effect can be expected from the electromagnetic clutch in the second embodiment of the present invention . in the first embodiment , the electromagnetic coil of the electromagnetic clutch has six poles but the present invention can be applied to the case of the four - pole electromagnetic coil . in addition to the effect of the first embodiment described above , the following effect can be expected from the electromagnetic clutch in the third embodiment of the present invention . as the outer plate 13 b and the armature outer ring 13 c are formed as separate parts , there is the possibility that the manufacture of the outer plate 13 b and the armature outer ring 13 c becomes easier and they are coupled with each other , by press fitting etc ., so that heat transmission therebetween is integrally carried out as if they are one piece and , therefore , the fact that it is easy to melt the elastic member and stop power transmission remains . in addition to the effect of the first embodiment described above , the following effect can be expected from the electromagnetic clutch in the fourth embodiment of the present invention . another embodiment different from the third embodiment is disclosed , in which the structure has no armature outer ring and as for heat transmission , and it is easy to transmit heat from the armature to the elastic member . in addition to the effect of the first embodiment described above , the following effect can be expected from the electromagnetic clutch in the fifth embodiment of the present invention . it is possible to increase the contact area between the outer plate and the armature and , thereby , heat is readily transmitted to the elastic member . in addition to the effect of the first embodiment described above , the following effect can be expected from the electromagnetic clutch in the sixth embodiment of the present invention . compared to the third embodiment described above , heat is more readily transmitted from the armature to the elastic member via the outer plate and , therefore , it is possible to melt the elastic member more quickly . as the outer plate is a non - magnetic material , the magnetic performance is improved compared to the case where there exists the bridge and , therefore , the transmission torque performance is improved . in the above explanation , the case is described where the electromagnetic clutch is used for intermittently operating the compressor of an air conditioner for a vehicle , but the present invention is not limited to this and may be used for other than the compressor of an air conditioner for a vehicle . in the embodiments described above or the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings , the electromagnetic coil has six or four poles , but another number of poles is possible . while the invention has been described by reference to specific embodiments chosen for the purposes of illustration , it should be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention .	5
in the present invention information from two or more data sets are combined into a single enhanced data set in which one component of information is placed in the most - significant bits of the pixel display word and the other components of information are placed in the least - significant bits of the enhanced data words . since the additional components of information are placed in bit locations which are less significant than the lowest bits of the first component of information , the combined data set can be manipulated and displayed with conventional means . the additional information , however , can be used in manipulations and / or displays if desired . fig1 illustrates a first embodiment of the present invention in which phase - contrast magnetic resonance angiography ( pc - mra ) data is processed . phase - contrast magnetic resonance angiography data consists of two components of information . the first component is contained in the magnitude of the acquired mr signal and reflects the strength of the mr signal . the second component is contained in the phase of the acquired mr signal and reflects the velocity of the material giving the mr signal . in phase - contrast mra up to three orthogonal flow - sensitive acquisitions are performed in each slice of the subject . consequently , a three - dimensional phase contrast ( 3dpc ) angiogram consists of up to four different three - dimensional data sets after image reconstruction . these data sets are : 1 ) magnitude data , 2 ) x - flow , 3 ) y - flow and 4 ) z - flow . each of the flow data sets consists of a magnitude component which reflects the signal intensity of the moving blood , and a phase component which reflects the blood &# 39 ; s velocity . using one embodiment of the present invention , the x - flow , y - flow and z - flow velocity data can each be reduced to a single bit giving the direction of flow ( e . g . 0 = left , 1 = right ). these three bits of information can then be inserted as the least significant bits of the magnitude data set to give an enhanced data set . in fig1 an x - flow sensitive image containing a magnitude component 110 a and a phase component 110 b , a y - flow sensitive image containing a magnitude component 120 a and a phase component 120 b and a z - flow sensitive image containing a magnitude component 130 a and a phase component 130 b are treated with the system of the present invention . it is instructive to note that the present invention can be applied to all types of pc - mra data including two - and three - dimensional data sets . in the present embodiment of the invention , x - flow phase component 110 b , y - flow phase component 120 b and z - flow phase component 130 b are each reduced to a single bit of information for each pixel . one useful reduction method is to extract the sign of the phase components in order to obtain a single data bit for each of the x , y and z - flow images to characterize the direction of flow . for example , if the phase of the z component data is positive , that would indicate that the direction of flow was in the positive z direction and thus , the z bit would be set ( i . e . = 1 ). conversely , if the flow was in the negative z direction , then the phase of the z component would be negative and the z bit would not be set ( i . e . = 0 ). reduction of the x - flow data is accomplished with an x phase reduction step 140 a , reduction of the y - flow data is accomplished with a y phase reduction step 140 b and reduction of the z - flow data is accomplished with a z phase reduction step 140 c . the individual bits are then combined into a single three bit word using a bit combine step 160 . in the present embodiment the magnitude components of the x - flow , y - flow and z - flow images are combined in a magnitude combine step 150 . in the presently preferred embodiment the magnitude components are combined in a fashion well know to those skilled in the art using the equation : combined magnitude = square root of ( x 2 + y 2 + z 2 ) ( 1 ) where x , y and z are the magnitude of the x - flow , y - flow and z - flow image data respectively . once the x , y and z magnitude components have been combined , the resultant image data has pixel intensities which reflect the speed of flow within the imaged vessels , but does not contain any information regarding the direction of flow . conversely , the three bit word computed in combine step 160 contains direction of flow information , but does not contain any information regarding the strength of the mr signal . in the present invention , the three bit word computed in combine step 160 is inserted into the least - significant bit locations of the combined magnitude component determined in magnitude combine step 150 . this insertion is performed in an insertion step 170 . if desired the combined magnitude data can be shifted into the more significant bit locations prior to the insertion of the three bit word . this preserves the entire image content provided there is sufficient dynamic range in the original magnitude data . alternatively , the three least significant bits of the combined magnitude data can be replaced with the three bit word . this alters the fine intensity structure of the image ( i . e . noise ), but preserves the dynamic range . a second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig2 in which data from a functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fmri ) data is processed . in this embodiment , a reference scan 210 is first acquired . a plurality of n subsequent images 220 a , 220 b , 220 c . . . 220 n , are then acquired . the magnitude of pixels in each subsequent image 220 a , 220 b , 220 c . . . 220 n are then subtracted from the magnitude of corresponding pixels in reference image 210 using a subtraction step 230 . the result of each subtraction is then reduced to a selected number , m , bits of data in a difference reduction step 240 . in one embodiment the difference data are scaled so that all possible values lie between −( 2 m − 1 1 ) to 2 m − 1 1 . in an alternate embodiment , the sign of the difference is assumed to be positive and the difference data is scaled so that all possible values lie between 0 and 2 m − 1 . once the reduced data has been computed , it is inserted into the least significant bits of the reference image using a bit insertion step 250 . as with the first preferred embodiment , the reference pixel data can be shifted into the more significant bits prior to insertion of the reduced data , or if desired , the reduced data can replace the least significant bits of the reference image . it should be noted that the second embodiment of the present invention also has application to any digital imaging method in which a reference image is acquired and compared to subsequent images . these applications include , but are not limited to : temperature sensitive mr imaging , mr spectroscopic imaging , digital x - ray angiography and highlighting differences in satellite images . fig3 illustrates a data word 300 of a single pixel in a conventional digital image . in this example , 32 bits are contained in the pixel and each bit has either the numeric value 0 or 1 . data word 300 has a most - significant bit 310 , a least - significant bit 320 and a fourth most - significant bit 330 . enhanced data word 350 is data word 300 after being modified according to the present invention . enhanced data word 350 has a most significant bit 360 . additional information 390 is inserted below a least - significant bit 370 of enhanced data word 350 . in this illustration , additional information 390 is comprised of three bits 380 a , 380 b and 380 c . this three bit insertion is consistent with use of the first embodiment of the invention in which three orthogonal flow directions are inserted into the data . this three bit insertion is also consistent with the use of the second embodiment in which m = 3 . least significant bit 370 corresponds to the original least significant bit of the unaltered data 320 of data word 300 and most significant bit 360 corresponds to the fourth most significant bit 330 of data word 300 . fig4 illustrates the conventional process in which pixel data in an image is converted into intensities for display on a color monitor , in this example , a 16 bit dynamic range for each display word resulting in values between − 32 , 768 and 32 , 767 . since the full dynamic range of the image data greatly exceeds that of the human eye , a subset of the full range of the data is chosen by the operator . this subset is specified by two parameters , a window , w , and a level , l . window w specifies the range of pixel intensity values which are passed to the display hardware . level l specifies the average pixel intensity value passed to the display hardware . in conventional display systems , the pixel intensities specified by w and l are scaled and interpolated to give numeric display intensity values 420 which for an 8 bit display has values between 0 and 255 . pixels whose values exceed the upper bound of the subset are given a display value of 255 and pixels whose values are less than the lower bound of the subset are given a display value of 0 . in practice the operator can easily manipulate w and l ( typically with knobs ) and rapidly adjust the contrast and brightness of the displayed image to optimize the visualization of any part of the image . if the final display driver is designed to drive a black - and - white monitor , then display intensity values 420 are directly sent to the digital - to - analog converters ( dacs ) which in turn provide the intensity drive voltages to the monitor . for color monitors , display intensity values 420 are typically passed to a color look - up table 430 which converts each display intensity value into display intensity values for the red , green and blue drivers of the display . if a gray scale image is displayed using color look - up table 430 , then the numeric outputs of the red , green and blue drives are equal to each other and vary from 0 to 255 . when red , green and blue are all 0 , then the monitor displays black . when red , green and blue are all 255 then the monitor displays white . intermediate values give intermediate levels of gray . in the present invention , the additional data which has been inserted into the original data is not viewable using conventional image display systems . consequently , one aspect of the current invention is alternate display mechanisms which can make use of the inserted data . a first example of this is shown in fig5 . here a pixel datum 411 is analyzed in the conventional fashion for a given window w and level l , to give a display intensity value 421 . in accordance with the present invention , however , one of the bits contained in the additional information ( 390 of fig3 ) becomes a control bit and is used to select between two color look up tables . if the control bit is set ( i . e . = 1 ), then a first color look - up table 431 is selected . if the control bit is not set ( i . e . = 0 ) then a second color look - up table 441 is selected . in an additional aspect of the present invention , each color look - up table can be dynamically modified by the operator through the specification of a color threshold 451 . in the present example , color look - up values below the threshold , shown as value a in fig5 are set to give an image appearance identical to a conventional black and white image . color look - up table values above the color threshold are modified to give a colorized image . with the example given in fig5 phase - contrast mra data obtained in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention would appear as a conventional black - and - white image when the color threshold 451 is maximized ( i . e . a = 255 ). as the threshold is lowered , however , pixels whose magnitudes have a display value greater than a will be displayed with a colorized look - up table . in the example shown in fig5 those pixels whose control bit is set will be given a red hue since the green and blue components are zeroed . alternatively , those pixels whose control bit is not set will be given a blue hue . with phase - contrast angiography data , vessels carrying blood in a selected direction will appear red while vessels carrying blood in the opposite direction will appear blue . fig6 shows an alternative color mapping scheme in which a pixel datum 412 is reduced to a display intensity value 422 which in turn drives either a first color look - up table 432 , or a gray scale - lookup table 442 depending on the status of a selected control bit . a color threshold 452 is applied to first color look - up table 432 as described above , but not to second color look - up table 442 . consequently , when pixel display word intensities are above the color threshold value , a , they are colorized only if the control bit is set . with phase - contrast angiography data , vessels carrying blood in a selected direction will appear red while vessels carrying blood in the opposite direction will appear with the conventional black - and - white appearance . in the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in fig5 and 6 , a single control bit is used to select the color look - up table . in alternate embodiments , m bits can be used to select between 2 m lookup tables as shown for m = 4 in fig7 . in this embodiment of the invention a pixel datum 413 is reduced to a display intensity value 423 which in turn drives one of sixteen color look - up tables 433 a , 433 b , 433 c . . . 433 p . the selection of the color look - up table determined by the value , b , of the m = 4 control bits . a color threshold 453 is applied to each color look - up table 433 as described above , but not to last color look - up table 433 p . thus , functional mri data acquired and reduced in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention in which m = 4 , are displayed with 16 different color look - up tables . pixels in the image having no changes with respect to the reference image ( i . e . no functional activation ) have a zero stored as the additional information ( i . e . b = 0 ) which causes the display to select a conventional black - and - white look - up table 433 p . image pixels having moderate changes would cause the display to select a ‘ cool ’ hue such as blue for its look - up table . image pixels having greater changes would cause the display to select an intermediate hue such as green for its look - up table 433 c . image pixels with large changes would cause the display to select a ‘ hot ’ hue such as red for its look - up table 433 a . as with the embodiments illustrated in fig5 and 6 , a color threshold allows the user to dynamically select the amount of colorizing applied to the displayed image . with the present invention , any colorized look - up table is possible . with the illustrated embodiments the operator has the impression that selected image pixels are viewed through colored glass ( i . e . the details of the underlying source image are still apparent ). the hue of the colored glass ( e . g . red , green , blue etc .) is determined by the control bits which contain additional information ( e . g . flow direction , degree of functional activation etc .). in our previous example , the if the operator wishes to determine the direction of flow in the left / right axis , then the value of the bit in the position corresponding to the reduced left / right velocity information can be used to select between two alternative color look - up tables . pixel data with the ‘ left / right ’ bit set could be represented with a red - to - black color table while pixel data with the ‘ left / right ’ bit not set could be represented with a blue - to - black color table . alternatively , if display of only flow in a single direction is desired , then the color - to - black lookup table can be applied for only those pixels having the appropriate inserted bit value , and a conventional white - to - black look - up table used for all other pixels . the use of a color threshold permits the colorization of only relevant pixels and leaves the non - relevant pixels ( e . g . noise background outside the imaged anatomy ) displayed in black and white . fig8 illustrates one embodiment of a hardware system 500 for the incorporation of additional image data into a primary digital image which may be displayed as the primary image with little change in dynamic range or visible appearance , or may be displayed as an enhanced image , with color coding or overlays . a computer bus 501 connects a disk storage means 510 , a central processor unit ( cpu ) 520 , and a memory means 530 , to a graphic display subsystem 540 , and acts as a source of primary data . graphic display subsystem 540 is comprised of a memory buffer 550 , a control device 555 , and a color look - up device 560 . color look - up device 560 is connected to user input devices comprised of a window control 580 a , a level control 580 b and a color threshold control 580 c . in accordance with the present invention cpu 520 acquires a primary data set , which may be in memory 530 or stored on disk storage device 510 , and inserts it into a working memory buffer 550 via a merge device 553 . a data reduction device 557 either has pre - stored , or receives as user - defined , a desired dynamic range required for playback , indicating a number of playback bits d . it also has pre - stored , or is user - supplied with , the word width of the playback device p intended to be used . from this data reduction , device 553 determines the amount of free bits , f , which may be merged into the primary data set words . data reduction device 557 is coupled to a secondary data source 551 . the secondary data source 551 may physically be the same acquisition equipment used to acquire the primary data set , but produces a secondary data set . data reduction device 557 reduces the secondary data words down to reduced secondary data words each having m bits . data reduction device 557 in certain circumstances determines an appropriate length for m , such as when the secondary data may be reduced to a fixed number of bits . for example , flow direction data may be defined in three bits with each bit indicating a direction along three orthogonal directions . merge device 553 is coupled to the data reduction device 557 and receives the m least significant bits of the primary data word and the m bits of each secondary data word . it also receives information from the data reduction device 557 . merge device is also coupled to memory buffer 550 and shifts each primary data word m bit positions toward the most significant bit , and inserts the m bits of the reduced secondary data word into the m least significant bit positions . in the event that f was determined to be less m , then the merge device 553 shifts the primary data word by f bits and inserts m bits of the reduced secondary data word into the lowest m bits of the primary data word . the merged primary and secondary data word information results in a new enhanced data set with enhanced data words of the same width as the primary data set words . the enhanced data words have the secondary data information merged into their lowest bits . this will only minimally affect the values , especially if m is chosen to be about or below the number of bits equivalent to the level of background noise . this allows the enhanced data sets to be displayed as if they were unaltered primary data sets on conventional playback equipment . for example , enhanced color coded mr angiography data may be displayed as original gray scale information on conventional gray scale mr scanners with little or no change in dynamic range , image quality , or storage space . these same enhanced data sets may also be viewed as color coded images on an enhanced mr scanner employing the present invention . on playback , cpu 520 places the enhanced digital image into display memory buffer 550 . color lookup device 560 receives the window , level , and color threshold information from the window , level and color threshold control devices 580 a , 580 b , 580 c , respectively . it then creates at least one color lookup table with the entries above the color threshold shades of a predetermined color or colors . entries at , and below , the color threshold define shades of gray scale . each entry has an index . the table is constructed such that the window range maps into indices of the lookup table and spans all indices of the table . a control device 555 reads the additional information stored in the m least significant bits of the enhanced data word and acts accordingly . in color coding of digital images , the additional data indicates which lookup table within color lookup device 560 to use . color lookup device 560 then provides the extracted color or gray scale to digital - to - analog converters 571 ( dacs ) which create analog signals to drive the red , green and blue channels of color display 570 . although the invention is described above as a system for the manipulation and display of mr data , it is also suitable for use with any digital image . the concept of ‘ smuggling ’ information into the lower bits can be applied to any digitally encoded data . the best use would be for merging additional information from a second data set into the primary data set which has entries that correspond to the primary data set . as mentioned above , two volumetric data sets with entries representing two different physical characteristics at the same location could easily be combined . merging these two data sets reduces the amount of redundant information . in other embodiments , text , voice , or sounds in general may be ‘ smuggled ’ into an image to which they pertain without affecting image quality . this allows a description of an image or video clip to be embedded within the image or video clip itself . it provides integral multi - media . enhanced media of this form are fully compatible with older media players not capable of reading the embedded information . in still another embodiment , small programs , or applets may be ‘ smuggled ’ in a primary data set , such as an image . these applets may then be executed , even on the image itself . in yet another embodiment , supplementary information may be incorporated into digital audio data with minor detriment to sound quality ( chosen to be below the level of audible detection ). fig9 shows a generalized version of an embodiment of the present invention . much is as described for fig8 above . since both data sources for fig8 involved digital image playback , some elements shared in fig8 are split up for the embodiment shown in fig9 . as before , there are a primary data source 503 and a secondary data source 551 . data from both sources are merged into the enhanced data and stored in storage device 850 . a primary playback device 861 is coupled to the storage device and could play back the enhanced data as if it were unaltered primary data . a control device 855 coupled to the storage device 850 reads the lowest m bits and passes them to a secondary playback device 860 allowing playback device 860 to reproduce the original information captured in the secondary data set . secondary playback device 860 may be a display device , as show in fig8 an audio playback device , a text and superposition device to superimpose textual description on images or video , or any other digital playback device . secondary playback device 860 is controlled by a user interface 880 which causes the secondary playback device to change one or more aspects of the secondary data output such as volume , data format or the like . while several presently preferred embodiments of the novel invention have been described in detail herein , many modifications and variations will now become apparent to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit of the invention .	6
technical solutions in embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and thoroughly below in connection with drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure . it should be obvious for those skilled in the art that the embodiments described below are only a part of embodiments of the present disclosure rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosures . as shown in fig2 , there is provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure a gate driver 103 , which includes a shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 and a shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 204 connected to the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 , wherein the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 is used for detecting a voltage state at present and outputting a control signal to the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 204 according to the voltage state , and the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 204 is used for outputting a shutdown residual elimination signal according to the control signal . it should be noted that , when the voltage supply is shut down , the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 can detect the variation of a supply voltage , when the supply voltage is less than a predetermined threshold , the shutdown voltage detection circuit outputs a control signal , the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 204 outputs the shutdown residual elimination signal after the receipt of the control signal output from the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 , the gate driver 103 controls respective thin film transistors to be turned on , such that the charges accumulated on liquid crystal capacitors and storage capacitors can be released rapidly , so as to achieve the shutdown residual elimination . the shutdown residual elimination signal in the embodiment of the present disclosure differs from the xon signal in the prior art , and the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit in the embodiment of the present disclosure also differs from that in the prior art . particularly , as shown in fig2 , the gate driver 103 further includes an input buffer 202 , a shift register 203 , a level converter 205 and an output buffer 206 . when the display apparatus operates normally , the input buffer 202 of the gate driver 103 receives a frame synchronization signal stv ( start vertical ) and a row synchronization signal cpv ( clock pulse vertical ) input from the timing controller and outputs the same to the shift register 203 , and the shift register 203 outputs a high level signal to gate lines progressively under the control of the frame synchronization signal and the row synchronization signal , and outputs , via the level converter 205 and the output buffer 206 , gate turning on or off signals for the respective lines such that gate lines of a corresponding frame of picture are scanned progressively and displayed . when the display apparatus is at a shutdown state , as shown in fig3 , the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 outputs a control signal to the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 204 when it detects that the input voltage vdet is less than a predetermined threshold , and the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 204 outputs the shutdown residual elimination signal ( that is , high level signals corresponding to the respective gate lines ) to the level converter 205 according to the received control signal , and then outputs , via the level converter 205 and the output buffer 206 , gate turning on signals of the respective lines . as shown in fig3 , during normal operation , those signals on the gate lines s 1 , s 2 , . . . , sn − 1 and sn are scanning signals , that is , accordingly , only one gate line is at a high level and other gate lines are at a low level . when vdet is lower than the predetermined threshold , the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 outputs the control signal , and the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 204 outputs the high level signals of the respective gate lines to the level converter 205 after the receipt of the control signal outputted from the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 , such that the gate lines s to sn are all at a high level , the respective film transistors on the liquid crystal panel are all turned on accordingly , thereby the charges accumulated on liquid crystal capacitors and storage capacitors can be released rapidly so as to eliminate the shutdown . there is provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure a gate driver , in which the shutdown voltage detection circuit and the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit are configured , when the display apparatus is in a shutdown state , the shutdown voltage detection circuit detects that the input voltage is less than the predetermined threshold and then outputs the control signal to the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit , and the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit outputs high level signals of the respective gate lines to the level converter according to the control signal to control the respective thin film transistors to be turned on via the gate driver , so that the charges accumulated on liquid crystal capacitors and storage capacitors are released rapidly , so as to eliminate the shutdown residual . in the gate driver provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure , the shutdown voltage detection circuit and the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit are integrated together , and the high integration of the gate driver can reduce the malfunction rate of the gate driver and the cost of external circuits . the display device can eliminate the shutdown residual by the gate driver without matching use of the pcb and the gate driver having the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit , which is more convenient . optionally , as shown in fig2 , the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 includes a comparison unit 2011 and a conversion unit 2012 . the comparison unit 2011 is used for comparing an input voltage and a reference voltage and outputting a comparison result , and includes an input terminal , a grounded terminal and an output terminal . the conversion unit 2012 is used for performing a signal conversion of the comparison result outputted from the comparison unit 2011 , and includes a first input terminal , a second input terminal , a grounded terminal and an output terminal , wherein the first input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the comparison unit . it should be noted that the shutdown voltage detection circuit is used for detecting the variation of the input voltage and has a variety of different implementations according to particular situations , and detailed descriptions will be given by taking one of the different implementations as an example . the reference voltage of the comparison unit can be set to different values according to different display device . the conversion unit performs a signal conversion of the comparison result outputted from the comparison unit , that is , when the comparison unit outputs a high level , the conversion unit outputs a low level accordingly ; when the comparison unit outputs a low level , the conversion unit outputs a high level accordingly . optionally , as shown in fig2 , the comparison unit 2011 includes a comparator u and a constant voltage source , wherein a non - inverting terminal of the comparator u is the input terminal of the comparison unit , an inverting terminal of the comparator is connected to one terminal of the constant voltage supply , and an output terminal of the comparator is the output terminal of the comparison unit ; another terminal of the constant voltage source is grounded and is the grounded terminal of the comparison unit , and the constant voltage source is used for supplying the reference voltage . the comparison unit is used for comparing the input voltage and the reference voltage to output a high level or a low level for detecting a supply state at present . the reference voltage is preset and can be set to different values according to different display devices . particularly , as shown in fig2 the input voltage inputted from the non - inverting terminal of the comparator is compared with the voltage of the constant voltage source by the comparator , when the input voltage vdet is higher than the voltage of the constant voltage source , the comparator outputs a high level , and a low level is outputted via a inverter , at this time , the control signal outputted from the shutdown voltage detection circuit is a normal display signal of the display panel ; when the input voltage vdet is less than the voltage of the constant voltage source , the comparator outputs a low level and a high level is outputted via the inverter , at this time , the control signal outputted from the shutdown voltage detection circuit is a shutdown residual elimination signal . optionally , the conversion unit 2012 is an inverter including a pmos transistor q 1 and a nmos transistor q 2 , each of which has a gate g , a source s and a drain d , respectively , wherein the gate g of the pmos transistor q 1 is used as the first input terminal of the conversion unit connected to the output terminal of the conversion unit ; the source s of the pmos transistor q 1 is used as the second input terminal of the conversion unit for inputting a high level , and the drain d of the pmos transistor q 1 is used as the output terminal of the conversion unit ; the gate g of the nmos transistor q 2 and the gate g of the pmos transistor q 1 are connected to each other , the drain d of the nmos transistor q 2 and the drain d of the pmos transistor q 1 are connected to each other , and the source s of the nmos transistor q 2 is the grounded terminal of the conversion unit . specifically , when the comparator outputs a high level , the nmos transistor of the conversion unit is turned on and outputs a low level correspondingly , and at this time , the control signal outputted from the shutdown voltage detection circuit 201 is a normal display signal of the display panel ; when the comparator outputs a low level , the pmos transistor of the conversion unit is turned on and outputs a high level accordingly , and at this time , the shutdown voltage detection circuit outputs a control signal for eliminating a shutdown residual . it should be noted that the specific configurations for outputting the shutdown residual elimination control signal may be designed as required , and descriptions will be given by taking the above configure as an example in the embodiment of the present disclosure . for example , it may be specified that the comparator outputs a high level , and the shutdown voltage detection circuit outputs the shutdown residual elimination signal , of which the principle is the same as above , and herein it is not repeated . it should be noted that , as shown in fig2 , gates of the pmos transistor and the nmos transistor are located on the left side of the pmos transistor and the nmos transistor , the source of the nmos transistor is the grounded terminal and the source of the pmos transistor is the terminal connected to a high level . optionally , the shutdown residual elimination functional circuit 2012 includes logic circuits for controlling thin film transistors of respective gate lines to be turned on . particularly , as shown in fig2 , the gate driver 103 further includes a shift register 203 and a level converter 205 , wherein the logic circuits include or gate circuits , each of which includes a first input terminal , a second input terminal and an output terminal , the first input terminal of each of the or gate circuits is connected to the output terminal of the conversion unit of the shutdown voltage detection circuit , the second input terminal of each of the or gate circuits is connected to the shift register , and the output terminal of each of the or gate circuits is connected to the level converter . herein , the operation principle of the or gate circuit lies in that the or gate circuit outputs a high level when the high level is inputted to its first input terminal or its second input terminal ; and outputs a low level when a low level is inputted to both of the first input terminal and the second input terminal simultaneously . specifically , the number of the or gate circuits is the same as the number of the gate lines on the display panel , and each of the or gate circuits controls the turning - on of the thin film transistors on a corresponding gate line . when the display panel operates normally , the voltage at the non - inverting terminal of the comparator is higher than the voltage at the inverting terminal of the comparator , and thus the comparator outputs a high level and a low level is outputted via the inverter such that in the respective or gate circuits , in response to the output of the shift register , the thin film transistors on one gate line are turned on sequentially to realize scanning and displaying ; when the display panel is in a shutdown state , the voltage at the non - inverting terminal of the comparator is less than the voltage at the inverting terminal of the comparator , the comparator outputs a low level , and a high level is outputted via a inverter , since the first input terminal of each of or gate circuits is connected to the output terminal of the inverter , the respective or gate circuits output a high level respectively , and thus the thin film transistors on the respective gate lines are turned on to eliminate the shutdown residual . it should be noted that , in the embodiment of the present disclosure , the or gate circuit may be a circuit constituted by different electronic elements for implementing the function thereof , for example , the or gate circuit may be constituted by two thin film transistors , and the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto . in an embodiment of the present disclosure , there is provided a display apparatus including any of the gate drivers provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure . the display apparatus may be display devices such as liquid crystal displays , electronic papers . organic light - emitting diode ( oled ) displays , etc . and any products or components having a display function such as televisions , digital cameras , mobile phones , tablet computer , etc . including these display devices . optionally , as shown in fig2 , the display apparatus further includes a voltage dividing circuit 30 which includes an input terminal , a grounded terminal and an output terminal , wherein the output terminal is connected to the input terminal of the comparison unit of the gate driver . it should be noted that , the voltage vin inputted from the input terminal of the voltage dividing circuit 30 is the supply voltage of the display screen . the voltage dividing circuit 30 can divide the supply voltage inputted from the input terminal to obtain an output voltage vdet , which is enabled to be compared to the preset voltage set by the comparison unit . for example , the supply voltage inputted from the input terminal may be different based on different applications in the existing display device . in the prior art , the supply voltage of tablet computers is usually 3 . 3v , the supply voltage of laptop computers is usually 5v , and the supply voltage of televisions is 12v . the preset voltage of the comparison unit is commonly set as 1 . 2v , that is , the voltage of the constant voltage source is 1 . 2v , and thus the inputted voltage may be divided by the voltage dividing circuit 30 to enable it to be compared with the preset voltage . the voltage dividing circuit 30 and the gate driver 103 are arranged separately , and for the display apparatus , the output voltage at the output terminal of the voltage dividing circuit may be set to different values according to particular power supply situations . optionally , as shown in fig2 , the voltage dividing circuit 30 includes a first resistor r 1 and a second resistor r 2 , wherein a first terminal of the first resistor r 1 is the input terminal of the voltage dividing circuit , and a second terminal of the first resistor r 1 is the output terminal of the voltage dividing circuit ; a first terminal of the second resistor r 2 is connected to the second terminal of the first resistor , and a second terminal of the second resistor r 2 is the grounded terminal of the voltage dividing circuit . it should be noted that , for the convenience of description , in the embodiment of the present disclosure , the upper terminals of the first resistor and the second resistor are the first terminals of the first resistor and the second resistor , and the lower terminals of the first resistor and the second resistor are the second terminals of the first resistor and the second resistor . exemplarily , as shown in fig2 and 3 , the input voltage inputted to the input terminal of the voltage dividing circuit 30 is vin , the output voltage outputted via the first resistor and the second resistor is vdet which is compared to the voltage of the constant voltage source of the comparison unit 2011 by the comparator . when the supply voltage vin inputted from the input terminal of the voltage dividing circuit 30 is less than a predetermined value , vdet obtained by the voltage dividing circuit 30 is also less than the voltage of the constant voltage source , the comparator u outputs a low level , the pmos transistor of the conversion unit 2012 is turned on and a high level is outputted via a inverter such that the conversion unit 2012 outputs the shutdown residual elimination signal to eliminate the shutdown residual . optionally , as shown in fig2 , the first resistor r 1 and the second resistor r 2 are adjustable resistors , such that the value of vdet outputted from the voltage dividing circuit can be conveniently adjusted according to actual situations , which may be suitable to different display apparatuses . the above descriptions are only the specific embodiments of the present disclosure , but in no way limit the scope of the present disclosure . those skilled in the art may make readily modifications or variations to the above embodiments within the technical scope disclosed by the present disclosure , which should to be included within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure . therefore , the protection scope of the present disclosure should be defined by the protection scope of the claims .	6
substituted alkynes having 3 to 8 carbon atoms per molecule , and particularly substituted propynes , are monomers which can be converted into polymers possessing a variety of useful properties . these polymers tend to be very expensive , however , in part because of the high cost of the alkyne which is used to prepare the monomer . the present invention provides a convenient , low cost procedure which can be carried out in two steps in one reaction vessel without intermediate reaction work - up to obtain substituted alkynes , particularly propynes , from inexpensive feedstocks , such as the commercially available mapp gas , which contains both propyne and propadiene . the procedure of the invention converts both of these unsaturated hydrocarbons to the desired substituted alkyne , first by a simultaneous isomerization / metallation reaction and subsequently by substitution of the metal with a suitable electrophile that can react with the alkynylmetal species . the isomerization reactions involving allenic hydrocarbons and alkynes , such as propadiene and propyne , are equilibrium reactions that are reversible . in other words the catalysts which convert allenic hydrocarbons to alkynes having terminal unsaturation , also isomerize the terminally unsaturated alkyne to the feedstock hydrocarbons . by carrying out a simultaneous metallation in an inert solvent , such as ethyl ether , under mild conditions of temperature which previously have not been reported , e . g ., below about 50 ° c ., the 1 - alkyne is metallated as it is formed and effectively removed from the equilibrium mixture . in this manner , for example , all of the c 3 h 4 hydrocarbon in a propyne / propadiene feedstock , can be converted to metallated propyne which can then in turn be converted to a substituted propyne useful as a polymerization monomer . the fact that the entire procedure can be carried out in one reaction vessel also offers economic advantages in reducing the costs of equipment and operations . in accordance with the present invention , a substituted alkyne having the general structural formula : where r 1 is alkyl or aralkyl having 1 to 8 carbons and r 2 is a silyl , germyl , alkanol or alkanone substituent , is produced in a solvent , preferably diethyl ether , according to a two step , one - pot procedure . examples of alkynes which can be so substituted include methylacetylene , ethylacetylene , pentyne - 1 , 3 - methylbutyne - 1 , hexyne - 1 , 3 - phenyl - 1 - propyne and the like . the first step , for example , involves metallation / isomerization of a propyne / propadiene mixture in the presence of an alkali metal , preferably sodium , and one of the following catalysts : either an alkyl amine , preferably an alkyl diamine , more preferably 1 , 3 - diaminopropane in combination with an alkali metal base such as a hydride or an alkoxide ; or a metal oxide , preferably magnesium oxide . this is followed by reaction of the intermediate propynylmetal derivative with any suitable electrophile rx where x may be a leaving group such as cl , br , i and the like r is a silane , germane , alkyl , aldehyde or ketone substitute . alternatively , the propynylmetal derivative can be combined with an unsaturated group ( e . g ., carbonyl ) which can undergo reduction via reaction with the propynylmetal species . in a typical reaction , 1 . 0 molar equiv . of sodium metal is combined with the appropriate amount of isomerization agent , either 0 . 02 to 5 . 0 equiv . of magnesium oxide , or 0 . 02 to 1 . 0 equiv . of 1 , 3 - diaminopropane in the presence of an additional alkali metal base such as a hydride or alkoxide , in diethyl ether and the mixture is cooled to between - 40 ° and - 70 ° c . the c 3 h 4 hydrocarbon gas stream ( 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 molar equiv . of the reactive component ( s )) is introduced all at once and the mixture is allowed to warm gradually to room temperature over 1 to 3 hours , continually recondensing the volatile hydrocarbon into the ethereal solution by means of a dry ice / isopropanol condenser . the resultant propynylsodium slurry is then treated with ( 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 molar equiv .) of the electrophile . time and temperature for complete reaction with the electrophile is dependent upon electrophile structure . the following examples illustrate that propadiene portions of a c 3 h 4 hydrocarbon feedstock afford substituted propynes under the given conditions . magnesium oxide ( 2 . 2 g ; vacuum oven dried at 400 ° c . for several hours ) and freshly prepared sodium metal ( 0 . 6 g ; finely divided ) were combined in 25 ml of diethyl ether ( distilled from cah 2 ) and cooled to - 40 ° c . pure propadiene ( 1 . 5 g ) was introduced and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature with stirring for an additional 2 hours . benzyldimethylchlorosilane ( 4 . 4 g ) was added all at once and the reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 15 hours . aqueous 10 % hcl was added dropwise to destroy any residual sodium metal . the product was then extracted with pentane and concentrated to afford 3 . 6 g ( 80 %) of crude benzyldimethylsilylpropyne . the purity of the crude propyne product was high as indicated by l h nmr . sodium metal ( 0 . 6 g ; finely divided ), 1 , 3 - diaminopropane ( 0 . 1 g ; freshly distilled ), and potassium hydride ( 0 . 05 g ) were combined in 25 ml of diethyl ether ( distilled from cah 2 ) and cooled to - 70 ° c . pure propadiene ( 2 . 0 g ) was introduced and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature with stirring for an additional 2 hours . benzyldimethylchlorosilane ( 4 . 4 g ) was added all at once and the reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 15 hours . aqueous 10 % hcl was added dropwise to destroy any residual sodium metal . the product was then extracted with pentane and analyzed by gas chromatograph ( gc ) / mass spectrometry ( ms ) . results showed the product to be benzyldimethylsilylpropyne and no allenic product was observed . a run was carried out to demonstrate the metallation of propyne at low temperatures . sodium metal ( 1 . 1 g ; freshly cut to expose clean surface ) was cooled to - 78 ° c . in 50 ml of diethyl ether . propyne ( 7 . 5 g , 0 . 19 mol ) was introduced and the reaction mixture was allowed to warm and stir at room temperature for an additional 3 h . benzyldimethylchlorosilane ( 8 . 8 g , 0 . 048 mol ) was added dropwise over 15 min and the reaction was allowed to proceed for an additional 15 h . hcl ( 50 ml ) was added to destroy any residual sodium metal , the product was extracted with three 50 ml portions of pentane , then concentrated and dried to afford 9 . 1 g of crude benzyldimethylsilylpropyne . the purity of the crude product was very high as indicated by l h nmr . examples 4 and 5 describe the procedure for the synthesis of 1 -( trimethylsilyl )- 1 - propyne , a monomer of interest because of its polymer , poly - 1 -( trimethylsilyl )- 1 - propyne . sodium metal ( 0 . 6 g ; finely divided ) is combined with magnesium oxide ( 2 . 2 g ; vacuum oven dried at 400 ° c . for several hours ) in 25 ml of diethyl ether ( distilled from cah 2 ) and the mixture is cooled to - 40 ° c . the propadiene / propyne gas mixture ( 2 . 0 g ; containing about 70 % c 3 h 4 hydrocarbon ) is introduced all at once and the mixture is allowed to warm gradually to room temperature over 1 hour , continually recondensing the volatile hydrocarbon into the ethereal solution by means of a dry ice / isopropanol condenser . the resultant propynylsodium slurry is then treated with chlorotrimethylsilane ( 3 . 1 g ) and the reaction is allowed to proceed at room temperature for 15 hours . aqueous 10 % hcl is added dropwise to destroy any residual sodium metal . the product is then extracted with pentane and the organic extract distilled with careful fractionation to obtain 1 -( trimethylsilyl )- 1 - propyne . the procedure of example 3 is repeated using 1 , 3 - diaminopropane ( 0 . 1 g ) and potassium hydride ( 0 . 05 g ) as the isomerization catalyst instead of magnesium oxide . these examples give representative catalysts , reagents and reaction solvents for the preparation of substituted alkynes from alkyne / alkadiene / hydrocarbon mixtures and are not meant to be limiting in any way . a wide variety of electrophiles will react with the intermediate propynylmetal species . the appropriate choice of electrophile depends upon the structure of the desired product . for example , just as 1 -( trimethylsilyl )- 1 - propyne is prepared according to the procedure set forth in examples 4 and 5 by the addition of chlorotrimethylsilane to the propynylsodium slurry , a number of other acetylenic monomers ( e . g ., 1 -( ethyldimethylsilyl )- 1 - propyne , 1 -( phenyldimethylsilyl )- 1 - propyne , 1 -( trimethylgermyl )- 1 - propyne , as well as 2 - butyn - 4 - ols and alkyl substituted propynes can be prepared by treatment of the propynylmetal derivative with the appropriate halosilane or germane , aldehyde , ketone , or alkyl halide . in addition to the use of sodium as a metallating agent , other alkali metals ( e . g ., lithium , potassium ) are also effective . aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as benzene , toluene , xylene , or ethylbenzene , aliphatic hydrocarbons such as hexane or octane and ethereal solvents including tetrahydrofuran , dioxane , ethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene glycol diethyl ether can be used instead of diethyl ether as the reaction solvent . a variety of primary and secondary amines and diamines will isomerize alkadienes to alkynes in the presence of an alkali metal hydride or alkoxide . suitable isomerization catalysts include 1 , 3 - diaminopropane , alkylamines such as methylamine and dimethylamine , alkyl diamines such as 1 , 2 - diaminoethane , 1 , 2 - diaminopropane , 1 , 4 - diaminobutane and 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane , aryl amines such as aniline , and aryl diamines such as 1 , 2 -, 1 , 3 - or 1 , 4 - phenylene diamine , and the like . also useful as the isomerization catalyst are magnesium oxide and other group iia ( alkaline earth ) oxides ( e . g ., cao ) as well as group iiib ( e . g ., la 2 o 3 ) and group ivb ( e . g ., zro 2 ) oxides . additional alternatives include the above oxides and those of groups iiia and iva { e . g . . . , al 2 o 3 , sio 2 ) treated with alkali metals or alkali metal salts such as hydroxides and carbonates . see tanabe , k ., &# 34 ; solid acids and bases &# 34 ;, kodansha , tokyo , academic press , new york , 1970 and pines , h . ; stalick , w . m ., &# 34 ; base catalyzed reactions of hydrocarbons and related compounds &# 34 ;, academic press , new york , 1977 for comprehensive reviews of suitable solid state isomerization catalysts . other aspects and embodiments of our invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention .	2
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and described in the following written specification . it is understood that no limitation to the scope of the invention is thereby intended . it is further understood that the present invention includes any alterations and modifications to the illustrated embodiments and includes further applications of the principles of the invention as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains . the disclosed broaching system 10 allows a surgeon to prepare bone for receipt of an implant through a smaller incision 12 compared to existing surgical instruments . in the illustrated embodiment , the incision 12 has a width 13 . illustratively , the disclosed broaching system 10 can be utilized with an incision having a width 13 of less than two and a half inches . in one preferred embodiment , the width 13 of the incision 12 is two inches . the disclosed broaching system 10 is typically used for broaching of a triangular space 14 in a bone 16 adjacent the intramedullary canal 18 to facilitate receipt of a sleeve of a prosthesis that fits accurately in the intramedullary canal 18 , distributes loads evenly and provides rotational stability to the prosthesis . the disclosed broaching system 10 is particularly useful for preparing a bone 16 for receipt of a modular prosthesis having a plurality of stem components , a plurality of sleeves and a plurality of body components that may be assembled to provide a prosthesis appropriately sized and configured for a patient &# 39 ; s specific anatomy . the disclosed broaching system 10 includes a plurality of broach shells 26 , a plurality of pilot stems 42 , and a plurality of guided broaches 20 . in one illustrated embodiment , the plurality of guided broaches 20 comprises a single driver component 24 configured for mounting to any one of a plurality of broach tools 22 . with reference now to the drawings , wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views , there is shown in fig2 an exploded view of selected components of a broaching system 10 constructed in accordance with the invention . broaching system 10 includes the plurality of guided broaches 20 for cutting the desired triangular - shaped cavity 14 , the plurality of broach shells 26 for registering the broaching system 10 with a pre - existing conical cavity in the patient &# 39 ; s bone 16 , and the plurality of pilot stems 42 configured to be attached a broach shell 26 for insertion in a prepared medullary canal 18 of the patient &# 39 ; s bone 16 . indicators 28 , 30 are provided for indicating the longitudinal location of guided broach 20 relative to the broach shell 26 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 , the plurality of guided broaches 20 comprises a single driver component 24 configured to be removably coupled to any one of the plurality of broach tools 22 . those skilled in the art will recognize that a plurality of integrally formed driver components 24 and broach tools 22 could be provided as a plurality of guided broaches 20 within the scope of the disclosure . providing a plurality of integrally formed guided broaches 20 makes it easier for instruments to be selected during the surgical procedure . while in the illustrated embodiment , only two broach shells 26 , two pilot stems 42 , and two broach tools 22 are shown , it is to be understood that a plurality of broach shells 26 , pilot stems 42 and broach tools 22 may be made available to the surgeon using the disclosed broaching system 10 . each broach tool 22 is configured to be coupled to the driver component 24 . thus a plurality of guided broaches 20 may be formed each utilizing the same driver component 24 . each broach shell 26 is configured to slidably receive a portion of the broach tool 22 and act as a guide therefore during calcar preparation of the bone 16 . each pilot stem 42 is configured to mount to each broach shell 26 to facilitate stable seating of the broach shell 26 and pilot stem 42 in the prepared bone 16 . thus , the appropriate instrumentation for broaching the triangular cavity 14 can be selected and assembled by a surgeon to form a broach assembly 19 during a prosthetic operation . as shown , for example in fig1 and 2 , broach shell 26 has a longitudinal axis 40 . pilot stem 42 is removably attached to the main body of the broach shell 26 by , for example , a threaded shaft 38 extending from the proximal end of the pilot stem 42 which is configured to be received in a threaded cavity in the distal end of the broach shell 26 . the broach shell 26 also has an external frustoconical surface 44 which engages the wall of the pre - existing conical cavity , as shown , for example , in fig1 . in addition , the broach shell 26 has shaft - receiving cavity 46 formed concentrically about the longitudinal axis 40 for receiving the slide component or shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 and allowing the longitudinal axis 66 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 to move along longitudinal axis 40 . in the illustrated embodiment , shaft - receiving cavity 46 is an internal guide surface defining a cylindrical cavity or passage extending longitudinally within the shell 26 from a circular opening in the proximal end of the shell 26 to adjacent the distal end of the shell 26 . in the illustrated embodiment , shaft - receiving cavity 46 has a diameter of approximately 0 . 375 inches . the broach shell 26 includes a laterally opening slot 76 communicating with the shaft - receiving cavity 46 and extending through the side wall of the shell 26 adjacent the proximal end of the shell 26 . a laterally opening channel 77 communicating with the shaft - receiving cavity 46 and the slot 76 extends through the side wall of the shell 26 below the slot 76 . channel 77 is wider than slot 76 to allow triangular broaches 34 to ride in the channel 77 but not in the slot 76 . a triangular broach 34 riding straight upwardly in the channel 77 eventually engages a broach engaging wall 74 at the upper wall of channel 77 where the channel 77 and slot 76 form a junction . in the illustrated embodiment , slot 76 has a length 75 from the proximal end of the shell 26 to the wall 74 . the length 75 of slot 76 facilitates insertion and removal of broach tools 22 from the shell 26 without requiring removal of the shell 26 from the bone 16 , as described more fully below . broach shell 26 can include indicia 82 which relate to the geometry of the neck of the femoral prosthesis which is to be implanted . as shown in fig1 , these indicia are referenced to the most proximal portion 84 of the great trochanter 86 of the patient &# 39 ; s femur 16 . the index 82 which lines up with proximal portion 84 provides the surgeon with information regarding selecting the appropriate neck geometry for the femoral component . additional notations can be included on broach shell 26 to indicate the sleeve cone sizes for which the broach shell 26 is appropriate ( see reference numeral 88 in fig1 ). a general reference number 90 to the cone size can also be imprinted on the broach shell 26 . the broach shells 26 and pilot stems 42 utilized with the present invention , are similar to miller shells and pilot stems utilized with triangular millers . miller shells and pilot stems are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 540 , 694 , which is incorporated herein by reference . in the illustrated embodiment , broach tool 22 includes a shaft 48 having a longitudinal axis 66 and a triangular broach 34 extending laterally from the shaft 48 . the proximal end 52 of the shaft 48 is configured to couple to the distal end 54 of the driver component 24 . in the illustrated embodiment , as shown , for example , in fig5 , the distal end 54 of the driver component 24 is formed to include a threaded shaft 53 configured to be received in a threaded cavity 51 formed in the proximal end 52 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 . the distal end 56 of the shaft 48 is configured to be slidably received in the shaft - receiving cavity 46 of the broach shell 26 . the shaft 48 includes an intermediate anti - rotation plate portion 58 disposed between a distal rod portion 60 and a proximal rod portion 62 . the plate portion 58 is symmetrical about the plane of symmetry 33 of the triangular broach 34 . the longitudinal axis 66 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 , when the shaft 48 is received in the broach shell 26 , as shown , for example , in fig1 , coincides with the longitudinal axis 40 of broach shell 26 . shaft 48 is sized to fit and slide longitudinally within shaft - receiving cavity 46 of broach shell 26 . when shaft 48 is received in shaft - receiving cavity 46 of the broach shell 26 , the anti - rotation plate 58 extends through the slot 76 formed in the upper portion of the broach shell 26 for longitudinal movement relative to the slot 76 . to that end , anti - rotation plate 58 has a thickness 59 that is slightly less than the width 96 of the slot 76 . in the illustrated embodiment , the thickness 59 of anti - rotation plate 58 is approximately 0 . 1965 inches while the width 96 of slot 76 is 0 . 1975 inches . thus , the side walls of anti - rotation plate 58 and the walls forming slot 76 cooperate to guide the triangular broach 34 and prevent it from rotating while it is being driven through the bone 16 to form the triangular cavity 14 . near the distal end 56 of shaft 48 the hypotenuse 35 of the triangular broach 34 is coupled to the shaft 48 . the hypotenuse 35 of the triangular broach 34 forms an angle 99 with respect to the longitudinal axis 66 of the shaft 48 . angle 99 corresponds to the angle the projection , or spout , forms with the body of the sleeve of the prosthesis and the angle of the triangular cavity 14 to be formed in the bone . illustratively , angle 99 is approximately thirty one and eighty - three hundredths degree ( 31 . 83 °). in the illustrated embodiments , the triangular broach 34 is configured as a right triangle having its hypotenuse side 35 extending at an acute angle 99 from adjacent the distal tip 56 of the shaft 48 upwardly and outwardly from the shaft 48 . the upper surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 66 of the shaft 48 . the upper surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 is displaced longitudinally from the distal end of the proximal rod portion 62 by a distance 43 . in the illustrated embodiment , distance 43 is greater than the length 75 of slot 76 to facilitate insertion and removal of a broach tool 22 into the shell 26 without removal of the shell from the bone 16 , as shown , for example , in fig1 . the side surface 39 of the triangular broach 34 is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis 66 and is displaced therefrom by a distance 41 approximately equal to the radius of the proximal rod portion 62 of the shaft 48 . at the corner 37 of the triangular broach 34 formed by the upper surface 36 and hypotenuse side 35 , the broach tool 22 has a maximum width 32 ( measured from the shaft 48 to the apex 37 of the triangular broach 34 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 66 of the shaft 48 ). it is this maximum width 32 that dictates the minimal size of the incision 12 required to perform a prosthetic surgery . thus , the surgical incision 12 required to use the disclosed guided broach 20 need only be large enough to allow retraction to a width only slightly larger than the maximum width 32 of the guided broach 20 . triangular broach 34 is formed symmetrically about a plane 33 including the longitudinal axis 66 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 . the hypotenuse wall 35 of the triangular broach 34 is curved to smoothly join with the oppositely facing side walls 45 of the triangular broach 34 . the oppositely facing triangular shaped side walls 45 are generally parallel to the plane of symmetry 33 of the triangular broach 34 . the triangular broach 34 is formed to include a plurality of rows of broach teeth 47 formed in the side walls 45 and hypotenuse wall 35 . illustratively , the each row of the plurality of rows of broach teeth 47 is formed in a plane perpendicular to the plane of symmetry 33 of the triangular broach 34 and the longitudinal axis 66 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 . a plurality of chip breakers 49 are formed in the side walls and hypotenuse wall 35 of the triangular broach 34 . in the illustrated embodiment , each chip breaker 49 is a full rounded channel , as shown for example , in fig8 . in the side walls 45 each chip breaker 49 runs at an angle with respect to the top surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 . illustratively , the chip breaker angle is approximately forty - five degrees . the disclosed plurality of broach tools 22 include differently sized triangular broaches 34 coupled to the shaft 48 to allow calcar preparation of the femur for receipt of prosthesis having differently sized sleeves or projections from the stem component . illustratively , broach tools 22 for calcar preparation of a femur for receipt of sleeves of the s - rom modular prosthesis which includes a plurality of differently sized sleeves have maximum widths 32 of approximately 1 . 789 inches . for example , seven differently sized broach tools 22 designated 7 × 12 , 9 × 14 , 1 1 × 1 6 , 13 × 18 , 15 × 20 , 17 × 22 and 19 × 24 , respectively , are provided for use with the s - rom modular prosthesis system . in such broach tools 22 , the thickness 94 of the triangular broach 34 varies depending on the size of triangular cavity 14 to be prepared . the triangle broaches 34 of broach tools 22 for utilization with the s - rom modular prosthesis system for example have thicknesses 94 of approximately 0 . 315 , 0 . 394 , 0 . 472 , 0 . 551 , 0 . 630 , 0 . 709 , and 0 . 787 inches , respectively , to accommodate the plurality of differently sized sleeves provided in such modular prosthesis system . in such broach tools 22 , the length 98 of the triangular broach 34 varies depending on the size of triangular cavity 14 to be prepared . the triangle broaches 34 of broach tools 22 for utilization with the s - rom modular prosthesis system for example have lengths 98 of approximately 1 . 780 , 1 . 780 , 1 . 780 , 1 . 780 , 1 . 820 , 1 . 880 , and 1 . 880 inches , respectively , to accommodate the plurality of differently sized sleeves provided in such modular prosthesis system . the driver component 24 includes a strike plate 50 coupled to a shaft 68 . shaft 68 includes a proximal end 70 , a distal end 54 and a longitudinal axis 72 . the strike plate 50 is coupled to the proximal end 70 of shaft 68 as shown , for example , in fig1 - 5 . in the illustrated embodiment , the shaft 68 includes a proximal portion 71 adjacent the proximal end 70 that is a larger diameter than the distal portion 55 adjacent the distal end 54 . the proximal portion 71 is knurled to facilitate gripping the shaft 68 as it is being used to drive the guided broach 20 into the bone 16 . in the illustrated embodiment , the proximal portion 71 of the shaft 68 terminates at a location that would not require insertion of the proximal portion 71 into the incision 12 during the surgical operation . the distal portion 55 of the shaft 68 may be partially inserted into the incision 12 during the surgical procedure and portions of the distal portion 55 may even be received in the shaft - receiving cavity 46 of the broach shell 26 . thus , the distal portion 55 of the shaft 68 has a diameter 57 approximately equal to the diameter 63 of the proximal rod portion 62 and the diameter 61 of the distal rod portion 60 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 . in the illustrated embodiment , diameters 57 , 61 and 63 are approximately 0 . 372 inches to facilitate receipt of the distal portion 55 of the shaft 68 and the proximal rod portion 62 and distal rod portion 60 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 in the shaft - receiving cavity 46 of the broach shell 26 for longitudinal movement of the guided broach 20 relative to the shell 26 . the distal portion 55 of the illustrated shaft 68 is formed to include witness marks 30 . the witness marks 30 are utilized in the same manner as witness marks are utilized in currently available triangle milling devices . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , three witness marks 30 are provided on the distal portion 55 of the shaft 68 corresponding to three differently sized sleeves available in the modular prosthesis ( small , large and double extra large ). the small sleeve witness mark 27 is located closest to the distal end 54 of the shaft 68 with the large sleeve witness mark 29 disposed between the double extra large witness mark 31 and the small sleeve witness mark 27 . when the triangular broach 34 contacts bone 16 during calcar preparation , broaching is stopped if a witness mark 30 is currently adjacent an indicator mark 28 ( illustratively the proximal end of the broach shell 26 ) and the sleeve corresponding to that witness mark 30 is utilized during prosthesis installation . otherwise , broaching is continued to remove enough of the bone 16 to bring the next witness mark 30 adjacent the indicator mark 28 and the sleeve corresponding to that witness mark is utilized during prosthesis installation . thus , if for example , a surgeon through pre - surgical analysis determines that a small sleeve of a modular prosthesis system , should be utilized in the prosthesis , the surgeon would initially drive the guided broach 20 into the bone 16 until the small sleeve witness mark 27 is adjacent the indicator mark 28 on the shell 26 . if at this time , the broach 34 has contacted bone 16 of the appropriate consistency , broaching would be stopped and the small sleeve would be utilized with the modular prosthesis . if bone has not been contacted by the triangular broach 34 or the contacted bone is not of the appropriate consistency , broaching would be continued until the large sleeve indicator mark 29 is adjacent the indicator mark 28 on the shell 26 . if at this time , the broach 34 has contacted bone 16 of the appropriate consistency , broaching would be stopped and the large sleeve would be utilized with the modular prosthesis . if at that time bone has not been contacted by the triangular broach 34 or the contacted bone is not of the appropriate consistency , broaching would be continued until the double extra large sleeve indicator mark 31 is adjacent the indicator mark 28 on the shell 26 and the double extra large sleeve would be utilized with the modular prosthesis . as discussed above , broach tool 22 and broach shell 26 include indicators 28 , 30 . the illustrated indicators or witness marks 30 comprise three indices 27 , 29 , 31 corresponding to three different triangles , referred to as small (“ sml ”), large (“ lrg ”), and double extra large (“ xxl ”) in the figures . more or less indices can be used as desired and , of course , can be otherwise designated . illustratively , indicator 28 comprises the upper end of broach shell 26 . however , it is within the scope of the disclosure for broach shell 26 to include other structures or indicia thereon acting as indicator 28 for alignment with indicators 30 of guided broach 20 . those skilled in the art will recognize that the position of the witness marks 30 may be varied to permit the witness marks to be aligned with other indicia of the appropriate size of sleeve to be selected . for instance , the witness marks may be positioned along the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 to align with indicia on the broach shell 26 , witness marks may be provided on the broach tool 22 that align with indicia on the broach shell 26 or witness marks may be provided on the broach shell 26 that align with indicia on the broach tool 22 . it is within the scope of the disclosure for other indicia to be provided from which the surgeon can determine when to stop broaching the bone and from which the surgeon can determine the appropriate sleeve to select from a modular prosthesis system . the strike plate 50 is a rounded circular plate including a top surface 78 configured to be struck by a mallet and a planar bottom surface 80 substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 72 of the driver 24 . in the illustrated embodiment , shaft 68 is welded to strike plate 50 . the top surface 78 of the strike plate 50 facilitates exerting downward pressure on the guided broach 20 during the broaching process . the strike plate 50 can also be used to remove the broach tool 22 . removal of the broaching system 10 from the bone cavity may be accomplished by striking the bottom surface 80 of the strike plate 50 with a mallet . the strike plate 50 also facilitates extraction of the broach tool 22 , broach shell 26 and pilot stem 42 following bone cutting ( see below ). as mentioned previously triangular broach 34 has a thickness 94 that is greater than the width of the slot 76 . illustratively , thickness 94 of triangular broach 34 is equal to or exceeds approximately 0 . 315 inches . thus , when the guided broach is slid upwardly within the broach shell 26 , the triangular broach 34 cannot fit within slot 76 . therefore , the top surface 36 of the triangular broach engages broach engagement surface 74 adjacent the distal opening of slot 76 during upward movement of the guided broach 20 . the engagement of top surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 with broach engagement surface 74 transfers removal forces applied to the guided broach 20 to the broach shell 26 facilitating removal of the broach shell 26 and the pilot stem 42 coupled thereto from the bone 16 . referring now to fig1 there is shown a broach assembly 19 formed from a broach shell 26 , a broach tool 22 , a pilot stem 42 and a driver component 24 of the broaching system 10 . the broach tool 22 is slidably received in the broach shell 26 for reciprocal movement along the longitudinal axis 40 of the broach shell 26 . the pilot stem 42 is received in a previously reamed cylindrical cavity . pilot stem 42 is coupled to broach shell 26 to align the axis 40 of broach shell 26 relative to the cylindrical cavity . the frustoconical surface 44 of the broach shell 26 is received in the previously reamed conical cavity . the pilot stem 42 and broach shell 26 are selected from the plurality of pilot stems 42 and broach shells 26 based on the size of the reamers used to form the cylindrical and conical cavities , respectively . as shown , for example , in fig1 - 6 , the broach tool 22 includes a distal rod portion 60 and proximal rod portion 62 coupled to the anti - rotation plate 58 to which the triangular broach 34 is coupled . anti - rotation plate 58 and the distal portion 60 and proximal portion 62 of the shaft 48 , are all aligned as shown , for example , in fig4 , so that they slide within the shaft - receiving cavity 46 and slot 76 formed in broach shell 26 . anti - rotation plate 58 engages the walls of the laterally opening slot 76 in broach shell 26 to prevent rotation of the triangular broach 34 with respect to the shell 26 during calcar preparation . as the broach tool 22 is reciprocated upwardly ( proximally ) within the broach shell 26 , the top surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 comes into engagement with the broach engagement surface 74 adjacent the distal end of the slot 76 in the broach shell 26 . thus , removal of the broach tool 22 from the calcar cavity induces the broach shell 26 and pilot stem 42 to be removed from the straight and conically reamed cavities in the intramedullary canal 18 . during assembly of a broach assembly 19 from components of the broaching system 10 , an appropriately sized broach shell 26 is selected and an appropriately sized pilot stem 42 is coupled to the distal end of the broach shell 26 . the broach shell 26 and pilot stem 42 are selected based on the size of the straight and conical reamers used to prepare the intramedullary canal 18 . the driver component 24 is coupled to the broach tool 22 which is assembled into broach shell 26 . illustratively , a threaded shaft 53 extends from the distal end 54 of the driver component 24 that is configured to be received in a threaded cavity 51 formed in the proximal end 52 of the broach tool 22 . as shown , representatively by two broach tools 22 in fig2 , a family of broach tools 22 is preferably provided to the surgeon with all members of the family having commonly sized shafts 48 to permit assembly of any on of the broach tools 22 with any one of the broach shells 26 . each broach tool 22 of the family also includes a commonly sized threaded cavity 51 to facilitate assembling any broach tool 22 of the family to the driver component 24 to form a guided broach 20 . the broach tool 22 and broach shell 26 are configured so that the guided broach 20 may be inserted and removed from a broach shell 26 seated in the prepared cavities of the bone 16 . as shown , for example , in fig1 , the longitudinal axis 66 of the broach tool 22 may be tilted at an angle with respect to the axis 40 of the broach shell and the distal rod portion 60 of the shaft 48 may be inserted through the channel 77 into the shaft - receiving cavity 46 . the anti - rotation plate 58 of the broach tool 22 may be slid into the slot 76 in the broach shell 26 while the upper surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 is disposed below the broach engagement surface 74 and the distal end of the proximal rod portion 62 of the shaft is disposed above the proximal end of the broach shell 26 . the guided broach 20 may then be tilted to align the longitudinal axes 66 , 72 of the broach tool 22 and driver component 24 , respectively , with the longitudinal axis 40 of the broach shell 26 . once the axes 66 , 72 and 40 are aligned , the guided broach 20 may be reciprocated longitudinally with respect to the broach shell 26 with the proximal rod portion 62 of the shaft 48 of the broach tool 22 and portions of the distal portion 55 of the driver component 24 being received in the shaft - receiving cavity of the shell 26 . removal of the guided broach 20 from the broach shell 26 is accomplished in the opposite fashion when it is desired to remove the guided broach 20 from the broach shell 26 while leaving the broach shell seated in the bone 16 . the overall procedure in which broaching system 10 is used is similar in most steps to those described in greater detail in the background of the invention . generally , an incision 12 large enough to receive the maximum width 32 of the broach tool 22 is made through which the patient &# 39 ; s femur 16 is prepared . the head of the femur 16 is resected using an osteotome , oscillating saw or other instrument . an osteotome may be utilized to open the femoral canal 18 . the femoral canal 18 is then reamed with a straight reamer 100 to establish an extended cavity and center line for receipt of the distal stem of the femoral prosthesis and the pilot stem 42 of the broaching system 10 , as shown , for example , in fig9 . as described in the background and summary , the straight reaming step may be accomplished utilizing a plurality of straight reaming steps in which reamers 100 having progressively larger diameters are utilized . next , the intramedullary canal 18 of the proximal femur 16 is reamed with conical reamers 102 to form a cavity for receiving the conical portion of a sleeve or a stem of a prosthesis and the frustoconical portion 44 of the broach shell 26 of the broaching system 10 , as shown , for example , in fig1 . this conical cavity is on the same center line as the straight cavity and the reaming is conducted until the proximal end of the reamer 102 is even with the proximal end of the resected femur . as described in the background and summary , the conical reaming step may be accomplished utilizing a plurality of conical reaming steps in which conical reamers 102 having progressively larger maximum and minimum diameters are utilized . components of the broaching system 10 in its assembled form are shown in fig1 inserted into the proximal end of the femur 16 . the assembled instrument , or broach assembly 19 , includes a guided broach 20 , broach shell 26 and a pilot stem 42 . the guided broach includes a broach tool 22 and a driver component 24 . the broach tool 22 , broach shell 26 and pilot stem 42 are appropriate to 1 ) the size of the triangular projection of the sleeve which the surgeon wishes to implant , and 2 ) fit within the straight and conical cavities formed in the bone . as described below , this calcar preparation step may be performed using a single guided broach 20 or a plurality of guided broaches 20 having triangular broaches 34 with progressively increasing thicknesses 94 . specifically , the broach assembly 19 is selected based on the width w of the triangular projection ( or spout ) of the sleeve which is to be implanted ( see fig1 of incorporated u . s . pat . no . 5 , 540 , 694 ). the broach shell 26 is selected based on the size of the conical reamer used in step 2 . specifically , frustoconical portion 44 of broach shell 26 has the same taper and same maximum diameter as the conical reamer . the height of frustoconical portion 44 is preferably slightly less than the height of the conical reamer so that the proximal end of the frustoconical portion 44 can be aligned with the resected end of the femur 16 without bottoming out in the reamed conical cavity . the pilot stem 42 is selected based on the size of the final straight reamer used in step 1 which in turn is selected by the surgeon based on the inside diameter of the patient &# 39 ; s femur 16 . to provide the surgeon with the ability to match the finished prosthesis to various patient requirements , sleeves of various sizes and configurations and femoral prostheses having various proximal and distal diameters are provided to the surgeon along with corresponding sets of guided broaches 20 , pilot stems 42 , broach shells 26 , straight reamers and conical reamers . guided broaches 20 may comprise a plurality of integrally formed broach tools 22 and driver components 24 or a plurality of broach tools 22 and a single driver component 24 configured to mate with each of the plurality of broach tools 22 within the scope of the disclosure . the initial insertion of broach assembly 19 into the cavity in the femur brings the proximal end of frustoconical portion 44 into alignment with the proximal end of the resected femur 16 . at this point , the surgeon can use indicia 82 to confirm his or her selection of a neck geometry for the femoral prosthesis . calcar broaching is accomplished using an appropriately sized pilot stem 42 for the distally reamed canal , an appropriately sized broach shell 26 for the size of the cone milling performed and a guided broach 20 . in the illustrated embodiment , the threaded proximal end of the pilot stem 42 is screwed into a threaded aperture in the distal end of the broach shell 26 . the pilot stem 42 is inserted into the reamed canal 18 until the frustoconical portion 44 of the shell 26 is seated in the conical aperture created during cone milling . the guided broach 20 is configured to be slidably received in the shell 26 . once the broach 20 is partially inserted into the shell 26 , the assembly 19 is rotated to position the triangular broach 34 of the broach tool 22 over the best available host bone , which may or may not be in the calcar . the guided broach 20 is then lowered until the triangular broach 34 of the broach tool 22 makes contact with the cancellous bone . once in contact with the cancellous bone , a hammer is used to strike the strike plate 50 on the proximal end of the guided broach 20 to drive the triangular broach 34 of the broach tool 22 into the femur until the cortical bone is contacted . once the cortical bone is contacted , the surgeon examines the witness marks 30 on the shaft 68 of the broach 20 to determine which mark is most closely aligned with the proximal end of the shell 26 . in one embodiment of a method of calcar preparation , three increasingly larger guided broaches 20 are utilized to create the triangular calcar cavity . triangular broach 34 is then driven into the bone 16 by impacting the driver component 24 with an appropriate instrument or tool , such as a mallet , while broach tool 22 is moved along longitudinal axis 40 of broach shell 26 . this process is continued until the appropriate index 30 on broach tool 22 is aligned with reference surface 28 , e . g ., until the “ lrg ” index 29 is aligned if the sleeve to be inserted is to have a “ lrg ” triangular projection . in some cases , the original choice of triangular projection may be too small to reach the patient &# 39 ; s hard calcar bone at the proximal end of the femur 16 , in which case the cutting of the triangular cavity 14 would be continued to the next index mark 30 and a further evaluation would be made at that point . if suitable at this point , a sleeve having a triangular projection portion or spout corresponding to the index mark 30 to which the cutting was continued would be used . depending upon the circumstances , all or portions of the process may be repeated until a suitable fit is achieved . the broach assembly 19 is removed from the patient &# 39 ; s femur by pulling guided broach 20 straight out using the strike plate 50 of the driver component 24 . during removal the top surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 engages with surface 74 of broach shell 26 . a light tap on the strike plate 50 from below with a hand , mallet , or other instrument , is usually sufficient to release broach shell 26 from the patient &# 39 ; s bone allowing complete removal of the broach assembly 19 . implantation of the femoral prosthesis then follows . in one embodiment of a method of broaching the triangular cavity 14 in a bone 16 , guided broaches 20 having triangular broaches 34 with progressively wider thicknesses 94 are utilized sequentially to form the triangular cavity 14 . as described above , in one embodiment of the broaching system 10 for use in preparation of a bone for receipt of an s - rom modular prosthesis , seven broach tools are provided designated sizes 7 × 12 , 9 × 14 , 1 1 × 16 , 13 × 18 , 15 × 20 , 17 × 22 and 19 × 24 . these sizes correspond to the sizes of sleeves available in the modular prosthesis system . thus , if the surgeon intends to utilize a size 13 × 18 sleeve , the initial guided broach 20 selected for calcar preparation would include the size 9 × 14 broach tool 22 . after broaching the triangular cavity 14 to the appropriate depth using the 9 × 14 broach tool 22 , the guided broach 20 would be removed from the broach shell 26 and the 9 × 14 broach tool 22 would be replaced with the 11 × 16 broach tool 22 . the guided broach 20 including the 11 × 16 broach tool 22 would then be inserted into the broach shell 26 and driven into the bone 16 to the appropriate depth . the guided broach 20 would then again be removed from the broach shell 26 and the 11 × 16 broach tool 22 would be replaced with the 13 × 18 broach tool 22 . the guided broach 20 including the 13 × 18 broach tool 22 would then be inserted into the broach shell 26 and driven into the bone 16 to the appropriate depth . the guided broach 20 would then be pulled straight up until the top surface 36 of the triangular broach 34 engages the broach engagement surface 74 of the broach shell 26 and the guided broach 20 , broach shell 26 and pilot stem 42 would be removed from the femur 16 . broaching system 10 is fabricated using conventional techniques used in the manufacture of surgical instruments . similarly , the broaching system 10 , is composed of conventional stainless steels or other materials employed in constructing surgical instruments . although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein , other embodiments may be perceived by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims . for example , although the invention has been described in terms of the implantation of the femoral portion of a hip prosthesis , it can be used with prostheses for other joints such as the shoulder , knee , or elbow .	0
referring to fig1 - 4 , a preferred embodiment of the x - ray source for radiography in accordance with the present invention includes a microwave resonant cavity 10 , a vacuumated discharge chamber 20 , an x - ray emitter 30 , a microwave energy source 40 , a vacuum window 50 , and a pair of magnetic members 61 and 62 . in the present invention , the x - ray is produced during the bombardment of a solid body , i . e ., emitter 30 , by an ecr plasma . the ecr plasma is created in a compact axisymmetric magnetic mirror trap which is formed by two permanent disk magnets , namely magnetic members 61 and 62 . members 61 and 62 are preferably symmetrically arranged about a midplane of chamber 20 with opposite poles , north n and south s , facing one another , as illustrated in fig1 . if one applies in this magnetic field configuration an oscillating electrical field perpendicular to the magnetic field lines , then the phenomenon of the ecr can occur . the condition to be satisfied for an ecr condition is : where ω is the circular frequency of the oscillating ( microwave ) field , m and e are respectively the mass and the charge of an electron , c is the light speed in free space , and b is the magnetic induction . in an axisymmetric magnetic mirror with the field value in the geometric center slightly exceeding the ecr value at the given microwave frequency ( which is feasible if strong enough magnetic members 61 , 62 are used ), the ecr phenomenon occurs on a axisymmetric physical surface resembling a hyperboloid of one sheet . this is illustrated in section by the double cross hatched curves labeled 63 on fig1 and 4 . if a gas at low pressure fills the area in discharge chamber 20 between magnets 61 and 62 , then an ecr plasma starts up . the electrons on the ecr surface 63 acquire high energy , ranging from between 50 and 200 kev depending on the microwave power applied . the electrons are accumulated near the midplane of the mirror configuration due to the action of the magnetic mirrors . as a result a hot electron ring 64 is built up in the central part of the magnetic mirror trap . this is illustrated by the black dots labeled 64 on fig4 and the helical strand labeled 64 in fig3 . in the midplane of an axisymmetric magnetic mirror trap the magnetic field strength decreases when moving from the axis to the periphery . consequently , a well known phenomenon of the “ gradient drift ” occurs , as described in , for example , f . f . chen introduction to plasma physics and controlled fusion , plenum press , new york and london , 1984 . due to this phenomenon , the electron larmor orbit in the hot electron ring 64 drifts azimuthally so that every electron participates in two rotations : first one around the field line and second one around the axis passing azimuthally from one field line to another . this is illustrated in fig3 . this azimuthal drift allows a small body , i . e ., emitter 30 , intersecting the ring 64 , to “ catch ” all the hot electrons . since the period of the azimuthal rotation is very short , i . e ., 0 . 1 to 3 μs , most if not all of the electrons are received by ( i . e ., bombard ) the emitter 30 , rather than being pushed to the periphery due to the flute instability . the latter phenomenon occurs in the ecr x - ray source described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 323 , 442 , where there is no emitter body interposed in the electron current flow . thus , in the present invention , emitter 30 receives a permanent , i . e ., continuous , current of very energetic electrons once the plasma is ignited and maintained . as a result , a permanent , i . e ., continuous , x - ray emission is produced on the surface of emitter 30 . the emission is outgoing perpendicular to the magnetic lines , as illustrated by the arrows labeled x on fig1 - 3 , if both the position and orientation of the emitter surface are appropriately chosen . preferably , emitter 30 is inside the hot electron ring . the optimal orientation is empirically obtained to provide the desired direction of the x - ray beam emission . in one embodiment , the microwave resonant cavity 10 and the vacuumated discharge chamber 20 are formed as a unitary composite structure , namely a vacuumated microwave resonant cavity which also serves as a discharge chamber filled with the plasma support gas at low pressure . alternatively , the chamber 20 may be enveloped by cavity 10 , in which case cavity 10 need not be vacuumated . advantageously , in either embodiment , the gas and emitter 30 may be sealed inside either chamber 20 or a combined cavity 10 / chamber 20 and provided as a replaceable cartridge for the x - ray source that has a useful life , and which can be easily replaced when its usefulness is consumed . referring now to fig1 and 2 , one embodiment of the present invention is described in which microwave resonant cavity 10 is vacuumated and also serves as discharge chamber 20 . cavity 10 is preferably a metallic cylinder ( other shapes are also possible ) having an axis a inside of which a metallic emitter 30 is fixed in the midplane between axis a and the wall . the axis a is shown on fig4 . emitter 30 is securely suspended from support 31 , which preferably lies in the midplane of cavity 10 , and is oriented at an angle α ( see fig3 ) of between 15 and 75 degrees , preferably between 70 and 75 degrees , relative to the tangent of electron ring 54 , and in a plane perpendicular to the plane of electron ring 54 . supports 31 and 32 are transparent to the microwave energy and the magnetic field and are made of , e . g ., quartz , quartz glass , or a ceramic . supports 31 and 32 also may be made of non - magnetic metals , e . g ., tantalum , molybdenum , and stainless steel , arranged perpendicular to the electric field lines . cavity 10 / chamber 20 is filled with a gas at a low pressure and is placed between two magnetic members 61 and 62 . members 61 and 62 are preferably permanent magnets , aligned coaxially with and spaced equidistantly about the midplane of the cavity on axis a . members 61 and 62 also may be made of electromagnets or solenoids . permanent magnets are preferred because they are compact , light in weight , and do not consume electrical energy to generate the magnetic mirror . the distance d between magnets 61 and 62 is adjustable and is chosen in such a manner that the ecr surface 63 becomes a one - sheet hyperboloid and emitter 30 is effectively positioned to enter and intersect the ecr surface 63 from inner side , as illustrated in fig1 . in this regard , selecting the distance d controls the magnetic mirror field profile and , hence , the relative location and shape of ecr surface 63 inside chamber 20 , and controls the optimum conditions to ignite the plasma on start up and to maintain the plasma and x - ray emission during continued operation . adjustment may be achieved , for example , rotating magnets 61 and 62 in cooperating threaded recesses 67 and 68 on opposite sides of chamber 20 ( fig1 ). however , in as much as most radiographic procedures have exposure times on the order of seconds , once an x - ray source is tuned for a sustained plasma , no adjustment may be required during continued operation . the x - ray coming from emitter 30 outgoes through a vacuum window 50 . window 50 may be mechanically protected by a rigid protective cover 52 . window 50 is presented facing the target or object to be irradiated , e . g ., the patient during a medical radiographic procedure . both window 50 and any cover 52 are transparent for the x - ray . cavity 10 has a conventional electrically conductive material on its inside surface and is fed microwave energy through a vacuum window 42 using any conventional technique . fig1 illustrates one coupling using a coaxial cable 44 and an electrical field antenna 45 introduced in the volume of cavity 10 without deterioration of the vacuum conditions . since the exposure time is quite short ( on the order of seconds ) there is no appreciable concern of heating window 42 or any related difficulties . in this regard , window 42 is made of a microwave transparent material that is capable of sustaining the low pressure inside chamber 20 , e . g ., quartz , quartz glass or a ceramic . in an alternate embodiment , where cavity 10 is not vacuumated , window 42 may be omitted . chamber 20 may be filled with the heavy , chemical - passive gas in a well - known manner , for example , by evacuating chamber 20 on a commercially available vacuum pump , at an elevated temperature , to out gas any impurities in the chamber material . the chamber is then filled with the gas and the tubulation used for out - gassing and filling is sealed . if chamber 20 is not a part of cavity 10 , it may be made of a dielectric material that is transparent to microwave energy , magnetic fields and x - ray radiation , e . g ., quartz , quartz glass or a ceramic . cavity 10 , when also serving as discharge chamber 20 , has to be made of a highly conductive metal which , after a conventional treatment during fabrication , is not outgasing during a long time . another requirement , whether or not it also serves as discharge chamber 20 , is that it provide good protection for the operator against the x - ray radiation , which can penetrate through the resonant cavity walls . accordingly , the conductive metal is coated with a 2 mm thick copper layer which is in turn covered by a 2 mm thick lead layer . the copper provides good thermal conductivity to minimize localized heating , and the lead provides x - ray absorption . to ignite and maintain a hot electron plasma , cavity 10 has to be fed sufficient microwave energy . since the minimum diameter of cavity 10 is of the order of the microwave wavelength , the latter should be chosen in the range of 10 cm in order to have a portable device which is convenient to handle physically , and may be handheld . a large choice of inexpensive microwave power sources in the frequency band of 2 . 45 ghz ( corresponding to a wavelength of 12 . 2 cm ) are available and may be used as the working frequency . the needed microwave power from source 40 is based upon the sensitivity of the available medical x - ray film . standard x - ray film sensitivity is typically 1 . 0 milliwatt per cm 2 per second . to obtain a photograph of 100 cm 2 one needs 0 . 1 watt of x - ray during 1 . 0 second . to obtain such an x - ray power emitted by emitter 30 made of tungsten , at the electron energy of 100 kev , one has to dissipate on the surface of emitter 30 an electron flux power of to 15 watts ( w . j . price , nuclear radiation detection , mcgraw hill book company inc ., n . y ., toronto , london , 1958 , p . 19 ). at the electron energy of 100 kev , an electron current of only 150 micro - amperes on the surface of emitter 30 produces a power of 15 watts . this amount of electron current is usually produced in ecr plasmas without requiring any special operating conditions . supposing that one - half of the energy stored in the ecr plasma discharge is accumulated in the electron ring 64 and that the other half of the microwave energy is absorbed by the ecr discharge plasma , a microwave power of 100 watts is sufficient for a normal operation of the portable medical x - ray imaging apparatus of the present invention . a power range of 50 to 1 , 000 watts is believed suitable for most medical x - ray imaging for exposing standard film sizes of 100 to 1 , 000 cm 2 . one such power supply may provide an adjustable range , e . g ., between 200 - 500 watts , or between 50 and 300 watts , etc . the discharge chamber 20 ( i . e ., the interior microwave cavity 10 ) has to be filled by a plasma support gas in order to produce an ecr plasma providing energetic electrons . the requirements are that the support gas not interact with the walls of chamber 20 , have a large atomic mass to reduce plasma losses , and have a low ionization potential to ignite and sustain easily an ecr plasma . suitable gases are the heavy noble gases , such as argon , krypton or xenon gases . the gas is preferably sealed inside chamber 20 at a desired low pressure in the range of 10 − 3 to 10 − 6 torr , preferably 1 × 10 − 5 to 4 × 10 − 4 torr , and more preferably 9 × 10 − 5 to 4 × 10 − 4 torr . it is to be understood that the interior conductive layer of cavity 10 may be coated with a material that will not react with the plasma support gas , and permit the forming of ecr plasma , if necessary . in the case that the magnetic members 61 and 62 are permanent magnets , they are secured in parallel about cavity 10 separated by a distance d along axis a . accordingly , their magnetic field strength should be sufficient to produce in the central point of the cavity a magnetic induction value \| b \| exceeding the ecr value for the selected microwave frequency . if a frequency of 2 . 45 ghz is used , the magnetic induction \| b \| in the central point is preferably not lower than 1 kg ( the ecr value is 0 . 865 kg ). at a typical distance d of 10 cm , magnetic members 61 and 62 each may be made in the form of a disk of 5 cm diameter and 2 cm thick , from such widely used and inexpensive magnetic materials as samarium - cobalt or neodymium - ferrum - boron . such magnetic disks 61 and 62 produce the needed magnetic induction without difficulty or adverse consequences . emitter 30 is preferably a solid body , more preferably a metallic plate for receiving energetic electrons and converting some of their energy into the x - ray . the choice of the emitter material is determined by two requirements : the conversion rate has to be maximal and the non - converted energy ( thermal ) should not damage emitter 30 . to satisfy both conditions the material chosen must have a relatively large atomic number and high melting temperature . preferred metals for emitter 30 are tungsten and tantalum . any other material that satisfies these conditions may be used . thus , a tungsten or tantalum plate emitter 30 electrode that is 5 mm × 5 mm and 1 mm thick will in practice satisfy these requirements . window 50 plays a double role . first , it allows x - ray radiation to pass to the target . second , it preserves the vacuum in chamber 20 . to accomplish both functions , the material of the window must have as low an atomic number as possible , be rigid mechanically , and be a good vacuum material . suitable materials for window 50 include light element metals , quartz , aluminum , and plastics , preferably beryllium or aluminum . cover 52 , when used , may be any rigid x - ray transparent material , such as plastic , plexiglass , or polyethylene . cover 52 may be spaced a distance from window 50 that is selected to correspond to the area of the target to be irradiated by the x - rays and placed in touching contact with the target . this provides for accurate alignment of the area of target to be exposed with the x - ray . the distance between window 50 and cover 52 also may be selected to provide a spacing in the nature of a focal length ( or plane ) for irradiating the target with a controlled x - ray beam area and intensity . as shown in fig1 and 2 , window 50 is a round cross - sectional area that is in a flat plane spaced a distance of about 1 . 0 cm from the circumference of chamber 20 and cover 52 is secured about 1 . 0 cm from window 50 in a parallel flat plane . other shapes , spacings , and contoured planes for window 50 and cover 52 may be used . window 50 also may be provided with a shutter that absorbs the x - ray radiation and when open , permits x - ray transmission ( not shown ). this may be used to absorb x - ray emissions until the plasma has reached a steady state condition after startup . the shutter also may be used for time lapse exposure for a sequence of x - ray images are desired , e . g ., to prepare a motion picture of some event or activity , or to obtain a large number of images in rapid succession . a prototype x - ray source for medical radiographic procedures in accordance with the source illustrated in fig1 - 4 was built and tested . the parameters for one construction of the prototype were as follows . the microwave resonant cavity 10 , which also served as discharge chamber 20 , was vacuumated . it had a diameter of 13 cm , a height of 9 cm ( measured along axis a ). the cavity 10 / chamber 20 was a composite unitary structure made of a layer of aluminum 5 mm thick and an outer layer of either stainless steel 5 . 0 mm thick or lead 2 . 5 mm thick . it was filled with argon gas at a pressure of 2 × 10 − 5 torr . the window 50 was 40 mm in diameter and 12 mm thick and made of a commercial plexiglass material . the emitter 30 was a 4 mm × 4 mm × 1 mm tantalum plate . it was positioned at an angle of 15 degrees relative to the direction of the radius passing through the center of the emitter plate and was spaced 10 mm from axis a in the midplane of cavity 10 / chamber 20 . the microwave source 40 was a magnetron at 2 . 45 ghz and produced 150 watts . an image of an x - ray ( 70 cm 2 having a diameter of about 9 . 4 cm ) of a rat taken using the prototype at an exposure time of 2 seconds is illustrated in fig5 . no light amplifier was used . another prototype x - ray source has the following construction parameters . the cavity 10 / chamber 20 of the same dimensions was a unitary structure having a layer of aluminum 10 mm thick and filled with argon gas at 2 × 10 − 5 torr . the window was made of a commercial plexiglass material that was 85 mm in diameter . the emitter was a 4 mm × 4 mm × 1 mm tantalum plate positioned at an angle of 45 ° relative to the window axis and was spaced 15 mm from axis a in the midplane of cavity 10 / chamber 20 . the same microwave source and power is used . another aspect of the invention is directed to a source and a method for irradiating body tissue with x - rays at a dosage level and for a time sufficient for medical or dental diagnostic or therapeutic purposes . this includes fluoroscopy and exposing x - ray film . such methods include generating an ecr plasma to product x - rays in a given direction , for example , in a given solid angle , to expose a film for x - ray evaluation of tissue , bone and other physical structures . these exposure methods include mammography and computer aided tomography ( cat scans ). such methods also include generating an ecr plasma to produce x - rays for medical therapeutics , for example , cancer therapy , diathermy , and activating x - ray responsive drugs . in this regard , the x - ray dosages to be used are those generally used in medical and dental diagnostic and therapeutic practices . advantageously , the small and light weight of the x - ray source of the present invention , together with a lead shield that covers all of the cavity except suitably shaped window 50 , provide easy maneuverability to locate the source proximate to the subject and easy portability of the apparatus , for example , for a mobile medical clinic . in addition , the small size , simplicity of operation , and low power requirements permit providing emergency service vehicles such as ambulances , fire rescue vehicles and the like with portable x - ray machines , which may be hand held and battery powered , for obtaining x - ray images of injured patients prior to moving them . in this regard , the x - ray source may include a battery power supply or be powered by the alternator of a vehicle or a generator or line current ( 110 volt ). a suitable rechargeable battery would require a 12 volt and 10 amp - hour capacity which could provide approximately fifty x - ray film exposures before requiring a recharge . a 24 - volt battery having a 50 amp - hour charge would provide a longer useful life before requiring a recharge and higher power output levels . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments which are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation .	7
the examples which follow serve to further illustrate the present invention . 65 . 5 g of mteos and 19 . 1 g of teos are mixed . half of the mixture is reacted with 14 . 2 g of silica sol ( levasil 300 / 30 ) and 0 . 4 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid with vigorous stirring . after 5 minutes , the second half of the silane mixture is added to the mixture which is stirred further for another 5 minutes . after standing overnight , the mixture is adjusted to a ph of 3 with ethanolic sodium ethoxide solution . the salts formed in the course of the reaction are removed by centrifugation . 65 . 5 g of mteos and 19 . 1 g of teos are mixed and reacted with 28 . 4 g of silica sol ( levasil 300 / 30 ) and 0 . 8 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid with vigorous stirring . after 5 minutes , a further silane mixture consisting of 88 . 3 g of phenyltriethoxysilane ( pteos ) and 19 . 1 g of teos is added to the mixture which is stirred further for another 5 minutes . after standing overnight , the mixture is adjusted to a ph of 3 with ethanolic sodium ethoxide solution . the salts formed in the course of the reaction are removed by centrifugation . 333 g of molybdenum sulfide powder ( molyduval , submicron mos 2 ) is stirred into 649 . 2 g of anhydrous , denatured ethanol ( mek ) in which 16 . 8 g of polyvinyl butyral ( hoechst : mowital ® b 30 t ) is dissolved . the suspension is charged into a coolable stirred vessel and dispersed with a high - speed ultra - turrax t 25 at a rotational speed of 24 , 000 min − 1 for the duration of 30 min . 333 g of graphite powder ( lonza , hsag 100 ) is stirred into 600 g of anhydrous , denatured ethanol ( mek ) in which 66 g of polyacrylic acid 50 , 000 ( polyscience ; 25 % in h 2 o ) is dissolved . the suspension is charged into a coolable stirred vessel and dispersed with a high - speed ultra - turrax t 25 at a rotational speed of 24 , 000 min − 1 for the duration of 30 min . 30 g of mtks - pt r or 0 . 4 ( corresponds to approx . 10 g of sio 2 ) is activated with 1 . 5 g of demineralized water and stirred for 1 h . afterward , the binder is admixed with 60 g of the above ethanolic release agent suspension with a solids content of approx . 33 % by weight ( corresponds to approx . 20 g of mos 2 ) with stirring . the solids content of the coating system ( based on the total mass of coating after the thermal curing ) is approx . 33 % by weight . this coating system can be applied by means of common coating processes ; the solids content is adjusted depending on the application process to be employed . 50 g of the above ethanolic graphite suspension with a solids content of 30 % by weight is admixed with stirring with 50 g of mtks - pt r or 0 . 4 . the solids content of the size ( based on release agent ) is 15 % by weight ; after a stirring time of 1 day , the suspension can be processed . ( n . b . : the water required for the hydrolysis is already present in the graphite suspension .) this coating system can be applied by means of common coating processes ; the solids content is adjusted depending on the application process to be employed . 3 . preparation of an al 2 o 3 / zro 2 binder phase 100 g of boehmite ( disperal ®, from sasol hamburg ) is stirred into 900 g of water , in the course of which a constant ph of 3 is established by adding acetic acid . the suspension was stirred for 24 h and the coarse agglomerates were subsequently removed by sedimentation ( 48 h ). 11 . 6 g of a nanodisperse , y - stabilized , surface - modified zro 2 powder ( specific surface area of 200 g / cm 3 , 16 % by weight of trioxadecanoic acid ) is stirred into 128 . 37 g of the above boehmite sol ( correspond to 10 g of al 2 o 3 ) and dispersed by ultrasound treatment ( branson sonifier type ) for the period of 30 minutes . to prepare the binder phase , 35 g of the above corundum suspension ( corresponding to 7 g of al 2 o 3 ) are first added dropwise to 70 g of the nanz binder sol . 250 g of mos 2 powder ( molyduval , van laar gmbh , submicron - fine powder mos 2 ) is stirred into 743 . 75 g of deionized water in which 6 . 25 g of polyvinyl alcohol ( hoechst : pva 4 / 88 ) is dissolved . the suspension is charged into a coolable stirred vessel and dispersed with a high - speed ultra - turrax t 25 for the period of 30 min . 250 kg of graphite powder ( timcal , timrex ks 4 ) is stirred into 743 . 75 g of deionized water in which 6 . 25 g of a surfactant ( ici : tween 80 ) is dissolved . the suspension is charged into a coolable stirred vessel and dispersed with a high - speed ultra - turrax t 25 for the period of 30 min . 80 g of al 2 o 3 ( tm - dar , from tai mei ) is dispersed in 318 g of h 2 o and 2 g of acetic acid in an attritor mill ( pe 075 from netzsch ) with 330 g of grinding balls ( al 2 o 3 ; diameter 4 - 5 mm ) in a pe grinding cup (+ rotor ) at 700 rpm for a period of 2 h . 70 g of nanz sol ( corresponding to 10 g of solid ) is mixed with 35 g of the above al 2 o 3 suspension ( corresponding to 7 g of al 2 o 3 ) and then with 12 g of the aqueous mos 2 suspension ( corresponding to 3 g of solid ) with stirring . for better processing , a ph in the range of approx . 5 - 6 can be established by adding aqueous ammonia , then the size can be applied by means of common processes for coating . 80 g of al 2 o 3 ( tm - dar , from tai mei ) is dispersed in 318 g of h 2 o and 2 g of acetic acid in an attritor mill ( pe 075 from netzsch ) with 330 g of grinding balls ( al 2 o 3 ; diameter 4 - 5 mm ) in a pe grinding cup (+ rotor ) at 700 rpm for a period of 2 h . 70 g of nanz sol ( correspond to 10 g of solid ) is mixed with 35 g of the above al 2 o 3 suspension ( corresponding to 7 g of al 2 o 3 ) and then with 12 g of the aqueous graphite suspension ( corresponding to 3 g of solid ) with stirring . for better processing , a ph in the range of approx . 5 - 6 can be established by adding aqueous ammonia , then the size can be applied by means of common processes for coating .	2
the bulk lipid - regulating agent may be prepared by any available method , as for example the compound fenofibrate may be prepared by the procedure disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 058 , 552 , or the procedure disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 739 , 101 , both herein incorporated by reference . the composition comprising the lipid - regulating agent is prepared by dissolving or dispersing the lipid - regulating agent and hydrophilic , amorphous polymer in a sufficient amount of solvent . the solvent is evaporated to yield a solid mass which is ground , sized and optionally formulated into an appropriate delivery system . other techniques , known in the art , such as for example fusion or fusion - evaporation , may also be used . the delivery system of the present invention results in increased solubility and bioavailability , and improved dissolution rate of the lipid - regulating agent . if the solvent evaporation technique is used , suitable solvents include , for example , lower alkyl alcohols such as methanol , ethanol , or any other pharmaceutically - acceptable organic solvent in which the lipid - regulating agent and the polymers have appreciable solubility . suitable hydrophilic , amorphous polymers include , for example , polyvinylpyrrolidone ( pvp ), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose ( hpmc ), or other pharmaceutically - acceptable hydrophilic , amorphous polymers such as for example , eudragits ®. other pharmaceutically - acceptable excipients may be added to the formulation prior to forming the desired final product . suitable excipients include , for example , lactose , starch , magnesium stearate , or other pharmaceutically - acceptable fillers , diluents , lubricants , disintegrants , etc ., that might be needed to prepare a capsule or tablet . the resulting composition comprising the lipid - regulating agent may be dosed directly for oral administration , diluted into an appropriate vehicle for oral administration , filled into capsules , or made into tablets for oral administration , or delivered by some other means obvious to those skilled in the art . the said composition can be used to improve the oral bioavailability and solubility of said lipid - regulating agent . the invention will be understood more clearly from the following non - limiting representative examples : a mixture ( 3 g ) of fenofibrate and pvp ( pf 17 ) in a ratio of 15 : 85 was dissolved in 4 . 5 ml of ethanol . the ethanol was evaporated under vacuum at 85 ° c . the resulting dry solid was then ground and sized through a 60 - 100 mesh screen . 446 . 7 mg of the granular formulation ( containing 67 mg fenofibrate ) was filled into individual capsules . a mixture ( 3 g ) of statin and pvp ( pf 17 ) in a ratio of 15 : 85 is dissolved in sufficient ethanol . the ethanol is evaporated under vacuum at 85 ° c . the resulting dry solid is then ground and sized through a 60 - 100 mesh screen . the solid is then filled in capsules to obtain the desired unit dose . capsules prepared by the process described in example 1 , and from a commercial fenofibrate composition , lipanthyl 67m ( groupe fournier ) ( reference ), were administered to a group of dogs at a dose of 67 mg fenofibrate / dog . the plasma concentrations of fenofibric acid were determined by hplc . concentrations were normalized to a 6 . 7 mg / kg dose in each dog . fig1 presents the resulting data in graph form . the results provided as mean ± sd , n = 6 , were as follows :	0
the process to increase the temperature gradient in a magneto - calorific thermal generator according to the invention may , for instance , but not exclusively , be applied to a magneto - calorific thermal generator as described in the publication wo2008 / 012411 and as represented in fig1 to 3 . this example is not limited and the process can be extended to any other type of magneto - calorific generator , wherein the magnetic means are mobile or arranged to create a mobile or variable magnetic field with respect to the magneto - calorific elements which are fixed , and in which the heat transfer fluid or fluids , which are predominantly a liquid such as water , circulate in a direction parallel to the movement or variation of the magnetic field and approximately at the same speed to collect the heat or the cold generated by the magneto - calorific elements as they occur . the magneto - calorific thermal generator 1 represented by fig1 to 3 comprises for example a set of stacked thermal modules 10 , connected by distributor discs 20 and closed by sealing flanges 30 mounted on both sides of the pile . the number of thermal modules 10 is variable and their form of implementation can be modified based on the desired performance . each thermal module 10 consists of supports 40 carrying a set of magneto - calorific elements 60 , these supports 40 being stacked axially and arranged to delimit between them radially oriented circulation channels for one or more heat transfer fluids corresponding to one or more collector circuits . one can notably vary the operating temperature range of the magneto - calorific elements 60 depending on the nature , such as the chemical composition of these materials , as well as the pressure and speed of movement of the heat transfer fluids depending on the section of the channels in which these fluids circulate and / or on their pressure . the sealing flange 30 represented comprises , for instance , two openings 31 , 32 designed to be connected respectively to an external hot collector circuit 31 a and to an external cold collector circuit 32 a ( shown schematically ), which respectively convey the calories and the frigories produced by the generator 1 . these collector circuits 31 a , 32 a each comprise means to make each heat transfer fluid circulate in the corresponding circuit to respectively collect the calories and / or frigories emitted by the magneto - calorific elements 60 . in this case , these means may include a circulation pump , 31 b and 32 b respectively , or any other equivalent element . these means are respectively controlled by control boxes 31 c and 32 c arranged to modulate the speed of movement of the heat transfer fluid in both circuits 31 a and 32 a according to the user &# 39 ; s request . this request can be programmed in or carried out punctually as needed . the distributor discs 20 comprise openings 21 and distribution grooves 22 allowing the connection together in series , in parallel , or in a series / parallel combination of the respectively hot and cold circuits of the various thermal modules 10 with each other and with the external collector circuits 31 a , 32 a respectively hot and cold . these distributor discs 20 can be arranged in pairs , each disc being assigned to one of the collector circuits . they may also be formed from double - sided single discs ( not represented ) with a particular arrangement of openings 21 and distribution grooves 22 in order to implement a similar function . in the example represented , the thermal generator 1 comprises a central shaft 2 carrying two diametrically - opposed magnetic assemblies 3 , and rotated by an actuator 2 a , an electric motor for instance . in the example represented , this actuator 2 a is arranged to drive the magnetic assemblies 3 in rotation , but the motion could equally be done in translation . in addition , although it is preferentially continuous , the motion can also be discontinuous , reciprocating or defined according to a complex program as needed . the number , location and type of magnetic assemblies 3 can be determined based on the construction of the thermal modules 10 . these magnetic assemblies 3 can be formed from permanent magnets , electromagnets , superconductors or any other type of magnet . the preferred choice is permanent magnets due to their advantages in terms of size , simplicity of use and low cost . these permanent magnets may be solid , sintered , glued or laminated , associated with one or more magnetisable materials which concentrate and direct their magnetic field lines . the thermal modules 10 can be surrounded by an armature 6 made preferably from a ferromagnetic material whose main function is to close the magnetic flux generated by the magnetic assemblies 3 . the thermal modules 10 can be assembled by tightening using any known means such as , for example , tie rods ( not represented ) extending between the two sealing flanges 30 , or clamps ( not represented ) mounted on the shaft 2 by means of bearings . any other mode of assembly can be envisaged , the essential factor being to mechanically maintain the thermal modules 10 between each other and to seal the generator &# 39 ; s internal hot and cold collector circuits . in the example illustrated , the thermal generator 1 presents a circular configuration , i . e . the thermal modules 10 are annular and arranged around a shaft 2 carrying the magnetic assemblies 3 . however , the invention also extends to a thermal generator having a rectilinear configuration ( not represented ) in which the thermal modules are arranged in a linear manner and the magnetic means are driven in a reciprocating or sequential movement . in the example represented , each support 40 comprises a set of successive magneto - calorific elements 60 supported by a support 70 , the area occupied by magneto - calorific elements 60 accounting for a majority compared to that of the support 70 . these magneto - calorific elements 60 are parallel to the circulation direction of the fluid and to the motion of the magnets . they have the shape of a circular sector and are made for example from cut , machined or cast magneto - calorific material . the choice of the magneto - calorific materials is made according to the required heating or cooling power and the necessary operating temperature ranges . the supports 40 may have different configurations . on fig3 , the support 40 comprises several distinct yet identical thermal sectors 53 , covering approximately 45 °, each composed of the same number of magneto - calorific elements 60 , this configuration not being limitative . similarly , these magneto - calorific elements 60 in the form of circular sectors may have any geometric shape and their composition can be varied depending in particular on the required temperature ranges . this example is not restrictive . the support 40 may also be a part cast in a synthetic material loaded with magneto - calorific material particles . the present invention proposes to increase the temperature gradient of the magneto - calorific elements 60 by pre - heating or pre - cooling them with all appropriate means to modify their initial temperature and anticipate the magnetization and demagnetization cycles . one of the solutions described in detail below consists of using the heat transfer fluid as a pre - preheating or pre - cooling element of the magneto - calorific elements by shifting the circulation speed of the fluid with respect to that of the magnetic field , which can be done in the generator kind of the invention since the fluid circulates in a direction parallel to the magnetic field , and which is impossible to carry out in the kind of generator described in publications ep1736717 and wo2004 / 05922 . this solution is very advantageous since it allows to discard all other additional means of heating and / or cooling . according to the present invention , heat transfer fluid is made to circulate in the thermal module 10 to collect calories and / or frigories emitted by said magneto - calorific elements 60 at a speed greater than the speed of intensity variation of magnetic field , to anticipate magnetization and demagnetization cycles of the magneto - calorific elements 60 . as a general rule , when a magneto - calorific element 60 penetrates the magnetic field , its temperature moves from an initial value of ti to a final value of tf = ti + δt . the value of the temperature gradient δt is constant for a given magnetic field intensity and for a determined composition of the magneto - calorific material . if the circulation speed of the heat transfer fluid and the relative motion speed of the magnetic field are identical or synchronized , temperature gradient δt of all the magneto - calorific elements 60 during their passage through the magnetic field will remain the same for the whole of these elements and the heat transfer fluid will reach an exit temperature gradient of δts , equal for instance to 3 . 8 ° c ., as shown in fig4 . on the other hand , if the magneto - calorific elements 60 are pre - heated before or during their passage through the magnetic field , and / or pre - cooled before or during their passage out of the magnetic field , by circulating the heat transfer fluid at a speed higher or shifted with respect to the relative motion speed of the magnetic field , the temperature gradient of all the magneto - calorific elements 60 will grow for the whole of these elements , and the heat transfer fluid will reach an exit temperature gradient δts + greater than the preceding δts , equal for instance to 5 . 3 ° c ., as shown in fig5 . indeed , if the initial temperature ti of a magneto - calorific element 60 that penetrates the magnetic field was , for instance , 20 ° c . and if the δt had a constant value of 1 ° c ., the final value tf of this magneto - calorific element 60 would be 21 ° c . in the known thermal generators of this type , the following magneto - calorific elements 60 would all have the same initial temperature ti of 20 ° c . at their entrance into the magnetic field and the same final temperature tf of 21 ° c . at their exit from the field . this phenomenon is schematically represented in fig6 a and 6b . in this example , the initial temperature of the magneto - calorific elements 60 that are not subjected to the magnet 3 is the same and equal to ti for all the elements . when they are subjected to the magnet 3 their final temperature rises to the same value , which is equal to tf for all elements , the difference between tf and ti corresponding to the temperature gradient δt determined by the nature of the magneto - calorific material used . in the thermal generator of the invention , even if the initial temperature ti of the first magneto - calorific element that penetrates the magnetic field was 20 ° c . and if its final temperature was 21 ° c ., the initial temperature ti + of the second magneto - calorific element , which has undergone pre - heating , would be greater than ti . if the pre - heating was done , for instance , by means of the hot circuit , this initial temperature would be equal to the final temperature tf of the first magneto - calorific element , or 21 ° c . with three successive elements , the final temperature of the third magneto - calorific element could be close to 23 ° c ., so that the temperature gradient δt between the first and the third elements would , in this case , be 3 ° c . and not 1 ° c . as in known generators . this phenomenon is schematically illustrated in fig7 a and 7b where the pre - heating of the magneto - calorific elements 60 is represented by an electrical resistance , whose number of turns determines the number of degrees given to each element . in this example , and thanks to the pre - heating , the initial temperature of the magneto - calorific elements 60 not subjected to the magnet 3 is ti +, ti ++ and ti +++, where ti +& lt ; ti ++& lt ; ti +++ respectively . when they are subjected to the magnet 3 their final temperature changes respectively to tf +, tf ++ and tf +++, where tf +& lt ; tf ++& lt ; tf +++. for a same individual temperature gradient δt determined by the nature of the magneto - calorific material used , the temperature gradient δt between the entrance and the exit from the magnetized zone will therefore be a few degrees greater according to the prior art ( see fig6 a , 6 b ). this phenomenon can , of course , also be applied to the cooling cycle by using the cold circuit to pre - cool the magneto - calorific elements 60 . of course , the pre - heating and pre - cooling of the magneto - calorific elements 60 could be performed by any other additional or specific means of heating and / or cooling rather than using the heat transfer fluids from the hot and cold circuits . infrared radiation generators , electrical resistance , pelletier plates , or equal means from a functional point of view could be used . it is also possible to combine the pre - heating and pre - cooling of the magneto - calorific elements 60 to a combination of magneto - calorific materials different in nature and , thus , of different temperature gradients δt . similarly , magnetic field variation can be achieved by a present or absent magnetic field depending on the position of the magnets with respect to the magneto - calorific elements 60 as in the example represented , or by a magnetic field modulated by any means known between a maximum field value and a minimum field value , the magnets being fixed or mobile . in the example represented , the control of the motion speed of the magnetic field is carried out through the actuator 2 a and the control of the circulation speed of the heat transfer fluids from the hot 31 a and cold 32 a circuits , respectively , is carried out through circulation pumps , 31 b and 32 b respectively , driven by control boxes 31 c and 32 c , possibly programmable or controlled by sensors . any other method of implementation is possible . the present invention is not restricted to the examples of embodiment described , but extends to any modification or variant which is obvious to a person skilled in the art while remaining within the scope of the protection defined in the attached claims .	8
with reference to the drawings , and to fig1 in particular , a water purification system 10 is illustrated in accordance to the principles of the present invention for dispensing a controlled volume of purified water as desired by a user . water purification system 10 includes a fluid circuit or water flow path 12 having a water inlet 14 connected to a source of water ( not shown ), and a water outlet 16 for dispensing the controlled volume of water that has been purified by the system . as will be described in greater detail below , the fluid circuit 12 is preferably designed so that the volume of water entering inlet 14 corresponds to the volume of purified water dispensed at the outlet 16 . when purified water is not being dispensed at the outlet 16 , the fluid circuit 12 is preferably designed to recirculate the water through the circuit 12 . further referring to fig1 water enters the inlet 14 of the fluid circuit 12 through a check valve 18 , a flow control system 20 and a pressure regulator 22 . as will be described in greater detail below , flow control system 20 is provided to allow a user to input a desired volume of water to be dispensed at the outlet 16 , and also to determine the volume of water dispensed from the water purification system 10 . a user interface 24 , including a user input 26 ( fig2 ) and user display 28 ( fig2 ), is coupled to the flow control system 20 for receiving user inputs as well as providing a display of information to the user . pressure regulator 22 is provided to limit or regulate the pressure within the fluid circuit 12 to a predetermined value , such as 15 psi . a pump 30 is preferably connected in the fluid circuit 12 to circulate the water into through the circuit 12 . pump 30 preferably has at least two operating speeds so that when purified water is not being dispensed from the system 10 , the pump 30 is set to operate at a predetermined “ recirculation speed ”. the speed of pump 30 is preferably increased to a predetermined “ full speed ” when purified water is being dispensed through the outlet 16 or through an optional remote dispensing gun 32 connected to the fluid circuit 12 as described in detail below . alternatively , the pump 30 may have only a single operating speed , or the pump 30 may be eliminated and fluid circuit 12 may simply receive pressurized water through pressure regulator 22 . as illustrated in fig1 the water purification system 10 includes a water purification device 34 having an inlet and an outlet connected in the fluid circuit 12 and in fluid communication with at least one interior volume of the device 34 . the water purification device 34 is more fully disclosed in application u . s . ser . no . 09 / 520 , 529 , filed on mar . 8 , 2000 , now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 379 , 560 , and hereby fully incorporated herein by reference . briefly , water purification device 34 comprises a filter assembly 36 including a plurality of identically constructed cartridges 38 a - d coupled in fluid communication with each other and with the inlet and outlet of the water purification device 34 . in operation , water circulating or passing through the fluid circuit 12 is directed through the filter assembly 36 or cartridges 38 a - d as schematically illustrated in fig1 purified water exiting from cartridge 38 d moves past a sanitization port 40 which may be used to periodically inject a sanitent into fluid circuit 12 as necessitated by application requirements . a jumper 42 is provided for optionally connecting the remote dispensing gun 32 to the fluid circuit 12 as described in detail below . upon exiting the filter assembly 36 , the purified water enters a dispense manifold 44 connected in the fluid circuit 12 . the dispenser manifold 44 includes a first normally - closed solenoid valve 46 that is coupled to the flow control system 20 . the normally - closed solenoid valve 46 may be selectively opened by the user to direct water through a final filter 48 and through the water outlet 16 . when purified water is not being dispensed , a normally - open solenoid valve 50 is provided to direct the water in a recirculating manner through a check valve 52 and back to the beginning of fluid circuit 12 to be continuously recirculated by pump 30 . check valve 52 prevents backflow from inlet 14 and also provides any necessary back pressure for a manual valve ( not shown ) associated with the optional remote dispensing gun 32 . flow control system 20 is the primary focus of the present invention and is illustrated according to a preferred embodiment in fig2 . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , flow control system 20 includes a vane - type flow sensor 54 that is coupled to a flow controller 56 of the flow control system 20 . flow sensor 54 is operable to generate a signal that is used by the flow controller 56 to determine a volume of water dispensed from the water outlet 16 . the flow controller 56 provides an output that is responsive to the signal generated by the flow sensor 54 for indicating the volume of water dispensed from the outlet 16 . the flow control system 20 of the present invention is provided to allow a user to input a desired volume of water to be dispensed at the outlet 16 , and also to determine the volume of water dispensed from the water purification system 10 . the user input 26 of the user interface 24 ( fig1 ) is preferably in the form of a control panel ( not shown ) that permits the user to simply enter the desired volume of purified water to be dispensed through outlet 16 . the user display 28 of user interface 24 ( fig1 ) is preferably in the form of an lcd or similar display that provides a user - readable indication of the volume of purified water dispensed , or to be dispensed , by the water purification system 10 . an optional alert 58 may be associated with the flow controller 56 to provide a visual and / or audible indication to the user when the desired volume of purified water has been dispensed . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention as shown in fig2 the flow sensor 54 includes a pulse generator 60 that is operable to generate a predetermined number of pulses in response to a predetermined volume of water dispensed through outlet 16 , such as 6 , 900 pulses for every liter of purified water dispensed through the outlet 16 . the flow controller 56 includes a pulse counter 62 , accumulated pulse counter 64 and memory 66 coupled to a microcontroller 68 for monitoring and controlling the volume of purified water dispensed through outlet 16 . it will be appreciated that while flow sensor 54 and flow controller 56 are illustrated as separate components , they may be combined into a single device without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . operation of the water purification system 10 , including the flow sensor 54 and flow controller 56 , will now be described in connection with monitoring and controlling the volume of purified water dispensed through outlet 16 . flow controller 56 is operable to run the software routines of fig3 - 6 to perform the following functions : 1 ) automatically dispense a predetermined volume of water corresponding to a desired volume of water input into the flow controller 52 by the user through the user input 26 ; 2 ) monitor the volume and total volume of purified water dispensed by the water purification system 10 ; 3 ) calibrate the water purification system 10 to automatically dispense the desired volume of water input by the user : and 4 ) perform a system check to identify the presence of the remote dispense gun 32 or a leak in the system 10 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the software may reside in the memory 66 of the flow controller 56 and / or on tape , disc or diskette associated with the flow controller 56 , although the location of the software is not limited to the flow controller 56 as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art . referring now to fig3 the “ automatic dispense routine ” 70 will now be described . the purpose of this routine is primarily to permit a user to input a desired volume of water to be dispensed by the water purification system 10 , and to control the system 10 to dispense the desired volume of water input by the user . another purpose of this routine is to provide a user - readable display of the volume of water remaining to be dispensed through the outlet 16 . at step 72 , the flow controller 56 receives , through the user input 26 , the volume of water desired by the user to be dispensed through outlet 16 . at step 74 , the flow controller 56 calculates a pulse count corresponding to the desired volume of water , and sets the calculated pulse count in the memory 66 . for example , if the user desires one liter of purified water to be dispensed through the outlet 16 , the flow controller sets a pulse count value of 6 , 900 in the memory 66 . a determination is made at step 76 whether the user has pressed the “ dispense key ” to initiate automatic dispensing of the desired volume of purified water . if the “ dispense key ” has been pressed , the flow controller 56 resets the pulse counter 62 to zero at step 78 and sets the pump 30 to operate at “ full speed ” at step 80 . at step 82 , the flow controller 56 opens the normally - closed solenoid valve 46 associated with the dispense manifold 44 to dispense purified water through the water outlet 16 . as water is dispensed at the outlet 16 , flow sensor 54 is generating pulses through pulse generator 60 corresponding to the volume of water being dispensed . at step 84 , the pulse counter 62 of the flow controller 56 is counting the pulses generated by the pulse generator 60 of the flow sensor 54 . a decision is made at step 86 whether the pulse count generated by the pulse generator 60 equals the pulse count set in memory 66 . if not , the pulse counter 62 continues to count the pulses generated by the pulse generator 60 . however , if the generated pulse count does equal the pulse count set in memory 66 , the flow controller 56 closes the solenoid valve 46 at step 88 to stop discharge of water through the outlet 16 , and resets the pump 30 to its “ recirculation speed ” at step 90 . further referring to fig3 as the pulse counter 62 is counting pulses generated by the pulse generator 60 , the flow controller 56 subtracts the present pulse count from the pulse count set in memory 66 and converts the pulse count remainder to a volume of water remaining to be dispensed , as indicated at step 92 . the flow controller 56 provides a display of the volume of water remaining to be dispensed on the user display 28 , as indicated at step 94 . while not shown , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow controller 56 could convert the present pulse count to a volume of water actually dispensed , and display that information to the user as well on the user display 28 . when the desired volume of purified water has been dispensed , the flow controller 56 will actuate alert 58 to provide an indication to the user that the dispense cycle is completed . it will be appreciated that the “ automatic dispense routine ” 70 permits the user simply to input a desired volume of water to be dispensed , and thereafter accurately controls the dispensed volume of water to correspond to the desired volume input by the user . with reference now to fig4 the “ total volume dispensed routine ” 95 will be described . the purpose of this routine is to monitor the total volume of purified water dispensed by the water purification system 10 , and to provide this information to the user for various service , billing , warranty and usage - type purposes . in particular , at step 96 , a volume of purified water is dispensed through the outlet 16 . at step 98 , the pulse generator 60 associated with the flow sensor 54 generates a series of pulses that are counted by the pulse counter 62 , as well as by the accumulated pulse counter 64 , of the flow controller 56 . at step 100 , the accumulated pulse counter 64 stores and accumulates the pulses generated by the pulse generator 60 over multiple dispensing operations of the water purification system 10 . at step 102 , the flow controller 56 converts the accumulated pulses counted by the accumulated pulse counter 64 to a total volume of purified water dispensed by the water purification system 10 . as indicated at 104 , this information may be used as service information to inform the user when service or maintenance of the system 10 is required . the service or maintenance may include changing the filter assembly 36 or injecting a sanitant into the fluid circuit 12 through the sanitization port 40 , for example . as indicated at 106 , the total volume of water dispensed by the water purification system 10 may also be used for billing information so that the user may be accurately charged for the volume of purified water dispensed by the system 10 . as indicated at 108 , this information may also be used for warranty information or , as indicated at 110 , for usage - type information , such as the total volume of water that has been dispensed through the a particular water purification system 10 over a predetermined period of time . referring now to fig5 the “ calibration routine ” 112 will now be described . the purpose of this routine is to calibrate the water purification system 10 to accurately dispense the desired volume of purified water at the outlet 16 . at step 114 , a determination is made whether the flow controller 56 has been set to operate in a “ calibration mode ”. if yes , a determination is made at step 116 whether the user has depressed the “ dispense key ”. if the user has depressed the “ dispense key ”, the flow controller 56 dispenses a predetermined volume of purified water corresponding to a predetermined pulse count . for example , at step 118 , if the flow controller 56 is set to operate in “ calibration mode ” and the “ dispense key ” has been pressed , the flow controller 56 may be programmed to dispense a liter of purified water corresponding to a pulse count of 6 , 900 . as indicated at 120 , the user measures the actual volume of water dispensed , and inputs that value into the flow controller 56 through the user input 26 at step 122 . at step 124 , the flow controller 56 calculates an error corresponding to the difference between the predetermined volume of water to be dispensed in “ calibration mode ” and the actual volume of water dispensed at the outlet 16 . thereafter , at step 126 , the flow controller 56 increments or decrements the predetermined pulse count to obtain the predetermined volume of water that should be dispensed when the “ dispense key ” is pressed and the flow controller 56 is set to operate in “ calibration mode ”. for example , it may be determined through the “ calibration routine ” 112 that one liter of dispensed purified water actually corresponds to a pulse count of 6 , 985 instead of 6 , 900 . by calibrating the pulse count to correspond to the actual volume of water dispensed , all following automatic dispense cycles should be very accurate . referring now to fig6 the “ system check routine ” 128 will now be described . the purpose of this routine is to determine either the connection of the remote gun 32 to the fluid circuit 12 or a leak in the system 10 . at step 130 , a determination is made whether the “ dispense key ” has been depressed . if yes , control is passed to the “ automatic dispense routine ” 70 as described above . if not , a determination is made at step 132 whether a pulse has been detected by the pulse counter 62 associated with the flow controller 56 . if a pulse is detected at step 132 , the pulse counter 62 counts the pulse at step 134 . at step 136 , the flow controller 56 determines whether the pulse count of pulse counter 62 is greater than a predetermined pulse number stored in memory 66 . if the pulse count exceeds the predetermined pulse number stored in memory 66 , a determination is made at step 138 whether the remote gun 32 is present . this information may be provided through a query of the user to verify that the remote gun 32 is or is not connected to the fluid circuit 12 . if the user indicates at step 138 that the remote gun 32 is not present , flow controller 56 shuts off pump 30 at step 140 , and may also cause the water purification system 10 to be disconnected from the water source ( not shown ) at step 142 . thereafter , the flow controller 56 may provide a display warning to the user on user display 28 to warn the user to check for a leak in the system 10 at step 144 . if a determination is made at step 138 that the remote gun 32 is connected to the fluid circuit 12 , the flow controller 56 turns the pump 30 to “ full speed ” at step 146 . a determination is made at step 148 whether a pulse is detected by the pulse counter 62 , indicating that purified water is being dispensed through the remote gun 32 . if no pulse is detected at step 148 , indicating that the valve ( not shown ) of the remote gun 32 has been closed , the flow controller 56 resets the pump 30 to operate at its “ recirculation speed ” at step 150 . while a vane - type flow sensor 54 is shown in the preferred embodiment of fig2 it will be appreciated that other sensing devices are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , the sensing device may have a voltage or current output rather than a pulse output as described in detail above . moreover , while a vane - type flow sensor has been described in detail , it will be appreciated that the flow sensor may comprise an ultrasonic , paddlewheel or similar flow sensor readily known by those of ordinary skill in the art . additionally , and as illustrated in fig2 a , the sensing device may include a timer and look - up table 152 or timer and algorithm 154 associated with the flow controller 56 . for example , as indicated at 158 in fig2 a , the user may input a desired volume of purified water to be dispensed by system 10 through the user input 26 . in the event the sensing device comprises a timer and look - up table 152 , the flow controller 56 includes a look - up table that correlates a desired volume of purified water input by the user to a dispense time corresponding to opening of the normally - closed solenoid valve 46 . in this embodiment , the user &# 39 ; s input of the desired volume of purified water to be dispensed by the system 10 is converted by the sensing device 152 into a time value for opening the normally - closed solenoid valve 46 . in this way , the water purification system 10 discharges a desired volume of purified water input by the user as indicated at 160 . alternatively , when the sensing device is a timer and algorithm , the flow controller 56 converts the user &# 39 ; s input of the desired volume of purified water to be dispensed into a time value for opening the normally - closed solenoid valve 46 . the time value is computed in the algorithm by dividing the desired volume of purified water input by the user by the known flow rate of the system 10 . it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in art that while the flow control system 20 has been described as being positioned upstream of the inlet to the water purification device 34 , the flow control system may alternatively be positioned downstream of the outlet of the water purification device 34 without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention . while the present invention has been illustrated by a description of these preferred embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in some detail , it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art . this has been a description of the present invention , along with the preferred methods of practicing the present invention as currently known . various aspects of this invention may be used alone or in different combinations .	2
the preferred embodiment of the valve apparatus of the pesent invention is illustrated in fig1 . the valve apparatus comprises an integral valve body 12 having an acid resistant ball 14 therein . the valve body 12 comprises a substantially cylindrical side wall 16 having a plurality of integral , external ribs 18 extending outward therefrom along the length thereof . each rib 18 has an undercut 19 therein and is provided with an abutment shoulder 20 . the valve body 12 is further provided with an integral , substantially circular lip or shoulder 22 on one end of side wall 16 and an integral base 24 on the opposite end of side wall 16 . an integral , substantially cylindrical tube 26 extends downward from base 24 and a plurality of integral projections 28 extend upward from lip 22 . as illustrated in fig2 and fig3 the ball 14 is retained within a passage or cavity 30 defined by side wall 16 by means of a plurality of integral , internal ribs 32 having undercuts 33 therein and abutment shoulders 34 . ribs 32 extend into passage 30 along the length of side wall 16 and are spaced approximately on hundred and twenty degrees ( 120 °) from each other . as illustrated in fig3 a passage 36 also extends through tube 26 in fluid communication with passage 30 through port 38 . referring to fig4 the valve apparatus of the present invention is illustrated within a liquid dispenser 40 which is partially filled with a liquid l and air a . the valve apparatus is disposed within a passage 42 intermediate a storage chamber 44 and a pump chamber 46 . the valve apparatus is normally maintained within the dispenser passage 42 in a snap fit by means of lip 22 and shoulders 20 . the dispenser 40 may also be provided with a nozzle member 48 which is connected to the uppermost end of pump chamber 46 and has a spring biased check valve 50 mounted therein . nozzle member 48 preferably has a solid closure tip 49 which may be broken off prior to usage of the dispenser 40 , as illustrated in fig5 and fig6 . the liquid dispenser 40 illustrated in fig4 with the valve apparatus mounted therein , is in the preprimed stage or storage position . in this stage , air a is present in the storage chamber 44 and pump chamber 46 . further , the ball 14 rests within the valve seat defined by base 24 and port 38 , thereby sealing port 38 . the valve apparatus is supported within passage 42 by valve body lip 22 which is supported by substantially circular pump chamber shoulder 47 . when the liquid dispenser 40 is tilted downward , as illustrated in fig5 the liquid dispenser 40 and valve apparatus assume the primed position or stage . in the primed stage , ball 14 moves toward the opposite end of the valve apparatus and is retained within passage 30 by internal shoulders 34 , thereby opening port 38 . the valve apparatus will also move toward nozzle member 48 and be supported within passage 42 by external rib shoulders 20 which are supported by substantially circular storage chamber shoulder 45 . it is to be understood that when dispenser 40 is initially tilted downward from the position shown in fig4 to the position shown in fig5 air a from within the pump chamber 46 will pass through passage 30 , port 38 , and passage 36 into storage chamber 44 , as illustrated by the clear arrows and bubbles in fig5 . once air a enters the storage chamber 44 from pump chamber 46 , the small vacuum within the storage chamber 44 will be broken and a portion of the liquid l within storage chamber 44 will thereafter pass into pump chamber 46 through passage 42 , as illustrated by the solid arrows in fig5 . once the vacuum is broken , the ready transfer of liquid l from the storage chamber 44 into the pump chamber 46 and simultaneous transfer of air a from the pump chamber 46 into the storage chamber 44 is facilitated by the vertical distance or head delta h , illustrated in fig5 defined by the vertical distance between the lowest point that liquid l can enter the pump chamber 46 and the highest point that air a can enter the storage chamber 44 . further , the vacuum within the storage chamber 44 will remain broken provided the dispenser 40 remains tilted downward , as illustrated in fig5 . however , air a will utlimately cease passing into storage chamber 44 and a portion of air a may remain within pump chamber 46 , as further illustrated in fig5 . during the subsequent pumping or compression of the pump chamber 46 , as illustrated in fig6 liquid l will be urged outward from the pump chamber 46 through check valve 50 and nozzle member 48 , as illustrated by the solid arrows in fig6 . the ball 14 will be urged rearward within passage 30 to again seal port 38 . the valve apparatus will likewise seal passage 42 by means of the abutment of lip 22 against pump chamber shoulder 47 . when the pumping stage is finished , the valve apparatus and dispenser 40 will return to the position shown in fig5 with the pump chamber 46 again being filled or partially filled with liquid l , as illustrated by the solid arrows in fig5 . the plastic valve body 12 is preferably molded in a conventional manner with the body 12 ejected off the core in a manner which utilizes the flexibility of the body 12 to ramp out of the undercuts without tearing or breaking the body 12 . the plastic or glass ball 14 is thereafter inserted into the body 12 . the purpose of projections 28 is to abut against nozzle member 48 in the event the dispenser 40 is dropped , thereby prohibiting hydraulic forces from urging the valve apparatus outward from passage 42 . it is to be understood that the valve apparatus of the present invention essentially comprises a check valve having a ball valve therein which permits flow of liquid in one direction and separate , independent flow of gas in the opposite direction . it is also to be understood that when the valve apparatus of the present invention is placed within a passage 42 intermediate a storage chamber 44 and a pump chamber 46 , as illustrated in fig4 the dispenser 40 will be automatically primed when dispenser 40 is tilted downward , as illustated in fig5 . finally , it is to be understood that ball 14 will seal port 38 during the pumping stage , as illustrated in fig6 but will allow port 38 to open in the primed stage , as illustrated in fig5 . in the preferred embodiment , tube 26 has an outer diameter of approximately 0 . 236 inches and an inner diameter of approximately 0 . 156 inches , side wall 16 has an outer diameter of approximately 0 . 445 inches and an inner diameter of approximately 0 . 375 inches , lip 22 has an outer diameter of approximately 0 . 670 inches , and ball 14 has a diameter of approximately 0 . 25 inches . further , tube 26 preferably has a length of approximately 0 . 345 inches and side wall 16 preferably has a length of approximately 0 . 440 inches from tube 26 to lip 22 ( including lip 22 ). finally , projections 28 preferably have a length of approximately 0 . 265 inches . in the preferred embodiment , the valve apparatus has six ( 6 ) external ribs 18 , three ( 3 ) internal ribs 32 , and four ( 4 ) projections 28 . while the valve apparatus for liquid dispensers has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment , it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular form set forth , but on the contrary , it is intended to cover such alternatives , modifications , and equivalents , as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	8
with general reference now to the drawing , a method is provided for practicing the invention in one form thereof that includes engaging an end frame with a nozzle structure , actuating the nozzle structure due to engagement with the end frame and continued movement of at least part of the nozzle structure , and thereby opening or unblocking the lubricant discharge passages in the nozzle structure . thereafter , material is extruded through the nozzle discharge passages and then , prior to disengaging a sealing structure from the dynamoelectric machine end frame structure , closure means shear across the extrusion path of the lubricant material so as to close the discharge passages of the nozzle means . this closing action occurs during and as a result of movement of the nozzle structure away from the end frame structure . with continued reference to the drawing , the apparatus there illustrated will now be described in some detail . initially , it is noted that the nozzle structure 11 shown in fig1 may be utilized with the apparatus of the prior art described hereinabove , or with the apparatus in the tomson and bohde application or stoner application referenced hereinabove . for example , the nozle structure 11 may be threaded onto the threaded depending portion of a rotary body 15 of the related applications or an adapter mounted on prior art machines . the nozzle 11 is constructed so that the material dispensing passages which dispense material into an end frame 20 may be positively closed with a shearing action so as to prevent material from seaping or dripping from the nozzle . the nozzle means of fig1 includes a nozzle body 121 having a flanged portion 13 thereof held fast to the lower end of a rotary body 15 by means of a retainer nut 14 and retainer ring 16 . it will also be noted that a dowel pin 17 is utilized to insure that dual discharge paths 18 , 19 are in proper alignment and registry with material transferring passages in the rotary body to which the nozzle means is attached . to disassemble the nozzle body 12 from the rotary body 15 , it is only necessary to rotate the retainer nut so as to unthread it from the rotary body . since the retainer ring and retainer nut , when loosened , will permit relative rotation between the nozzle body 12 and the retainer nut and retainer ring , unscrewing the retainer nut from the rotary body 13 will result in removal of the nozzle body 12 from the material dispensing apparatus . assembly of the nozzle body 12 to the apparatus is accomplished by simply reversing the procedure just described . the nozzle structure 11 also includes a cam ring 19 , a control ring 21 , a cam shaft 22 , six socket head cap screws 23 , four shoulder screws 24 , and four springs 26 . the cam shaft 22 is a cylindrical structure having a cam lobe 27 which rides in the cam track 28 . with the cam shaft being bored at one end thereof in order to retain a retaining rivet 29 . a torrington needle bearing # b - 34 , denoted by the reference numeral 31 , is carried on each end of the cam shaft , and the bearing itself functions as the cam lobe 27 . the nozzle structure 11 also includes rubber ( or any other suitable elastomeric material ) seals 32 , 33 which bear against an end frame during a lubricant injection sub - cycle and prevent leakage of lubricant material therefrom . in addition , an o - ring 34 , such as a parker o - ring # 2 - 214 is utilized to prevent leakage of material upwardly along relatively movable parts as they relatively move as will be described hereinbelow . finally , it will be noted that any suitable fastener , such as the screw 36 may be utilized to secure the sealing structure , such as the seal 32 to the nozzle body . during operation of the apparatus , the nozzle structure 11 will be moved to its lowermost position with the parts thereof assuming the positions as illustrated in solid lines in fig1 and 2 . at this time , the springs 26 are compressed and the heads of screws 24 have risen in their retaining holes 37 as illustrated . in addition , the cam ring 19 ( into which the screws 24 are threaded ) is in its uppermost position relative to the nozzle body 12 and the round needle bearing cam lobe 27 will be in the bottom of the cam track 28 as illustrated in fig1 . with the parts in this relative position , material transferring passages 38 in the control ring 21 will be aligned with the discharge paths 18 , 19 formed in the nozzle body 12 ; and material may be discharged into the end frame 12 . at the end of a dispensing sub - cycle , the rotary body 15 will be raised away from the end frame 20 . then , as the body 12 moves upwardly , springs 26 will expand and cause relative movement between cam ring 19 and nozzle body 12 . this relative movement is limited to movement in the axial direction only , because the screws 24 prevent relative rotation from occuring between the cam ring and nozzle body . when the nozzle body 12 has been elevated to its uppermost position , the heads of the screws 24 will bear against the bottom of the screw accommodating holes 37 , and the cam ring 19 will have elevated to a point sufficiently far above the end frame 20 to permit removal of the end frame 20 from underneath the nozzle structure . during the time that relative axial movement is occuring between the cam ring and the nozzle body 12 , relative rotary movement will take place between the control ring 21 and the nozzle body 12 . this occurs because the cam 22 is press fit into a hole 41 in the control ring 21 , but is free to move laterally in slots 40 formed in the nozzle body 12 . thus , as the nozzle body 12 moves upwardly relative to the cam ring 19 , the cam shaft 22 is forced to move upwardly in the cam track 28 . however , since the cam ring 19 is not permitted to rotate relative to the nozzle body 12 , the cam is constrained to follow the cam track 28 and move laterally relative to the nozzle body 12 . as the cam undertakes such lateral movement , it forces the control ring 21 to move in a rotary fashion relative to the nozzle body 12 . as the control ring moves in this manner , the discharge paths 18 , 19 , are blocked by the control ring and any material extending from the discharge paths 18 , 19 into the end frame 20 is sheared by the control ring as it rotates relative to the nozzle body . it will now be understood that i have disclosed new and improved apparatus and methods for controlling the flow of dynamoelectric machine lubricating materials wherein linear movement of a nozzle body toward an end frame is converted to rotary movement of nozzle passage flow control means that open passages to permit the discharge of material into an end frame . moreover , preselected relative movement of the nozzle body and the end frame ( in an axial direction ) will cause relative rotary movement between the nozzle body and the nozzle passage flow control means . the relative rotary movement of the nozzle passage flow control means and the nozzle body causes the control means to move with a shearing action in a direction transverse to the direction of flow of material being extruded out of the nozzle passages . the apparatus itself , as will be understood , is arranged so that motive force causing axial movement of a nozzle may also cause a concurrent relative rotary movement between the nozzle body and the flow control means . in view of all of the foregoing , it should now be apparent that novel processes and apparatus for controlling the flow of compressible lubricating materials from nozzle passages have been disclosed which meet the objects , and provide the advantageous features set out hereinabove . moreover , it should be apparent that modifications in the methods and apparatus particularly described herein may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention .	5
as shown in fig1 the process of the present invention converts a raw adsorbent ( 101 ) containing one or more undesired cations to a product adsorbent ( 501 ) with any desired combination of cations . the present process uses single - step continuous counterflow ion - exchange ( in contactor 1 ) with a single aqueous feed brine composition ( 1003 ) containing calculated amounts of the desired mixed cations . the ionexchanged adsorbent can be equilibrated ( in section 4 ) to provide a uniform distribution of cations therethrough , and the equilibrated adsorbent can be washed ( in section 5 ) to remove spent brine . the ion exchange operation produces a tail brine ( 102 ) containing the original undesired cations and unused cations from the feed brine . an optional recovery unit , denoted as rl in fig1 may be used to recover some of the unused components notably expensive cations from the tail brine ( 102 ) for reuse ( through stream 801 ) in the feed brine composition . residual low cost salts ( 802 ) may be discarded or put to another use . an optional ion concentrator , cl in fig1 may be used to recover residual valuable salts ( 901 ) from the spent wash water ( 503 ). wastewater ( 902 ) is discarded . each of the steps of the process of the present invention will be discussed in detail below . as shown in fig1 the first ( and only ion - exchange ) step of the process of the present invention involves ion - exchange of raw adsorbent 101 having an undesired cation or set of cations to convert it to a product adsorbent having a set of two or more desirable cations . this step takes place in a moving - bed counterflow contactor 1 . the raw adsorbent ( 101 ) enters at the inlet 2 of the contactor 1 , is transported through the contactor , and leaves through the outlet 3 of the contactor as ion - exchanged adsorbent 103 . an aqueous feed brine composition ( 1003 ) containing calculated amounts of at least one more strongly selected cation ( e . g . ca ) and at least one less strongly selected cation ( e . g . li ) to provide the desired mixed cations to be introduced into 35 the raw adsorbent ( 101 ) enters the contactor at brine inset 31 countercurrently to the adsorbent ( 101 ). the feed brine flows through the contactor and comes in contact with the adsorbent stream , effecting ion exchange on the adsorbent . following ion exchange , the brine ( now depleted in desired cations ) is removed from the adsorbent feed end of the contactor as the tail brine -( 102 ) at brine outlet 2 ′. the cations in the feed brine replace cations on the adsorbent by ion exchange at different rates depending on the affinity with which the adsorbent binds a particular ion . the most strongly selected cations ( e . g . ca ) in the feed brine are quickly adsorbed into the adsorbent particles at or close to the point of introduction 31 of the feed brine ( 1003 ) if these more strongly selected cations are present at essentially stoichiometric amounts by the time the zeolite exits the contactor , the more strongly held cations will replace the correct proportion of less strongly selected cations ( e . g . li ) so that the ion - exchanged adsorbent exiting the contactor at 3 will have the correct overall cation composition . (“ essentially stoichiometric ” means an amount of a cation sufficient to satisfy the composition requirement of the desired zeolite plus to cover losses of that cation .) the feed brine having contacted the exiting adsorbent will be depleted of the more strongly selected cation relatively quickly within section 1 and will then contain substantially only the less strongly selected cation ( e . g . li , as well as the undesirable cation ( e . g . na )). by providing this less strongly held cation at a substantial excess over stoichiometry and equilibrium in the brine , relatively quick ion - exchange is achieved as the feed brine flows towards 21 . typically , the key cation is provided in an amount such that the total equivalents of the cations added are within the range of about 4 to about 12 times the total capacity of the adsorbent to take them up , and preferably , from about 6 to about 9 times that amount . ( it will be understood that if there are more than two desired cations , essentially stoichiometric amounts will still be 35 used for the strongly held cation or cations , e . g ., ca and / or mg and / or sr . the less strongly held cation , e . g . li , will be the one to be used in excess .) thus , less strongly selected cations are bound onto the adsorbent in parts of the contactor that are farther from the brine inlet point 3 ′. the least strongly selected cation type from the feed brine ( e . g . li ) remains in solution as the brine flows through the contactor after all the other ions have been bound onto the adsorbent . the brine stream flowing towards brine outlet 2 ′ now contains all of the least strongly selected cations that entered with the feed brine plus all ions displaced from the zeolite stream by the strongly selected cations originally in the feed brine . in the portion of the contactor nearer the adsorbent inlet 2 , the least strongly selected cations eventually replace the undesirable cations that are found in the raw adsorbent . most of the excess amount of the least strongly selected cation type ( except for entrainment losses ) will remain in the brine flow and will appear in the tail brine ( 102 ) along with the cation types that were displaced from the raw adsorbent . if the least strongly selected cation type is valuable , as is the case with lithium , a substantial portion of it may be recovered and then reused by adding it to feed brine . in fig1 undesirable ions ( e . g . sodium ) are removed from the tail brine in recovery unit rl and recovered feed brine ( 801 ) is returned to the feed . cation recovery can be accomplished by any means , e . g . fractional crystallization or preferably the method described in copending commonly assigned u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 172 , 297 , filed dec . 23 , 1993 . the ability to recover less strongly held cations ( e . g li ) economically is one of the advantages of the present invention . tail brines of processes according to the invention are depleted in more strongly held cations ( e . g . ca , sr , mg ) the presence of which interferes with the ability to recover the less strongly held cations , especially by fractional crystallization . for example , if a tail brine contains relatively large amounts of calcium ( along with sodium or potassium either or both of which are typically the ions removed from the raw adsorbent ) it is difficult to precipitate these ions without also causing precipitation of lithium chloride which is the object of the recovery process . in general , the feed brine must supply a sufficient number of cations of each type to ensure that the product adsorbent will have the desired ion composition . this calculation is well within the skill in the art . there must also be sufficient total cations in the feed brine to displace the undesirable cations present in the raw adsorbent . in the present invention , it is first assumed that the least strongly held cation (“ key cation ”) is the only cation in the feed brine and would be displacing all the undesirable cations that are to be displaced . the number of equivalents of the key cation that would be needed to displace the undesirable cation ( s ) are then calculated , and excess allowances are made for the loading selectivity of the key cation , mass transfer resistance and unfavorable equilibrium and for limiting the size of the equipment ( this is a trade off ), and entrainment losses ( i . e . amount of nonadsorbed key cation that would be taken out of the system with the ion - exchanged adsorbent ). a multiple of the stoichiometric amount is then arrived at . this number is then used for all of the actual cations in the feed brine . the more strongly held cation would then be used in an amount essentially sufficient to satisfy stoichiometry of the predetermined ( target ) exchanged adsorbent composition ( allowing for a small loss , since only a relatively insignificant quantity of the strongly held cation would be not adsorbed but would be “ lost ” in the crystal or in the pores of the adsorbent or in the interparticulate space of the adsorbent exiting the ion - exchange step ). thus , it is an advantage of the present invention that the excess needed over stoichiometry of the key cation is reduced by an essentially stoichiometric amount of the strongly held cations . within the foregoing considerations , the excess over stoichiometry of the key cation varies on a case - by - case basis . the excess can also vary depending on the ion - exchange efficiency and size of the contactor and the relative selectivity of the 5 adsorbent for the key cation . all of these are design considerations which can be readily taken into account by those skilled in the art , in light of the present disclosure . what is important is the realization by the present inventor that the strongly held cation ( s ) in the feed brine need to be used in essentially stoichiometric amounts . this makes it possible to reduce the amount of the strongly held cation ( s ) in the feed brine , and avoid contaminating the tail brine with the strongly held cation ( s ). this permits use of the key cation in a relatively large excess without wasting key cation because it can then be recovered in a recovery section . another realization by the present inventor is that the excess of the key cation in the feed brine can be reduced by the ( essentially stoichiometric ) amount ( s ) of the more strongly held cation ( s ), thus effecting a saving in key cation without compromising the overall efficiency of the ion - exchange process . this saving is in addition to any recovery of the key cation in the recovery section . many ion - exchanged adsorbent products ( i . e . products containing various exchanged ions or ion combinations ) may be made by the process of the present invention . in each case , the total amount of the cations used in the feed brine is first calculated to be equal to the amount of the key cation that would be necessary to ensure removal of the raw adsorbent &# 39 ; s undesirable cations if the key cation were the only one to be exchanged . then the amounts of the other feed brine cation types are adjusted to ensure that there will be just enough ( stoichiometric amount plus losses ) of each in the product adsorbent . the difference between the total amount of cations calculated and the sum of the essentially stoichiometric amounts of the nonkey cations is the amount of the key cation used ( which is thus used at a substantial excess ). the amount of adsorbable ions added to the feed brine may also be affected by the ph of the brine solution , which may be adjusted as necessary to prevent precipitation of ion salts and provide optimum ion diffusion conditions . for example , a lower ph is used to avoid precipitation of carbonates ( e . g . calcium , magnesium or lithium carbonate ); a higher ph is used to avoid precipitation of silicates , as needed and as is well - known in the art . the process of the invention can be used to prepare any cation - exchanged material , including zeolite type x , other zeolites ( such as zeolite a , zeolite y , mordenite , clinoptilolite , erionite , etc . without limitation ), ion - exchange resins , or other materials . the cations used to make a mixed cation zeolite product include without limitation lithium , calcium , magnesium , strontium , barium , silver , copper , and others . the process is typically utilized to make x zeolites with mixtures of cations , such as calcium - lithium or calcium - magnesium - lithium ( containing from 5 to 95 % lithium and preferably from 50 to 95 % lithium the percentage being based on the exchangeable ion content ). the nonexchanged adsorbent can contain alkali metal ions usually sodium or potassium or a combination thereof . it is preferred that the exchanged adsorbent not contain more than 3 % of the undesirable ion ( s ). the process of the invention could also be used to make mixed anion - exchanged material by using a feed brine with a calculated mixture of salts having the desired anions , using the same principles and design considerations outlined above with such modifications as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . additionally , those skilled in the art will use information on anion exchange equilibrium , anion diffusivities and anion mass transfer rates , which can be found from the published literature and / or determined by well - known methods . the invention can be used with any continuous counterflow contractor suitable for liquid - solid contact , and preferably equipped with mixing means to achieve thorough mixing . some examples are : trayed moving - bed contactors such as used in the bureau of mines process for uranium recovery , true plug - flow moving beds , horizontal contactors using screw conveyors to transport the solids , contactors equipped with mixing blades and some simulated moving beds . such equipment has been disclosed , e . g ., in haas , p . a . separat . sci . & amp ; tech . 28 : 1579 - 1594 , 1993 . the invention can be used with or without recovery of the cations ( or anions ) and with or without equilibrating . as a result of the great affinity of the raw adsorbent for the more strongly held ions , such as calcium , the adsorbent product leaving the contactor may require equilibration in the equilibrating section 4 shown in fig1 . where the feed brine ( 1003 ) enters the contactor ( at 31 ) and contacts the adsorbent , there is a very rapid ion - exchange rate for the more strongly held ions . when the adsorbent is in the form of beads or other relatively large particles , the outer shells of the particles quickly adsorb up nearly all the more strongly held ions . the particles hold nearly all of the adsorbed ions near their surfaces , and comparatively few tightly held ions reach the particle cores . also , some particles may adsorb an excess of the more strongly held ions , leaving others with less . if the adsorbent particles recovered from the outlet of the contactor are immediately washed with water or with a very dilute brine , then diffusion of the ions is slowed and may be nearly halted . to ensure not only that the ions diffuse through the entire volume of the particles , but also that they are equally distributed among the particles , an equilibrating section 4 can be provided downstream from the contactor and before the washing section 5 , as shown in fig1 . following continued contact of 35 the ion - exchanged adsorbent particles ( 103 ) with additional brine in the equilibrating section 4 , the particles equilibrate as the ions diffuse throughout each particle . in the equilibrating section 4 the adsorbent particles ( 103 ) are maintained in stationary contact with an equilibrating solution . the equilibrating solution is not flowed through the equilibrating section , but merely allowed to remain in immediate contact with the particles passing through . the equilibrating solution may originally consist of water or a strong brine ( e . g . a brine having the same composition as the feed brine ) ( see dotted line and stream 401 in fig1 ) containing the ions to be diffused into the particles ; after the equilibrating operation begins , the liquid in the equilibrating section will equilibrate with the entering ion - exchanged adsorbent particles . it is preferred that the equilibrating solution not be disturbed during the equilibration step ( e . g . it is preferred that no water or extra brine be added in this stage ) and it is important that the equilibrating solution contain no ions other than the feed brine ( although it may contain a stronger brine than the feed brine ). the equilibrating solution may be heated to e . g . 90 ° c . to expedite the equilibration . the equilibration time may vary widely , and depends on such system variables as the diffusion rate of the ions from the feed brine composition into the adsorbent particles , the diffusion rate of the ions from the adsorbent into the feed brine , and the degree of mixing of the ions with the adsorbent in the contactor . the equilibration time also depends on the size and porosity of the adsorbent particles . finally , the equilibration time depends on how nearly uniform an ion concentration is desired in the adsorbent particles , and the particles must remain in contact with the equilibrating solution for a sufficient time to achieve this ion concentration level . for example , if sufficient mixing occurs in the contactor , all of the adsorbent particles are equally exposed to the ions in the feed brine composition , and equilibration is only needed to allow the ions , particularly the more strongly held cations , to diffuse farther into the particles . where there is poor mixing in the contactor , more time is needed to ensure that different particles receive nearly the same proportions of the ions . in general , equilibration time is approximately proportional to the square of the particle size and approximately inversely proportional to the diffusivities of the ions involved . equilibration time is typically within the range of about 1 to about 6 hours for most mixed cation zeolites made by the process of the invention . for example , to achieve essentially homogeneous diffusion of calcium and lithium ions in 8 × 12 ( standard screen size ) zeolite x beads ( containing 90 % li and 9 % ca ) at temperatures near 100 ° c ., at least about two hours of equilibration time should be used , and five hours of equilibration are preferred to further improve the evenness of the ion distribution . more time is needed for lower temperatures or for equilibration brines with lower ion concentrations . ionic diffusivities in the adsorbent can be estimated from ionic diffusivities in solution by multiplying with particle porosity and dividing by particle tortuosity . tortuosity is the ratio of average actual diffusion path length to the theoretical minimum diffusion path length . for spherical particles the minimum length diffusion paths would lie along the particle radii . actual diffusion paths would curve and twist and so would have longer lengths . the equilibrated zeolite 402 may optionally be washed as illustrated in fig1 and described below . the washing step of the process of the present invention , which in the system illustrated in fig1 is conducted in the washing section 5 , removes unwanted salts from the ( optionally equilibrated ) adsorbent . wash water ( 502 ) enters the outlet 6 of the washing section and spent wash water leaves at the inlet 7 . the washing section may optionally be set up as a 2 - stage wash as shown in fig2 . the equilibrated zeolite ( 402 ) ( from equilibrating section 4 in fig1 ) enters the inlet 29 of the first washing stage 8 , where it is washed with partially spent washwater 201 entering through inlet 201 from the second wash stage 22 to remove the bulk of the dissolved salts . the partially washed adsorbent 202 leaves first washing stage 28 through outlet 20 and passes into the inlet 21 of the second washing stage 22 where it is final - washed with fresh wash water 502 to remove the last of the dissolved salts . the fully washed adsorbent 501 then leaves the second washing section 22 through outlet 23 as the product adsorbent . a strong flow ( e . g ., about 10 to about 100 times the amount of liquid entrained in the adsorbent material ) of fresh wash water , passes through inlet 24 into the second washing section 22 to thoroughly wash salts from the zeolite . partially spent wash water stream 201 exiting through outlet 211 from the second washing section 22 therefore contains a small amount of ion salts , such as calcium chloride or lithium chloride ( e . g . about { fraction ( 1 / 10 )} to about { fraction ( 1 / 100 )} of the feed brine concentrations of these ions ). a portion of the spent wash water stream 111 from the second washing section may be discarded or subjected to ion concentration ( e . g . by evaporation of the water or precipitation of the salts ) in concentration stage cl to recover any valuable ions . a slow flow ( e . g . about 1 to about 1 . 5 times the amount of liquid entrained in the adsorbent material which in turn includes liquid contained within the adsorbent crystals , and within the particle pores and interparticular voids ) of wash water stream 201 passes through the first washing section 28 to lightly wash the bulk of the salts from the adsorbent without diluting them much . spent wash water 503 exiting through outlet 27 from the first washing section 28 contains residual ion salts , and the total salt concentration is as high or nearly as high ( e . g . 60 - 100 %) as that of the feed brine to the contactor . the spent wash water 7 from the first washing section may optionally be mixed into the feed brine for the contactor to save valuable salts . the invention is further illustrated below by specific working examples which are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . in this example a mixed cation lithium - containing x zeolite containing lithium and calcium at an equivalent ratio of 85 : 15 ( and no more than 5 % sodium , typically 1 - 3 % sodium ) is prepared . a sodium x zeolite would need to be treated with a feed brine with a total salt concentration of 1 . 7 equivalents / liter maintained at about 100 ° c . if stoichiometric amounts of both cations were to be used . sodium and calcium are each more strongly selected than lithium . sodium is about five times more strongly selected than lithium ; therefore , if no calcium is present in the feed brine composition , an amount of lithium chloride of at least five times the stoichiometric ion - exchange amount would be required to overcome the unfavorable lithium - to - sodium exchange . ( the stoichiometric amount referred to in the preceding sentence is the amount needed to exactly replace every untreated zeolite cation with a lithium ion as if the zeolite was to be 100 % ionexchanged with lithium .) preferably , about eight times the stoichiometric amount of the less strongly adsorbed ion would be normally utilized to ensure good exchange of lithium for sodium in a contactot of practical size to make a single - cation ( specifically lithium ) exchanged zeolite . in the case of the present invention wherein a mixed cation zeolite is produced , eight equivalents of total ( not lithium ) salt per equivalent of zeolite or 8 / 1 . 7 = 4 . 7 liters of total feed brine per equivalent of zeolite are required . in 35 other words , the excess of lithium needed to produce the mixed li / ca cation exchanged zeolite is reduced by the amounts of other cations used , and this provides the present invention with a significant advantage by reducing the amount of lithium in the system . this total ion amount includes sufficient lithium to ensure that there will be sufficient lithium ions in the right locations in the contactor to drive off nearly all the sodium cations and replace them with lithium cations . this replacement occurs in the part of the contactor closer to the zeolite inlet ( 2 in fig1 ). calcium ions are also added in the feed brine composition to provide the desired amount in the product zeolite ( stoichiometric amount ) and to allow for expected loss . some calcium ions fail to enter the zeolite and are lost in the tail brine ; however , this loss of calcium ions is very small , since the zeolite strongly selects calcium compared to lithium . nearly all of the calcium ions rapidly replace lithium in the stream of zeolite near the zeolite outlet ( 3 in fig1 ) from the contactor . the desorbed lithium is carried by the brine stream flowing countercurrently through the contactor and thus is available to help displace sodium cations from the raw zeolite . as only enough calcium chloride is required in the feed brine composition to match the amount needed in the product zeolite , the amount needed is : 0 . 15 equivalents of calcium per equivalent of zeolite or , 0 . 15 / 8 = 0 . 01875 equivalents of calcium per equivalent of total salt in the brine . the essentially stoichiometric calcium chloride concentration is thus : 1 . 7 ( total salt equivalents / liter )×( 0 . 01875 ca ++ equivalents per total salt equivalent )= 0 . 032 calcium equivalents / liter , and the 30 lithium chloride concentration is 1 . 7 0 . 032 1 . 668 equivalents / liter . this concentration of calcium chloride is far above the equilibrium level for the desired 15 % calcium - exchanged zeolite x . the equilibrium equivalent fraction would have been less than 35 about 0 . 00005 instead of 0 . 01875 . ( these fractions are calculated based on published equilibrium values . if the solution were multicomponent , then they would be estimated based on published one - component and two - component equilibria , as is well known .) if that equilibrium calcium concentration were used in the feed brine , then far more feed brine and far more lithium chloride would be required to achieve acceptable levels of ion exchange . thus , unexpectedly , the present invention wastes less lithium chloride by using an excess of both lithium and calcium over equilibrium in the feed brine . the contactor requires only the same amount of feed brine having a composition providing as many total ions as the amount of lithium ions that would be needed just to convert the raw zeolite to the lithium - exchanged form , because the calcium ions from the feed brine composition displace an equivalent amount of lithium ions from the zeolite , and those displaced ions become immediately available to help displace sodium ions upstream . thus , the present invention replaces some of the lithium ions in the feed brine by less expensive calcium ions . as a result , the feed brine composition uses a smaller amount of the expensive lithium chloride ; the balance is made up of the much less expensive calcium chloride . the ph of the feed brine may be adjusted to prevent precipitation of calcium as calcium hydroxide . at 100 ° c . the solubility of calcium hydroxide is 1 . 0 × 10 − 2 mol / liter , or 2 . 0 × 10 − 2 calcium equivalents / liter . to avoid precipitation of calcium equivalents per liter , the ph should be adjusted slightly downward . lowering the ph from 7 to 6 . 5 would increase the limiting calcium concentration by a factor of about 10 ; that would dissolve calcium to a concentration of about 0 . 20 , well over the actual level . the tail brine contains all the displaced sodium cations as sodium chloride . it also contains all the excess lithium - ions as lithium chloride . the sodium chloride in the tail brine can be selectively precipitated out in the optional 35 tail brine recovery plant , shown as rl in fig1 . then , the recovered tail brine can be mixed with makeup lithium chloride and calcium chlorides ( stream 1008 in fig1 ) and reused as new feed brine fed to the outlet of the contactor . the operation again uses makeup calcium chloride to replace some makeup lithium chloride , consistent with the above calculation of the amount of calcium and lithium chloride needed . otherwise , recovery and recycling operate as if the ion - exchange section were merely converting the raw zeolite to the lithium - exchanged form . the raw zeolite in this example contains both potassium and sodium cations ( 1 - 70 % k ) instead of just the sodium cations of the zeolite utilized in example 1 . the potassium cations are typically more strongly held than sodium cations by the zeolite so that more of the lithium cation is needed to remove them ( if all of the cations were to be replaced by lithium cations ). for example , about 16 times the stoichiometric amount of lithium may be needed instead of only eight ( in ex . 1 ), so either more feed brine ( double the amount used in ex . 1 ) or a higher concentration of the less strongly held cation in the brine must be used . to prepare a product zeolite with 15 equivalent percent calcium and 85 equivalent percent lithium : 16 equivalents of total salt per equivalent is needed , i . e . 9 . 4 liters of brine per equivalent of zeolite ( since the total brine has 1 . 7 equivalents of total salt per liter ). as the feed brine must supply only enough calcium chloride to match the amount needed in the product zeolite , the amount needed is : 0 . 15 ca ++ equivalents per zeolite equivalent of zeolite , divided by 16 ( the total lithium required by the presence of k + ions ). the resulting amount is 0 . 00938 equivalents of calcium per equivalent of total salt in the brine . the calcium chloride concentration is thus 1 . 7 ( total salt equivalents per liter )×( 0 . 00938 ca ++ equivalents per total salt equivalent )= 0 . 016 equivalents / liter . the lithium chloride concentration is 1 . 7 0 . 016 = 1 . 684 equivalents / liter . if the product zeolite is to have cation types with the following equivalent percentages : 12 % magnesium , 3 % calcium , and 85 % lithium , then the same lithium amount is still needed in the feed brine composition , since both magnesium and calcium are able to displace lithium from the adsorbent . if eight equivalents of lithium cations are required per zeolite equivalent , the amounts of the magnesium and calcium cations needed are : 0 . 12 / 8 = 0 . 015 equivalents of magnesium per equivalent of total salt in the brine . 0 . 03 / 8 = 0 . 00375 equivalents of calcium per equivalent of total salt in the brine . although specific preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above , those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions omissions and modifications are possible all within the scope of the claims that follow :	1
in one embodiment of the invention a cable 100 is provided ( fig1 ) having a body portion 110 . in some embodiments the body portion 110 is formed from a suitable flexible plastics material such as a high modulus polymer , polyester , polybutylene terephthalate , or polyethylene . other materials are also useful . in the embodiment shown the body portion 110 is substantially circular in cross - section . other cross - sectional shapes are also useful including square , rectangular , polygonal , oblong , elliptical , and any other suitable shape . a slot 120 is formed in the cable along a length of the cable . the slot 120 is open at an outer circumferential surface of the body portion 110 . in the embodiment of fig1 the slot 120 has a generally rectangular profile in cross - section . other shapes of a cross - section of the slot are also useful . a bender insert member 130 is provided in the slot 120 , a generally planar face of the bender insert member 130 being provided in abutment with an inner basal face 122 of the slot 120 . an opposite face of the bender insert member 130 is provided with a corrugated profile in a direction along a length of the cable 100 , i . e . along a longitudinal axis indicated ‘ z ’ in fig1 . as viewed along a y - direction ( fig1 ) corrugations of bender insert member 130 have a generally symmetrical triangular form . other shapes of corrugation are also useful . fig2 shows an optical fibre 140 provided over the bender insert member 130 along a length of the cable 100 . a swell member 150 is provided in the slot 120 above the optical fibre 140 such that the optical fibre 140 is sandwiched between the bender insert member 130 and the swell member 150 in abutment with both members . thus , in the embodiment of fig1 and fig2 the optical fibre 140 is arranged to contact the bender member 140 at apices of the corrugations 132 . in some embodiments the swell member 150 is formed from a swellable polymer such as a silicone or a hydogel . other materials that increase in volume in response to exposure to a target measurand are also useful . for example , in some embodiments the swell member 150 is formed from a material that increases in volume when exposed to one or more of a subset of liquids , gases and / or vapours . for example , in some embodiments the swell member is configured to increase in volume upon exposure to at least one selected from amongst water , an aqueous solution , and a hydrocarbon such as petrol , diesel , oil , mineral oil , a solvent and petroleum spirit . a porous sheath member 190 is provided around the body portion 110 of the cable 100 to retain the bender insert member 130 and swell member 150 within the slot 120 . in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 the sheath member is formed from a porous polymer tape . other functionally equivalent materials allowing a medium to be detected to pass through are also useful . the sheath 190 may be provided around the body portion by heat - shrinking , by extrusion , or a combination thereof . fig3 is a schematic illustration of a cable according to an embodiment of the invention connected to optical time domain reflectometer ( otdr ) apparatus 20 . the otdr apparatus 20 is configured to inject a series of optical pulses into the sensor optical fibre 140 and to detect portions of this beam that are scattered back along the fibre . scattering of an optical beam passing along an optical fibre occurs to some extent in substantially all optical fibres due to variations in composition and other defects introduced during manufacture of the fibre . however , an increase in an amount of radiation ‘ backscattered ’ along a fibre will increase substantially in regions wherein bending of the fibre is induced due to a sufficient increase in volume of a swell member . this increase in backscattered radiation may be detected by the otdr apparatus . the otdr apparatus 20 is configured to integrate the intensity of reflected pulses of radiation as a function of time . a plot of reflected pulse intensity as a function of length of the fibre obtained by an otdr apparatus is shown in fig3 . trace ‘ r ’ corresponds to an expected or ‘ reference ’ trace of a fibre not having microbending along its length due to expansion of a swell member . the reference trace is obtained prior to exposure of the fibre to a target measurand that causes swelling of the swell member 150 . the observed decrease in backscattered intensity as a function of distance along the fibre is primarily due to scattering of laser radiation due to variations in refractive index at a level expected of as - manufactured optical fibre . in the case that the cable 100 is exposed at one or more portions of the length to a target measurand causing swelling of the swell member 150 , scattering of radiation is intensified at locations 101 of the cable at which a portion of the swell member 150 is exposed to the target measurand . scattering at these locations causes leakage of radiation from the cable at that location . this results in a more rapid decrease in the intensity of radiation propagating along the optical fibre away from the radiation source . thus , at locations of the swell member 150 where the swell member 150 has been ‘ activated ’ by exposure to target measurand , resulting in an increase in volume of the swell member 150 and the application of pressure to the sensor optical fibre 140 , a steeper decrease in the amount of radiation back - scattered along the fibre occurs . this results in a change in slope of a plot of backscattered intensity as a function of length of the fibre , as can be seen at positions ‘ s ’ of the plot of fig3 . in some embodiments of the invention otdr apparatus is provided that is configured to provide an alert in the event that swelling of a portion of the swell member 150 is detected . in some embodiments the apparatus is also configured to provide an indication of a location of the portion of the swell member 150 that has become swollen . fig4 shows an embodiment of the invention in which a cable 200 is provided having three slots 220 a to c formed therealong . it will be appreciated that in some embodiments other numbers of slots may be provided including 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 or any other number . in the embodiment of fig4 two of the slots 220 a , 220 b are provided with a respective bender insert member 230 a , 230 b , sensor optical fibre 240 a , 240 b and swell member 250 a , 250 b . in the embodiment of fig4 swell member 250 a differs from swell member 250 b in that swell member 250 b increases in volume by a larger amount than swell member 250 a following exposure to the same amount of target measurand . thus , swell member 250 b may be said to be of a higher ‘ sensitivity ’ to exposure to fluid than swell member 250 a . in use , the sensor optical fibres 240 a , 240 b are connected to otdr apparatus and variations in intensity of respective beams of radiation injected into the fibres 240 a , 240 b are monitored as a function of distance along the fibre . the otdr apparatus is arranged to detect bending of the fibre due to exposure of one or more portions of the swell members 150 a , 150 b to target measurand . a third slot 220 c of the embodiment of fig4 is provided with no bender insert member 230 or swell member 250 . rather , the slot is provided with communications optical fibres 240 c arranged to carry telecommunications signals . it will be appreciated that the third slot 220 c can alternatively or in addition be used to carry optical fibres for other purposes such as for temperature measurement or vibration or intruder detection . other articles can be provided in the third slot 220 c instead of or in addition to optical fibres including conducting cables , fluid conduits , or any other article that may be fitted into the slot 220 c . fig5 shows an embodiment in which an orientation of a bender insert member 330 and swell member 350 is rotated through an angle of substantially 90 ° relative to that of the embodiments of fig1 and 2 . it will be understood that one or a plurality of sensor optical fibres may be sandwiched between any given bender insert member 130 , 230 , 330 and swell member 150 , 250 , 350 . in the embodiment of fig5 three sensor optical fibres 340 are shown sandwiched between the bender insert member 330 and swell member 350 , by way of example . it will be appreciated that in some embodiments the positions of the bender insert member 130 , 230 , 330 and swell member 150 , 250 , 350 are reversed . in other words , in the embodiments of fig1 to 4 the swell member may be inserted into the slot before the bender insert member . it will be appreciated that in such embodiments apertures or other openings may be required ( e . g . in the bender insert member ) to allow target measurand to access the swell member thereby to cause swelling of the swell member . in some embodiments of the invention such as that shown in fig6 , a sensor optical fibre 140 and associated bender insert member 130 are sandwiched between a swell member 150 and a cavity 180 . the cavity 180 is in fluid communication with the swell member 150 such that evacuation of the cavity 180 promotes target measurand to be drawn through the swell member 150 from an external environment 199 . in some embodiments , instead of evacuating the cavity 180 , the cavity is arranged to be coupled to a source of a dry gas . the dry gas is chosen such that introduction of the dry gas into the cavity 180 promotes an increase in an amount of target measurand in the swell member 150 . in some embodiments , evacuation of the cavity or the introduction of dry gas increases the amount of target measurand that enters the swell member 150 from an environment in which a sensing operation is to be performed . in some embodiments , evacuation of the cavity 180 or the introduction of dry gas into the cavity increases the concentration of target measurand in the swell member 150 . in some embodiments the increase in concentration of target measurand in the swell member 150 occurs selectively . in some embodiments , a target measurand in the form of a fluid passes selectively into the swell member 150 from an environment due to evacuation of the cavity 180 or the presence of dry gas in the cavity 180 . in some embodiments the increase in concentration of target measurand in the swell member 150 occurs by a process of pervaporation . in some embodiments of the invention a plurality of bender insert members 130 and / or swell members 150 are provided along a length of the cable instead of a single continuous member 130 , 150 . in some embodiments respective swell members 150 and / or bender insert members 130 are provided in spaced apart relationship along a length of the cable . fig7 shows a cable 400 according to an embodiment of the invention wherein instead of providing a bender insert member , corrugations or other protrusions 432 are provided in the body portion 410 of the cable . the corrugations may be formed in the body portion 410 during a moulding operation or by cutting , stamping or other suitable technique following forming of the body portion 410 . in the embodiment of fig7 the sensor optical fibre 440 is shown sandwiched between corrugations 432 of the body portion 410 and a swell member 450 . in the embodiment of fig7 the corrugations are shown formed in a basal face 422 of the slot 420 . it will be appreciated that in some embodiments the corrugations or other protrusions may be formed in another surface instead of or in addition to the basal surface . in some embodiments corrugations or other protrusions are formed in one or more sidewalls 420 a , b . fig8 is a schematic illustration of a cable 500 according to an embodiment of the invention wound on a former 505 to form a cable assembly 500 a . the cable 500 is coupled to otdr apparatus 520 at a free end of the cable 500 . in the embodiment shown in fig8 the cable assembly 500 a has been placed in a well . the cable assembly 500 a may also be placed in other locations such as in a fluid storage tank . the assembly 500 a in combination with otdr apparatus 520 is configured to detect the presence of hydrocarbon . in the example shown in fig8 , it can be seen that a layer of a hydrocarbon 501 of depth d 1 is present above a volume of water 502 of depth d 2 . a swell member of the cable 500 is arranged to increase in volume in response to the presence of hydrocarbon and not to increase in volume in response to the presence of water . thus , bending of the portion of the fibre between positions 503 and 504 of the fibre 500 will occur , the bending being detected by the otdr apparatus 520 . fig9 shows an arrangement in which a sensor cable 600 is coupled at one end to a source 625 of an optical radiation signal and at the opposite end to a receiver 627 . the receiver is arranged to detect an intensity of the optical radiation signal generated by the source 625 that arrives at the receiver 627 . in the embodiment shown , a controller 628 is arranged to measure an amount of attenuation of the optical radiation signal from the source 625 that is detected by the detector 627 after the signal has passed through the cable 600 . the amount of attenuation of the signal provides an indication that an event has occurred a consequence of which is that swelling of at least a portion of a swell member 650 of the cable 600 has occurred . fig1 shows an arrangement in which an attenuation measurement of an optical radiation signal in a cable 700 is performed in a reflection mode . in the arrangement shown , a sensor optical fibre of the cable 700 is coupled to both a source 725 of optical radiation and a receiver 727 arranged to detect an intensity of the optical radiation signal generated by the source 725 that arrives at the receiver 727 . at an opposite end of the cable 700 a reflector element 790 is provided . the reflector element 790 is arranged to reflect the optical radiation signal generated by the source 725 that passes along the sensor optical fibre back along the sensor optical fibre towards the receiver 727 . as in the case of the embodiment of fig9 , a controller 728 is arranged to measure an amount of attenuation of this signal . an increase in the amount of attenuation indicates that microbending of the sensor optical fibre has occurred , indicating the presence of a target measurand . it is to be appreciated that in the embodiments of fig9 and fig1 an axial location of bending cannot be determined since the controllers 628 , 728 are arranged to measure attenuation of the signal only . in some embodiments apparatus is provided that is arranged to measure attenuation of the optical signal in addition to performing otdr . thus , in some embodiments detection of a leak may be performed by measuring attenuation of the optical signal whilst a location of a microbend in the fibre may be determined using otdr apparatus . in some embodiments the otdr apparatus is arranged to perform otdr inspection of the fibre once microbending of the fibre due to ( say ) a leak has been determined . thus , in some embodiments the apparatus is not required to perform otdr inspection continually . in some embodiments of the invention the apparatus is arranged to allow otdr apparatus to be removably coupled to the fibre optic cable when it is required to determine a location of a leak that has been detected by the controllers 628 , 728 . in some embodiments a plurality of sensor optical fibres are provided , being arranged to experience microbending in the presence of target measurand as described above . one of the sensor optical fibres may be used to perform attenuation measurements whilst the other sensor optical fibre may be used to perform otdr inspection . in some embodiments in which more than one sensor optical fibre is arranged to experience microbending a first sensor optical fibre may be arranged to attenuate an optical beam to a greater extent than a second sensor optical fibre . thus the apparatus may be arranged to measure attenuation of an optical signal being passed through the first fibre thereby to detect the presence of a target measurand and to allow otdr to be performed using the second fibre in order to determine a location of a point at which a swell member has been exposed to target measurand in the event that target measurand is detected . thus , in some embodiments , a source 625 , 725 and a receiver 627 , 727 are coupled to the first fibre . in some embodiments otdr may be coupled to the second fibre permanently or as discussed above , when it is required to determine a location of a leak . fig1 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the invention in which a cable 800 is provided with a slot 820 in which a bender insert member 830 is provided at a base thereof . first and second sensor optical fibres 841 , 842 respectively are sandwiched between the insert member 830 and a swell member 850 provided radially outwardly of the insert member 830 . the swell member 850 is arranged to be exposed to a target measurand as described above . the first sensor optical fibre is coupled to a source 825 and a receiver 827 at a first end of the fibre and a first reflector 891 is provided at a second end opposite the first end . thus a beam of optical radiation from the source is arranged to pass along the first optical fibre 841 and to be reflected by the first reflector 891 back along the fibre 841 to the receiver 827 . the second fibre is arranged to be coupled to otdr apparatus 829 at a first end , the second fibre having a second reflector 892 provided at the second end opposite the first end . in some embodiments the second reflector 892 may not be provided . in some embodiments the first and / or second reflector members are provided by a free end of the fibre . for example , in some embodiments the free end of the fibre is a cleaved end that is sufficiently smooth to provide a reflector member 891 , 892 . in some embodiments the first optical fibre 841 841 is arranged to attenuate light more strongly than the second optical fibre 842 when the cable is exposed to target measurand . embodiments of the invention such as that of fig1 arranged to allow detection of a microbend by measuring attenuation of a signal in a first optical fibre in addition to allowing otdr apparatus to be removably coupled to a second optical fibre to determine a location of a leak have a number of advantages in some applications . for example , a given installation is not required to be provided permanently with the capability to perform otdr . thus , a cost and complexity of the installation may be reduced . furthermore , in some embodiments an overall power consumption of the apparatus may thereby be reduced . cables having a portion with a substantially flat surface along a length thereof are useful in some embodiments of the invention . such cables are particularly useful for attachment to planar surfaces in certain applications . for example in some embodiments a cable may be attached to a circuit board in order to detect water arising for example due to condensation or leakage from cooling elements . in some embodiments apparatus may be provided that is arranged to detect condensation forming on racks of circuit boards . the cable may be bonded to the circuit board or arranged loosely to run within a housing or other environment in which the boards are provided . in some embodiments apparatus may be arranged to trigger means for elimination of the condensation , such as a heater and / or a flow of air to remove the condensation . embodiments in which expansion of the swell member is reversible , allowing multiple use ( as opposed to a swell member that is a “ one shot ” swell member ) have the advantage that , once the condensation has been eliminated and the swell member has contracted such that microbending is no longer present ( or at least an amount of microbending is reduced relative to the amount present when condensation was detected ) the means for reducing the amount of condensation may be de - activated . in some embodiments of the invention a detection assembly is provided in the form of a probe suitable for insertion into a liquid such as in a liquid storage tank , a well , a river , an ocean or any other body of water or body of gas . in some embodiments the probe is substantially rigid . in some embodiments the probe is provided in a form suitable for installation in a domestic , industrial or natural environment for detection of one or more gases such as carbon monoxide , or one or more vapours such as petroleum vapours , or one or more liquids , such as liquid petroleum , water etc . in some embodiments the functionality of the bender insert member is provided by the swell member . in other words , the swell member is provided with protrusions arranged to cause microbending when the swell member expands . a separate additional one or more protrusions may also be provided . for example , a separate bender insert member may be provided . alternatively or in addition protrusions may be provided in a wall of the slot as described above . in some embodiments protrusions of the swell member may be positioned in complementary positions to those provided in the wall of the slot or a separate bender insert member . throughout the description and claims of this specification , the words “ comprise ” and “ contain ” and variations of the words , for example “ comprising ” and “ comprises ”, means “ including but not limited to ”, and is not intended to ( and does not ) exclude other moieties , additives , components , integers or steps . throughout the description and claims of this specification , the singular encompasses the plural unless the context otherwise requires . in particular , where the indefinite article is used , the specification is to be understood as contemplating plurality as well as singularity , unless the context requires otherwise . features , integers , characteristics , compounds , chemical moieties or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect , embodiment or example of the invention are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect , embodiment or example described herein unless incompatible therewith .	6
a description will be given of , with reference to fig1 and 2 , of a first embodiment of the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention , along with the manufacturing method of the present invention . the manufacture of the photoelectric conversion device starts with the preparation of an insulating , light - transparent substrate 1 as of glass ( fig1 ). a light - transparent conductive layer 2 is formed on the substrate 1 ( fig1 b ). the conductive layer 2 is formed of , for example , a tin oxide , or a light - transparent conductive material consisting principally of a tin oxide . the conductive layer 2 is formed by , for example , a known vacuum evaporation method to a thickness of , for instance , 0 . 1 to 0 . 2 μm . next , a non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 is formed on the conductive layer 2 ( fig1 c ). the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 has such a structure that a p - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 , an i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 and an n - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 are sequentially formed in this order . these non - single - crystal semiconductor layers 4 , 5 and 6 form pin junction . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 of the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 is formed of , for example , si , si x c 1 - x ( where 0 & lt ;×& lt ; 1 , for instance , x = 0 . 8 ) or ge in an amorphous , semi - amorphous , or microcrystalline form . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 is , for example , 100 angstroms thick . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 is formed by a cvd method which employs a semiconductor material gas composed of a hydride or halide of a semiconductor , such as si , si x c 1 - x ( where 0 & lt ;×& lt ; 1 ), or ge , and an impurity material gas composed of a hydride or halide of a p - type impurity , for instance , diborane ( b 2 h 6 ). the cvd method may or may not employ a glow discharge ( plasma ), or light . in this case , the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 has a p - type impurity introduced therein ( boron ) in a concentration as high as 1 × 10 19 to 6 × 10 20 atoms / cm 3 , as shown in fig2 b . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed of , for instance , amorphous or semi - amorphous silicon , and has a thickness of , for example , 0 . 3 to 0 . 8 μm , in particular , 0 . 5 μm . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed by a cvd method which uses a semiconductor raw material gas composed of a hydride or halide of silicon , for example , si n h 2n + 2 ( where n is greater than or equal to 1 ), or sif m ( where m is greater than or equal to 2 ), and a deposit impurity material gas composed of a hydride or halide of a p - type impurity , for instance , diborane ( b 2 h 6 ), the cvd method may employ or may not employ a glow discharge ( plasma ), or light . in this case , by decreasing the concentration of the deposit material gas relative to the concentration of the semiconductor raw material gas within a range of less than 5 ppm with the lapse of time , the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed having introduced thereinto a p - type impurity ( boron ), the concentration of which linearly and continuously decreases in the thickness direction of the layer towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 as shown in fig2 b . the concentration of the p - type impurity in the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is high on the side of the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 as compared with the impurity concentration on the side of the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 . the ratio of the impurity concentration in the layer 5 at one end thereof adjacent the layer 6 to the concentration at the other end adjacent the layer 4 is { fraction ( 1 / 10 )} to { fraction ( 1 / 100 )}, preferably , { fraction ( 1 / 20 )} to { fraction ( 1 / 40 )}. in practice , the p - type impurity ( boron ) has a concentration of 2 × 10 15 to 2 × 10 17 atoms / cm 3 at the end of the layer 5 adjacent the layer 4 and a concentration below 1 × 10 15 atoms / cm 3 at the end of the layer 5 adjacent the layer 6 . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed by the above - said cvd method . in this case , the semiconductor raw material gas is one that is obtained by passing a semiconductor raw material gas through a molecular sieve or zeolite which adsorbs oxygen , and / or carbon and / or phosphorus . accordingly , the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed to contain oxygen at a concentration less than 5 × 10 19 and as low as 5 × 10 18 atoms / cm 3 , and / or carbon at a concentration less than 4 × 10 18 and as low as 4 × 10 15 atoms / cm 3 , and / or phosphorus at a concentration at least as low as 5 × 10 15 atoms / cm 3 . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 is formed of , for instance , microcrystalline silicon , and has a thickness of , for example , 100 to 300 angstroms . the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 is formed by a cvd method which employs a semiconductor raw material gas composed of a hydride or halide of silicon , for example , si n h 2n + 2 ( where n is greater than or equal to 1 ) or sif m ( where m is greater than or equal to 2 ), and an impurity material gas composed of a hydride or halide of an n - type impurity , for instance , phosphine ( ph 3 ). the cvd method may or may not employ a glow discharge ( plasma ) light . in this case , the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 has an n - type impurity ( phosphorus ) introduced thereinto with a concentration of 1 × 10 19 to 6 × 10 20 atoms / cm 3 , as shown in fig2 . next , a conductive layer 7 is formed on the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 made up of the non - single - crystal semiconductor layers 4 , 5 and 6 , that is , on the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 ( fig1 d ). the conductive layer 7 has such a structure that a light - transparent conductive layer 8 formed of , for example , a tin oxide or a light - transparent conductive material consisting principally of tin oxide , and a reflective conductive layer 9 formed of a metal , such as aluminum , silver , or the like , are formed in this order . in this case , the conductive layer 8 is formed to a thickness of 900 to 1300 angstroms thick by means of , for example , vacuum evaporation , and the conductive layer 9 is also formed by vacuum evaporation . in the manner described above , the first embodiment of the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention shown in fig2 a is manufactured . with the photoelectric conversion device shown in fig2 a , when light 10 is incident on the side of the substrate 1 towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 , electron - hole pairs are created in the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 in response to the light 10 . the holes of the electron - hole pairs thus produced flow through the p - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 into the light - transparent conductive layer 2 , and the electrons flow through the n - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 into the conductive layer 7 . therefore , photocurrent is supplied to a load which is connected between the conductive layers 2 and 7 , thus providing the photoelectric conversion function . in this case , the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 has a p - type impurity ( boron ) introduced thereinto which is distributed so that the impurity concentration continuously decreases towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 in the thickness direction of the layer 5 , as shown in fig2 b . on account of this , even if the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed thick for generating therein a large quantity of electron - hole pairs in response to the incidence of light , a depletion layer ( not shown ) which extends into the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 from the pi junction 11 between the p - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 and the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 and a depletion ( not shown ) layer which extends into the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 from the ni junction 12 between the n - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 and the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 are joined together . therefore , the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 , as viewed from the bottom of the conduction band and the top of the valence bands of its energy band , has a gradient that effectively causes holes and electrons to drift towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor layers 4 and 6 , respectively . accordingly , the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention , shown in fig2 a , achieves a higher photoelectric conversion efficiency than the conventional photoelectric conversion devices . by the way , according to a photoelectric conversion device corresponding to the conventional one and which is identical in construction with the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention shown in fig2 a , except that the concentration of the n - type impurity in the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is about 10 16 atoms / cm 3 which is far lower than the impurity concentrations in the p - type and n - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layers 4 and 6 because the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed to contain oxygen , and / or carbon , and / or phosphorus in large quantities , as referred to previously , provided a voltage v ( volt )- current density i ( ma / cm 2 ) characteristic as indicated by a curve 30 in fig3 . accordingly , the open - circuit voltage was 0 . 89 v , the short - circuit current density i was 16 . 0 ma / cm 2 , the fill factor was 61 %, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency about 8 . 7 %. in contrast thereto , the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention shown in fig2 a , provided the voltage v - current density i characteristic as indicated by curve 31 in fig3 . accordingly , the open - circuit voltage v was 0 . 92 v , which is higher than was obtained with the above - said device corresponding to the prior art device ; the current density i was 19 . 5 ma / cm 2 ; the fill factor was 68 %; and the photoelectric conversion efficiency was about 12 . 2 %. incidentally , these results were obtained under the conditions wherein a photoelectric conversion devices , each having the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 of a 1 . 05 cm 2 area , were exposed to irradiation by light with an intensity of am1 ( 100 mw / cm 2 ). in the case of the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention shown in fig2 a , since the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 has boron introduced thereinto as a p - type impurity the boron combines with the oxygen and / or carbon and / or phosphorus contained in the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 . in addition , the concentration of the p - type impurity ( boron ) is high on the side of the pi junction 11 , that is , on the side of the p - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 . accordingly , the expansion of the depletion layer extending into the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 from the pi junction 11 between the p - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 and the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is hardly or only slightly diminished by the light irradiation effect ( the staebler - wronski effect ). for this reason , according to the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention , the aforesaid high photoelectric conversion efficiency is hardly impaired by long - term use . in addition , the aforesaid photoelectric conversion device corresponding to the prior art one which provided the voltage v - current density i characteristic indicated by the curve 30 in fig3 exhibited , variations (%) in the photoelectric conversion efficiency relative to the light irradiation time t ( hr ) as indicated by curve 40 in fig4 . in contrast thereto , in the case of the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention , the photoelectric conversion efficiency varied with the light irradiation time t as indicated by curve 41 in fig4 . that is , the photoelectric conversion efficiency slightly increased in an early stage and , thereafter , it decreased only very slightly with time . these result were also obtained under the same conditions mentioned previously in connection with fig3 . as described above , the first embodiment of the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention possesses the advantage that it provides a high photoelectric conversion efficiency than the conventional photoelectric conversion devices , even when used for a long period of time . further , the manufacturing method of the present invention shown in fig1 employs a series of simple steps such as forming the conductive layer 2 on the substrate 1 , forming the non - single - crystal semiconductor layers 4 , 5 and 6 on the conductive layer 2 through the cvd method to provide the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 and forming a conductor layer 7 on the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 . the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 is formed by the cvd method using a semiconductor raw material gas and a p - type deposit ( boron ) gas and , in this case , simply by continuously changing the concentration of the deposit material gas relative to the concentration of the semiconductor raw material gas as a function of time , the p - type impurity is introduced into the layer 5 with such a concentration distribution that its concentration continuously decreases towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 in the thickness direction of the layer 5 . accordingly , the manufacturing method of the present invention allows ease in the fabrication of the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention which has the aforementioned advantages . incidentally , the first embodiment illustrated in fig2 shows the case in which the impurity contained in the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 has such a concentration distribution as shown in fig2 b in which the concentration linearly and continuously drops towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 . as will be appreciated from the above , however , even if the impurity introduced in the i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 has a concentration profile such that the impurity concentration drops stepwise and continuously towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 as shown in fig5 b which illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention , and even if the impurity in the layer 5 has such a concentration distribution that the impurity concentration decreases non - linearly and continuously towards the layer 6 in a manner to obtain a concentration distribution such that the impurity concentration abruptly drops in the end portion of the layer 5 adjacent the layer 6 as shown in fig6 which illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention , the photoelectric conversion device of the present invention produces the same excellent operation and effects as are obtainable with the photoelectric conversion device shown in fig2 . further , the foregoing description has been given of the case where light is incident on the photoelectric conversion device from the side of the substrate 1 and , accordingly , the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 of the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 on the side on which the light is incident is p - type . but , also in case where the photoelectric conversion device is arranged to be exposed to light on the side opposite from the substrate 1 , the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 6 of the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 on the side of the incidence of light is p - type , the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 on the side of the substrate 1 is n - type and the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 5 has introduced thereinto a p - type impurity ( boron ) which is distributed so that the impurity concentration continuously decreases towards the non - single - crystal semiconductor layer 4 in the thickness direction of the layer 5 , the same excellent operation and effects as described previously can be obtained , as will be understood from the foregoing description . in this case , however , the conductive layer 7 must be substituted with a light - transparent one . the substrate 1 and the conductive layer 2 need not be light - transparent . while in the foregoing the non - single - crystal semiconductor laminate member 3 has one pin junction , it is also possible to make the laminate member 3 have two or more pin junctions and to form each of the two or more i - type non - single - crystal semiconductor layers so that the p - type impurity introduced therein may have the aforesaid concentration distribution . it will be apparent that many modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention .	8
in order to recycle the spoil from a trench excavation it is first necessary to ascertain its clay and moisture content . the process is designed for a predominantly non - granular cohesive material such as one with at least 20 % clay . with such material , the process will be effective with the addition of up to 10 % powder . in most circumstances the material will be composed of spoil , added granular material and powder material which can be up to 5 % lime or lime with the addition of between 1 and 5 % cement and / or 1 - 5 % pulverised fly ash . the process is found to work best with clay soils which will coagulate into a suitable structure with the addition of lime only . for other soils or ones with a high silt and / or high moisture content it may be necessary to add granular material . the maximum size of this added granular material is 75 mm as per the h . a . u . c . specification . this added granular material can be naturally occurring or be recycled . for example crushed concrete and asphalt from the site could be used . the best mix of added granular material and powder material with the spoil can readily be determined using the above guidelines and a knowledge of the clay and moisture content of the spoil . in order to produce the recycled material the following manual method maybe employed : 1 . spread spoil to the required depth to produce the desired volume or weight proportions 2 . spread a layer of added granular material if required on the spoil layer 3 . spread the powder material of lime or lime with the addition of cement over these layers the mixing is carried out by any mechanical method such as by hand with shovels or with the use of mechanical rotavating machinery , mobile mixing machinery or by static mixing plants . the spoil could be removed to an off - site location for the process to be carried out . however the process is also suitable for producing small quantities manually on site . a successful test was carried out using spoil from a site at the arches , 24 - 28 iverson road , london nw6 . the moisture content was 26 % which conformed to bs1377 and the clay content was 67 %. it was found that a material satisfying the type 1 , type 2 and type a performance requirement could be formed by mixing the spoil with 30 % granular material in the form of crushed concrete and 3 % lime . an approval trial was carried out at sawbridgeworth using spoil from trenching excavations . the site won material was a pale brown fine sandy clay with some gravel . the site won material was mixed with 10 % granular material in the form of gravel and 3 % lime . the mixing was carried out mechanically . laboratory test results showed a cbr value for the top of 36 % and for the base of 46 %, comfortably exceeding the sub - base performance requirements when tested in an unsoaked condition . the test was repeated giving a top cbr value of 36 % and a base cbr of 59 % with a different sample tested seven days after remoulding . when a similar sample was tested in a soaked condition , after soaking for 168 hours producing a swell amount of 6 mm , the top cbr value was 31 % and the base cbr value was 61 %. a further cbr test was carried out after “ curing ” for 28 days in the mould . the top value was 50 % and the base value was 68 %. a laboratory classification test ( to bs 1377 - 2 1990 ) was carried out showing the material to be cohesive with a plastic index test of 24 , confirming the modified material to be non - frost susceptible . a further frost test was carried out to bs 812 - 124 1989 amended as per specification for highway works 1998 clause 705 and the average heave of the specimen after 96 hours freezing was 4 . 2 mm compared to a maximum allowable heave of 15 mm . further , the modified material has been used in numerous excavations provided by a utility company and the clegg tests have ranged between 25 - 40 . this compares favourably with the performance requirement of no less than 18 . a controlled test was carried out using spoil from a site at the arches , 24 - 28 iverson road , london nw6 . the moisture content was 24 % which conformed to bs1377 and the clay content was 61 %. it was found that a material achieving a clegg test of 32 and a dynamic core penetrometer cbr test of 38 could be produced using a mixture of spoil with 3 % lime , 3 % pulverised fly ash and 33 % granular material . using pulverised fly ash in addition to or instead of cement allows the material to be stored for longer periods . a machine 2 has been designed to provide effective and consistent implementation of the process . two embodiments of the machine are shown and it will be appreciated that other layouts are also possible using existing or specially designed components . like reference numerals are used for similar components in both embodiments . the machine of fig1 and 2 is described first . the machine 2 is mounted on an articulated tri - axle step - frame trailer 4 so that it can be moved to a trenching site . hydraulic jacks , 6 are provided for stabilising the trailer when working on site . a hydraulic power pack ( not shown ) is provided to operate the jacks . the machine is designed to move the material from one end to the other of the trailer . a hopper 8 provides for the input of site - won spoil and any necessary granular material , which is then passed through a primary rotavator 10 . a powder silo 12 is mounted downstream of the hopper 8 so as to be able to feed a required measured amount of lime and / or cement and / or pulverised fly ash into a secondary rotavator 14 . the secondary rotavator also receives spoil fed to it by a weighing feeder from 16 from the output of the primary rotavator 10 . from the secondary rotavator 14 the material is fed to a mixer 20 which can be slewed out from the trailer under hydraulic control in order to deposit the material at a suitable location . the trailer 4 also supports other equipment necessary for the operation of the machine including a generator 60 , diesel tank , water tank 50 , electrical cabinet , motor enclosure , access steps and shutter lights for night time operation . spoil to be recycled is tipped into the main loading hopper 8 together with any added granular material required by the prevailing conditions . the hopper 8 may be manufactured from 8 mm mild steel and is 3000 mm long and 1500 mm wide at the top . the hopper 8 has a removable hopper base which is manufactured from 10 mm hardox 400 . the base is operated by a hydraulic cylinder and valve . the hopper 8 has a sloping safety grid 22 at its mouth . the safety grid 22 is 3000 mm long and 1500 mm wide and the spacing within the grid is 200 mm by 200 mm . a water spray bar with stainless steel jets is optionally fitted over the hopper 8 . the flow of water can be controlled automatically . the hopper 8 contains the primary rotavator or clay pulverisor 10 , which breaks up the input material . the primary rotavator 10 is located in the bottom of the hopper 8 in order to break up the material into a particle size of the order of 28 mm . the primary rotavator 10 is 2500 mm in length and is powered by a 75 kw motor . the weighing feed belt 16 extends from the base of the hopper 8 beneath the primary rotavator 10 . material that has been processed by the rotavator 10 is thrown onto the weighing feeder belt 16 . the speed of the weighing feeder belt 16 can be adjusted to control the feed rate . the weighing feeder belt 16 is 4300 mm long from the centers of its rollers and is 800 mm wide . it is fitted with a 4 kw motor and suitable gearing . the weighing feeder belt 16 provides continuous belt weighing using an electronic load cell , load cell amplifer , 4 kw inverter and a speed sensor . the weighing feeder belt 16 enables the weight of spoil and granular material being input to the mixer 20 to be continuously monitored . the weighing feeder belt 16 delivers the pulverized material to the secondary rotavator 14 . the secondary rotavator 14 is 700 mm in length and is powered by a 15 kw motor . the powder silo 12 is situated above the secondary rotavator 14 . this silo stores lime and / or cement and / or pulverised fly ash which is to be mixed with the pulverized spoil . the powder silo 12 is constructed from 4 mm mild steel and has an approximate holding volume of 7 . 5 cubic meters . the silo consists of a hopper with support legs 32 . a screw feeder 30 is located at the bottom of the powder silo 12 . the powder silo 12 also has a cover and hatch 34 . in order to monitor the contents of the hopper a load cell and load cell amplifier are provided . the screw feeder 30 is 200 mm in diameter and 3800 mm long and is powered by a 3kw motor with suitable gearing and a 3 kw inverter . a variable speed metering vane feeder 36 is located at the bottom of the screw feeder 30 . the variable speed metering vane feeder 36 may be a type bx19 , which is fitted with stainless steel vanes and has a flexible outlet shield . the variable speed metering vane feeder 36 has a filler pipe with a standard unicone ( registered trade mark ) fitting and a 100 mm butterfly valve to close the feeder after filling . the variable speed metering vane feeder 36 is fitted with a filter pipe and sock . the secondary rotavator 14 has heavy duty replaceable mixing blades , which are 700 mm wide . it has a 15 kw drive unit . this rotavator 14 mixes the powder through the spoil and granular material . the output of the rotavator 14 is delivered to a fixed speed conveyor 40 . the fixed speed conveyor 40 is a flat chevron belt that is 1800 mm long and 800 mm wide . it is fitted with a 3 kw motor and suitable gearing . the fixed speed conveyor 40 delivers the spoil / powder material to the mixer 20 . the mixer 20 consists of a u - shaped trough containing a single shaft rotating auger type mixer . the mixer 20 is 5000 mm long and 400 mm wide and is fitted with a 7 . 5 kw motor with suitable gearing . the mixer 20 has a combination of replaceable mixing blades and auger flights . the rotation of the auger within the mixer 20 causes the spoil and powder material to progress along the mixer 20 . the mixer 20 is supported on a winch cable 42 which enables it to be raised and lowered . slewing of the mixer 20 in an horizontal plane is hydraulically controlled . the trailer 4 includes a parking crutch 44 to support and locate the mixer 20 . the parking crutch 44 has suitable lashings to secure the mixer 20 during transit . a water spray bar ( not shown ) is fitted over the inlet of the mixer 20 . the water flow to the spray bar can be regulated by an operator . a control valve and flow - meter are also provided . a water tank 50 is fitted to the underside of the trailer 4 . the approximate dimensions of the water tank 50 are 3500 mm in length , 750 mm in width and 750 mm in height . the working capacity of the tank is 1500 litres approximately . a protective bumper rail ( not shown ) can be fitted around the water tank 50 to protect it . a power generation unit 60 is mounted on the trailer 4 . a 200 kva generating set is provided to run all the machine functions for the primary rotavator 10 , weighing feeder 16 , secondary rotavator 14 , powder silo 12 , conveyor 40 , mixer 20 and a water pump . a water pump ( not shown ) is fitted under the power generation unit 60 and is capable of pumping between 40 to 200 litres per minute to the or each water spray at the hopper 8 and mixer 20 . controls for the machine are housed in a control cabin 70 , which has lockable antivandal shutters . the controls include a computer which controls a sequenced starting and stopping of each machine function . the computer monitors the material fed on to the feeder 16 and also monitors the feed rate of the powder by loss of weight as monitored by the load cell in the powder silo 12 . the computer also monitors the total amount of material fed on to the feeder belt 40 . water , if added at the spray at hopper 8 or at the mouth of the mixer 20 , will be measured by a flow meter . rates of feed of raw materials are displayed on a vdu . a printer can be used to print data and reports . it will be appreciated that by setting the speed of the belts 16 and 40 , and the supply to the water sprays , the relative proportions of the ingredients can be regulated . these settings can then be stored for later use so that a number of different “ programs ” for varying site conditions can be applied to the machine so that it can be adapted speedily for use at different locations . the machine can also be used to carry out experiments with different proportions to fmd the best settings for a new type of local spoil . in an alternative embodiment the mixer 20 may be of a design which uses two mixing screws rotating towards each other . the mixer may also have several stages with differing screw configurations . fig3 - 5 show an alternative embodiment of the machine . similar components have similar reference numerals . this design differs in the construction of the mixer . in this embodiment a multi - stage mixer is located in the base of the machine which also operates to transport the material towards a discharge end of the machine at which a fold back conveyer 72 can be located . a first stage of the mixer 80 is located beneath the hopper 8 . this is a twin screw rotavator with a hydraulic drive . the twin screws 82 , 84 can be seen in fig5 . they rotate in opposite senses . the first stage 80 passes the spoil to a second stage mixer 86 positioned underneath the powder silo 12 . an upper part of the housing of the second stage mixer 86 is open to an output from a stainless steel vane feeder 88 , which delivers the powder material into the mixer . this second stage mixer 86 is also a weighing chamber with load cells . this enables the proportion of powder to spoil and granular material to be controlled . the second stage mixer 86 transports its output to a final stage mixer 90 , which completes the mixing process and delivers the material to the discharge conveyer 72 . other features of the machine are as described in relation to the first embodiment . it will be appreciated that a machine to carry out the mixing and measuring process could be constructed to numerous different designs , only two of which have been described . the capacity of the described machine is suitable for processing spoil into a material that can be used as backfill virtually immediately without a prolonged period of maturation . typically the output of the mixer can be directed to a suitable storage area alongside the trench , where it is readily accessible after a few hours maturation , while the piping or other object of the roadworks is installed , for use as backfill to reinstate the sub - base . the mobile mixer as described can also be used at a central mixing point away from the excavations . alternatively the machine can be assembled for static operation at such a site .	4
the 5 -, 6 -, 7 - or 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - alkylamino ) propoxycarbostyrils represented by the formula ( i ) above and the acid addition salts thereof exhibit a β - adrenergic blocking activity and are useful as pharmaceuticals for treating disorders in coronary sclerosis such as arrhythmia , tachycardia , angina pectoris , coronary insufficiency , hypertension , etc . the acid addition salts of the carbostyril derivatives of the present invention can be easily prepared using well known procedures by reaction with inorganic and organic acids . typical examples of pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts are the hydrochlorides , hydrobromides , sulfates , phosphates , oxalates , maleates , citrates and the like . the compound represented by the formula ( ii ) above which is used as a starting material in the process of the present invention is also a novel compound and can be prepared by reacting a known hydroxycarbostyril and an epihalohydrin in the presence of a basic catalyst . the 5 -, 6 -, 7 - and 8 - hydroxycarbostyrils used for the preparation of the starting material used in the present invention are described in berichte , vol . 20 , page 2172 , 1887 ; journal of organic chemistry , vol . 36 , pp 3490 - 3493 , 1971 and ibid , vol . 33 , pp 1089 - 1092 , 1968 . briefly , 5 - hydroxycarbostyril can be prepared by fusing 5 - hydroxyquinoline with a caustic alkali such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide , and 8 - hydroxycarbostyril can be prepared by reacting 8 - hydroxyquinoline with hydrogen peroxide in glacial acetic acid to produce 8 - hydroxyquinoline 1 - oxide which is then refluxed in acetic anhydride to obtain acetoxycarbostyril and hydrolyzing the resulting acetoxycarbostyril with concentrated hydrochloric acid to give the desired 8 - hydroxycarbostyril . the 6 - and 7 - hydroxycarbostyrils can be prepared in a similar manner to those described above . suitable examples of the epihalohydrin are epibromohydrin , epichlorohydrin or epiiodohydrin , preferably epichlorohydrin . suitable basic compounds are alkali metals , alkali metal hydroxides , alkali metal carbonates and organic bases . preferred examples of the basic compounds are sodium metal , potassium metal , sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , piperidine , piperazine , pyridine , lower alkylamines such as diethylamine , triethylamine , methylamine and the like . the reaction between the hydroxycarbostyril and the epihalohydrin can be carried out in the absence of solvents , but preferably is carried out in the presence of an inert solvent , for example , lower alkanols , water , lower alkyl acetate and ketones . suitable examples of lower alkanols are methanol , ethanol , isopropanol , n - propanol , n - butanol and the like . suitable examples of lower alkyl acetates are ethyl acetate , methyl acetate , propyl acetate , and the like . suitable examples of ketones are acetone and methyl ethyl ketone . although any combination of the solvent and basic compound can be used , it is preferred to select the solvent depending upon the basic compound used . in preferred embodiments , lower alkanols are used with alkali metals and water with alkali metal hydroxides . when the basic compounds are organic bases , the reaction can be carried out without using any solvent or with a lower alkanol , lower alkyl acetate or ketone . the reaction temperature can range from 0 ° to the boiling point of the solvent used , preferably from 50 ° to a boiling point of the solvent , for a period of from 4 to 6 hours , preferably from 4 to 5 hours , when alkali metals or alkali metal hydroxides are used as the basic compound , and the reaction temperature can range from 0 ° to 120 ° c , preferably 80 ° to 120 ° c for a period of from 4 to 6 hours , preferably 5 to 6 hours , when organic bases are used as the basic compound . the reaction is usually carried out at atmospheric pressure . in this reaction , both 5 -, 6 -, 7 - or 8 -( 2 , 3 - epoxy ) propoxycarbostyril derivatives and 5 -, 6 -, 7 - or 8 ( 2 - hydroxy3 - halo ) propoxycarbostyril derivatives ( formula ( ii ) wherein y is ## equ3 ## and ## equ4 ## respectively ) are obtained as a reaction product . the proportion of the 2 , 3 - epoxy compound and 2 - hydroxy - 3 - halo compound in the product varies with the type of the basic compounds used or with the position to which such a propoxy substituent is attached . the former compound is produced predominantly when the reaction is conducted in the presence of strongly basic compounds such as alkali metals and alkali metal hydroxides as recited above or in the case of producing a 5 - substituted carbostyril compound , and the latter compound is produced predominantly when the reaction is conducted in the presence of weakly basic compounds such as organic bases , in particular piperidine , and the epihalohydrin is used in excess or in the case of producing 8 - substituted carbostyril compound . these products can be separated from each other by conventional procedures , for example , fractional crystallization , but preferably are separated by column chromatography using a column packed with active alumina , silica gel or the like . the product thus obtained , i . e ., a mixture of 2 , 3 - epoxy and 3 - halo compounds , can be used as a starting material for the preparation of the novel compounds of the present invention . alternatively , the components can be separated and each used as a starting material . in either case , the reaction can be effected in the same manner without adversely affecting the purity and yield of the desired product . the reaction between a 5 - substituted carbostyril and a lower alkylamine can be carried out using 2 to 40 moles , preferably from 2 to 5 moles per one mole of a 5 - substituted carbostyril . suitable examples of the lower alkylamine are mono - or disubstituted alkylamines having 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as methylamine , dimethylamine , ethylamine , isopropylamine , t - butyl - amine , sec - butylamine and the like . this reaction can be carried out in the presence or absence of a solvent , but it is preferred to use an organic solvent such as an alcohol , e . g ., methanol , ethanol , isopropanol , an ester , e . g ., ethyl acetate , an ether , e . g ., ethyl ether , chloroform and the like . when the reaction is carried out in the absence of an organic solvent , an excess of the lower alkylamine reactant also serves as a reaction medium . in either case , the reaction proceeds at a temperature of from 0 ° to the refluxing temperature of the reaction system , for example , up to about 85 ° c , but it is preferable to heat the reaction system at an elevated temperature , for example 45 ° to 65 ° c in order to accelerate the reaction . the reaction is generally completed within a period of 2 to 8 hrs , more generally , 3 to 5 hrs . after completion of the reaction , the compound ( ii ) thus obtained can be isolated and purified using known techniques such as distillation , recrystallization , extraction and the like . the recrystallization and extraction can suitably be effected using acetone , methanol , ethyl acetate , chloroform and the like . representative compounds of this invention include the following free bases and their pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts : the present invention will be further illustrated by reference to the following examples , but they are not to be construed as limiting the present invention . unless otherwise indicated , all parts , percents , ratios , and the like are by weight . 1 . 0 ml of isopropylamine and 10 ml of methanol were added to 1 . 0 g of 5 -( 2 , 3 - epoxy ) propoxycarbostyril having a melting point of 181 ° - 184 ° c and the resulting mixture was heated at 50 ° c for a period of 4 hours followed by concentration to dryness . a large excess of dilute hydrochloric acid ( 1 to 10 % by volume ) was added to the residue and any insoluble substances were removed by filtration . the aqueous layer separated was concentrated and the residue was recrystallized from ethanol to obtain 1 . 1 g of 5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - isopropylamino ) propoxycarbostyril hydrochloride as colorless amorphous crystals having a melting point of 251 ° - 253 ° c . 1 . 0 ml of tert - butylamine and 10 ml of ethanol were added to 1 . 0 g of 5 -( 2 , 3 - epoxy ) propoxycarbostyril and the resulting mixture was allowed to stand for 24 hours followed by concentration to dryness . dilute hydrochloric acid was added to the residue and any insoluble substances were removed by filtration . the aqueous layer separated was concentrated and the residue was recrystallized from ethanol to obtain 1 . 0 g of 5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - tert - butylamino ) propoxycarbostyril hydrochloride as colorless amorphous crystals having a melting point of 295 ° - 298 ° c . 1 . 0 ml of tert - butylamine and 10 ml of methanol were added to 1 . 0 g of 5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - chloro ) propoxycarbostyril , and the resulting mixture was heated at the reflux temperature for 4 hours followed by concentration to dryness . dilute hydrochloric acid was added to the residue and any insoluble substances were removed by filtration . the aqueous layer separated was concentrated and the residue was recrystallized from ethanol to obtain 1 . 0 g of 5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - tert - butylamino ) propoxycarbostyril hydrochloride as colorless amorphous crystals having a melting point of 295 ° - 298 ° c . 2 . 0 g of 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - chloro ) propoxycarbostyril as prepared in reference example 2 and 6 . 7 g of tert - butylamine were added to 50 ml of methanol , and the resulting mixture was heated at a refluxing temperature for 4 . 5 hours while stirring . after completion of the reaction , the reaction mixture was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated to give 283 mg ( 31 % yield ) of 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - tert - butylamino ) propoxycarbostyril having a melting point of 200 . 5 ° - 201 . 5 ° c after recrystallization from acetone . analysis calcd . for c 16 h 22 o 3 n : c , 66 . 18 ; h , 7 . 64 ; n , 9 . 65 (%). found : c , 66 . 41 ; h , 7 . 88 ; n , 9 . 64 (%). 2 . 0 g of 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - chloro ) propoxycarbostyril as prepared in reference example 2 and 5 . 4 g of isopropylamine were added to 40 ml of methanol , and the resulting mixture was heated at the refluxing temperature for 16 hours . after completion of the reaction , the reaction mixture was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated to give 720 mg ( 42 % yield ) of 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - isopropylamino ) propoxycarbostyril having a melting point of 177 . 5 ° - 178 ° c after recrystallization from acetone . anaylsis : calcd . for c 15 h 20 o 3 n 2 : c , 65 . 19 ; h , 7 . 30 ; n . 10 . 14 (%). found : c , 65 . 59 ; h , 7 . 84 ; n , 10 . 11 (%). 2 . 0 g of 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - chloro ) propoxycarbostyril as prepared in reference example 2 and 5 . 4 g of isopropylamine were added to 40 ml of methanol , and the resulting mixture was heated at a refluxing temperature for 13 hours while stirring . after completion of the reaction , the reaction mixture was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated to give 741 mg ( 36 % yield ) of 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - sec - butylamino ) propoxycarbostyril having a melting point of 140 . 5 ° - 142 ° c after recrystallization from acetone . analysis calcd . for c 16 h 22 o 3 n 2 : c , 66 . 18 ; h , 7 . 64 ; n , 9 . 65 (%). found : c , 66 . 34 ; h , 7 . 98 ; n , 9 . 86 (%). 0 . 6 g of sodium hydroxide was dissolved in 40 ml of water , and 2 . 0 g of 5 - hydroxycarbostyril and 2 . 5 g of epichlorohydrin were added to the solution . the mixture was stirred at a temperature of from 60 ° to 70 ° c for 5 hours followed by cooling to precipitate the product . the precipitated crystals were washed with water , dissolved in ethanol and then subjected to thin layer chromatography using acetone as an eluate to obtain two spots having a rf value of 0 . 58 and 0 . 65 , respectively , the spot having a rf value of 0 . 58 was extracted with ethanol and crystallized to obtain 5 -( 2 , 3 - epoxy ) propoxycarbostyril which was used as the starting material in examples 1 and 2 . the spot having a rf value of 0 . 65 was worked up in the same manner as described above to obtain 5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - chloro ) propoxycarbostyril which was used as the starting material in example 3 . 2 . 0 g of 8 - hydroxycarbostyril was added to 200 ml of an ethanolic solution of 8 . 5 g of sodium ethoxide , and the resulting mixture was stirred for one hour at a temperature of 50 ° c . 40 g of epichlorohydrin was then added to the mixture followed by allowing to react for 10 hours at a temperature of 50 ° c . after completion of the reaction , the reaction mixture was filtered to isolate crystalline 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - chloro ) propoxycarbostyril which was then washed with water and dried . yield , 6 . 5 g ( 20 . 5 %). melting point , 228 ° - 231 ° c ( recrystallized from chloroform ). analysis : calcd . for c 12 h 12 o 3 ncl : c , 56 . 82 ; h , 4 . 77 ; n , 5 . 52 (%). found : c , 56 . 72 ; h , 5 . 00 ; n , 5 . 62 (%). the antagonistic activity of the compounds of this invention against isoprenaline was determined using the β - blockers screening method ( c . e . powell , i . h . slater : j . pharmac ., 122 , 480 ( 1958 )). male mongrel adult dogs , weighing 13 to 20 kg were anesthesized with 30 mg / kg of body weight of pentabarbital sodium administered intravenously . each of the test compounds was then administered to the anesthesized dog at a dosage level of 30γ or 100γ / kg of body weight from the femoral vein and after 5 minutes isoprenaline was administered to the dog through the femoral vein at a dosage level of 0 . 3 γ / kg of body weight . the blood pressure and the pulse ( h . r .) were then recorded on a polygraph through a pressure transducer and a tachometer operated by the r wave of the electrocardiograph , respectively , to determine % inhibitory activity of the test compound against the pulse increase and the pressure reduction induced by isoprenaline . the results obtained are shown in table below . table______________________________________ dosage level antagonistic activity againsttest compound ( γ / kg ) isoprenaline (% inhibition )* ______________________________________ blood pressure pulse5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - 30 89 . 2 % 87 . 6 % isopropylamino )- 5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - 30 97 . 9 % 96 . 1 % tert - butylamino )- 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - 100 66 . 2 % 57 . 4 % isopropylamino )- 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - 100 78 . 3 % 72 . 6 % tert - butylamino )- 8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - 100 51 . 8 % 42 . 1 % sec - butylamino )- ______________________________________ * the pulse increase and the pressure reduction induced by the administration of isoprenaline alone are referred to as 100 %. also , the acute toxicity in rat ( wister strain ) was determined in a standard manner with respect to representative compounds of this invention . the ld 50 ( 50 % lethal dose ) are as follows : ld . sub . 50 ( mg / kg ) compound i . v . p . o . ______________________________________5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - isopropylamino ) propoxy - 162 2000carbostyril5 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - tert - butylamino ) propoxy - 136 1800carbostyril8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - isopropylamino ) propoxy - 178 2000carbostyril8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - tert - butylamino ) propoxy - 148 1800carbostyril8 -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - sec - butylamino ) propoxy - 143 1900carbostyril______________________________________ while the present invention has been described in detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it is apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention .	2
in an embodiment according to the present invention , a trading platform , designed as an exchange , is provided . the trading process is divided into a 1st session and a 2nd session by the trading platform . a marketmaker is used to regulate the prices . during the 1 st session the marketmaker enters his or her prices during a first period . sellers ( e . g ., suppliers ) then post offers during a second period . the exchange opens ( e . g ., accepting an offer , or making a counter offer are allowed ) and postings can be viewed during a third period . an “ as is ” buy and counter / change counter period occur during a fourth period . a negotiation phase starts at a fifth period . the negotiation phase ends and exchange closes at a sixth period . during the 2nd session the marketmaker revises his or her prices during a seventh period . sellers post offers during an eighth period . the exchange opens and postings can be viewed again at a ninth period . an “ as is ” buy and counter / change counter period occur during a tenth period . a negotiation phase starts at an eleventh period . the negotiation phase ends and exchange closes at a twelfth period . preferably , each of the above periods except the first period can start after the preceding period has ended or at a preset time after the preceding period has ended . during the negotiation phase there is no direct competition among the interested parties ( e . g ., buyers and sellers ) to make the best offer and to conclude a deal . the company which posts an offer deals with the interested parties on a one to one basis . when the exchange opens , the interested party can immediately close a deal by clicking on the “ buy ” button or may make a counter offer using a “ counter ” or “ negotiate ” buttons to negotiate the price on a one to one basis . preferably , there is no interaction between interested parties and they are not aware of one another . preferably , all identities are kept anonymous during the transaction . [ 0019 ] fig1 shows a flow chart detailing the present invention . a marketmaker enters a price for a product ( e . g ., a plastic product ) ( step 100 ). an exemplary screen that allows the marketmaker to enter the information pertaining to one or more products is shown in fig3 . preferably , the marketmaker enters the price on a daily basis until a certain time , such as 10 : 00 a . m ., is reached . in certain embodiments of the present invention , the marketmaker enters a maximum price for each of the potential offers that might be posted on the system . by doing so , abuse of the system by the sellers can be curtailed and prices that the seller posts can be ensured as close to the current market price for that day . a seller posts an offer to sell ( step 110 ). preferably , the seller posts the offer after the marketmaker has entered the price , for example , after 10 : 00 am . the seller can choose from terms specified by the system to form a posting . for example , when “ post an offer ” button is clicked , a page with the following information can be viewed and / or entered : product ( e . g ., plastics products , such as pp , pvc , ldpe , hdpe and ps ), grade ( e . g ., raffia and fiber for pp ; k 65 / 67 and k 70 for pvc ; f212 or g035 for ldpe ; film or pipe for hdpe ; and gpps or hips for ps ), product specifications , product origin , producer , quantity ( e . g ., a quantity range between 20 to 200 mt ), delivery point ( e . g ., cfr istanbul / izmir / mersin , cpt istanbul / lzmir / gaziantep , fca aliaga or ex - warehouse istanbul / mersin ), delivery period ( e . g ., 1 week , 2 weeks or 1 month ), payment terms ( e . g ., types of payment terms ), price , posting available to , and limitation for buyer counter prices . the producer is included so that the system can match that producer with the product ratings of the buyers . the system can then display to the buyers the producers rating for the product in question which is to be sold . an exemplary method for doing so is detailed below . product origin information is used by the system to inform the buyers whether or not the product to be sold is subject to customs duty or not . preferably , the name of the producer and product origin is disclosed when a buyer concludes a deal . the posting available can be a selection of buyers selected by the seller . if the posting is available to the selected buyers , then the selected buyers can view the posting , buy the product or counter the seller &# 39 ; s offer . the limitation for buyer counter prices enables the seller to set a minimum price for buyers to meet before entering into negotiation with him / her . the limitation can be set so that the seller may be available to buyer counters within 1 , 2 or 3 percent of his / her original posted price . once the seller fills in all of these fields he or she can submit the offer by clicking a “ send ” button . a confirmation page can then be displayed to the seller . the seller may edit this page by using the “ edit ” button , cancel the offer by using the “ cancel ” button , or confirm the offer by using the “ confirm ” button . when the seller clicks on “ confirm ”, the posting is given an id number and registered with the system . the posting can then be viewed under a “ my postings of the day ” screen ( described below ). the posting can also viewed under an “ offers to sell ” section at a particular time with any other registered postings . while submitting an offer , a comparison is made to determine if the price the seller entered is equal to or lower than the price the marketmaker entered ( step 120 ). if so , the price of the seller is registered in the system ( step 130 ). the price remains valid on the system for a period of time , such as 1 day , and offers can be posted again after the period of time has elapsed . preferably , the identity of the sellers and buyers will remain anonymous . in certain embodiments of the present invention , all the offers posted on the exchange are “ firm ” ( e . g ., the seller can not relinquish his or her offer once a buyer has accepted the offer and vice versa .) if the price the seller entered is not equal to the price the marketmaker entered , the system informs the seller that the price is higher than the marketmaker &# 39 ; s price . the seller can then continue to enter prices until the seller &# 39 ; s new price is within 1 % of the marketmaker &# 39 ; s price , at which point the price the seller entered is displayed ( step 140 ). the method then proceeds to step 130 using the price the seller entered as the price of the posting . at a preset time ( e . g ., period ), for example , 11 : 00 - 11 : 30 , the exchange opens ( step 150 ). after the exchange opens , the postings ( e . g ., offers ) by the seller can be viewed by one or more buyers ( step 160 ). preferably , both buyers and sellers view all the postings under an “ offers to sell ” page . the “ offers to sell ” page shows a posting #, seller &# 39 ; s rating , product & amp ; grade , product rating , quantity , delivery point , delivery period , payment term and price , and whether the posting is subject to a duty . preferably , there are “ buy ” and “ counter ” buttons next to each offer . also , after the exchange opens , the sellers can view the following items for each posting on an “ offers to sell ” page posting #, product & amp ; grade , product origin , quantity , delivery point , delivery period , payment term and price . preferably , the system has a list of countries which are subject to duty or duty free and by using this information , displays “ duty free ” or “ subject to duty ” in a product origin column of “ offers to sell ” for the sellers . sellers can track their particular postings from a “ my postings of the day ” page . the “ my postings of the day ” page comprises a posting #, product & amp ; grade , product info ( includes the producer and product origin ), quantity , delivery point , delivery period , payment term , price , and status field . at the bottom of the page there is a “ post an offer ” button which can be viewed and used at a particular time , such as 10 : 00 - 11 : 00 and 12 : 00 - 13 : 00 , to post offers . under the status column , the seller can view a posted , counter ( e . g ., the number of counters are stated in parenthesis ), negotiation ( e . g , the number of buyer counters are stated in parenthesis ) or sample request information window . the seller can click on the posting number of a posting and view the details of the counters or a sample request . next to each posting on “ offers to sell ”, there is a “ buy ” button and “ counter ” button . the buttons are available at specific times , for example , between 11 : 00 - 11 : 30 , and 14 : 00 - 14 : 30 . any buyer who would like to accept an “ as is ” posting ( e . g ., does not wish to negotiate the price with the seller ) can press the “ buy ” button ( step 170 ). once the “ buy ” button is pressed , the buyer views “ accept an offer ” confirmation page with all relevant offer information . the buyer can choose not to accept the offer by using a “ back ” button . the buyer can choose to confirm the “ offer ” by clicking on the “ confirm ” button . once the buyer clicks “ confirm ” the system moves to the “ done deal ” phase ( step 1200 ). during step 1200 , the buyer is informed of the seller &# 39 ; s identity and the contact info as well as the contract terms . the buyer may also print all of this information . once a deal is concluded , the buyer can also view the offer posting under “ my done deals ” with the seller &# 39 ; s identity and product information disclosed . the seller will be informed on his screen and by e - mail that a buyer has accepted his offer and that a deal is concluded . the seller sees a “ done deal ” link in the “ status ” column under “ my previous postings ”. once this link is clicked , the seller can view the buyer &# 39 ; s identity and contact info . in certain embodiments of the present invention , during step 1200 the seller may re - post the same offer by clicking on the “ re - post ” button next to his offer under “ my previous postings ”. once a deal is concluded ( step 1200 ), the posting in question can be viewed by the seller ( e . g ., supplier ) under a “ my previous postings ” screen . the information for each posting comprises a posting #, product & amp ; grade , product info ( which includes the producer and product origin ), quantity , delivery point , delivery period , payment term , price , whether it is subject to duty or not , and status fields . there is a “ re - post ” option that allows the seller to make the same posting at a later date . under a status column , the seller can view a done deal ( e . g ., the number of concluded deals is stated in parenthesis ), not concluded or sample ordered field ( e . g , the number of samples ordered is stated in parenthesis ). the seller may also view the contact information of the buyer ( s ) and the contract information by clicking on the “ done deal ” or “ sample ordered ” links . the buyers can view their previously concluded deals under a “ my done deals ” post . the information for each previously concluded deal is displayed and comprises posting #, seller , product & amp ; grade , product info , quantity , delivery point , delivery period , payment term , concluded price , and whether the concluded deal was subject to duty . preferably , the buyer can view the contact information of the seller by clicking on a link with the name of the seller . a buyer could also select a counter option , for example , by pressing the “ counter ” button ( step 180 ). once the “ counter ” button is pressed , the buyer can view all the relevant offer information and can change the price field ( step 190 ). when the buyer enters a price and clicks the “ send ” button , if his price is lower than the limits set by the seller , he will be informed that his counter price is too low for the seller to consider and that he needs to re - try ( step 200 ). the buyer can repeat steps 190 - 200 until the price is accepted by the system . once the price is accepted by the system , the buyer will view a confirmation page , he may edit by using the “ edit ” button , cancel by using “ cancel ” button or confirm by clicking on the “ confirm ” button . when the buyer confirms , the seller views the status of this offer under “ my postings of the day ” with a counter ( 1 ) link . once this link is clicked , he views the details of the buyer &# 39 ; s counter offer ; the change in price is highlighted in red with the seller &# 39 ; s price displayed separately . the seller may accept this offer , for example , by clicking the “ accept ” button ( step 210 ), in which case a deal is concluded ( step 1200 ). the seller may decide not to accept the buyer &# 39 ; s counter right away , but wait until the negotiation phase ( step 220 ) to make a new offer to the buyer &# 39 ; s counter during the negotiation phase . the negotiation phase can start at one or more particular times . for example , the negotiation sessions could start at 11 : 30 for the first session and 14 : 30 for the second session . preferably , the buyer &# 39 ; s offer is valid until the end of the negotiation session . the buyer may follow the status of his counter to the prior posting from an “ offers in negotiation ” screen . during the negotiation session ( step 220 ), the seller can make changes on the sample request . for example , he can change the sample quantity amount , latest delivery time or he can charge the buyer for the sample by entering a price per metric ton for the sample and pressing “ send ” button . the buyer will see under status that his request is being replied to . by clicking on the posting number the buyer may view the details of the seller &# 39 ; s reply . changes made by the seller are highlighted with red . the buyer can keep track of his previous communication with the seller by using the links present on the right which includes “ my sample request ”, “ seller &# 39 ; s 1st offer ”, so on and so forth . the buyer may either accept or counter the seller &# 39 ; s reply . this process can continue until parties reach an agreement or until the exchange closes . in certain embodiments of the present invention , a buyer may ask for a sample if the product rating of a product to be sold is “ d ”. if a “ d ” rating is present , a button is displayed showing that a sample can be sent . if an offer specifies that a sample can be sent , the buyer may elect to have the sample sent , for example , by pressing the button ( step 230 ). the buyer can then view the “ sample ordering ” page in which he can specify the sample quantity amount and the latest delivery time . this may include , but is not limited to : no deadline , latest within 2 weeks , latest within 1 month or latest within 2 months . once the buyer fills in this information and sends it to the seller , he can view the information in a posting under “ offers in negotiation ” with a “ sample requested ” status . the seller also views a “ sample request ” link under status column of his “ my postings of the day .” when the seller clicks on the link , he views a page where he or she can reply to the buyer &# 39 ; s request . if the seller agrees with the quantity amount and latest delivery time and if he will not charge a fee for the sample , the seller may accept the request by clicking on the “ accept ” button . then the seller will view the contact information of the buyer and the terms of the contract . the buyer is also informed that a sample is being ordered via e - mail and on his screen . he can view this posting under “ my done deals ” with a status of “ sample ordered ”. [ 0038 ] fig2 shows a more detailed flow chart of the negotiation process . once the negotiation starts ( step 500 ), the “ buy ” and “ counter ” buttons next to each posting under an “ offers to sell ” screen are replaced with a “ negotiate ” button at the start of negotiation session on the buyer &# 39 ; s display . the buyer initiates the negotiation with the seller by clicking on the “ negotiate ” button next to each posting on the “ offers to sell ” screen ( step 510 ). buyer may negotiate with more than one seller simultaneously . since all counter offers are “ firm ”, the system warns the buyer when he tries to negotiate with more than one seller for the same product and grade . the seller may initiate negotiation if there were counter offers made by buyers prior to the start of the negotiation session when he decided to wait until the start of the negotiation session to reply to buyer counters of the buyer ( s ). as soon as the negotiation button is clicked ( step 510 ), a page where the buyer can place a counter offer is displayed . the buyer can view all relevant information about the posting , and may change the price field . the seller &# 39 ; s original price is also shown on the right of the page . the buyer enters his price and clicks “ send ” button ( step 520 ). then the buyer &# 39 ; s posting is listed under “ offers in negotiation ” with a “ my 1 st counter ” written under status . the seller can view the same posting under his “ my postings of the day ” with “ negotiation ( 1 )” written under a status column . if there are more counter offers sent to the seller during negotiation session , the number in parenthesis will reflect the number of counter offers . the seller can view the buyer counter offers by clicking on the “ negotiation ( 1 )” status link ( e . g ., an html link ). once this link is clicked , the seller views a “ negotiation status summary ” page . the page includes all the information about the posting and a table which includes the following information buyer id ( e . g ., a code referencing an anonymous buyer ), buyer &# 39 ; s rating by the seller , buyer &# 39 ; s last price , my last price and status information . status information may include one or more counter offers by the buyer and one or more offers , such as buyer &# 39 ; s 1st counter , my 1st offer , buyer &# 39 ; s 2nd counter , my 2nd offer . there is a “ reply ” button next to each of the buyer counters . by clicking on the “ reply ” button next to each counter , the seller may reply to the buyers &# 39 ; offers . when the seller clicks “ reply ”, he views a page where all relevant information about the offer is provided . all of the communication with the buyer regarding the buyer &# 39 ; s counters and his replies are shown separately for easy monitoring . the seller may accept buyer &# 39 ; s counter , for example , by using the “ accept ” button ( step 530 ), may counter the buyer &# 39 ; s counter by using a “ change price ” button ( step 540 ), or he may repeat his last offer by using a “ repeat last offer ” button ( step 550 ). if the seller elects to accept the offer ( step 540 ), then a deal is concluded ( step 1200 ). at this point , the seller is informed of the identity of the buyer with his contact information and contract terms . the status of this posting is changed to “ done deal ” and it is viewed under “ my previous postings .” the system asks the seller if he wants to continue negotiating with other buyers . if he accepts , then the seller &# 39 ; s posting will continue to be viewed under “ offers to sell ”, but will also be listed under “ my previous postings ” with a “ done deal ” link under “ status ( step 560 ). the buyer whose counter is accepted by the seller is informed by e - mail and on his screen that his offer is accepted by the seller . the buyer can view the posting in question under “ my done deals ” with a “ done deal ” status link . if the seller elects to modify the buyer &# 39 ; s price , he clicks on a button ( e . g . a change price button ) ( step 540 ), the seller views all relevant information about the posting , and may change the price field . the seller can also view communication with the buyer regarding the buyer &# 39 ; s counters and his own replies separately for easy monitoring . the seller then makes changes in the price field and clicks the “ send ” button to confirm . the buyer follows the posting subject to negotiation from “ offers in negotiation ” and is informed about the status of his counter through “ status ”. the “ seller &# 39 ; s last price ” section will reflect the new price sent by the seller . by clicking on the link of the posting number , the buyer may send his next counter offer to the seller ( step 520 ). the buyer may also accept the seller &# 39 ; s offer ( step 550 ), or repeat his last offer . if the buyer accepts the offer ( step 550 ), the negotiation is concluded ( step 1200 ). otherwise , the method returns to step 520 . once the negotiation is concluded the seller may continue to negotiate with other buyers ( step 560 ). the seller can also elect to repeat the last offer ( step 555 ). if so , steps 550 , 1200 , and 560 are followed as described above . however , the seller does not change the price , instead it remains as it was prior . preferably , buyers and sellers may send as many offers / replies ( e . g ., counter offers ) as they like during the negotiation session . also , a check can be performed by the system to ensure that any prices offered by the buyer remain within a limit set by the seller ( step 599 ). in certain embodiments of the present invention , a product rating page is provided . the product rating page allows a buyer to evaluate a particular product . the product rating page is used to make it easier for buyers to conclude a deal about a product without knowing whose product it is . all producers for all the products and grades on the exchange are registered on the system , so that the products can be rated . preferably , the rating is on a scale of a to e . a refers to “ the best product for me .” b refers to “ i can use it without much hesitation .” c refers to “ i will use it only if i have to .” d refers to “ i didn &# 39 ; t hear about this product and didn &# 39 ; t try and / or use it ,” and e refers to “ i will never buy this product .” the product rating page consists of a “ making changes in the ratings ” section and a “ rating new products ” section . the buyer chooses first the product and related grade to be rated under “ rating new products ” section . once he makes his selection , the “ producer names ” section will be filled with the names of the producers and also their product codes ( if available ) related to this product and grade . then the buyer chooses and rates the names he likes by using the arrows for each letter . after finishing rating , he needs to click the “ send ” so that this rating is registered with the system . rated products are viewed with a link under “ making changes in the ratings ”. this way the buyer can easily make changes to his already existing ratings . when the offers are posted , the system checks the name of the producer identified for that posting with the rated producers of the buyer . the system then displays the letter that the buyer has assigned for that producer under “ product rating .” the letter could be different for each buyer , since every buyer rates the producers according to their own experience . the letter may also be different for the same producers &# 39 ; different products or grades . [ 0049 ] fig3 shows a marketmaker screen . the marketmaker screen allows the marketmaker to enter his daily price for each product and grade for all possible posting options . the marketmaker screen can be used to implement step 100 of fig1 . a product and grade field 600 , a quantity field 610 , a product origin field 620 , a delivery point filed 630 , a payment term field 640 , and a price field 650 are present . the product and grade field 600 specifies the particular product . the quantity field 610 specifies a quantity range for the requested item . the product origin field 620 specifies whether or not the product is subject to a duty . the delivery point 630 specifies where the product is to be delivered . the payment term 640 specifies the type of payment , for example , cash . the price field 650 specifies the marketrnaker &# 39 ; s price for the product . preferably , the marketmaker can enter the price . a date field , which can be automatically set by the system , may also be present . the marketmaker screen is displayed in step 100 , for example , when the marketmaker selects the product and grade from a combo box , for example , on a separate page . the marketmaker can enter the prices for each term for “ cash ” payment . the system adjusts the price for all other possible payment terms by a “ payment terms conversion table ” where a formula for each payment terms in terms of a “ cash ” payment is defined to the system . for example , a credit payment term could multiply the term entered for “ cash ” by a fixed amount . in such a manner , prices for all postings for other payment terms are automatically calculated by the system . a similar conversion table exists for shipment terms where relationship between terms may be defined by entering the freight difference or by a formula so that the system calculates the price for some terms automatically ( e . g ., inco terms ). in the preceding specification , the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof . it will , however , be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow . the specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative manner rather than a restrictive sense .	6
this application claims priority under 35 u . s . c . § 119 ( e ) to u . s . provisional patent application no . 61 / 149 , 880 filed feb . 4 , 2009 and entitled “ synthesis of advanced scintillators via vapor deposition techniques ” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . novel eu 2 o 3 - doped lu 2 o 3 scintillator materials and methods of making them are provided by the present invention . the new materials are made by vapor deposition techniques , including physical vapor deposition ( pvd ) and chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ). the materials can be used as coatings or films and are particularly well suited to serve as scintillators for radiological imaging devices , allowing the real time acquisition of images in digital form . the invention also provides imaging devices that incorporate the scintillator materials . the new materials utilize high energy photon capture by lutetium , which has a high atomic number and very high density . the lutetium is present in the scintillator materials in the form of lutetium oxide ( lu 2 o 3 ) that has been doped with europium oxide ( eu 2 o 3 ). the lutetium oxide and europium oxide form a solid solution whose morphology reveals an oriented columnar grain structure . the europium dopant converts captured x - rays into emitted visible light photons . the columnar grain structure of the scintillator materials eliminates the need for pixelation and provides highly efficient light transmission out of the scintillator material , similar to transmission of light in an optical fiber . by eliminating the need for pixelation , the materials of the invention avoid laborious and time - consuming steps in the production of scintillator films , and make possible the production of much larger area scintillator films than could be practically achieved using the pixelation and coating methods required for hot - pressed lu 2 o 3 : eu materials , in order to minimize light scattering . the size or surface area that can be achieved will depend on and be limited by the size of the target in pvd and the size of the reactor in cvd . the emitted visible light is in the 600 nm range , a range that can be imaged with high efficiency and recorded directly in digital form using ccds . the key to the production of the new scintillator materials is the use of vapor deposition techniques . the materials are made by either a pvd method or a cvd method . further , in order to achieve high efficiency light emission from the scintillator materials , a post - deposition thermal annealing step is performed , which cures defects in the material , allowing efficient energy transfer resulting in light emission . pvd methods that are suitable for synthesizing lu 2 o 3 : eu films with appropriate structure for use as a scintillator include , but are not limited to , evaporative deposition , cathodic arc deposition , ion bombardment , electron beam bombardment , and sputtering . in evaporation , a material is heated in a vacuum to increase its vapor pressure , resulting in deposition of the vaporized material . arc deposition uses a high power electrical arc to vaporize a target , resulting in deposition of vaporized material . sputtering utilizes a plasma discharge to sputter away atoms from a target material into a vapor , which are then deposited onto a substrate . ion beam or electron bombardment use the respective beam to vaporize material from a target and deposit the vaporized material onto a substrate . a preferred pvd method is radio frequency magnetron sputtering . phase diagrams for films deposited by a pvd process such as sputtering are known from previous studies . from such previous studies it is understood that the columnar grain structure , which is preferred for the materials of the present invention , are preferentially formed at high substrate temperatures . any cvd method that provides an appropriate grain morphology and lu : eu stoichiometry can be used to manufacture the scintillator films of the invention . cvd of films or coatings involves the chemical reaction of gaseous reactants on or near the vicinity of a heated substrate surface . this atomistic deposition method can provide high purity materials with structural control at atomic or nanometer scale level . moreover , it can produce single layer , multilayer , composite , nanostructured , and functionally graded coating materials with well controlled dimension and unique structure at low processing temperatures . furthermore , one of the unique features of cvd compared with other deposition techniques is its non - line - of - sight deposition capability , which allows the coating of complex shaped components . in addition , cvd can be carried out employing hot or cold wall reactors . in hot wall cvd , the deposition chamber is heated , which in turn heats the gases through conduction and radiation . though the hot wall reactor can provide very precise temperature control , the interior of the hot wall reactor is also coated ( heterogeneous nucleation ) and can induce gas phase ( homogeneous ) nucleation , resulting in maintenance problems and lower deposition efficiency . in addition , depletion of gaseous reactants also occurs along the reactor requiring complex systems for large substrates . in a cold wall reactor only the substrate is heated , either inductively or resistively , and the wall of the reactor is cold . most cvd reactions are endothermic . therefore , the deposition reaction will occur only on the heated substrate , and negligible deposition occurs on the wall of the reactor . although these reactors are more complex , they allow greater control over the deposition process , enabling higher quality coatings . however , thermal convection , which occurs in a cold wall reactor , can create concentration gradients of the reactive species and can sometimes result in non - uniform coatings . this can be overcome by performing cvd cold wall deposition at a reduced pressure . factors that determine the heating method are the size and geometry of the substrate and whether it is conducting or non - conducting . additionally , by using cold wall cvd and thus avoiding homogeneous nucleation , higher growth rates can be achieved . this drastically reduces the deposition time required to achieve the scintillator coating thickness necessary to absorb most of the incident radiation . the analysis and optimization of cvd processes requires the application of thermodynamics , chemical kinetics , and mass transport phenomena . an understanding of these parameters allows the user to control the structure , stoichiometry , crystallinity and texture of films [ 6 , 7 ]. the effects of temperature and supersaturation on growth morphology for a cvd process are known from previous studies . preferred morphologies for the present invention are platelets and epitaxial growth , while amorphous deposits are to be avoided . whether made by pvd or cvd , a scintillator film of the invention is deposited onto a substrate . suitable substrate materials are preferably smooth , mechanically rigid , largely transparent to x - rays , and either highly reflective or highly transparent to the light emitted by the scintillator . the substrate material should be able to withstand the conditions used for pvd or cvd without significant degradation that would impact film structure or integrity . examples of suitable substrate materials include , but are not limited to , graphite , quartz , and fiberoptic plate material . the substrate is required for the deposition process , but it can be removed , for example , by mechanically grinding it away , after the film is attached to another structure ( e . g ., a ccd ) at its surface facing away from the substrate . scintillator materials containing lu 2 o 3 : eu can be incorporated into a variety of devices , particularly optical devices designed to convert x - rays into visible light for quantification or imaging of an x - ray source , or for imaging of an object that scatters or absorbs x - rays . an example of an embodiment suitable for dentistry is shown in fig2 . x - rays impinge on the device from the top of the figure ( arrows ). the scintillator material in the form of film 10 is adhered to a ccd device , shown as layer 20 . the thickness of the scintillator will depend on the application ; however , the scintillator film should be sufficiently thick to absorb most of the incident x - rays to be imaged or quantified . for example , scintillator layer 10 can be in the range from about 50 - 500 μm in thickness , preferably about 200 μm thick . the thickness of ccd layer 20 can be , for example , about 350 μm . the ccd layer can be supported by circuit substrate 30 . the circuit substrate can be any suitable material , but is preferably a material such as fr4 , a glass fiber - epoxy resin material used in printed circuit boards , which is electrically insulating and rigid . optionally , one or both faces of the device are encased in a layer of housing material 40 , such as a plastic material or other material that is transparent to x - rays , at least on the side facing the incoming x - rays . cable 50 connects the ccd layer to a device such as a computer for input , analysis , display , and storage of signals from the ccd , such as images . devices containing the lu 2 o 3 : eu scintillator material can be used for any purpose related to detection of x - rays by scintillation . for example , such uses include recording dental x - rays ; recording any type of medical x - rays such as in mammography , chest x - rays , or diagnostic x - rays ; and recording images or performing analysis of any object that scatters or absorbs x - rays , including metals , microelectronics components , and nanomaterials . the invention contemplates a method of preparing a radiological scintillator coating material by a vapor deposition technique . to make the coating material , a layer of lutetium and europium oxides is deposited onto a substrate by a physical or chemical vapor deposition technique . the ratio of lutetium to europium is selected such that the deposited layer provides effective scintillation in response to incident radiation . the incident radiation is a high energy , short wavelength radiation , such as x - rays . preferably , the deposited layer is subsequently annealed by heat treatment at a temperature in the range of about 100 to 1400 ° c ., so as to improve the emission characteristics . the invention also contemplates a device for x - ray imaging . such a device includes the scintillator coating material just described and a semiconductor imaging device . the device can have a configuration such as that shown in fig2 , or another configuration suitable for a particular imaging application . films of lu 2 o 3 : eu 3 + were successfully deposited using physical vapor deposition ( pvd ) carried out in a radio frequency ( rf ) magnetron sputtering device ( see fig2 ). the setup used a 2 inch diameter target angled at 45 degrees with respect to the substrate . the target was made by hot pressing lu 2 o 3 powder doped with 5 mol % eu 2 o 3 at 1700 ° c . using a graphite uniaxial hot press . a thin 2 inch diameter graphite disc was used as the substrate and it was rotated at approximately 20 rpm to increase uniformity . the rf power source was an advanced energy rfx600 capable of producing 600 watts . coatings were deposited at 50 , 75 and 100 watts and examined . it was determined that 100 watts was the maximum useable power level , above which charging and target damage occurred . the coatings were examined using a bruker d8 focus x - ray diffraction ( xrd ) unit using cu - kα radiation to determine orientation , and a zeiss field emission scanning electron microscope ( sem ) to examine the microstructure . microstructural analysis of the top surface and the fractured cross sections , as shown in fig3 , revealed that growth morphology depended on input power . the surface images showed a clear transition from what appears to be cellular growth to plate growth . at 50 w and 100 w the columnar growth appeared to be of uniform width and perpendicular to the surface , whereas at 75 w , the columnar growth became radial . the diameter of the columnar growth is not clear from the fractured cross section . however , top surface images shown in fig3 clearly show larger boundaries , indicative of columnar grain growth . grain diameter measurements indicated a trend of decreasing columnar diameter with increasing power ( or deposition rate ) as shown in table 1 . the columnar growth was determined to be ( 100 ) textured for low input power and ( 111 ) textured for high input power as determined from the xrd pattern ( fig4 ). it is noteworthy that the intensities of the ( 100 ) and ( 111 ) peaks were low , indicating that crystallinity / orientation was not significant . low intensity diffraction peaks from other planes further suggest that not all growths were perpendicular and growth was slightly polycrystalline . this is most likely a result of slow kinetics , because the low thermal energy did not enable the newly formed grains to grow epitaxially . furthermore , the xrd patterns were increasingly shifted towards a larger unit cell with increasing power , which is typically attributed to growth stresses . the ( 100 ) orientation is a lower energy growth direction , and with sufficient stresses it can shift towards ( 111 ) growth . in a pvd sputtering system , the plasma intensity is dependent on the power applied , which also affects the sputtering rate . the plasma itself can attain high temperatures and can provide some thermal energy to the coating , and the substrate can reach temperatures up to 100 ° c . however , the plasma provides a relatively large amount of thermal energy to a very thin layer , notably the deposition layer . this is believed to be the reason for the drastic change in coating morphology observed at 75 w . at this power there is a balance between deposition rate and thermal energy provided by the plasma that enables better crystallization . at 50 w the low intensity plasma provides low thermal energy and , despite reduced deposition rates , is not adequate for crystalline growth . at 100 w , despite increased plasma thermal energy , the atoms did not have sufficient time to rearrange because of the higher density of incoming atoms . deposition by pvd at a substrate temperature of 400 ° c . resulted in a coating that exhibits a significantly higher degree of orientation than that obtained at room temperature . fig5 a shows a plot of the xrd data for films deposited at increasing substrate temperature . the peaks remain slightly shifted toward higher unit cell dimensions , indicating some residual stress and suggesting the need for even greater thermal energy , perhaps by heating to 700 - 900 ° c . the micrograph of these fracture cross - sections ( fig5 b ) reveals a columnar structure , and the corresponding surface micrograph ( fig5 c ) contains randomly oriented pyramidal shapes similar to the 75 w coating in fig3 , suggesting that heated substrates accommodate higher material fluxes than they would otherwise tolerate at room temperature . effect of heat treatment on lu 2 o 3 : eu films deposited by pvd to study the effects of annealing by heat treatment , coatings were post - treated in a tungsten furnace at 900 ° c . in an argon atmosphere for 2 hours . the samples from example 1 were heat treated to increase crystallinity and observe changes in morphology . as seen in fig1 , the ( 100 ) peak reverted back to the theoretical position after heat treatment , indicating stress relief . however , associated with the restored unit cell is a subsequent volume change resulting in reduced thickness and cracking ( fig1 ). in the 100 w case , the volume distortion led to loss of adhesion , making further analysis on the heat treated sample almost impossible . one can observe in fig1 that the morphology of the coating remained identical to the as - deposited coating , indicating stability of the coating . a small increase in the intensity of the ( 100 ) peak was observed , indicating slight grain growth or increase in crystallinity . in fig1 c it can be seen that the edge of the 100 w sample remained adherent , which can be attributed to the non - uniformity of deposition conditions . these films were deposited on a graphite substrate , and adhesion might be different with another substrate material . in magnetron sputtering , a ring source is created , which in the present case was angled at approximately 45 degrees to a rotating substrate . the angling and rotation was used to improve thickness uniformity , but resulted in non - uniform plasma heating and deposition angles , which are critical growth factors . furthermore , the kinetic energy of the ejected material plays a crucial role in the coating properties and is a function of the travel distance and total pressure . therefore , the center of the substrate was exposed to relatively constant deposition conditions , while the outer edges varied significantly every half rotation . the xrd pattern of the outer edge was that of a partially polycrystalline coating . one of the indicators of the extent of crystallization in a scintillating material is the emission intensity and spectrum . the emission spectrum of the as deposited and heat treated samples were measured using cathodoluminescence . the emission intensity for the as deposited sample was found to be too low to be detected , while the heat - treated samples had a standard emission spectrum . ultraviolet light at 254 nm also induces emission due to the charge transfer band at approximately 250 nm in the host material , as seen in fig1 a - 18c . the lack of emission by the as deposited samples can be attributed to either low crystallinity or a large number of defects which act as charge traps resulting in non - radiative transitions . once heat - treated , however , the defects were mostly eliminated , and increased crystallinity resulted in improved emission . the 75 w sample ( fig1 b ) produced the highest emission intensity . in summary , the as - deposited coatings were partially crystalline and did not scintillate . however , thermal treatment of the coatings resulted in increased crystallinity and fewer defects , leading to excellent scintillation properties . many cvd processes use the metal chloride - h 2 — co 2 system [ 6 - 7 ]. in this study , thermodynamic calculations using hsc chemistry simulation software ( see www . hsc - chemistry . net ) were used to determine the viability of the cvd process . the hypothesized deposition reaction equation for lu 2 o 3 : eu 3 + as shown in eq . ( 1 ) was made using a combination of eqs . ( 2 ) and ( 3 ). ( 2 − χ ) lucl 3 ( g )+( χ ) eucl 3 ( g )+ 3co 2 ( g )+ 3h 2 ( g )= lu 2 - χ eu χ o 3 ( s )+ 3co ( g )+ 6hcl ( g ) ( 1 ) 2lucl 3 ( g )+ 3co 2 ( g )+ 3h 2 ( g )= lu 2 o 3 ( s )+ 3co ( g )+ 6hcl ( g ) ( 2 ) δg rxn , 2 =− 439 kj / mol of lu 2 o 3 , 1000 ° c . 2eucl 3 ( g )+ 3co 2 ( g )+ 3h 2 ( g )= eu 2 o 3 ( s )+ 3co ( g )+ 6hcl ( g ) ( 3 ) the gibbs free energy of reaction for eq . ( 2 ) is − 439 kj / mol as opposed to a value of − 170 kj / mol for eq . ( 3 ) at 1000 ° c . although this difference in free energy could result in a variance between deposit and gas composition , it was favorable in this study , as low amounts of eu are desired in the coating deposits . even though lucl 3 and eucl 3 are solids at room temperature , their vapor pressure at deposition temperatures ( 1000 ° c .) are high enough to provide an adequate reactant flow . since the chlorides are extremely hygroscopic , they were generated in situ by reacting lutetium and europium metal with judicious control of the temperature and the chlorine flow rates . it is known that a europium concentration of 5 - 7 mol % in the lu 2 o 3 : eu 3 + system yields the highest emission intensity [ 8 , 9 ]. furthermore , the ability to interpret an image is directly related to the emission intensity uniformity , and thus dopant uniformity is essential to the imaging process . with knowledge of the variance in free energy of formation of lu 2 o 3 and eu 2 o 3 , the ratio of lu and eu in the internal chloride generator was empirically determined in order to achieve the desired level of eu doping . to maintain 5 - 7 mol % eu in the deposit , both metals were uniformly mixed to avoid excess preferential reactions . europium chloride melts above 730 ° c ., and although lutetium chloride melts at 925 ° c ., it sublimates above 750 ° c . by combining elevated temperature and low pressure , it is possible to ensure that the metal - chlorine reaction is the limiting kinetics and not the evaporation / sublimation rate , thus providing the necessary control . the cold wall cvd reactor used an rf induction heater to heat the substrate and crucible using graphite susceptors ( see fig6 ). the reactants used for deposition were the metal chlorides ( lucl 3 and eucl 3 ), co 2 , h 2 and ar as diluant . excess h 2 was present to ensure complete reduction of metal chlorides . process parameters ranged from 950 ° c . to 1050 ° c . for both the substrate and the generator , between 50 and 150 mbar , and a total flow rate of approximately 2 slm . morphological analysis of the coatings was performed using a zeiss vp40 high resolution scanning electron microscope ( sem ) in conjunction with a bruker d8 focus x - ray diffractometer ( xrd ) in θ / 2θ mode . emission properties were confirmed using a gatan monocl2 cathodoluminescence spectrometer . since many parameters affect the coating structure and properties , various configurations were designed and tested . one of the problems encountered was the formation of metal oxy - chlorides due to a high metal chloride partial pressure and short mixing times . this was resolved by maintaining a minimal distance ( e . g ., 60 mm or greater , depending on the reactor ) between the substrate and the gas outlet to allow for proper mixing and by supplying sufficient co 2 and h 2 to fully reduce the metal chlorides . two of the key features in a cvd process are the fluid dynamics and temperature profile of the gases as they approach the substrate . the gas velocity and profile is determined by the total gas flow rate and the outlet design . the temperature profile is determined by the crucible and substrate temperature , and the fluid dynamics . the way the gases pass through the crucible and the flow rate are determining factors in the amount of thermal energy gained prior to mixing and determines the temperature profile of the approaching gas . modeling was performed using the comsol multiphysics modeling software femlab to obtain a basic insight into the process . the simulated flow dynamics and temperature profiles are shown in fig7 a - d . this analysis is specific for the cvd reactor used and would have to be modified for a different reactor . the modeling showed a clear relationship between the crucible temperature , substrate temperature , total flow rate , and temperature profile . further parameters were generally as follows . the amount of lutetium metal was about 0 . 8 g and europium metal about 0 . 1 g . the vacuum was 75 ton . the flow rates were 6 sccm for cl 2 , 800 sccm for ar , 312 sccm for co 2 , and 1250 sccm for h 2 . crucible temperature was 950 ° c . for sublimation of lucl 3 and eucl 3 , and the substrate temperature was 1050 ° c . this set - up configuration led to the deposition of coatings in a columnar fashion with a strong orientation preference growth directly from the first nucleated , equitaxial layer deposited on the substrate . such microstructure is a result of high supersaturation and limited lateral diffusion . this structure is desirable for radiation detection since every column would act as one ‘ pixel ’. when grown at approximately 1000 ° c . on an amorphous quartz substrate with a growth rate of approximately 3 . 2 μm / hr , a columnar structure emerged as seen in fig9 a and 11b . the columnar grains appear to have an average diameter of approximately 1 . 5 μm and a total coating thickness of approximately 6 . 4 μm . when comparing the xrd plot in fig1 a to a polycrystalline powder diffraction plot in fig1 b , a clear ( 100 ) orientation preference is visible . such a preference for the ( 100 ) orientation indicates a free energy minimization for growth in this direction . observations of the surface morphology in fig9 b revealed the columnar growth to consist of stacked platelets or discs growing perpendicular to the ( 100 ) direction . such a layer to layer formation has been defined as frank - van der merwe ( fm ) growth and typically leads to smooth surfaces . growth conditions were then modified by decreasing the ratio of metal chloride to unreacted chlorine while keeping the total chlorine flow rate constant . this led to the deposition of a highly facetted columnar structure , as seen in fig1 , with a growth rate of 0 . 5 μm / hr and a coating thickness of approximately 2 . 4 μm . the columnar growth appears to be single grained , with an average diameter of approximately 450 nm and with a clear surface morphology . this could be indicative of either a cellular or dendritic growth or simply a surface effect . this type of growth has been referred to volmer - weber ( vw ) and typically leads to rough surfaces . the xrd plot in fig1 combined with the sem images in fig1 a and 11b shows the preferred orientation to be in the ( 100 ) direction , perpendicular to the substrate surface . the ability to drastically tailor morphology , and size of the columnar grains via cvd processing parameters can be beneficially used to engineer coatings to fit specific applications . both lutetium and europium oxide have similar body centered cubic ( bcc ) lattice structure ( lu 2 o 3 = 10 . 39 å , eu 2 o 3 = 10 . 87 å ) and form a complete solid solution . for optimal emission to occur , europium must form a solid solution by substituting into the lutetium site of lu 2 o 3 as eu 3 + . although lutetium has only one stable oxidation state of + 3 , meaning it can only exist as lu 2 o 3 , europium can have either + 2 or + 3 as its oxidation state , creating structures such as euo , eu 2 o 3 , and eu 3 o 4 or potentially more . thermodynamically , eu 2 o 3 is significantly more favorable ; however , it is possible to deposit non - equilibrium phases in cvd . experimental results confirmed this possibility when solely depositing europium yielded europium monoxide ( euo ). it was hypothesized that as a result of the co - deposition , the europium would be forced into the + 3 valence . furthermore , it is possible for europium oxide to form a second phase rather than go into solution which would result in non - optimal emission . this was visible in certain circumstances where a second phase of eu 2 o 3 was visible in the xrd plots , proving the formation of a solid solution to be difficult . however , xrd plot in fig1 shows no second phase , and the emission spectrum in fig1 confirmed europium to be in the correct valence , proving that a solid solution has been achieved . if eu 2 + were present , there would be a broad emission peak from 400 nm to 500 nm ; however , only eu 3 + is visible , which has many peaks and the standard maximum intensity peak at 611 nm , which corresponds to the 5 d 0 - 7 f 2 transition . a series of cvd experiments on amorphous quartz substrates , with a crucible - to - substrate separation of 1 . 25 ″ indicated that varying deposition conditions produce a wide range of coating morphologies , as shown in fig8 . one particularly sensitive parameter was the co 2 partial pressure , in which small changes drastically affected the growth mechanism . at low temperature and low co 2 partial pressure , the deposition did not show any evidence of a preferred orientation ( fig8 a ). however , as the temperature was increased , the grain size increased due to increased diffusion and , counter - intuitively , the growth rate decreased . in this case , no homogeneous deposition occurred , suggesting that there is a decrease in the deposition driving force or a depletion of reactants prior to deposition . upon increasing the co 2 partial pressure , there was a sudden change in the growth mechanism , resulting in the formation of stacked platelets or discs growing preferentially in the & lt ; 100 & gt ; direction , as shown in fig8 b . this was confirmed by xrd measurements , as shown in fig1 a . in contrast to the significant differences in morphology of lu 2 o 3 : eu films as described above , their spectroscopic profile is relatively less sensitive to the conditions of deposition . this is largely due to the fact that the emitted light is generated by optical transitions between states of the 4f electronic shell , which is well shielded from environmental influences by the surrounding 5d shell . the effect is exemplified in fig1 , where no perceptible difference in shape was found between the radioluminescence emission spectra of lu 2 o 3 : eu in the form of a cvd film ( fig1 a ) and a standard hot pressed ceramic ( fig1 b ). the radiative decay time , at about 1 ms , was similarly unaffected . while the spectral shape was not significantly altered by fabrication conditions , the emission intensity most decidedly was . this is because the excitation energy deposited into the host lattice by the ionizing radiation must travel a substantial distance through that lattice ( as mobile electrons , holes , and excitons ) before it can actually reach an emitting center . this process is quite vulnerable to the malign influence of lattice defects , which degrade both the speed and efficiency of the energy transport . it can be seen from fig1 that a simple post - deposition annealing treatment had a profound effect on the efficiency of the scintillation from a deposited lu 2 o 3 : eu film , causing a monotonic increase in emission with annealing temperature . the increase in light emission for post - deposition heat treatment was about two orders of magnitude for heat treatments over the range from 300 ° c . to 900 ° c . in order to demonstrate the imaging performance of a lu 2 o 3 : eu film according to the invention , the modulation transfer function ( mtf ) of a graphite - deposited pvd film was measured . the mtf is a measure of the contrast in an image of black and white line pairs as a function of their spatial frequency , and provides a quantifiable value representing the ability to distinguish small features as they become smaller and smaller . in fig1 , the mtf curve for a cvd coating according to the present invention is compared with the mtf curve for a pixelated ceramic , as reported in the literature [ 5 ]. it is clear that the coating of the present invention has an extremely good mtf curve , which is markedly superior to that of the conventional ceramic . a radiographic ( x - ray ) image of an integrated circuit chip was obtained using a pvd scintillator coating according to the present invention mounted on a ccd chip , in an arrangement as shown in fig2 . the image so obtained is shown in fig1 . the image demonstrates very good contrast and dynamic range , and 25 μm bond wires in the integrated circuit are clearly seen in the image . the image was acquired using a mammography x - ray source operated at 28 kvp , 160 mas , with the source to specimen distance set at 66 cm . while the present invention has been described in conjunction with certain preferred embodiments , one of ordinary skill , after reading the foregoing specification , will be able to effect various changes , substitutions of equivalents , and other alterations to the compositions and methods set forth herein . it is therefore intended that the protection granted by letters patent hereon be limited only by the definitions contained in the appended claims and equivalents thereof . as used herein , “ consisting essentially of ” does not exclude materials or steps that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claim . any recitation herein of the term “ comprising ”, particularly in a description of components of a composition or in a description of elements of a device , can be exchanged with “ consisting essentially of ” or “ consisting of ”. 1 . i . shestakova , v . gaysinskiy , j . antal , l . bobek and v . v . nagarkar , nucl . instr . and meth . in phys . res . b 263 , 234 ( 2007 ). 3 . pierson , h . o . handbook of chemical vapor deposition . noyes , park ridge , n . j . ( 1992 ). 4 . bunshah , r . f ., et al ., deposition technologies for films and coatings , development and applications , materials sciences series , ed . bunshah r . f ., noyes , park ridge , n . j . ( 1982 ). 5 . farman , t . t ., et al ., oral surg ., oral med ., oral pathol ., oral radiol ., & amp ; endodontics 99 : 608 - 613 ( 2005 ). 6 . pierson , h . o ., handbook of chemical vapor deposition . noyes , park ridge , n . j . ( 1992 ). 7 . hitchman , m . l ., jensen , k . f ., eds ., cvd principles and applications , san diego academic press , london ( 1993 ). 8 . tojan - piegza , j ., et al ., comparison of spectroscopic properties of nanoparticulate lu2o3 : eu synthesized using different techniques , j . alloy compd . 308 : 123 - 9 ( 2008 ). 9 . lempicki , a . et al ., a new lutetia - based ceramic scintillator for x - ray imaging , nucl . instrum . meth . a 488 : 579 - 90 ( 2002 ).	2
the following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings . the same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements . also , the following detailed description does not limit the invention . instead , the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents . as described herein , data units , such as atm cells , are efficiently scheduled for transmission using a rate wheel . in normal operation of the rate wheel , cells reserve transmission slots in the rate wheel based on traffic policy that applies to a traffic flow to which the cell belongs . different flows may occasionally attempt to schedule a cell in the same slot on the rate wheel , causing a collision . the system keeps track of the number of collisions and may later jump over idle slots to compensate for the collisions . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary routing system 100 in which concepts consistent with the principles of the invention may be implemented . system 100 may receive one or more packet streams from physical links , process the packet stream ( s ) to determine destination information , and transmit the packet stream ( s ) out on links in accordance with the destination information . system 100 may include packet forwarding engines ( pfes ) 110 - 1 through 110 - n ( collectively referred to as packet forwarding engines 110 ), a switch fabric 120 , and a routing engine ( re ) 130 . re 130 may perform high level management functions for system 100 . for example , re 130 may communicate with other networks and / or systems connected to system 100 to exchange information regarding network topology . re 130 may create routing tables based on network topology information , create forwarding tables based on the routing tables , and forward the forwarding tables to pfes 110 . pfes 110 may use the forwarding tables to perform route lookups for incoming packets . re 130 may also perform other general control and monitoring functions for system 100 . pfes 110 may each connect to re 130 and switch fabric 120 . pfes 110 may receive packet data on physical links connected to a network , such as a wide area network ( wan ), a local area network ( lan ), or another type of network . each physical link could be one of many types of transport media , such as optical fiber or ethernet cable . the data on the physical link is transmitted according to one of several protocols , such as the synchronous optical network ( sonet ) standard . the data may take the form of data units , where each data unit may include all or a portion of a packet . for atm transmissions , for instance , the data units may be cells . a pfe 110 - x ( where pfe 110 - x refers to one of pfes 110 ) may process incoming data units prior to transmitting the data units to another pfe or the network . to facilitate this processing , pfe 110 - x may reassemble the data units into a packet and perform a route lookup for the packet using the forwarding table from re 130 to determine destination information . if the destination indicates that the packet should be sent out on a physical link connected to pfe 110 - x , then pfe 110 - x may prepare the packet for transmission by , for example , segmenting the packet into data units , adding any necessary headers , and transmitting the data units from the port associated with the physical link . fig2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a portion of pfe 110 - x according to an implementation consistent with the principles of the invention . pfe 110 - x may include a packet processor 210 and a set of input / output ( i / o ) units 220 - 1 through 220 - 2 ( collectively referred to as i / o units 220 ). although fig2 shows two i / o units 220 connected to packet processor 210 , in other implementations consistent with principles of the invention , there can be more or fewer i / o units 220 and / or additional packet processors 210 . packet processor 210 may perform routing functions and handle packet transfers to and from i / o units 220 and switch fabric 120 . for each packet it handles , packet processor 210 may perform the previously - discussed route lookup function and may perform other processing - related functions . an i / o unit 220 - y ( where i / o unit 220 - y refers to one of i / o units 220 ) may operate as an interface between its physical link and packet processor 210 . different i / o units may be designed to handle different types of physical links . fig3 is an exemplary block diagram of a portion of i / o unit 220 - y according to an implementation consistent with the principles of the invention . in this particular implementation , i / o unit 220 - y may operate as an interface to an atm link . i / o unit 220 - y may include a line card processor 310 and segmentation and reassembly ( sar ) logic 320 . line card processor 310 may process packets prior to transferring the packets to packet processor 210 or it may process packets from packet processor 210 before transmitting them to sar logic 320 . sar logic 320 may segment packets received from line card processor 310 into data units ( e . g ., atm cells ) for transmission on the physical links ( e . g ., sonet links ) and reassemble packets from data units received on the physical links . sar logic 320 may send reassembled packets to line card processor 310 . fig4 is an exemplary diagram of a portion of sar logic 320 . sar logic 320 may include an ingress component 420 and an egress component 410 . ingress component 420 may receive fixed sized data units , such as atm cells , and reassemble the cells into a variable size data unit , such as packet data . similarly , egress component 410 may receive variable size data units , such as packet data , and segment the packets into fixed sized data units , such as cells . the cells may be transmitted from system 100 via one or more output ports ( not shown ) connected to a physical link . for example , an output port may connect to an optical transmission medium , such as a sonet link having an optical carrier level of oc - 12 ( 622 . 08 mbps ) or oc - 3 ( 155 . 52 mbps ). ingress component 420 may receive data units on particular data flows and reassemble the data units into packets . to do this , ingress component 420 may maintain information regarding a data flow with which a packet is associated and associate each arriving data unit of the packet with that data flow . ingress component 420 may process packets across multiple packet flows that are received at multiple associated input ports . generally , each flow may be configured ( provisioned ) per port before ingress component 420 receives any data units associated with that flow . the data units associated with a particular packet may arrive at various times . each data unit may include a header and data . for atm , the header may include a virtual circuit identifier ( vci ) that identifies a particular virtual circuit with which the data unit is associated and a virtual path identifier ( vpi ) that identifies a particular virtual path with which the data unit is associated . fig5 is a diagram illustrating portions of egress component 410 in additional detail . egress component 410 may include a segmentation component 510 and a scheduling component 520 . segmentation component 510 may receive the input packets and segment the packets into fixed - length data units , which will be described herein as atm cells , although other data unit formats could also be used . the cells may be output to scheduling component 520 , which generally handles scheduling of the cells for transmission . the actual transmission may be handled by an output port ( s ), which puts the cells on the physical link . fig6 is a diagram conceptually illustrating the operation of scheduling component 520 in additional detail . the cells received from segmentation component 510 may be organized into a number of virtual circuits ( vcs ) 601 - 1 through 601 - m ( collectively referred to as virtual circuits 601 ), which may correspond to packet flows in the network . in general , a packet flow may be defined as packets having a set of common properties derived from the data contained in the packets . for example , a particular packet flow may be created to send data between two endpoints that desire a particular quality of service ( qos ) level ( e . g ., a packet flow being used to carry a video transmission between two endpoints ). cells corresponding to packets in the packet flow may belong to one of vcs 601 . cells in different vcs 601 may contend for access to a particular output port , such as output port 602 . scheduling component 520 schedules the sequence of cells that are sent to this port . vcs 601 may each be defined by a number of traffic shaping parameters . in particular , a vc may be defined by a peak cell rate ( pcr ) value , a sustainable cell rate ( scr ) value , a maximum burst size ( mbs ) value , and / or a cell delay variation ( cdv ) value . the values for these parameters may differ between vcs . scheduling component 520 attempts to schedule cells from each of vcs 601 such that the cells from each vc are sent to output port 602 in a manner that satisfies the traffic shaping parameters . in general , the traffic shaping parameters operate to control the availability of bandwidth to network users according to their traffic contracts and to define the spacing or interval between cells in order to mitigate buffering requirements . fig7 is a diagram conceptually illustrating portions of scheduling component 520 . more specifically , scheduling component 520 may use a rate wheel 710 to schedule cell traffic from vcs 601 to output port 602 . rate wheel 710 is conceptually illustrated in fig7 as a “ wheel ” containing evenly spaced slots 715 in which cells are scheduled . in practice , rate wheel 710 may generally be implemented as a circular memory structure that may be maintained in random access memory or another type of computer - readable medium . the various vcs 601 are illustrated in fig7 as corresponding to queues 720 - 1 through 720 - j ( collectively referred to as queues 720 ). queues 720 may be first - in first - out ( fifo ) queues . one of queues 720 may correspond to a single vc or packet flow or , in some implementations , multiple packet flows that have the same traffic shaping parameters may be handled by a single queue . a number of pointers may be associated with rate wheel 710 . as shown , a de - queue pointer 712 , a present time pointer 714 , and an en - queue pointer 716 may each point to various slots on rate wheel 710 . pointers 712 , 714 , and 716 may each be maintained by scheduling component 520 . de - queue pointer 712 indicates the current position on rate wheel 710 at which flows are being serviced . cells being currently serviced are transferred to output port 602 for transmission on the link . output port 602 may include an output buffer for queuing data for transmission . en - queue pointer 716 indicates the future position of each newly scheduled flow . cells from one of queues 720 may be scheduled in slots on rate wheel 710 at evenly spaced slot intervals determined by the traffic shaping parameters corresponding to the queue . for example , the next slot that is to be scheduled for a queue may be based on the previously scheduled slot offset by the cell interval ( e . g ., 1 / pcr ) for the queue . if no cell from one of queues 720 is scheduled to be included on rate wheel 710 at a particular time interval corresponding to the slot , an “ idle cell ” may be included on the rate wheel for that slot . the idle cell may later be transmitted to output buffer 602 . idle cells are generally used to maintain the cell interval at the output port . without idle cells , output buffer 602 may “ collapse ” the intended idle spacing between two cells and place them closer together than desired . present time pointer 714 may include a counter that increments at the cell rate ( the rate corresponding to the interval at which cells are transmitted from the output port ) or faster . the count value of present time pointer 714 may be stalled whenever the buffer in output port 602 is full . thus , present time pointer 714 may increment at the “ logical ” cell rate ( or faster ) when room exists in output port 602 . because the counter of present time pointer 714 can operate faster than the cell rate , present time pointer 714 may stall and then “ catch up ” in order to keep output port 602 full . the number of slots in rate wheel 710 may be based on the line rate of the output port relative to the slowest possible output rate . for an oc - 12 sonet output port , for example , rate wheel 710 may be constructed using 16 k slots . for an oc - 3 sonet output port , rate wheel 710 maybe constructed using 4 k slots . fig8 is a diagram illustrating one of the slots of rate wheel 710 ( labeled as slot 815 in fig8 ) in additional detail . slot 815 may include a number of fields , shown as a jump offset field 820 , a queue id field 825 , a head pointer field 830 , and a tail pointer field 835 . slot 815 , instead of physically storing the cell assigned to it , may instead store queue id field 825 , which acts as a pointer to the queue that contains the scheduled cell . in one implementation , a value of zero means that there is no cell scheduled in that slot ( i . e ., the slot is empty ). because flows from multiple queues 720 are being scheduled , each with a potentially different cell transmission rate , it is possible that multiple flows will attempt to schedule a cell in the same slot . this is referred to herein as a “ collision .” collisions may be handled by scheduling multiple cell transmissions in a single slot . head pointer 830 and tail pointer 835 may be used to handle the collisions by pointing to a linked - list of additional queue id fields . such a linked - list is shown in fig8 as list 840 . each entry in linked - list 840 may include a queue id field 841 , similar to queue id field 825 , and a pointer 842 to the next entry in linked - list 840 . in the example list illustrated in fig8 , head pointer 830 points to entry 850 in linked - list 840 . the queue id 841 of entry 850 points to a second one of queues 720 that attempted to schedule a cell in slot 815 . pointer 842 of entry 850 points to another colliding entry 855 — the third queue 720 that attempted to schedule a cell in slot 815 . tail pointer 835 may also point to entry 855 , indicating that this is the last entry in the linked - list for this particular slot . scheduling component 520 , when adding a colliding entry to linked list 840 , may add the entry at the location of the next free address entry , which may be pointed - to by a next free address pointer 860 . when the slot is later accessed and a colliding entry in linked list 840 is sent to output port 602 , the entry is then classified as a free entry and added to the end of a linked - list of free entries . in fig8 , two free entries are illustrated ( entries 870 and 875 ). when another entry becomes free , entry 875 may be modified to point to the free entry . similarly , when entry 870 is taken and added to a slot , next free address pointer 860 may be modified to point to entry 875 . jump offset value 820 is stored on a per - slot basis , and as will be described in more detail below , assists scheduling component 520 in “ jumping ” over empty slots on the rate wheel . by jumping over empty slots , scheduling component 520 can optimize the bandwidth utilization at output port 602 . in addition to jump offset value 820 , other values are stored by scheduling component 520 and used to assist in jumping over empty slots . jump credit 805 is one such value . unlike jump offset value 820 , which is stored on a per - slot basis , jump credit 805 may be a global value that is stored by scheduling component 520 for each rate wheel 710 . fig9 is a flow chart illustrating operation of scheduling component 520 in en - queuing flows from queues 720 to rate wheel 710 . flows may be scheduled based on a number of traffic shaping parameters ( e . g ., pcr , scr , mbs , cdv ). for each queue 720 , scheduling component 520 may calculate a cell interval based on the traffic shaping parameters for the flow ( act 901 ). for example , each slot on rate wheel 710 may be considered a cell slot on the link . thus , if the traffic shaping parameters for a flow dictate that the flow should be sent at one - quarter the link rate , then scheduling component 520 will en - queue the queue id 825 of the flow at every fourth slot . based on the calculated cell intervals , scheduling component 520 en - queues the flows , corresponding to queues 720 , at the designated slots ( act 902 ). en - queue pointer 716 points to a position on rate wheel 710 at which the particular queue id is being written . en - queue pointer 716 advances around rate wheel 710 as the flows are written . scheduling component 520 may ensure that en - queue pointer 716 does not wrap de - queue pointer 712 before writing to the next position . slots at which no flows are scheduled are empty cell slots . empty cell slots , when transmitted to output port 602 , will result in unused bandwidth on the physical link . accordingly , it is desirable to minimize empty slots to the extent that the empty slots ( idle cells ) are not required to maintain a desired interval between cells . scheduling component 520 may locate collisions when multiple flows attempt to schedule a single slot ( act 903 ). when a collision is found , scheduling component 520 writes the queue id of the first flow to queue id field 825 and adds the queue ids of the remaining flows to linked - list 840 , as previously discussed ( act 904 ). when there is no collision , the queue id of the single flow is written to queue id field 825 ( act 905 ). head pointer 830 and / or tail pointer 835 may be given the value null , indicating that they do not point to any additional flows . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating operation of scheduling component 520 in de - queuing flows from rate wheel 710 . rate wheel 710 may be evaluated each time present time counter 714 is advanced . as previously mentioned , present time pointer 714 may be advanced at a rate faster than the rate of output port 602 . when the buffer in output port 602 is full , present time pointer 714 may not advance . scheduling component 520 may write the next entry in the slot indicated by de - queue pointer 712 to output port 602 ( act 1001 ). in particular , the next cell from the queue corresponding to queue id 825 of the current slot is written to output port 602 . de - queue pointer 712 is advanced as the cells are written to output port 602 . the amount to advance de - queue pointer 712 depends on the value in jump offset field 820 and on whether the current slot is a collision slot . jump offset field 820 may contain a value that advances de - queue pointer 712 over empty slots and to the next non - empty slot when the last entry in a slot is processed . the jump offset value for the slot may be updated to reflect the location of the next non - empty slot ( act 1002 ). for example , if the next two slots on rate wheel 710 are empty and the third slot contains an entry , jump offset field 820 may be given a value of two , indicating that the next two slots can be “ jumped .” jump credit field 805 is used to indicate how many slots are available to be jumped over , which should not be more than the number of accumulated collisions . as jump offset fields 820 are incremented , jump credit field 805 is correspondingly decremented . accordingly , when updating jump offset field 820 , this field may only be updated up to the value of jump credit field 805 ( act 1002 ). in other words , jump offset field 820 can only be set to indicate a jump value up to the point to which jump credit field 805 indicates a jump credit is available . if the current slot is a collision slot with additional , un - evaluated entries , jump credit field 805 is incremented ( acts 1003 and 1005 ). de - queue pointer 712 is not advanced in this situation as there are more entries in the slot . however , if the current entry is the last entry in the slot , scheduling component 520 may advance de - queue pointer 712 by one plus the value of the jump offset value ( acts 1003 and 1004 ). in the situation in which the jump offset value for the slot was not updated , the jump offset value is zero , resulting in de - queue pointer 712 advancing by one ( act 1004 ). fig1 a and 11b are diagrams that conceptually illustrate an exemplary set of de - queue operations . in fig1 a , assume that there are five flows , labeled as flows “ a ” through “ e ”, each having traffic shaping parameters that dictate a fixed cell interval of five slots . further assume that the five flows all collide in first slot 1101 of rate wheel 710 . flow a is placed in the primary entry in slot 1101 and flows b through e are placed in a linked - list of colliding entries . when de - queue pointer 712 reaches slot 1101 , it will be stopped at slot 1101 for five cycles of present time pointer 716 as each of flows a through e are processed . without the ability to jump slots , as described above with reference to fig1 , idle cells are emitted at slots 1102 - 1105 and sent to output port 602 . as a result , only 5 / 9 th of available bandwidth would be used , and the rate achieved for each flow is 1 / 9 th , rather than the desired ⅕ th of the available port rate . with the ability to jump slots , however , as described above , the jump offset value is incremented to a value of four and the de - queue pointer is advanced five slots ( 4 + 1 ) to advance to slot 1106 . accordingly , slots 1102 - 1105 are skipped after processing is completed at slot 1101 . no idle cells are emitted , each flow is transmitted at the desired port rate , and the full output port bandwidth is used . in fig1 b , assume that in addition to the five colliding flows a through e , an additional flow “ f ” is present . flow f is scheduled at slot 1103 . when de - queue pointer 712 reaches slot 1101 , it will be stopped at slot 1101 for five cycles of present time pointer 716 as each of flows a through e are processed . the jump offset value for slot 1101 will be set to point to the next non - empty slot , slot 1003 . jump credit 805 will have additional credits available after setting the offset pointer for slot 1101 , however , as four flows collided in slot 1101 , but the next non - empty slot is only two slots ahead of slot 1101 . accordingly , the jump offset value for slot 1103 is set to point to slot 1106 . in this manner , a linked - list of jump slots are created by which empty slots can be skipped to fully use the bandwidth at output port 602 . a circular memory structure , called a rate wheel herein , was described that efficiently schedules data units . the number of collisions between flows of multiple data units are kept track of and used to determine a number of available slots in the rate wheel that may be skipped . by skipping empty slots , the bandwidth of the output port can be more fully used . the foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the invention provides illustration and description , but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention . for example , while series of acts have been presented with respect to fig9 and 10 , the order of the acts may be different in other implementations consistent with principles of the invention . also , non - dependent acts may be implemented in parallel . no element , act , or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such . also , as used herein , the article “ a ” is intended to include one or more items . where only one item is intended , the term “ one ” or similar language is used . further , the phrase “ based on ” is intended to mean “ based , at least in part , on ” unless explicitly stated otherwise . the scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents .	7
exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . a structure of a three - wavelength semiconductor laser apparatus 1 including a sub - mount 50 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 to 6 . the three - wavelength semiconductor laser apparatus 1 is an example of a “ semiconductor laser apparatus ” of the present invention . as depicted in fig1 , the three - wavelength semiconductor laser apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 , a two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 , and a sub - mount 50 mounted junction - down with the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 . the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 is an example of a “ first semiconductor laser element ” of the present invention and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 is an example of a “ second semiconductor laser element ” of the present invention . the sub - mount 50 is an example of a “ mounting member ” of the present invention . as depicted in fig2 , the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 are adjacently arranged in the width direction ( x - direction ). the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 is disposed on one side ( x1 - direction side ) in the x - direction of the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 . the x - direction is an example of a “ first direction ” of the present invention . the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 has a function of emitting a laser beam in a wavelength band of about 405 - nm ( blue - violet laser beam ), for example , and is used for recording / reproduction on bd ( blu - ray disc ( registered trademark )). the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 includes a semiconductor substrate 11 , a semiconductor layer 12 formed on a principal surface 11 a of the semiconductor substrate 11 , an electrode layer 13 having a thickness of a few μm formed on the semiconductor layer 12 , and an electrode layer 14 formed on a rear surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 . the semiconductor layer 12 and the electrode layer 13 make up a semiconductor laser element portion 10 a . an optical waveguide ( not shown ) is formed in the semiconductor layer 12 and extends in a direction ( y - direction ( see fig1 )) orthogonal to the x - direction . a front end portion ( an end portion in the y1 - direction ( see fig1 )) of the optical waveguide acts as a light emitting portion ( not shown ) that emits a laser beam . a back end portion ( an end portion in the y2 - direction ( see fig1 )) of the optical waveguide acts as a light emitting portion 12 a that emits a portion of the laser beam . the laser beam emitted from the light emitting portion 12 a has an output power lower than the laser beam emitted from the light emitting portion at the front end ( in the y1 - direction ) and is used for monitoring the optical output of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 . the y - direction is an example of a “ second direction ” of the present invention . the electrode layer 13 is disposed on an electrode 52 described later of the sub - mount 50 . the electrode layer 14 is bonded with an au wire not shown . the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 is a monolithic two - wavelength ( multi - wavelength ) semiconductor laser element and includes a semiconductor substrate 21 , a red semiconductor laser element portion 30 and an infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 provided in a predetermined area on a principal surface 21 a of the semiconductor substrate 21 , and a common electrode layer 22 formed on a rear surface of the semiconductor substrate 21 . the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 and the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 are examples of a “ laser element portion ” of the present invention . the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 has a function of emitting a laser beam in a wavelength band of about 660 - nm ( red laser beam ), for example , and is used for recording / reproduction on dvd ( digital versatile disc ). the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 has a function of emitting a laser beam in a wavelength band of about 785 - nm ( infrared laser beam ), for example , and is used for recording / reproduction on cd ( compact disc ). the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 is formed on a portion on one side ( x1 - direction side ) in the x - direction of the principal surface 21 a of the semiconductor substrate 21 and the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 is formed on a portion on the other side ( x2 - direction side ) in the x - direction of the principal surface 21 a of the semiconductor substrate 21 . the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 and the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 are arranged with a predetermined space therebetween in the x - direction . the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 includes a semiconductor layer 31 and an electrode layer 32 having a thickness of a few μm formed on the semiconductor layer 31 . an optical waveguide ( not shown ) is formed in the semiconductor layer 31 and extends in the y - direction ( see fig1 ). a front end portion ( an end portion in the y1 - direction ( see fig1 )) of the optical waveguide acts as a light emitting portion ( not shown ) that emits a laser beam . a back end portion ( an end portion in the y2 - direction ( see fig1 )) of the optical waveguide acts as a light emitting portion 31 a that emits a portion of the laser beam . the laser beam emitted from the light emitting portion 31 a has an output power lower than the laser beam emitted from the light emitting portion at the front end ( in the y1 - direction ) and is used for monitoring the optical output of the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 . the electrode layer 32 is disposed on an electrode 53 described later of the sub - mount 50 . the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 includes a semiconductor layer 41 and an electrode layer 42 having a thickness of a few μm formed on the semiconductor layer 41 . an optical waveguide ( not shown ) is formed in the semiconductor layer 41 and extends in the y - direction ( see fig1 ). a front end portion ( an end portion in the y1 - direction ( see fig1 )) of the optical waveguide acts as a light emitting portion ( not shown ) that emits a laser beam . a back end portion ( an end portion in the y2 - direction ( see fig1 )) of the optical waveguide acts as a light emitting portion 41 a that emits a portion of the laser beam . the laser beam emitted from the light emitting portion 41 a has an output power lower than the laser beam emitted from the light emitting portion at the front end ( in the y1 - direction ) and is used for monitoring the optical output of the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 . a distance between the light emitting portion 31 a and the light emitting portion 12 a of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 is about 110 μm and a distance between the light emitting portion 31 a and the light emitting portion 41 a is also about 110 μm . as depicted in fig1 , the electrode layer 42 ( see fig2 ) is disposed on electrodes 53 and 54 described later of the sub - mount 50 . the common electrode layer 22 is bonded with an au wire not shown . in this embodiment , as depicted in fig3 , the sub - mount 50 includes a semiconductor substrate 51 made of n - type silicon , electrodes 52 , 53 , and 54 formed on a top surface 51 a of the semiconductor substrate 51 . the n - type is an example of a “ first conductivity type ” of the present invention and the top surface 51 a is an example of a “ surface ” of the present invention . a p - type area 51 b is formed in a predetermined area on the y2 - direction side of the top surface 51 a of the semiconductor substrate 51 by doping with a p - type impurity . this p - type area 51 b and the n - type area under the p - type area 51 b of the semiconductor substrate 51 make up a photodiode 55 for monitoring the optical outputs of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 . as depicted in fig4 , the p - type area 51 b ( photodiode 55 ) is formed on the y2 - direction side of an element mounting portion 52 a described later of the electrode 52 , an element mounting portion 53 a described later of the electrode 53 , and an element mounting portion 54 a described later of the electrode 54 . the p - type is an example of a “ second conductivity type ” of the present invention and the p - type area 51 b is an example of a “ second conductivity type area ” of the present invention . the photodiode 55 is an example of a “ light receiving element ” of the present invention . an electrode 56 is formed on a predetermined area of the p - type area 51 b to output a monitor current generated by the photodiode 55 to the outside . this electrode 56 is formed by depositing ( vapor - depositing ) al , etc . the electrode 56 is bonded with an au wire not shown . the electrodes 52 , 53 , and 54 are formed by depositing al , etc ., and are formed with a thickness of about 1 μm , for example . the element mounting portion 52 a described later of the electrode 52 , the element mounting portion 53 a described later of the electrode 53 , and the element mounting portion 54 a described later of the electrode 54 are arranged in the x - direction in this order . the electrode 52 includes the element mounting portion 52 a mounted with the semiconductor laser element portion 10 a ( see fig1 ) of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and a wiring portion 52 b connected to the element mounting portion 52 a . the element mounting portion 52 a is an example of “ element mounting portions disposed at both ends ” of the present invention . the wiring portion 52 b projects from the element mounting portion 52 a only in the x1 - direction without projecting in the y - direction . the length of the element mounting portion 52 a in the y - direction is the same as the length of the electrode 52 in the y - direction . the length of the element mounting portion 52 a in the y - direction is substantially the same as the length of the semiconductor laser element portion 10 a ( see fig1 ) of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 in the y - direction . as depicted in fig3 , on the element mounting portion 52 a ( see fig4 ), a solder layer 57 is provided for electrically connecting the semiconductor laser element portion 10 a ( see fig1 ) of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 to the electrode 52 . the solder layer 57 is formed by depositing ausn , etc ., and is formed with a thickness of about 0 . 2 μm , for example . the solder layer 57 is an example of a “ conductive adhesive layer ” of the present invention . the wiring portion 52 b is bonded with an au wire not shown . as depicted in fig4 , the electrode 53 includes the element mounting portion 53 a mounted with the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 ( see fig1 ) of the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 and a wiring portion 53 b connected to the element mounting portion 53 a . the element mounting portion 53 a is an example of an “ element mounting portions disposed at an inner position ” of the present invention . the wiring portion 53 b projects from the element mounting portion 53 a only in the x2 - direction without projecting in the y - direction . the length of the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction is the same as the length of the electrode 53 in the y - direction . the length of the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction is substantially the same as the length of the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 ( see fig1 ) in the y - direction . as depicted in fig3 , on the element mounting portion 53 a ( see fig4 ), a solder layer 58 is provided for electrically connecting the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 ( see fig1 ) to the electrode 53 . the solder layer 58 is formed by depositing ausn , etc ., and is formed with a thickness of about 0 . 2 μm , for example . the solder layer 58 is an example of the “ conductive adhesive layer ” of the present invention . in this embodiment , as depicted in fig4 , the wiring portion 53 b is formed to extend outward further than the element mounting portion 54 a described later of the electrode 54 in the x2 - direction . the wiring portion 53 b is formed to pass between the element mounting portion 54 a described later of the electrode 54 and the photodiode 55 . as depicted in fig1 , the wiring portion 53 b is formed to pass under the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 of the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 . in this embodiment , as depicted in fig5 , the wiring portion 53 b includes an element mounting area 53 c mounted with a portion of the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 ( see fig1 ) and an insulating layer 60 is disposed on the element mounting area 53 c . the insulating layer 60 is formed by depositing sio 2 , etc ., and is formed with a thickness of about 0 . 1 μm to about 0 . 2 μm , for example . the element mounting area 53 c is formed on a portion of the wiring portion 53 b in the y2 direction from the element mounting portion 54 a described later of the electrode 54 . as depicted in fig3 , a portion of a solder layer 59 described later is disposed on the insulating layer 60 . as depicted in fig5 , the insulating layer 60 has an area greater than the element mounting area 53 c of the wiring portion 53 b . this facilitates preventing the electrode 53 and the solder layer 59 ( see fig3 ) from being electrically connected . although a portion of the insulating layer 60 is disposed on the y2 - direction side end of the element mounting portion ma described later in this embodiment , the insulating layer 60 does not have to be disposed on the y2 - direction side end of the element mounting portion 54 a . as depicted in fig6 , an adhesive layer 61 is formed on the top surface of the insulating layer 60 ( between the insulating layer 60 and the solder layer 59 described later ). an adhesive layer 62 is formed on the under surface of the insulating layer 60 ( between the insulating layer 60 and the element mounting area 53 c ( the electrode 53 )). each of the adhesive layers 61 and 62 is made up of a chrome layer having a thickness of about 0 . 01 μm or less . the adhesive layer 61 is an example of a “ second adhesive layer ” of the present invention . the adhesive layer 62 is an example of a “ first adhesive layer ” of the present invention . the adhesive layer 61 is provided to enhance adhesive strength between the insulating layer 60 and the solder layer 59 described later and the adhesive layer 62 is provided to enhance adhesive strength between electrode 53 and the insulating layer 60 . an au wire not shown is bonded to a portion of the wiring portion 53 b ( see fig5 ) on the x2 - direction side of the insulating layer 60 . as depicted in fig4 , the electrode 54 includes the element mounting portion 54 a mounted with a portion of the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 ( see fig1 ) of the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 and a wiring portion 54 b connected to the element mounting portion 54 a . the element mounting portion 54 a is an example of the “ element mounting portions disposed at both ends ” of the present invention . the wiring portion 54 b projects from the element mounting portion 54 a only in the x2 - direction without projecting in the y - direction . the length of the element mounting portion 54 a in the y - direction is the same as the length of the electrode 54 in the y - direction . the length of the element mounting portion 54 a in the y - direction is less than the length of the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 ( see fig1 ) in the y - direction . the length of the element mounting portion 54 a in the y - direction is less than the lengths of the element mounting portions 52 a and 53 a in the y - direction . as depicted in fig3 , on the element mounting portion 54 a ( see fig4 ), the solder layer 59 is provided for electrically connecting the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 ( see fig1 ) to the electrode 54 . the solder layer 59 is formed by depositing ausn , etc ., and is formed with a thickness of about 0 . 2 μm , for example . the solder layer 59 is an example of the “ conductive adhesive layer ” of the present invention . as depicted in fig1 and 2 , when the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 is mounted on the solder layer 59 , the solder layer 59 and the electrode layer 42 of the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 can absorb the step ( thickness ) of the insulating layer 60 and the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 ( two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 ) is disposed parallel to the top surface 51 a of the semiconductor substrate 51 of the sub - mount 50 . the wiring portion 54 b ( see fig1 ) is bonded with an au wire not shown . in this embodiment , the photodiode 55 is disposed on the sub - mount 50 as described above to thereby simplify the structure of the three - wavelength semiconductor laser apparatus 1 and constrain the apparatus from increasing in size as compared to the case of providing a photodiode ( light receiving element ) separately from the sub - mount 50 . in this embodiment , as described above , the length of the element mounting portion 54 a in the y - direction is made less than the length of the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction and the electrode 53 is provided with the wiring portion 53 b extending outward further in the x2 - direction than the element mounting portion 54 a . since this eliminates the need for disposing the wiring portion 53 b between the element mounting portion 53 a and the element mounting portion 52 a or between the element mounting portion 53 a and the element mounting portion 54 a , this enables the element mounting portion 52 a , the element mounting portion 53 a , and the element mounting portion 54 a to be arranged closer to each other . therefore , the semiconductor laser element portion 10 a of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 and the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 of the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 are arranged closer to each other . this enables an optical member such as a lens receiving light emitted from the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 to be shared by the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 . as a result , the number of parts such as optical members can be constrained from increasing and the apparatus can be constrained from increasing in size . in this embodiment , the length of the element mounting portion 54 a in the y - direction is made less than the length of the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction as described above , to thereby ensure that the wiring portion 53 b of the electrode 53 is formed outward in the x2 - direction further than the element mounting portion 54 a without projecting from the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction and without contacting with the electrode 54 . since the wiring portion 53 b is formed without projecting from the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction as described above , the distance can be constrained from increasing between the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the photodiode 55 , and between the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 and the photodiode 55 . in this embodiment , the insulating layer 60 is disposed on the element mounting area 53 c as described above to thereby constrain the electrode 53 from electrically connecting with the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 and to dispose the wiring portion 53 b passing under the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 . in this embodiment , since the solder layers 57 , 58 , and 59 are disposed in advance on the element mounting portions 52 a , 53 a , and 54 a of the sub - mount 50 as described above to eliminate the need for disposing the solder layers 57 , 58 , and 59 on the element mounting portions 52 a , 53 a , and 54 a when the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 are mounted on the sub - mount 50 , the manufacturing process can be simplified when the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 are mounted on the sub - mount 50 . in this embodiment , the length of the element mounting portion 54 a in the y - direction is made less than the length of the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction and the wiring portion 53 b is formed to extend in the x2 - direction as described above to eliminate the need for reducing the length of the element mounting portion 52 a in the y - direction , thus constraining the adhesive strength from deteriorating between the sub - mount 50 ( element mounting portion 52 a ) and the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 . although the length of the element mounting portion 54 a in the y - direction is less than the lengths of the element mounting portion 52 a and the element mounting portion 53 a in the y - direction , the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 adheres not only to the element mounting portion 54 a but also to the element mounting portion 53 a , thus ensuring the sufficient adhesive strength between the sub - mount 50 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 . in this embodiment , the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 are mounted junction - down on the sub - mount 50 as described above to arrange the light emitting portion 12 a ( the semiconductor laser element portion 10 a ) of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the light emitting portion 31 a ( the red semiconductor laser element portion 30 ) and the light emitting portion 41 a ( the infrared semiconductor laser element portion 40 ) of the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 closer to the top surface 51 a of the semiconductor substrate 51 of the sub - mount 50 . therefore , even when the photodiode 55 is disposed closer to the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 , the lights emitted from the light emitting portion 12 a of the blue - violet semiconductor laser element 10 and the light emitting portions 31 a and 41 a of the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element 20 can easily be made incident on the photodiode 55 . the embodiment disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in every respect and not limitative . the range of the present invention is indicated by claims rather than the description of the embodiment and includes meaning equivalent to claims and all the modifications within the range . for example , although the first conductivity type and the second conductivity type are n - type and p - type , respectively , in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and the first conductivity type and the second conductivity type may be p - type and n - type , respectively . although a two - wavelength semiconductor laser element including two semiconductor laser element portions is used for the second semiconductor laser element ( multi - wavelength semiconductor laser element ) in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and a multi - wavelength semiconductor laser element including three or more semiconductor laser element portions may be used . a multi - wavelength semiconductor laser element may be used for the first semiconductor laser element . although the sub - mount is provided with three electrodes each including an element mounting portion in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and the sub - mount may be provided with four or more electrodes each including an element mounting portion . for example , if the sub - mount is provided with four electrodes each including an element mounting portion , the wiring portions of the two electrodes at inner positions may be formed to extend outward in x - directions further than the electrodes at both ends . although the blue - violet semiconductor laser element emitting a blue - violet laser beam is used for the first semiconductor laser element in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and a semiconductor laser element emitting a laser beam other than the blue - violet laser beam may be used . although the second semiconductor laser element ( multi - wavelength laser element ) includes the red semiconductor laser element portion that emits a red laser beam and the infrared semiconductor laser element portion that emits an infrared laser beam in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and the second semiconductor laser element may include semiconductor laser element portions emitting laser beams other than red and infrared laser beams . although the blue - violet semiconductor laser element and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element are mounted on the sub - mount in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and the blue - violet semiconductor laser element and the two - wavelength semiconductor laser element may be mounted on a mounting member other than the sub - mount . although the wiring portion 53 b of the electrode 53 is formed to pass between the element mounting portion 54 a of the electrode 54 and the photodiode 55 in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and , as in a first variation of the present invention depicted in fig7 , a wiring portion 153 b of an electrode 153 may be formed not to pass between an element mounting portion 154 a of an electrode 154 and the photodiode 55 . although the wiring portion 53 b of the electrode 53 is formed to pass under the infrared semiconductor laser element portion in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and , as in a second variation of the present invention depicted in fig8 , a wiring portion 253 b of an electrode 253 may be formed to pass under the blue - violet semiconductor laser element . although the wiring portion 53 b of the electrode 53 is formed to extend on one side of the x - direction ( in the x2 - direction ) in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and the wiring portion 53 b may be formed to extend on both sides of the x - direction ( in the x1 - direction and the x2 - direction ). although the sub - mount having the solder layers disposed on the electrodes is used in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and the solder layers may not be disposed on the electrodes of the sub - mount in advance . although the electrodes and the solder layers of the sub - mount are formed by deposition in the example described in the embodiment , this is not a limitation to the present invention and the electrodes and the solder layers of the sub - mount may be formed by using a plating method , for example .	7
u . s . application ser . no . 10 / 643 , 177 filed aug . 18 , 2003 entitled “ support device ,” which is incorporated herein by reference , discloses a support device that is manufactured , in one embodiment , by adding support members to a shank or casting an entire device in the desired shape . various embodiments of the present invention permit ordinary steel or alloyed rod stock to be used in creating the support device , thereby potentially reducing manufacturing costs while producing an effective support device . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of a support device 10 . the support device 10 has a shank 12 that has a first end 14 and a second end 18 . a first support member 2 and a second support member 6 extend outwardly from the shank 12 . the shank 12 , first support member 2 and second support member 6 , in one embodiment , have a co - planar relationship as depicted in fig3 . the shank 12 , first support member 2 and second support member 6 may alternatively have a non - planar relationship as depicted in fig4 . the first end 14 of the shank 12 may have a threaded portion 16 for securing the shank into a utility pole , tree trunk , wall , rock face or any other vertical or columnar object , member or structure capable of receiving a support device as described herein . it can be appreciated that the threads 14 may be replaced with any securing means to retain the shank in a utility pole or structure , such as barbs or teeth 17 disposed about the first end 14 as illustrated in fig2 . the support members 2 and 6 described above may be formed , in one embodiment , by splitting the second end 18 of the shank 12 by any means suitable for splitting a metal or alloy . these may include , for example , punching a section 22 out of the end 18 , as depicted in fig5 , and then bending support members 2 and 6 into the desired shape by any means known in the metal working art . in another example , the support members 2 and 6 may be formed by cutting the end 18 into two sections by , for example , a bandsaw specially adapted for cutting metals or any other means known in the metalworking art . after forming the support members 2 and 6 , it may be necessary to apply metallurgical techniques to the support device 10 to achieve the desired strength and rigidity . in one example , the fully formed support device 10 may be stress - relief annealed to improve its metallurgical qualities . fig6 depicts another embodiment of the support device 10 . in this embodiment , support member 6 is formed by bending the second end 18 of shank 12 into the desired shape creating a single support member 6 . a second support member 2 is then attached to the second end of the shank , in one embodiment , via a spot - weld 100 . it can be appreciated that the second support member may be attached via any means known to those skilled in the metalworking art , including , for example , a mechanical attachment . materials for the shank disclosed herein may include , where appropriate and suitable for the reasonably safe and functional practice of the various embodiments described herein , one or more of the following materials : metals such as steel , aluminum , for example , titanium and / or stainless steel or any other metal or alloy capable of withstanding stress and strain . it can be appreciated that the choice of materials for construction of the various structural elements disclosed herein may be driven , at least in part , by the motivation to create an apparatus that is relatively lightweight , relatively compact and structurally sound and suitable for supporting items as intended during use of such an apparatus . fig7 illustrates an embodiment of the support device 10 having a driving device 100 attached thereto . the driving device 100 includes a driving end 102 and an extension portion 104 . the driving end 102 may be shaped to receive , for example , blows from a tool such as a hammer so that the support device 10 may be driven into , for example , a utility pole , tree trunk , a wall , a rock face , or any other vertical or columnar object , member , or structure . the extension portion 104 may be shaped to grip the shank 12 of the support device 10 such that when the support device 10 is driven into an object , the extension portion 104 helps to keep the driving device 100 secured to the shank 12 of the support device 10 . the driving device 100 may be constructed of any durable material such as , for example , metals such as steel , aluminum , titanium and / or stainless steel or any other metal or alloy capable of withstanding the stress and strain as described herein . the driving device 100 may be , in various embodiments , attached to the support device 10 using , for example , any type of adhesive or weld . the driving device 100 may be , in various embodiments , removable from the support device 10 such that the driving device 100 may be used to drive multiple support devices 10 into an object . fig8 illustrates a front view of an embodiment of the driving device 100 . a lower end 110 of the extension portion 104 may include , for example , snap portions 108 that may snap , or fit , onto the shank 12 of the support device 10 . the snap portions may be , for example , tabs that are formed in or attached to the lower portion 110 or may be , for example , formed by bending the lower portion 110 into a “ u ” shape . the snap portions 108 may thus operate to provide a more stable attachment of the driving device 100 onto the support device 10 during , for example , the time when the support device 10 is being driven into an object . as shown in fig8 , the driving device 100 may include a nesting portion 112 that fits into or nests in a split portion 124 of the support device 10 . as shown in fig8 , the nesting portion 112 may be shaped such that it conforms to the shape of the split portion 124 to provide a substantially stable fit between the driving device 100 and the support device 10 . fig9 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the driving device 100 , fig1 illustrates a top view of an embodiment of the driving device 100 , and fig1 illustrates a rear view of an embodiment of the driving device 100 . fig1 illustrates a front cutaway view of an embodiment of the driving device 100 along the line b — b of fig1 . as shown in fig1 , the driving device 100 may include notches 114 that may be sized and shaped to engage the first support member 2 and the second support member 6 of the support device 10 . the notches 114 may operate to provide a more stable attachment of the driving device 100 into the support device 10 during , for example , the time when the support device 10 is being driven into an object . fig1 illustrates a top cutaway view of an embodiment of the driving device 100 along the line a — a of fig8 . fig1 illustrates a bottom view of an embodiment of the driving device 100 . although the driving device 100 is illustrated herein as having one extension portion 104 , it can be understood that the driving device 100 may have multiple extension portions 104 , each of which may have multiple snap portions 108 . the examples presented herein are intended to illustrate potential implementations of the present method and system embodiments . it can be appreciated that such examples are intended primarily for purposes of illustration . no particular aspect or aspects of the example method and system embodiments described herein are intended to limit the scope of the present invention . the configuration and specific functions of a particular support bracket , for example , are provided merely for convenience of disclosure . it is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention , while eliminating , for purposes of clarity , other elements . those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize , however , that these and other elements may be desirable . however , because such elements are well known in the art , and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention , a discussion of such elements is not provided herein . it can be appreciated that , in some embodiments of the present methods and systems disclosed herein , a single component can be replaced by multiple components , and multiple components replaced by a single component , to perform a given function . except where such substitution would not be operative to practice the present methods and systems , such substitution is within the scope of the present invention . whereas particular embodiments of the invention have been described herein for the purpose of illustrating the invention and not for the purpose of limiting the same , it can be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations of the details , materials and arrangement of parts may be made within the principle and scope of the invention without departing from the invention as described in the appended claims .	5
referring first to fig1 there is shown an electrostatic spray gun 10 in partial cross - section view . spray gun 10 has a handle 12 , a barrel 14 , a spray nozzle 16 , and a trigger 18 . an air inlet 20 is formed at the base of handle 12 , and an air valve 21 controls the volume of air flow through the gun via passages ( not shown ). a liquid or paint inlet 22 is also attached near the base of the spray gun , and paint entering therein is conveyed via passages to spray nozzle 16 . a spray valve 40 is retractable by operation of trigger 18 to permit the liquid or paint to be emitted through an orifice at the front of spray nozzle 16 . spray valve 40 has an electrode 38 projecting from its forward end . electrode 38 is electrically connected to a high voltage section 36 which is contained within the body of spray gun 10 . high voltage section 36 is connected to an oscillator section 34 , which is in turn connected to a low voltage section 32 . low voltage section 32 is connected to an air turbine / alternator 30 , located near the rear end of spray gun 10 . the air passages via air valve 21 are coupled into air flow relationship with air turbine / alternator 30 , to cause a rotating turbine member to mechanically drive an alternator so as to produce an alternating voltage directly proportional to the rotational speed of the turbine . in the preferred block diagram embodiment shown in fig2 the alternating voltage developed by turbine / alternator 30 is approximately 20 volts ac at 700 hertz ( hz ). the alternating voltage is coupled into a rectifier 42 to convert it to an unregulated dc voltage , having a nominal value of about 19 volts dc . this unregulated dc voltage is coupled into voltage regulator - control circuit 44 , which develops a relatively constant dc output voltage that is adjustable over a narrow range ; i . e ., typically 15 . 0 - 17 . 6 volts dc . the output from the regulator - control circuitry 44 is coupled into a voltage clamping circuit 46 to prevent overvoltage . this circuit limits the maximum dc output voltage from regulator - control circuit 44 to between 17 . 6 volts and 18 . 5 volts in the preferred embodiment . the voltage is then applied to an oscillator circuit 34 , which converts the regulated input voltage to a high frequency alternating voltage ; the frequency of this voltage is typically 24 . 5 khz . the oscillator circuit 34 also contains a step - up transformer which provides an output voltage of approximately 10 , 000 volts peak to peak . this stepped - up voltage is applied to a multiplier circuit 36 which steps up the voltage to approximately 85 , 000 volts dc . the output voltage is delivered to an electrode 38 via very large - value output resistors , and the output voltage produces an electrostatic field emanating from electrode 38 to assist in the paint spraying process . a current sensor 28 monitors the ground return current and develops a signal representative of this current , which signal is coupled to current - limiter circuit 35 , to control the maximum current obtainable from the spray gun 10 . the current - limiter 35 is typically preset to limit the output current to 120 microamps , and the current - limiter 35 is coupled back to regulator - control circuitry 44 to lower the regulated voltage whenever the output current approaches the 120 microamp limit . the electrostatic voltage and current which flows through multiplier 36 and electrode 38 is conveyed to a grounded article ( not shown ) in a typical operating environment . the current flows to ground , and is returned to the spray gun via grounded connections in the hose which delivers air to the spray gun . these ground connections are connected to the body of the spray gun 10 , particularly handle 12 , and the connection is represented on fig2 as a ground connection 48 , at the input of current sensor circuit 28 . current sensor circuit 28 develops a signal proportional to the ground return current , and couples the signal to an operational amplifier circuit 50 , current - limiter circuit 35 , and filter circuit 54 . operational amplifier 50 is connected to transmitter 52 , which converts the signal to a frequency - modulated radio frequency ( fm ), nominally about the fm frequency of 49 . 890 mhz . the modulation range is typically + 4 . 2 khz /- 3 . 2 khz . the modulated frequency is coupled through a filter 54 to remove all frequencies other than the desired transmitting frequency , and the signal is then applied to the return side of multiplier 36 . this fm signal passes through multiplier 36 and becomes transmitted via electrode 38 . fig3 shows a functional block diagram of the receiving portion of the present invention . an fm receiving antenna 60 is connected to a receiver circuit 62 . receiver circuit 62 is connected to a squelch circuit 64 , which in turn develops an output signal to a timing and logic circuit 66 . timing and logic circuit 66 develops a digital signal which is transmitted to a display circuit 70 , which includes a visual display for displaying a numeric value which is representative of the spray gun output voltage . the foregoing circuits will be described in greater detail hereafter , and with reference to fig4 - 10 . the circuit component values shown in fig4 - 10 are represented in a conventional manner ; i . e ., resistors are shown in ohms unless otherwise designated , capacitances are shown in microfarads ( uf ) or picofarads ( pf ), and semiconductor components are identified by their commercial and / or industrial type designations . fig4 shows the turbine / alternator 30 in symbolic form , and the circuit schematic associated with rectifier 42 . a full - wave rectifier 42a is connected to receive the alternating current output from turbine / alternator 30 . rectifier 42a is connected to ground via connection 47 . an unregulated dc voltage of approximately 18 - 19 volts dc is developed between output lines 24 and 25 ; output line 24 forms a ground return path for the electrical circuits described herein . fig5 a shows a schematic diagram of regulator - control circuit 44 and current - limiter circuit 35 . both of these circuits receive the unregulated dc output voltage from rectifier 42 via lines 24 and 25 ; current - limiter 35 utilizes this unregulated dc voltage for its power , and regulator - control circuit 44 converts the unregulated dc voltage to a regulated dc voltage at output terminal a , via a voltage regulator semiconductor type lt1085ct . the regulated voltage at terminal a lies within the range of 15 . 0 - 17 . 6 volts dc . current - limiter 35 has its input connected to line 49 , which is the output from current - sensor circuit 28 . current - limiter 35 develops an output voltage at line 56 which is coupled to regulator - control circuit 44 to adjust the voltage regulator output . the input signal from line 49 is amplified by amplifier 510 and presented as one input to inverting amplifier 511 . the other input to inverting amplifier 511 is provided by voltage regulator 512 , which has a commercial designation of type lm78lo5 . voltage regulator 512 provides a regulated dc output voltage which is coupled to the series resistance including potentiometer 513 . potentiometer 513 adjustably provides a set - point voltage for inverting amplifier 511 , and is typically set at a value to limit the maximum output current from multiplier 36 to 12 microamps . the output from inverting amplifier 511 is fed through a parallel pair of diodes to line 56 , which is coupled to regulator - control circuit 44 . regulator - control circuit 44 incorporates a voltage regulator 514 , which has a commercial type designation of lt1085ct . it receives an unregulated dc input voltage on line 25 , and a control signal on line 56 , to produce a regulated output voltage to output terminal a . resistor 515 may be initially set under no - load conditions to produce an output voltage of about 85 kv at electrode 38 , and thereafter the current - limiter 35 will monitor the current loading conditions to limit the maximum current flow from multiplier 36 to 120 microamps . since multiplier 36 and its associated internal resistances present an essentially resistive load , the voltage / current characteristics of multiplier 36 are very nearly a linear line ; i . e ., the output voltage at electrode 38 drops linearly as the output current via electrode 38 increases . terminal a is connected to a voltage clamp circuit 46 , shown in fig5 b , which clamps the output regulated voltage to the range 17 . 6 - 18 . 5 volts . if voltage regulator 514 fails in a shorted condition , the full unregulated voltage could be applied to oscillator 34 , thereby allowing the multiplier 36 output voltage to rise in excess of 85 kv . voltage clamp circuit 46 prevents this from occurring by turning on zenor diodes 517 whenever the voltage at terminal a reaches 17 . 6 volts . this causes transistor 518 to turn on and transistor 519 to turn off , thereby shutting down the oscillator 34 . under normal operating conditions transistor 518 is turned off and transistor 519 is coupled into an oscillator circuit in conjunction with step - up transformer t and transformer winding t1 . this combination produces a high frequency output signal of approximately 24 . 5 khz , across terminals 58 and 59 , at a voltage of approximately 10 , 000 volts peak to peak . output terminal 59 is connected to line 49 , to current sensor 28 . output terminal 58 is connected to line 57 , which is the high voltage power input line to multiplier 36 . fig5 b also illustrates another feature of the invention which may be advantageous in many applications . a light - emitting diode circuit 520 is coupled in series with a resistance across the input line voltage . light - emitting diode circuit 520 will therefore illuminate whenever voltage is applied at terminal a , and may provide an indication that power is operable within the spray gun . this light illumination is a helpful indicator to the operator , as a means of verifying that the electrostatic spraying voltage is properly operating . fig6 shows a schematic diagram of multiplier 36 , including the high resistance coupled between the output of multiplier 36 and electrode 38 . at the dc current values which are typically operational with circuits of this type , electrode 38 may have an output voltage of approximately 85 kv under no - load conditions . as the current flow from electrode 38 increases , the output voltage at electrode 38 decreases . fig7 shows a schematic diagram of current sensor circuit 28 and operational amplifier circuit 50 . current sensor circuit 28 receives an input from the electrostatic spray current return path , designated as line 48 . this return path current exits from current sensor 28 via line 49 , but the voltage drop caused by the flow of this current through current sensor 28 is conveyed to operational amplifier 50 as an input voltage . the input voltage is conveyed to amplifier 710 , where it is amplified and presented at output line 69 , as a voltage signal which is representative of the ground - return current . the signal is also presented as an input to inverting amplifier 711 . the other input to amplifier 711 is received from voltage amplifier 712 , which produces a relatively constant , preset reference voltage output . inverting amplifier 711 produces an output at line 68 which is representative of the output voltage from multiplier 36 . this representation is possible by virtue of the essentially resistive load of multiplier 36 , which may be assimulated by the amplifier circuits shown in fig7 ; i . e ., as the ground - return current signal on line 69 increases , the signal on line 68 representative of multiplier voltage correspondingly decreases . in the preferred embodiment the signal representative of multiplier voltage is utilized as the signal to be transmitted remotely according to the principles of the invention . however the signal representative of ground - return current could equally well be utilized for this purpose , and in fact both the current and voltage signals could be transmitted remotely utilizing the teachings of the invention . the voltage signal on line 68 is connected to the transmitter circuitry shown on fig8 which develops an fm radio signal , the frequency of which is proportional to the voltage on line 68 . the fm radio signal is transmitted via line 71 to filter 54 . filter 54 removes all stray frequencies , except for the fm transmitted frequency , and passes this frequency via line 55 to the ground return line of multiplier 36 . the radio frequency signal is conveyed over the ground return line of multiplier 36 to electrode 38 , where it is transmitted as a radio signal to the surrounding environment . the circuitry of transmitter 52 operates more or less as a conventional fm transmitter . the signal received on line 68 is converted by a voltage - to - frequency converter 810 into a frequency signal . the voltage on line 68 may vary between zero and 1 volt , and the frequency output from inverter 810 varies from zero to 3 , 400 hz . this frequency is presented as an input to transmitter circuit 812 , which has a commercial type designation of mc2833d . transmitter circuit 812 utilizes a crystal frequency of 16 . 63 mhz , and internally triples the frequency value to 49 . 890 mhz . the frequency variation resulting from voltage changes at line 68 modulates the frequency output of transmitter circuit 812 about this nominal carrier frequency + 4 , 200 to - 3 , 200 hz . this output frequency is presented at output line 71 , and is coupled to filter circuit 54 . filter circuit 54 removes frequencies other than the nominal modulated carrier frequency , and passes the nominal modulated carrier frequency to output line 55 . output line 55 is connected to the ground - return side of multiplier 36 , and the signal is ultimately transmitted via the multiplier capacitors and resistors from electrode 38 to the surrounding area . fig9 a and 9b show the schematic diagram of the receiver 62 , including the antenna 60 . receiver 62 is a conventional fm receiver circuit , utilizing a semiconductor type mc3367 . the output signal from this circuit is applied at terminal r , and is coupled to the squelch circuit 64 shown on fig1 a . the signal applied at terminal r is a frequency signal corresponding to the frequency which was originally created by operational amplifier 50 , and possibly also including frequency noise components which were picked up over the transmission path . the squelch circuit 64 is utilized to pass the usable frequency components and prevent the noise frequency components from being counted or displayed . to accomplish this purpose , the frequency input signal is transmitted along to squelch section channels , via lines 95 and 96 , and simultaneously is passed to and gate 97 . the logic circuits connected to line 95 , and the logic circuits connected to line 96 , are utilized to develop a gating signal to the second input of and gate 97 . if conditions are met and the two channels of logic circuits connected to lines 95 and 96 respectively , the gating signal to and gate 97 will be enabled , to thereby permit the input signal at terminal r to pass through the squelch section to output terminal s . if the logic conditions are not met , the gating signal to and gate 97 will not be present and the input frequency signal at terminal r will be blocked from passage to output terminal s . the logic circuits connected to line 95 monitor the pulse rate of the frequency signals to determine whether the frequency is greater or less than 400 hz , which corresponds to a high voltage measurement of 10 kv . if the logic circuits determine that the high voltage signal is less than 10 kv , it is presumed that the frequency signals are caused by low frequency noise , or the high voltage electrode being shorted to ground , and are not representative of the actual high voltage signal . in this event , the gating input to and gate 97 will be disabled . the logic circuits connected to line 96 measure the frequency to determine whether the frequency is greater or less than 3 . 85 khz , which corresponds to the high voltage reading of 95 kv . if the frequency signals are representative of a voltage greater than 95 kv , it is presumed that the frequency signals are caused by high frequency noise , and the logic circuits connected to line 96 will therefore reject the signals . this also disables the gating signal to and gate 97 and blocks the transmission of the frequency signal to output terminal s . if the frequency signals lie between 400 hz and 3 . 85 khz , both of the logic channels will be enabled , thereby enabling the gating input to and gate 97 , and enabling the passage of frequency signals from input terminal r to output terminal s . the signals which are transmitted to output terminal s are received by the timing logic circuits shown on fig1 b . these signals are treated as clock signals into a counter 980 , and in conjunction with timing logic signals from timing logic circuit 66 , enabled the counter to accumulate a count of the frequency . counter 980 is a commercial type designation mm74c946 , which develops an 8 - bit binary output signal to drive a digital display module 990 . digital display module 990 has a commercial type designation of 3938 , and is designed to display a decimal equivalent of the binary count values generated by counter 980 . counter 980 and display module 990 are conventional commercial type designations , utilized in a manner which is well known in the prior art . in operation , the spray gun operator activates the air supply to the spray gun by depressing the spray gun trigger , which automatically develops a predetermined high voltage output value as determined by the preset conditions within the spray gun and the various circuits described herein . the high voltage is released as an electrostatic field from the spray gun electrode and is directed to a grounded article which represents the object to be sprayed . the electrostatic field lines concentrate themselves on the grounded article and a perceptible flow of current passes from the spray gun to the grounded article . the current is returned to the spray gun via a ground - return line , where it is monitored and used to develop some of the control signals described herein . a signal representative of the current value is converted into a frequency value for transmission via the fm transmitter and electrode , and the transmitted signal is received by a receiver placed in proximity to the transmitter . the transmitted frequency and power levels are in compliance with federal regulations for such usage , and the received frequency signal is converted back into a logic signal for processing and display . the output display presents a digital representation of the spray gun spray voltage , although the invention could be constructed so as to provide a display of the spray gun current . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof , and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention .	1
in recent years , the national association for stock car automobile racing (“ nascar ”) has increased in popularity . because of the increased popularity of nascar , ever increasing numbers of races are being added to the nascar racing schedule and increasing numbers of stock cars are competing in nascar races . in the past few years , there have been a substantial number of “ underhood ” fires in cars competing in nascar races . in most cases , these underhood fires have been caused by race cars crashing into guard rails , pit walls or outside retaining walls which surround the race track . in many cases , the crash will break the race car &# 39 ; s fuel pump off the engine block or the fuel line being broken off the fuel pump . one of the main causes of the fuel pump and fuel line breakage is the close proximity of the fuel pump and fuel line to the race car &# 39 ; s main front cross member . nascar rules and regulations mandate the position of the fuel pump and fuel lines in the race car . as stated by the name , a “ fuel pump ” pumps fuel from the fuel cell to the race car &# 39 ; s engine . typically , the words “ fuel cell ” and “ gas tank ” are interchangeable . as is well known in nascar , nascar rules and regulations mandate the position of both the fuel cell and fuel pump in each race car . it is a well known problem that an automobile crash , particularly at the high speeds found in automobile racing , produces sparks . if and when the fuel pump or fuel line are broken off or ruptured , the sparks from the crash are likely to ignite the gasoline which has escaped . this burning gasoline is the cause of the “ underhood fires ” discussed above . an additional heat source is the engine headers which are approximately 1300 degrees fahrenheit and can cause spontaneous combustion of gasoline vapor fumes . the present invention will automatically cut of the flow of fuel from the fuel cell if either the fuel line is detached from the fuel pump or the fuel pump is broken off the engine block . at the present time , when the fuel pump is activated by the engine , it urges fuel from the fuel cell toward the engine block where the fuel is combusted in the engine to propel the race car . the present invention includes a fuel cut off assembly which if the micro - switch assembly mounted on the fuel pump assembly is opened , the flow of current to the solenoid valve is cut off and the solenoid valve instantaneously closes . when the solenoid valve closes , the flow of fuel through the fuel line is instantaneously cut off . as is well known , a fire requires fuel , flame and oxygen . oxygen is found in the atmosphere . the flame is created by the sparks which are caused by virtually any collision which a race car may be involved in . the present invention prevents an underhood fire by cutting off the flow of fuel , typically gasoline , to the engine and to the area of the race car under the race car &# 39 ; s hood . the present invention has four main components . first , a fuel pump assembly 70 . second a related microswitch assembly 90 . third , a fuel flow shut off assembly 80 . fourth , a control box assembly 100 . as seen in fig1 a typical race car 110 , has a number of common components . fig2 shows these common components ; a fuel cell 20 , a fuel line 30 , a rear fire wall 40 , a front fire wall 50 , an engine 60 . associated with the engine block is a fuel pump assembly 70 . typically , the fuel pump assembly 70 is mounted on engine 60 . as seen in fig2 when the fuel pump assembly 70 is activated , it urges fuel from the fuel cell 20 toward the engine 60 where the fuel is combusted in the engine 60 to propel race car 110 . fig3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the fuel pump assembly 70 . fuel pump assembly is one of the components of the present invention . as discussed above , in the fuel pump assemblies found in present race cars , if the fuel pump assembly is separated from engine 60 , the present day fuel pump assembly continues to syphon fuel from fuel cell 20 . this is the cause of a substantial number of underhood fires after racing accidents . it can be seen that , in the present invention , fuel enters and exits fuel pump assembly 70 through fuel inlet 31 and fuel outlet 32 . fig3 and 4 show the fuel pump assembly 70 and microswitch assembly 90 portion of the present invention . specifically , fig3 and 4 , show the microswitch assembly 90 in the “ closed ” position in fig4 . the microswitch assembly 90 is shown in the “ open ” position in fig3 . during normal operation of a race car 110 , it is expected that the microswitch assembly 90 will be in the “ closed ” position seen in fig4 . when the microswitch assembly 90 is in the “ closed ” position , the electrical connector 99 , which has an inlet for electric current and an outlet for electric current , the inlet for electric current is attached to a power source . in the preferred embodiment , this is a 12 volt dc power source . typically , this is a 12 volt dc car battery . the fuel pump assembly 70 is removably attached to the engine 60 by bracket 72 . in the preferred embodiment , bracket 72 is made of mild steel and is plated with nickel teflon . in the preferred embodiment , bracket 72 is { fraction ( 105 / 1000 )}&# 39 ; s of an inch thick . in the preferred embodiment , fuel pump assembly 70 is removably fastened to bracket 72 by two ⅜ × 16 × 2 ″ 12 point grade 8 bolts . preferably , ⅜ washers will be also be used to fasten fuel pump assembly 70 and bracket 72 to engine block 60 . of course , fuel pump assembly 70 does not have to be attached directly to engine 60 . it could be located close to the engine such that fuel pump assembly 70 can communicate fuel to engine 60 . in addition , bracket 72 and notch 73 may be thought of as limit switch locator because plunger 94 , which may be described as part of a limit switch , are coupled and because de - coupled when plunger 94 and notch 73 are not in contact . in other words , bracket 72 and notch 73 may be described as a limit switch locator . plunger 94 may be described as part of a limit switch . fig3 shows microswitch assembly 90 . microswitch 90 includes case 92 , plunger 94 and electrical connector 99 . when microswitch 90 is in the “ closed ” position seen in fig4 the circuit is complete and current flows into and out of electrical connector 99 . as discussed above , a voltage sources drives current into electrical connector 99 and out of electrical connector 99 when plunger 94 is depressed and in contact with notch 73 , as seen in fig4 . in other words , the circuit is closed and electric current flows into the inlet port of electrical connector 99 , thorough microswitch 90 and through the outlet port of electrical connector 99 . when plunger 94 is not in contact with notch 73 , plunger 94 is not depressed and the electric circuit running into the inlet port of electrical connector 99 , through microswitch assembly 90 , cannot exit the outlet port of electrical connector 99 . in other words , the circuit is “ broken ” or “ opened .” this is important because if the circuit is broken , power will not reach any device which is connected to the outlet port of electrical connector 99 and fuel flow will stop . as discussed above , microswitch 90 may as be described as an impact sensitive limit switch . in the preferred embodiment , microswitch assembly 90 is built by the square d company . it is heavy duty and completely encapsulated , zinc die - cast , epoxy filled and roller plunger 94 is mounted on top of microswitch assembly 90 as seen in fig3 and 4 . in the preferred embodiment , plunger 94 is made of high grade steel to resist corrosion and has a roller wheel at the end of plunger 94 which makes contact with notch 73 . in the preferred embodiment , the microswitch assembly 90 includes a switch of nema type 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 6p , 12 , 13 , ip67 . the switch has gold contacts and is dust , water , oil , gasoline and vibration resistant . preferably , the switch will withstand vibration of 10g &# 39 ; s and a shock load of 35g &# 39 ; s . preferably , the gold contacts should be rated at 5 amps at 24 volts dc . in the preferred embodiment , electrical connector 99 will include a wiring harness consisting of 12 inches of an 18 gauge 2 conductor wire with a jacket insulation with the trade name “ pur .” electrical connector 99 is also preferably water , oil and gasoline resistant . electrical connector 99 &# 39 ; s wire should be rated to 105 degrees centigrade . as seen in fig3 and 4 , one end of electrical connector 99 will terminate in microswitch assembly 90 . the other end , is preferably a two pin male connector located in an abs plastic housing . at the present time , the abs housing is made by packard electrical systems and is dust and water resistant . as discussed above , when a race car 110 is involved in an accident , the fuel pump assembly 70 is frequently broken open or torn off engine 60 . at the present time , when this happens , fuel cell 20 and fuel line 30 continue to communicate fuel into the engine compartment of race car 110 . this is the fuel which feeds the fire started by sparks generated in the accident which tore off or damaged fuel pump assembly 70 . as seen from the name “ impact sensitive fuel control system ,” the goal of the present invention is to prevent fuel reaching the engine compartment of race car 110 if fuel pump assembly is damaged or torn off engine 60 . if fuel pump assembly 70 is damaged or torn off engine 60 , plunger 94 of microswitch assembly 90 will be urged by the force of the collision to disconnect from notch 73 , as seen in fig3 to the position of non - contact between plunger 94 and notch 73 seen in fig4 . in other words , plunger 94 will no longer touch notch 73 . as discussed above , the electric circuit formed by electrical connector 99 and microswitch 90 will be broken if plunger 94 does not contact notch 73 . this is important because electrical connect 99 communicates with fuel cut off assembly 80 , as seen in fig2 - 10 and 14 . as seen in fig2 if fuel pump assembly 70 is not energized ( by current flowing from electrical connector 99 ), it will prevent the passage of fuel through fuel line 30 . in the preferred embodiment , fuel cut off assembly 80 is located such that it interrupts the flow of fuel before the fuel enters the fuel line forward of the front fire wall 50 of race car 110 . turning now to fig2 , 11 and 14 , fuel cut off assembly 80 comprises solenoid 81 , holder 82 , valve body 83 , free spring 84 , diaphragm 85 , slider 85 a , attached spring 85 b , washer 86 , base 87 , orifice 87 a and fasteners 88 . in typical operation , plunger 94 will be in contact with notch 73 and current will flow through electrical connector 99 to solenoid 81 . if fuel pump assembly 70 is damaged or torn off engine 60 , plunger 94 will be urged out of contact with notch 73 . therefore , electrical connector 99 will instantly stop delivering current to solenoid 81 . as best seen in fig1 , when microswitch 90 is in the “ closed ” position ( seen in fig4 ) solenoid 81 is energized and slider 85 a is urged towards solenoid 81 . when slider 85 a is urged towards solenoid 81 , slider 85 a compresses free spring 84 and tensions attached spring 85 b . attached spring 85 b in turn urges diaphragm 85 towards solenoid 81 . when diaphragm 85 moves towards solenoid 81 , fuel can flow through fuel line 30 and then through base 87 and orifice 87 a . if plunger 94 is not in contact with notch 73 , current will not flow through electrical connector 99 to solenoid 81 . if solenoid 81 is not energized , slider 85 a will be urged towards base 87 by free spring 84 . the movement of slider 85 a will in turn compress attached spring 85 b and re - seat diaphragm 85 against the base 87 . this will prevent the flow of fuel through orifice 87 a . because fuel cannot flow , the supply of fuel to the engine or to a fire which is burning forward of the front fire wall 50 will be cut off . in other words , if the fuel pump assembly 70 is torn off or damaged , there will be no underhood fire because the flow of fuel will be instantaneously interrupted by the closing of diaphragm 85 down onto orifice 87 a in valve body 87 . as seen in fig1 and 14 , fuel cut off assembly 80 is removably fastened to race car 110 by holder 82 . also , valve body 83 slidably receives slider 85 a . in addition , entire fuel cut off assembly 80 is held together by fasteners 88 . holder 82 is preferably made of mild steel and is also preferably plated with nickel teflon . in its preferred embodiment , holder 82 is { fraction ( 105 / 1000 )}&# 39 ; s of an inch thick and is mounted to front fire wall 50 by means of fasteners that include self locking nuts . in the preferred embodiment , fuel cut off assembly 80 will operate at pressures ranging from 0 to 25 lbs . of force . in addition , in order to minimize the danger of fuel starvation caused by the present invention , orifice 87 a preferably has a diameter that is 50 % bigger than the diameters of fuel outlet 200 a or fuel outlet 200 , seen in fig1 . in addition , the fuel cut off assembly preferably has a pilot and bleed orifice to help seat the diaphragm . preferably , the diaphragm is made of viton elastomer . in addition , solenoid 81 preferably are red hat 2 solenoid enclosures which are molded one piece construction with a built in ½ ″ n . p . t . conduit . preferably , solenoid 81 will operate at temperatures up to and including about 200 degrees centigrade ( 425 degrees f .) and have a useful life of about 10 , 000 hours when connected to power dissipating resistors 106 a and 106 b . preferably , solenoid 81 has a nema ( national electrical manufacturers association ) classification of 1 , 2 , 3 , 3s , 3r , 4 and 4x . valve body 83 and base 87 are preferably t - 6061 machined aluminum . in addition , the use of free spring 84 and attached spring 85 b eliminates the danger that when solenoid 81 is energized that diaphragm 85 will not permit the flow of fuel . it is also preferable that fasteners 88 be tightened to 105 ft - lbs and make use of a grade 8 washer . in addition , it is also preferable to make use of safety wire to more securely fasten fasteners 88 . it is also preferable to use safety wire in conjunction with the nuts and bolts which hold fuel pump assembly 70 together . of course , fuel cut off assembly 80 could be replaced with any equivalent , such as a plunger or a ball valve or another valve that can be opened or closed . as discussed above , electrical connection 99 communicates with fuel cut off assembly 80 . as discussed above , the final assembly of the present invention is control box assembly 100 . first control box assembly 100 is seen in fig1 and 16 . first control box assembly 100 is in turn connected to fuel cut off assembly 80 as seen in fig1 . a more specific wiring diagram of fig1 is shown in fig1 . as seen in fig1 , 16 , and 17 , the control box assembly 100 is an on / on switch . this means that the solenoid will not be de - energized , and fuel cut off to the engine unless plunger 94 is not in contact with notch 73 , as discussed above . in other words , if the control box assembly is set to “ auto ,” this means that if race car 110 is subject to a collision which separates plunger 94 from notch 73 , solenoid 81 will instantly drop power and the flow of fuel through fuel line 30 will instantly be interrupted . however , if any collision does not sufficiently damage race car 110 to prevent race car 110 from continuing the race , control box assembly 100 can be set to “ manual .” when control box assembly 100 is set to “ manual ,” microswitch assembly 90 is bypassed and solenoid 81 is energized . as explained above , when solenoid 81 is energized , fuel can reach the engine 60 . therefore , control box assembly 100 is useful if race car 110 has suffered a small accident , which has urged plunger 94 out of contact with notch 73 , but is not sufficiently damaged to require race car 110 to leave the race . of course , after suffering an accident , race car 110 would be “ pitted ” and plunger 94 could be pushed into contact with notch 73 . if plunger 94 and notch 73 cannot physically be brought into contact , the “ manual ” position on control box assembly 100 will energize solenoid 81 and allow fuel to flow . if for some reason the driver of race car 110 believes that there is an underhood fire , he or she can move the switch of control box assembly 100 to the “ auto ” position and solenoid 81 will be de - energized and the flow of fuel interrupted because plunger 94 is not in contact with notch 73 and the circuit is “ broken .” because the circuit is “ broken ,” solenoid 81 will be de - energized and the flow of fuel interrupted . fig1 and 16 illustrate first control box assembly 100 . first control box assembly comprises cover 101 , base 102 , auto light indicator 103 , manual light indicator 104 , on / on switch 105 , two power dissipating resistors 106 a and 106 b , circuit breaker 107 , diodes 108 a and 108 b and resistor 109 . resistor 109 is a 3 ohm resistor which ensures that solenoid 81 does not receive greater than 12 volts at any given time . because of the size of first control box assembly 100 , it is expected that it will be mounted on the front side of the dash board of race car 110 within reach of the driver . specifically , cover 101 is preferably made with abs plastic with a flammability rating of 94v − 0 at 0 . 080 ″ thickness and a continuous use temperature of 70 degrees centigrade . typically , cover 101 will have a textured finish and dimensions of 4 ½ ″× 3 ″× 2 ″. base 102 will typically be made from aluminum and be about 0 . 125 ″ thick . base 102 also serves as a backing plate and heat sink for power dissipation resistors 106 a and 106 b . circuit breaker 107 is preferably a 3 ampere aircraft type circuit breaker . fig1 shows auto indicator light 103 and manual indicator light 104 protruding through cover 101 . power dissipating resistor 106 a and diode 108 a are associated with auto indicator light 103 . similarly , power dissipating resistor 106 b and diode 108 b are associated with manual indicator light 104 . the power dissipating resistors and diodes are necessary to prevent a foreshortened life for solenoid 81 . specifically , the output voltage of a typical race car 110 &# 39 ; s electrical system is 14 . 6 dc volts . because solenoid 81 requires only 12 dc volts to operate , its life would be cut by about 75 %. the power dissipating resistors are wrapped with wire , as seen in fig1 and 16 . combined with the base plate 102 &# 39 ; s function as an aluminum , or other highly conductive metal , heat sink allows solenoid 81 to “ see ” no more than 12 . 07 dc volts . preferably , the wire wrapped around power dissipating resistors 106 a and 106 b should be epoxy encapsulated in position . in addition , diodes 108 a and 108 b ensure that there is no current “ back flow ” through power dissipating resistors 106 a and 106 b . in essence , first control box assembly 100 is a junction box . in other words , race car 110 provides a power source . this power is delivered to on / on switch 105 . when the on / on switch 105 is moved to the auto position , power goes through a cable to the microswitch assembly 90 and to circuit breaker 107 . then , power goes to power dissipating resistor 106 a and diode 108 a . under these conditions ; solenoid 81 is energized , assuming plunger 94 is contacting notch 73 , fuel flows to engine 60 of race car 110 . in addition , auto indicator light 103 is illuminated . when on / on switch 105 is in the manual position , microswitch assembly 90 is by - passed . except for microswitch assembly 90 being bypassed , first control box assembly 100 functions virtually the same way to energize solenoid 81 . of course , power flows through power dissipating resistor 106 b and diode 108 b . as in the auto position , solenoid 81 is energized , assuming plunger 94 is contacting notch 73 , and fuel is flowing to engine 60 of race car 110 . in this situation , manual indicator light 104 is illuminated . fig1 shows an alternative embodiment of the control box of the present invention . fig1 shows second control box 100 a . with the exception of on / on switch 105 being remotely mounted , first control box 100 and 100 a are the same . typically , second control box 100 a will be used in a situation where less space is available and only on / on switch 105 will be mounted on the dash board of race car 110 . in addition , in the preferred embodiment , second control box 100 a will be of dimensions 2 ½ ″× 3 ½ ″× 2 ″, which is smaller than first control box 100 . however , it is important that the driver of race car 110 be able to see auto light indicator 103 and manual light indicator 104 . as discussed above , electrical connection 99 communicates with fuel cut off assembly 80 . as discussed above , the final assembly of the present invention is a control box assembly . in this alternative embodiment this is second control box 100 a . second control box assembly 100 a is seen in fig1 . second control box assembly 100 a is in turn connected to fuel cut off assembly 80 and microswitch assembly 90 as seen in fig1 . specifically , connector assembly 122 connects control boxes 100 and 100 a to y connector 126 , seen in fig1 . connector assembly 122 includes brad harrison connectors and all cables are preferably made with a polyurethane outer jacket and are american wire gauge ( awg ) size # 22 with 2 , 3 or 4 conductors . as seen in fig1 , 16 , 17 and 18 , control boxs 100 and 100 a are connected to the ignition system by connector 124 . connector 124 provides 12 volts to control box 100 or 100 a . fig1 shows wiring harness 120 that is used in conjunction with both first control box assembly 100 or second control box assembly 100 a . in other words , with both embodiments of the present invention . as seen in fig1 and 18 , the second control box assembly 100 a includes a remote an on / on switch 105 . this means that the solenoid will not be de - energized , and fuel cut off to the engine unless plunger 94 is not in contact with notch 73 , as discussed above . in other words , if the control box assembly is set to “ auto ,” this means that if race car 110 is subject to a collision which separates plunger 94 from notch 73 , solenoid 81 will instantly drop power and the flow of fuel through fuel line 30 will instantly be interrupted . however , if any collision does not sufficiently damage race car 110 to prevent race car 110 from continuing the race , control box assembly 100 a can be set to “ manual .” when control box assembly 100 a is set to “ manual ,” microswitch assembly 90 is bypassed and solenoid 81 is energized . as explained above , when solenoid 81 is energized , fuel can reach the engine 60 . therefore , control box assembly 100 a is useful if race car 110 has suffered a small accident , which has urged plunger 94 out of contact with notch 73 , but is not sufficiently damaged to require race car 110 to leave the race . of course , after suffering an accident , race car 110 would be “ pitted ” and plunger 94 could be pushed into contact with notch 73 . if plunger 94 and notch 73 cannot physically be brought into contact , the “ manual ” position on control box assembly 100 a will energize solenoid 81 and allow fuel to flow . if for some reason the driver of race car 110 believes that there is an underhood fire , he or she can move the switch of control box assembly 100 a to the “ auto ” position and solenoid 81 will be de - energized and the flow of fuel interrupted because plunger 94 is not in contact with notch 73 and the circuit is “ broken .” because the circuit is “ broken ,” solenoid 81 will be de - energized and the flow of fuel interrupted . fig1 illustrates second control box assembly 100 a . second control box assembly 100 a comprises cover 101 , base 102 , auto light indicator 103 , manual light indicator 104 , on / on switch 105 , two power dissipating resistors 106 a and 106 b , circuit breaker 107 , diodes 108 a and 108 b and resistor 109 . resistor 109 is a 3 ohm resistor which ensures that solenoid 81 does not receive greater than 12 volts at any given time . because of the smaller size of second control box assembly 100 a , it is expected that it will be mounted beneath the dash board of race car 110 with only on / on switch 105 within reach of the driver . specifically , cover 101 is preferably made with abs plastic with a flammability rating of 94v — 0 at 0 . 080 ″ thickness and a continuous use temperature of 70 degrees centigrade . typically , cover 101 will have a textured finish and dimensions of 2 ½ ″× 3 ½ ″× 2 ″. base 102 will typically be made from aluminum and be about 0 . 125 ″ thick . base 102 also serves as a backing plate and heat sink for power dissipation resistors 106 a and 106 b . circuit breaker 107 is preferably an 3 ampere aircraft type circuit breaker . fig1 shows auto indicator light 103 and manual indicator light 104 protruding through cover 101 . power dissipating resistor 106 a and diode 108 a are associated with auto indicator light 103 . similarly , power dissipating resistor 106 b and diode 108 b are associated with manual indicator light 104 . the power dissipating resistors and diodes are necessary to prevent a foreshortened life for solenoid 81 . specifically , the output voltage of a typical race car 110 &# 39 ; s electrical system is 14 . 6 dc volts . because solenoid 81 requires only 12 dc volts to operate , its life would be cut by about 75 %. the power dissipating resistors are wrapped with wire , as seen in fig1 and 16 . combined with the base plate 102 &# 39 ; s function as an aluminum , or other highly conductive metal , heat sink allows solenoid 81 to “ see ” no more than 12 . 07 dc volts . preferably , the wire wrapped around power dissipating resistors 106 a and 106 b should be epoxy encapsulated in position . in addition , diodes 108 a and 108 b ensure that there is no current “ back flow ” through power dissipating resistors 106 a and 106 b . in essence , second control box assembly 100 a is a junction box . in other words , race car 110 provides a power source . this power is delivered to on / on switch 105 . when the on / on switch 105 is moved to the auto position , power goes through a cable to the microswitch assembly 90 and to circuit breaker 107 . then , power goes to power dissipating resistor 106 a and diode 108 a . under these conditions ; solenoid 81 is energized , assuming plunger 94 is contacting notch 73 , fuel flows to engine 60 of race car 110 . in addition , auto indicator light 103 is illuminated . when on / on switch 105 is in the manual position , microswitch assembly 90 is by - passed . except for microswitch assembly 90 being bypassed , second control box assembly 100 a functions virtually the same way to energize solenoid 81 . of course , power flows through power dissipating resistor 106 b and diode 108 b . as in the auto position , solenoid 81 is energized , assuming plunger 94 is contacting notch 73 , and fuel is flowing to engine 60 of race car 110 . in addition , manual indicator light 104 is illuminated . fig1 shows the interconnection of solenoid 81 , microswitch assembly 90 and control box 100 or 100 a by wiring harness 120 . specifically , connector assembly 122 links control box 100 or 100 a to y connector 126 . in the preferred embodiment , the bottom leg of y connector 126 is a male five prong connector and the two arms of y connector 126 are five prong female connectors . all connectors have a screw ring built into the housing of y connector 126 . connector 125 passes through front fire wall 50 and connects to connector 127 . connector 127 connects to electrical connector 99 . in the preferred embodiment , electrical connector 99 is a “ snap ” type connector . preferably , the “ snap ” type connector is a male connector which snaps into a female connector which is epoxied into microswitch assembly 90 . in addition , connector 129 connects y connector 126 to solenoid 81 . as discussed above , if plunger 94 is not in electrical contact with notch 73 , the circuit is broken and solenoid 81 will not be energized and fuel flow will be instantly interrupted . it is understood that the foregoing description and specific embodiments are merely illustrative of the best mode of the invention and the principles thereof , and that various modifications and additions may be made to the appartus by those skilled in the art , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , which is limited only by the scope of the appended claims .	1
referring to fig1 of the drawings , the overall inventive fuel burner assembly for provding a stable , non - pulsating flame wall proximate the outlet of the burner duct thereof is broadly referred to by reference numeral 2 . the burner 2 includes a longitudinally extending cylindrical burner duct 3 surrounded by a suitable apertured gasket 4 for appropriate mounting to a cobmustion chamber ( not shown ) with which the burner is to be associated . in this regard , it is to be noted that the novel burner described herein is particularly useful for association with combustion chambers offering comparatively high resistance to the burner flame such as those combustion chambers wherein the ignited gasses flow along the central axis of the combustion chambers in a first direction away from the burner flame wall and then flow in a reverse direction to a fuel gas exhaust duct more proximate to the flame wall of the burner . the burner duct 3 can be made of a suitable metallic material to resist the high temperatures and wide temperature gradients to which the burner is subjected during heating operations . duct 3 includes an upstream inlet end 6 and a downstream outlet end 7 . fastened to the inner wall of duct 3 at the upstream inlet end 6 and downstream outlet end 7 is a pair of spaced , peripheral annular support fire rings 8 . rings 8 can be fastened to the inner wall of duct 3 by any one of a number of suitable means , the rings being fastened to duct 3 in longitudinal alignment by suitable screws 9 passing through apertures in the duct 3 . a truncated cone 11 ( fig1 and 4 ) having cone inlet end 12 and cone outlet end 13 is disposed in burner duct 3 . the cone inlet end 12 forms the base of truncated cone 11 and fits snugly against the inner wall of burner duct 3 intermediate its spaced inlet and outlet ends 6 and 7 to receive combustion air therefrom , the inlet end 6 of duct 3 being appropriately adapted to be connected to a suitable source of combustion air such as a blower ( not shown ). the smaller cone outlet end 13 nests against and is fastened to downstream support ring of ring pair 8 by some suitable means such as brazing , or welding or by mechanical fasteners to communicate with the downstream outlet end 7 of duct 3 . the outer wall of truncated cone 11 , which also can be made of suitable metallic material to withstand the high temperatures and wide gradients aforedescribed , forms an air flow diversion chamber or plenum 14 with the inner wall of burner duct 3 . depending upon the length and slope of truncated cone 11 , diversion chamber or plenum 14 can be of a preselected volume with the chamber increasing in cross - section along the line of flow upstream to downstream end to vary the velocity and pressure of dampened air flowing therealong . as can be seen in fig4 and as disclosed by the flow arrows of fig1 truncated cone 11 is provided with a plurality of spaced apertures 16 through the surrounding wall thereof . these spaced apertures 16 extend advantageously from the upstream cone inlet end 12 to the downstream cone outlet end 13 to advantageously define an approximately twenty - nine ( 29 ) percent total open area through the side or surrounding wall of truncated cone 11 to form a first series of air outlet passages and a second series of air inlet passages in communication with diversion chamber or plenum 14 . in this reagrd , it is to be noted that truncated cone 11 is provided with a suitable transverse baffle member 17 extending across the inner wall of cone 11 intermediate upstream inlet end 12 and downstream outlet end 13 to define an upstream cone chamber 18 in communication with the first series of air outlet passages and a downstream cone chamber 19 in communication with the aforedescribed second series of air inlet passages . accordingly , during burning operations , a sufficient amount of combustion air to support the desired continous combustion flows in dampened fashion radially outward from upstream cone inlet chamber 18 to diversion chamber 14 and then radially inward from chamber 14 to downstream cone outlet chamber 19 . it is to be noted in fig1 - 3 of the drawings that transverse baffle 17 is provided with a plurality of spaced apertures therein to allow a fuel supply tube 21 and a pair of igniter electrodes 22 to pass snugly therethrough in supported relationship therewith . baffle 17 further includes an aperture for a line of sight photoelectric flame detector 23 suitably supported adjacent the inlet end 6 of burner duct 3 to monitor flame conditions . fuel supply tube 21 and spaced igniter electrodes 22 terminate in the downstream chamber 19 of truncated cone 11 in a spaced fuel outlet 24 and spaced igniter tips 26 , respectively . the fuel outlet 24 and igniter tips 26 are centrally positioned in downstream chamber 19 so as to be proximate cone outlet end 13 to ignite with the inwardly directed dampened combustion air radially introduced into downstream cone chamber 19 from diversion chamber 14 . it further is to be noted in fig1 - 3 of the drawing that an adjustable support arrangement to adjust the alignment of fuel supply tube 21 as well as to support the same is provided between upstream support ring 8 and fuel supply tube 21 . this adjustable support arrangement includes a collar member 27 surrounding fuel supply tube 21 , the collar 27 being internally threaded to receive the threaded ends of radially disposed , spaced adjusting screws 28 which pass through suitable apertures in upstream support ring 8 . as can be seen in fig1 , 6 and 7 , positioned adjacent to upstream support ring 8 in downstream relation thereto is a suitable air flow stabilizer 29 . air flow stabilizer 29 includes a plurality of curved , spaced air twirler vanes 31 extending from annular ring 32 , the ring 32 permitting passage of combustion air in twirled fashion by blades 31 and further permitting air passage through the central passages 33 . stabilizer 29 is designed to include suitably spaced apertures therein to permit snug passage of fuel supply tube 21 and igniter electrodes 22 therethrough and to permit line of sight operation of flame detector 23 . as disclosed , set screws 34 cooperating with two of the spaced apertures , permit fast engagement with the said walls of igniter electrodes 22 . referring to fig1 and 5 of the drawings , a slotted disc - like annular flamelock plate member 36 can be seen as adjustably mounted by slotted screws 40 in spaced relation with outlet peripheral downstream support ring 8 to define therebetween a first compacting annular flow passage 37 ( fig4 ), the ignited mixture passing therethrough being indicated in fig1 of the drawings by the phantom line parabola designated by the letter &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;. a second flow passage is created by right angle slots 38 radially spaced around plate member 38 , where secondary combustion air passing through slots 38 is indicated by the rotating small arrows within the phantom line torus designated by the letter &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;. finally , a third flow passage is created by central opening 39 , the cone - like flow therethrough consisting of atomized fuel and primary combustion air and being indicated by the phantom line cone designated by the letter &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;. during fuel burning operations with the resulting dampening of air flow through the radially outward and then radially inward passages followed by the subsequent ignited mixture flowing through central passage 39 , right angle slots 38 and peripheral opening 37 between the outer diameter of plate member 36 and the inner diameter of downstream support ring 8 , an enhanced burner flame wall is created proximate burner duct outlet end 7 which is both stable and non - pulsating , the arrangement permitting this being both efficient and economical to manufacture and assemble .	5
fig1 illustrates the interleaving of a computer microprogram . for the sake of discussion , the prefix &# 34 ; micro -&# 34 ; has been dropped in the following description , so that terms such as &# 34 ; instruction &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; coding &# 34 ; mean microinstruction and microcoding , respectively . instruction 200 points to instruction 400 in fig1 . while the machine is performing instruction 200 , the function a = b + c , and then pointing to instruction 400 , the machine has begun performing instruction 201 . during the time that instruction 201 is being performed , instruction 400 has been addressed and the machine starts performing instruction 400 . finally , during the time that instruction 400 is being performed , the machine starts performing instruction 401 . this can continue on down the program , but in the example shown , instruction 400 points back to instruction 200 , and instruction 401 back to instruction 201 . therefore , two loops are formed , one between instruction 200 and 400 in the first flow , and another between instructions 201 and 401 in the second flow . the program would remain in these loops unless there was a way to break free of the loops . in order to keep the two flows together during the looping , the two loops are preferably kept the same length . the device used to break free of the loops is a conditional branch . the machine may have many conditions ( or states ) representing various machine states . for example , one of these conditions or states may indicate whether a counter has been decremented to zero . until that condition is satisfied , the program will remain in its loops . when the machine enters into the specified condition or state , the program will then branch to a new address in the program , such as instruction number 600 in fig1 . the first flow of instructions can proceed from there , but the second flow has to be informed of the branch in order to follow the first flow . although it would seem to be a simple matter to set the second flow of instructions to branch on condition z as does the first flow , a complication arises because of what is termed dynamic state . throughout the machine there exist pieces of state that are collected or determined as instructions are processed . some of this state is valid for many cycles after it is set and is therefore considered static state . however , some other of this state is valid for only one cycle and is therefore considered dynamic state . since a branch condition for the first flow may be dynamic state , that state will not be valid in the next cycle after the branch in the first flow , which is the first opportunity for the second flow to see the particular state which caused the branching of the first flow . thus , it is not enough to simply have a branch on z condition for instruction 201 like there is for instruction 200 , since after the first flow has branched , the state which caused the branch may no longer be valid ( if it is dynamic state ) so that the second flow will not likewise branch . the flows will then become separated . in order to allow the second flow to know that a state occurred which caused the first flow to branch , the present invention provides a branch previous instruction which causes the second flow to branch on the same condition that caused the first flow to branch . to account for dynamic state , the state of the previous cycle must be saved for one cycle so that the branch previous instruction can see the dynamic state on which the first flow had branched . thus , the same state , even if dynamic , will cause both flows to branch and they will then be kept together . in fig1 after the z condition has been satisfied , the first flow branches from instruction 200 to instruction 600 . the z state is saved for one cycle and the branch previous causes the second flow to branch from instruction 201 to 601 , thereby keeping both flows together . an exemplary embodiment of the hardware to implement the invention is shown in fig2 . in this figure , latches are all designated with reference numeral 10 . latch 10a receives the branch state from a mask field 12 which turns off unwanted microbranch conditions so that only the desired branch condition or state reaches latch 10a over line 14 . two lines 16 and 18 connect a latch 10a to a multiplexer 20 which is controlled by signals on multiplexer control line 22 . line 16 is the current state line and feeds the multiplexer 20 with the current state of the machine . line 18 is the previous state line and feeds the previous state of the machine to multiplexer 20 . two latches 10b , 10cin line 18 delay the input from latch 10a so that the state fed to the multiplexer 20 is one cycle behind the state on line 16 . according to the selection signal on multiplexer control line 22 , the multiplexer 20 outputs either the current state or the previous state of the machine . the multiplexer 20 output is connected to one input of an or - gate 24 , whose other input is connected to a destination address line 26 . as stated earlier , one address will point to the next address ( or destination address ). it is this destination address that is latched in latch 10d and sent to or - gate 24 . unconditional branching simply uses the destination address as the next address . for conditional branching , the destination address is altered by oring in gate 24 the state codes from the rest of the machine . a certain number of the bits in the destination address , such as four of the bits , are changed by or - gate 24 so that the destination address will be changed . a 16 - way branching by the microcode is allowed if four bits are changed , for example . after the destination address inputted into or - gate 24 has been altered , it is outputted as an address on address line 28 which has a latch 10e . the address line 28 carries the address to a control store 30 which generates data that causes actions in the rest of the machine . the data is also fed back over line 32 to lines 22 and 26 , this data containing the destination address and the control for the multiplexer 20 . the control sent by the control store 30 over the multiplexer control line 22 causes the multiplexer 2 @ to select the current state 16 if the address is in the first flow ( the flow that contains the conditional branch ), or the previous state if the address is in the second flow ( the flow that contains the branch previous ). in operation , when a conditional branch has been set for an address of a first flow , the next address in this flow will be input into latch lod . if the condition to the branch was not satisfied , then the destination address will not be altered by the or - gate 24 and the address will go to the control store 30 . in the meantime , the address of the second flow has been input and proceeds as the first flow does , with the addresses from the first and second flows being interleaved as described earlier . when a branching state has passed the mask 12 and therefore satisfies the branching condition desired by the first flow , instead of merely passing on the destination address pointed to by the address in the first flow , multiplexer control line 22 carries the signal from the control store 30 to cause the current state to be ored at or - gate 24 with the destination address . this changes the destination address in the first flow so that the first flow will branch to the changed destination address . the destination address pointed to by the address in the second flow of the instruction having the branch previous set , arrives at the or - gate 24 one cycle after the destination address from the first flow arrived . the signal from multiplexer control line 22 to multiplexer 20 causes the previous ( or saved ) branch state , which was on line 16 one cycle earlier as the current state and is now on line 18 , to be ored with the destination address from the second flow . this changes the destination address in the second flow so that the second flow also branches to the changed destination address in the second flow . both flows have now branched on the same condition , and have therefore been kept together . by saving dynamic state for one cycle , then using this saved state to cause the second flow to branch , both flows effectively branch together and the program will remain together , making programming easier for the programmer . microsubroutine calls and returns are handled analogously to the above - described procedure . when a microsubroutine is called , the calling address is put onto a fifo stack 34 , as seen in fig2 . in order to keep the two flows together , when the first flow calls a microsubroutine , the second flow also calls a microsubroutine . the two microsubroutines are interleaved . a situation can occur during a microsubroutine which causes an error , such as when a microsubroutine is to calculate division by zero . in that case , a first flow may return out of the microsubroutine , passing the error status back to the caller , and it is important to make the second flow also return out with the same error status . the present invention accomplishes this by multiplexing the calling address from the stack 34 with the next address line 26 , using a multiplexer 36 . there are two paths the calling address from the stack 34 can take to the multiplexer 36 . the first is through one latch 10f , while the second path is parallel to the first and is through three latches 10 g , h , j . thus , when there is a return from a microsubroutine , the call address is popped off the stack 34 and is fed through both paths to the multiplexer 36 . the mux control 22 causes the multiplexer 36 to first select the input from the first path and in the next cycle to select the input from the second path . the three latches 10 g , h , j delay the call address along the second path . thus , the first flow uses the call address from the stack 34 which is on the first data path , and the second flow will have that same call address a cycle later , since it will take the call address from the second delayed path . the two call addresses are each modified in turn to give return addresses to cause the two flows to return from their respective microsubroutines . in the foregoing specification , the invention has been described with reference to a specific exemplary embodiment thereof . it will , however , be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . the specification and drawings are , accordingly , to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense .	6
fig1 is a block diagram representing the main control structure of an image recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the image recording apparatus 1 is provided with a recording head 2 for emitting ink to a recording medium and recording an image on the recording medium . the recording head 2 is equipped with nozzles 21 ( e . g . eight nozzles ) for emitting ink and is arranged in such a way that the direction n in which the nozzles 21 are arranged is tilted with respect to the direction p in which the recording medium will be conveyed ( fig2 ). assume that the nozzles 21 are numbered sequentially no . 1 , no . 2 , . . . no . 8 , starting from the nozzle 21 located at the trailing end with respect to the direction of conveyance p . thus , the nozzle 21 at the leading edge with respect to the direction of conveyance p is no . 8 . fig2 is an explanatory diagram representing the relationship between each of nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 and the image recording area t of the recording medium . here the image recording area t refers to the area wherein an image is recorded on the recording medium . in the present embodiment , the image recording area t corresponds to the matrix with eight rows and seventeen columns . as described above , the recording head 2 is arranged in a form tilted with respect to the direction of conveyance p . this arrangement allows only the nozzle 21 ( no . 8 ) located at the leading edge of the recording head 2 to be located at the image recording start point ( point p 1 in the 1st row ) of the image recording area t at the time of starting image recording ( one - dot chain line a 2 in fig2 ). to be more specific , the no . 8 nozzle 21 alone is allowed to emit ink on the image recording area of the recording medium at the image recording start point . after that , when the recording medium is fed one pixel , the no . 8 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 2 of the second row , and the no . 7 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 1 of the first row . in this way , when no . 8 nozzle 21 is located at point p 8 of the 8th row with the progress of image recording ; the no . 7 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 7 of the 7th row ; the no . 6 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 6 of the 6th row ; the no . 5 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 5 of the 5th row ; the no . 4 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 4 of the 4th row ; the no . 3 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 3 of the 3rd row ; the no . 2 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 2 of the 2nd row ; and the no . 1 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 1 of the 1st row ( one - dot chain line a 3 in fig2 ). in this state , ink can be emitted from all the nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 to the image recording area t . to be more specific , ink cannot be emitted to the image recording area t by any nozzle 21 if the nozzles 21 , until the no . 1 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 1 of the 1st row , i . e . while the no . 8 nozzle 21 is located in the range from the point p 1 of the 1st row to the destination point p 7 of the 7th row . in this way , the mode from the time the leading nozzle 21 is located at the image recording start point of the recording medium , to the time the trailing nozzle 21 is located there occurs at the time of starting image recording . this mode will be referred to as image recording start mode in the following description . all the nozzles 21 are located on the image recording area t from the time the no . 8 nozzle 21 is positioned at point p 8 of the 8th row , to the time it is positioned at the image recording completion point of the image recording area t ( e . g . destination point p 17 of the 17th row ) ( one - dot chain line a 4 in fig2 ). this allows the ink to be emitted onto the image recording area t from all the nozzles 21 . this mode occurs in the middle of image recording , and will be referred to as intermediate mage recording mode in the following description . after that , when the no . 8 nozzle 21 is positioned at the point immediately downstream from the image recording completion point ( destination point p 18 of 18th row ), the no . 8 nozzle 21 is removed from the image recording area t . other nozzles 21 such as no . 7 , no . 6 . . . no . 2 are also removed from the image recording area t in that order with the progress of image recording . in the final phase of image recording , the no . 8 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 24 of 24th row ; the no . 7 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 23 of 23rd row ; the no . 6 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 22 of 22nd row ; the no . 5 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 21 of 21st row ; the no . 4 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 20 of 20th row ; the no . 3 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 19 of 19th row ; the no . 2 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 18 of 18th row ; and the no . 1 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 17 of 17th row ( one - dot chain line a 5 of fig2 ). as described above , from the time the no . 8 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 18 of 18th row , to the time the no . 1 nozzle 21 is located at the point p 17 of 17th row , ink cannot be emitted from any of the nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 . the mode from the time the leading nozzle 21 is positioned at the point immediately downstream from the image recording completion point of the recording medium to the time the trailing nozzle 21 is located at the image recording completion point occurs at the time of completion of image recording . this mode will be referred to as image recording completion mode in the following description . in the present embodiment , the recording head 2 with eight nozzles 21 arranged thereon has been used as an example for explanation , without the total number of the nozzles 21 being restricted thereto if there are one or more nozzles 21 . assume that the total number of the nozzles 21 is “ n ” and the image recording completion point is “ m ” ( where m & gt ; n ). when the leading nozzle 21 is located at “ n − 1 ”- th row from the point of the 1st row , the system is in the image recording start mode . when the leading nozzle 21 is located at the area ranging from the n - th row to the m - th row , the system is in the intermediate image recording mode . when the leading nozzle 21 is located at the area ranging from the “ m + 1st ” row to the “ m + n − 1st ” row , the system is in the image recording completion mode . to be more specific , the intermediate image recording mode occurs between the image recording start mode and image recording completion mode . the recording head 2 is electrically connected with the head driving section 3 for driving the recording head 2 , as shown in fig1 . the head driving section 3 is electrically connected with a plurality of storage sections 71 , 72 and 73 through a level shifter 4 , latch 5 and shift register 6 . the storage sections 7 separately stores the ink emitting data on a plurality of emissions from each of the nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 formed based on the print pattern . the ink emitting data on a plurality of emissions includes the ink - emitting initial data for the recording head 2 in image recording start mode , the ink - emitting intermediate data for the recording head 2 of the intermediate image recording mode , and the ink - emitting final data for the recording head 2 of the image recording completion mode . in this case , “ fire 1 ” denotes the emission when the no . 8 nozzle 21 of the recording head 2 is located at the point p 1 of the 1st row ; “ fire 2 ” denotes the emission when it is located at the point p 2 of the 2nd row ; “ fire 3 ” denotes the emission when it is located at the point p 3 of the 3rd row ; and so on . reference numerals are given sequentially in this manner . since the emissions fire 1 through fire 7 are in the image recording start mode as shown in fig2 , the data of emissions fire 1 through fire 7 is the ink - emitting initial data . since the emissions fire 8 through fire 17 are in the intermediate image recording mode , the data of emissions fire 8 through fire 17 are the ink - emitting intermediate data . since the emissions fire 18 through fire 24 are in the completion image recording mode , the data of emissions fire 18 through fire 24 are the ink - emitting final data . incidentally , when an organic electroluminescent or liquid crystal color filter is created , the same filter pattern ( print pattern ) of the color filter is formed in the image recording area t of the recording medium . in the start image recording mode and completion image recording mode as described above , all the nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 are not arranged on the image recording area t . even when the same pattern is to be formed , the data patterns for the ink - emitting initial data of fire 1 through fire 7 and the ink - emitting final data of fire 18 through fire 24 are different . however , in the ink - emitting intermediate data of the fire 8 through fire 17 , all the nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 are located between the image recording start point and the image recording completion point . this arrangement provides the same data pattern . as described above , in the case of the same ink - emitting intermediate data pattern , the ink - emitting intermediate data of fire 8 through fire 17 can be integrated into one piece of ink - emitting intermediate data . each of the pieces of ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data is assigned to each of the storage sections 7 and is stored therein . as shown in fig1 , the storage section 7 for storing the ink - emitting initial data is the ink - emitting initial data storage section 71 ; the storage section 7 for storing the ink - emitting intermediate data is the ink - emitting intermediate data storage section 72 ; and the storage section 7 for storing the ink - emitting final data is the ink - emitting final data storage section 73 . the image recording apparatus 1 is electrically connected with a latch 5 , a shift register 6 and a plurality of storage sections 7 . a controller 8 is provided for specifying the storage section 7 corresponding to the degree of the process of the emission from the nozzle 21 for forming a print pattern , out of these multiple sections 7 . the controller 8 is electrically connected with an image forming apparatus pc such as a personal computer for forming image data . when image data has been inputted from the image formation apparatus , the controller 8 forms ink emitting data based on various conditions including the color data of the recording head 2 , the coordinate data of each nozzle 21 , image recording start mode , intermediate image recording mode , image recording completion mode and others . then the controller 8 classifies the ink emitting data having been formed , into ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data . then the controller 8 assigns them to the ink - emitting initial data storage section 71 , ink - emitting intermediate data storage section 72 and ink - emitting final data storage section 73 , where they are stored , respectively . the image recording apparatus 1 is provided with a drive waveform forming section 9 for creating the drive waveform of the recording head 2 . the drive waveform forming section 9 is electrically connected with the image forming apparatus pc and head driving section 3 . when an image recording start instruction has been inputted from the image forming apparatus pc , a drive waveform is created and is outputted to the head driving section 3 . the image recording apparatus 1 is provided with a controller 10 for controlling various sections according to the image recording start instruction issued from the image forming apparatus pc . fig3 is a schematic view representing the image recording apparatus 1 . a data reading section 11 ( not illustrated in fig1 ) is provided between storage sections 7 and shift register 6 . the data reading section 11 alternatively selects one of the storage sections 7 connected to the shift register 6 and reads out the ink emitting data on one - time emission from the nozzle 21 of each of the recording heads 2 , from the storage section 7 . this data reading section 11 allows the ink emitting data having been read out , to be stored in the shift register 6 for each “ fire ”, by connecting the shift register 6 with the storage section 7 specified by the controller 8 . the following describes the operations of the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment : fig4 is a flowchart representing the data transfer at the time of image recording . when the image recording start instruction has been inputted from the image forming apparatus pc , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 and creates ink - emitting initial data based on the image data inputted from the image forming apparatus pc . the ink - emitting initial data is then stored in the ink - emitting initial data storage section 71 , and the system proceeds to step s 2 . in step s 2 , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 and creates ink - emitting intermediate data based on the image data inputted from the image forming apparatus pc . then the ink - emitting intermediate data is stored in the ink - emitting intermediate data storage section 72 . in step s 3 , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 and creates ink - emitting final data based on the image data inputted from the image forming apparatus pc . then the ink - emitting final data is stored in the ink - emitting final data storage section 73 . in step s 4 , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 so that the data reading section 11 will read out the ink - emitting initial data once after the shift register 6 and ink - emitting initial data storage section 71 have been connected . the data reading section 11 reads out the ink - emitting initial data of the ink - emitting initial data storage section 71 for each “ fire ” according to the emission cycle and transfers the data to the shift register 6 where the data is stored . in step s 5 , evaluation is made to see if all the ink - emitting initial data has been transferred to the shift register 6 or not . if all the ink - emitting initial data has not been transferred , the system proceeds to step s 4 . if all the ink - emitting initial data has been transferred , the system proceeds to step s 6 . in step s 6 , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 so that the data reading section 11 will read out the ink - emitting intermediate data after the shift register 6 and ink - emitting intermediate data storage section 72 have been connected . the data reading section 11 reads out the ink - emitting intermediate data of the ink - emitting intermediate data storage section 72 for each “ fire ” according to the emission cycle and transfers the data to the shift register 6 where the data is stored . in step s 7 , evaluation is made to see if the number of times the ink - emitting intermediate data is read out has reached a predetermined level or not . if it has reached , the system proceeds to step s 8 . if it has not yet reached , the system proceeds to step s 6 . the term “ predetermined level ” in the sense in which it is used here refers to the number of rows wherein the intermediate image recording mode is maintained . in the present embodiment , the intermediate image recording mode ranges from the destination point p 8 of the 8th row to the destination point p 17 of the 17th row . accordingly , the predetermined level is set at 10 . in step s 8 , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 so that the data reading section 11 will read out the ink - emitting final data once after the shift register 6 and ink - emitting final data storage section 73 have been connected . the data reading section 11 reads out the ink - emitting final data of the ink - emitting final data storage section 73 for each “ fire ” according to the emission cycle and transfers the data to the shift register 6 where the data is stored . in step s 9 , evaluation is made to see if all the ink - emitting initial data has been transferred to the shift register 6 or not . if all the ink - emitting initial data has not been transferred , the system proceeds to step s 8 . if all the ink - emitting initial data has been transferred , data transfer terminates . when the ink emitting data has been transferred , the shift register 6 sequentially sends the ink emitting data fire 1 through fire 24 having been stored for each “ fire ” to the head driving section 3 . the present invention refers to the case where a filter pattern is formed in such a way that ink is emitted in the odd - numbered rows 1 , 3 , 5 and 7 , but ink is not emitted to the even - numbered rows 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 . thus , if binary data is present , “ 1 ” represents ink emission , and “ 0 ” denotes non - emission of ink . in fig2 , the ink emitting data of each of the fire 1 through fire 24 is represented in binary data format and hexadecimal data format . fig5 is a timing chart representing the data transfer from the shift register 6 to the head driving section 3 . as shown in this timing chart , the ink emitting data of binary data format is transferred to the head driving section 3 according to a predetermined serial clock . upon termination of the transfer , the latch is turned on so that the terminal point of the ink emitting data is identified by the head driving section 3 . the head driving section 3 superimposes the ink emitting data upon the drive wave sent from the drive waveform forming section 9 . this synthesized drive waveform is used to drive the recording head 2 . this procedure is repeated for each “ fire ”, whereby the filter pattern is recorded on the image recording area t of the recording medium . as described above , in the image recording apparatus 1 of the present invention , the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data stored in the plurality of storage sections 7 are read by the data reading section 11 and are stored by the shift register 6 . after that , the head driving section 3 drives the recording head 2 based on the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data having been stored . when the same filter pattern is to be image - recorded several times , image recording can be performed several number of times by using the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data of each storage section 7 , without ink emitting data being sent from the image forming apparatus pc every time . this arrangement reduces the number of times the ink emitting data is sent , and prevents image recording time from being prolonged despite higher definition of a color filter pattern , whereby high - speed image recording is ensured . further , when the same filter pattern is image - recorded several times , the image transfer load on the host computer will be reduced if there is no need to send the ink emitting data every time , with the result that host computer operation efficiency is improved . after the shift register 6 has stored the ink - emitting initial data having been read out once , the ink - emitting intermediate data having been read out a predetermined number of times . then the ink - emitting final data having been read out once is stored . thus , the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data are stored in the shift register 6 in that order . the head driving section drives the recording head 2 based on the ink emitting data stored in the shift register 6 . if the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data are stored in the aforementioned order , the recording head 2 can be driven in this order . this arrangement ensures image recording in the correct order . it is to be expressly understood , however , that the present invention is not restricted to the aforementioned embodiment . for example , the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has been described with reference to the case where the shift register 6 stores the ink - emitting intermediate data corresponding to a predetermined number of times . it is also possible to make such arrangements that , having stored the ink - emitting initial data having been read out once , the shift register 6 stores the ink - emitting intermediate data having been read out once ; and after that , the shift register 6 stores the ink - emitting final data having been read out once . as described above , the ink - emitting intermediate data , all the nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 are located within the range from the image recording start point of the recording medium to the image recording completion point . this arrangement provides the same data pattern . in the case of the same ink - emitting intermediate data pattern , repeated use is allowed so long as all the nozzles 21 of the recording head 2 are kept within the range from the image recording start point of the recording medium to the image recording completion point . to be more specific , if the ink - emitting intermediate data can be repeatedly used a predetermined number of times when the head driving section 3 drives the recording head 2 based on the ink - emitting intermediate data , the transfer time can be reduced as compared to the case where the ink - emitting intermediate data is read out several times . a plurality of storage section 7 are made up of a ink - emitting initial data storage section 71 for storing the ink - emitting initial data , an ink - emitting intermediate data storage section 71 for storing the ink - emitting intermediate data , and a ink - emitting final data storage section 73 for storing the ink - emitting final data . this arrangement enables separate management of ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data . as described above , in the present embodiment , for the sake of data management , the ink - emitting initial data is stored in the ink - emitting initial data storage section 71 , the ink - emitting intermediate data in the ink - emitting intermediate data storage section 72 , and the ink - emitting final data in the ink - emitting final data storage section 73 . however , three pieces of ink emitting data can be stored in two storage sections . alternatively , the emission can be stored in four or more storage sections . for example , when three or more pieces of ink emitting data are to be stored in two storage sections , the ink - emitting initial data is stored in one of the storage sections at the time of starting the image recording . at the same time , the ink - emitting intermediate data is stored in the other storage section . the ink - emitting final data is stored in one of the storage sections when an image is being recorded based on the ink - emitting intermediate data after completion of image recording by the ink - emitting initial data . in another example , when ink emitting data is stored in four or more storage sections , the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data are separated and are stored separately . alternatively , if at least one of the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data is used in a plurality of types , the data can be separately stored for each piece of ink - emitting intermediate data . in the first embodiment , the present invention has been described with reference to the image recording apparatus 1 wherein the ink emitting data on a plurality of emissions is separated into the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data to perform image recording . in the second embodiment , fig6 is used to describe the image recording apparatus 1 a for recording an image in the image recording area t of the recording medium using the mask pattern in the image recording start mode and image recording completion mode . the same portions as the aforementioned image recording apparatus 1 of the first embodiment will be assigned with the same numerals of reference , and will not be described to avoid duplication . as shown in fig6 , the image recording apparatus 1 a is provided with the ink emitting data storage section 74 for storing the ink emitting data of the recording head 2 formed based on the image data . the ink emitting data having the same data pattern is stored in this ink emitting data storage section 74 in the case of recording the ink emitting data of the filter pattern wherein the same pattern is formed in the image recording area t of the recording medium . the image recording apparatus 1 a is equipped with a initial pattern storage section 75 for storing the initial mask pattern data for forming a mask pattern when the recording head 2 is in the image recording start mode ; and a final pattern storage section 76 for storing the mask pattern data for storing the final mask pattern data for forming a mask pattern when the recording head 2 is in the image completion mode . the mask pattern in the sense in which it is used here is intended to restrict ink emission from the nozzle 21 to ensure that ink will not be emitted from the nozzle 21 arranged outside the image recording area t of the recording medium . the image recording apparatus 1 a is equipped with : a ink - emitting initial data synthesizing section 81 for synthesizing the initial mask pattern data of the initial pattern storage section 75 with the ink emitting data of an ink emitting data storage section 74 ; a ink - emitting final data synthesizing section for synthesizing the final mask pattern data of the final pattern storage section 76 with the ink emitting data of the ink emitting data storage section 74 ; a controller 8 a for specifying one of the ink emitting data storage section 74 , ink - emitting initial data synthesizing section 81 and ink - emitting final data synthesizing section 82 , according to the degree of progress of emission from the nozzle 21 for forming a print pattern . in the following description , the ink emitting data synthesized with the initial mask pattern data will be called the initial synthesis data , and the ink emitting data synthesized with the final mask pattern data will be called the final synthesis data . a data reading section 11 a is arranged between the ink emitting data storage section 74 and ink - emitting initial data synthesizing section 81 , and between the ink - emitting final data synthesizing section 82 and shift register 6 , wherein the data reading section 11 a connects any one of the ink emitting data storage section 74 , ink - emitting initial data synthesizing section 81 and ink - emitting final data synthesizing section 82 , with the shift register 6 , and reads out any one of the non - synthesized ink emitting data , initial synthesis data and final synthesis data . the following describes the operations of the image recording apparatus 1 a of the second embodiment . when an image recording start instruction is inputted from the image forming apparatus pc , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 a to create ink emitting data based on the image data inputted from the image forming apparatus pc , and this ink emitting data is stored in the ink emitting data storage section 74 . the controller 10 controls the controller 8 a so that the data reading section 11 a will read out the initial synthesis data once after the shift register 6 and ink - emitting initial data synthesizing section 81 have been connected . the data reading section 11 a reads out the initial synthesis data in conformity to the emission cycle and allows it to be stored in the shift register 6 . after termination of storage of the initial synthesis data , the controller 10 controls the controller 8 a in such a way that the non - synthesized ink emitting data will be read out after the shift register 6 and ink emitting data storage section 74 have been connected . the data reading section 11 a reads out the non - synthesized ink emitting data of the ink emitting data storage section 74 for each “ fire ” in conformity to the emission cycle , and the data is transferred to the shift register 6 where it is stored . the controller 10 controls the controller 8 a so that the data reading section 11 a will read out the ink - emitting initial data once after the shift register 6 and ink - emitting final data synthesizing section 82 have been connected . the data reading section 11 a reads out the final synthesis data of the ink - emitting final data synthesizing section 82 for each “ fire ” in conformity to the emission cycle , and the data is transferred to the shift register 6 where it is stored . thus , data transfer terminates after all the ink - emitting final data synthesis data has been read out and stored into the shift register 6 . for example , if the same filter pattern as that for the image recording apparatus 1 of the first embodiment is to be formed for the image recording apparatus 1 a of the second embodiment , then the ink emitting data of each “ fire ” stored in the shift register 6 will have the same data pattern as that of the ink emitting data shown in fig2 . fig7 is a timing chart representing the data transfer from the shift register 6 to the head driving section 3 . as shown by the timing chart of fig7 , the ink emitting data of the binary format is transferred to the head driving section 3 at a predetermined serial clock . upon completion of transfer , the latch is turned on and the end point of the ink emitting data is identified by the head driving section 3 . the head driving section 3 synthesizes the ink emitting data and the drive waveform inputted from the drive waveform forming section 9 , and the recording head 2 is driven by the synthesized drive waveform . this procedure is repeated for each “ fire ”, whereby the filter pattern is recorded on the image recording area t of the recording medium . in the second embodiment , it should be noted that the ink emitting data of fire 8 through fire 17 is the same ; and therefore , the data is transferred from the shift register 6 to the head driving section 3 in one operation , and the head driving section 3 repeatedly uses the non - synthesized ink emitting data having been transferred once , a predetermined number of times , whereby the recording head is driven . as described above , the image recording apparatus 1 a of the second embodiment allows the non - synthesized ink emitting data , initial synthesis data and final synthesis data to be read out by the data reading section 11 a . after the shift register 6 has stored the non - synthesized ink emitting data , initial synthesis data and final synthesis data , the head driving section 3 drives the recording head 2 , based on the stored non - synthesized ink emitting data , initial synthesis data and final synthesis data . thus , when one and the same print pattern is to be image - recorded several times , initial synthesis data and final synthesis data can be synthesized without having to transfer the ink emitting data every time , and image recording can be performed several times . this arrangement reduces the number of times the ink emitting data is sent , and prevents the image recording time from being prolonged , even if the higher definition of the print pattern of the color filter has been used . thus , a higher image speed is ensured . further , after storing the initial synthesis data having been read once , the shift register 6 stores the non - synthesized ink emitting data having been read once ; and after that , the shift register 6 stores the final synthesis data having been read out once . accordingly , the shift register 6 stores the initial synthesis data , non - synthesized ink emitting data and final synthesis data in that order . the head driving section 3 drives the recording head 2 based on the ink emitting data stored in the shift register 6 . if the initial synthesis data , non - synthesized ink emitting data and final synthesis data are stored in this order , the head driving section 3 can drive the recording head 2 according to this order , thus making it possible to record the image in right sequence . as describe above , if non - synthesized ink emitting data is used a number of predetermined times when the head drives section 3 drives the recording head 2 based on non - synthesized ink emitting data , data transfer time can be reduced as compared to the case where the non - synthesized ink emitting data is read out several times . the present embodiment has been described with reference to the image recording apparatus 1 a equipped with one initial pattern storage section 75 and one final pattern storage section 76 . at least one of the initial pattern storage section 75 and final pattern storage section 76 to be provided may be more than one . even when more than one initial mask pattern data and more than one final mask pattern data are used , they can be stored separately , if this arrangement is used . the first embodiment has been described with reference to the case where the ink emitting data on a plurality of emissions is made up of the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data . the third embodiment will be described with reference to the case where the ink emitting data on a plurality of emissions is made up of at least two of the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data . the same portions as the aforementioned image recording apparatus 1 of the first embodiment will be assigned with the same numerals of reference , and will not be described to avoid duplication . at least two of the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data in the aforementioned description includes a combination of ink - emitting initial data and ink - emitting intermediate data , a combination of ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data , a combination of ink - emitting initial data and ink - emitting final data , and a combination of ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data . it includes the case where the ink - emitting intermediate data is separated into more than one piece . if the total number of the pieces of ink emitting data on a plurality of emissions does not exceed the total number of the storage sections 7 , the ink emitting data can be stored in the storage section 7 before recording the image . however , depending on the apparatus configuration , the aforementioned total number of the ink emitting data may be greater than that of the storage sections 7 . in this case , all the ink emitting data cannot be stored prior to image recording . assume , for example , that ink emitting data on a plurality of emissions is made up of ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data , and two storage sections 7 are provided . in this case , the data reading section 11 reads out the ink - emitting initial data and is stored in one of the storage sections 7 . then the ink - emitting intermediate data is read out and is stored in the other storage section 7 . in the process of reading the ink - emitting intermediate data , all the ink - emitting initial data has already been sent to the shift register 6 for each “ fire ”. accordingly , the data reading section 11 reads out the ink - emitting final data and stores it in one of the storage section 7 . thus , the head driving section 3 drives the recording head 2 based on the transfer data made up of the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data that are transferred to the shift register 6 after having been stored in two storage sections 7 . to put it another way , at least two of the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data stored in the storage sections 7 are read out by the data reading section 11 . the head driving section drives the recording head 2 , based on at least two of the ink - emitting initial data , ink - emitting intermediate data and ink - emitting final data having been stored in the shift register 6 . according to the present invention , when the same filter pattern is repeatedly recorded for plural times , it becomes possible to conduct recording operation for plural times without transferring the ink emitting data for every time , since it is possible to generate the synthesized ink - emitting initial data , the synthesized ink - emitting intermediate data and the synthesized ink - emitting final data by employing the ink - emitting initial data , the ink - emitting intermediate data and the ink - emitting final data or based on the non - synthesized ink emitting data . therefore , it becomes possible not only to reduce the number of times for transferring the ink emitting data , but also to prevent the redundant time duration for the image recording operation , even if the filter pattern of the color filter is formed in a high definition pattern , resulting in a high speed image recording operation . further , if it is not necessary to transfer the ink emitting data for every time when the same filter pattern is repeatedly recorded for plural times , it is possible for the host computer to reduce the burden of image transferring operations , resulting in an improvement of the operating efficiency of the host computer . while the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described using specific term , such description is for illustrative purpose only , and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims .	1
there will now be described a laser printer according to one embodiment of this invention with reference to fig1 to 5 . fig1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the laser printer . the laser printer includes casing 1 and charging drum 2 placed in substantially the central area of casing 1 . the outer surface of charging drum or photosensitive drum 2 is used as a photosensitive surface . charging drum 2 is rotated in a clockwise direction at a constant speed . as in the conventional case , the laser printer includes charging section 3 having charger 3a for electrostatically charging the charging drum , light exposing section 5 for applying laser beam 4 to the surface of charging drum 2 in response to an image signal , developing section 6 for supplying toner which will be adhered to the surface of the charging drum in position defined by the electrostatic latent image formed on charging drum 2 by the laser beam , image transferring section 9 having transfer charger 9a for transferring the image forming toner adhered to the surface of the charging drum to recording paper 8 , and charge removing section 10 having a charge removing lamp for removing residual charges on the surface of charging drum 2 after the image transferring process . charging section 3 , light exposing section 5 , developing section 6 , image transferring section 9 and charge removing section 10 are arranged around charging drum 2 . further , the laser printer includes cassette receiving slot 11 into which paper supply cassette 7 can be removably set . a plurality of sheets of recording paper 8 are set in paper supply cassette 7 . sheets of recording paper 8 are drawn out of paper supply cassette 7 one by one by means of cf roller 12 and fed to transferring section 9 via carriage roller 13 . recording paper 8 is subjected to the image transferring process in image transferring section 9 , fed through between a pair of fixing rollers 14a and 14b provided in fixing section 14 , and then discharged via paper discharging slot 15 to the exterior of casing 1 . the laser printer further includes microswitch 16 having three contacts a , b and c which are selectively activated to detect the type of paper 8 when paper supply cassette 7 is set via cassette receiving slot 11 . fig2 is a perspective view of examples of paper supply cassette 7 to be inserted into cassette receiving slot 11 . each of paper supply cassettes 7 is used for receiving sheets of recording paper of a specified size . in the laser printer described above , five types of paper supply cassettes 7 are provided for respective types of recording paper used in the printing process . in each of paper supply cassettes 7 , partition plates 7a are used to hold the recording paper in a preset position . projections 17a to 17c are selectively formed on front surface 7b of paper supply cassette 7 in order to respectively activate contacts a , b and c of microswitch 16 . since eight different combinations of three projections 17a to 17c can be attained , eight types of paper supply cassettes 7 can be selectively specified . in fig2 projections 17a to 17c are formed on paper supply cassette 7 exclusively used for postcards , projection 17a is formed on paper supply cassette 7 exclusively used for a4 - size paper , and projection 17b is formed on paper supply cassette 7 exclusively used for b5 - size paper . fig3 is a block diagram showing the control circuit of the laser printer . the laser printer includes central processing unit ( cpu ) 18 for performing various operations , rom 20 for storing fixed data such as control program , ram 21 for storing variable data such as input character data , interface 22 connected to receive character data to be printed and supplied from external host computer hc , and input / output ( i / o ) port 23 via which various instructions and data are input and output . the above circuit elements are connected to each other via bus line 19 . i / o port 23 is further connected to main driving motor 24 for driving charging drum 2 , charging section 3 , transferring section 9 , charge removing section 10 , light exposing section 5 , driving motors 13a for driving cf roller 12 and carriage roller 13 , various sensors 25 and fixing section 14 . transferring section 9 is connected to microswitch 16 having three contacts a , b and c for detecting the type of paper supply cassette 7 or paper 8 to be supplied . fig4 shows the relation between the conditions of contacts a , b and c and the types of paper 8 to be detected in the laser printer . fig5 shows the transferring section 9 more in detail . transferring section 9 includes transferring voltage generating circuit 9b and transferring voltage controlling circuit tc . circuit 9b is a type of switching regulator using a voltage regulator ic ( μa723 ) which is well known in the art as shown in fig5 . in transferring voltage controlling circuit tc , one end of each contacts a , b and c of microswitch 16 mounted in cassette receiving slot 11 is grounded , and the other ends of respective contacts a , b and c are connected to power source voltage terminal + v via pull - up resistors 31 and to the respective negative logic input terminals of nand gate 32 . an output terminal of nand gate 32 is connected to power source voltage terminal + v via resistor 33 and to the base of npn transistor 34 . in this way , nand gate 32 generates postcard detection signal dt of &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level to turn off transistor 34 when paper supply cassette 7 for postcard is inserted into cassette receiving slot 11 and contacts a , b and c are all detected to be closed . transferring voltage generating circuit 9b includes voltage setting circuit 36 formed of three resistors 36a , 36b and 36c connected in series between constant voltage terminal 6 of voltage regulator ic 35 and the ground . the voltage at the connection node between resistors 36b and 36c of voltage setting circuit 36 is supplied as preset voltage ec to voltage input terminal 5 of the voltage regulator ic . further , both ends of resistor 36b of voltage setting circuit 36 are connected to the collector and emitter of transistor 34 . unless postcard detection signal dt is generated , transistor 34 is kept in the conductive state , setting preset voltage ec to a voltage level e1 obtained by dividing the constant voltage based on the resistance ratio of resistors 36a and 36c . when transistor 34 is turned off by postcard detection signal dt , preset voltage ec is set a to voltage level e2 obtained by dividing the constant voltage based on the ratio of the sum of resistances of two resistors 36a and 36b and the resistance of resistor 36c . the operation of voltage regulator ic 35 is started in response to the fall of transfer signal ts supplied for transfer control from cpu 18 , and a switching signal of a preset frequency having a duty ratio corresponding to preset voltage ec is supplied from ic 35 to the base of transistor 37 . the collector of transistor 37 is connected to one end of primary winding 38a of high - voltage transformer 38 and the emitter thereof is grounded via resistor 39 . the other end of primary winding 38a of high - voltage transformer 38 is connected to a driving voltage terminal of d . c . 12 v . secondary winding 38b of high voltage transformer 38 is connected to output terminal 42 via rectifying diodes 40a , 40c and smoothing capacitors 41a and 41b . output voltage vo is supplied as a transfer voltage from output terminal 42 to transfer charger 9a . output voltage vo is divided based on the resistance ratio of voltage dividing resistors 43a and 43b and then fed back to voltage regulator ic 35 . when preset voltage ec of voltage setting circuit 36 in e1 , output voltage vo is set to 5 . 0 kv which is an optimum transfer voltage for transferring an image to ordinary paper of a4 , b5 and letter sizes , for example . when preset voltage ec is e2 , output voltage vo is set to 5 . 3 kv which is an optimum transfer voltage for transferring an image to a postcard , for example . the turns ratio of high - voltage transformer 38 and the resistance of each resistor of voltage setting circuit 36 are so determined as to attain the above transfer voltages . next , the operation of transfer voltage controlling circuit tc for controlling the transfer voltage to be applied to transfer charger 9a is explained . when the power source of the printer is turned on , each section including fixing section 14 is set into an operable condition . assume now that paper supply cassette 7 for recording paper of a4 , b5 or letter size other than the postcard size is set into cassette receiving slot 11 . in this case , one of contacts a , b and c of microswitch 16 is kept open , causing an output signal of nand gate 32 to be set to an &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; level . at this time , transistor 34 is kept conductive to set preset voltage ec of voltage setting circuit 36 to voltage level e1 . under this condition , paper 8 is supplied from paper supply cassette 7 to transfer section 9 and then brought into contact with the toner image formed on the surface of charging drum 2 . then , transfer signal ts is set to an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level , permitting voltage regulator ic 35 to operate . at this time , d . c . voltage vo of 5 . 0 kv is supplied from output terminal 42 . output voltage vo is supplied as a transfer voltage to transfer charger 9a . as a result , the toner image on charging drum 2 is transferred onto paper 8 used as ordinary paper . then , paper ( ordinary paper ) 8 to which the toner image is thus transferred is fed to fixing section 14 . in this case , paper supply cassette 7 for the postcard is set into cassette receiving slot 11 . then , contacts a , b and c of microswitch 16 are all closed or turned on . as a result , postcard detection signal dt of &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level is generated from nand gate 32 to turn off transistor 34 . at this time , preset voltage ec of voltage setting circuit 36 is set to a voltage level e2 . after this , when transfer signal ts is set to &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; level , voltage regulator ic 35 is operated . in this case , d . c . voltage vo of 5 . 3 kv is generated from output terminal 42 , and is applied to transfer charger 9a as a transfer voltage . as a result , the toner image on charging drum 2 is transferred onto the postcard . then , paper ( postcard ) 8 to which the toner image is transferred is fed to fixing section 14 . in this way , the toner image is transferred with transfer voltage vo of 5 . 0 kv when ordinary paper of a4 , b5 and letter sizes is used as recording paper 8 , and the toner image is transferred with transfer voltage vo of 5 . 3 kv when thick paper such as a postcard is used as recording paper 8 . transfer voltage controlling circuit tc can automatically raise the transfer voltage in a case where the thickness of recording paper is changed from the standard thickness of paper ( ordinary paper ) of a4 , b5 and letter sizes to the thickness of the postcard which is thicker than the ordinary paper . therefore , it is possible to transfer the toner image to the ordinary paper and postcard under respective satisfactory conditions . in this way , high electrophotographic printing quality can be always obtained irrespective of the thickness and quality of the recording paper . in the above embodiment , when paper supply cassette 7 is replaced , an optimum transfer voltage is automatically selected , and therefore it is not necessary for the operator to select the transfer voltage according to the type of recording paper . thus , the laser printer is superior in its operability . in the above embodiment , two transfer voltages are selectively set . however , in a case where it is required to select three or more transfer voltages , the number of resistors of voltage setting circuit 36 is increased and shunt transistors are respectively connected in parallel with selected resistors . in this case , the conduction states of the shunt transistors are selectively controlled by means of a decoder , for example , according to the contact positions of microswitch 16 . on the embodiment , charging drum 2 is used as charging body . however , it can be replaced by a charging belt having a photosensitive surface . further , i / o port 23 can be connected to microswitch 16 so as to detect that paper supply cassette 7 is not inserted into slot 11 , for example .	6
as shown in fig1 a novel kettle 10 according to the invention includes a nonflat semicylindrical side wall 12 contiguous with a flat bottom 14 . extending from the nonflat side wall 12 is a spout 16 which extends upward and then horizontally to a horizontally opening aperture 18 . the kettle 10 has a larger aperture 20 covered by a removable lid 22 . a handle 24 is attached to the kettle 10 . referring now to fig2 there is shown the kettle 10 with its semicylindrical side wall 12 , flat bottom 14 and a contiguous flattened or flat rear wall 26 . the aperture 18 is shown extending perpendicularly away from the flat side wall 26 . detailed aspects of the spout 16 are shown wherein it extends upwards vertically and then horizontally away from the side wall 26 . note that the thickness of the flattened vertical side wall 26 is illustrated as &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and the thickness of the bottom 14 is illustrated as &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; whereas the thickness of the remainder of the kettle 10 is illustrated generally as a thickness &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;. in the preferred embodiment &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; is greater than &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; is less than &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;. the specific dimensions of &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; may change and may be selected from a variety of parameters . the thickness for the parameter &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; is always greater than the thickness of the parameter &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and is selected such that the center of gravity for the kettle is substantially within a plane illustrated as p -- p &# 39 ;. this plane p -- p &# 39 ; is the plane defined by the lateral aspect of the handle 24 within the position illustrated in fig1 and 2 . a typical example of the kettle 10 according to the invention is when the bottom of the tea kettle is defined by one half of an elipse divided along its great axis wherein the greater axis is 8 . 5 inches and the minor axis is 8 inches . further , the distance from the bottom 14 to the uppermost point of the spout 16 is 5 . 5 inches , the height of the flattened side wall 26 is 4 . 5 inches , and the parameters &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; are 4 . 5 millimeters , 5 millimeters , and 4 millimeters , respectively . the distance from the top of the nonflat surface of the kettle 10 shown in fig2 to the uppermost aspect of the handle 24 with the foregoing parameters is preferably 3 . 5 inches and the handle preferably weighs between about 1 ounce and 5 ounces . shown in fig3 is a rearview of the kettle 10 from the aspect of the flat wall 26 . the kettle 10 is preferably made of a material selected from the group consisting of iron , brass , aluminum , copper , stainless steel , or an enameled aspect of the first four . as shown in detail in fig3 lid 22 is adapted to removably seal the aperture 20 . as illustrated the aperture 20 is substantially greater than the aperture 18 at the end of the spout 16 . further , the thickness of the bottom 14 is illustrated as substantially greater than the thickness of the nonflat side wall 12 shown in fig3 as having a thickness &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;. there is shown within and contained within the kettle 10 a quantity of a liquid , for example , water 30 . in fig3 the bottom 14 is required to be of sufficient thickness such that it may be separated into two parts ( not shown ), namely a bottom which is an integral portion of the kettle 10 and another removable part which attaches to the bottom of the kettle by any number of means such as for example clamps , or a tongue and groove slot arrangement . such a removable bottom may conform to the shape of the bottom of the kettle 10 as shown in fig5 or may assume a variety of other shapes for decorative or design purposes . it may be separately usable as a trivet in addition to its function to counterbalance to insure the center of gravity of the kettle 10 falling within the plane p -- p &# 39 ; wherein the handle 24 is located . in fig4 there is shown a top view of the kettle 10 wherein the lid 22 is shown sealing the large aperture 20 . the spout 16 is shown extending upwards and then horizontally to an opening 18 which points perpendicular away from the side wall 26 . the handle 24 is shown pivoted towards the nonflat side wall 12 . the handle 24 is retained in brackets 32 and 34 forming an integral part of the kettle 10 . a portion 36 of the handle 24 is preferably made of a heat insulating material to facilitate picking up the kettle 10 with minimal conduction of heat to the portion 36 from the kettle 10 . finally , there is shown in fig5 a bottom view of the kettle 10 wherein the nonflat side wall 12 is shown contiguous with the bottom 14 and the flat side wall 26 . further illustrated is the thickness &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; for the side wall 26 and the thickness &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; for the nonflat side wall 12 . the illustration is such that the thickness &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; is greater than the thickness &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;. it is to be understood that further modifications and alterations of the embodiment shown and alternative embodiments of the kettle and / or steamer described for this invention will be apparent for those skilled in the art in view of this description . accordingly , this description is to be viewed as illustrative only of the preferred embodiment at this time and for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the manner of carrying out the invention including the importance of the center of gravity of the novel invention being located in the plane of the handle . it is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described including the thick bottom , whether by detachable trivet or not , are the presently preferred embodiments . various changes may be made in the shape , size and arrangement of the parts . equivalent elements or materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein , parts may be reversed , and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently of the use of other features . all of this as would be apparently to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description and thus the inventor in this instrument relies upon the doctrine of equivalents for his claims as set forth below , to wit :	0
the novel method consists of setting a first reference point at the edge of the circle to be measured and allowing a single continuous adjustment to be made which aligns at least two other points with the edge of the circle where such adjustment positions another point at the center of the circle by way of a mechanism that maintains accurate spatial relationship of all of the points . the three mechanical embodiments described below show general types of apparatus that practice the novel method . one skilled in the art will appreciate , that many other configurations of these type apparatus can also practice the invention and still be within the spirit and scope of the claims . it will also be recognized by one skilled in the art that such apparatus may be automated by electro - mechanical means . positioning and maintaining the spatial relationship of the points may be performed by a motor or other actuator controlled by a microprocessor . the points that are positioned at the edge of the circle may be photo - detectors or other electronic indicators that provided signals to the microprocessor . the microprocessor would use this information to accurately position the edge locators and center indicator . this automated practice of the invention is also within the spirit and scope of the claims . [ 0020 ] fig1 a shows the preferred exemplary mechanical embodiment of the invention . it is comprised of two general parts , a base member 1 , shown by itself in fig . b , and an extendable member 2 , shown by itself in fig1 c . base member 1 has a pivot post 3 about which it can rotate freely . the pivot post 3 extends through the base member 1 and has an axial hole , is transparent , or has other means that allows the edge of the circle to be seen through the post . the bottom of pivot post 3 may be anti - slip and / or notched for use with a flat circle or end of a cylinder where such a notch is designed to align the edge of the cylinder with the center of the post . the center of the pivot post 3 establishes the first reference point on the edge of the circle to be measured . base member 1 has a longitudinal cavity 4 running its length with lateral cavities 5 projecting at 60 degrees from either side of it . the lateral cavities are oriented such that the line 6 that bisects the lateral cavities 5 intersects the line 7 that bisects the longitudinal cavity 4 at the center of the pivot post 3 at 60 degrees . the lateral cavities 5 have curved surfaces as they intersect the longitudinal cavity 4 to smoothly redirect the flexible portions of the extendable member 2 as will be described later . the cavities in the base member 1 are sized to accept the extendible member 2 with close but non - interfering tolerance . the extendible member 2 consists of a center solid longitudinal portion that has a longitudinal slot providing clearance for the pivot post 3 and longitudinal flexible portions 8 on either side . the flexible portions 8 are constructed such that they are normally straight yet can be redirected by the walls of the lateral cavities 5 as they move through them . after being redirected 60 degrees by and exiting from the lateral cavities 5 , the flexible portions 8 return to a straight and rigid state . the flexible portions 8 of the extendable member 2 need only be flexible in one degree of freedom in order to be redirected the 60 degrees . many embodiments of a flexible member with one degree of freedom may be employed such as the use of a tight spring or elastomeric material . an exemplary embodiment shown here is the use of solid segments affixed to the convexing side of a thin flexible material such as spring steel that will bend yet return to straight when the bending force from the walls of the lateral cavities 5 is not in effect . holes , arrows , or other points of registration are located at the free end of the flexible portions 8 and are the circle edge locators 9 and 10 . the circle edge locator 9 establishes the second reference point on the edge of the circle and edge locator 10 establishes the third . an adjust knob 11 or other means to allow the extendable member to be moved relative to the base member 1 is located at the posterior end of the extendable member 2 . a hole , arrow , or other means of registration is located at the anterior end of the extendable member 2 , and is the circle center indicator 12 . with the circle center indicator 12 being a hole ; a pencil , stylus , or other marking device may be inserted to mark just the center of the circle when the pivot post 3 and circle edge locators 9 and 10 are positioned at the edge of the circle . the pivot post 3 is place at the edge of a flat circle to be measured or against the edge of a cylinder to be measured . the operator may then hold the pivot post 3 in position by pressing it against the circle with a thumb . using the thumb and forefinger of the other hand , the adjust knob may be pushed or pulled to extend or retract the extendable member 2 , as well as rotate the combined base member 1 / extendable member 2 assembly . as the extendable member 2 is pushed toward the anterior end of the base member 1 , the flexible members are forced outward at 60 degrees by the walls of the lateral cavities 5 . the center solid longitudinal portion is extended out of the longitudinal cavity 4 by this same action . the push and / or pull , and rotation is performed until the circle edge locators 9 and 10 are both positioned at the edge of the circle . when this alignment occurs , the circle center indicator 12 is precisely at the center of the circle . a second embodiment , shown in fig2 a , is another apparatus that implements the present novel method of finding the center of a circle . this embodiment consists of the individual components shown in fig2 b : a base member 13 , left rotatable arm 14 , right rotatable arm 15 , and an extendable member 16 . the base member 13 has a pivot post 17 about which it can rotate freely . the center of the pivot post 17 establishes the first reference point on the edge of the circle to be measured . the base member 13 also has a left rotatable arm pivot post 18 and a right rotatable arm pivot post 19 and extendable member guides 20 . the left rotatable arm 14 has complex curve gear teeth 21 and edge of circle locator 22 . the right rotatable arm 15 is a mirror copy of the left rotatable arm 14 and has complex curve gear teeth 23 and edge of circle locator 24 . the extendable member 16 has a longitudinal slot 25 that accommodates the base member pivot post 17 , and has a circle center locator 26 located at its anterior end . an adjust knob is located at the anterior end of the extendable member 16 . on the left side of the anterior edge of the extendable member 16 is complex curve gear teeth 27 . on the right side of the anterior edge of the extendable member 16 is complex curve gear teeth 28 . when assembled as in fig2 a , the rotatable arms 14 and 15 are located on and may rotate about pivot posts 18 and 19 respectively . the extendable member 16 is located between the extendable member guides 20 . the extendible member complex curve gear teeth 27 and 28 engage the rotatable arms &# 39 ; complex curve gear teeth 21 and 23 respectively . the shape of the complex curve gear teeth 21 on the left rotatable arm 14 and the shape of the complex curve gear teeth 27 on the right side of the extendable member 16 are complimentary and have a geometry that results in continuous meshing of the gear teeth where the left rotatable arm circle edge locator 22 rotates to the edge of a given circle when the extendible member 16 is moved to where the circle center indicator 26 is at the center of the given circle when the pivot post 17 is also on the edge of the circle . the complex curve gear teeth 28 on the right rotatable arm 15 and the complex curve gear teeth 28 on the right side of the extendable member 16 mesh in the same fashion . an infinite number of complex curve geometry &# 39 ; s will satisfy this relationship and depend on the distance from the center of the rotatable member to the edge locator and the position of the center of the rotatable member relative to the center of the pivot post . operation of this apparatus is similar to that of the preferred embodiment . the pivot post 17 is placed on the edge of a circle to be measured . the extendable member 16 is then pushed or pulled and rotated about pivot post 17 until the right and left rotatable circle edge locators , 22 and 24 , are positioned at the edge of the circle . when this occurs , the circle center indicator 26 is at the center of the circle . a third embodiment is yet another apparatus that implements the present novel method of finding the center of a circle . this embodiment , shown in fig3 consists of a base member 29 , a rack and pinion slide 30 , racks 31 and 32 , pivot post 33 , and pinion gear 34 . the base member 29 contains a longitudinal slot and a hole that accommodates pivot post 33 about which it may rotate freely . the longitudinal outer surfaces on either side of the slot of the base member 29 are relatively smooth and parallel allowing the rack and pinion slide 30 to move freely in the longitudinal direction . the rack and pinion slide 30 has a hole , post , or other means to accommodate the pinion gear and has groves , rails , or other means to accommodate and hold the racks in proper relationship . the hole , post , or other means of accommodating the pinion gear 34 has a hole in the center , is transparent , or has some other means to indicate or mark the center of the circle and is center indicating point 35 . the ends of the racks have holes , are transparent , or have other means to be circle edge locators 36 , 37 , 38 , and 39 . these circle edge locators are equidistant from the line that runs through the circle center locator 35 and is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base member 29 .	1
the present invention is a method and device employing a novel composition for attracting and exterminating mosquitoes and other flies such as sand flies that feed and are attracted to sugars of plant origin . specifically , the composition includes feeding stimulants preferably sugar of plant origin , an attractant , and a toxin , for the attraction and extermination of the mosquitoes and other flies . the principles and operation of a device employing a novel composition utilizes the sugar feeding behavior of blood - sucking flies , according to the present invention , may be better understood with reference to the experiments and the accompanying drawings . before explaining embodiments of the invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of design and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings . the invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways . also , it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting fig1 exhibits baits including fragrant floral or fruit attractant ( 110 ), sugary phagostimulant ( 130 ) and insect oral toxin ( 120 ) which are dispersed in suitable locations in target - insect habitat by spraying , or soaked in suitable fragrance slow release substrates suitable carriers of the baits can be natural local environmental component ( 104 ) such as trees , thickets of vegetation and rock surfaces or artificially introduced elements such as porous plastic or cardboard plates attractants can be natural such as flowers either on the plant or collected and presented and it can be fruit in different stages of ripening or decay . candidate flowers for extraction : acacia raddiana , tamarix nilotica and other tamarix spp . and polygonum equisetiforme and an example of fruit for extraction is over - ripe nectarine ( prunus persica var . nectarina ). these can be extracted to isolate purify and store the components that attract sugar questing insects . a third possibility after the identification of the attractive components is to imitate them with the right combination of artificial chemicals and use the product as an insect attractant . the methods for the extraction of fragrant substances include maceration , expression stream distillation in oily and organic solvents . hydrophilic substances are concentrated in aqueous solutions . an “ absolute ”, the extract obtained by extraction with volatile solvents or by enfleurage . it is the purest perfume material , retaining most of the plants aromatic constituents . enfleurage et maceration is a labor - intensive process that yields the highest quality of absolutes because it does not involve heat . heat always alters the fragrance . it is used on delicate flowers that can not stand up to the high heat , and that continue to release essential oils after they have been picked . it works on the principle that fats absorb smells . petals or other fragrant parts of a plant are steeped in fat or non - evaporating oil which will absorb their fragrance . this process is repeated several times with fresh flower heads until the oil is totally adsorbed with essential oil , the resultant . the fragrant substances are then retrieved from the fat by dissolving in an alcoholic solvent . the alcohol is then evaporated to leave the pure absolute . maceration is similar to enfleurage , a labor - intensive process . maceration is used to extract essential oils from animal ingredients , vanilla and iris . these materials are steeped into vats of oil until the scented parts dissolve . the oil may be heated to speed up the process . maceration takes long periods of time sometimes years . another method used for obtaining attractants is expression , a simple technique where the extracted materials are cold pressed to extract their essential oils using rollers or sponges . there is no heat involved , leaving the oil to smell very close to the original plant . another method used for obtaining attractants is distillation , a main method used for extracting essential oils . distillation is based on the principal that when plant material is placed in boiling water , the essential oil in it will evaporate with the steam . once the steam and oil have been condensed , the oil will separate from the water , and it can be collected . plants are crushed to encourage them to release their oils . plants are boiled in water , and the essential oils vaporize and rise up with the steam . the vapors are captured , and allowed to condense back into liquids . the essential oils are poured into florentine flasks . five to six tons of roses are needed to obtain one kilo of essential oil . extraction with volatile solvents without the removal of the stearoptene is preferably used for the purpose of obtaining attractants , according to the embodiment of the present invention . this method is used for delicate flowers whose odors are damaged by the high heat needed to boil water . the oils are extracted using solvents which have lower boiling points than water . various substances such as ether or high - grade petroleum , which evaporate rapidly , are used in modern perfumery to dissolve essential oils from fragrant plant and animal materials . the usual method involves placing the fragrant material on perforated metal plates in a container ( the extractor ); the solvent is passed over them and led into a still , where it evaporates , leaving a semi - solid mass known as concrete , which contains the essential oil together with stearoptene . the oil can then be separated from the stearoptene by extraction with alcohol in a ‘ batteuse ’, producing the substance called absolute , which is the purest and most concentrated form of essential oil known . the feeding stimulants are a sugar or a mixture of sugars . the term sugar refers to any monosaccharide , disaccharide , trisaccharides or oligosaccharide ( containing 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 or more monosaccharide units respectively ) that elicit insect feeding . of the three common monosaccharides glucose and fructose are most important for insect sugar diet . ( fig2 ). a major feeding stimulant is sucrose ( fig3 ), a disaccharide of glucose ( left ) and fructose . included in this list in addition to fructose , glucose , are also : galactose , maltose , lactose and mannose in any combination or chemical composition . toxins include all the substances that kill insects and can be legally used for the purpose . oral toxicants and insecticides have the priority since their effects are limited to insects that feed on the bait . spinosad , boric acid and carbamate are an example for this type of toxicants . the list includes biological control agents such as bacillus thuringiensis ; b . t . israelensis ; b . sphaericus ; insect hormone mimics and insect growth regulators . it also includes contact insecticides of the different groups like permethrin or ddt . target insects are sugar feeding insects , mainly diptera , particularly mosquitoes ( family culicidae , genera anopheles , culex and aedes ) and sand flies ( family psychodidae ). of lesser importance are horse flies ( family tabanidae ), non - blood sucking flies of the muscomorpha ( cyclorrhapha ) group wasps and ants . the attractant and sugar bait will be presented in different forms that suit the behavior of target insects and the conditions of the site . one basic way is to present both , the sugar bait plus toxin , and the attractant either with the other two substances or alone , soaked in suitable materials . the attractant is mixed in water with at least 10 % sugar mixture and at least 0 . 001 % spinosad . the suffused materials can be placed at different points as specific larger bait stations or spread as grains over a wide area . a large variety of absorbing materials can be used as carriers of the sugar - insecticide - attractant combinations . to mention just a few : cardboard , sheets of plastic foam and plates or grains of plaster of paris . for example plaster of paris plates 50 × 50 cm and 0 . 5 cm thick , or thick cardboards with the same surface size , suffused with sugar solution and toxin , accompanied by similar half a size plates suffused with floral attractant , can be hanged in at a height of ˜ 1 m in a mosquito habitat with a distance of about 50 m between pairs of plates . another version can be used in a sand fly habitat : grains of plaster of paris 2 - 5 mm in diameter , soaked with the three components of bait stations can be widely spread in a sand fly habitat with distances of 20 - 100 cm between grains . the attractant may be mixed with a oily substance such as petroleum jelly which causes a slow release effect and the bait may be smeared on a solid surfaces of rock or wood , like the walls of a house and function in a dry state for an extended period . spraying : the chemical composition of the present invention can be sprayed on different type of vegetation on rocks and on walls . for example it is possible to spray trees near breeding sites of mosquitoes and the vegetation near breeding sites is a good target for spraying . in mediterranean areas common plants at the margins of mosquito breeding sites are thickets of typha domingensis and phragmites australis , scirpus litoralis , polygonum senegalense , chenopodium murale , conyza dioscridis , epilobium hirsutus , inula viscosa and foeniculum vulgare . spraying will be particularly useful if the breeding site vegetation is thick and access to the water is difficult . the method of spraying depends on the size of the treated area . a hand sprayer may be sufficient for a private garden , spraying from the air would be necessary at the margins of large water bodies and there are several possibilities . spraying on a small area for experiments is with a 7 to 10 liter hand sprayer ( for example killaspray , model 4005 , hozelock - asl , birmingham , england ). hand sprayer : hand - held sprayers usually have an air pump which compresses air into the tanks and pressurizes the spray mixture . the pressure slowly drops as the liquid is sprayed . these sprayers operate at low pressures of 350 kpa ( 50 psi ) or less and have small tanks of up to ten liters . similar back - pack sprayers : are fitted with a harness so the sprayer can be carried on the operator &# 39 ; s back . tank capacity may be as large as 20 liters . motorized sprayers : that typically produce more consistent sprayer outputs , and provide more uniform coverage than hand spraying have to be used in larger areas . motorized sprayers typically produce more consistent sprayer outputs , cover the spray swath more uniformly , operate at constant speeds and result in much more uniform coverage than hand spraying . motorized sprayers are also capable of higher pressure sprays where required to provide better coverage . motorized powered sprayers can provide high pressure sprays and power can be used to drive agitation systems , fans for air - assisted or air blast spraying , and transporting large volumes of spray mix . properly equipped and operated , power sprayers can provide uniform coverage on a wide variety of targets . these systems can be mounted on tractors , trucks , trailers , and aircraft . motorized sprayers may be used to supply spray mix to a hand gun or hand held boom with several nozzles . with this equipment , the spray uniformity will be similar to a hand operated sprayer . provided with hand guns they are useful for spot treatments and treating small areas . boom sprayers : most sprayers distribute pesticides using a boom with spray nozzles spaced at regular intervals . spraying the vegetation with the composition according to embodiments of the present invention can be done with low pressure boom sprayers that are suitable for spraying large plants with more foliage and may require finer droplets to obtain good coverage of the foliage . high pressure boom sprayers are often more suitable in these circumstances . high pressure sprayers require pumps , hoses , nozzles and other components that can develop and withstand the higher pressures . air - blast sprayers : most boom sprayers rely on pressure to move the spray mixture through a small opening in the nozzle and to create the small droplets and speed necessary to achieve good spray coverage of the target . in field crops good coverage is relatively easy to achieve where the target foliage is small and close to the nozzles . in tree fruits , especially with large trees , good coverage with conventional sprayers is more difficult to achieve . air - blast sprayers direct the spray mixture from the nozzles into an air stream which transports the spray droplets to the target . air - blast sprayers have a powered fan which forces air through an opening to generate high air speeds . often the opening or manifold can be adjusted to ensure that the air stream is directed at the target . in conventional air - blast sprayers most of the air movement is upward into the trees or target . tower air manifolds are also available for air - blast sprayers which direct the air horizontally or even downwards towards the target . the horizontal or downwards air movement minimizes drift from air - blast sprayers . aerial applicators : on large surfaces of vegetation a belt of the bait preparation can be applied by either fixed - wing aircraft or by helicopters . the main advantage of aerial spraying is that it can be carried out quickly and at times when ground equipment cannot operate . bait station : a combined use of attractants for sugar questing insects and a mixture of sugary food bait ( feeding stimulant ) and insect toxin . the idea is that target insects follow the odor plume of the attractant , concentrate and feed on the sugar - toxin mixture of the bait and dye consequently . there are numerous variations for presenting such combinations in the field . all three components and the stations in which it is presented are spread at different distances according to the behavior of target insects and the structure ( open or wooded areas ) and properties ( common wind directions ) of the habitat . trap attractant combinations : attractants of plant origin are of all the types and preparations were previously described . traps that are aimed at catching insects usually consist of a suction mechanism that creates an ingoing air stream . insect engulfed by the air stream are propelled into a porous container , often made of net that allows the air flow to go through and keeps the insects inside . different traps are provided with a source of light . uv or white that attracts insects to the traps . for blood feeding insects , released co2 which can come from different sources is another common attractant and so are elevated temperature and humidity . blood sucking is a trait of female mosquitoes , sand flies and other haematophagous diptera and they require blood only at the beginning of gonotrophic cycles . therefore a large part of the population at any given time is not responding to olfactory cues that lead to a host animal . the attractants of plant origin are a new family of attractants and they in will apparently have a more general effect on the target insect populations . thus , an embodiment of the present invention is to control sugar - feeding insects , especially adult insects in an area without resorting to ground and aerial spraying of chemical pesticides . since the methods of the present invention are employed in a limited number of foci or specific small area , the environment is minimally affected , and the methods of the present invention adversely affect only a limited number of non - target organisms and there is no exposure of human population to pesticides . this is also the advantage compared to large scale programs of larval control in which the landscape is changed or larvicides are spread over large areas and indiscriminately affect the environment . a relatively small scale treatment is employed , which is required for having a significant effect by the present invention , consequently the amount of insecticide used , the required effort and the expenses are relatively low . another advantage of the present invention is the enhanced attraction to sugar is common to all stages of adult mosquitoes whereas attractants to host animals affect only females that are searching for blood and not these that are developing eggs . as such , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based , may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures , methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention . it is important , therefore , that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , it will be appreciated that many variations , modifications and other applications of the invention may be made . the energy for the activities of female and male mosquitoes is provided by plant sugars or ‘ sugar meals ’ usually nectar from flowers and also from nectaries on leaves and stems , and honeydew excreted by homopterans . these are of particular interest in a situation of sugar shortage as the scarcity of flowers in arid areas . these plants are extreme attractants to nectar searching mosquitoes . relying on this attraction we sprayed flowering acacia raddiana trees in small mosquito infested oasis with sugar solution laced with oral insecticide spinosad . virtually the whole population of anopheles sergentii was eliminated when lured by the fragrance of the flowers the mosquitoes fed on the poisonous sugar solution ( muller & amp ; schlein , 2006 ). in the present study that was also carried out in the same sites , with no use of the attraction of local flowers but constructed and presented bait stations in which the attractant was fermenting ripe fruit . the effect of attractive sugar baits including sucrose , juice of nectarine , blue food dye marker and oral insecticide , on anopheles sergentii and aedes caspius populations was studied in a small oasis in a southern desert of israel . whereas , feeding on similar baits without an insecticide was monitored as a control in a similar neighboring oasis . the insecticide caused a drastic decline in the number of mosquitoes . compared to the control site the an . sergentii population was reduced to less than a tenth and that of ae . caspius declined to a third . the majority of the mosquitoes , 76 . 0 % of an sergentii females and 74 . 8 % of ae . caspius females , were marked by the food dye in the control site . the study was carried out in two little oases that are enclaves of vegetation in a barren desert area , in the south of israel where the annual rainfall is only 50 to 100 mm ( zohari , 1982 ). the oases were more than 5 km away from each other and from possible mosquito breeding sites . both include small fresh water springs surrounded by dense vegetation that becomes thinner and altogether spreads on an area of about four to six hectares . several acacia raddiana ( mimosaceae ) trees were scattered at different distances from the water . the experiments were carried out in the flowerless summer and autumn in october november 2006 . the dominant riparian plant was phragmites australis ( gramineae ) and the desert plants included salsola cyclophylla , suaeda fruticosa , atriplex halimus , chenopodiaceae and alhagi graecorum papilionaceae ( definitions as in feinbrun - dothan & amp ; danin , 1991 ). anopheles sergentii theobald , an important malaria vector , ( service , 1993 ) aedes caspius pallas and culex spp . were breeding in the springs but the larvae were almost inaccessible in the vegetation . bait solutions were prepared : these for the experimental site consisted of ( a ) ˜ 85 % juice of over - ripe to rotting nectarines ( prunus persica var . nectarina : rosacea ), 5 % wine , 10 % w / v brown sugar (“ nature sugar ” brown , louis dreyfus , israel ), 0 . 5 % w / v red food dye ( carmoisine e122 , stern , natanya , israel ) and 0 . 04 % wn oral insecticide of spinosad (“ tracer ”® dow agrosciences , canada ). in a similar solution ( b ) the portion of sugar was increased to 35 %. w / v and the volume of fruit juice was adjusted accordingly . both solutions were ripened for 48 hrs , in covered buckets , outdoors in the sun with daily temperature reaching ˜ 300 c . similarly prepared solutions without insecticide were used for the control site . disposable plastic bottles of 1 . 5 l soft drink with a hole of ˜ 5 cm cut up at about ⅔ of the height were prepared . cotton wick was inserted through the holes with both ends reaching down to the bottom of the bottles . the bottles were then inserted , bottom first into large , light colored , cotton flannel socks that had been thoroughly washed with water and dried . the socks were then wetted by dipping into solution b and about 0 . 5 liter of solution a was pored into each bottle . thus fluid from inside the bottle was sucked through the wick when the external cover dried . the bottles were provided with a 60 cm umbrella shaped cover of plastic and 12 bottles with their covers were hung , dispersed , at a height of 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 m from branches of a . raddiana near the spring in the experimental and in the control site . the baits were presented on day six and they were changed after two weeks . an . sergentii and ae . caspius female populations in each site was monitored for 36 days with six miniature light traps ( model 512 , john w . hock , gainesville , fla .) placed in fixed positions , that were repeatedly hung overnight at a height of approximately 1 m . the catch of an . sergentii trapped in the experimental site was 133 . 6 females on average in the first six days . it declined to 82 females / trap immediately after presenting the baits and within 30 days gradually decreased to 11 females / trap . in the control site the average number of female mosquitoes / trap in the first six days was 97 . 3 and it increased to an average of 134 . 6 females / trap in the last 6 experimental days ( fig4 ). the effect on ae . caspius was less pronounced . the average catch per trap in the first six days was 60 . 6 females . afterwards with small fluctuations the average / trap in 30 days was 20 females . the catch of ae . caspius in the control site amounted to 61 . 3 females / trap and and with fluctuations it was 60 . 35 females / trap for 30 days as ( fig5 ). the food dye label marked 52 . 8 % of an . sergentii females in the first night and their proportion increased to 71 . 0 % in night three . afterwards their proportion fluctuated without a clear tendency between 68 . 1 % and 93 . 3 % and on average it was 76 . 0 %. the labeling of ae . caspius females was similar . from 39 . 2 % labeled females in the first night it increased to 74 . 4 % in the catch of night three , afterwards the lowest percentage of labeling was 68 . 6 %, the highest was 92 . 5 % and the average was 74 . 8 %. in the present experiment the efficiency of attractive bait stations including oral insecticide for the control of mosquitoes was tested . bait stations were similarly presented with the insecticide in an experimental oasis and without insecticide in a control site . food dye marker was included in the baits in both cases , for labeling feeding mosquitoes as described by schlein ( 1987 ). in the experimental oasis the insecticide caused a drastic decline in the number of mosquitoes . compared to the control site the an . sergentii population was reduced to less than a tenth and that of ae . caspius declined to a third . feeding on similar baits without an insecticide in a control site , a similar neighboring oasis , marked on average 76 . 0 % of an sergentii females and 74 . 8 % of ae . caspius females . it appears that the baits were similarly approached and fed upon by mosquitoes in the experimental and control oases since the rate of marking in the control site was similar to the decrease in mosquito populations in the experimental site . the high rate of dye marking and particularly the elimination of an . sergentii and ae . caspius by the insecticide indicate that most of the mosquitoes obtained their sugar diet exclusively by feeding on the attractive baits . both oases were 1 centered on springs that were mosquito breeding sites and there should have been a high multiplication rate . we therefore presume that most of the surviving mosquitoes in the experimental site and un - labeled mosquitoes in the control site were newly emerged mosquitoes . the extensive mortality implied that bait stations that are central feeding sites may be used for efficient mosquito control . for this purpose it is plausible to use a solution of spinosad with sugar bait . spinosad is basically an oral insecticide , it has very little toxicity to birds and mammals , it does not affect several insect groups and it was classified by the united states environmental protection agency as an environmentally and toxicologically reduced risk material ( williams et al . 2003 ). suitable places for this control approach might be in desert and savannah regions , particularly in sub - saharan africa , where the burden of malaria is increasing because of resistance to drugs , conventional insecticides and environmental changes ( greenwood & amp ; mutabingwa 2002 ). these areas include large scale irrigation projects , which increase the number of mosquitoes in arid and semi - arid areas . such projects cover nearly half of the arable land in africa ( ijumba & amp ; lindsay 2001 , appawu et al ., 2004 ) and there are similar projects in the desert in pakistan (( herrel et al ., 2004 ). application of attractive bait : 10 % of the vegetation around both ponds ( experimental and control ) of experiment 1 was sprayed with the mixtures described above . application was in spots of 0 . 5 - 1 m2 on approximately every fifth thicket . altogether about 10 % of the vegetation in the experimental and control sites was treated . the experimental site received treatment with toxin and no toxin was used in the control . mosquito populations were monitored for 35 days . treatment was on the 6th day . catches in the experimental site ranged between 65 to 90 female cx pipiens / trap and afterwards it decreased to 3 to 18 females / trap . in the control site the catch was 40 females / trap during the whole period . open flowers of t . nilotica ( weighing 9 . 5 kg ) were put in 4000 ml hexane ( merck , reinst ) in glass beakers and crushed . the fluid , 3700 ml hexane extract , was then filtered into bottles that were tightly closed . aliquots of 80 ml extract were gradually soaked and dried in filter paper sheets ( din a 4 , blotting paper , whatman inc . nj , usa ) that were fan - shape folded with 1 cm ridges . control similar papers were wetted with 80 ml untreated hexane . the experimental and control filter papers were attached to cdc like traps without light while other traps were provided with fresh t . nilotica flowering branches weighing ˜ 1250 - 1500 gr . a line of traps ( cdc - like miniature light traps ( model 512 , john w . hock , gainesville , fla .) provided with the above or other baits ( five traps per bait , three repetitions ) was presented overnight in mosquito habitats . in site 1 the average catch of control trap was 6 . 4 culex pipiens mosquitoes . the catch of traps baited with extract was 9 . 8 times greater and that of flower baited traps was 78 . 1 times greater . in site 2 the average catch of control trap was 8 . 2 anopheles sergentii mosquitoes . the catch of traps baited with extract was 5 . 6 times greater and that of flower baited traps was 5 . 5 times greater . experiment 3 ; the use of natural floral centers for mosquito control . in traps baited with branches of common local plants , the highest , 60 . 5 % of the total catch of culex pipiens , was by flowers of tamarix jordanis trees . the effect of the attraction was tested in the field . experimental conditions : selected control and experimental mediterranean study sites were uncultivated areas stretching for about 500 m , along two channels , with tamarix jordanis trees near their center . the mosquito population in the study sites was monitored for a month . on day six both sites were sprayed with sugar solution and additives using 7 - liter hand sprayer ( killaspray , model 4005 , hozelock - asl , birmingham , england ). t . jordanis trees in the experimental site were sprayed with 7 to 15 liter solution of 20 % weight / volume ( w / v ) sucrose , 2 . 0 % w / v food blue no . 1 ( indigotine c . i . stern , natanya , israel ) and 0 . 04 % w / v oral insecticide spinosad (“ tracer ”®, dow agrosciences , canada ) in water . in the experimental site the spray of spinosad caused a sudden decrease of 80 %, from initial 255 mosquitoes / trap . the lowest level later was ˜ 24 mosquitoes / trap while the yield in the control reached ˜ 400 mosquitoes / trap . re - growth of the population in the experimental site began 18 days after the spraying . methodology as in the section above in experiment 3 . the assumption that scarce flowering trees in arid areas are attractive , central sugar sources was tested in the southern desert of israel . in traps baited with flowers of acacia raddiana , tamarix nilotica or ochradenus baccatus the catch of anopheles sergentii was ˜ 35 to 75 times greater than with baits of flowerless branches . in a small isolated oasis , a spray of sugar and food - dye solution on the few flowering a . raddiana trees dye - labeled 80 to 90 % of an . sergentii . in a similar oasis this spray with addition of oral insecticide virtually killed the local mosquitoe	0
the inventors have recognized that the insulating disc relied upon in the prior connector and assembly apparatus to provide the molten solder containment during interconnection complicates manufacture and introduces an impedance discontinuity that may degrade the electrical performance of the resulting interconnection . the end of a coaxial cable 1 may be prepared for interconnection by stripping back the protective jacket 3 ( if present ), outer conductor 5 , dielectric 7 and inner conductor 9 to expose desired lengths of each at the cable end , for example as shown in fig3 . depending upon the desired interconnection interface and / or coaxial cable 1 configuration , an inner contact 11 may be required to adapt the inner conductor 9 to the desired connection interface inner conductor dimensions . if needed , an inner contact 11 may be soldered upon the prepared end of the inner conductor 9 . to protect the dielectric 7 from thermal damage during soldering , a removable solder shield 13 may be applied between the inner contact 11 and the outer conductor 5 and dielectric 7 , for example as shown in fig4 and 5 . a solder preform 15 may be applied proximate the end of the outer conductor 5 , for example , wrapped around the outer conductor 5 as shown in fig6 . a connector body 17 of the connector may be seated upon the selected interface pedestal 19 of the assembly apparatus 21 , the interface pedestal 19 inserted within a connector body bore 23 of the connector body 17 . as best shown in fig7 and 8 , the insertion pedestal 19 may be provided with a shoulder 25 dimensioned to position a solder end of the insertion pedestal 19 at a desired longitudinal position , such as flush with the edge of a solder cavity portion 27 of the connector body bore 23 . a seat 29 may be provided at the solder end of the interface pedestal 19 . the seat 29 formed , for example , of a non - metallic material with insulating characteristics , such as polytetrafluoroethylene , fiberglass reinforced thermoset or polyether ether ketone or the like , provides a thermal break between the connector body 17 and the immediately adjacent portion of the insertion pedestal 19 , so that heat applied to the solder cavity portion 27 is not conducted away by the insertion pedestal 19 , decreasing heat application requirements and thereby the chances for thermal damage to portions of the assembly that may be damaged by excessive heating , such as the dielectric 7 . the seat 29 may also operate as a cost efficient exchangeable wear portion , protecting the interface pedestal 19 . rather than replace the entire interface pedestal 19 , only the seat 29 need be exchanged when contact surfaces with of the seat 29 become worn . thereby , the fit between the connector body 17 and the seat 29 may be cost effectively provided with a high dimensional tolerance , reducing the chance that a gap between the seat 29 and the connector body 17 large enough for significant levels of flux and / or molten solder passage may occur . the seat 29 may be removably retained upon the interface pedestal 19 , for example , by a retaining element such as a gasket 31 seated in an annular groove 33 provided in the outer diameter of the interface pedestal 19 . the prepared end of the coaxial cable 1 , with the inner contact 11 and solder preform 15 attached , may be inserted into the cable end of the connector body bore 23 , the connector body 17 already seated upon the interface pedestal 19 , for example as shown in fig9 and 10 . upon insertion , the leading end of the outer conductor 5 seats against the seat 29 , forming a solder cavity 35 between the outer conductor 5 , interface pedestal ( seat 29 if present ) 19 and connector body 17 . heat , for example applied via induction heating by a u - shaped inductor 37 , for example as shown in fig1 and 2 , or alternatively applied directly to the exterior of the connector body 17 , melts the solder preform 15 , pooling solder within the solder cavity 35 . where the interface pedestal 19 is oriented with a longitudinal axis that is vertical , gravity retains the molten solder within the solder cavity 35 , even though the solder cavity 35 “ top ” is open . an inner conductor cavity 39 open to the solder end of the interface pedestal 19 receives the inner conductor 9 with inner contact 11 , if present . upon cooling , the solder forms an electro - mechanical joint between the outer conductor 5 and the connector body 17 . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the thermal break provided by the seat 29 and / or the thermal mass of the interface pedestal 19 surrounding the inner conductor cavity 39 thermally isolates the solder interconnection between the inner conductor 9 and the inner contact 11 , which may reduce a chance of overheating and / or damage to this solder connection during the outer conductor 5 to connector body 17 solder operation . a flux and / or molten solder seal between the outer conductor 5 and the interface pedestal 19 or seat 29 , if present , may be enhanced by introducing a bias therebetween , for example by providing the interface pedestal 19 or seat 29 with a range of motion along the longitudinal axis biased by a bias element , such as a spring 40 , for example as shown in fig8 . alternatively , a grip clamp 41 , for example as shown in fig1 and 2 , may be biased toward the interface pedestal 19 when the grip clamp 41 is engaged to grip the cable , thereby biasing the outer conductor 5 against the interface pedestal 19 or seat 29 , if present . for ease of use with a range of different connector interface types , the interface pedestal 19 may be configured for ease of exchange via , for example , a fastener inserted into a retention hole 43 at an assembly apparatus end of the interface pedestal 19 . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the general interconnection process does not have a specific order of operation with respect to the connector body 17 and the interface pedestal 19 . for example , instead of seating the connector body 17 upon the interface pedestal 19 and then inserting the outer conductor 5 and solder preform 15 into the connector body bore 23 , the outer conductor 5 and solder preform 15 may be initially inserted into the connector body bore 23 and this assembly then seated upon the interface pedestal 19 . because the connector and cable assembly apparatus together eliminate the need for application of an additional insulating disc to each connector , the total number of connector components and the number of required assembly operations has been reduced , which may increase manufacture efficiency . further , the elimination of the insulating disc removes an impedance discontinuity , which may improve the electrical performance of the interconnection . the presence of the seat 29 enables tighter tolerances and may significantly extend the useful operating life of the insertion pedestal 19 . finally , the presence of the seat 29 improves thermal isolation , which may reduce the total heat and thus time required to perform the outer conductor solder operation as well as reduce the chances for thermal damage to the dielectric 7 and / or the previously applied inner conductor 9 to inner contact 11 solder connection , if present . where in the foregoing description reference has been made to ratios , integers or components having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth . while the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof , and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail , it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details , representative apparatus , methods , and illustrative examples shown and described . accordingly , departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of applicant &# 39 ; s general inventive concept . further , it is to be appreciated that improvements and / or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims .	7
the devices and methods discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific manners in which to make and use this invention and are not to be interpreted as limiting in scope . while the devices and methods have been described with a certain degree of particularity , it is to be noted that many modifications may be made in the details of the construction and the arrangement of the devices and components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure . it is understood that the devices and methods are not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification . in general , in a first aspect , the invention relates to a pet amusement device 1 as shown in fig1 through 5 . the pet amusement device 1 may be used alone or in conjunction with a second pet amusement device 2 , as shown in fig2 through 5 . the pet amusement device 1 may comprise two parts : a base 3 and a cap 4 . the base 3 may include a continuous track 5 in the form of a channel . a toy 6 may be contained within the continuous track 5 such that the toy 6 may freely travel along the continuous track 5 . the toy 6 may be a ball with a typical spherical shape or may have any other shape that allows the toy 6 to roll or slide along the continuous track 5 . the continuous track 5 may be circular or have any other appropriate shape . the base 3 may include one or more openings 7 along the continuous track 5 such that the continuous track 5 and any toy 6 contained within the continuous track 5 may be accessible through the openings 7 such that a cat or other animal may bat the toy 6 around the continuous track 5 and watch it travel around and around the continuous track 5 . the openings 7 may be along the top of the base 3 , along the sides of the base 3 , along the bottom of base 3 , or any combination thereof . the openings 7 may be a single continuous longitudinal opening along the top of the base 3 , as shown in fig1 through 3 . the continuous track 5 may have an arcuate cross - section , as seen in fig4 . the openings 7 may be of sufficient width to allow entry of the paw of a cat or other animal through the openings 7 to allow the cat or other animal to bat the toy 6 along the continuous track 5 . the width of the openings 7 may be slightly smaller than the width of the toy 6 . thus , the toy 6 may freely roll or slide along the continuous track 5 but may not be easily removed from the continuous track 5 through the openings 7 . the base 3 may be made of slightly flexible material such that the openings 7 may be expanded slightly to allow insertion or removal of the toy 6 . the base 3 may include a receptacle 8 , which may be located such that the receptacle 8 is surrounded by the continuous track 5 . the receptacle 8 may be circular , as shown in fig2 , particularly if the continuous track 5 is circular . the bottom of the receptacle 8 may have a raised center 9 . the raised center 9 may slope toward the edges of the bottom of the receptacle 8 . the raised center 9 may have channels 10 therein , such that material poured onto the raised center 9 would travel along the channels 10 to the edges of the bottom of the receptacle 8 . the raised center 9 may have one or more holes or indentations 11 . the cap 4 may at least partially cover the receptacle 8 . the cap 4 may have approximately the same diameter as the receptacle 8 such that the cap 4 may cover the receptacle 8 without covering the continuous track 5 surrounding the receptacle 8 . the cap 4 may have one or more tabs 12 extending downward therefrom . the tabs 12 may fit within the holes or indentations 11 , thus securing the cap 4 in place relative to the base 3 . additionally or alternately , the cap 4 may attach to the raised center 9 via any other suitable attachment device or devices . additionally or alternately , the cap 4 may attach to the base 3 along the sides of the receptacle 8 . the cap 4 may be removably attached to the base 3 . the cap 4 may have an opening 13 therethrough such that the receptacle 8 may be accessed through the opening 13 . thus , if the receptacle 8 is circular , the cap 4 may be annular . the opening 13 may have a similar or smaller diameter to that of the raised center 9 of the receptacle 8 such that the edges of the bottom of the receptacle 8 may be accessed only via the channels 10 in the raised center 9 . in use , a user may pour catnip through the opening 13 in the cap 4 while the cap 4 is in place over the receptacle 8 . the catnip would travel along the channels 10 and come to rest along the edges of the bottom of the receptacle 8 in close proximity to the continuous track 5 . the channels 10 may be generally narrower than a cat &# 39 ; s paw such that a cat would not have easy access to the catnip resting along the edges of the bottom of the receptacle 8 . the cap 4 may have one or more holes 14 therein such that the scent from any catnip contained within the receptacle 8 may exit the receptacle through the holes 14 . the one or more holes 14 may be small enough that the catnip itself cannot exit the receptacle through the holes 14 should the pet amusement device 1 be turned upside down . the cap 4 may be sized such that there is at least one gap 15 between the bottom of the cap 4 and the top of the sides of the receptacle 8 . the gap 15 further allows the scent from the catnip contained within the receptacle 8 to exit the receptacle 8 . in use , when the toy 6 travels along the continuous track 5 , the movement of the toy 6 may create circular air currents above the pet amusement device 1 . these circular air currents may promote the dispersal of the scent of the catnip . in particular , the catnip is located along the edges of the bottom of the receptacle 8 , which is in close proximity to the gap 15 and the continuous track 5 . as the toy 6 rotates around the continuous track 5 , it creates a low pressure zone behind the toy 6 and a high pressure zone ahead of the toy 6 . this causes air currents to be introduced in the gap 15 between the cap 4 and the base 3 , which wafts the scent of the catnip from the receptacle 8 into the continuous track 5 and lofts the scent into the air surrounding the pet amusement device 1 . the pet amusement device 1 may be used alone or in conjunction with a second pet amusement device 2 , as shown in fig2 through 5 . the second amusement device 2 may comprise a base 23 . the base 23 may include a continuous track 25 in the form of a channel . a toy 26 may be contained within the continuous track 25 such that the toy 26 may freely travel along the continuous track 25 . the toy 26 may be a ball with a typical spherical shape or may have any other shape that allows the toy 26 to roll or slide along the continuous track 25 . the continuous track 25 may be circular or have any other appropriate shape . the base 23 may include one or more openings 27 along the continuous track 25 such that the continuous track 25 and any toy 26 contained within the continuous track 25 may be accessible through the openings 27 such that a cat or other animal may bat the toy 26 around the continuous track 25 and watch it travel around and around the continuous track 25 . the openings 27 may be along the top of the base 23 , along the sides of the base 23 , along the bottom of base 23 , or any combination thereof . the openings 27 may be a single continuous longitudinal opening along the top of the base 23 , as shown in fig2 and 3 . the continuous track 25 may have an arcuate cross - section , as seen in fig4 . the openings 27 may be of sufficient width to allow entry of the paw of a cat or other animal through the openings 27 to allow the cat or other animal to bat the toy 26 along the continuous track 25 . the width of the openings 27 may be slightly smaller than the width of the toy 26 . thus , the toy 26 may freely roll or slide along the continuous track 25 but may not be easily removed from the continuous track 25 through the openings 27 . the base 23 may be made of slightly flexible material such that the openings 27 may be expanded slightly to allow insertion or removal of the toy 26 . the base 23 may have an inner portion 28 , where the continuous track 25 surrounds the inner portion 28 . the inner portion 28 may have a flat bottom , an upstanding rim extending from the bottom , and an open top . the diameter of the inner portion 28 may be approximately the same as the diameter of the base 3 of the pet amusement device 1 . the pet amusement device 1 may attach to the second pet amusement device 2 such that base 3 covers the inner portion 28 but does not cover the continuous track 25 . the base 23 may have one or more tabs 29 extending into the inner portion 28 . the base 3 may have one or more holes or indentations 30 such that the tabs 29 of the second pet amusement device 2 fit within the holes or indentations 30 of the pet amusement device 1 , thus securing the second pet amusement device 2 to the pet amusement device 1 . additionally or alternately , the pet amusement device 1 may attach to the second pet amusement device 2 via any other suitable attachment device or devices . once attached , the pet amusement device 1 and the second pet amusement device 2 may combine to form a unitary deluxe pet amusement device with two continuous tracks 5 and 25 containing two toys 6 and 26 , respectively , and a receptacle 8 for catnip protected by a cap 4 , as seen in fig3 . the pet amusement device 1 may be raised relative to the pet amusement device 2 , such that the pet amusement device 1 and the second pet amusement device 2 form tiers , as seen in fig5 . whereas , the devices and methods have been described in relation to the drawings and claims , it should be understood that other and further modifications , apart from those shown or suggested herein , may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention .	0
the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents . it includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary . accordingly , those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . also , descriptions of well - known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness . the terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings , but , are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention . accordingly , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus for a single chip package using lga coupling . the present invention provides an apparatus for a single chip package using lga coupling wherein the package has a short path for power supply and a ground , and transmits a signal in a coaxial shape or in a co - planar waveguide guide ( cpw ) shape , so that parasitic inductance is minimized and performance of an rf chip does not deteriorate and a characteristic does not change as well as it enables low costs and miniaturization when mass - producing a product . particularly , the present invention is very useful for a millimeter wave band and may be used for implementing a system for a multi - frequency application in a system - on - package ( sop ) such as a case where a millimeter wave band system is integrated in an integrated system of 2 / 5 ghz bands . an apparatus of the present invention couples a multi - layer substrate with a mainboard using a coupling pad for lga coupling , and may mount one or a plurality of integrated circuit chips thereon . in the present invention , a multi - layer substrate mounting an rf ( millimeter wave ) band antenna or transition between an integrated circuit chip and an antenna therein has an interconnection contact pad for lga coupling with a mainboard , so that the multi - layer substrate may be connected via simple soldering without an additional process . in the present invention , a chip is connected with the multi - layer substrate via a flip - chip bump or a wire , and in case of an rf chip , gnd vias are positioned in the neighborhood of a signal line bump , so that they play a role of a low loss transmission line such as a coaxial shape or a co - planar waveguide guide ( cpw ). the mainboard forms a cavity to provide a concave portion so that a chip attached on the multi - layer substrate may not bump into the mainboard . in addition , the mainboard may include an input end connected with a low frequency band antenna . in addition , the mainboard is used in the same meaning as a pcb in the present invention . fig1 illustrates a single chip package using lga coupling according to an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a signal , gnd , and power of a chip 1 120 may be connected with a multi - layer substrate 110 via flip - chip bonding ( step a ). an rf signal is enclosed by two or more gnd vias to maintain a coaxial cable shape or a cpw shape ( step b ). a transition that can connect with an antenna or an external antenna is positioned in the uppermost layer of the multi - layer substrate 110 ( step c ). in the multi - layer structure of the multi - layer substrate 110 , power , gnd , digital / if signal , etc . may be connected with the mainboard 150 ( step d ). chips 1 , 2 120 and 130 are positioned in cavities in the mainboard 150 ( step e ). connection ends such as signal , gnd , power of the chip 2 130 may be connected with the multi - layer substrate 110 via wire bonding ( step f ). the chip 2 130 may be connected with gnd mounted inside the multi - layer substrate 110 through a via of the multi - layer substrate 110 ( step g ). ends such as power , gnd , digital / if signal , etc . of the chip 2 130 may be connected with the mainboard 150 ( step h ). in the above single chip structure , a structure where the chip 1 120 and the multi - layer structure 110 are connected may be more suitably used for an rf region . in addition , a structure where the chip 2 130 and the multi - layer structure 110 are connected may be used for a low frequency region . this is because the structure where the chip 1 120 and the multi - layer structure 110 are connected shows low performance deterioration for the rf region and even the low frequency region , and the structure where the chip 2 130 and the multi - layer structure 110 are connected shows relatively high performance deterioration for the rf region but shows low performance deterioration for the low frequency region . fig2 illustrates a multi - layer substrate before smt according to an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig2 , a multi - layer substrate 210 before smt is illustrated . the multi - layer substrate 210 includes a chip 1 220 and a chip 2 230 as an embodiment , but the number of chips is not limited in implementation . as described above , the chip 2 230 may be connected with a signal pad 235 via the multi - layer substrate 210 and wire bonding . in the chip 1 220 , as an embodiment , two signal vias 227 are illustrated . the signal via 227 is enclosed by gng vias 225 , and the gng vias 225 are enclosed by metal . the number of gnd vias 225 enclosing the signal via 227 is two or more per one signal via , and a maximum number of gnd vias is not limited . the signal via 227 and the gnd via 225 have a coaxial shape or a cpw shape , and have an advantage that performance deterioration is low in the rf region . for connection using lga coupling , an lga interconnection contact pad 237 may be used for digital / if signal , power , gnd , control signal transmission of the chips 1 , 2 220 and 230 , and as described above , it may be used for coupling with the mainboard . in an embodiment which will be described below , how the chip 2 is connected with the multi - layer substrate or the mainboard between the multi - layer substrate and the mainboard , and how a cavity is formed between the multi - layer substrate and the mainboard , and whether a heat sink is attached to the mainboard are described . fig3 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , a chip 2 330 is connected to the multi - layer substrate 310 using flip - chip bonding between the multi - layer substrate 310 and the mainboard 350 . in fig3 , a cavity is positioned in the mainboard 350 . fig4 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig4 , a chip 2 430 is connected to the mainboard 450 using flip - chip bonding between the multi - layer substrate 410 and the mainboard 450 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the mainboard . fig5 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to further another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig5 , a chip 2 530 is connected to the mainboard 550 using wire bonding between the multi - layer substrate 510 and the mainboard 550 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the mainboard 550 . fig6 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to still another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig6 , a chip 2 630 is connected to the multi - layer substrate 610 using flip - chip bonding between the multi - layer substrate and the mainboard 650 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 610 . fig7 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to yet another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig7 , a chip 2 730 is connected to the multi - layer substrate 710 using wire bonding between the multi - layer substrate 710 and the mainboard 750 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 710 . fig8 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to yet still another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig8 , a chip 2 830 is connected to the mainboard 850 using flip - chip bonding between the multi - layer substrate 810 and the mainboard 850 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 810 . fig9 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to yet further another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig9 , a chip 2 930 is connected to the mainboard 950 using wire bonding between the multi - layer substrate 910 and the mainboard 950 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 910 . fig1 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to still yet another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a chip 2 1030 is connected to the multi - layer substrate 1010 using flip - chip bonding between the multi - layer substrate 1010 and the mainboard 1050 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 1010 and the mainboard 1050 together . fig1 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to still yet further another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a chip 2 1130 is connected to the multi - layer substrate 1110 using wire bonding between the multi - layer substrate 1110 and the mainboard 1150 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 1110 and the mainboard 1150 together . fig1 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to yet still another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a chip 2 1230 is connected to the mainboard 1250 using flip - chip bonding between the multi - layer substrate 1210 and the mainboard 1250 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 1210 and the mainboard 1250 together . fig1 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to yet still further another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a chip 2 1330 is connected to the mainboard 1350 using wire bonding between the multi - layer substrate 1310 and the mainboard 1350 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the multi - layer substrate 1310 and the mainboard 1350 together . fig1 is a view illustrating a connection structure of a mainboard and a multi - layer substrate according to yet another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a chip 2 1430 is connected to the multi - layer substrate 1410 using wire bonding between the multi - layer substrate 1410 and the mainboard 1450 . in this case , a cavity is positioned in the mainboard 1450 . in addition , a heat sink 1460 is attached to the mainboard 1450 to help heat emission of the mainboard 1450 . the heat sink 1460 may be attached to all mainboards of fig3 to 13 to help heat emission . since the present invention does not require an additional process , it is advantageous in cost reduction , mass production , and miniaturization . also , according to the present invention , since a power and gnd path is short , parasitic inductance is small , so that an rf system performance is stable and it has an advantage in heat radiation and so the present invention is very advantageously applied to a portable terminal . also , small - sized single integrated packaging of a millimeter wave band system or an integrated system of the millimeter wave band and a 2 / 5 ghz band is possible . although the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . therefore , the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above - described embodiments but should be determined by not only the appended claims but also the equivalents thereof .	7
hereinafter , one skilled in the arts can easily realize the advantages and effects of a flame - retardant hardener for epoxy resin and the flame - retardant resin material comprising the same in accordance with the present invention from the following examples . therefore , it should be understood that the descriptions proposed herein are just preferable examples only for the purpose of illustrations , not intended to limit the scope of the invention . various modifications and variations could be made in order to practice or apply the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . in the specification , the following structures are respectively represented by formula ( i ), ( ii ), and ( iii ): the compounds represented by formulas ( i ), ( ii ), and ( iii ) are synthesized from dopo with dicy . the phosphorus - containing group of dopo can be attached onto the carbon of dicy , and producing mixtures comprising different ratios of compounds represented by formulas ( i ), ( ii ), and ( iii ) according to different reaction conditions . the synthesis route is represented as follows : hereinafter , the technical means in accordance with the present invention for achieving the abovementioned objectives are illustrated from the following preferable examples and figures . preparation of a flame - retardant hardener for epoxy resin in accordance with the present invention 1 . a reaction flask equipped with an electric stirrer , a thermocouple and an adjustable thermostat heater was provided . the reaction flask might be filled with nitrogen to be isolated from the air and moisture . 2 . dopo in an appropriate amount was added into the reaction flask and heated to a temperature ranging from 120 ° c . and 135 ° c . until dopo was fully melted . 3 . dicy in an appropriate amount was added into the reaction flask to form a mixture . in this step , the reaction temperature was higher than 110 ° c . to ensure that dopo of the mixture was in a molten state . in the preparation example , the molar ratio of dopo to dicy was 1 : 1 , 1 . 8 : 1 and 5 : 1 respectively , for analysis and comparison . 4 . the reaction flask was slowly heated to 175 ° c . for 4 hours to 14 hours . in the preparation example , the reactions were respectively performed for 6 hours and 14 hours when the molar ratio of dopo to dicy was 1 : 1 . the reactions were respectively performed for 2 hours and 8 hours when the molar ratio of dopo to dicy was 1 . 8 : 1 . the reaction was performed for 14 hours when the molar ratio of dopo to dicy was 5 : 1 . 5 . the mixtures obtained from the aforementioned step were subsequently cooled . finally , the mixtures ( the flame - retardant hardener for epoxy resin in accordance with the present invention ) comprising three products represented by formulas ( i ), ( ii ), and ( iii ) were produced . structural analysis of the flame - retardant hardener for epoxy resin in accordance with the present invention in the present example , the structures of the products produced by preparation example were determined by 1 h nmr and ftir spectroscopy with reference to the 1 h nmr spectrum of pure dopo . fig1 illustrated a 1 h nmr spectrum of pure dopo . the absorption in the range from δ8 . 85 to δ8 . 90 ppm ( parts per million ) was identified as the absorption of proton on single bond between phosphorous and hydrogen ( p — h bond ) in dopo . fig2 illustrated a 1 h nmr spectrum of a mixture obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 : 1 for 6 hours . the disappearing absorption peak in the range from δ8 . 85 ppm to δ8 . 90 ppm ( identified as the absorption of proton on p — h bond in dopo ) demonstrated that dopo was completely reacted with dicy after 6 hours . the strong peaks in the range from δ6 . 65 ppm to δ6 . 69 ppm and around δ7 . 2 ppm were identified as the absorptions of protons on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 . with reference to fig3 , the chemical structure of the identical mixture with fig2 obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 : 1 for 6 hours was further determined by ftir spectroscopy . according to the results from fig3 , the mixture had a quite apparent absorption peak in the range from 2150 cm − 1 to 2250 cm − 1 identified as triple bond between carbon and nitrogen (— c ≡ n bond ) when dopo was completely reacted . fig4 illustrated a ftir spectrum of a mixture obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 : 1 for 14 hours . the mixture had a quite apparent absorption peak of — c ≡ n bond in the range from 2150 cm − 1 to 2250 cm − 1 . according to an almost identical spectrum of fig4 with fig3 , the spectra demonstrated that no additional reaction occurred after dopo was completely reacted with dicy , and an amount of carbon on — c ≡ n bond still remained in the mixture and did not react with dopo . it could be assumed that all phosphorus - containing groups contained in dopos were not specifically attached onto the carbons of — c ≡ n bond in dicys . fig5 illustrated a 1 h nmr spectrum of a mixture obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 . 8 : 1 for 2 hours . the absorption peak of proton on p — h bond in dopo in the range from δ8 . 85 ppm to δ8 . 90 ppm was still quite apparent . the result showed that a lot of dopo had not reacted with dicy . in addition , the absorption peak of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 in the range from δ6 . 65 ppm to δ6 . 69 ppm was also quite apparent . on the other hand , another absorption peak around δ7 . 2 ppm , also identified as an absorption of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 , had clearly appeared in the 1 h nmr spectrum . the results demonstrated that even though the reaction between dopo and dicy had not fully completed , a portion of dopo had already attached onto dicy . furthermore , fig7 illustrated a 1 h nmr spectrum of a mixture obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 . 8 : 1 for 8 hours . the absorption peak of proton on p — h bond in dopo in the range from δ8 . 85 ppm to δ8 . 90 ppm disappeared , demonstrating that dopo was fully reacted . as the reaction was proceeded for 8 hours , the weaker absorption peak of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 in the range from δ6 . 65 ppm to δ6 . 69 ppm and the stronger absorption around 67 . 2 ppm demonstrated that the major products synthesized from reactants of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 . 8 : 1 after a complete reaction was compound ( iii ). comparing fig5 and fig7 , the absorption peak of proton in the range from δ6 . 65 ppm to δ6 . 69 ppm became weaker and the absorption peak of proton around δ7 . 2 ppm became stronger during the reaction process of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 . 8 : 1 . when most dicy was attached with a single phosphorus - containing group of dopo to produce a mixture comprising compounds ( i ) and ( ii ), the phosphorus - containing group of dopo provided a significant shift effect to the absorption of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 in the compound ( i ), however it only provided a slight shift effect to the absorption of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 in the compound ( ii ). as the reaction was continued , another phosphorus - containing group would further attach with compound ( ii ) and produce compound ( iii ). therefore , the absorption of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 was shifted from a range of δ6 . 65 ppm and δ6 . 69 ppm to around δ7 . 2 ppm due to a second phosphorus - containing group of dopo like compound ( i ). besides , if the second phosphorus - containing group of dopo was attached onto the carbon which had already attached with the first phosphorus - containing group of dopo ( that is , two phosphorus - containing groups were attached onto the same carbon of — c ≡ n bond in dicy ) and the carbon with two phosphorus - containing groups of dopo were far from the proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 in compound ( ii ), the absorption of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 was hardly shifted by the phosphorus - containing groups of dopo theoretically . furthermore , even if the absorption of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 would be shifted by two phosphorus - containing groups of dopo attached onto the carbon of — c ≡ n bond , two absorptions of one single phosphorus - containing group of dopo attached onto the carbon of — c ≡ n bond and of two phosphorus - containing groups of dopo attached onto the carbon of — c ≡ n bond would respectively appear at two different positions with different chemical shifts in the 1 h nmr spectrum . however , the aforementioned adsorptions were not found from the 1 h nmr spectrum during the reaction process . it verified that a shift absorption of proton on — c ( nh 2 ) 2 was mainly caused by the attachment of phosphorus - containing group of dopo onto the carbon on c ═ n double bond in dicy and by the formation of compound ( i ). hence , with reference to fig2 , a close intensity of the absorption of the proton at around δ7 . 2 ppm and in a range of δ6 . 65 ppm to δ6 . 69 ppm showed that a mixture comprising compounds ( i ) and ( ii ) with a similar proportion was produced when dopo was completely reacted with dicy with a molar ratio of 1 : 1 for 6 hours . however , it could not exclude that a little amount of compounds ( iii ) were also produced by this reaction . with reference to fig5 , compounds ( i ), ( ii ), and ( iii ) were respectively produced during the reaction . the absorption of the proton around δ7 . 2 ppm had been stronger than the absorption of the proton in the range from δ6 . 65 ppm to δ6 . 69 ppm when the reaction was being performed for 2 hours . it showed that a significant amount of compound ( iii ) had been produced in the mixture . fig6 illustrated a ftir spectrum of a mixture obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 . 8 : 1 for 2 hours . the mixture still had a quite apparent absorption peak of — c ≡ n bond in the range from 2150 cm − 1 to 2250 cm − 1 , showing that a portion of — c ≡ n bond had not reacted with dopo . fig8 illustrated a ftir spectrum of a mixture obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 . 8 : 1 for 8 hours . the absorption peak of — c ≡ n bond in the range from 2150 cm − 1 to 2250 cm − 1 was still present but weaker in the ftir spectrum . the result demonstrated once again that compound ( iii ) was certainly the major compound in the mixture . fig9 illustrated a ftir spectrum of a mixture obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 5 : 1 for 14 hours . the absorption peak of — c ≡ n bond in the range from 2150 cm − 1 to 2250 cm − 1 disappeared . it demonstrated that every carbon on — c ≡ n bond of the dicy had respectively attached with a phosphorus - containing group of dopo . flame - retardant analysis of the flame - retardant hardener for epoxy resin in accordance with the present invention the products obtained from the aforementioned preparation example were further reacted with several resins to prepare a flame - retardant resin material in accordance with the present invention . the flame - retardant properties of the flame - retardant resin materials were determined by the following processes . in the present example , the epoxy resins used were bisphenol a ( bpa ) epoxy resin , bisphenol a - novolac epoxy resin ( bne ) and o - cresol novolac epoxy resin ( cne ), wherein both of the two latter resins were commercially available from chang chun chemical co ., ltd in taiwan . said three epoxy resins were respectively dissolved in acetone to obtain 70 wt % of epoxy resin solutions . then , 70 wt % of epoxy resin solutions were reacted with the mixtures obtained from a reaction of dopo and dicy with a molar ratio of 1 : 1 for 6 hours to produce the flame - retardant resin materials . finally , a copper clad laminate made of the flame - retardant resin materials was obtained . the flame - retardant properties of the copper clad laminate were determined by official standard flame - retardant ul - 94 test . the amounts of reagents in examples 1 to 6 were listed in table 1 . the chemical reagents of each example as shown in table 1 were mixed with each other to prepare a varnish of the flame - retardant resin materials . depending on different requirements , the varnish could be further added with an appropriate amount of 2 - methylimidazole ( 2mi ) ( a promoting reagent ) before impregnating a glass fiber cloth . the methods of pressing the copper clad laminate were well known in the related arts and described as follows : first , a glass fiber cloth of 20 cm in length and 20 cm in width ( model name : taiwanglass 2116 ) was impregnated with the varnish of the resin material , followed by being dried at a temperature ranging from 170 ° c . to 190 ° c . for 3 to 5 minutes to prepare a prepreg . five sheets of the prepregs were obtained by the aforementioned process and followed by being laminated with two copper foils on the top and the bottom sides to prepare a pre - formed base . subsequently , the pre - formed base was pressed under 20 kilograms / cm 2 at 170 ° c . to 190 ° c . for 50 minutes to 70 minutes to obtain a copper clad laminate . finally , the copper foils formed on the surface of the copper clad laminate were removed to obtain a sample for flame - retardant analysis . examples 1 to 6 were tested by official flame - retardant ul - 94 standard methods . samples of copper clad laminate in examples 1 and 2 were pressed at 175 ° c ., and the samples of copper clad laminate in examples 3 to 6 were pressed at 190 ° c . the flame - retardant results of examples 1 to 6 were listed in table 2 . according to the flammability rating of official flame - retardant ul - 94 standard method , the qualified ratings were classified into v - 0 , v - 1 , and v - 2 . as shown in table 1 , samples of examples 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 were determined as v - 0 , and the sample of example 2 were determined as v - 1 . the results demonstrated that the flame - retardant hardener for epoxy resin ( a mixture comprising compounds ( i ), ( ii ), and ( iii )) in accordance with the present invention could be mixed with resins to produce a standard qualified flame - retardant resin material based on the official flame - retardant ul - 94 standards . hence , the flame - retardant resin material could be used for replacing the halogenated resin material in a conventional curing process . even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and features of the invention , the disclosure is illustrative only . changes may be made in the details , especially in matters of shape , size , and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed .	2
while the invention is most applicable to multilayer circuits used in bi - polar chips in mainframe computers , the broad concepts and applicability of the invention applies to any electrical component where a conducting line is connected to a stud and both the connecting line and stud are contained in a passivation layer . referring now to the figures and to fig1 in particular there is shown a schematic drawing of a 2 - d model of a multilayer circuit 10 with asymmetric trapezoidal shaped studs 12 , 14 located at the ends of a metal conducting line 16 . stud 12 , referred to as a s - type stud , connects a silicon substrate layer 18 to one end of metal conducting line 16 . the conducting line is preferably al / cu , but may be any conventional conductor material used in multilayer circuit fabrication . a layer of quartz 20 ( sio 2 ) is deposited on the surface of silicon substrate 18 . a layer of silicon nitride 22 ( si 3 n 4 ) is then deposited on the quartz layer 20 . the stud 12 extends through the silicon nitrite and quartz layers to the silicon substrate . stud 14 , referred to as a l - type stud , connects the other end of the metal conducting line 16 to a metal conducting line 24 in the next layer . the metal conducting line 24 is preferably al / cu , but may be any conventional conductor material used in multilayer circuit fabrication . in conventional multilayer circuits , quartz 26 is used for passivation and embedding of the metal conducting lines and the studs . however , other passivation material such as glass , polyimide and the like can also be used . fig2 and 3 schematically show a modification of the multilayer circuit shown in fig1 . in fig2 overhang extensions of the metal conducting lines in the length direction ( x - axis ) of the conducting line 16 have been added as extension 28 in the vicinity of stud 12 and as extension 30 in the vicinity of stud 14 . fig3 shows an extension 32 of the metal conducting line in the width direction ( z - axis ) of the conducting line in the vicinity of stud 12 . each stud has a contact dimension in the length direction of the conducting line 16 . in fig2 the stud 12 has a dimension at the top of stud where a joint is to be formed with the conducting line 16 in the length direction , parallel to the x - axis as shown , of l s . similarly , stud 14 has a dimension at the bottom of the stud where a joint is to be formed with the conducting line 16 in the length direction of l l . each stud also has a contact dimension where a joint is to be formed with the conducting line 16 in the width direction of the conducting line , parallel to the z - axis as shown in fig3 and in the case of the stud 12 of dimension w s . fig4 and 5 graphically illustrate the maximum stress components σ x , σ y and τ xy as a function of the ratio of the length of the extension ( x ) of the conducting line beyond the stud and the dimension of the stud in the length dimension , l s and l l for stud 12 and stud 14 respectively . the values σ x and σ y are the stress concentration components along the x - axis and y - axis respectively . the value τ xy is the shear stress . fig4 and 5 show that σ y and τ xy monotonically decrease as the length of the extension increases and reaches a minimum value when the length of the extension is approximately one and one - half times the stud dimension . based upon the stud geometry shown , the stud stiffness in the x - axis direction is much higher than the stud stiffness in the y - axis direction . in the case of s - type studs , according to calculations , the x - axis direction stiffness is in the range of approximately 2 to 26 times greater than the y - axis direction stiffness . in the case of the l - type stud , calculations show that the x - axis direction stiffness is in the range of approximately 2 to 5 times greater than the y - axis direction stiffness . therefore , the y - axis direction stress , σ y , is the more critical stress component to control than the x - axis direction stress , σ x . calculations and examination of failed components confirm that the prominent failure modes are related to the y - axis direction stress component σ y and the shear stress τ xy . it should also be noted from fig4 and 5 that significant stress reduction is manifest when the extension of the conducting line length is in the range of approximately one - quarter to one - half of the stud dimension for both s - type and l - type studs . thus , even a relatively short extension of the conducting line in the length direction of the line can provide a significant improvement in reliability with only a minimal impact or decrease in circuit density . this result is particularly significant in the manufacture of memory arrays . however , when designing multilayer circuits where circuit density is a less important consideration , the length of the line extension in the length direction of the line can be made up to approximately one and one - half to two times the stud dimension in order to take maximum advantage of the stress reduction afforded by practicing the present invention . fig6 graphically illustrates the maximum stress components of the stress applied to the stud as a function of the ratio of the width of an extension ( z ) of the conducting line beyond a s - type stud in the direction of the line width and the stud width dimension w s . the stress actually increases when a short extension is added to the conducting line . therefore , it is preferably to have no significant extension of the conducting line in the direction of the conducting line width . fig7 a , 7b , and 7c schematically illustrate the preferred design of a s - type stud 12 and metal connecting line 16 with line extension 28 only in the direction of the line length ( x - axis ) and substantially without any extension in the direction of the line width ( z - axis ). similarly , fig8 a , 8b and 8c schematically illustrate the preferred design of the l - type stud 14 and metal connecting line 16 with an extension 30 in the direction of the line length ( x - axis ) and substantially without an extension in the direction of the line width ( z - axis ). while there has been described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of the present invention , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications are possible without deviating from the broad scope of the present invention which shall be limited solely by the scope of the claims appended hereto .	7
the following non - limiting description is intended to further illustrate some embodiments of the invention . fig1 shows some exemplary structures into which photodegradable groups can be incorporated according to the invention . photodegradable groups can be incorporated into macromers , block copolymers , and linear and branched polymers , for example . they can be incorporated between a reactive end group , such as an olefin , and a therapeutic agent , for incorporation into a tissue scaffold to provide spatial and temporal control over the release of the agent . photodegradable groups can be incorporated into linear structures and crosslinked structures to allow rapid and precise degradation of higher molecular weight materials . the macromers can form or be incorporated into networks via covalent , non - covalent and / or ionic interactions , as known in the art . these networks can be used for 3 - d photolithography via single and multi - photon photolysis . thin films of reacted macromers can be cast and then degraded for 2 - d lithography . incorporation of a chromagenic or fluorescent group ( caged group ) into the photodegradable linkage that is activated upon degradation allows for 2 - d and 3 - d imaging . the chromagenic or fluorescent group can be detected using any available technique . the macromers can be amphiphilic , incorporating both hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments , or can be hydrophilic or hydrophobic . the macromers can be linear or branched , and can form linear , branched or crosslinked networks which are then photodegradable . these macromers can be incorporated or grafted onto surfaces to impart biocompatibility . the polymers and polymer networks formed from these macromers can , for example , undergo bulk degradation , surface degradation , gradient degradation and / or focused degradation that is spatially controllable . multiple photodegradable groups which degrade at different wavelengths with or without a photosensitizer allows for multistage degradation , including surface and bulk patterning and spatial control over release of multiple groups . this can be used to control the timing and spatial release of therapeutics in different parts of the body , for example . the compositions of the invention can be combined with groups that undergo existing methods of degradation , such as hydrolysis or enzymatic degradation . incorporation of different photodegradable groups that photolyze at different wavelengths in one macromer or different macromers that are incorporated into a network allows a broad range of wavelengths to be used for photodegradation ( such as those wavelengths ≧ 300 nm ( including light around 365 nm ) but preferably in the longwave ultra - violet to visible light region for biological applications ( because shorter wavelengths such as 280 nm cause mutations , damage and / or cell death ) and intensities , and allows for multi - stage degradation where the degradation is temporally controlled by the timing of the application of the appropriate cleaving photoradiation for each different photodegradable group , dual degradation of different photodegradable groups by the simultaneous application of different cleaving photoradiation for each photodegradable group and / or release of desired substances . the degradation of one photodegradable group at one wavelength can be simultaneous with or at a different time than the degradation of another photodegradable group at a different wavelength by application of the appropriate wavelength . fig2 shows one general description of the formation and cleavage of networks of macromers of the invention . a network is formed by the reaction of multiple photodegradable macromers with reactive end groups . upon application of the appropriate wavelength and intensity of light , the photodegradable groups cleave ( top of fig2 ). portions of the network can be masked using any material that the light does not penetrate , such as foil , a transparency film with printed black areas in a desired arrangement , or other masking materials known in the art , allowing the desired patterning of cleaved groups and uncleaved groups ( bottom of fig2 ). sequential photodegradation of unmasked portions and masked portions then occurs by application of the appropriate wavelength . fig3 shows one application of the invention using a therapeutic agent . as in fig2 , a network of photodegradable groups having therapeutic agents attached thereto is formed . as shown in fig3 , the network can be formed using different precursors , some having photodegradable groups with optional therapeutic agents which may be the same or different , and some not having photodegradable groups , allowing for the desired network composition . upon application of light having the appropriate intensity and wavelength , the photodegradable groups cleave . different photodegradable groups can be incorporated into the network to allow for degradation of different photodegradable groups with different light wavelengths . as shown in the bottom of fig3 , using a photomask , some of the photodegradable groups can be allowed to cleave upon the initial application of light and others can remain uncleaved . this allows the release of a portion of the therapeutic agent at one time and allows the release of a different portion of the therapeutic agent at a different time . various combinations of therapeutic agents , caged groups , photodegradable groups , masks and other components can be used to provide the desired release profile by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue experimentation using the knowledge in the art and provided herein . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a photodegradable composition comprising a photodegradable group having the formula : r 1 is selected from the group consisting of : hydrogen , straight - chain or branched c 1 - c 10 alkyl , aryl , alkoxy , aryloxy or carboxy groups in which one or more carbon atoms can be independently optionally substituted with one or more heteroatoms , and one or more hydrogen atoms can be independently optionally substituted with hydroxyl , halogen or oxygen atoms ; one of the others of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and r 6 is a backbone structure comprising one or more repeating units : poly ( ethylene glycol ), poly ( ethylene oxide ), poly ( vinyl alcohol ), poly ( vinylpyrrolidone ), poly ( styrene ), poly ( acrylate ), poly ( methacrylates ), poly ( vinylethers ), poly ( urethane ) s , polypropylene , polyester and polyethylene , — o — ch 2 — ch 2 c ( o ) nh —( ch 2 ch 2 o ) n — nh — c ( o ) ch 2 — ch 2 — o —, wherein n is 1 - 100 such as 1 - 75 , or 1 - 50 , or 1 - 25 or 1 - 10 , or 1 - 5 or 1 , 2 , 3 , or 4 ; the others of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and r 6 are each independently selected from the group consisting of : hydrogen ; one or more polymerizable groups , one or more reactive end groups ; straight chain , branched or cyclic c 1 - c 20 alkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl groups in which one or more of the carbon atoms are optionally substituted with non - hydrogen substituents and wherein one or more c , ch or ch 2 moiety can be replaced with an oxygen atom , a nitrogen atom , an nr ′ group , or a s atom ; and an optionally substituted aromatic or non - aromatic ring structure , wherein two or more r groups can be linked to form one or more rings which can contain one or more of the same or different heteroatoms ; one or more r groups can be optionally substituted with one or more suibstituent groups selected from halogens ; nitro groups ; cyano groups ; isocyano groups ; thiocyano groups ; isothiocyano groups ; azide groups ; — so 2 groups ; — oso 3 h groups ; one or more optionally substituted straight - chain , branched or cyclic alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl groups ; or ′; — co — or ′; — o — co — r ′; — n ( r ′) 2 ; — co — n ( r ′) 2 ; — nr ′— co — or ′; — sr ′; — sor ′; — so 2 — r ′; — so 3 r ′; — so 2 n ( r1 ) 2 ; — p ( r ′) 2 ; — opo 3 ( r ′) 2 ; and — si ( r ′) 3 , wherein each r ′, independent of other r ′ in the substituent group can be a hydrogen , an optionally substituted straight - chain , branched or cyclic alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl group wherein one or more c , ch or ch 2 groups therein can be replaced with an o atom , n atom , s atom or — nh group ; an optionally substituted aromatic group , two or more r ′ groups can be linked together to form a ring which may contain one or more of the same or different heteroatoms ; and r ′ can in turn be optionally substituted with one or more groups selected from the group consisting of halogens , nitro groups ; cyano groups ; isocyano groups ; thiocyano groups ; isothiocyano groups ; azide groups ; — so 2 groups ; — oso 3 h groups ; straight - chain , branched or cyclic alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl groups ; halogenated alkyl groups ; hydroxyl groups ; alkoxy groups ; carboxylic acid and carboxylic ester groups ; amine groups ; carbamate groups , thiol groups , thioether and thioester groups ; sulfoxide groups , sulfone groups ; sulfide groups ; sulfate and sulfate ester groups ; sulfonate and sulfonate ester groups ; sulfonamide groups , sulfonate ester groups ; phosphine groups ; phosphate and phosphate ester groups ; phosphonate and phosphonate ester groups ; and alkyl - substituted silyl groups ; wherein at least one of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and r 6 comprises a reactive end group . in certain embodiments , the photodegradable composition has the structure wherein one of the others of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , and r 5 is a backbone structure comprising one or more repeating units ; and the others of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , and r 5 are each independently selected from the group consisting of : hydrogen ; one or more polymerizable groups , one or more reactive end groups ; straight chain , branched or cyclic c 1 - c 20 alkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl groups in which one or more of the carbon atoms are optionally substituted with non - hydrogen substituents and wherein one or more c , ch or ch 2 moiety can be replaced with an oxygen atom , a nitrogen atom , an nr ′ group , or a s atom ; and an optionally substituted aromatic or non - aromatic ring structure . wherein m is an integer from 1 - 100 , such as 1 - 75 , or 1 - 50 , or 1 - 25 or 1 - 10 ; and wherein n is an integer from 1 - 100 such as 1 - 75 , or 1 - 50 , or 1 - 25 or 1 - 10 or 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , or 9 . wherein n is an integer from 1 - 1000 such as 1 - 900 , or 1 - 800 , or 1 - 700 , or 1 - 600 , or 1 - 500 , or 1 - 400 , or 1 - 300 , or 1 - 200 , or 1 - 100 , 1 - 75 , or 1 - 50 , or 1 - 25 or 1 - 10 or 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , or 9 . in certain instances , peg5000 or peg6000 is used . for pegdipda , the range of n reflects a higher molecular weight range to include various peg starting materials from peg1000 to peg6000 . wherein n is an integer from 1 - 100 such as 1 - 75 , or 1 - 50 , or 1 - 25 or 1 - 10 or 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , or 9 . in another aspect , the photodegradable group has the structure wherein x — r 6 is a member of the group consisting of in certain aspects , the photodegradable group or macromer is poly ( ethylene glycol ) di - photodegrable - acrylate ( peg - dipda ). in other aspects , the photodegradable group is reacted with poly ( ethylene glycol ) tetrathiol ( peg 4 sh ). in some aspects , the photodegradable composition is a step - growth network . in certain aspects , the photodegradable composition is a member selected from the group consisting of a microparticle , a nanoparticle , and a thin film . in certain aspects , the composition comprises an entrapped biomolecule , which biomolecule is optionally releasable upon photodegradation of the composition . in certain aspects , the photodegradable composition is photodegraded with light irradiation at between 200 nm to 500 nm , or at 365 nm or 400 - 500 nm or at between 390 nm to 850 nm or even at 740 nm . in certain aspects , the photodegradable composition comprises an entrapped biomolecule , which is a member selected from the group consisting of a protein , a peptide , an enzyme , an enzyme substrate , a vaccine , a hormone , an antibody , an antibody fragment , an antigen , a hapten , an avidin , a streptavidin , a carbohydrate , an oligosaccharide , a polysaccharide , a nucleic acid , a fragment of dna , a fragment of rna and a biological therapeutic . in certain aspects , the entrapped biomolecule is a vaccine , wherein the vaccine is a vaccine against a viral disease or a bacterial disease . in certain aspects , the viral caused disease is selected from the group consisting of rabies , hepatitis a , hepatitis b , cervical cancer , genital warts , anogenital cancers , influenza , japanese encephalitis , measles , mumps , rubella , poliomyelitis , rotaviral gastroenteritis , smallpox , chickenpox , shingles , and yellow fever . in other aspects , the bacteria caused disease is selected from the group consisting of anthrax , whooping cough , tetanus , diphtheria , q fever , epiglottitis , meningitis , pneumonia , tuberculosis , meningococcal meningitis , typhoid , fever , pneumococcal pneumonia and cholera . in another embodiment , the present invention provides a method for making a photodegradable composition , the method comprising : copolymerizing a photodegradable group having the formula : r 1 is selected from the group consisting of : hydrogen , straight - chain or branched c 1 - c 10 alkyl , aryl , alkoxy , aryloxy or carboxy groups in which one or more carbon atoms can be independently optionally substituted with one or more heteroatoms , and one or more hydrogen atoms can be independently optionally substituted with hydroxyl , halogen or oxygen atoms ; one of the others of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and r 6 is a backbone structure comprising one or more repeating units : poly ( ethylene glycol ), poly ( ethylene oxide ), poly ( vinyl alcohol ), poly ( vinylpyrrolidone ), poly ( styrene ), poly ( acrylate ), poly ( methacrylates ), poly ( vinylethers ), poly ( urethane ) s , polypropylene , polyester and polyethylene , — o — ch 2 — ch 2 c ( o ) nh —( ch 2 ch 2 o ) n — nh — c ( o ) ch 2 — ch 2 — o —, wherein n is 1 - 100 such as 1 - 75 , or 1 - 50 , or 1 - 25 or 1 - 10 , or 1 - 5 or 1 , 2 , 3 , or 4 ; the others of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and r 6 are each independently selected from the group consisting of : hydrogen ; one or more polymerizable groups , one or more reactive end groups ; straight chain , branched or cyclic c 1 - c 20 alkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl groups in which one or more of the carbon atoms are optionally substituted with non - hydrogen substituents and wherein one or more c , ch or ch 2 moiety can be replaced with an oxygen atom , a nitrogen atom , an nr ′ group , or a s atom ; and an optionally substituted aromatic or non - aromatic ring structure , wherein two or more r groups can be linked to form one or more rings which can contain one or more of the same or different heteroatoms ; one or more r groups can be optionally substituted with one or more substituent groups selected from halogens ; nitro groups ; cyano groups ; isocyano groups ; thiocyano groups ; isothiocyano groups ; azide groups ; — so 2 groups ; — oso 3 h groups ; one or more optionally substituted straight - chain , branched or cyclic alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl groups ; or ′; — co — or ′; — o — co — r ′; — n ( r ′) 2 ; — co — n ( r ′) 2 ; — nr ′— co — or ′; — sr ′; — sor ′; — so 2 — r ′; — so 3 r ′; — so 2 n ( r1 ) 2 ; — p ( r ′) 2 ; — opo 3 ( r ′) 2 ; and — si ( r ′) 3 , wherein each r ′, independent of other r ′ in the substituent group can be a hydrogen , an optionally substituted straight - chain , branched or cyclic alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl group wherein one or more c , ch or ch 2 groups therein can be replaced with an o atom , n atom , s atom or — nh group ; an optionally substituted aromatic group , two or more r ′ groups can be linked together to form a ring which may contain one or more of the same or different heteroatoms ; and r ′ can in turn be optionally substituted with one or more groups selected from the group consisting of halogens , nitro groups ; cyano groups ; isocyano groups ; thiocyano groups ; isothiocyano groups ; azide groups ; — so 2 groups ; — oso 3 h groups ; straight - chain , branched or cyclic alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl groups ; halogenated alkyl groups ; hydroxyl groups ; alkoxy groups ; carboxylic acid and carboxylic ester groups ; amine groups ; carbamate groups , thiol groups , thioether and thioester groups ; sulfoxide groups , sulfone groups ; sulfide groups ; sulfate and sulfate ester groups ; sulfonate and sulfonate ester groups ; sulfonamide groups , sulfonate ester groups ; phosphine groups ; phosphate and phosphate ester groups ; phosphonate and phosphonate ester groups ; and alkyl - substituted silyl groups ; wherein at least one of r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and r 6 comprises a reactive end group , with a member selected from the group consisting of a monomer , a macromer or other reactive compound , such as peg4sh . techniques . all reactions were performed under an argon atmosphere using a schlenk line unless noted otherwise . 1 h nmr spectra ( δ , ppm ) were recorded on either a varian inova 400 ( 400 mhz ) spectrometer . all spectra were recorded in cdcl 3 with tetramethylsilane ( tms ) as an internal standard unless noted otherwise . a general synthetic route to form photodegradable groups is shown in scheme 1 : the structures can be functionalized with reactive end groups using methods known in the art and described herein . in several of the schemes and compounds shown herein , the backbone group is shown in parenthesis without a number of repeating units specified . this structural information indicates the number of repeating units may be as many or as few as desired , as long as the structure functions in the desired way . as known in the art , compounds can be synthesized in different ways , as exemplified below . synthesis of the photodegradable group , poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate - 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - bromoethyl ) phenoxy butanoate , is shown in scheme 2 . acetovanillone was esterified with ethyl 4 - bromobutyrate , and the resulting keto - ester converted to the oxime using hydroxylamine hydrochloride in pyridine . the oxime was then reduced to the amine using zinc in acetic acid , and the resulting amine protected with trifluoroacetic anhydride to yield ethyl 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 4 -( 1 - trifluoroacetamidoethyl ) phenoxy ) butanoate . after nitration with nitric acid , the trifluoracetamide group was removed under basic conditions . ethyl 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 4 -( 2 - aminoethyl ) phenoxy ) butanoate was converted to the bromide via diazotization using sodium nitrite in hydrobromic acid , while the ethyl ester was simultaneously cleaved , to yield 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 4 -( 2 - bromoethyl ) phenoxy ) butanoic acid . this acid is converted to the acid chloride using thionyl chloride and used to esterify poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate . in this example , the backbone is poly ( ethylene glycol ) and the reactive end group is acrylate . the bromide / chloride group allows for substitution reactions known in the art to make ethers and amides ( and also thioesters ). synthesis of a fluorophore that is subsequently coupled to a photodegradable group for degradation via single and 2 - photon photolysis is shown in scheme 3 . the fluorophore , poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate , was synthesized by chlorination of 2 , 4 - dihydroxy benzaldehyde using sodium hypochlorite under acidic conditions . the resulting 5 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dihydroxybenzaldehyde was condensed with malonic acid catalyzed by aniline to obtain 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate , which was converted to the acid chloride using thionyl chloride , and used to esterify poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate ( scheme 3 ). synthesis of the photodegradable group , poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate - 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - chloroethyl ) phenoxy butanoate , is shown in scheme 4 . synthesis of ethyl 4 -( 4 - ethanoyl - 2 - methoxyphenoxy ). acetovanillone ( 16 . 6 g , 0 . 10 mol ), potassium carbonate ( 30 . 0 g , 0 . 22 mol ) and ethyl - 4 - bromobutyrate ( 17 ml , 0 . 12 mol ) were combined in dimethylformamide ( 50 ml ) and stirred under argon for 17 . 5 h . the reaction was poured into water ( 800 ml ) and stirred for 24 h . the product was isolated by filtration to yield ethyl 4 -( 4 - ethanoyl - 2 - methoxyphenoxy ) butanoate ( 27 . 5 g , 98 %) as a white powder . 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ): 1 . 28 ( t , co 2 ch 2 ch 3 ), 2 . 21 ( p , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 2 . 56 ( t , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 2 . 60 ( s , arcoch 3 ), 3 . 92 ( s , aroch 3 ), 4 . 13 ( t , aroch 2 ), 4 . 18 ( q , co 2 ch 2 ), 6 . 92 ( d , aromatic h ortho to aroch 2 ), 7 . 54 ( s , aromatic h ortho to aroch 3 ), 7 . 58 ( d , aromatic h ortho to arcoch 3 ). synthesis of ethyl 4 -( 4 - ethanoyl - 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoate . 70 % nitric acid ( 60 ml ) was cooled in an ice bath . ethyl 4 -( 4 - ethanoyl - 2 - methoxylphenoxy ) butanoate ( 21 g , 0 . 075 mol ) was added in portions over 20 minutes . the solution was stirred for 1 . 5 h while monitoring the temperature , which did not rise above 22 ° c . the solution was cautiously poured into water ( 800 ml ), which was then cooled to 4 ° c . for several hours . the product was collected via filtration and recrystallized from ethanol ( 250 ml ) to yield ethyl 4 -( 4 - ethanoyl - 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoate ( 11 . 04 g , 45 . 3 %) as a yellow flocculent powder . 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ): 1 . 31 ( t , co 2 ch 2 ch 3 ), 2 . 21 ( p , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 2 . 52 ( s , arcoch 3 ), 2 . 56 ( t , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 3 . 98 ( s , aroch 3 ), 4 . 19 ( m , aroch 2 and co 2 ch 2 ), 6 . 76 ( d , aromatic h ortho to aroch 2 ), 7 . 65 ( s , aromatic h ortho to aroch 3 ). synthesis of ethyl 4 -( 4 -( 1 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoic acid . sodium borohydride ( 0 . 8 g 0 . 084 mol hydride ) was added in portions to ethyl 4 -( 4 - ethanoyl - 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoate ( 10 . 8 g , 0 . 033 mol ) dissolved in ethanol ( 200 ml ) under argon . after 24 h , tlc ( 10 : 1 ch 2 cl 2 : acetone eluent ) indicated incomplete conversion . the reaction was warmed gently and additional sodium borohydride ( 0 . 2 g 0 . 021 mol hydride ) was added . after 24 hours , the reaction was poured into water ( 800 ml ) and a yellow precipitate formed . the precipitate was isolated via filtration to yield 4 -( 4 -( 1 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoate as a yellow powder , and used without further purification . 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ): 1 . 29 ( t , co 2 ch 2 ch 3 ), 1 . 59 ( d , chch 3 ), 2 . 23 ( p , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 2 . 58 ( t , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 4 . 00 ( s , aroch 3 ), 4 . 14 ( m , aroch 2 ), 4 . 20 ( q , co 2 ch 2 ), 5 . 59 ( q , chch 3 ), 7 . 32 ( d , aromatic h ortho to aroch 2 ), 7 . 60 ( s , aromatic h ortho to aroch 3 ). the 4 -( 4 -( 1 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoate was dissolved in a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid ( 10 ml ) and water ( 100 ml ) and heated to 80 ° c . for 18 h , at which point 1 h nmr indicated incomplete conversion . additional tfa ( 5 ml ) was added , and the reaction was continued for 24 h . after 24 h , the reaction was cooled to room temperature to form a precipitate which was collected via filtration . the precipitate was lyophilized to yield 4 -( 4 -( 1 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoic acid ( 8 . 53 g ( 86 %) as a yellow powder . 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm , acetone d - 6 ): 1 . 53 ( d , chch 3 ), 2 . 12 ( p , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 2 . 55 ( t , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 4 . 03 ( s , aroch 3 ), 4 . 16 ( m , aroch 2 ), 5 . 47 ( q , chch 3 ), 7 . 47 ( d , aromatic h ortho to aroch 2 ), 7 . 59 ( s , aromatic h ortho to aroch 3 ). synthesis of 4 -( 4 -( 1 - chloroethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoyl chloride . 4 -( 4 -( 1 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoic acid ( 1 . 72 g , 5 . 76 mmol ) was added all at once to a solution of methylene chloride ( 15 ml ), dimethylformamide ( 1 drop ) and thionyl chloride ( 2 . 2 ml , 0 . 030 mol ) to form a heterogenous solution . after three hours , the solution became homogenous . the methylene chloride was removed via rotary evaporation , and the resulting 4 -( 4 -( 1 - chloroethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoyl chloride was used without further purification . 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ,): 1 . 88 ( d , chch 3 ), 2 . 21 ( p , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 2 . 56 ( t , aroch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ), 4 . 00 ( s , aroch 3 ), 4 . 13 ( m , aroch 2 ), 5 . 92 ( q , chch 3 ), 7 . 29 ( d , aromatic h ortho to aroch 2 ), 7 . 51 ( s , aromatic h ortho to aroch 3 ). synthesis of bis - 4 -( 4 -( 1 - chloroethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoyl - poly ( ethylene glycol ). 4 -( 4 -( 1 - chloroethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoyl chloride ( 1 . 94 g , 5 . 8 mmol ) in methylene chloride ( 10 ml ) was added dropwise to a solution of poly ( ethylene glycol ) 2000 ( 4 . 8 g , 2 . 4 mmol ) and triethylamine ( 1 ml , 7 . 1 mmol ) while cooling to 0 ° c . after 12 hours , the product was precipitated into cold ( 0 ° c .) diethyl ether ( 500 ml ) and collected via filtration to yield bis - 4 -( 4 -( 1 - chloroethyl )- 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitrophenoxy ) butanoyl - poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( 6 . 05 g , 81 %). the synthesis of fluorescein poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate , is shown in scheme 5 . synthesis of poly ( ethylene glycol ) acrylate succinate . poly ( ethylene glycol ) 375 acrylate ( 5 . 6 g , 15 mmol ) and dmap ( 0 . 25 g , 2 . 0 mmol ) were dissolved in chloroform ( 100 ml ). succinic anhydride ( 1 . 8 g , 18 mmol ) was added in portions . the reaction was heated to reflux for 14 h . after cooling the reaction mixture was washed with dil . aq . hcl ( 2 × 50 ml ) and dried over sodium sulfate . the solvent was removed via rotary evaporation to yield poly ( ethylene glycol ) acrylate succinate ( 6 . 6 g , 92 %) as a viscous oil . synthesis of poly ( ethylene glycol ) acrylate succinyl fluorescein . poly ( ethylene glycol ) acrylate succinate ( 5 . 2 g , 11 mmol ), fluorescein ( 9 . 1 g , 27 mmol ), dimethylaminopyridine ( 0 . 077 g , 0 . 6 mmol ) and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( 2 . 7 g , 13 mmol ) were dissolved in 95 ml thf and stirred at room temperature under argon for 22 h . the thf was removed via rotary evaporation and the mixture precipitated into methylene chloride . excess fluorescein was removed via filtration , and the solvent removed via rotary evaporation . the crude product was taken into chloroform , filtered and concentrated five times to remove excess fluorescein , and the same procedure was repeated using acetone , as fluorescein has low solubility in both chloroform and acetone . the solvent was removed via rotary evaporation to yield poly ( ethylene glycol ) acrylate succinyl fluorescein . the synthesis of 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxy - 3 - coumarin carboxylic acid is shown in scheme 6 . synthesis of 5 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dihydroxybenzaldehyde . sodium hypochlorite ( 75 ml , 0 . 055 mol ) and piperidine ( 4 . 68 g , 0 . 055 mol ) were cooled to 0 ° c ., combined cautiously and added dropwise over 2 h to a solution of 2 , 4 ,- dihydroxybenzaldehyde ( 6 . 91 g , 0 . 05 mol ) in 50 % aqueous sulfuric acid ( 150 ml ) while cooling to 0 ° c . after three additional hours , the precipitate was collected via filtration in quantitative yield . 1 h nmr indicates that it is about 65 % 5 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dihdroxybenzaldehyde , with the balance being 3 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dihdroxybenzaldehyde . the product can be purified via column chromatography and / or repeated recrystallizations from toluene . however , the 3 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dihdroxybenzaldehyde does not react in the next reaction , so the product was used without further purification . synthesis of 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate . chloro - 2 , 4 - dihdroxybenzaldehyde ( mixture of 3 - and 5 - isomers , 6 . 59 g , 0 . 038 mol ), malonic acid ( 8 . 02 g , 0 . 077 mol ) and aniline ( 1 ml ) were combined in pyridine ( 30 ml ) and stirred at rt . after 3 d , the reaction was acidified using hcl and the product was collected via filtration to yield 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate ( 5 . 14 g , 55 . 9 % overall , 86 % based on starting ratio of 5 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dihydroxybenzaldehyde ) as a yellow powder . synthesis of poly ( ethylene glycol ) bis - 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate . 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate ( 2 equivalents ) dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( 2 . 5 equivalents ), dimethylaminopyridine ( 0 . 1 equivalent ), and poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( molecular weight = 2000 g / mol , 1 equivalent ) were combined in methylene chloride . the reaction was allowed to stir for 18 h under argon , and then precipitated into cold diethyl ether . the precipitate was collected via filtration , dissolved in water , and purified via dialysis . the dissolved product was then lyophilized to yield poly ( ethylene glycol ) bis - 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate as a bright yellow solid . the photodegradable group can be coupled with compounds such as therapeutic agents , fluorophores , or chromagenic agents , for release upon photodegradation . some examples are shown in scheme 7 - 12 . general procedure for coupling compounds to poly ( ethylene glycol ) with attached photodegradable group ( s ): the compound of interest , which has a free hydroxyl group is dissolved in thf and deprotonated with sodium hydride . the peg with attached photodegradable group is added dropwise to the solution , which is then allowed to stir at room temperature and / or heated gently . after six to 24 hours , the product is precipitated into cold diethyl ether . the product may be used without further purification , or purified using dialysis . the tethered compounds can incorporated into hydrogels or other networks or scaffolds , or linear or branched polymeric systems for controlled release . the general procedure is the same ; the alcohol group of a substrate is deprotonated using sodium hydride with tetrahydrofuran as a solvent ; this alkoxide ion undergoes nucleophilic substitution at the 2 - chloroethyl position of the poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate - 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - chloroethyl ) phenoxy butanoate to produce the photodegradable macromers . scheme 7 shows the synthesis of tethered dexamethasone . scheme 8 shows synthesis of photodegradable poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate . scheme 9 shows the synthesis of a photocaged poly ( ethylene glycol ) bis - coumarin . scheme 10 shows synthesis of photocaged coumarin incorporated into a poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate . scheme 11 shows synthesis of photocaged fluorescein incorporated into a poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate . scheme 12 shows synthesis of photodegradable poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate that releases poly ( ethylene glycol ) upon degradation . many moieties in these chemical structures can be varied , as known in the art . for example , the poly ( ethylene glycol ) backbone chains can be substituted with any polymer or copolymer , as long as there is a functional group capable of reacting with the photodegradable group directly or through a suitable linker . the therapeutic agents , caged groups , reactive end groups , backbone structure and photodegradable groups can all be varied , as known in the art . the degradation rate of the photodegradable group can be tailored by changing the structure , as shown in scheme 13 , where r and r ′ are suitable substituents such as a caged or therapeutic group or a reactive end group or backbone , or combination thereof , with or without a linker . in the structures shown above , photodegradation occurs at the benzyl ether position ; changing this from a secondary to a primary ether will change the reactivity ( first column in scheme 13 is a secondary ether , second column in scheme 13 is a primary ); decreasing the number of aryl - ether groups in the photodegradable groups also decreases the rate of photodegradation . all compounds shown in the schemes and figures herein can be synthesized using methods known in the art and described herein . for example , to synthesize compound 2 , the same synthetic route as for compound 1 is used , but instead of acetovanillone as the starting material , 3 - hydroxy - 4 - methoxybenzaldehyde is used . to synthesize compound 3 , the same synthetic route is used , but instead of acetovanillone as the starting material , 4 - hydroxyacetophenone is used . to synthesize compound 4 , the same synthetic route is used , but instead of acetovanillone as the starting material , 4 - hydroxybenzaldehyde is used . to synthesize compound 5 , 4 - bromoacetophenone can be alkylated with ethyl - 4 - bromobutyrate using a negishi coupling ( see below ); the rest of the synthetic route is then used to obtain the product . to synthesize compound 6 , 4 - bromobenzaldehyde is alkylated with ethyl - 4 - bromobutyrate using a negishi coupling ; the rest of the synthetic route is then used to obtain the product . since the rates of uncaging may differ by orders of magnitude , the rate of release of a drug , for example can be tuned to the desired purpose . for example , one caged structure that uncages rapidly can be used for releasing a drug ( compound having fast uncaging properties , for example compound 1 in scheme 13 ), simultaneously with one for release of another drug and / or network degradation ( compound having slow uncaging properties , for example , compound 6 in scheme 13 ). all of the reagents used in the routes above are commercially available , but other structures , where the aryl ether ( or alkyl chain ) is located on a different position of the ring , can also be synthesized using methods known in the art and described herein . although applicant does not wish to be bound by theory , a proposed mechanism of degradation of nitrophenylethyl based photocages is shown in scheme 15 and is described in zhao , et al ., j . am . chem . soc . ( 2004 ) 126 : 4653 - 4663 . upon uv excitation , the substituted nitrophenylethyl groups forms an aci - nitro intermediate which decays to generate x - and 2 - nitrosoacetophenone . the uv - vis absorption spectra for poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate - 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) phenoxy butanoate are shown in fig4 . the top line is the spectrum of poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate - 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) phenoxy butanoate in water ; the bottom line is the spectrum after the solution has been exposed to 365 nm light for 5 minutes . the poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate - 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) phenoxy butanoate is clearly degrading ; hydroxide anion is released . general procedure for controlled 2 - d degradation using a photomask : a photomask is contacted with the surface of the hydrogel . the gel can be degraded using a 5 cm collimated flood exposure source coupled to an optical mask alignment system ( optical associates , inc . san jose , calif . ), which generates 50 - 70 mw cm - 2 of radiation ( 365 nm ). an adjustable reaction chamber facilitates well - defined control over degradation . the spacing between the photomask and chamber bottom is controlled by micromanipulators coupled to a height sensor and the entire reaction chamber is integrated with the theta and lateral controls of the mask aligner . photomasks are made using emulsion films ( polychrome v ; kodak , rochester , n . y .) exposed with a high - resolution he — ne red laser diode commercial plotter . 3 - d lithography may be accomplished using a series of photomasks with the mask alignment system described above , or through the use of a two - photon laser scanning microscope . spatial control over degradation . poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate with the photodegradable 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - fluoresceinoxyethyl ) phenoxy butanoate group incorporated into the middle of the macromer chain was copolymerized with poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate using pentaerythritol tetrakis ( 3 - mercaptopropionate ) as a crosslinking agent in a pseudo - michael addition . the polymerization solution was spin - coated onto a polycarbonate substrate . the film was exposed to 365 nm light under a photomask . if photodegradation occurs , an increase in fluorescence in the exposed areas is expected . this is shown in fig5 , where the areas of the film exposed to the photomask show an increase in fluorescence . temporal control over degradation . the photocaged bis - coumarin poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate shown in scheme 16 was copolymerized with poly ( ethylene glycol ) diacrylate using pentaerythritol tetrakis ( 3 - mercaptopropionate ) as a crosslinking agent in a pseudo - michael addition . the resulting hydrogel was immersed in water and exposed to 365 nm light . after 30 seconds exposure , the solution was slightly fluorescent blue . after 10 minutes exposure , the solution became more strongly fluorescent blue ( data not shown ), indicating the release of poly ( ethylene glycol ) bis - coumarin increases with increasing exposure time . release of a therapeutic molecule . tethered dexamethasone was polymerized into a poly ( ethylene glycol ) gel network using pentaerythritol tetrakis ( 3 - mercaptopropionate ) as a crosslinking agent in a pseudo - michael addition to form discs , approximately 5 mm by 1 mm . unreacted monomer was leached from the hydrogel using methanol . the loading concentration of releasable dexamethasone ranged from 5 - 640 μg per gel ; each gel was suspended in 0 . 5 ml solvent . each gel was exposed to uv light for 12 minutes , and the resulting release of dexamethasone quantified by hplc . only the gels with highest loading released detectible amounts of dexamethasone ( the remaining concentrations were below the detection limits of the hplc detector ). after 12 minutes , 21 % of the dexamethasone was released . this concentration , 273 μg / ml , is significantly higher than the amount shown in the literature needed to promote stem cell differentiation ( 100 nm ) ( nuttleman , c . r . ; tripodi , m . c . ; anseth , k . s . “ dexamethasone - functionalized gels induce osteogenic differentiation of encapsulated hmscs ” j . biomed . mtls . res . 2005 , 76a , 183 - 195 ). if the gels are exposed for varying amounts of time , the amount of dexamethasone released increased , but the error is large . these results are shown in fig6 , where dex released from gel (%) is plotted ( left ) along with μg / ml ( right ). general procedure for formation of hydrogel : formation of a hydrogel using these macromers is accomplished by reacting the acrylate end groups in a stoichiometric ratio with the thiol groups on a multifunctional thiol in water or dimethylsulfoxide . this may or may not require a catalyst as known in the art . the reactive end - groups can also be polymerized if a wavelength of light is used that does not induce photodegradation , or if polymerization is much faster than photodegradation . the solvent content of the hydrogel will vary directly with the molecular weight of the macromer . these reactions are known in the art . these solutions can be cast using a spin - coater to form a thin film , or cast into a confined geometry to form a gel . example : poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate - 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - nitro - 4 -( 2 - bromoethyl ) phenoxy ) butanoate and poly ( ethylene glycol ) monoacrylate 6 - chloro - 7 - hydroxycoumarin - 3 - carboxylate are coupled using diispropylethylamine to obtain the photodegradable peg diacrylate . this diacrylate is then polymerized into a network using a visible - light photoinitiator or via a michael - type addition using multifunctional thiols . the resulting hydrogels contain crosslinks that are photolyzable by single and two - photon photolysis using the methods described herein . when a group of substituents is disclosed herein , it is understood that all individual members of those groups and all subgroups , including any isomers and enantiomers of the group members , and classes of compounds that can be formed using the substituents are disclosed separately . when a compound is claimed , it should be understood that compounds known in the art including the compounds disclosed in the references disclosed herein are not intended to be included . when a markush group or other grouping is used herein , all individual members of the group and all combinations and subcombinations possible of the group are intended to be individually included in the disclosure . every formulation or combination of components described or exemplified can be used to practice the invention , unless otherwise stated . specific names of compounds are intended to be exemplary , as it is known that one of ordinary skill in the art can name the same compounds differently . when a compound is described herein such that a particular isomer or enantiomer of the compound is not specified , for example , in a formula or in a chemical name , that description is intended to include each isomers and enantiomer of the compound described individual or in any combination . one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that methods , device elements , starting materials , synthetic methods , and uses other than those specifically exemplified can be employed in the practice of the invention without resort to undue experimentation . all art - known functional equivalents , of any such methods , device elements , starting materials , synthetic methods , and uses are intended to be included in this invention . whenever a range is given in the specification , for example , a temperature range , a time range , or a composition range , all intermediate ranges and subranges , as well as all individual values included in the ranges given are intended to be included in the disclosure . signaling proteins influence a myriad of critical cell functions , including differentiation , migration , and cell fate decisions , and many of these effects are pleiotropic depending on the dose and persistence of the signal . 1 - 4 thus , spatiotemporal control over protein presentation is critical to study and understand the role that these biomacromolecules play in dynamic cellular processes . toward this end , a prevalent method to protect , target , and locally deliver proteins and other therapeutics is to load such factors in polymeric microspheres . 5 , 6 such delivery vehicles enable the release of high doses of protein at specific locales , as well as controlled release over a desired time course . 7 , 8 microsphere systems , typically formed from hydrolytically degradable polymers with pre - determined release profiles , have been used in numerous controlled release applications , including in vitro delivery of factors that influence the differentiation of embryoid bodies 9 or in vivo delivery of osteogenic factors to encourage robust bone growth . 10 corresponding to the increase in the discovery of biological factors that direct stem cell differentiation , treat a range of diseases , and encourage proper tissue morphogenesis , there has been a focus on developing advanced materials that offer precise control over the delivery of such molecules . to date , full spatiotemporal control over the release and presentation of these factors during cell culture has been limited and few systems allow experimenters to direct release in real time . as a result of the lack of more sophisticated protein delivery vehicles , it has become increasingly difficult and time consuming to determine appropriate doses and release profiles of biomacromolecules for specific applications . further , advanced understanding of wound healing and developmental processes underscore the importance of the proper presentation of multiple cues , including proteins and co - factors or morphogen pairs , which is exceedingly difficult with current methods . finally , few material systems allow the experimenter to introduce spatially heterogeneous gradients at any point in time that could be used to investigate how morphogens act during development and to fashion complex tissue structures ex vivo . to circumvent these limitations and complement existing microsphere technologies , a unique delivery vehicle based on photolabile networks is presented that offers the experimenter control of entrapped biomolecule delivery in real time and in a manner that is compatible with 2d and 3d cell culture . specifically , photodegradable , poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg ) based hydrogel microspheres are fabricated that entrap and , subsequently , deliver proteins of interest on demand by exposure to selected wavelengths of light . such delivery systems should prove beneficial for testing hypotheses related to how temporal and spatial protein presentation affects local cell function and have applied benefits for the controlled expansion and differentiation of stem cells . the microsphere formulation includes pegdipda ( poly ( ethylene glycol ) di - photodegradable - acrylate ) 11 to render photodegradable , protein - loaded microspheres , on account of the o - nitrobenzyl ether moieties in the pegdipda structure . nitrobenzyl ethers ( nbes ) undergo an irreversible cleavage upon irradiation , causing the network to degrade in response to specific wavelengths of light ( fig9 . 1 ). similar macromers have been employed to form photoactive monolithic materials for applications ranging from cell culture 12 - 15 to drug delivery . 16 - 19 however , none of these approaches have combined microsphere processing techniques with the ability to deliver bioactive proteins to cells during culture with full spatiotemporal control . the photodegradable microspheres described herein degrade upon single photon or multiphoton irradiation , which induces swelling and , ultimately , complete erosion and particle dissolution . during swelling , the entrapped protein diffuses into the surrounding environment and upon dissolution the total payload is released . in this system , the experimenter retains full control over the spatial and temporal presentation of the protein release by directing the irradiation . we demonstrate that biologically relevant proteins , namely tgf - αβ1 and annexin v , can be entrapped within the microspheres and released on demand to direct or detect cell function . in total , we describe an innovative method to generate pre - loaded depots of protein agents , which can be employed to release bioactive proteins in the presence of cells . poly ( ethylene glycol ) di - photodegradable - acrylate ( pegdipda ; m n ˜ 4 , 070 da ) was synthesized as previously described . 11 , 12 poly ( ethylene glycol ) tetrathiol ( peg4sh ; m n ˜ 5 , 000 da ) was synthesized as previously described . 20 photodegradable microparticles were prepared via inverse suspension polymerization , in which pegdipda was copolymerized with peg4sh via base - catalyzed michael addition in an aqueous phase that was suspended in an organic phase . briefly , the organic phase was comprised of 5 ml of hexane containing 150 mg of a 3 : 1 ratio by weight of sorbitan monooleate ( span 80 , sigma - aldrich ) and poly ( ethylene glycol )- sorbitan monooleate ( tween 80 , sigma - aldrich ). 21 the volume of the aqueous phase was 0 . 25 ml comprised of 300 mm triethanolamine ( sigma - aldrich ) at ph 8 . 0 with 6 . 2 wt % of pegdipda , 3 . 8 wt % peg4sh , and protein . bovine serum albumin labeled with alexa fluor 488 or alexa fluor 594 ( bsa - 488 or bsa - 594 ; invitrogen ) were entrapped at 0 . 8 mg / ml , tgf - β1 ( peprotech ) was entrapped at 0 . 4 μg / ml , and the fluorescently labeled annexin - v ( invitrogen ) was entrapped at 20 v / v % annexin - v conjugate solution . all of the components of the aqueous phase except for the peg4sh solution were combined in a 1 . 7 ml microcentrifuge tube while the organic phase was added to a 20 ml scintillation vial with a stir bar . to initiate polymerization , the peg4sh was added to the aqueous phase , which was subsequently vortexed for 10 s and quickly added to the organic phase . mixing on a stir plate formed and maintained the inverse suspension between the two phases and the polymerization was allowed to proceed overnight . upon completion of the polymerization , the suspension was centrifuged ( eppendorf centrifuge model 5702 ) at 1000 rcf for 10 minutes and the supernatant was decanted . the microparticles were washed twice with hexanes and recovered with the same centrifugation conditions and once in 2 - propanol and centrifuged at 2000 rcf for 10 minutes . the particles were then suspended in 1 × pbs and washed three times by centrifuging ( eppendorf centrifuge model 5418 ) at 16 , 873 rcf for 15 minutes . the recovered particles were stored in pbs at 4 ° c . and a portion was imaged on a low vacuum scanning electron microscope ( lvsem , jsm - 6480lv ). the molar absorptivity of the nitrobenzyl ether ( nbe ) moiety was calculated by measuring the absorbance of solutions of nbe in a water : dmso ( 80 : 20 v / v ) blend at concentrations of 110 , 82 . 5 , 55 , and 27 . 5 μm . the absorbance was measured on a uv - visible spectrophotometer ( nanodrop spectrophotometer nd - 1000 ) for each solution and the molar absorptivity was calculated from these absorbance profiles . microparticles loaded with bsa - 488 were used to characterize the size distribution of the particles . particles were suspended in pbs and sealed between a glass slide and a cover slip in a rubber gasket , and imaged on an epifluorescent microscope ( nikon eclipse te2000 - s ). imagej ( nih ) was used to threshold the images and the analyze particles plug - in was employed to determine the diameter of each microsphere . a total of 3130 particles were analyzed to determine the particle diameter distribution . bsa - 488 loaded microparticles were suspended in pbs in a sealed rubber gasket and exposed to 365 nm ( i 0 = 13 . 5 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 ; exfo omnicure 1000 ) or 400 - 500 nm ( i 0 = 20 . 0 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 ; exfo novacure ) irradiation to induce degradation and erosion . to quantify the degradation induced changes in material properties , a time series of images was captured with an epifluorescent microscope . the images were analyzed with imagej by bounding each particle with a manually drawn circle to determine the particle diameter at each timepoint during irradiation . the diameters were used to calculate the ratio of the actual volume relative to the initial volume ( v / v 0 ) as a function of time for each particle , and data for the respective irradiation condition was plotted as an average of three particles . to demonstrate focused irradiation induced degradation and erosion , bsa - 488 and bsa - 594 loaded microparticles were suspended in pbs in a sealed rubber gasket and placed on the stage of an overhead confocal laser - scanning microscope ( zeiss 710 nlo lsm ). particles were exposed to 405 nm ( single photon ; p = 1 mw ) or 740 nm ( two - photon ; p = 100 mw ) irradiation to degrade and , ultimately , erode the particles . degradation and erosion were monitored by direct imaging on the lsm . to quantify the release profile of entrapped bsa - 488 from the particles , bsa - 488 loaded microspheres were exposed to flood irradiation ( λ = 400 - 500 nm ; i 0 = 20 . 0 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 ) for 0 min to 15 min . samples were collected at each time point and centrifuged to separate the soluble protein in the supernatant from intact particles in solution . the fluorescence of the supernatant was measured on a plate reader ( biotek synergy h1 hybrid reader ) to determine the relative amount of bsa - 488 in the supernatant for each sample . fibrin gels were formed by combining 50 μl of fibrin ( 20 mg / ml ), 1 μl of thrombin ( 0 . 5 u / ml ), and 150 μl pbs with bsa - 488 and bsa - 594 loaded particles ( 2 mg of particles / ml ). the solution was allowed to gel at 37 ° c . for 10 minutes in a sealed rubber gasket . the gels , with encapsulated particles , were imaged while the particles were degraded using an lsm ( zeiss 710 nlo lsm ). fluorescence intensity of the diffusing bsa - 488 was quantified using the image processing toolbox in matlab ( mathworks ). all cell culture reagents were purchased from invitrogen except where otherwise noted . pe25 cells , a cell line that produces luciferase in response to tgf - β1 exposure in a dose - dependent manner 22 were cultured in low glucose dmem supplemented with 10 % fbs , 1 % penicillin / streptomycin , and 0 . 2 % fungizone . pe25 cells were passaged every 2 - 3 days and maintained at less than 80 % confluency . passage 4 - 6 pe25 cells were used for tgf - β1 bioactivity assays . 3t3 fibroblasts were cultured in high glucose dmem supplemented with 10 % fbs , 1 % penicillin / streptomycin , and 0 . 2 % fungizone . 3t3 cells were passaged every 2 - 3 days and maintained at less than 70 % confluency . p5 3t3 cells were used for the apoptosis assays . for the tgf - β1 bioactivity assays , pe25 cells were plated on 24 - well culture plates at 80 , 000 cells / well and allowed to adhere overnight . the following day , media with soluble tgf - β1 ( 2 ng / ml ), media with tgf - β1 loaded particles ( 10 mg of particles / ml of media , which equates to 4 ng / ml tgf - β1 with complete release of the protein ), media with blank particles ( 10 mg of protein - free particles / ml of media ), and media were placed on the plated cells . half of the wells were irradiated to degrade the particles ( λ = 365 nm ; i 0 = 13 . 5 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 ) for 5 minutes to ensure complete erosion , while a duplicate set of conditions was not exposed to light . the solutions were left on the pe25 cells in an incubator for 16 hours . the following day , 200 μl of glo - lysis buffer ( promega ) was added to each well to lyse the cells and release any luciferase that had been produced . after 15 minutes , 50 μl of the lysis solution was combined with 50 μl of luciferin substrate in triplicate . the solutions were immediately quantified for luminescense on a plate reader ( biotek synergy h1 hybrid reader ). particles were synthesized that were loaded with alexafluor - 594 annexin v ( invitrogen ) at 5 μl of annexin v solution per 250 μl of particle solution . 3t3 cells were plated on a 6 - well plate at 100 , 000 cells / well and allowed to adhere overnight . the following day , half of the wells were treated with (+) camptothecin ( sigma ) at 10 m for 6 hours to induce apoptosis . after the treatment , the media was removed and substituted with 400 μl of annexin v binding buffer ( 10 mm hepes , 140 mm nacl , 2 . 5 mm cacl2 at a ph 7 . 4 ) containing soluble annexin v ( 3 μl per 400 μl buffer ) or annexin v loaded particles ( 12 . 5 mg of particles / ml ). a set of wells with annexin v loaded particles was irradiated to release annexin v ( λ = 365 nm ; i 0 = 13 . 5 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 ) for 5 minutes . after 15 minutes , the samples were imaged on an lsm ( zeiss 710 lsm nlo ). photodegradable microparticles were fabricated by reacting pegdipda ( mn ˜ 4 , 000 da ) with poly ( ethylene glycol ) tetrathiol ( peg4sh ; mn ˜ 5 , 000 da ) via base - catalyzed michael addition in an inverse - phase , microsuspension polymerization ( fig7 a ). the polymerization was carried out with the protein of interest included in the aqueous , macromer solution , which was suspended in an organic phase of hexanes with surfactants . 21 this approach allowed the target protein to be entrapped within the particles upon gelation . subsequently , the particles were purified via centrifugation , resulting in smooth , protein - loaded hydrogel microspheres ( fig7 a ). as a representative protein , fluorescently labeled bovine serum albumin ( bsa - 488 ) was incorporated into the macromer solution ( fig8 a ) during polymerization and entrapped homogeneously within the microsphere network . bsa - 488 loaded particles were employed to characterize the size distribution of the particles via image analysis ( n = 3130 particles ). the microspheres were synthesized with diameters on the order of 10 μm or greater , and more than 80 % of the particles had a diameter less than 50 μm ( fig8 b , inset ). the distribution had a first moment ( d n )= 22 μm , a second moment ( d w )= 42 μm , and a polydispersity index ( pdi )= 1 . 9 ( fig8 b ). this size distribution is appropriate for the delivery of a substantial local dose of protein with rapid light - triggered degradation . since the o - nitrobenzyl ether ( nbe ) moiety in the pegdipda macromer is susceptible to cleavage with single photon or multiphoton excitation , 23 , 24 a broad range of irradiation conditions can be used to erode the microspheres and release the entrapped payload on the order of milliseconds to minutes . this process works as the nbe moieties in the pegdipda structure introduce a photolabile linker into the network backbone of the microspheres . nbe moieties absorb light strongly in the uv ( peak at 365 nm ) with a tail that extends into the visible ( fig7 b ) and may undergo an irreversible cleavage upon absorption of light at these wavelengths , as well as absorption of two - photon irradiation centered at 740 nm . when a nbe is cleaved , the corresponding bond in the particle backbone is also cleaved . this process , which will be referred to as degradation , induces swelling in the particle as bonds are cleaved in the microsphere and the crosslinking density is decreased . eventually , when a sufficient fraction of the bonds have been cleaved , erosion ( i . e ., mass loss ) occurs and at these later stages of degradation , the microsphere is no longer a network , but soluble branched polymers that dissolve . to demonstrate degradation and protein release in response to single photon irradiation , bsa - 488 loaded microspheres were irradiated with collimated light ( λ = 365 nm or 400 - 500 nm ). particles swelled initially , as bonds were cleaved throughout the network , as quantified by the increase in v / v 0 with irradiation time ( fig8 c , d ). ultimately , the microspheres eroded completely when a sufficient number of bonds in the network were cleaved ( p c = 0 . 42 ; the critical fraction of bonds that need to be cleaved to dissolve the network as determined by the flory - stockmayer equation ) ( fig8 c , d ). for 365 nm irradiation at an intensity of 13 . 5 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 , the microspheres swelled prior to eroding into solution over the course of 55 ± 5 s . whereas 400 - 500 nm irradiation at an intensity of 20 . 0 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 induced swelling and erosion over the course of 300 ± 30 s . the fractional release of entrapped bsa - 488 from the microspheres followed the degradation - induced swelling profile at short times and for the first 30 % of release , while the bulk of the payload was released after complete particle dissolution ( fig8 e ). in this manner , collimated irradiation provides the user with temporal control over protein release within a culture system . oftentimes the release of multiple factors within a single culture system is desirable , as cells respond in vivo to combinations of factors . for example , opposing gradients of transcriptional repressors , hunchback and knirps , direct proper development in drosophila . 25 light responsive protein release affords the unique ability to deliver multiple factors selectively within a single system . to demonstrate this concept , photodegradable microspheres were loaded with bsa - 594 ( bsa labeled with alexa fluor 594 ) and combined with bsa - 488 loaded particles . a mixture of bsa - 488 and bsa - 594 spheres were plated and imaged on a confocal lsm ( fig9 . 3 a ). focused irradiation ( λ = 405 nm single photon or 740 nm multiphoton ) was employed to erode individual particles in sequence to release each desired protein ( fig9 a ). initially , t = t 1 , the focused irradiation ( λ = 740 nm ; p = 100 mw ) was used to selectively erode a bsa - 594 loaded microsphere . at a subsequent point in time , t = t 2 , focused irradiation was employed to selectively erode a microsphere containing a second entrapped protein , bsa - 488 . in this manner , different growth factors or cytokines could be delivered locally and in combination over short distances to specific locations during culture . this system should prove useful for studies aimed at the investigation of synergistic protein interactions or to elucidate how multiple and / or opposing gradients influence cell fate or function , such as chemotaxis or tissue morphogenesis . advanced three - dimensional culture platforms are increasingly employed for the study of cell biology and pathophysiology ex vivo . 26 - 28 accompanying these advances is the need for methods to deliver proteins within these platforms in sophisticated manners , systematically introducing cues that recapitulate aspects of the native extracellular environment . photoresponsive , pre - loaded depots of proteins were encapsulated within fibrin hydrogels ( fig9 b , c ) to demonstrate how this system might be used to deliver factors during 3d culture . focused irradiation ( λ = 405 nm ; p = 1 mw ) from a confocal lsm was used to dissolve individual particles , allowing the entrapped payload to release and diffuse through the gel ( fig9 b ). the released protein diffused , at a detectable level , ˜ 50 μm radially from the edge of the particle ( fig9 c ). as was demonstrated in 2d , multiple proteins were released selectively within a single hydrogel to motivate combinatorial studies in 3d ( fig9 d ). in this manner , signaling proteins of interest can be delivered locally within a 3d cell culture scaffold . this light - controlled release and diffusion can be tailored to cell binding and uptake levels to influence cells and their function over reasonable length scales the microsphere formulation was designed to accommodate a broad range of proteins including growth factors , cytokines , antibodies , and extracellular matrix components . to demonstrate that bioactive proteins can be incorporated and released from the photodegradable particles in the presence of cells , we entrapped a common and potent growth factor , tgf - β1 , 29 within the microspheres . tgf - β1 loaded particles , as well as blank particles , were delivered to plated pe25 cells , a reporter cell line that produces luciferase in response to tgf - β1 exposure . the particles were dissolved with collimated irradiation ( λ = 365 nm , i 0 = 13 . 5 ± 0 . 5 mw / cm 2 ) for 5 minutes to release the tgf - β1 . pe25 cells that were exposed to tgf - β1 loaded particles significantly up - regulated luciferase production as compared to blank particles and media control ( fig1 a ). this demonstrates that the majority of the tgf - β1 remains bioactive upon entrapment and subsequent release . furthermore , viability , as measured by a membrane integrity assay , was greater than 90 % for all conditions ( data not shown ) indicating that the irradiation conditions and microsphere degradation products do not adversely affect cell function . a further difficulty of in vitro culture is assaying a specific cell &# 39 ; s functions during culture , and this can be especially challenging when culturing cells in 3d . to illustrate how photodegradable microspheres can be employed as protein loaded depots for assaying cell function , fluorescently conjugated annexin v was loaded into microspheres . annexin v loaded particles were delivered to plated nih 3t3 fibroblasts , and the protein was photoreleased to identify apoptotic cells ( fig1 c ). camptothecin was dosed to the cells prior to release to increase the rate of apoptosis in culture . annexin v staining on the membranes of apoptotic cells was observed in the samples with photoreleased annexin v and soluble annexin v , whereas no membrane staining was observed in the sample in which the microspheres were not irradiated . to circumvent the challenge of assaying cell function during 3d culture , protein - loaded microspheres could be included in cell encapsulations so that the assay protein of interest can be delivered at a later time during culture . the synthesis of photodegradable , peg - based microspheres was demonstrated and these microspheres were employed to entrap and release soluble proteins . cytocompatible irradiation conditions were determined to dissolve the particles with light , and the corresponding release of the entrapped payload was quantified during the degradation and erosion process . multiple factors were loaded into batches of microspheres and focused irradiation was used to degrade individual particles selectively to release specific proteins of interest . tgf - β1 was loaded into the microspheres and was released with light to a reporter cell line to demonstrate that the entrapped and released protein remained bioactive . similarly , annexin v was loaded into particles to illustrate that protein - loaded depots could be incorporated into cell cultures to assay local cell function . by incorporating protein loaded , photoresponsive microspheres within cell aggregates , in media fed to plated cells , or in cell - laden scaffolds , the externally controlled and on - demand release of entrapped biological signals will allow experimenters to answer complex questions regarding the influence of sequential protein presentation on stem cell function or the response of cells to local gradients of chemokines or cytokines . this example includes predicted results which can be conducted based on description of this specification by those skilled in the art at the time of filing this application . the method for making a photodegradable composition of the present invention , wherein the payload or biomolecule is a temperature sensitive payload entrapped as described herein . a benefit is the reduced temperature sensitivity of the payload . examples of a temperature sensitive payloads include , but are not limited to , a vaccine , a protein , a folded protein , an enzyme , a hormone , anti - venom , an antibody , and an antibody fragment . a payload is temperature sensitive if exposure to temperatures outside of a prescribed range risks causing damage or irreversible change to the payload . one example of damage to a temperature sensitive payload involves a folded protein unfolding , or denaturing , at an elevated temperature . an benefit of entrapping a temperature sensitive payload in the photodegradable composition of the invention is to reduce the temperature sensitivity of the payload while entrapped within the photodegradable composition . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a method for making a photodegradable composition with a temperature sensitive payload entrapped therein , the method comprising : admix an aqueous phase of poly ( ethylene glycol ) di - photodegrable - acrylate ( peg - dipda ) with poly ( ethylene glycol ) tetrathiol ( peg4sh ) and a temperature sensitive payload to form the aqueous phase ; and dispense the aqueous phase onto a surface or into a mold of choice and allow a polymerization reaction to occur under controlled conditions . when polymerized , the temperature sensitive payload entrapped within the photodegradable composition exhibits a reduction in sensitivity to temperature . as used herein , “ comprising ” is synonymous with “ including ,” “ containing ,” or “ characterized by ,” and is inclusive or open - ended and does not exclude additional , unrecited elements or method steps . as used herein , “ consisting of ” excludes any element , step , or ingredient not specified in the claim element . as used herein , “ consisting essentially of ” does not exclude materials or steps that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claim . any recitation herein of the term “ comprising ”, particularly in a description of components of a composition or in a description of elements of a device , is understood to encompass those compositions and methods consisting essentially of and consisting of the recited components or elements . the invention illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element or elements , limitation or limitations which is not specifically disclosed herein . the terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation , and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof , but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed . thus , it should be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by preferred embodiments and optional features , modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in the art , and that such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims . in general the terms and phrases used herein have their art - recognized meaning , which can be found by reference to standard texts , journal references and contexts known to those skilled in the art . the definitions are provided to clarify their specific use in the context of the invention . all patents and publications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the levels of skill of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains . one skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned , as well as those inherent therein . the photodegradable compounds , macromers , and other components of the compounds , as well as the compounds and methods and accessory methods described herein as presently representative of preferred embodiments are exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention . changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art , which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention , are defined by the scope of the claims . although the description herein contains many specificities , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention , but as merely providing illustrations of some of the embodiments of the invention . thus , additional embodiments are within the scope of the invention and within the following claims . all references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the extent that there is no inconsistency with the disclosure of this specification . some references provided herein are incorporated by reference herein to provide details concerning additional starting materials , additional methods of synthesis , additional methods of analysis and additional uses of the invention . 1 . dekanty , a . & amp ; milan , m . the interplay between morphogens and tissue growth . embo rep 12 , 1003 - 1010 ( 2011 ). 2 . leung , d . w ., cachianes , g ., kuang , w . j ., goeddel , d . v . & amp ; ferrara , n . vascular endothelial growth factor is a secreted angiogenic mitogen . science 246 , 1306 - 1309 ( 1989 ). 3 . plouet , j ., schilling , j . & amp ; gospodarowicz , d . isolation and characterization of a newly identified endothelial - cell mitogen produced by att - 20 cells . embo j 8 , 3801 - 3806 ( 1989 ). 4 . engler , a . j . et al . embryonic cardiomyocytes beat best on a matrix with heart - like elasticity : scar - like rigidity inhibits beating . j cell sci 121 , 3794 - 3802 ( 2008 ). 5 . freiberg , s . & amp ; zhu , x . x . polymer microspheres for controlled drug release . int j pharm 282 , 1 - 18 ( 2004 ). 6 . peppas , n . a ., bures , p ., leobandung , w . & amp ; ichikawa , h . hydrogels in pharmaceutical formulations . eur jpharm biopharm 50 , 27 - 46 ( 2000 ). 7 . timko , b . p . et al . advances in drug delivery . annu rev mater res 41 , 1 - 20 ( 2011 ). 8 . berkland , c ., king , m ., cox , a ., kim , k . & amp ; pack , d . w . precise control of plg microsphere size provides enhanced control of drug release rate . j control release 82 , 137 - 147 ( 2002 ). 9 . carpenedo , r . l . et al . homogeneous and organized differentiation within embryoid bodies induced by microsphere - mediated delivery of small molecules . biomaterials 30 , 2507 - 2515 ( 2009 ). 10 . saito , n . et al . a biodegradable polymer as a cytokine delivery system for inducing bone formation . nat biotechnol 19 , 332 - 335 ( 2001 ). 11 . kloxin , a . m ., tibbitt , m . w . & amp ; anseth , k . s . synthesis of photodegradable hydrogels as dynamically tunable cell culture platforms . nat protoc 5 , 1867 - 1887 ( 2010 ). 12 . kloxin , a . m ., kasko , a . m ., salinas , c . n . & amp ; anseth , k . s . photodegradable hydrogels for dynamic tuning of physical and chemical properties . science 324 , 59 - 63 ( 2009 ). 13 . kloxin , a . m ., tibbitt , m . w ., kasko , a . m ., fairbairn , j . a . & amp ; anseth , k . s . tunable hydrogels for external manipulation of cellular microenvironments through controlled photodegradation . adv mater 22 , 61 - 66 ( 2010 ). 14 . kloxin , a . m ., benton , j . a . & amp ; anseth , k . s . in situ elasticity modulation with dynamic substrates to direct cell phenotype . biomaterials 31 , 1 - 8 ( 2010 ). 15 . tibbitt , m . w ., kloxin , a . m ., dyamenahalli , k . u . & amp ; anseth , k . s . controlled two - photon photodegradation of peg hydrogels to study and manipulate subcellular interactions on soft materials . soft matter 6 , 5100 - 5108 ( 2010 ). 16 . katz , j . s . et al . modular synthesis of biodegradable diblock copolymers for designing functional polymersomes . j am chem soc 132 , 3654 - 3655 ( 2010 ). 17 . yesilyurt , v ., ramireddy , r . & amp ; thayumanavan , s . photoregulated release of noncovalent guests from dendritic amphiphilic nanocontainers . angew chem int ed engl 50 , 3038 - 3042 ( 2011 ). 18 . klinger , d . & amp ; landfester , k . photo - sensitive pmma microgels : light - triggered swelling and degradation . soft matter 7 , 1426 - 1440 ( 2011 ). 19 . peng , k . et al . dextran based photodegradable hydrogels formed via a michael addition . soft matter 7 , 4881 - 4887 ( 2011 ). 20 . fairbanks , b . d ., singh , s . p ., bowman , c . n . & amp ; anseth , k . s . photodegradable , photoadaptable hydrogels via radical - mediated disulfide fragmentation reaction . macromolecules 44 , 2444 - 2450 ( 2011 ). 21 . murthy , n . et al . a macromolecular delivery vehicle for protein - based vaccines : acid - degradable protein - loaded microgels . p natl acad sci usa 100 , 4995 - 5000 ( 2003 ). 22 . clarke , d . c ., brown , m . l ., erickson , r . a ., shi , y . & amp ; liu , x . transforming growth factor beta depletion is the primary determinant of smad signaling kinetics . mol . cell . biol . 29 , 2443 - 2455 ( 2009 ). 23 . zhao , y . et al . new caged coumarin fluorophores with extraordinary uncaging cross sections suitable for biological imaging applications . j am chem soc 126 , 4653 - 4663 ( 2004 ). 24 . aujard , i . et al . o - nitrobenzyl photolabile protecting groups with red - shifted absorption : syntheses and uncaging cross - sections for one - and two - photon excitation . chem - eur j 12 , 6865 - 6879 ( 2006 ). 25 . clyde , d . e . et al . a self - organizing system of repressor gradients establishes segmental complexity in drosophila . nature 426 , 849 - 853 ( 2003 ). 26 . abbott , a . cell culture : biology &# 39 ; s new dimension . nature 424 , 870 - 872 ( 2003 ). 27 . lutolf , m . p . & amp ; hubbell , j . a . synthetic biomaterials as instructive extracellular microenvironments for morphogenesis in tissue engineering . nat biotechnol 23 , 47 - 55 ( 2005 ). 28 . tibbitt , m . w . & amp ; anseth , k . s . hydrogels as extracellular matrix mimics for 3d cell culture . biotechnol bioeng 103 , 655 - 663 ( 2009 ). 29 . shi , y . & amp ; massague , j . mechanisms of tgf - beta signaling from cell membrane to the nucleus . cell 113 , 685 - 700 ( 2003 ).	0
first , a developing device in accordance with the present invention is concretely described along with a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus , which are equipped with a developing device in accordance with the present invention . first , referring to fig1 and 2 , a developing device in accordance with the present invention , and an image forming apparatus equipped with the developing device in accordance with the present invention , are described about their general structure . fig1 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention . it shows the general structure of the apparatus . the image forming apparatus in this embodiment is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus . more specifically , it is a laser printer . it is structured so that a process cartridge 21 which contains a developing device can be removably installable in its main assembly . however , this embodiment of the present invention , which will be described hereafter , is not intended to limit the present invention in terms of the type of a developing device to which the present invention is to be applied , and also , the type of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is to be applied , although this embodiment is one the preferable embodiments of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a numerical referential code “ 1 ” stands for an electrophotographic photosensitive member which is in the form of a rotatable drum ( photosensitive drum ). the photosensitive drum is an organic photosensitive member which is negatively chargeable . it is rotationally driven by an unshown motor at a preset peripheral velocity in the clockwise direction which is indicated by an arrow mark in fig1 . as the photosensitive drum 1 is rotated , its peripheral surface is negatively and uniformly charged by a charge roller 2 ( as charging means ) to a preset potential level . the charging device in this embodiment is of the contact type . that is , the charge roller 2 in this embodiment is placed in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , and is rotated by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1 . to the charge roller 2 , a preset charge bias ( electrical voltage ) is applied from an unshown charge bias power source , in order to uniformly charge the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . after the uniform charging of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , it is exposed by an exposing device 4 , which is for forming an electrostatic latent image on the uniformly charged portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . in this embodiment , the exposing device 4 is a scanner which employs a semiconductor laser . more specifically , the exposing device 4 outputs a beam 11 of laser light while modulating the beam 11 with image formation signals sent from an unshown host apparatus which is in connection to the image forming apparatus , in such a manner that the outputted beam 11 of laser light scans ( exposes ) the uniformly charged portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , through an exposure window 22 with which the process cartridge 21 is provided . as a given point of the uniformly charged portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is exposed , its potential level reduces in absolute value compared to an unexposed point . thus , as the uniformly charged portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is scanned ( exposed ) by the beam 11 of laser light , an electrostatic latent image which reflects the information of the image to be formed , is effected on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , with the progression of the exposure . then , the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device into a visible image , that is , a toner image , on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . then , the toner image is transferred by a transfer roller 14 ( as transferring means ) onto a sheet p of recording medium , such as paper , sent from a recording medium feeder cassette . to describe more concretely the process of feeding and conveying of the sheet p of recording medium , the pickup roller 16 and sheet conveyance roller 17 , with which the recording medium feeder cassette 15 is provided , are rotationally driven with a preset control timing . as they are driven , the topmost of the multiple sheets p of recording medium stored in layers in the cassette 15 is fed into the main assembly of the image forming apparatus , while being separated from the rest of the sheets p in the cassette 15 . then , the sheet p is conveyed to a pair of registration rollers 18 , in synchronism with the formation of the toner image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . then , the sheet p is conveyed to the nip between the photosensitive drum 1 and transfer roller 14 , by the registration rollers , with such a timing that it arrives at the nip at the same time as the leading edge of the toner image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . a combination of the pickup roller 16 , sheet conveyance roller 17 , registration rollers 18 , etc ., makes up the conveying means for conveying the sheet p . in this embodiment , a transferring device of the contact type , which uses the transfer roller 14 , is used . the transfer roller 14 is kept in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the pressure applied to the transfer roller 14 toward the axial line of the photosensitive drum 1 by a pressure applying means such as a pair of compression springs . as the sheet p of recording medium arrives at the nip between the photosensitive drum 1 and transfer roller 14 , a transfer process is started , in which positive transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 14 from the unshown transfer bias power source , whereby the negatively charged toner 3 on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , of which the toner image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is made up , is transferred onto the sheet p of recording medium . after the transfer of the toner image onto the sheet p of recording medium , the sheet p is separated from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , and is introduced into a fixing device 23 ( as fixing means ), in which the toner image is fixed to the sheet p . the fixing device 23 turns the unfixed toner image on the sheet p into a permanent image ( fixed image ) by the application of heat and pressure . after the separation of the sheet p from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is cleaned by the cleaning device 13 ( residual toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is scraped away by the cleaning device 13 ) to be prepared for the next image formation . the cleaning device 3 in this embodiment employs a cleaning blade 12 , which is for recovering the transfer residual toner , that is , the toner having failed to transfer from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 onto the sheet p during the transfer process . the cleaning blade 12 is kept in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by a preset amount of pressure to clean the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by recovering the transfer residual toner . after the completion of the cleaning process by the cleaning blade 12 , the cleaned portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is charged again by the charge roller 2 . after being put through the nip between the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and transfer roller 14 , the sheet p of recording medium is separated from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , and is introduced into the fixing device 23 , in which the unfixed toner image on the sheet p is fixed to the sheet p ( welded to sheet p ) by the heat and pressure applied by the fixing device 23 . after the sheet p is conveyed out of the fixing device 23 , it is discharged by a pair of discharge rollers 19 into an external delivery tray 20 of the image forming apparatus . the image forming apparatus in this embodiment forms an image by sequentially carrying out the charging , exposing , developing , transferring , fixing , and cleaning processes with the use of the above described means , respectively . next , referring to fig2 , the structure of the developing device in this embodiment is described . the developing method used by the developing device in this embodiment is the so - called developing method of the contact type . in the case of this developing method , developer is borne on the peripheral surface of a development roller 5 ( as developer bearing member ) for developing an electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , and is conveyed to the interface between the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 , while a development bias , which is a dc voltage , is applied to the development roller 5 from an unshown development bias power source . the development roller 5 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction indicated by an arrow mark in fig1 , at a peripheral velocity which is equivalent to 400 rpm . the function of the development roller 5 is to convey nonmagnetic single - component polymer toner having a preset amount of electrical charge , to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 . the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 regulates in thickness the toner ( developer ) layer on the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 ( developer bearing member ), by being placed in contact with the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 while the toner ( developer ) layer is conveyed to the area of contact between the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 and the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 . further , it negatively charges the toner 3 in the area of contact between itself and the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 . the thus formed thin layer of the toner 3 is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , in the area of contact between the photosensitive drum 1 and development roller 5 , to reversely develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 . fig2 ( a ) shows the structure of the development roller 5 . from the standpoint of making the present invention very effective , the external diameter of the development roller 5 is desired to be in a range of 10 - 30 mm . in this embodiment , the development roller 5 is 15 mm in external diameter . further , the shaft 8 ( core ) of the development roller 5 is metallic ( metallic core 8 ), which is a solid or hollow cylinder made of an electrically conductive substance such as metal , and is 8 mm in external diameter . the metallic core 8 is rotationally driven by a motor with which the main assembly of the image forming apparatus is provided . the development roller 5 has a base layer 9 which is elastic and electrically conductive , and a surface layer 10 , in addition to the metallic core 8 . the base layer 9 covers the peripheral surface of the metallic core 8 . the primary ingredient of the material for the base layer 9 is silicone rubber . in terms of the hardness in asker c scale , the base layer 9 formed primarily of silicone rubber is desired to be in a range of 15 °- 70 °, preferably , 20 °- 60 °. the surface layer 10 is on the outward facing surface of the base layer 9 . it is made of a substance different in properties from the one of which the base layer 9 is made . in this embodiment , it is formed of polyurethane obtained by polymerizing polyurethane - polyol ( pre - polymer ) with the use of isocyanate . polyurethane - polyol ( pre - polymer ) is made by cross - linking polyether - polyol having two radicals , with isocyanate having two radicals . its weight average molecular weight is in a range of 10 , 000 - 50 , 000 . as for its degree of molecular weight dispersion , mw / mn ≦ 3 . 0 , mz / mw ≦ 2 . 5 . this kind of polyurethane - polyol ( pre - polymer ) is contained in the above - mentioned polyurethane by 70 %- 95 % in mass “ mn ” in the abovementioned degree of molecular dispersion is numerical average molecular weight obtainable by dividing the total in molecular weight of all molecules by the number of molecules . “ mn ” is weight average molecular weight obtainable by dividing the total of the products of molecular weight of each molecule and weight of each molecule ( proportional to molecular weight ), by the overall weight . further , “ mz ” is z - average molecular weight obtainable by dividing the totaling of the products of the square of the molecular weight of each molecule and the weight of each molecular ( proportional to molecular weight ), by the total of the products of the molecular weight and weight . using a substance , the polyurethane - polyol ( prepolymer ) content of which is within the abovementioned range , as the material for the surface layer 10 makes it possible to produce a development roller 5 that is excellent in toner conveyance function , and yet , is low in hardness . more concretely , the softer surface layer 10 , that is , surface layer 10 , the storage modulus e ′ of which is no less than 15 pa and no more than 30 pa , can be obtained by adjusting the material for the surface layer 10 , in the amount and / or weight average molecular weight of polyurethane - polyol pre - polymer . with the use of this method , it is possible to reduce the amount of stress to which toner is subjected by the developer layer thickness adjusting member , in order to minimize the occurrence of “ toner filming ”. next , the structure of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 of the developing device 6 in this embodiment is described . the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 of the developing device 6 in this embodiment is made up of a blade portion 7 a , and a film portion 7 b which covers the developer layer thickness regulating edge portion of the blade portion 7 a . the film portion 7 b is formed primarily of electrically conductive resin or elastomer , and covers the blade portion 7 a at least from the contact surface 7 a 1 of the blade portion 7 a to the edge ( 7 b 1 ) of the blade portion 7 a . because of the above - described structural arrangement , it is possible to provide the regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 with a preset amount of curvature . that is , in terms of the cross - sectional view , the regulating portion 7 b 1 is curved . the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 is 10 6 ω in volume resistivity . referring to fig2 ( b ), the radius r of curvature of the regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 in this embodiment is in a range of 100 μm - 500 μm ( 100 μm ≦ r ≦ 500 μm ). further , the central angle θ of the regulating portion 7 b 1 is no less than 90 °. the space between the curved surface 7 b 1 ( regulating portion ) and the surface layer 10 serves a trap 24 for temporarily collecting the toner 3 . in this embodiment , the regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 was formed of electrically conductive resin or elastomer . however , this embodiment is not intended to limit the present invention in terms of the material for the regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 . it is the contact surface 7 b 2 , which is the flat portion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , that is in contact with the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 . for example , a metallic blade or the like , the developer regulating portion of which was given the preset curvature by an edge bending process , can be used in place of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 in order to get the same effect as that of the development layer thickness regulating member 7 in this embodiment . that is , a developer layer thickness regulating member 107 , shown in fig7 , which was formed by pressing a flat piece of metallic plate so that its developer regulating portion is given the preset curvature , can be used in place of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 in this embodiment . in order to ensure that the amount by which developer is borne on the peripheral surface of the developer bearing member remains stable , it is desired that the developing device 6 is structured so that the amount of the contact pressure p between the developer thickness regulating portion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 and the peripheral surface of the developer bearing member falls within a range of 0 . 1 - 0 . 4 n / cm in liner pressure . the actual method used to measure the amount of the linear pressure p is as follows : a piece of plate , which is 10 . 0 cm in length and 1 . 5 cm in width , was formed of flat and thin sus plate which was 30 μm in thickness . this piece of plate was used as the first plate , which is to be pinched by the second plate . further , another piece of plate , which is 18 cm in length and 3 cm in width , was formed of sus plate which was the same in properties as the one of which the first plate was formed . this piece of plate was folded in half to pinch the first plate between its two halves . then , the first plate was pinched by the second plate , and the combination of the first and second plates was inserted into the interface between the development roller 5 and photosensitive drum 1 . then , a spring scale was attached to one end of the first plate . then , the first plate was pulled out from between the two halves of the second plate at a preset speed while measuring the amount of force necessary to pull the first plate out . then , the amount of force necessary to pull the first plate out was divided by 1 . 5 cm , which is the width of the first plate , to obtain the amount of force , in terms of linear force [ n / cm ] to pull the first plate out . next , the developer ( toner ) used by the developing device 6 in this embodiment is described . the toner used by the developing device 6 in this embodiment is nonmagnetic single - component developer manufactured by an emulsion polymerization . it is frictionally chargeable to negative polarity . it is 6 μm in volume average particle diameter . it contains a dielectric external additive , which is silicone oxide ( silica particles ), and an electrically conductive external additive , such as titanium oxide , aluminum oxide , zinc oxide , cerium oxide , tin oxide , and strontium titanate . toner may contain at least one ( one or combination of two or more ) among these additives . the external additive which the toner used by the developing device 6 in this embodiment contained was a titanium oxide particulate . the average particle size of the toner is desired to be in a range of 5 - 8 μm , and the softening point of the toner is desired to be no less than 60 ° c . first , referring to fig3 ( a ), the effect of the storage modulus e ′ of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 upon the occurrence of “ toner filming ” is described . the inventors of the present invention carried out experiments to verify the effect of the softening of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 upon the toner 3 , in terms of the reduction in the amount of stress to which the toner 3 is subjected by the development roller 5 . in these experiments , three development rollers , the storage modulus e ′ of the surface layer 10 which ( measured in unit of pa : pascal ) was in a range of 15 - 30 ( 15 ≦ e ′≦ 30 ), were tested . more specifically , the three development rollers were 15 , 21 and 30 , respectively , in storage e ′. the storage e ′ was measured with the use of a dynamic elasticity measurement apparatus , with the vibration frequency and temperature set to 10 hz and 20 ° c ., respectively . in addition , a development roller , the storage modulus e ′ of the surface layer 10 of which was 37 , was prepared as a comparative development roller . the four development rollers were combined with a straight developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , that is , a development layer thickness regulating member which was 0 in radius r of curvature of the developer layer thickness regulating portion ( r = 0 μm ). the four development rollers were tested for durability by continuously forming 20 , 000 images which had horizontal lines and were 1 % in image ratio , in low temperature / low humidity ( l / l ) environment , which was 15 ° c . in temperature and 30 % in relative humidity . fig3 ( a ) shows the results of the verification . “ g ” means that the “ toner filming ” did not occur , and “ n ” means that “ toner filming ” occurred . the comparative development roller , the surface layer 10 of which was 37 in storage e ′, always caused “ toner filming ”. in the case where the development rollers , the storage modulus e ′ of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 was within a range of 15 - 30 ( 15 ≦ e ′≦ 30 ), the amount of the “ toner filming ” was not as much as in the case of the development roller which was 37 in storage e ′. thus , it was confirmed that the employment of a developer roller 5 , the surface layer 10 of which is relatively soft is effective to reduce the amount of stress to which the toner 3 is subjected . incidentally , in the case where the development roller 5 which is no more than 15 in storage e ′ ( e ′& lt ; 15 ) of its surface layer 10 , it is difficult to adjust the development roller 5 in volume resistivity during the manufacturing of the development roller 5 . therefore , it is not suitable for mass production . that is , a development roller , the surface layer 10 of which is no more than 15 in storage e ′ ( e ′≦ 51 ) is not practical . next , referring to fig3 ( b ) and 4 , the relationship between the radius r of curvature of the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , and the amount by which the toner was coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 is described . referring to fig3 ( b ), “ g ” means that the amount by which the toner was coated was proper , and “ n ” means that amount by which the toner was coated was unsatisfactory . in order to find out the abovementioned relationship , experiments were carried out in a high temperature / high humidity ( h / h ) environment , which was 35 ° c . in temperature and 90 % in relative humidity ( rh ). the results of the experiments were evaluated based on the same standard as that used for the evaluation of the results of the experiments carried out for the first verification . also in these experiments , in a case where the storage modulus e ′ of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 was within a range of 15 - 30 ( 15 ≦ e ′≦ 30 ), the “ toner filming ” did not occur . however , measuring the amount of toner per unit area of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 revealed that the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of which is zero in radius r of curvature , that is , the straight developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , was smaller in the amount of toner per unit area on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 . the exhaustive examination of the results of these experiments by the inventors of the present invention revealed that in a high temperature / high humidity ( h / h ) environment , the soft surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 becomes softer , and therefore , it was easier for the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 to be made to dig into the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , in the nip between the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 and the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of the development roller 5 , by the pressure from the base portion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 . therefore , the aforementioned developer ( toner ) trap 24 ( toner collecting portion , which is wedge - shaped in cross section in terms of rotational direction of development roller 5 ), which is formed by the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 and developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , tends to become narrower . therefore , the amount , per unit area , by which toner is coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 reduced . thus , the inventors deduced as follows : in order to reduce the amount by which the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 digs into the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , the inventors of the present invention provided the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 with a preset amount of curvature . with the provision of this curvature , it is difficult for the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 to dig into the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , and therefore , the wedge - shaped developer ( toner ) trap 24 formed by the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 and the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 tends to become larger , making it mechanically possible for the toner to be coated on the surface layer 10 of development roller 5 by a greater amount . thus , the inventors carried out experiments to find out whether or not the problem that the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 digs into the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 can be solved by the adjustment of the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 in the radius r of curvature . the experiments were carried out in a high temperature / high humidity ( h / h ) environment , which was 35 ° c . in temperature and 90 % in relative humidity ( rh ). the results of the experiments were evaluated based on the same standard as that used for the evaluation of the results of the experiments carried out for the first verification . more concretely , three developer layer thickness regulating members 7 were prepared , which were 100 μm , 250 μm and 500 μm in the radius r of curvature of their developer regulating portion 7 b 1 . in addition , two developer layer thickness regulating members , which were 0 μm and 700 μm in the radius r of curvature of their developer regulating portion 7 b 1 , were prepared as comparative developer layer thickness regulating member 7 . the five developer layer thickness regulating members 7 were measured in the amount , per unit area of the toner on their surface layer 10 . when the amount per unit area of the toner on the surface layer of a given developer layer thickness regulating member 7 fell within a range of 0 . 35 m / cm 2 - 0 . 55 mg / cm 2 , the amount was recognized to be proper . the results of the evaluation are shown in fig3 ( b ) and 4 . referring to fig4 , when the straight developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , that is , the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , the radius r of curvature of the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of which is zero ( r = 0 μm ), was used , none of the three development rollers , which are 15 , 21 and 30 in the storage modulus e ′ of their surface layer 10 , respectively , could be coated with no less than 0 . 35 mg / cm 2 of toner . further , when the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , the radius r of curvature of the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of which was 700 μm , was used , the development roller 5 was coated with no less than 0 . 55 mg / cm 2 . that is , the toner layer was improperly regulated in thickness . on the other hand , when the developer layer thickness regulating members 7 , the developer layer thickness regulating portion 7 b 1 of which is within a range of 100 μm - 500 μm ( 100 82 m ≦ r ≦ 500 μm ), were used , the amount per unit area by which the toner was coated on the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 was no less than 35 mg / cm 2 and no more than 0 . 55 mg / cm 2 . that is , the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 was coated with a proper amount of toner . therefore , even a solid image , that is , an image which is 100 % in print ratio was satisfactory in density . that is , when these developer layer thickness regulating members 7 were used , the peripheral surface of the development roller 5 were coated with a sufficient ( proper ) amount of toner per unit area . therefore , these developer layer thickness regulating members 7 could prevent an image forming apparatus from outputting an image which is insufficient in density , even when the electrostatic latent image of an image which was high in print ratio was developed . next , referring to fig5 ( a ), the relationship between the radius r of curvature of the regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , and the occurrence of the “ toner filming ” is described . the effectiveness of the present invention was verified through experiments carried out in low temperature / low humidity ( l / l ) environment which was 15 ° c . in temperature and 30 % in relative humidity , that is , an environment in which the “ toner filming ” tends to occur . the developer layer thickness regulating members 7 used in the experiments were those , the developer thickness regulating portion 7 b 1 of which was 100 μm , 250 μm , and 500 μm in radius r of curvature , and which were verified to be effective . as for the development roller , three development rollers 5 , the surface layer 10 of which was 15 , 21 and 31 in storage e ′, were used in combination with the abovementioned developer layer thickness regulating members 7 to find out whether or not the “ toner filming ” occurs . the verification method was the same as the first verification method . fig5 ( a ) shows the results of the verification . “ g ” means that the “ toner filming ” did not occur . that is , in this case , the “ toner filming ” did not occur to the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , regardless of the combinations between the three development rollers 5 , the surface layer 10 of which is 15 , 21 and 30 , respectively , in storage e ′ and the three developer layer thickness regulating members 7 , the regulating portion 7 b 1 of which is 100 μm , 250 μm and 500 μm , respectively , in radius r of curvature . the “ toner filming ” did not occur even in the low temperature / low humidity ( l / l ) environment which tends to cause the “ toner filming ”. in other words , a developer layer thickness regulating member , the radius r of curvature of the regulating portion 7 b 1 of which is within a range of 100 μm - 500 μm is unlikely to cause the “ toner filming ” to the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 even in a high temperature / high humidity ( h / h ) environment which was 35 ° c . in temperature and 90 % in relative humidity rh . that is , it is evident from fig5 ( a ) that the developer layer thickness regulating member in accordance with the present invention can coat the surface layer 10 of a development roller with a proper amount of toner per unit area , while preventing the occurrence of the “ toner filming ” to the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , whether an image forming apparatus is operated in a low temperature / low humidity ( l / l ) environment or a high temperature / high humidity ( h / h ) environment . further , the studies of the results of the experiments revealed the following : providing the regulating portion 7 b 1 of a developer layer thickness regulating member 7 with a preset amount of curvature causes toner to temporally collect between the curved toner regulating portion 7 b 1 of the development layer thickness regulating member 7 and the surface layer 10 of a development roller 5 . consequently , it can prevent the formation of an image which suffers from a “ development ghost ” attributable to the nonuniformity of toner in terms of electrical charge . next , referring to fig5 ( b ) and 6 , the relationship between the surface roughness ra of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 and the amount by which toner is coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 is described . referring to fig5 ( b ), “ g ” means that the amount by which the toner was coated was proper , and “ n ” means that amount by which the toner was coated was unsatisfactory . one of the possible methods for increasing the amount by which toner is coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 is to increase the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 in surface roughness ra . thus , experiments were carried out to confirm the effects of the surface roughness ra of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 upon the amount by which toner is coated on the surface layer 10 . the development rollers 5 used for the experiments were all 21 in the storage modulus e ′ of their surface layer 10 . the results of the experiments shows that the greater a development roller in the surface roughness ra of its surface layer 10 , the greater the amount by which the toner is coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 immediately after the formation of a solid “ white ” image . however , increasing the development roller 5 in the roughness r of its surface layer 10 did not increase the amount by which toner is coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 immediately after the formation a solid “ black ” image . that is , not only did simply increasing the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 in surface roughness ra not ensure that the surface layer 10 was coated with a sufficient amount of toner immediately after the formation of a solid “ black ” image , but also , it increased the amount by which toner was coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 immediately after the formation of a solid “ white ” image . thus , fifteen development rollers 5 which are different ( 15 , 21 and 30 ) in the storage modulus e ′ of their surface layer 10 , and also , in the surface roughness ra ( 0 . 5 μm , 1 . 0 μm , 1 . 5 μm , 2 . 0 μm and 2 . 3 μm ) of their surface layer 10 were tested using a straight developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , that is , a developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , the regulating portion 7 b 1 of which was 0 in radius r of curvature . these development rollers 5 were tested for durability by being used for continuously outputting 20 , 000 prints covered with horizontal lines ( 1 % in image ratio ). the results of the test are shown in fig5 ( b ). referring to fig5 ( b ), the development rollers 5 , the surface layer 10 of which was 2 . 3 μm ( ra = 2 . 3 μm ) in surface roughness ra failed to be properly regulated in thickness the toner layer on their surface layer 10 . in comparison , development rollers 5 , which were no more than 0 . 5 in the roughness r of their surface layer 10 failed to be coated with a proper amount of toner immediately after the formation of a solid black image . the development rollers 5 , the surface layer 10 of which was 2 . 0 μm in surface roughness ra , were not improperly regulated in terms of the thickness of the toner layer on their surface layer 10 . that is , their surface layer 10 was coated with a proper amount of toner . increasing the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 in surface roughness ra increases the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 in the amount by which toner particles are packed into the numerous minute recesses in the surface of its surface layer 10 . thus , it halves the effect of softening of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 . in addition , the studies of the results of the experiments revealed that increasing the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 in surface roughness ra causes the developer to be insufficiently charged , which in turn adversely affects an image forming apparatus in terms of the background fog , which is attributable to the toner transfer onto the portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , which corresponds to the background portion of an image to be formed , that is , the portion of the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1 , to which developer ( toner ) is not to be transferred . thus , it is desired that the surface roughness ra of the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 is in a range of 0 . 5 μm - 2 . 0 μm ( 0 . 5 μm ≦ ra ≦ 2 . 0 μm ). the effect of the amount of the horizontal intrusion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 into the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 was studied . in terms of the effect upon the amount by which toner is coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , the curvature of the developer layer thickness regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 was dominant . that is , the theory that the amount by which toner is coated on the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 can also be increased by increasing the amount of horizontal intrusion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 into the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , was proved to be wrong . based on the results given above , development rollers 5 , the storage modulus e ′ of the surface layer 10 of which was in a range of 15 - 30 ( 15 ≦ e ′≦ 30 ), and the surface roughness ra of the surface layer 10 of which was in a range of 0 . 5 μm - 2 . 0 μm ( 0 . 5 μm ≦ ra ≦ 2 . 0 μm ) were prepared . further , developer layer thickness regulating members 7 , the radius r of the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of which was in a range of 100 μm - 500 μm ( 100 μm ≦ r ≦ 500 μm ), were prepared . these development rollers 5 and developer layer thickness regulating members 7 were attached in various combinations to the developing device 6 , to be tested in a low temperature / low humidity ( l / l ) environment , more specifically , an environment which was 15 ° c . in temperature and 30 % in relative humidity ( rh ), and also , in a high temperature / high humidity ( h / h ) environment , which was 35 ° c . in temperature and 90 % in relative humidity ( rh ). in an endurance test in which 20 , 000 images which are made up of multiple horizontal lines and is 1 % in image ratio were continuously outputted , not only did “ toner filming ” not occur , but also , all images were satisfactory in terms of the solid image density . as described above , in order to prevent the occurrence of the “ toner filming ”, the amount of load ( stress ) to which toner is subjected is reduced by employing a development roller 5 having a softer surface layer 10 , that is , a surface layer 10 , the storage modulus e ′ of which is in a range of 15 - 30 ( 15 ≦ e ′≦ 30 ). however , the surface layer 10 , the storage modulus e ′ of which is in the above described range is soft enough to allow the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 to dig into the surface layer 10 . thus , the developer regulating portion 7 b 1 of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 is provided with a curvature , the radius r of curvature of which is in a range of 100 μm - 500 μm ( 100 μm ≦ r ≦ 500 μm ). thus , even if the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 digs into the surface layer 10 , the curved portion of the developer regulating portion 7 allows toner to enter the gap between the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 and development roller 5 by a sufficient amount . therefore , the development roller 5 is enabled to bear a sufficient amount of toner . therefore , even if the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 digs into the surface layer 10 of the development roller 5 , the image forming apparatus is prevented from reducing in image density . incidentally , the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , developer bearing member ( development roller 5 ), and developer ( toner ) in this embodiment are examples which are in accordance with the present invention . that is , the present invention is also applicable to a developer layer thickness regulating member 7 , a developer bearing member ( development roller 5 ), and developer ( toner ), which are different from those in the this embodiment , and the effects of the application are the same as those described above , as long as the storage modulus e ′ of the surface layer of the development roller 5 , and the curvature of the developer layer regulating portion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 are within the above described ranges . further , in this embodiment , the developer regulating portion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 was formed of electrically conductive substance , for example . however , the material for the regulating portion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 has little influence upon the effectiveness of the present invention . thus , the regulating portion of the developer layer thickness regulating member 7 may be formed of a substance other than an electrically conductive resin . further , the sphericity of toner , and the type of external toner additive , have also little influence upon the effectiveness of the present invention . that is , the present invention is also compatible with toner which is different in sphericity from the toner used in the developing device 6 in this embodiment , and the external toner additive which is different from those in the toner used by the developing device 6 in this embodiment . as will be evident from the detailed description of this embodiment , the present invention can enable a developing device to make its developer bearing member to bear a proper amount of toner while preventing the occurrence of the “ toner filming ”. while the invention has been described with reference to the structures disclosed herein , it is not confined to the details set forth , and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of the following claims . this application claims priority from japanese patent applications nos . 061724 / 2012 and 011989 / 2013 filed mar . 19 , 2012 and jan . 25 , 2013 , respectively which are hereby incorporated by reference .	6
to convert an analog signal represented by digital samples at a first sample rate to digital samples at a second sample rate , what effectively must be done is to develop the analog signal corresponding to the samples at the first sample rate , e . g ., using a digital to analog converter , and then sample the developed analog signal , e . g ., using an analog to digital converter , at a second sampling rate . in the digital domain , to do so with good results , what must be done is to digitally low pass filter the signal at the first sample rate so as to smooth it and then to take values of the filtered signal at the second sample rate . of course , to insure that the fidelity of the analog signal is maintained , both sampling rates must be greater than the nyquist rate for the analog signal . in accordance with the an aspect of the invention , the filtering is performed by a low pass finite impulse response digital filter . fig1 shows , in block diagram form , an exemplary system for performing interpolation or decimation in accordance with the principles of the invention . the system of fig1 includes exemplary digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 . digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 includes : a ) sample storage locations 103 - 1 through 103 - n arranged to form a filter delay line ; b ) filter coefficients 105 , including filter coefficients 105 - 1 to 105 - m ; c ) digital multipliers 107 , including digital multipliers 107 - 1 to 107 - n ; and d ) summer 109 ; conventionally arranged . in accordance with aspects of the invention , the system of fig1 also includes 1 ) controller 111 , 2 ) optional coefficient distributor 115 , and 3 ) output control 117 . controller 111 controls performance of the interpolation or decimation process in response to modulo counter 113 , which may be included therein as shown . controller 111 may also receive and be responsive to , digital line timing information and sample rate information . in particular , controller 111 may determine : a ) when new information is entered into the delay line of digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 and the rate at which information is advanced therein ; b ) the particular one of coefficients 105 that is supplied to each particular one of multipliers 107 ; and c ) when the output of digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 becomes available . to the latter ones of these ends controller 111 is coupled to : 1 ) optional coefficient distributor 115 , which provides particular ones of filter coefficients 105 to particular ones of digital multipliers 107 as specified by controller 111 ; and 2 ) output control 117 , which determines the availability of the output of digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 as specified by controller 111 . digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 is designed using well known filter design techniques to achieve a desired degree of rejection of alias frequency components based on the signal bandwidths , e . g ., based on the highest frequency present in the transmitted or received signal . an initial design for digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 is often developed by setting m and n to the same value , so that there is a unique , respective one of coefficients 105 associated with each of sample storage locations 103 . as an example , for a v . 34 modem running symbol rate of 3200 that is coupled to a digital line at an 8 khz time slot rate , a good value for each of m and n is 115 . likewise , filters having identical values for m and n in the range between 200 and 315 have proven useful for other v . 34 symbol rates . typically , after an initial design of digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 which has the desired filtering properties is developed , the filter design may be improved , for example as described hereinbelow in accordance with aspects of the invention , to reduce storage requirements , improve operating efficiency , enhance performance or the like . such improvements may result in m not being equal to n in the ultimate implementation of digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 . digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 , as well as the entire system of fig1 may be implemented a ) using dedicated hardware of any type ; b ) in software running on a general purpose processor ; c ) in software running on a digital signal processor ; d ) any combination of the foregoing ; or e ) the like . a modem employing the invention would typically have two filters such as digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 , a so - called &# 34 ; transmit &# 34 ; filter for the transmitter section of the modem and a so - called &# 34 ; receive filter &# 34 ; for the receive section of the modem . for ease of exposition , it is assumed that digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 is employed for the transmit portion of a modem . however , those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate how to employ digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 in the receive portion of a modem . advantageously , the transmitter and receiver of the modem may be operating using different sample rates . each sample rate that can be supported in a particular modem may require a different filter , e . g ., a different length and a different set of coefficients . also , different filters may be required for the transmit and receive filters . different shorter filters may be desired where , for example , a low throughput delay is required . however , in some applications , a single filter may be used for both the transmit and the receive filters . prior to operating the filter , the ratio of the time slot rate to the sample rate is determined . the ratio is expressed in a form that is a ratio of the smallest possible integers . the numerator of the resulting ratio is designated p and the denominator is designated i . the filter is arranged so that its effective sampling rate , i . e ., the rate that samples are theoretically taken at the taps of the filter , is set to the product of p and the sample rate , which is the same value as the product of i and the time slot rate . also , it is at this effective sampling rate that , theoretically , samples are moved into the filter delay line . table 1______________________________________symbol rate sample rate p i f . sub . e______________________________________2400 7200 10 9 72k2743 8229 35 36 288k2800 8400 20 21 168k3000 9000 8 9 72k3200 9600 5 6 48k3429 10286 7 9 72k______________________________________ table 1 shows exemplary values of i and p for the 6 different sample rates available in a v . 34 modem when such a modem is coupled to a digital line at an 8 khz time slot rate , as well as the resulting effective sample rate , f e . in table 1 , the symbol and sample rates are rounded to the nearest whole integer but an actual modem would use the symbol rates as defined by the itu . for example , the symbol rate 2743 shown in table 1 corresponds to the itu symbol rate of (( 8 * 2400 ) / 7 ). new samples are generated in the transmit section of a modem at the sample rate , e . g ., typically three times the symbol rate , which is the above noted first sample rate . as noted above , in theory , the samples are moved into the filter delay line of the transmit filter at the effective sampling rate . however , at the effective sample rate , p - 1 zero values are inserted into the transmit filter between each real sample value , which are developed only at the first sampling rate . this is because , no new data values that can be placed in the filter are generated between each real sample value generated by the modem , and so the data values between each real sample value are zero . advantageously , the data of the transmit filter may be stored in a compact form which leaves out the zero data values . correspondingly , the transmit filter coefficients may be specified so that only every pth coefficient is used during any calculation of the transmit filter output because it is only these coefficients that will correspond to non - zero data values . to avoid unnecessary computations , which are those known to result only in output values of zero or discarded information , the outputs of the transmit filter are only computed at the time slot rate , e . g ., 8 khz , in accordance with an aspect of the invention . thus , the values that would be developed at the output of the transmit filter if the output of the filter was actually determined at the effective sampling rate and which do not correspond to the availability of a new time slot on the digital line -- which occurs at the time slot rate -- in practice need not be computed . this is because such outputs correspond to nontransmitting times , and are therefore discarded . thus , it is only necessary to run the transmit filter at the time slot rate , and the output of the transmit filter when it is run , is placed onto the digital line . the above techniques permit an improved transmit filter design and operation which has the same filter outputs but achieves operational and storage efficiencies . indeed , one notable consequence of using such techniques to implement digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 in the system of fig1 is that m is no longer equal to n , but instead , n = m / p . should it result that m / p is not an integer , then up to p - 1 zero coefficients are added to the end of the filter so as to increase the value of m / p , and hence n , until an integer result is obtained . the zero coefficients are added to the end of the filter to avoid increasing the throughput delay . in the opposite direction , receive data values are moved into the filter delay line of the receive filter at the time slot rate , e . g ., 8 khz , and the receive filter output is computed and taken out at the sample rate , e . g ., three times the symbol rate . however , the data input to the receive filter delay line is always zero at all times that do not also correspond to the arrival of new received data at the time slot rate , because there are no new data values being received at such times . thus , in the receiver , there are i - 1 zero values in the full - length version of the filter between each real value . consequently , as with the transmit filter , the data of the receive filter may be stored in a compact form which leaves out the zero data values . likewise , the receive filter coefficients may be specified so that only every ith coefficient is used during any calculation of the receive filter output because it is only these coefficients that will correspond to non - zero receive data values . a consequence of using such techniques to implement digital low pass finite impulse response filter 101 in the system of fig1 is that m is no longer equal to n , but instead , n = m / i . should it result that m / i is not an integer , then up to i - 1 zero coefficients are added to the end of the filter so as to increase the value of m / i , and hence n , until an integer result is obtained . the zero coefficients are added to the end of the filter to avoid increasing the throughput delay . fig2 shows a flow chart of an exemplary process for controlling the performance of interpolation and decimation using a modulo counter , in accordance with the principles of the invention . the process is entered in step 201 when a time slot interrupt occurs , i . e ., an interrupt that is generated when it is time to supply a sample to the digital line or to read a sample in from the digital line . a time slot interrupt occurs every 125 microseconds for a digital time slot rate of 8 khz . in step 203 , the transmit filter is run , i . e ., the transmit filter is operated to produce a filter output value that is not necessarily zero . as indicated , the coefficient pointer , pt , which points to the first coefficient to be used for this operation of the transmit filter , is set to a value of p - 1 - cnt + base , where cnt is the modulo counter of the invention and base is the pointer to the location of the lowest coefficient . the filter values are computed by summing the product of the filter taps , the first of which is pointed to by r1 , and every pth filter coefficient starting with the one pointed to by pt , in accordance with an aspect of the invention . it is only necessary to compute the value for every pth coefficient because , as noted above , the outputs of all the other taps of the transmit filter are zero . next in step 204 , the transmit data , which is the value from the transmit filter , is encoded for transmission , e . g ., companded using μ - law or a - law encoding . the encoded value is then supplied as an output to the digital line , while the receive data is input from the digital line in step 205 . thereafter , in step 206 , the receive data that was input from the digital line is converted to linear form . for example , the receive data is converted from a companded form , such as μ - law or a - law representation , to a linear form , e . g ., a 16 bit representation . in step 207 , the linear receive data value is put into the receive filter . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , the value of cnt is increased by the difference between i and p in step 209 . conditional branch point 211 tests to determine if the value of cnt is less than zero . if the test result in step 211 is yes , which only occurs when p & gt ; i , i . e ., when the transmit sample rate is less than the digital time slot rate , control passes to step 213 , in which the value of cnt is increased by the value of p , which makes cnt a modulo p counter , in accordance with an aspect of the invention . control then passes to step 215 , and the process is exited . this exiting effectuates a return from the time slot interrupt routine without executing the receive filter , i . e ., skipping and not performing new calculations based on the new receive data sample which was present on the digital line and was placed into the receive filter . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , doing so maintains the proper ratio of the time slot rate to the receiver sample rate . if the test result in step 211 is no , control passes to step 217 , in which the receive filter is run . the coefficient pointer , pt , which points to the first coefficient to be used for this operation of the receive filter , is set to a value of base + cnt , where cnt is the modulo counter of the invention and base is the pointer to the location of the lowest coefficient . the filter values are computed by summing the product of the filter taps , the first of which is pointed to by r2 , and every ith filter coefficient starting with the one pointed to by pt , in accordance with an aspect of the invention . as noted above , it is only necessary to compute the value for every ith coefficient because all the outputs of all the other receive filter taps are zero . in step 219 the modem interrupt functions are processed . these functions are all the other processes relating to the modem &# 39 ; s ability to transmit and receive data that the modem must perform each time a line interrupt occurs . such processes may take some time to run , but must be completed on average within the time slot period ( inverse of the time slot rate ) of the digital line or the sample period ( inverse of the sample rate ), whichever is shorter . the next transmit sample generated by the modem at the modem transmit sample rate is put into the transmit filter in step 221 . conditional branch point 223 tests to determine if cnt is greater than or equal to p , in accordance with the principles of the invention . if the test result is yes , indicating that the transmit sample rate is greater than the time slot rate , control passes to step 225 , in which the value of cnt is decreased by p , making cnt a modulo p counter , in accordance with an aspect of the invention . control then passes back to step 217 to process an additional sample in the receive filter as described above . if the test result in step 223 is no , control passes to step 215 and the process is exited . again , this exiting effectuates a return from the time slot interrupt routine . note that steps 201 through 211 are executed at the time slot rate while steps 217 through 223 are executed at the modem sample rate and the execution of both phases is controlled by the modulo counter cnt , in accordance with the principles of the invention . although the invention has been described above using the example of a digital low pass finite impulse response digital filter , this filter was chosen for convenience in the application in which the invention was developed . however , any other type of filter may be used . for example the filter may be instead a ) an infinite impulse response filter or b ) any other sampled data filter . moreover , the filter need not be a low pass type filter but may be bandpass or high pass - type filter . the principles of the invention allow for simple implementation of independent transmit and receive symbol rates in a single signal processor . to do so , as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , separate i , p , and modulo counters are employed for the transmit and receive processes . for each time slot interrupt , the process of fig2 is run twice , once for the transmitter and once for the receiver . when the process is run for the transmitter , only those operations of fig2 that relate to the transmit function are executed and the i , p , and modulo counter of the transmitter are used where i , p , and cnt are called for in the process of fig2 . likewise , when the process is run for the receiver , only those operations of fig2 that relate to the receive function are executed and the i , p , and modulo counter of the receiver are used where i , p , and cnt are called for in the process of fig2 . the foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention . it will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which , although not explicitly described or shown herein , embody the principles of the invention and are thus within its spirit and scope .	7
shown in fig1 a and 1b is a dynamic random access memory ( dram ) 10 comprised generally of a left array 11 , a right array 12 , a left row decoder 13 , a right row decoder 14 , a column decoder 16 , an a0 - a8 address buffer 17 , an a9 address buffer 18 , a latch 19 , a data multiplexor 20 , a data multiplexor 21 , left local sense amplifiers 22 , right local sense amplifiers 23 , a d0 sense amplifier 24 , a d1 sense amplifier 25 , a d2 sense amplifier 26 , and a d3 sense amplifier 27 , a d0 write driver 28 , a d1 write driver 29 , a d2 write driver 30 , and a d3 write driver 31 . left array 11 contains 524 , 288 addressable dram cells coupled to word lines and bit line at corresponding intersections thereof . right array 12 contains 524 , 288 addressable dram cells coupled to word lines and bit line at corresponding intersections thereof . shown in fig1 are adjacent word lines 33 and 34 and adjacent bit lines 35 and 36 located in left array 11 and adjacent word lines 38 and 39 and adjacent bit lines 40 and 41 located in right array 12 . address buffer 17 is comprised of a buffer 43 , a multiplexor 44 , a latch 45 , and a clock generator 46 . address buffer 17 receives 9 externally provided address signals a0 - a8 via buffer 43 and provides 9 internal row address signals ra0 - ra8 via latch 45 and 9 internal column address signals ca0 - ca8 via multiplexor 44 in response to signals a0 - a8 . row address signals ra0 - ra8 are determined when externally generated row address strobe signal * ras switches to a logic low . the asterisk () in front of a signal indicates that the signal is active at a logic low . address buffer 17 latches the state of address signals a0 - a8 in latch 45 in response to signal ras switching to a logic low . these latched signals are provided as signals ra0 - ra8 to row decoders 13 and 14 . clock generator 46 provides an address clock signal ac and an address multplex signal am as timing signals for determining when signals a0 - a8 are interpreted as column address signals and provided as signals ca0 - ca8 . memory 10 can be either a transparent static column dram or a clocked static column dram . both types are well known . clock generator 46 is changed slightly but the remainder of memory 10 is the same in either case . the circuit changes are made with a single mask option . memory 10 is made with two layers of polysilicon and two layers of metal . only the second layer of metal need be changed to convert between a transparent and a clocked static column part . consequently , either option is available from dram 10 shown in fig1 a and 1b . shown in fig2 is a timing diagram of signals ac and am as derived from a row address strobe signal * ras and a column address strobe signal * cas . prior to the beginning of a cycle , signals * cas and * ras are at a logic high . a cycle begins with signal * ras switching to a logic low shown as a time t0 . clock generator 46 responds by causing signal ac to switch to a logic high . a predetermined time later , approximately 15 nanoseconds ( ns ), clock generator 46 switches signal back to a logic low at a time t1 . another predetermined time duration later , approximately 10 ns , clock generator 46 switches signal ac to a logic high at a time t2 . in response to signal ac switching to a logic high at time t2 , signal am is switched to a logic high . when signal * cas switches to a logic low at a time t3 , signal ac switches to a logic low in the case of a dram 10 being a clocked static column dram but remains at a logic high in the case of dram 10 being a transparent column dram . the dotted line portion shown in fig2 of the representation of signal ac shows the transparent static column case . in the transparent static column case , signal ac switches to a logic low in response to signal * cas switching to a logic high at a time t4 . signals * cas and * ras switching to a logic high prepares dram 10 for another cycle . when signal ac is a logic high , buffer 43 receives address signals a0 - a8 and outputs the logic states thereof to multiplexor 44 . when signal ac switches to a logic low , address signals a0 - a8 are blocked . buffer 43 , however , includes a latch so that the last logic states of signals a0 - a8 are latched and output to multiplexor 44 . multiplexor outputs the logic states received from buffer to latch 45 when signal am is a logic low . latch 45 provides the logic states latched therein as signals ra0 - ra8 . when signal am is a logic high , multiplexor 44 provides the output of buffer 43 as signals ca0 - ca8 . in the case of a clocked static column dram , the operation when both a column and a row address change is virtually the same as a conventional nmos dram . in response to signal * cas switching to a logic low , the logic state of signals a0 - a8 are latched and provided as signals ca0 - ca8 so that signals ca0 - ca8 are not responsive to signals a0 - a8 while signal * cas is a logic low . this is the case for signal ac being shown represented as a solid line between time t3 and time t4 . in the case of dram 10 being a transparent static column dram , buffer 18 continues to be responsive to address signals ca0 - ca8 . this is the case in which signal ac remains at a logic high after signal * cas has switched to a logic low as shown by the dotted line representation of signal ac shown in fig2 . while signal ac is a logic high , buffer 43 is responsive to address signals a0 - a8 which in turn implies that column address signals ca0 - ca8 continue to be responsive to address signals a0 - a8 . in either the transparent or clocked static column case , signal * cas operates as an output enable . a data output signal do is provided as representing the data of the selected memory cell when signal * cas is a logic low but as a high impedance when signal * cas is a logic high . so long as the column address does not change for a sufficient period of time following signal * ras switching to a logic low , signal do will be valid at the time signal * cas switches to a logic low . if the column address changes too soon before signal * cas switches to a logic low or if signal * cas switches to a logic low too soon following signal * ras switching to a logic high , signal do will not be immediately valid upon signal * cas switching to a logic low . there is a minimum amount of time required following a column address change for dram 10 to provide valid data . the row address comprised of row address signals ra0 - ra8 is received by left row decoder 13 and right row decoder 14 . signals ra0 - ra8 select a word line from each of left array 11 and right array 12 to be enabled by row decoders 13 and 14 , respectively . folded bit lines are used in arrays 11 and 12 . for each selected word line , alternate bit lines have data supplied thereto by memory cells connected to the enabled word line . a bit line which is adjacent to the bit line which has an enabled memory cell connected thereto is used for a reference for establishing a voltage differential between it and the adjacent bit line . for example , assume that word line 33 is enabled and a memory cell is connected to word line 33 and intersecting bit line 35 . in such case , adjacent bit line 36 does not have a memory cell which is connected to it and to word line 33 . on the other hand , word line 34 has a memory cell connected to bit line 36 but not to bit line 35 . when word line 33 is enabled , bit line 35 receives an output from the memory cell connected at the intersection of word line 33 and bit line 35 and bit line 36 is used as a reference so that a voltage differential is established between bit lines 35 and 36 . bit lines 35 and 36 form a pair of bit lines which are coupled to a particular one of local sense amplifiers 22 . there is a particular local sense amplifier corresponding to each pair of adjacent bit lines . each of local sense amplifiers 22 and 23 performs a refresh function for each time a word line is enabled which is the conventional way drams operate . each of local sense amplifiers 22 and 23 is latched a predetermined time delay after a word line from each of arrays 11 and 12 has been enabled . each of local sense amplifiers 22 and 23 thus is latched to a state representative of the state of the memory cell which was enabled by the enabled word line . there are a total of 1024 local sense amplifier circuits in local sense amplifiers 22 and another 1024 local sense amplifier circuits in local sense amplifiers 23 . the column address comprised of signals ca0 - ca8 is received by column decoder 16 . column decoder 16 selects two bit line pairs from array 11 and two bit line pairs from array 12 for coupling to data line pairs dl0 , dl1 , dl2 , and dl3 , respectively . address signals ca0 - ca8 determine which four bit line pairs are selected signals ra9c and ca9 determine which one of the four bit line pairs actually provide the single bit of data . data line pair dl0 is connected to sense amplifier 24 and to write circuit 28 . data line pair dl1 is connected to sense amplifier 25 and write circuit 29 . data line pair dl2 is connected to sense amplifier 26 and write circuit 30 . data line pair dl3 is connected to sense amplifier 27 and write circuit 31 . in the read mode of dram 10 , which is when signal * w is a logic high , sense amplifiers 24 - 27 detect the logic state of data line pairs dl0 , dl1 , dl2 , and dl3 . in the write mode of dram 10 , which is when signal * w is a logic low , a selected one of write circuits 28 - 31 writes data onto the data line pair to which it is connected . for the case in which dram 10 is a clocked static column dram , column address signals ca0 - ca8 are latched in response to signal * cas switching to a logic low . signal ca9 is also latched while signal * cas is a logic low . consequently , while signal * cas is a logic low , the selected memory location cannot be changed . if dram 10 is in the read mode , data multiplexer 21 selects one of sense amplifiers 24 - 27 for driving output signal do . the sense amplifier selection is achieved with column address signal ca9 and control row address signal ra9c . signal ra9c is a function of the state of signal a9 at the time signal * ras switches to a logic low and of the state of externally provided array toggle signal at . for the operation of dram 10 when both the row and column addresses change every cycle , signal at will be held to a logic high . when signal at is held to a logic high , latch 19 provides signal rac9 at the same state as the state of signal ra9 which is supplied in nearly the same way as row address signals ra0 - ra8 . signals ca9 and ra9c provide data multiplexors 20 and 21 , respectively , with the information necessary to perform the one of four selection between sense amplifiers 24 - 27 . signal ca9 is received by data multiplexor 20 . when signal ca9 is in one logic state , data lines d0 and d2 are selected by multiplexor 20 . when signal ca9 is in the other logic state , data lines d1 and d3 are selected by data multiplexor 20 . signal ra9c is received by data multiplexor 21 . when signal ra9c is in one logic state , one of the data pairs between multiplexors 20 and 21 is selected . when signal ra9c is in the other logic state the other data pair between multiplexors is selected . this has the effect of signal ra9c determining whether the data provided by do represents data from left array 11 or right array 12 . when signal ra9c is a logic high , one of sense amplifiers 24 or 25 will be selected . selecting between sense amplifiers 24 or 25 implies selecting one of data lines dl0 or dl1 . both data lines dl0 and dl1 carry data from or to array 11 . when signal ra9c is a logic low , one of sense amplifiers 26 or 27 will be selected this similarly implies a selection from one of data lines dl2 or dl3 and thus a selection from array 12 . whatever the state of signal rac9 , half of dram 10 becomes unaccessible . after the 9 row address signals ra0 - ra8 have selected a word line from each array 11 and 12 , each set of local sense amplifiers 11 and 12 have 1024 bits of latched data so that there is a total of 2024 ( 2 to the 11th ) bits of latched data . the total column address comprised of signals ca0 - ca9 can select from only 1024 bits . the state of signal ra9c determines from which array , array 11 or array 12 , the one of 1024 selection is made . it is already known that bits latched in response to signal * ras switching to a logic low can be output relatively rapidly . for a clocked static column dram , signal * cas is switched back to a logic high in the normal fashion to end the data cycle in which signal * ras had been switched to a logic low for one half of the address and signal * cas had been switched to a logic low for the other half of the address . instead of switching signal * ras back to a logic high and then to a logic low to latch the row address , signal * ras is kept at a logic low when signal * cas is brought back to a logic high . the data remains latched in the local sense amplifiers with no change in the row address . the column address can be changed . the new column address is latched upon signal * cas switching to a logic low and the new data is output . this takes advantage of the fact that data is already latched so that a data cycle can be run which deletes the time necessary to input the row address . this is also true for writing data . of course the latched data in the local sense amplifiers is of advantage only in the read mode , but deleting the time to input the row address applies equally to both reading and writing . for a transparent static column dram , both signal * ras and * cas are held to a logic low . after signal * ras has switched to a logic low and the row address has been latched , any address after that is interpreted as a column address . signal * cas switching to a logic low enables the output but does not render signals ca0 - ca8 unresponsive to changes in address signals a0 - a8 . as long as both signal * ras and signal * cas are a logic low , the column address can select new data . in the case of dram 10 , signal do will provide the data at the local sense amplifier selected by signals ca0 - ca8 and at the data line pair selected by signals ca9 and ra9c . with * ras at a logic low , signals ca0 - ca9 are simply buffered external address signals a0 - a9 performing a one of 1024 selection . latch 19 is used to provide for high speed operation for twice as many bits as was available in the prior art . in the prior art , the number of bits that could be rapidly output was limited to the number of bits selectable by the second half of the address . in the case of a one megabit dram , such as dram 10 , the total number of address signals necessary to perform the one of 1 , 048 , 576 selection is 20 . one half , 10 , is clocked with signal * ras switching to a logic low . the other half is of course also 10 . each set of 10 addresses provides for a one of 1024 selectability . dram 10 can be operated in the same manner as a prior art dram by keeping signal at at a logic high . when signal at is kept at logic high , latch 19 provides signal ra9c in the same state as signal ra9 . when signal at is a logic low at the time * cas switches to a logic low , latch 19 responds by reversing the logic state of signal ra9c . signal ra9c is brought back to its original state when signal at is switched back to a logic high on the next * cas cycle in the case of dram 10 being a clocked static column dram . in the case of dram 10 being a transparent static column dram , signal ra9c can be switched back and forth between logic states while signal * cas is a logic low in response to signal at . in the case in which dram 10 is a transparent static column dram , latch 10 can switch the logic state of signal ra9c while * cas is a logic low . while signal * cas is a logic low , signal at at a logic low will cause signal ra9c to be of the opposite logic state of that of signal ra9 . this has the effect of signals ca0 - ca9 selecting from the opposite array than that chosen by the original row address signal a9 . assume for example that signal a9 was a logic high when signal * ras switched to a logic low so that signal ra9 was latched to a logic high . assume also that signal ra9c at a logic high selects array 11 . under conventional operation , signal ra9c would be the same state as signal ra9 so that column address signals ca0 - ca9 would make a one of 1024 selection from array 11 . with signal at at a logic low , signal ra9c is switched to the opposite state of that of signal ra9 so that signal ra9c is a logic low . with signal ra9c at a logic low , column signals ca0 - ca9 are used to perform a one of 1024 selection from array 12 . while signal * cas and signal * ras are a logic low , dram 10 will continue to respond to changes in column signals ca0 - ca9 . similarly , signal ra9c responds to signal at . when signal at switches to a logic high , signal ra9c responds by assuming the same logic state as signal ra9 . when signal at switches to a logic low , signal ra9c responds by switching to the state opposite that of signal ra9 . in this way 2048 bits become available for selection in the high speed data mode in which signals * ras and * cas are held to a logic low and the column address is changed . this is true for both reading and writing . for both reading and writing , signal at is very similar to a column address signal . the difference is that instead of causing signal ra9c to become the same state as signal at , signal at selectively causes signal ra9c to become either the same logic state or the opposite logic state of signal ra9 . in the case of dram 10 being a clocked static column dram , latch 19 latches signal ra9c in response to signal * cas switching to a logic low to a state related to the states of signals ra9 and at . if signal at is a logic high , the state of signal ra9c will be the same as that of signal ra9 . if signal at is a logic low when signal * cas switches to a logic low , signal ra9c will be latched at the state opposite to that of signal ra9 . for the clocked static column dram case , the column address is latched while signal * cas is a logic low . similarly , signal at cannot change the state of signal ra9c after signal * cas has switched to a logic low . in the clocked static column dram case , the rapid output of data is achieved by keeping signal * ras at a logic low while clocking signal * cas . to select a different location for providing data , signal * cas must first be brought back to a logic high so that the column address can be changed . this is also true for signal at . after signal * cas is brought back to a logic high , the column address and signal at can be changed . after the desired changes to signals a0 - a9 and signal at have been made , signal * cas is then switched to a logic low . in response to signal * cas switching to a logic low , new signals ca0 - ca9 are latched and signal ra9c is latched in the state determined by signal at and signal ra9 . signal at can be changed between the times that signal * cas switches to a logic low to switch the selection between array 11 and array 12 . signal at thus is used to make available 2048 bits of data for the fast data rate mode of dram 10 as a clocked static column dram . this is true for either reading or writing . in either the transparent or clocked static column dram case , in the fast data rate mode indicated by signal * ras being held to a logic low , signal at is used in virtually the same way as a column address signal . the difference is that signal at causes the internal address signal controlled by signal at , signal ra9c , to be the opposite of or the same as a row address signal , signal ra9 , latched in response to signal * ras switching to a logic low , whereas a column address signal causes its corresponding internal column address signal to be the same logic state as the column address signal itself . the first portion of the row address , signals ra0 - ra9 , select 2048 memory cells via row decoders 13 and 14 . these 2048 selected cells form a first subset of all of the memory cells which are available to be selected . signals ca0 - ca8 , via column decoder 16 , select 4 memory cells from the first subset of 2048 memory cells selected by signals ra0 - ra8 . these four selected memory cells form a second subset of memory cells . signal ca9 , via multiplexor 20 , selects two cells from the second subset of memory cells selected by signals ca0 - ca8 . these two selected memory cells form a third subset of memory cells . column decoder 16 and multiplexor 20 can be viewed as single decoder responsive to signals ca0 - ca9 . signal ra9c , via multiplexor 21 , selects one memory cell from the third subset of memory cells selected by signal ca9 . this selected memory cell forms a fourth subset of memory cells . in response to signal at , signal ra9c switches logic states so that the other of the memory cells from the third subset is selected . this alternately selected memory cell forms a fifth subset of memory cells and is disjoint from the fourth subset . shown in fig3 is a layout of the pin configuration of dram 10 comprised generally of 18 pins . pin 1 is for receiving data input signal di . pin 2 is for receiving the write enable signal * w . pin 3 is for receiving signal * ras . pin 4 is for receiving array toggle signal at . pin 5 is for receiving address signal a0 . pin 6 is for receiving address signal a1 . pin 7 is for receiving address signal a2 . pin 8 is for receiving address signal a3 . pin 9 is a positive power terminal vdd for receiving a positive power supply voltage . pin 10 is for receiving address signal a4 . pin 11 is for receiving address signal a5 . pin 12 is for receiving address signal a6 . pin 13 is for receiving address signal a7 . pin 14 is for receiving address signal a8 . pin 15 is for receiving address signal a9 . pin 16 is for receiving signal * cas . pin 17 is for providing data ouput signal do . pin 18 is a negative power supply terminal vss for receiving a negative power supply , normally ground . all of the pins are conventional except pin 4 . in a conventional one megabit dram , pin 4 is not connected .	6
referring to fig1 a continuously variable belt - drive automatic transmission 4 for a motor vehicle to which the present invention is applied , comprises a clutch 2 for transmitting power of an engine 1 to the transmission 4 through a selector mechanism 3 . the belt - drive transmission 4 has a primary shaft 5 and a secondary shaft 7 provided in parallel with the primary shaft 5 . a primary pulley 6 provided with a primary hydraulic cylinder 10 is mounted on the primary shaft 5 . a secondary pulley 8 provided with a secondary hydraulic cylinder 11 is mounted on the secondary shaft 7 . a drive belt 9 engages with the primary pulley 6 and the secondary pulley 8 . the cylinder 10 of the primary pulley 6 is so designed that a pressure receiving area thereof is larger than that of the cylinder 11 of the secondary pulley 8 . thus , the running diameter of the belt 9 on the pulleys 6 , 8 is varied dependent on driving conditions . secured to the secondary shaft 7 is a drive gear 12 which engages with an intermediate reduction gear 13a on an intermediate shaft 13 . an intermediate gear 14a on the shaft 13 engages with a final reduction gear 14 . rotation of the final reduction gear 14 is transmitted to axles 18 of the vehicle driving wheels 16 through a differential 15 . describing a hydraulic control circuit of the transmission 4 , oil in an oil reservoir 35 is supplied to a line pressure control valve 22 through a line pressure passage 21 by the pump 20 . an oil passage 21a connected to the passage 21 is communicated with the cylinder 11 of the secondary pulley 8 . the passage 21 is further communicated with a transmission ratio control valve 23 through a passage 21b . the cylinder 10 of the secondary pulley 6 is applied with pressurized oil through the passage 21 , the line pressure control valve 22 , the passage 21b , the transmission ratio control valve 23 , and a passage 24 . the passage 21 connected to the oil pump 20 is communicated with a regulator valve 26 through a passage 26a for regulating the pressure of the oil . the regulator valve 26 is communicated with the line pressure control valve 22 through the passage 26a , a passage 27 , an orifice 28 , a solenoid operated valve 29 , and a passage 33a having an accumulator 33 . further , the passage 27 is communicated with an end chamber of the transmission ratio control valve 23 through a passage 32a having an orifice 32 , and with another end chamber through an orifice 30 , a solenoid operated valve 31 and a passage 31a . the solenoid operated valve 29 is adapted to be operated by duty signals from a control unit 40 for producing control pressure in the form of pulses . the pulsation of the control pressure is smoothed by the accumulator 33 and the control pressure is applied to the line pressure control valve 22 , so that a line pressure p l is controlled in accordance with a transmission ratio i and an engine torque t . the solenoid operated valve 31 is also operated by the duty signals and produces reducing pressure which is applied to the transmission ratio control valve 23 for shifting a spool of the valve 23 to an oil supply position and an oil drain position by a degree of a duty ratio . thus , the flow rate q of the oil supplied to or drained from the cylinder 10 of the secondary pulley 6 is controlled to provide the optimum transmission ratio i and a transmission ratio changing speed di / dt . a flow rate sensor 41 is provided on the passage 24 for monitoring a flow rate q supplied to or drained from the cylinder 11 and for producing a signal which is applied to the control unit 40 for a feedback control . a drain port of each solenoid operated valve 29 and 30 is connected to a passage 34 to drain the oil to the reservoir 35 . referring to fig2 showing an antilock brake system ( abs ), a brake pedal 72 is connected to a master cylinder 71 for producing fluid pressure in accordance with the depression of the brake pedal 72 . the master cylinder 71 is communicated with a hydraulic unit 73 having four solenoid valves 76fr , 76fl , 76rr and 76rl for adjusting the pressure . the solenoid valves 76fr and 76fl for the front wheels 16 are communicated with a brake device of the front wheel 16 . the solenoid valves 76rr and 76rl for rear wheels 17 are communicated with a brake device of the rear wheel 17 through a proportioning valve 74 for adjusting the fluid pressure to the rear wheels 17 . a front wheel speed sensor 75f and a rear wheel speed sensor 75r are provided adjacent each front wheel 16 and rear wheel 17 , respectively , for detecting a front wheel speed and a rear wheel speed . front wheel speed signals from the sensors 75f and rear wheel speed signals from the sensors 75r are applied to an abs control unit 70 . the abs control unit 70 calculates the front and rear wheel speeds , acceleration or deceleration of the wheel , and a pseudo vehicle speed vs based on the signals from the front and rear wheel speed sensors 75f and 75r . the pseudo vehicle speed vs is compared with the front wheel speed and the rear wheel speed , and the acceleration or the deceleration is determined . in accordance with the comparison and determination , the unit 70 selects a hydraulic pressure mode of the brake pressure such as increasing mode , holding mode , and reducing mode . the control unit 70 produces a brake control signal corresponding to a selected mode which is applied to the solenoid valves 76fr , 76fl , 76rr and 76rl of the hydraulic unit 73 . the solenoid valves are operated in accordance with the brake control signal for controlling the brake pressure for the respective front and rear wheels 16 and 17 . if one of the rear wheels 17 is going to be locked , the proportioning valve 74 is operated to control the pressure to the other rear wheel 17 to the same value as that of the locking wheel . the pseudo vehicle speed vs from the abs control unit 70 is applied to the control unit 40 . referring to fig3 a and 3b , the electronic control unit 40 is arranged to control the transmission ratio and the line pressure of the transmission 4 . in the system , the flow rate sensor 41 , a primary pulley speed sensor 42 , a secondary pulley speed sensor 43 , a throttle position sensor 44 , and an engine speed sensor 45 are provided . a primary pulley speed signal n p and a secondary pulley speed signal n s of the sensors 42 , 43 are fed to an actual transmission ratio calculator 50 to produce an actual transmission ratio i in accordance with i = n p / n s . the actual transmission ratio i and an output signal θ representing the opening degree of the throttle position sensor 44 are fed to a desired primary pulley speed table 51 to derive a desired primary pulley speed npd in accordance with values of the ratio i and the signal θ . the desired primary pulley speed npd and the secondary pulley speed signal n s are fed to a desired transmission ratio calculator 52 to calculate a desired transmission ratio id in accordance with id = npd / n s . the desired transmission ratio id is fed to a desired transmission ratio changing speed calculator 55 which produces a desired transmission ratio changing speed did / dt . the speed did / dt is the amount of change of the desired transmission ratio id during a predetermined time interval . a coefficient setting section 54 produces coefficients k1 and k2 . the actual transmission ratio i , the desired transmission ratio id , the desired transmission ratio changing speed did / dt and coefficients k1 and k2 are applied to a transmission ratio changing speed calculator 53 to produce a transmission ratio changing speed di / dt from the formula as follows . where k1 , k2 are coefficients , id - i is a controlling amount dependent on the difference between the desired and actual transmission ratios , and did / dt is a correction factor for the delay in operation of the system . the speed di / dt and actual ratio i are applied to a desired flow rate calculator 56 in which a necessary flow rate of the oil to the cylinder 10 , namely a desired flow rate qs corresponding to the transmission ratio changing speed di / dt is calculated . the desired flow rate qs is applied to a flow rate difference calculator 57 to which the actual flow rate q detected by the sensor 41 is also applied . in the calculator 57 , the difference δq between the desired flow rate qs and the actual flow rate q is calculated . the difference δq is applied to a duty ratio determining section 58 . a duty ratio d of pulses for energizing the solenoid is determined for correcting the actual flow rate q to the desired flow rate qs . the duty ratio d is supplied to the solenoid operated valve 31 through a driver 59 . the pressure of oil corresponding to the duty ratio d is supplied to the transmission ratio control valve 23 to change a pressure receiving area si of the valve 23 . thus , the necessary flow rate qi of oil corresponding to the speed di / dt is supplied to the cylinder 10 . on the other hand , engine speed ne from the engine speed sensor 45 and the throttle opening degree o from the throttle position sensor 44 are applied to an engine torque table 60 to derive an engine torque t . the engine torque t and the actual transmission ratio i from the calculator 50 is applied to a desired line pressure table 61 to derive a desired line pressure p ld . in a hydraulic circuit of the control system , oil pressure discharged from the pump and applied to the line pressure control valve varies in accordance with the change of the engine speed ne , so that a maximum line pressure p lm also varies . in order to detect the variance of the maximum line pressure p lm , the control unit is provided with a maximum line pressure table 62 to which the engine speed ne and the actual transmission ratio i are supplied . therefore , the maximum line pressure p lm is obtained . the desired line pressure p ld and the maximum line pressure p lm are applied to a reduced line pressure calculator 64 wherein a reduced line pressure p lr is calculated based on the proportion of the desired line pressure p ld to the maximum line pressure p lm as follows . the reduced line pressure p lr is applied to a duty ratio table 64 to derive a duty ratio d l corresponding to the reduced line pressure p lr . the duty ratio d l is supplied to a driver 65 which operates a solenoid operated valve 29 at the duty ratio . thus , line pressure p l , namely a secondary pressure ps is controlled to the desired line pressure p ld dependent on the engine torque t and the actual transmission ratio i . in order to properly control the transmission during the abs operation , the control unit 40 is provided with a deceleration calculator 80 to which an abs operation signal and the pseudo vehicle speed vs is applied from the abs control unit 70 . the deceleration calculator 80 calculates a deceleration dvs / dt of the motor vehicle . the calculated dvs / dt is applied to a stop time calculator 81 to which the pseudo vehicle speed vs is also applied . in the calculator 81 , a time t from the end of abs operation , which is represented by the disappearance of the abs signal , until the vehicle comes to a stop is calculated as follows . the time t until stopping is applied to a downshifting speed calculator 82 to which the actual transmission ratio i is also applied . the calculator 82 calculates a downshifting speed dil / dt until the stopping of the vehicle . the speed dil / dt is a value sufficient to change the transmission ratio i to a maximun transmission ratio il within the time t after the abs operation . the downshifting speed is expressed as follows . the downshifting speed dil / dt until stopping is applied to an output changing section 83 to which the transmission ratio changing speed di / dt is applied . the section 83 is provided between the transmission ratio changing speed calculator 53 and the desired flow rate calculators 56 . when the downshifting speed dil / dt until stopping is applied to the output changing section 83 , the section 83 operates to apply the downshifting speed dil / dt to the calculator 56 , prior to the changing speed di / dt . when the downshifting speed dil / dt is not applied to the section 83 , the changing speed di / dt is applied through the section 83 to the calculator 56 . describing the operation of the transmission ratio control system , in an ordinary driving state of the vehicle , the desired transmission ratio id and the actual transmission ratio i are determined larger than the maximum transmission ratio of 2 . 5 . the desired pressure is applied to the transmission ratio control valve 23 to drain the oil from the valve 23 so that a primary pressure pp becomes the lowest pressure . the line pressure p l is applied only to the cylinder 11 of the secondary pulley 8 so that the drive belt 9 engages with the secondary pulley 8 at a maximum running diameter to provide the largest transmission ratio ( low speed stage ). further , the engine torque t is calculated in accordance with the throttle opening degree o and the engine speed ne . thus , the line pressure controlled by the line pressure control valve 22 is increased in accordance with the maximum transmission ratio i and the engine torque t to provide the desired line pressure p ld , thereby transmitting the torque without slipping of the belt 9 . at the start of the vehicle , the power of the engine 1 is transmitted to the primary shaft 5 through the clutch 2 , and the selector mechanism 3 , and to the secondary shaft 7 at the largest transmission ratio by the drive belt 9 and pulleys 6 , 8 and further transmitted to the axles 18 of the driving wheels 16 through the gears 12 , 13a , intermediate shaft 13 , gears 14a , 14 and differential 15 . thus , the vehicle is started . the transmission is controlled based on the desired transmission ratio id and the engine torque t with the control unit 40 corresponding to the respective driving conditions in the wide range . thus , the proper driveability is provided . when the brake pedal 72 is depressed for rapid braking during the driving condition , the master cylinder 71 produces the brake fluid pressure which is supplied to the brake devices to brake the wheels 16 and 17 . the abs control unit 70 detects the deceleration condition in accordance with the front and rear wheel speeds from the sensors 75f and 75r . thus , the abs control starts . the abs control unit 70 produces the brake control signal for providing a proper slip ratio of the front and rear wheels . the brake control signal is applied to the hydraulic unit 73 . the solenoid valves 76fr , 76fl , 76rr and 76rl control the brake pressures to front and rear wheels 16 and 17 in accordance with the selected hydraulic pressure mode . consequently , the driveability and steerability of the vehicle are ensured . when the abs cotrol starts , the abs control unit 70 produces the abs signal and the pseudo vehicle speed vs which are applied to the deceleration calculator 80 and the stop time calculator 81 . the calculator 80 produces the calculated deceleration dvs / dt . in response to the disappearance of the abs signal , the calculator 81 calculates and produces the stop time t in accordance with the deceleration dvs / dt and the pseudo vehicle speed vs . the downshifting speed calculator 82 calculates and produces the downshifting speed dil / dt until stopping in accordance with the stop time t and the actual transmission ratio i . the downshifting speed dil / dt is applied to the output changing section 83 . the downshifting speed dil / dt is applied to the desired flow rate calculator 56 from the output changing section 83 prior to the transmission ratio changing speed di / dt . in the system , during the abs operation , the transmission is controlled in accordance with the downshifting speed dil / dt until stopping . consequently , before the vehicle stops , the actual transmission ratio i changes to the maximum transmission ratio , thereby obtaining sufficient acceleration of the vehicle at the restarting . when the vehicle is restarted , the abs control unit 70 stops producing the output signal , the output of the downshifting speed dil / dt from the calculator 82 is stopped . the changing section 83 produces the transmission ratio changing speed di / dt to control the system in the ordinary state . while the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described , it is to be understood that these disclosures are for the purpose of illustration and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims .	1
referring now to fig1 and 2 , a circuit interrupter 10 including the current transfer arrangement of the present invention provides electrical connection to power system circuit terminals at connection points 12 , 14 , at the top and bottom respectively of the circuit interrupter . the connection points 12 , 14 are provided on respective end flanges 16 , 18 carried by a housing 20 of the circuit interrupter 10 . the end flanges 16 , 18 are affixed to the housing 20 during fabrication thereof . the circuit interrupter includes upper and lower current carrying contact structures 22 , 24 respectively that are relatively movable to open and close the circuit interrupter and thus make and break the electrical connection between the connection points 12 , 14 . in the illustrative circuit interrupter 10 of fig1 the lower contact structure 24 is movable via an operating rod 26 so as to define an open gap at 30 when the circuit interrupter 10 is open . specifically , the lower contact structure 24 includes a movable contact member 41 that is movable via the operating rod 26 and a fixed contact member 42 that supports and transfers current at 43 to the movable contact member 41 that moves within the fixed contact member 42 . for example , a flexible contact arrangement is provided at 43 between the relatively movable contact members 41 , 42 . the current transfer arrangement of the present invention is utilized at 32 , 34 to respectively connect an upper contact member 40 of the upper contact structure 22 to the circuit connection point 12 and the lower contact member 42 of the lower contact structure 24 to the circuit connection point 14 . specifically , and referring now additionally to fig5 the current transfer arrangement includes a contact support / current transfer member 50 at 32 to support the upper contact structure 22 and transfer current through the upper contact member 40 to the upper flange 16 . similarly , the current transfer arrangement includes a contact support / current transfer member 52 at 34 to support the lower contact structure 24 and transfer current through the lower contact member 42 to the lower flange 18 . the ends of the upper and lower contact members 40 , 42 are threaded and cooperate with respective retaining nuts 60 , 62 to secure the respective upper and lower contact support / current transfer members 50 , 52 to the upper and lower contact members 40 , 42 respectively . with additional reference now to fig6 retainer clip members 66 are provided along with fasteners at 68 to secure the upper and lower contact support / current transfer members 50 , 52 to the respective end flanges 16 , 18 , e . g . one retainer clip members 66 on either end of the members 50 , 52 . the retainer clip members may also be characterized as clamp members . specifically , the retainer clip members 66 at one end are received within a groove 65 of the end flanges 16 , 18 and the fasteners 68 clamp the retainer clip members to the members 50 , 52 that are received within grooves 70 , 72 respectively in the respective end flanges 16 , 18 . the retainer clip members 66 include an upwardly turned edge 67 ( best seen in fig6 ) that contacts the contact support / current transfer members 50 , 52 . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , the contact support / current transfer members 50 , 52 and the end flanges 16 , 18 are conductive or at least are conductive in the areas of interface in the current path . in the illustrative circuit interrupter 10 , the lower end flange 18 and the lower contact arrangement 24 interface to an insulating support column 80 including an end flange 82 . thus the central opening 19 of the lower end flange 18 communicates with and is connected to the end flange 82 of the insulating support column 80 , e . g . to provide a sealed environment therebetween . at the upper end of the circuit interrupter 10 , an end plate 90 is secured to the upper end flange 16 via fasteners 92 and a seal element 94 disposed between the upper end flange 16 and the end plate 90 . thus , it can be seen that the current transfer arrangement of the present invention is independent of the end closure of the housing 20 and is accomplished without involving passage through any gas - tight enclosure . accordingly , the end plate 90 need not be conductive and can instead actually be insulating . considering now the assembling of the current transfer arrangement , at the upper end flange 16 , the member 50 is inserted on an angle through the central opening 17 and placed into the receiving groove 70 against a shoulder 71 of the groove 70 . then , the retainer clip members 66 are positioned and fastened to clamp the member 50 against the retainer clip member 66 . next , the contact member 40 is assembled to the member 50 via the retaining nut 60 , thus securing and supporting the upper contact structure 22 and also providing a current transfer path for the upper contact structure 22 to the terminal connection point 12 on the upper end flange 16 through the member 50 . while there have been illustrated and described various embodiments of the present invention , it will be apparent that various changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention .	7
a conventional mram memory cell 100 is shown in fig1 , in which a magnetic structure 112 of the cell 100 has upper and lower conduits layers 104 and 108 , which are shown as being composed of tantalum ( ta ), although other conductive materials may also be used . the magnetic structure 112 includes a ferromagnetic pinned layer 116 which is “ pinned ” by an anti - ferromagnetic layer 120 in contact with ferromagnetic layer 116 . the pinned layer has a magnetic field which is always fixed ( or pinned ) in a single direction by the anti - ferromagnetic layer 120 . the pinned layer 116 is shown in fig1 as being composed of nife ( nickel ferrite ); however , it could also be composed of cofe ( ferrous cobalt ), or crfe ( chromium ferrite ). an anti - ferromagnetic layer 120 is located near the pinned layer 116 . the memory cell 100 also includes a tunnel oxide layer 124 , typically formed of aluminum oxide ( al 2 o 3 ) in contact with ferromagnetic layer 100 and a second ferromagnetic layer 128 in contrast with the tunnel oxide layer 124 . the second ferromagnetic layer can flip , or change magnetic orientation , which is how the memory cell 100 is programmed to store a ‘ 1 ’ or a ‘ 0 ’ logic state . the resistance of the cell 100 changes depending on the direction of orientation of the ferromagnetic layer 128 , which is also known as the ‘ free ’ or ‘ sense ’ layer . write currents are applied to the conduction layers 104 and 108 to flip the sense layer 128 to a particular magnetic orientation . the sense layer 128 will hold its orientation until additional write currents are applied , so that the mram cell 100 holds a binary value indefinitely , and does not require refresh and is nonvolatile . when one or more irmn ( iridium manganese ) layers are used to pin layer 116 , manganese atoms tend to diffuse through the pinned layer 116 to the tunnel region 124 during high temperature processing of a wafer containing memory cell 100 . this diffusion , shown by the arrows in fig1 , changes the electrical switching characteristics of the mram memory cell 100 during a read operation . as shown in fig2 , a slight oxidation layer 204 is formed on top of the pinning layer 116 , which serves as a barrier to mobile mn atoms . alternatively , as shown in fig7 , a slight oxidation layer 204 may be formed within the pinning layer 116 . an oxide layer 204 which is 2 - 5 angstroms thick is sufficient to stop the movement of mn along grain boundaries to the tunnel oxide layer 124 . such an oxide would not need to be uniform in consistency , but should be thin enough so as to not consume too much of the ferromagnetic film 208 . making the oxide 204 too thick will affect the coupling between the pinned layer 116 and the anti - ferromagnetic layer 120 . the oxide 204 can be produced from a nickel iron oxide or cobalt iron oxide by either an exposure to oxygen or with the aid of plasma . the antiferromagnetic layer 120 can then be deposited on the thin oxide barrier 204 and provide pinning for the underlying ferromagnetic layer 116 . the advantage of oxidizing the ferromagnetic layer 116 is that such layers will remain ferromagnetic or become slightly antiferromagnetic upon oxidation , and thus will not drastically reduce the coupling of the antiferromagnetic layers with the ferromagnetic layers . another embodiment of the invention is shown in fig3 . in this embodiment , the diffusion of mn along grain boundaries is blocked by materials which are added to the ferromagnetic material and bond to those grain boundaries and thereby effectively plug up the interstices . as shown in fig3 , boron ( b ) is one element that can accomplish such plugging . boron can be applied to the layer 304 by sputtering , annealing , or by implanting the layer 304 with boron ions . boron has the advantage that small amounts can be added to ferromagnetic materials without changing their magnetic behavior . boron also assists in making the ferromagnetic material amorphous . consequently , the addition of a thin oxide at the ferromagnetic interface such as the oxide 204 shown in the fig2 embodiment is not necessary . because the thin oxide 204 need not be employed , the magnetic coupling between the antiferromagnetic 120 and ferromagnetic 116 layers remains consistent . another type of mram cell 400 ( fig4 ) uses a ruthinium layer 408 for “ fine - tuning ” the magnetic properties of the pinned layer 404 . with this structure , exchange coupling between the two ferromagnetic layers 412 and 414 occurs . through application of the ru layer 408 , the exchange coupling can be adjusted and calibrated . also , the strong coupling through the ruthenium forces the ferromagnetic layers 412 and 414 to be antiparallel thus forming an antiferromagnet from the ruthenium layer 408 . the oxide layer can also be employed in the fig4 structure , in the manner shown in fig5 . thus , an oxide layer 504 is added to the mram cell 400 to inhibit diffusion of mn atoms toward oxide layer 124 . although fig5 shows the oxide layer 504 being located between the layers 412 and 408 , the oxide layer 504 could alternatively be located between layers as shown by arrows a , c , and d . additionally , the oxide layer could be located within the ferromagnetic layers 412 , 414 as shown by the arrows e and f . fig6 illustrates an exemplary processing system 600 which may utilize an electronic device comprising an mram device 100 constructed in accordance with any of the embodiments of the present invention disclosed above in connection with fig2 , 3 and 5 . the processing system 600 includes one or more processors 601 coupled to a local bus 604 . a memory controller 602 and a primary bus bridge 603 are also coupled the local bus 604 . the processing system 600 may include multiple memory controllers 602 and / or multiple primary bus bridges 603 . the memory controller 602 and the primary bus bridge 603 may be integrated as a single device 606 . the memory controller 602 is also coupled to one or more memory buses 607 . each memory bus accepts memory components 608 which include at least one memory device 610 of the present invention . the memory components 608 may be a memory card or a memory module . examples of memory modules include single inline memory modules ( simms ) and dual inline memory modules ( dimms ). the memory components 608 may include one or more additional devices 609 . for example , in a simm or dimm , the additional device 609 might be a configuration memory , such as a serial presence detect ( spd ) memory . the memory controller 602 may also be coupled to a cache memory 605 . the cache memory 605 may be the only cache memory in the processing system . alternatively , other devices , for example , processors 601 may also include cache memories , which may form a cache hierarchy with cache memory 605 . if the processing system 600 include peripherals or controllers which are bus masters or which support direct memory access ( dma ), the memory controller 602 may implement a cache coherency protocol . if the memory controller 602 is coupled to a plurality of memory buses 616 , each memory bus 616 may be operated in parallel , or different address ranges may be mapped to different memory buses 607 . the primary bus bridge 603 is coupled to at least one peripheral bus 610 . various devices , such as peripherals or additional bus bridges may be coupled to the peripheral bus 610 . these devices may include a storage controller 611 , an miscellaneous i / o device 614 , a secondary bus bridge 615 , a multimedia processor 618 , and an legacy device interface 620 . the primary bus bridge 603 may also coupled to one or more special purpose high speed ports 622 . in a personal computer , for example , the special purpose port might be the accelerated graphics port ( agp ), used to couple a high performance video card to the processing system 600 . in addition to memory device 631 which may contain a buffer device of the present invention , any other data input device of fig6 may also utilize a buffer device of the present invention including the cpu 601 . the storage controller 611 couples one or more storage devices 613 , via a storage bus 612 , to the peripheral bus 610 . for example , the storage controller 611 may be a scsi controller and storage devices 613 may be scsi discs . the i / o device 614 may be any sort of peripheral . for example , the i / o device 614 may be an local area network interface , such as an ethernet card . the secondary bus bridge may be used to interface additional devices via another bus to the processing system . for example , the secondary bus bridge may be an universal serial port ( usb ) controller used to couple usb devices 617 via to the processing system 600 . the multimedia processor 618 may be a sound card , a video capture card , or any other type of media interface , which may also be coupled to one additional devices such as speakers 619 . the legacy device interface 620 is used to couple legacy devices , for example , older styled keyboards and mice , to the processing system 600 . in addition to memory device 631 which may contain a buffer device of the invention , any other data input device of fig6 may also utilize a buffer device of the invention , including a cpu 601 . the processing system 600 illustrated in fig6 is only one exemplary processing system with which the invention may be used . while fig6 illustrates a processing architecture especially suitable for a general purpose computer , such as a personal computer or a workstation , it should be recognized that well known modifications can be made to configure the processing system 600 to become more suitable for use in a variety of applications . for example , many electronic devices which require processing may be implemented using a simpler architecture which relies on a cpu 601 coupled to memory components 608 and / or memory buffer devices 304 . these electronic devices may include , but are not limited to audio / video processors and recorders , gaming consoles , digital television sets , wired or wireless telephones , navigation devices ( including system based on the global positioning system ( gps ) and / or inertial navigation ), and digital cameras and / or recorders . the modifications may include , for example , elimination of unnecessary components , addition of specialized devices or circuits , and / or integration of a plurality of devices .	7
before beginning a detailed description of the subject invention , mention of the following is in order . when appropriate , like reference materials and characters are used to designate identical , corresponding , or similar components in different figures . the figures associated with this disclosure typically are not drawn with dimensional accuracy to scale , i . e ., such drawings have been drafted with a focus on clarity of viewing and understanding rather than dimensional accuracy . in the interest of clarity , not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described . it will , of course , be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation , numerous implementation - specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer &# 39 ; s specific goals , such as compliance with application and business related constraints , and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another . moreover , it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time - consuming , but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure . use of directional terms such as “ upper ,” “ lower ,” “ above ,” “ below ”, “ in front of ,” “ behind ,” etc . are intended to describe the positions and / or orientations of various components of the invention relative to one another as shown in the various figures and are not intended to impose limitations on any position and / or orientation of any embodiment of the invention relative to any reference point external to the reference . those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications and changes may be made to the exemplary embodiment ( s ) without departing from the scope of the claimed invention . it will , of course , be understood that modifications of the invention , in its various aspects , will be apparent to those skilled in the art , some being apparent only after study , others being matters of routine mechanical , chemical and electronic design . no single feature , function or property of the exemplary embodiment ( s ) is essential . other embodiments are possible , their specific designs depending upon the particular application . as such , the scope of the invention should not be limited by the particular embodiments herein described but should be defined only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof . fig1 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of baffle forming device 100 . the baffle forming device 100 has a bottom die 101 , a bottom die holder 102 , a top die 103 , and an alignment cylinder 104 . fig2 a shows a perspective top view of a freeze plug 106 with which the baffle forming device 100 is configured to work . fig2 b shows a perspective bottom view of the same freeze plug 106 . fig3 shows sectional side views of the four components of the baffle forming device 100 and the freeze plug 106 . these four components of the baffle forming device 100 can be used to form the freeze plug 106 into an m - type baffle to be used in a suppressor . to make a baffle , the freeze plug 106 is placed on top of the bottom die 101 and the bottom die 101 is placed in the bottom die holder 102 . the alignment cylinder 104 is placed over this assembly and the top die 103 is placed into the top of the alignment cylinder 104 ( see fig6 ). the assembled baffle forming device 100 and freeze plug 106 is then placed in a vice and compressed ( see fig7 ). freeze plugs come in a variety of sizes , so a particular embodiment of the baffle forming device 100 will be dimensioned to accommodate a particular dimensioned freeze plug . the bottom die 101 comprises a bottom die body 110 and a bottom die post 112 , with the bottom die body 110 coupled to , and on top of , a bottom die post 112 . the bottom die body 110 and the bottom die post 112 are both cylindrical and coaxial , with the bottom die body 110 having a larger diameter than the bottom die post 112 . the bottom die post 112 is configured for mating with the bottom die holder 102 . the bottom die post 112 is configured to be inserted into the chuck of a typical hand - held drill . as such , the diameter of the bottom die post 112 in the exemplary embodiment is about one half inch . in other embodiments , the bottom die post 112 may have a diameter with a different value . the bottom die body 110 comprises a bottom die base 122 and a bottom die block 114 , with the bottom die block 114 coupled to , and on top of , the bottom die base 122 . the bottom die block 114 and the bottom die base 122 are both cylindrical and coaxial , with the bottom die base 122 having a slightly larger diameter than the bottom die block 114 . the difference between the diameters of the bottom die block 114 and the bottom die base 122 forms a block notch 118 . the bottom die block 114 is configured to hold the freeze plug 106 . the bottom die block 114 has a diameter no wider than the inside diameter of the freeze plug 106 that it is designed to work with and a height at least the height of that freeze plug 106 . the bottom die base 122 has a diameter about the same diameter as the outside diameter of the freeze plug 106 , but less than the inside diameter of the alignment cylinder 104 . the bottom die body 110 has a conical cavity 116 coaxial thereto , with its base open to the top . the sides of the conical cavity 116 and its base form a cavity angle 124 . the cavity angle 124 will determine the angle of the finished baffle . in the exemplary embodiment , the cavity angle 124 is about 40 degrees , but other embodiments may have different values for the cavity angle 124 . in the exemplary embodiment , the conical cavity 116 is no deeper than the height of the freeze plug 106 and does not extend past the bottom die block 114 into the bottom die base 122 . however , in other embodiments , the conical cavity 116 may be deeper than the height of the freeze plug 106 and extend into the bottom die base 122 . the bottom die 101 has a bottom die center hole 120 that is coaxial thereto . the bottom die center hole 120 joins the bottom of the conical cavity 116 and extends at least some distance into the bottom die base 122 . the bottom die center hole 120 allows for drilling of a center hole in the freeze plug 106 . in the exemplary embodiment , the bottom die center hole 120 extends all the way through the bottom of the bottom die post 112 . this allows the freeze plug 106 to be attached to the bottom die 101 with a bolt after compression and drilling in preparation for grinding and filing . however , in other embodiments , the bottom die center hole 120 does not extend all the way through the bottom of the bottom die 101 . in the exemplary embodiment , the bottom die 101 is machined out of a monolithic piece of steel , but in other embodiments , may be made out of other suitable materials and the bottom die block 114 , the bottom die base 122 , and the bottom die post 112 may be formed separately , by machining , casting or other process , then joined by welding or some other suitable fastening mechanism . the bottom die holder 102 comprises a holder block 126 and a holder base 128 . the holder block 126 and holder base 128 are both cylindrical and coaxial , with the holder base 128 having a slightly larger diameter than the holder block 126 . the difference between the diameters of the holder block 126 and the holder base 128 forms a holder notch 130 . the holder block 126 has a diameter that is no wider than the inside diameter of the alignment cylinder 104 , allowing the holder block 126 to fit inside the alignment cylinder 104 . the holder base 128 has a diameter at least as large as the outside diameter of the alignment cylinder 104 , which prevents the holder base 128 from entering the alignment cylinder 104 and prevents the alignment cylinder 104 from sliding over and past the holder base 128 . the bottom die holder 102 is configured to hold the bottom die 101 . to facilitate this , the bottom die holder 102 has a holder center hole 132 that is coaxial thereto . the bottom die holder 102 is configured to have the bottom die post 112 inserted into the holder center hole 132 . the holder center hole 132 is as least as deep as the bottom die post 112 is long , so that the bottom die base 122 contacts the holder block 126 , which will allow force to be uniformly transmitted through the bottom die holder 102 and bottom die 101 to the freeze plug 106 . in the exemplary embodiment , the holder center hole 132 has a depth that is the same as the bottom die post 112 to allow force to be transmitted through the bottom die post 112 to the bottom die base 122 as well as through the holder block 126 . however , in other embodiments , the holder center hole 132 may be deeper than the bottom die post 112 , so that the bottom die post 112 does not transmit force , keeping it from being damaged during the compression process . in the exemplary embodiment , the bottom die holder 102 is machined out of a monolithic piece of steel . in other embodiments , the bottom die holder 102 may be made out of other suitable materials and the holder block 126 and the holder base 128 may be formed separately , by machining , casting or other process , then joined by welding or some other suitable fastening mechanism . in yet other embodiments , the bottom die 101 and bottom die holder 102 are permanently joined together , made either from a monolithic piece or made separately and then joined by welding or some other suitable fastening mechanism . the top die 103 comprises a top die base 134 and a top die block 136 . the top die base 134 is cylindrical and has a diameter that is no larger than the inside diameter of the alignment cylinder 104 , which allows the top die 103 to be inserted into the alignment cylinder 104 . in the exemplary embodiment , the top die base 134 has a diameter that is only slightly less than the inside diameter of the alignment cylinder 104 . the top die block 136 is shaped as a truncated cone with the base of the cone against the top of the top die base 134 . and this value will determine the angle of the finished baffle . in the exemplary embodiment , the top die angle 138 is about 40 degrees , but other embodiments may have different values for the top die angle 138 . the top die 103 has a top die center hole 140 that is coaxial thereto . the top die center hole 140 allows for drilling of a center hole in the freeze plug 106 . the top die center hole 140 extends all the way through the top die 103 . however , in other embodiments the top die 103 does not have a top die center hole 140 . in the exemplary embodiment , the top die 103 is machined out of a monolithic piece of steel . in other embodiments , the top die 103 may be made out of other suitable materials and the top die base 134 and top die block 136 may be formed separately , by machining , casting or other process , then joined by welding or some other suitable fastening mechanism . the alignment cylinder 104 is a hollow cylinder with an alignment cylinder inner wall 144 around an alignment cavity 142 open on both cylinder ends . the alignment cylinder 104 is configured to allow the bottom die 101 holding the freeze plug 106 to be inserted into the alignment cavity 142 from one end and the top die 103 from the other end . the alignment cylinder inner wall 144 aligns the top die 103 and the bottom die 101 during the compression process . the alignment cylinder inner wall 144 also prevents the freeze plug side walls 146 from bowing outward during the compression process . in the exemplary embodiment , the alignment cylinder 104 is an extruded piece of steel . in other embodiments , the alignment cylinder 104 may be made out of other suitable materials and may be formed by machining , casting or other process . fig4 - 13 show steps of a method to make a baffle from a freeze plug 106 using the exemplary embodiment of the baffle forming device 100 . fig4 shows a sectional side view of the bottom die 101 being inserted into the bottom die holder 102 . fig5 shows a sectional side view of the freeze plug 106 being place on top of the bottom die 101 . fig6 shows a sectional side view of the assembled baffle forming device 100 holding the freeze plug 106 prior to compression . the bottom die holder 102 and the bottom die 101 with the freeze plug 106 have been inserted into the alignment cylinder 104 . the freeze plug 106 still has its original “ u ” shape . the top die 103 has been inverted with the top die block 136 facing downwards towards the freeze plug 106 and bottom die 101 and inserted into the alignment cylinder 104 . the assembled baffle forming device 100 is then compressed in a vise ( not shown ) or similar compression providing device . the vise applies compression to the top die 103 and the bottom die holder 102 , which transmits the force of compression to the bottom die 101 . the freeze plug center wall 148 is deformed and forced down into the conical cavity 116 of the bottom die 101 . fig7 shows a sectional side view of the assembled baffle forming device 100 holding the freeze plug 106 after compression . the freeze plug 106 now has been formed into an “ m ” shape in cross - section . the top die 103 has penetrated deeper into the alignment cylinder 104 and has stopped when the conical cavity 116 has been completely filled with the freeze plug 106 and the top die 103 . fig8 shows a sectional side view of the assembled baffle forming device 100 holding the freeze plug 106 during drilling . a drill bit 150 has been inserted into the top die center hole 140 , has cut through the freeze plug 106 ( now a baffle 152 ) creating a baffle center hole 154 , and penetrated beyond into the bottom die center hole 120 . the drill bit 150 is then withdrawn and the top die 103 and alignment cylinder 104 removed . fig9 shows a sectional side view of the bottom die holder 102 and the bottom die 101 holding the baffle 152 . the top die 103 and alignment cylinder 104 have been removed . the baffle 152 has its final shape , but its outside diameter may have expanded slightly during the compression process . this may be corrected by filing or grinding off some of the baffle side wall 156 . fig1 shows a side view of the bottom die 101 bolted to the baffle 152 with a bolt 158 and secured with a nut 160 . the bolt 158 will keep the bottom die 101 and baffle 152 together during the grinding / filing process . fig1 shows a side view of a user 164 inserting the bottom die post 112 into a drill chuck 162 . the drill chuck 162 may be part of a drill press or may be part of a hand drill either held in the user &# 39 ; s 164 other hand or in a vise . fig1 shows a side view of the processes of filing down the baffle side wall 156 . the drill is run , spinning the bottom die 101 and baffle 152 assembly . a hand file 166 can be held against the baffle side wall 156 to file it down to the proper size . fig1 shows a sectional side view of the finished baffle 152 . fig1 shows a top perspective view of the finished baffle 152 .	6
in fig1 numeral 1 identifies a manual input station , comprised of a keyboard that gives a digital output for each key and a cathode - ray tube ( crt ) that has a television raster . the output from the keyboard passes into microprocessor system 2 and thereafter to random access memory ( ram ) 3 . from there one reading of the memory goes back to station 1 to actuate the crt . this allows the user to see what has been entered via the keyboard . floppy ( magnetic ) disk 4 , or the equivalent , serves to either accept what the user - operator has written and hold it , off line , for use at any other later time . alternately , it can constitute a source of digital information that is to be processed according to this invention ; the information having previously been recorded thereon by a word - processor or equivalent . when the text in digital form has been finalized , a corresponding signal from keyboard 1 through microprocessor system 2 actuates direct memory access ( dma ) 5 to rapidly read digital data from ram 3 . these data are supplied to video code ( vc ) generator 6 , which is also supplied with composite television synchronization . generator 6 is activated over essentially all of each field , rather than only briefly in the vertical interval . the latter is the case with the known vertical interval time code ( vitc ) generator . the output from the video code generator , at 7 , is comprised of a composite television signal , having the digital data frames with appropriate horizontal and vertical synchronization and blanking . it may be transmitted over a television ( wide band ) transmitter or cable system , recorded on a video tape recorder , or an equivalent television signal recording device . in fig2 numeral 7 &# 39 ; identifies the input that corresponds to output 7 of fig1 . as intimated above , the reception can be accomplished by a television receiver , by the receiving apparatus of a cable television system , by a reel or cassette of video tape that is physically transported from transmitter to receiver sites , or by other equivalent means . the input enters video code ( vc ) reader 9 , from whence video data and synchronizing information is obtained and accepted by a second dma unit 10 , upon the receipt by the reader of an enable signal from the dma unit . the dma unit processes digital data rapidly , at television raster speed , to sequentially store the received digital data in ram memory 12 , beginning at an address specified by microprocessor 11 . when the data have been stored , control thereof is exercised by microprocessor system 11 , as to the activation and sequence of addresses to be used in ram 12 . control panel 14 communicates to and from microprocessor 11 and has pushbuttons to enable the user to punch in a desired selection ( s ). such selection then appears on display device 15 , such as a television receiver on crt monitor , to inform the user as to what he has done . both dma units 5 and 10 are specifically employed so that processing of the digital data will take place at a rapid rate , sufficient to meet the timing demands of the television raster . the video code generator of fig3 details element 6 and is coactively connected to the additional elements of fig1 . the digital data information input in fig3 is derived from either crt keyboard 1 or floppy disk 4 , as shown in fig1 . therefrom , line 17 carries address information and line 18 carries the digital information . these lines enter microprocessor 2 , which may be an intel type 8085 , for control functioning of related elements . one such element is general purpose ram 19 , which may be composed of eight 2118 intel 16k units , giving an 8 × 16k memory . also connected is video ram 20 , which may be two 2114 intel units , giving an 8 × 1k memory . ram 20 is connected to input buses 17 and 18 , and therethrough to ram 19 and microprocessor 2 . it is further connected to dma 5 , receiving an address line therefrom and delivering a data line thereto . dma 5 also receives a control connection from microprocessor 2 . the dma is given the starting address of the sequence that is to be unloaded from the video ram . thereafter the dma accomplishes the task at high speed , unloading each byte in less than 4 . 5 microseconds ( μs ), as required to fill the television lines at a rate of 1 . 79m bits per second . these data are impressed upon high speed ram 21 ; which may be composed of four 74ls670 , of texas instruments , providing an 8 × 16 capacity . aspects pertinent to line placement originate at horizontal & amp ; vertical synchronization separator 22 . the input is a video composite synchronizing signal and the outputs are separated vertical and horizontal synchronizing pulses . video code phase - locked loop 24 accepts horizontal synchronizing pulses and generates a four times color subcarrier frequency train of clock pulses that are used for video code timing . the frequency is 14 , 318 , 180 hz . this clock passes into video code bit timing logic 25 , which is comprised of flip - flop counters and logical and gates that produce clocking and sequencing signals . these function to provide timing for high speed ram 21 , bit selection logic 26 , crc generation logic 27 , and output select logic 28 . this accomplishes compatibility between the digital bits and the synchronizing pulses defining a horizontal line . bit selection logic 26 accepts parallel digital information over four incoming conductors and converts this information to serial form by parallel to serial converter action . the output therefrom is via a single conductor , and is at one - half color subcarrier rate ; i . e ., 1 , 789 , 772 . 5 hz . an output from bit select logic 26 passes into cyclic redundancy check code ( crc ) generation logic 27 . this is comprised of an exclusive or gate , an and gate , a shift register , and additional and gates . these are connected to effectively divide the serial output bit stream by the polynomial ( x 8 + 1 ) and affix the remainder as the last 8 bits in the serial code . this technique is used to provide check bits to assure the validity of the received data . output select logic 28 accepts the many digital data bits from logic 26 , and at the end of each line of the television raster the 8 bits are inserted to implement the crc check for that line . video code enable logic 30 is essentially an and gate , which selectively enables the insertion of video code by activating the output select logic 28 , and enabling video mixer 32 , which identifies a television frame that is to receive video code . active line counter 31 is comprised of eight flip - flop counters . these count horizontal lines commencing with each field synchronizing pulse . the line count is provided to and gates in the video code enable logic 30 , in order that specific lines ( e . g . lines 13 and 15 and lines 26 to 256 ) may be enabled . when both the frame enable and the specific line counts are &# 34 ; true &# 34 ;, the video code enable signal is produced . video code is mixed with composite sync in video mixer 32 , to produce the composite television signal 7 , including the digital information frame ( s ). fig5 is the flow chart for the television data frame generation apparatus of fig3 . at start in fig5 the first step is to &# 34 ; load data into general purpose ram &# 34 ; ( 19 ), being activity 40 . this digital information originates at crt - keyboard 1 or floppy disk 4 of fig1 . the next function , 41 , is to &# 34 ; transfer data to video ram &# 34 ;. this formats the sequence and the exact content of data to subsequently be encoded into a television frame . these and subsequent functions are commanded by microprocessor 2 , which is programmed for such activity . &# 34 ; wait for start of tv frame , field 1 &# 34 ; is the next activity . &# 34 ; insert vitc &# 34 ;, activity 44 , calls for this function to be performed on line 13 . this is the insertion of the vertical interval time code , by which the television frame is identified . it is used to locate that frame upon the request of a user . activity 45 calls for a repeat on line 15 of the &# 34 ; insert vitc &# 34 ; of line 13 . this repeat provides redundancy . activity 47 calls for &# 34 ; insert digital data &# 34 ;. this is the first line of data of what continues to be substantially a whole field of data . activity 48 calls for this insertion of data to be repeated &# 34 ; until & amp ; including line 256 &# 34 ;. this gives 230 lines of data . activities 50 and 51 repeat the previous activities of 43 , 44 and 45 ; this time for the second field of the frame . concurrently with these several activities , beginning at activity 42 , the digital data are recorded on video tape . the second field may be recorded a quadrature removed from the recording of the same data on field 1 . this is to avoid tape imperfections , such as drop - outs , of the same data in both fields . accordingly , activity 53 requires &# 34 ; insert 116th data line on television line 26 &# 34 ;. next , activity 54 calls for &# 34 ; insert 117th data line on 27th field line .&# 34 ; activity 55 calls for continuing the insertion of data &# 34 ; in sequence &# 34 ;. after line 230 the sequence returns to data line 1 . activity 56 calls for &# 34 ; completed at field line 256 &# 34 ;, which is data line 115 . thereafter , the apparatus assumes the stand - by mode , or passes on to other operations , such as producing a second television frame of digital information , or reverting to an off - line mode in which new data is entered through keyboard 1 or by floppy disk 4 . fig4 is the video code and received frame processing block diagram . in fig4 incoming composite television signals with digital data frames enter at 7 &# 39 ;, being typically the transmitted and received such signals from output 7 , in fig1 . such signals may also be reproduced from video storage means , such as a video tape or cassette recorder - reproducer . the signals enter low - pass filter 60 , which is for the purpose of removing high frequency spurious interference , or noise , as may have entered in the transmitter - receiver path , via radio waves or via video cable . filter 60 may be comprised of a unity gain lm310 amplifier by national semiconductor , followed by a pi filter circuit of one inductor and two capacitors , and followed by another unity gain amplifier . the output from filter 60 is applied to video sync separator 61 , which strips the horizontal and vertical sync from the composite signal . separator 61 may be comprised of an input resistor - capacitor series network , a 74c04 amplifier having diode feedback , and two more 74c04 amplifiers in tandem for supplying opposite polarity of sync output . the horizontal sync output from separator 61 is applied to sync and blanking sample and hold 62 . this unit is also supplied with the full video signal . sample and hold 62 may be comprised of a 74ls221 one - shot , which supplies width duration coincident with the horizontal synchronizing pulses . this output is supplied to an lf398 sample and hold integrated circuit ( ic ), available from national semiconductor . this makes available a hold level corresponding to the amplitude of the tips of the synchronizing pulses . similarly , another 74ls221 one - shot is oppositely connected to the horizontal sync output from separator 61 . this fires upon the positive - going trailing edge of the sync and so applies a width duration coincident with the blanking level following the horizontal sync to a second lf398 to sample and hold a level that is equal to the blanking level of the video signal . the full video signal is also applied to both of the sample and hold ics . this provides the voltage waveform from which the sample and hold circuits will extract the specific sync tip level and the blanking level of interest . the two above levels are applied to slicer 63 ; to opposite inputs thereof of a different operational amplifier , which may be a national semiconductor lm306h . the switching threshold thereof is a voltage that is proportional to the strength and d . c . level of the video signal . the threshold d . c . level is the &# 34 ; slicing level &# 34 ;. the filtered video signal is compared with the slicing level to make a slicing decision with respect to each digital bit , as to whether it is a binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; or a binary &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. by passing the output of the slicer through a 74ls04 ic inverter a vc ( i . e ., inverted video code ) output is obtained , and by passing that through a second 74ls04 inverter a buffer video code ( bvc ) output is obtained . oscillator 64 is typically operated at four times the color subcarrier frequency of 3 . 579 megahertz ( mh ), that is , 14 . 318 mh . horizontal sync from separator 61 enters the oscillator for synchronizing purposes . the oscillator may be a cd4046 ic plus a 74s124 ic oscillator , the latter ic operating at 14 . 318 mh . this frequency output is fed back through a series of flip - flop frequency dividers and divided by 2 × 455 = 910 , which gives the horizontal line frequency of 15 , 734 hertz . a comparator is provided . it compares the sync line frequency with feedback line frequency to produce a d . c . voltage proportional to phase error . low pass d . c . circuitry following the comparator provides a control voltage to speed up or slow down the 74s124 oscillator , to lock it to the exact frequency that is four times the color subcarrier frequency . no other frequency will balance the phase - lock loop . in fig4 an output from oscillator 64 , called the &# 34 ; video code clock &# 34 ; is applied to video code timing logic 65 . this is the 14 . 318 mh frequency . a number of flip - flop frequency dividers reduce this frequency to give a number of timing signals ; such as one - half ( which is 2 × frequency of the subcarrier ), also 1 × frequency of the subcarrier , 1 / 2 × frequency of the subcarrier , and a number of counts that determine the various bit locations in the subsequent cycles of the code . an output of video code timing logic 65 is &# 34 ; video code timing &# 34 ;, a frequency of f / 2 subcarrier , goes to several subsequent blocks , one being serial to parallel converter 66 . the other input to converter 66 is the video code itself ; an output from slicer 63 , being the buffer video code bvc . converter 66 is a shift register , from which outputs are taken on 4 parallel conductors . random access memory ( ram ) 67 , is connected to the 4 parallel conductors from converter 66 . it has an 8 × 16 storage capability . the digital information is transferred 4 bits at a time into four 74ls670s that are in ram 67 . these are suited for fast loading and discharge so that fields will be filled at the rapid television scanning rate . the output is the &# 34 ; cpu data bus &# 34 ; and has 8 conductors . the &# 34 ; video code timing &# 34 ; from logic 65 is also an input to sync check logic 68 . the latter consists of various gates . other inputs to logic 68 are 2 ×, 1 × and 1 / 2 × the frequency of the subcarrier . two and and an exlusive or gates feed these inputs to a pair of ls00 gates that are cross - connected to form a latch . if any sync bits are missing the latch is set , giving a &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; output , which indicates bad sync . conversely , if there are no missing sync bits the latch output is &# 34 ; high &# 34 ;, which indicates good sync . the latch is reset at the start of each line by a sync actuated one - shot . a &# 34 ; good sync &# 34 ; output from sync check logic 68 enters code check logic 69 , fig4 . other inputs to code check logic 69 are an output from crc check logic 70 , and a buffered bvc . crc check logic 70 includes an exclusive or gate and a 74ls164 shift register fed therefrom . the output from the shift register , delayed by 8 shifts is fed back to the other input of the exclusive or gate . this is the construction that causes the serial bit stream to be divided by ( x 8 + 1 ). the result of applying this bit stream to the shift register gives a residue of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in this shift register at the end of all of the bits if no error has been made . if that is the circumstance , then all outputs of the shift register will be low and two and gates , 74ls260 will both be &# 34 ; true &# 34 ;. this indicates a &# 34 ; good &# 34 ; crc check . the logical combination of good sync and good crc check constitutes the output of code check logic 69 . this output enters the video code ready logic 71 of fig4 . this is accomplished by a flip - flop ls74 , which is initialized at the start of the code . when the code is completed and the check is &# 34 ; good &# 34 ;, an indication is given to the data bus that the &# 34 ; video code is ready &# 34 ;. these data are now stored in 8 × 16 ram 67 , and are read out by direct memory access ( dma ) 10 , of fig2 . through the address lines it is possible to address the 8 × 16 ram 67 , and cause output of data to the data bus of fig4 . these data are stored in ram 12 , which makes the data available to microprocesso 11 when the readout process is complete . data from line by line continue to be read out and put into ram 12 until all lines are read out . the microprocessor is then ready to use the data for display purposes , or to interpret the data as a control ; i . e ., a program or instructions . it does so to affect input - output devices ( i / o ) of fig2 . these are display 15 or control panel 14 . an example of instructions to the microprocessor would be to display a changing program in addition to a picture , or the like . this could be the time of day ; i . e ., seconds , minutes , hours , days , months and years . the count could carry on for 200 years . no additional peripheral devices to this already shown are required . display device 15 includes a video display generator , such as type s68047 , available from ami , or an equivalent . this is in addition to the television scanning raster cathode - ray tube , or an equivalent . the video display generator accepts the digital information processed in this specification according to this invention and produces a dot matrix to form the desired printed letters on successive lines of the raster . the video code reader of fig4 details element 9 of fig2 with the coacting additional elements of fig2 also shown . in fig2 & amp ; 4 , microprocessor 11 may be an intel 8085 . the microprocessor is essentially pre - programmed , as treated throughout this specification . however , it may receive further items of program or instructions as mentioned above . &# 34 ; other control &# 34 ; items may be function signals , such as , read , write , interrupt request , and interrupt acknowledge . ram 12 may be a set of eight intel 2118 dynamic ram ics . each of these are a 1 × 16k unit . direct memory access 10 ( dma ) may be an intel 8237 dma controller ic . the number of conductors in the bus showings in fig4 are given in the numbers adjacent to the slash that crosses the single line shown in the figure . thus , the address bus has 16 conductors and bus 72 has 32 conductors . fig6 is the flow chart for the television data frame reading apparatus of fig4 . at the start , the first step , 80 , is to read the several vitc codes until the one is found that &# 34 ; matches the code of interest &# 34 ;. the code of interest has previously been punched - in by the user on control panel 14 . the next function , 81 , is to &# 34 ; clear a block of ram memory 12 &# 34 ;, if one is not already available . the next function , 82 , is to &# 34 ; wait until line 26 of field 1 &# 34 ;. function 83 calls for &# 34 ; reading video code ( vc ) data on line 26 &# 34 ; and determining whether the code checks . thereafter , decision point 84 asks , &# 34 ; does code check ?&# 34 ; if the answer is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, function 85 , &# 34 ; increment ram address &# 34 ; is invoked and the processing goes on to the next location . if the answer is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, function 79 , &# 34 ; transfer data from 8 × 16 buffer to ram &# 34 ; takes place . this is good data because the crc check at the end resulted in an all zero &# 39 ; s condition . this assures no change of bits . decision point 86 asks , &# 34 ; is this line 256 ?&# 34 ;. initially , the answer will be &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, and so the activity returns to function 83 . ultimately , the answer will be &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;. this is close to the vertical sync interval again , and so the next function , 87 , is to &# 34 ; wait until line 26 of field 2 &# 34 ;. decision point 88 asks , &# 34 ; is ram blank ?&# 34 ;. if the answer is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, that means the crc code did not check as valid on the first field . this leads to another decision point , 89 , which asks , &# 34 ; does code check ?&# 34 ;. this refers to field 2 . if the answer is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, the activity goes to function 90 , &# 34 ; transfer data from ( 8 × 16 ) buffer into ram &# 34 ;. thereafter the activity goes on to function 91 , &# 34 ; increment ram address &# 34 ;. if the answer at decision point 89 was &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, that means that the data was in error in both fields . this causes function 92 to occur , &# 34 ; set an error flag &# 34 ;. this flag is stored in a special separate location in ram 12 . if the answer at decision point 88 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, that means that data from field 1 had previously been accepted . this allows an immediate &# 34 ; increment ram address &# 34 ;, function 91 , since there is no need to examine the data of field 2 . the final decision point 93 , &# 34 ; is this line 256 ?&# 34 ; is next encountered . initially , the answer will be &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, so the activity returns to point 88 . there the described series of functions is repeated a sufficient number of times until the answer is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;. this leads to function 94 , &# 34 ; data reading complete &# 34 ;, after which other operations using the data are performed , such as displaying the alpha - numeric characters on display device 15 of fig2 . fig7 is the flow chart for enhanced operation of the television data frame reading apparatus ; namely , to give further items of program or instructions to microprocessor 11 . at the start , first step 95 is to &# 34 ; preset system to receive ( t )&# 34 ;. this is accomplished by the user using control panel 14 of fig2 to set a time ; say 8 : 00 : 00 . the next function 96 , &# 34 ; at time ( t ) follow flow chart 6 &# 34 ;; i . e ., the vitc code matches the code of interest , therefore , complete all of the sequence of operations according to flow chart 6 . thereafter , the activity returns to fig7 ; i . e ., function 97 , &# 34 ; use of the data from frame ( t ) to identify time ( t &# 39 ;)&# 34 ;. the data at time 8 : 00 : 00 informed , for example , that the desired randomly timed data will arrive at 8 : 27 . it is not necessary that these data be displayed ; the information is inside of the memory , and so microprocessor 11 can wait for time 8 : 27 . next function 98 states , &# 34 ; at time ( t &# 39 ;) follow flow chart 6 &# 34 ;. the vitc code matches 8 : 27 and so the whole of chart 6 is performed . the final function 99 of fig7 states , &# 34 ; convert and display data from ( t &# 39 ;)&# 34 ;. whatever data were received at 8 : 27 are now converted from digital bits to printed characters , and are displayed on display device 15 . fig7 indicates the functioning of the reader apparatus for the control thereof , and as a last step to command display .	7
in the following detailed description of the embodiments , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding . however , it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well known methods , procedures , components , and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments of the invention . furthermore , points and curves disclosed by the figure and described herein are examples for explanatory purposes . actual points and curves of measured colors will vary . the embodiments of the invention include a method , apparatus and system to detect and determine exposure of a sensitive diagnostic instrument to hostile environmental conditions . the sensitive diagnostic instrument is used to quantify photometric reactions to biological samples over a period of time . reagent dipsticks and immunoassays have been used in medical clinics for decades in connection with methods for rapidly diagnosing or monitoring health conditions at the point of care or at the doctor &# 39 ; s office . in a clinical environment , dipsticks have been used for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections , preeclampsia , proteinuria , dehydration , diabetes , internal bleeding and liver problems . as is known , dipsticks are laminated sheets of paper containing reagents that change color when exposed to an analyte - containing solution . each reagent pad on the dipstick is chemically treated with a compound that is known to change color in the presence of particular reactants . for example , in the context of a urinalysis , the dipstick will include reagent pads for detecting or measuring analytes present in a biological sample , in this case urine , including glucose , bilirubin , ketones , specific gravity , blood , ph , protein , urobilinogen , nitrite , leukocytes , microalbumin and creatinin . other types of dry solid chemical test pads may be formed , such as chemical test pads with biomarkers for drug use monitoring , and chemical test pads with prostate specific antigen ( psa ) for prostate cancer . in patent cooperation treaty ( pct ) application no . pct / us2013 / 035397 ( nation phase — u . s . patent application ser . no . 14 / 419 , 939 ) to which priority is claimed ( hereinafter “ the burg 397 ”), an automated method is disclosed to interpret color change of an exposed dipstick and immunoassay in a continuous or periodic manner . the method reports on multiple possible reactions and / or intermediate reaction rates . digital image analyzing methods have a need to automatically check whether the diagnostic instrument has been exposed to a hostile environment and whether its reagent pads have been contaminated . contaminated pads can cause a false change of colors in the pad reagents leading to false results and false diagnosis . the embodiments of the invention include a method and apparatus that periodically monitors the color changes of at least one contamination detection reagent pad and reagent test pads over time of the chemical reactions . the contamination detection reagent pad is monitored to provide an optimal color interpretation at several points of time of the chemical reaction , e . g . before the chemical reaction , at the beginning stage of the chemical reaction , in the middle of the chemical reaction , and towards the end of the chemical reaction . color interpretation is augmented by taking a color time - gradient into account . a chemical reaction rate model is approximated to yield a higher interpretation precision of color interpretation . at any points of time of the color interpretation procedure , once the contamination detection reagent pad is detected and determined to be exposed to a hostile environment , the system ceases the diagnostic procedure and alerts users on invalid results . embodiments of the invention also provide improved accuracy of the detection through better color correction , and error reduction using statistical methods to cross reference common factors such as time , temperature , and acidity ( ph ) of chemical reactions on chemical test pads on a paddle . precision / accuracy is improved by modeling the chemical reaction rate of the contamination detection reagent pad , and providing better color correction and superior reaction calibrations . some embodiments of the invention also provide a user friendly interactive user interface . a user interface is provided to hold user attention with real - time interpretations . based on the results of the detection , the user interface either shows messages regarding invalid results with a reminder to change the test paddle , or allows users to observe the reagents reactions , helping them to continue focusing their attention on the process . a platform of generic open photometry tools is disclosed herein . as defined herein , open photometry is a photometer that does not require shielding from interfering photonic pollution , hence open photometers do not require an enclosure with a fixed light path . problems such as ambient light levels , fluid sample handling , and color correction have been described in burg &# 39 ; 397 , as applied to the particular application for performing and quantifying color changes induced by specific concentrations of biological analytes in an automatically calibrated environment . in particular , the methods described in burg &# 39 ; 397 for working in uncontrolled lighting conditions include capturing color images by making geometric corrections , performing color corrections , establishing color calibration trajectories , and comparing colors taken in uncontrolled lighting conditions to the established color trajectories . one aspect of embodiments of the invention augments the existing capabilities of the method and device described in burg &# 39 ; 397 by extending the apparatus towards a portable electronic device capable of capturing sequences of images and displaying the progress of the reactions and results therefrom in near - real time . when using a portable electronic device to capture digital images of the paddle , the digital images are captured without controlled lighting conditions or closed system lighting environments . color matching and color corrections are significantly more complex when trying to capture images in uncontrolled lighting environments . thus , sequences of images of the changing color of test pads are captured at a plurality of time points and analyzed to improve diagnostic results of measured concentrations of various analytes in a biological sample and improve the detection of contamination and invalid results . another aspect of some embodiments of the invention is to augment the reality perceived by a user by processing the perceived sequence of images and displaying the progress of the reactions in near - real time on the image capturing device . referring now to fig1 , a reagent paddle 100 with reagents pads arranged in three rows ( 111 ax - 111 cx ) and four columns ( 111 x a - 111 xd ) is shown . the reagent paddle 100 includes at least one contamination detection reagent pad 120 . at least one contamination detection reagent pad 120 may be positioned near the bottom corner of the reagent paddle 100 in position 111 aa for example . the reagent paddle 100 further includes a plurality of reagent pads 110 in other positions on the array of pads near the bottom of the paddle 100 , such as those in rows ( 111 bx - 111 cx ) and columns ( 111 x b - 111 x d ). the reagent pads 110 may also referred to as chemical test pads ( ctp ) or simply test pads herein . a contamination detection reagent bar 120 ′ may be alternatively and / or additionally positioned outside the array of pads arranged in three rows ( 111 ax - 111 cx ) and four columns ( 111 x a - 111 xd ). at least one contamination detection reagent pad 120 and the contamination detection reagent bar 120 ′ are simply referred together hereafter as a contamination detection reagent pad 120 . the paddle 100 may further include an identifier 105 , such as a quick response ( qr ) code 105 to automatically identify the paddle 100 . the qr code 105 may be configured to contain certain identification information about the paddle 100 , such as a list of the analytes that are being tested , expiration date of the paddle 100 , the conditions that are being tested , and other identifying information . the identification information may also be printed directly on the identifier or encrypted within the qr code 105 . the identifier 105 may also be used to associate the paddle and test results to a user . alternatively , the qr code 105 may be associated with information stored elsewhere , such as is the case with bar codes or other short distance data exchange devices and methods . the identification information may be used in validation processes to ensure the diagnostic paddle 100 is suitable for the tests being performed and to ensure that it is safe to use , in good working condition , or to resolve other issues which may impact quality and reliability of the test results . the paddle 100 may also include a reference color bar ( rcb ) 108 . the rcb 108 includes a plurality of color samples of different colors in a side - by - side linear arrangement . for example , the rcb 108 may include color samples for one or more of the following colors : cyan , magenta , yellow , key ( black ), gray , white , red , green , and blue . the color sample colors of the rcb 108 correspond with common color spaces , such as red - green - blue , cyan - magenta - yellow - key ( cmyk ), pantone , munsell , international commission on illumination ( cie ) xyz , or the international color consortium ( icc ) device independent color space ( l * a * b color space ). the rcb 108 is used for image processing , specifically to calibrate a digital image to improve the quality and accuracy of color analysis . the paddle 100 is generally formed of a substrate including a handle 151 and a test portion 153 coupled together by a neck 152 . the handle 151 near a proximal end includes a finger opening 161 into which fingers can be inserted to hold on to the paddle 100 . the test portion 153 located near a distal end of the paddle 100 is dipped into a biological sample . the neck 152 distances the handle 151 of the paddle from the test portion 153 so that the handle is not exposed to the biological sample . the neck 152 of the paddle 100 may optionally include a slot 163 to show lateral flow test results . the identifier 105 and reference color bar 108 may also be coupled to the neck 152 of the paddle 100 . the reference color bar ( rcb ) 108 may be located adjacent the identifier 105 in the neck of the paddle as shown or wrapped around and surrounding the rcb 108 . the reagent paddle 100 is typically sealed in a bag prior to shipment to an in - home or at - home user . prior to use , the bag is unsealed and the reagent paddle 100 is removed from the bag . before exposure to a biological sample , such as during assembly , packaging , or shipping , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , 120 ′ changes color if the reagent paddle 100 has been accidentally exposed to a hostile environment , such as humidity , chemicals , etc . accordingly , a single digital image ( digital photo ) or a plurality of digital images ( digital video ) of the paddle 100 can be captured by an electronic device , prior to the paddle 100 being exposed to the biological sample . if the reagent paddle 100 has not been exposed to the expected hostile environments , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 is not expected to change color before use . analysis of the single digital image ( digital photo ) or the plurality of digital images ( digital video ) of the paddle 100 can readily detect a color in the contamination detection reagent pad 120 before use . for example in fig8 , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 may be shipped from the factory with a color at an uncontaminated color point 800 ( e . g ., white ) indicating that no hostile environment has been indicated . after exposure to a hostile environment and before exposure to a biological sample , the color of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 may have changed to a contaminated color point 805 a for example . the difference between color values of color point 800 and color point 805 a can readily indicate that the contamination detection reagent pad 120 has been exposed to a hostile environment before exposure to a biological sample . in some cases , the hostile environment may be so subtle that it does not initially cause a color change in the contamination detection reagent pad 120 before being exposed to the biological sample . in some cases , a user may forget to capture a digital image prior to exposure to the biological sample . in some cases , contamination from a hostile environment may happen after the first digital image ( digital photo ) of the paddle is captured but prior to the reagent paddle 100 exposure to the biological sample . mishandling can happen after taking a first digital image ( digital photo ) and collecting the biological sample . a user may perform a hand washing procedure required by the at - home diagnostics that poses a high risk of exposing the reagent paddle 100 to humidity . in other cases , the contamination from the hostile environment may happen after the contamination detection reagent pad 120 has been intentionally exposed to the biological sample . after an initial contamination detection process or not , a user can expose the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , 120 ′ and the plurality of reagent pads 110 of the reagent paddle 100 to a biological sample . if the ctps 110 undergo chemical reactions with the applied biological sample , they change color over a brief period of time in response to concentrations of various analytes in the biological sample . the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , 120 ′ may also undergo a chemical reaction when exposed to the biological sample and change color over a brief period of time . however , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , 120 ′ typically has a different type of color trajectory , different color values , different chemical reaction times , or different rates of color change than otherwise expected , indicating that the reagent paddle 100 has been exposed to a hostile environment . the contamination detection reagent pad 120 and each ctp 110 may be treated with a chemical compound ( a reagent ) specifically selected to react with a specific analyte . for example , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 may be selected to react to leukocytes or glucose in a biological sample , in addition to humidity or moisture . the contamination detection reagent pad 120 may indicate contamination from a hostile environment before the diagnostic test without a biological sample and during a diagnostic test with the biological sample . the analysis of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 to detect exposure to a hostile environment can differ . in one case , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 may change color prior to the diagnostic test without a biologic sample being applied , if it has been exposed to hostile environment , such as humidity . the color of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 may change from an expected uncontaminated color point 800 to a contaminated color point 805 a shown in fig8 for example . the difference between the uncontaminated color point 800 and the contaminated color point 805 a can readily ascertained to detect that the contamination detection reagent pad 120 has been exposed to a hostile environment . the user can be informed of the exposure to the hostile environment before the diagnostic test begins and compromised test results are measured and shown to the user . in other cases , the reagent paddle has been exposed to a hostile environment and it may be detected during the diagnostic testing when the contamination detection reagent pad 120 is also exposed to a biological sample . when the color measurements and results obtained from the contamination detection reagent pad 120 are outside the expected range of color values , expected rates of change , or expected amounts of change in values , or expected trajectory , etc ., it indicates contamination of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 and the test paddle 100 . in one case , when the reagent paddle 100 has been exposed to a hostile environment , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 changes color according to a different color trajectory after the reagent paddle has been exposed to a biological sample . for example in fig8 , the color trajectory 807 , representing a contamination detection reagent pad 120 exposed to a hostile environment and a biological sample , has a different slope and extends further out than that of expected color trajectories 770 a , 770 b , 770 c , and 770 d at various analyte concentrations . the expected trajectories are stored color trajectories without contamination that are associated with biological samples when the reagent paddle had not been exposed to a hostile environment . the measured trajectory of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , exposed to a hostile environment and a biological sample can be compared with the stored expected trajectories without contamination that are associated with biological samples . if significant differences are determined in the comparison , the user can be informed of the exposure to the hostile environment during the diagnostic tests before the compromised test results are shown to the user . in yet another case , when the reagent paddle has been exposed to a hostile environment , the contamination detection reagent pad changes color to different unexpected color values after the reagent paddle has been exposed to a biological sample . for example , after chemical reactions have been completed , the color of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 is determined to be at a color point 805 n . the color point 805 n extends beyond final time t n at curve 750 n and its final color values represented by the points from all other expected final color values at color points 772 a , 772 b , 772 c , 772 d along the curve 750 n . the different unexpected color values of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 exposed to the biological sample can be compared with stored expected color values without contamination as if the reagent paddle under test had never been exposed to a hostile environment . if significant differences are determined between color values in the comparison , the user can be informed of the exposure to the hostile environment during the diagnostic tests before the compromised test results are shown to the user . in yet another case , when the reagent paddle has been exposed to a hostile environment , the contamination detection reagent pad changes colors at different rates or by different amounts after the reagent paddle has been exposed to a biological sample . for example in fig8 , the amount of change in color from color point 805 b to color point 805 n along the contaminated curve 807 is greater than the amount of change between the first sample 802 and the last sample 802 along the non - contaminated curve 870 x . the different rates or different amounts of color change in the contamination detection reagent pad 120 can be compared with stored expected rates or stored expected amounts of color change without contamination as if the reagent paddle has never been exposed to a hostile environment . a portable electronic device with a digital camera captures color digital images of the test paddle 100 . in some embodiments , an image of the paddle 100 is displayed on the portable electronic device with information and instructions for the user in a user interface . an exemplary portable electronic device 1100 is shown in fig9 . referring now to fig2 a , a field of view or vision field 200 of a display device of a portable electronic device is illustrated . the vision field 200 displays the test paddle 100 in one side 201 and a user interface ( ui ) 210 in an opposite side 202 . fig2 a - 2b illustrate the reagent paddle 100 being pre - tested for contamination prior to being exposed to a biological sample that is to be tested . generally , the user interface 210 automatically provides instructions , information , and results of the color analysis of one or more ctps 110 as they undergo chemical reactions . however , in the pre - test phase , the user interface 210 automatically provides instructions , information , and results of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 prior to exposure to a biological sample . the vision field 200 may be captured , displayed , and analyzed by a number of devices . however , it is desirable to make the testing and results personal and convenient by integrating the capture , display , and analysis into a user operable system so that the user can test and obtain his / her own results . the exemplary portable electronic device 1100 shown in fig9 is one such system that provides for capture , display and analysis of a test paddle and its contamination and ctp pads . in response to the color change caused by chemical reaction of the reagent in the ctps 110 of the paddle 100 , illuminance information 220 may be calculated by the methods described in burg &# 39 ; 397 , which is incorporated herein by reference . after an analysis of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , prior to exposure by the biological sample , instructions 221 a - 221 b shown in either fig2 a - 2b may be displayed to the user . with no contamination detected by the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , the instructions 221 a ( part of the user interface 210 ) may be displayed on the display screen to the user to guide him / her through the protocol or procedures for obtaining information from the test pads 110 of the paddle 100 . the instructions 221 a may indicate to the user that the test paddle 100 is unexposed to the biological sample . the instructions 221 a may further instruct the user to expose the ctps of the test paddle such as by dipping it into the biological sample and starting a timer associated with an electronic device . reference is now made to fig2 b . with contamination detected by the contamination detection reagent pad 120 prior to exposure to the biological sample , the instructions 221 b can be displayed in the field of view or vision field 200 of the portable electronic device . the instructions 221 b inform the user of the contamination condition of the reagent paddle 100 . due to the contamination condition , the instructions 221 b further inform the user to change the paddle to a different reagent paddle 100 before exposing it to the biological sample . to determine if the reagent paddle 100 is contaminated , an image of the reagent paddle 100 with the contamination detection reagent pad 120 is captured by the system . the location of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 is detected in the image and its color is captured . the captured color may need correction to standardize it due to differences in camera types of the current image and the stored data used for comparison . the reagent paddle 100 includes the reference color pad ( rcb ) 108 for the purpose color correction to that of the known standard associated with the stored data . the color of contamination detection reagent pad 120 is corrected by the captured color of one or more color samples in the reference color bar ( rcb ) 108 with the present camera and the stored color of the same one or more color samples in the reference color bar ( rcb ) captured by the known standard type of camera and standard of illumination . the corrected color value of contamination detection reagent pad 120 can be evaluated by comparing it with a predetermined range of color values . if the corrected color value of contamination detection reagent pad 120 exceeds the predetermined range of color values , it may indicate contamination , that the contamination detection reagent pad 120 was exposed to a hostile environment . after color correction , other methods described herein may be used to determine if the contamination detection reagent pad 120 and the paddle were exposed to a hostile environment . note however , illumination can affect the corrected color value of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 . the system decides where or not contamination instructions are to be shown to the user based on the evaluation under certain illuminance conditions . the instructions 221 b may indicate to the user that the reagent paddle 100 was contaminated and compromised . the instructions 221 b may further instruct the user to change or use another reagent paddle . after exposure of the paddle to a biological sample , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 may still be analyzed as described herein to determine if the contamination detection reagent pad 120 has been exposed to a hostile environment along with the paddle . fig3 a - 3b , 4a - 4b , 5a - 5b , and 6 illustrate the field of view or vision field 200 of the display device of a portable electronic device with exemplary conditions after the paddle 100 has been exposed to a biological sample . fig3 a illustrates a real - time interpretation of the image data of the reagent paddle 100 after an initial lapse of time ( e . g ., about 10 seconds ) of exposure to the biological sample . an image of the paddle 100 is displayed alongside additional information . on the left side of the vision field , the user sees the paddle 100 and the ctp chemical reaction colors evolving over time . on the right side of the vision field the user may be presented with information . for example , the information displayed may include an illuminance measurement ( or luminous emittance measurement ) 330 and the elapsed exposure time 331 since dipping the paddle 100 into the biological sample . in addition , instructions 332 a may be provided to the user to observe the color changes in faster chemical reactions , such as for creatinine , microalbumin , bilirubin , and glucose , for example , that occurs at different ctps 110 . the real - time interpretation puts a focus on the faster chemical reactions allowing users to follow the quick reactions . in fig3 a , exposure to a hostile environment was undetermined by the contamination detection reagent pad 120 . fig3 b also illustrates a real - time interpretation of the image data of the reagent paddle 100 after about 10 seconds of exposure to the biological sample . the user may forget to do a pre - exposure test . a further determination is made of the image data for the contamination detection reagent pad . the real - time examination of the reaction of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 progresses as the chemical reaction at the ctps and their colors evolve over time . at the very beginning stage of these chemical reactions with the biological sample , color of the contamination detection reagent pad 102 can be very different if the reagent paddle under test has been exposed to any hostile environment . accordingly , the color of the contamination detection reagent pad 102 when exposed to a hostile environment can be readily compared with the expected color of the contamination detection reagent pad 102 when unexposed to a hostile environment . once the system detects that the color of the contamination detection reagent pad is out of a predetermined value range of color , the right side of the vision field 200 presents real - time instructions 332 b to the user indicating that the reagent paddle is contaminated . no results are displayed . the instructions may further instruct the user to use another reagent paddle . fig4 a illustrates an overview of a first result interpretation after a further elapse in time , such as 31 seconds for example , of exposure to the biological sample . when the method reaches the first timeline for results interpretation , an initial table 442 a of results is shown . fig4 a shows the paddle 100 at the left side of the visual field . the right side of the visual field adds information such as an illuminance measurement ( or luminous emittance measurement ) 440 and an elapsed time 441 since dipping the paddle into the biological sample . the table 442 a illustrates the first results at thirty seconds for example . the values in the initial table are results for the fast reactions of the reagents of various ctps exposed to the biological sample . similar results may be produced for all chemical reactions and as further time elapses , therefore guiding the user in understanding the color recognition process of the ctps . in fig4 a , exposure to a hostile environment was undetermined by the contamination detection reagent pad 120 . fig4 b illustrates a real - time determination of the data of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 indicating contamination after exposure to the biological sample . the real - time examination of the reaction of the contamination detection reagent pad progresses as the method reaches a first timeline for interpretation . at the first timeline for interpretation , before the initial table of results is shown to the user , a further determination is made of the image data for the contamination detection reagent pad . a determination is made and whether or not a hostile environmental condition has been experienced by the contamination detection reagent pad 120 and the paddle 100 . various methods may be used to determine the contamination of the contamination detection reagent pad over different time periods . in one embodiment , a determination of contamination is made by comparing the corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad with a predetermined value range of color . in another embodiment , a determination of contamination is made by comparing the difference of two corrected colors of the contamination detection reagent pad in reagent paddle images captured at different points of time . for example , one corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the image captured prior to the reagent paddle is exposed to the biological sample , and the other corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the first image captured after the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample . as another example , one corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the image captured before the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample , and the other corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the image captured after the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample upon which the first batch of real - time results are interpreted . as yet another example , one corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the image captured from the first image captured after the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample , and the other corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the image captured after the reagent paddle being exposed to the biological sample upon which the first batch of real - time results are interpreted . after the system detects by whatever method that the color of the contamination detection reagent pad indicates contamination , the right side of the vision field presents real - time instructions 442 b to the user indicating the reagent paddle is contaminated due to exposure to a hostile environment and the results are invalid . the compromised results are not shown . the instructions may further instruct the user to change to another reagent paddle to perform the test of the biological sample . referring now to fig5 a , the test paddle 100 is shown after sufficient time has passed wherein all reactions are completed on all of the ctps 110 after exposure to the biological sample . a table 442 a , indicating results of the reagent analysis , is provided in the right field vision by the small screen display device . these results allow users to understand the reagent process as well as to easily share the results with a medical support team to obtain a diagnosis . the right side of the visual field adds information such as an illuminance measurement ( or luminous emittance measurement ) 440 and an elapsed time 441 since dipping the paddle into the biological sample . in fig5 a , exposure to a hostile environment was undetermined by the contamination detection reagent pad 120 after exposure to the biological sample so that the table 442 a is displayed . fig5 b illustrates a last real - time determination of the data of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 indicating contamination after exposure to the biological sample . the real - time examination of the reaction of the contamination detection reagent pad progresses after sufficient time has passed wherein all reactions are completed on all of the ctps 110 . before the final table of results is shown to the user , a further determination is made of the image data of the contamination detection reagent pad . a determination is made to indicate whether or not the contamination detection reagent pad 120 and the paddle 100 were exposed to a hostile environment . various methods of determining contamination may be made over different time periods of images of the contamination detection reagent pad . in one embodiment , contamination is determined by comparing the corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad at the time point of completion of chemical reactions with a predetermined value range of color . in another embodiment , a determination of contamination is made by comparing the difference of two corrected colors of the contamination detection reagent pad of reagent paddle images captured at different points of time . for example , one corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from an image captured prior to the reagent paddle being exposed to the biological sample . another corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from a last image captured after the reagent paddle 100 has been exposed to the biological sample and all chemical reactions of the ctps 110 and of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 have been completed . as another example , one corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the image captured after the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample upon which the first batch of real - time result are interpreted . the other corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad for comparison can be extracted from the last image captured after the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample and all of the chemical reactions have been completed . as yet another example , one corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad can be extracted from the image captured after the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample upon which later real - time result are interpreted . the other corrected color of the contamination detection reagent pad for comparison can be extracted from the last image captured after the reagent paddle has been exposed to the biological sample and all chemical reactions have been completed . after the system detects by whatever method that the color of the contamination detection reagent pad indicates contamination , the right side of the vision field presents real - time instructions 442 b to the user indicating that the reagent paddle is contaminated by a hostile environment and the results are invalid . the compromised results are not displayed to the user in the vision field . the instructions may further instruct the user to use another reagent paddle . referring now to fig6 , a vision field is illustrated showing the test paddle 100 with its reagent test pads 110 , 120 . if no prior contamination has been determined after the test paddle 100 has been exposed to the biological material / fluid being tested , and the chemical reactions of the contamination detection medium are completed and the test reagent media are completed with the biological material / fluid being tested , a chart of analyte concentrations is also finally displayed beside the test paddle 100 . the vision field including the test paddle and chart of analyte concentrations is displayed by a display device of an electronic device . fig7 a illustrates an ideal chemical trajectory 770 for an analyte reaction with the contamination detection reagent of the pad 120 over time ( from time t 0 to t n ) when the reagent paddle 100 has not been exposed to any hostile environment . a method of assessing the chemical reaction taking kinetics and time into account was disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 14 / 419 , 939 and is incorporated here by reference . the contamination detection reagent pad 120 , together with the reagent paddle 100 under test , is dipped for a few seconds into a biological sample with analyte of concentration x ( conc x ) at time t 0 . the color of the contamination detection reagent pad is measured at time t 0 and reported into the rgb space at measured point 771 . the chemical reaction between the reagent of the pad 120 and the analyte in the biological sample continues towards an asymptotic value , according to its kinetics . eventually colors stabilize at a final measurement of time , time t n , marking the end of the chemical reaction between the reagent of the contamination detection reagent pad and the analyte in the biological sample . the final measurement is plotted in the graph shown in fig7 a by measured point 772 . the measured point 772 is the intersection between the kinetic reaction of the reagent at a final measurement of time and a color calibration curve 750 n . the color calibration curve 750 n may be provided by the manufacturer of the test pad for a given analyte in the test paddle . the color calibration curve 750 n represents the color of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 associated with various concentration levels of the analyte at a given time t n . accordingly , the color calibration curve 750 n may also be referred to herein as a color - mass calibration curve . the trajectory 770 between the measured points 771 - 772 represents the change or evolution of color of the test pad over time , from time t 0 to time t n , for a concentration x of a given analyte in a biological sample . accordingly , the trajectory 770 may also be referred to herein to as a color evolution trajectory . referring now to fig7 b , a three dimensional color time evolution graph for a given analyte of the contamination detection reagent pad 120 is shown . in this case , the contamination detection reagent pad 120 has not been exposed to any hostile environment . the three dimensional color time evolution graph includes a plurality of color calibration curves 750 a - 750 n in rgb color space for a given analyte over a range of time t 0 through tn . the three dimensional color time evolution graph further includes a plurality of color evolution trajectories 770 a - 770 d per concentration in rgb color space for a given analyte . the graph of the color evolution trajectory curves 770 a - 770 d illustrate how different reaction rates for different concentrations ( e . g ., concentration 1 ( conc 1 ) to concentration 4 ( conc 4 )) of analyte are associated with the color change in rgb color space of the contamination detection reagent pad over time . given a contamination detection reagent test pad 120 , various concentrations ( e . g ., concentration 1 ( conc 1 ) to concentration 4 ( conc 4 )) for an analyte reflect a unique initial color point 760 a - 760 d in the rgb space at time t 0 immediately after the biological sample is applied . the initial unique colors for the various concentrations form the initial color calibration curve 750 a . the initial unique colors of the contamination detection reagent test pad evolve over time to further form the color calibration curve 750 b at time t 1 through the color calibration curve 750 n at time tn . at time tn , the contamination detection reagent pad has reached is final color at a point 772 a - 772 d along the color calibration curve 750 n for the various concentrations of analyte . along color calibration curve 750 n , the reaction has reached its asymptote and the color of contamination detection reagent pad has reached its final color level at the point 772 a - 772 d during the testing period of the paddle . the color evolution trajectory in time for a given concentration ( e . g ., conc 1 , conc 2 , conc 3 , conc 4 ) is represented by the curves or trajectories 770 a - 770 d shown by dotted lines in fig7 b . therefore , color evolution trajectories 770 a - 770 d are used by the embodiments to make accurate predictions of color - time evolution . color - time evolution has a one - to - one correspondence to the evolution of the reaction rate k of a mass or concentration of an analyte over time . fig7 b represents color calibration curves 750 a - 750 n for a contamination detection reagent pad and corresponding analyte . a similar three dimensional graph with multiple color calibration curves and color evolution trajectories can be formed for other reagents which could be used to detect exposure to hostile environments and their respective analyte , as well as analytes in a biological sample . in the reagent paddle 100 , for example , one pad location may be used as the contamination detection reagent pad 120 and the manufacturer provides the sets of graph of color calibration curves for the contamination detection reagent and corresponding analyte . a plurality of known concentrations can be used to generate a plurality of known color - time evolution trajectories corresponding to known concentrations or masses in a biological sample measured by the analyte pad . fig7 b , for example , illustrates a plurality of color - time evolution trajectories 770 a - 770 d of an analyte pad for known or given mass or concentrations 760 of an analyte in a biological sample , including concentration 1 ( conc 1 ), concentration 2 ( conc 2 ), concentration 3 ( conc 3 ), and concentration 4 ( conc 4 ). referring now to fig8 , a three dimensional ( 3d ) chart of colors is shown to further explain how to detect and determine whether or not a contamination detection reagent pad has been exposed to a hostile environment and the reagent paddle has compromised . the system generates values for a curve in real time representing the color - time evolution for a concentration of analyte that detects contamination , based on the sequence of digital pictures or photos ( digital images ) captured at times t 0 through t n . each digital image represents one of a plurality of measurement points in the color space ( e . g ., rgb color space ) along a color - time evolution curve . at any point in time prior to the reagent paddle being exposed to a biological sample and or at the beginning stage of the reaction between the contamination detection reagent and an analyte of the biological sample , if the measurement points fall out of a standard zone of the color under certain concentration ( conc x ) at the specific point of time , e . g . t 0 through tn , it can be determined that the contamination detection reagent pad has been exposed to a hostile environment and the reagent paddle has compromised . if no contamination is initially found , the system continues to capture , process , and calculate differences between colors at two different critical points of time to determine if the contamination detection reagent pad has been exposed to a hostile environment and by extension the entire reagent paddle has been compromised such that results would be invalid . two different critical points may be for example , time t 0 and the time at the beginning stage of the reaction between the contamination detection reagent and an analyte of the biological sample . alternatively , two different critical points may be for example , the time at the beginning stage of the reaction between the contamination detection reagent and an analyte of the biological sample and the time at the final point of the reaction between the contamination detection reagent and the analyte of the biological sample . if the calculated color value for the contamination detection reagent pad falls outside of a standard zone of the color difference under a certain concentration ( conc x ), it may be determined that the contamination detection reagent pad has been exposed to hostile environment and the reagent paddle has been compromised . for example , a first user with a first concentration of analyte is measured and produces a first sequence of digital images over time with a changing color represented by measured points 801 adjacent curve 770 b . with the measured points 801 being within the standard zone of color , the system may reach the conclusion that the reagent paddle has not been compromised . as another example , a second user with a second concentration of analyte is measured and produces a second sequence of digital images of the contamination detection reagent pad on the paddle over time with a changing color represented by measured points 805 a - 805 n over time from pre - t 0 through tn and beyond to post tn . because the color values of the measured color points 805 a - 805 n exceed the expected standard zone of color , the system may reach the conclusion that the reagent paddle has been contaminated by hostile environment and the paddle and ctps have been compromised . in practice by means of a graphical manner , with a color calibration graph including a plurality of color calibration curves , the concentration of the reacting analyte in the sample is directly accessible by the intersection between a color - time evolution trajectory ( aka , a time - resolved trajectory 870 x ) and the color calibration curves 750 a - 750 n over time . upon the decision of the concentration of the reacting analyte , the system knows to which kinetic curve shall it compare to and determine if the measurement points fall out of its standard zone or not . referring now to fig9 , a portable electronic device 1100 with a camera 1102 may be used to obtain test results from a diagnostic paddle 100 exposed to a biological sample or otherwise contaminated . the portable electronic device 1100 may be a smartphone or a tablet computer that has the camera 1102 . for example , the portable electronic device 1100 could be any kind of smartphone ( e . g ., apple iphone , blackberry ), handheld computer ( e . g ., apple ipad ), or any type of personal computer , network computer , workstation , minicomputer , mainframe or the like running any operating system , such as any version of android , linux , windows , windows nt windows 2000 , windows xp , macos , unix , solaris , arm or ios operating systems . the portable electronic device 1100 may further include a display device 1106 that is used to display the test results from the diagnostic paddle 100 . the display device 1106 may provide a split screen with a test paddle display area 1120 to display the test paddle 100 and a user interface display area 1122 to display instructions and results to the user . the portable electronic device 1100 further includes a processor 1104 and a memory 1105 to store instructions for execution by the processor . the instructions may be software that provide the user interface in the ui display area 1122 and performs the algorithms and the methods described herein to obtain results . a system may include the portable electronic device 1100 and its functional components and various processing steps . it is noted that the functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and / or software components configured to perform specified functions . in a preferred and non - limiting embodiment , the functional components and processing steps are associated with and / or performed using the portable electronic device 1100 . for example , the embodiments may employ various integrated circuit components ( e . g ., memory elements , processing elements , logic elements , lookup tables , and the like ), which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more processors or other control devices . similarly , the software components of the embodiments may be implemented with any programming or scripting languages such as c , c #, c ++, java , assembler , extensible markup language ( xml ), or extensible style sheet transformations ( xslt ). the various algorithms may be implemented with any combination of data structures , objects , processes , routines , or other programming elements . in one non - limiting embodiment , it is envisioned that the functional components and processing steps will be included with and / or performed using the portable electronic device 1110 . in that case , the portable electronic device 1100 includes the processor 1104 that is configured to execute program instructions stored on computer - readable media 1105 associated with the portable electronic device 1100 . the computer - readable media 1105 may include computer storage media , such as media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information , such as computer - readable instructions , data structures , program modules , or other data , random access memory ( ram ), read only memory ( rom ), electrically erasable programmable read only memory ( eeprom ), flash memory , or other memory technology , cd - rom , digital versatile disks ( dvds ), or other optical disk 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 an electronic device , such as portable electronic device 1100 . in certain non - limiting embodiments , the processor 1104 includes a digital image analyzer for identifying regions of a digital image containing relevant data , color correcting the digital image , and comparing the corrected portions of the digital image to table entries of the micc to determine test results . the processor 1104 may further control a reference tag reader configured to identify and extract information from an identifier 105 affixed to or associated with the diagnostic instrument 100 . the processor 1104 may further control the display 1106 connected to or associated with the portable electronic device 1100 for presenting information such as instructions for using the diagnostic instrument and test results to a user . the processor 1104 may further include and control a timer for measuring the time between when the diagnostic instrument 100 is exposed to a biological fluid sample and when the digital image of the diagnostic instrument 100 is captured . additionally , in certain embodiments , the processor 1104 controls a data entry device ( e . g ., a touch screen of the display device 1106 ) allowing a user to enter additional information , including patient history information , symptoms , and physical characteristics of the user . the data entry device may include any input device or user interface as is known in the art , which allows a user to control an electronic device including , but not limited to , gestures on a touch - screen or any other actions that cause a change in readings obtained from sensors , keypad presses , and the like . in addition to storing the program for controlling functions of the portable electronic device 1100 , the computer - readable media 1105 may also store data including a plurality of manufacturing interpretation color chart ( micc ) tables for use in urinalysis with colors that can be captured by the diagnostic instrument to determine test results . the computer readable media 1105 may also store raw or pre - processed images obtained by the camera sensor 1102 , decision trees for determining a patient condition , and other input data necessary for executing functions of the programs used to analyze the diagnostic instrument 100 and its ctps 110 , and at least one contamination detection pad 120 . when implemented in software , the elements of the embodiments of the invention are essentially the code segments or instructions executed by a processor ( e . g ., processor 1104 in fig9 ) to perform the necessary tasks . the program or code segments can be stored in a processor readable medium . the “ processor readable medium ” may include any medium that can store information ( e . g ., memory 1105 in fig9 ). examples of the processor readable medium include an electronic circuit , a semiconductor memory device , a read only memory ( rom ), a flash memory , an erasable programmable read only memory ( eprom ), a floppy diskette , a cd - rom , an optical disk , a hard disk , a fiber optic medium , a radio frequency ( rf ) link , etc . the program or code segments may be downloaded from another storage device using a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave over a transmission medium or a communication link . the computer data signal may include any signal that can propagate over a transmission medium such as electronic network channels , optical fibers , air , electromagnetic , rf links , etc . the code segments may be downloaded using such computer data signals via computer networks such as the internet , intranet , etc . while certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention , and that the embodiments of the invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described , since various other modifications may occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art . for example , the embodiments shown and described herein describe a contamination pad and analytes of reagent test pads for urinalysis of urine . the embodiments of the invention can function and be performed with a contamination pad and analytes of reagent test pads for the analysis of blood . furthermore , embodiments have been described with respect to an rgb color space . those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that embodiments of the invention may be practiced with other types of color spaces such as cyan - magenta - yellow - key ( cmyk ), pantone , munsell , international commission on illumination ( cie ) xyz , or the international color consortium ( icc ) device independent color space ( l * a * b color space ). accordingly , the embodiments of the invention should not be construed as being limited by such illustrated embodiments , but rather construed according to the claims that follow below .	7
with reference to the figures , it is noticed that the invention comprises , in one of its aspects , an industrial process for reconstituting powders of vegetal origin by lamination process ( 1 ), a residual vegetal material ( 2 ), such as pieces , powders of different granulometries , stalks and stems that would be naturally discarded , undergoes a milling process ( 3 ) to be reduced to powder and that may be mixed to other residues as a vegetal powder ( 4 ), forming a single material of vegetal powder ( 5 ) with appropriate granulometry . the industrial process of the invention allows the transformation of vegetal powder in laminated leaves so as to return to the production cycle , wherein all the vegetal material to be used may undergo a milling process , with final granulometry that may range from 10 to 200 mesh , depending on the level of desired visual homogeneity for the final film . the mill to be used may be a hammer mill . the material of vegetal powder ( 5 ) is mixed with an agglutinant compound ( 6 ) and water resulting in the formation of a vegetal powder substrate ( 7 ), which is conduced to the next step of the lamination process . in order to prepare the mass to be laminated , the vegetal powder to be reconstituted and the agglutinant compound are added to a mixer , in a ratio of 100 kg of vegetal powder to be laminated with 5 - 50 kg of agglutinant compound , and then mix it for about 10 minutes . next , about 5 - 100 kg water is added to the mixer , undergoing a mixture process for about 10 more minutes , wherein the mass , after being mixed , must be of easy modeling , observing that the type of mixer to be used must ensure total homogeneity of the final mass , it should be noticed that the industrial mixers of ‘ ribbon blender ’ type may be used for such purposes . the process of the invention also foresees the production of vegetal films with aroma and taste corrected , improved , highlighted or modified , by adding specific flavors and additives to the agglutinant compound , which makes this inclusion of flavors and additives much more effective , since with such procedure they will be more firmly attached to the matrix of the film to be generated , when compared with the type of application that is normally in use in the industry , i . e ., aspersion over the leaves . thus , the specific flavors and additives would be added to the vegetal powder directly through the agglutinant compound , as previously described . the vegetal powder substrate ( 7 ) is inserted in a roll laminator ( 8 ), which will be referred to later , so as to be laminated and have the desired or specified thickness reached . thus , the prepared mass is placed in the feeder of the set of rolls with the spacing between rolls from 0 . 05 to 2 . 5 mm and the speed of the rolls from 1 to 100 rpm , where the passage through the system of rolls a pellicle is formed , then going to the first conveyor , being taken into the oven with temperature from 100 to 400 ° c . more precisely , a pellicle or film arranged over a conveyor ( 9 ) is conduced to the interior of a thermal chamber ( 10 ) that will perform the drying of the material until it reaches the required humidity , already as a pellicle of vegetal material ( 11 ). the final humidity of the material falls to 8 - 20 %, wherein the drying time shall depend on thickness of the film , the type of starting material ( vegetal powder ), the initial humidity of the starting material ( vegetal powder ), of the quantity of water added to the mass , the temperature of the oven , the speed of the rolls and consequently on the speed of the conveyors , the number of conveyors and the humidity desired for the final material . a pellicle of vegetal material ( 11 ) after drying may resemble a piece of fabric or paper and it may be cut and packaged ( 12 ) or again transformed into granules and fragments so as to be used as raw material for by - products . during all the formation process of the pellicle of vegetal material ( 11 ), there is control of the passage speed of the material through the lamination rolls and through the thermal chamber , as well as of the temperature and humidity parameters required by the procedure . as previously explained , the pellicle of vegetal material ( 11 ) may receive the addition of flavoring products or mixtures of several differentiated vegetal powders , in the mixture phase of the vegetal powder substrate ( 7 ). in the object of the present patent the following items were technically addressed ; industrial process for reconstituting powders of vegetal origin by lamination process ( 1 ), residual vegetal material ( 2 ), milling process ( 3 ), residues of vegetal powder ( 4 ), material of vegetal powder ( 5 ), agglutinant compound ( 6 ), vegetal powder substrate ( 7 ), roll laminator ( 8 ), conveyor ( 9 ), thermal chamber ( 10 ), pellicle of vegetal material ( 11 ), cutting and packaging section ( 12 ). the way the material will be made available for industry is only an operational procedure and the use of the material as a continuous film or any other form , provides the same results , maybe superior , in relation to the properties of the original material . therefore , the pellicle obtained may be used directly by the industry as a film , or then undergo a cutting process with the objective of obtaining material of appropriate size and shape , wherein the final material to be made available for industries may be as a continuous film , as pieces of several sizes , shredded , etc . the present invention also relates to an equipment or machine or installation , in which the procedure previously described or other procedures can be performed , for reconstituting powders of vegetal origin , through the formation of pellicles thereof , for use in tobacco and food industries . more specifically , the equipment is designed for producing pellicles of tobacco , cinnamon , clove , mate herb and other vegetal products as a powder , allowing the use of a residue that is normally burnt or discarded by industries using this material as a leaf or another non - powdered shape different from powder , wherein the thickness of the leaf may range from 0 . 05 to 2 . 50 mm , with humidity from 8 to 20 % and variable mechanic resistance . as already explained about the procedure , the tobacco pellicle may be formed from tobacco powders of diverse origin , such as the ones obtained as by - products of cigarette industries , tobacco processing plants , tobacco processing industries , etc ., wherein powders from several types of tobacco can be used in the process , such as stems , ‘ scraps ’, ‘ winnovers ’ or ‘ winnowings ’, tobacco residues in general , tobacco pellicles of any type / class , etc . if the product to be laminated is not a powder , or even if a film of uniform appearance / thickness is desired , all the vegetal material to be used must undergo milling process , with final granulometry that may range from 10 to 200 mesh , depending on the desired visual homogeneity for the final film . in conformity with the depicted in the figures , the equipment or machine of the present invention is based on the lamination of vegetal powders and granules and is used for reconstituting powders of vegetal origin . the lamination equipment ( 1 ), constructed over metallic structure ( f ), basically comprises a lamination device ( 8 ), a series of frontal ( 15 ) and posterior ( 13 ) drag rolls , a hot air insufflating system ( 14 ), an oven or thermal chamber ( 10 ) and at least one conveyor ( 9 ). the lamination set ( 8 ) preferably comprises at least two cylindrical pressing rolls ( 20 ), preferably metallic , which rotate in opposite directions with speed control and which , as will be described later on , are assembled so as to be regulated in its position . the rolls ( 20 ) are actuated independently by two electrical motors ( 16 ) and a set of chains ( 17 ). alternatively , the disposition in which two electrical motors ( 16 ) are directly coupled to the rolls ( 20 ) can be chosen , without the need of chains ( 17 ). the mass of aggregated material of vegetal powder ( 7 ) that is introduced in material feeding system or powder ( 18 ) is then passed through the rolls ( 20 ) to produce the pellicles of vegetal powder ( 11 ). the lamination device ( 8 ) incorporates under the cylindrical rolls ( 20 ) two scrape knives ( 19 ) of the rolls . before entering the vegetal mass ( 7 ) to be laminated in the laminating set , it must be mixed to the non - toxic agglutinant compound and water , forming a moldable mass , wherein the concentration of the agglutinant compound may range from 5 to 50 % ( mass / mass , regarding the mass of powder used ). in lamination , the vegetal mass is pressed between the rolls ( 20 ) to be shaped as a pellicle , sheet or film with thickness that may range from 0 . 05 to 2 . 5 mm , being said pellicle laminated in rolls with controlled speeds and intervals . in the lamination set , the speeds of the rolls vary from 1 to 100 rpm , wherein each of the rolls forming the lamination set has independent speed , regarding the speed of the rolls ranging from 2 to 30 rpm , so that the mass being formed is laminated and results in a film with thickness between 0 . 05 and 2 . 50 mm , having practically the shape of a perfect blanket or carpet . the lamination rolls ( 20 ) are preferably constituted of two metallic cylinders of variable diameter , with precision of 0 . 02 mm in diameter , totally linear and parallel . both rolls are placed in the structure so that the oscillation variation , i . e ., the longitudinal movement in the process for obtaining the pellicle , is up to 0 . 02 mm and must be completely parallel . the speeds of the rolls must vary so as to get a thin pellicle and of smooth and uniform aspect , without marks , holes or deformities , and to do so the speeds must be specific for each material , ranging according to a desired thickness , level of humidity and production speed . the scrape knives of the leaves are placed in the bottom part of the rolls , with angles that may range from 0 . 0 to 45 . 0 ° regarding the tangent of the roll , rigorously sharpened with tips smaller than the smallest thickness of the film to be obtained , and with permanent contact pressure with the roll at any moment . in fig3 - 34 the assembly of the rolls ( 20 ) is depicted in detail . preferably , the set ( 8 ) is comprised of two laminating rolls ( 20 ), individually numbered as ( 31 ) and ( 32 ) in fig3 and 33 , whose ends ( 26 ) and ( 27 ) are assembled on corresponding bearings ( 28 ) and ( 29 ) installed on respective assembly plates 30 ) allowing both rolls ( 31 ) and ( 32 ) to turn in parallel . the axle ends of one the rolls or first roll ( 32 ) are assembled in its respective concentric flanges ( 34 ), better depicted in detail in fig3 , being installed inside the flanges in its respective bearings ( 28 ). on the other hand , the ends of the axle of the other roll or second roll ( 31 ) are assembled in its respective exocentric flanges ( 35 ), with its corresponding bearings ( 29 ), being said flanges ( 34 ) and ( 35 ) assembled in parallel plates so that this exocentric flange ( 35 ) may turn in this assembly . the set of flanges is locked in the plates ( 30 ), e . g ., through fastening covers ( 36 ), ( 37 ), ( 38 ) and ( 39 ). according to the present invention , these exocentric flanges ( 35 ) are connected to a device of angular regulation comprising two arms ( 40 ), one in each side of the set , and each arm having an end connected to said exocentric flange ( 35 ), more particularly in a fixation pin ( 41 ) of the flange to firmly attached thereto . the opposite end of the arm ( 40 ) is connected to a regulating screw ( 42 ), so that when this screw turns in a desired direction , the arm goes up or down , causing the flange ( 35 ) to turn and approximate or deviate the second roll ( 31 ) in relation to the first roll ( 32 ) to vary the spacing between and , thus , to vary the thickness of the vegetal material pellicle ( 11 ). in figures ( 31 ) and ( 33 ) more details of the knife assembly are shown ( 19 ) only for illustrative purposes . once the vegetal mass has passed through the rolls ( 20 ) and has the shape of pellicle , it falls on the conveyor ( 9 ) and is conduced to the interior of the oven or thermal chamber ( 10 ) whose interior contains a conveyor ( 9 ) moving in three or more passage cycles so that the vegetal powder laminate ( 11 ) produced by the lamination device ( 8 ) loses humidity , according to technical production criteria . the conveyor ( 9 ) moves occupying all the internal extension of the thermal chamber ( 10 ) accomplishing three or more passage cycles , i . e ., moving in zigzag , being dragged , supported and tracked by two drag roll devices , i . e ., a frontal set ( 15 ) and a posterior set ( 13 ), which presents , respectively , three and four conveying rolls ( 21 ) each and whose motive power is attributed to an electrical motor ( 24 ) with rotation control allocated in the posterior roll device ( 13 ). the conveying system , preferably of metallic material , is assembled inside an oven or thermal chamber ( 10 ), with capacity to establish an appropriate speed for the lamination set , wherein the formed film must fall on a first conveyor and enter the oven to undergo the drying process , wherein the speed of the conveyor must be regulated with the speed of the film in the set of rolls , according the material being processed , the quantity of agglutinant compound , the deviation of the rolls , the lamination speed , the humidity of the film and the desired thickness . the oven or thermal chamber ( 10 ) is heated by the insertion of hot air from a hot air insufflating system ( 14 ), which has a rotor with paddles ( 22 ) providing forced ventilation of the heated air with controlled temperature and outflow . the oven used may be industrial , 1 - 50 m long , allowing to be heated from 100 to 400 ° c . the air , in desired temperature , must be injected in the oven . alternatively , it can be used for heating the oven a system based in thermal blower , steam or any other device accomplishing such purpose . to remove internal humidity , so as to control the humidity of the final material , an air collection system with refrigeration may be coupled to the oven so as to recover part of the flavors lost in the drying process of the material , which may be then added again to the agglutinant compound , thus improving the quality of the film obtained . when the film or pellicle is introduced into such oven , it undergoes a continuous drying process on all conveyors , being conduced through the oven ( coming and going ) and its numeric quantity inside the oven will vary according to the thickness of the film , the speed of the system of rolls , the drying temperature , the type of starting material and the initial humidity and the desired final humidity for the film , and it may even be constructed with a single larger conveyor and yet allowing the system to drag the final leaf in any of the ends , so as to avoid overheating of the leaf , thus losing the plastic characteristic of the material . since the temperature of the oven may range from 100 to 400 ° c . and since the thickness of the final pellicle may range from 0 . 05 to 2 . 5 mm , it is then subjected to a drying process reducing the humidity of the film to 8 - 20 %. the way by which the material will be made available for industry is only the operational procedure and the use thereof may be a film , or to undergo a cutting process with the objective of obtaining material of appropriate size and shape , wherein the final material to be made available for industries may be a continuous film , in pieces of several sizes , shredded , etc . the cutter to be used in the process may be a system of rolls with knives or only one knife for final cutting , wherein during the feeding of the rolls there is also the possibility of using a segmented feeder , which would form smaller films . tests performed using tobacco powder discarded from the industry have shown the industrial and economic viability of the developed process , increased by the introduction of specific flavors and additives that correct , improve , highlight or modify flavor and taste of the initial material , which has attracted great attention from companies . once these specific flavors and additives developed through the process may be added along with the agglutinant system , product proved to be non - toxic , thus being more firmly attached to the film generated than if it was simply aspersed on the surface of the leaf , as in the usual addition processes thereof , thus providing organoleptic characteristics superior to those of the original product or even of applications of specific flavors and additives by usual application process , aspersion on the surface of the leaves . it is the intention of the invention the use of the agglutinant compound for obtaining films from pellicles of tobacco , coffee , cinnamon , clove , mate herb and other vegetal products as powders , mixtures thereof products when above mentioned , or any other film of interest for tobacco and food industries . the defended modalities of the present technology may imply that the researches of the applicant allowed the verifying that the films may be obtained from tobacco powder , mate herb powder , clove powder , licorice powder , catuaba powder , cinnamon powder , mixtures thereof , and any other powder that may be used in manufacturing vegetal films , flavored , reconstituted , or modified . as above mentioned , the modality of the invention foresees the addition of specific flavors and additives to correct , improve , highlight or modify desired characteristics and it must be clear that the application of the equipment to prepare laminated films from powders of vegetal origin aims to reuse such material that , according to the previous art , would be discarded , causing critical economic and environmental impacts , besides producing a gamma of specific flavors and additives of great application and industrial interest . the advantage of such agglutinant compound is that the final manufacturer neither needs to dispose the powder originated in its processing , nor to increase the use of powder to manufacture its product , diminishing the quantity of residues , since it can also correct , improve , highlight or modify the flavor and taste of the final material to be obtained , with advantages for its process . in order to verify the suitability of the agglutinant compound to the process , laboratorial equipment with production capacity of 10 kilograms / hour was produced , so that tests could be performed in industries using this material , wherein afterwards the equipment was improved for a production of 30 kilograms / hour for producing material to be used by clients interested in equipment and processing of reconstituted leaves . through this process may be obtained the following powder pellicles : tobacco pellicle , catuaba pellicle , mate herb pellicle , clove pellicle , cocoa pellicle , tobacco pellicle with addition of flavors or additives specific aiming to correct , improve , highlight or modify a defined characteristic , pellicle of any vegetal powder , pellicle of mixture of any powder of vegetal origin and pellicle of vegetal powder or mixture of powders of vegetal origin with flavors and additives specific to provide final product with a defined characteristic . the material obtained may be immediately added again to the manufacturing process or be conditioned in proper packages for posterior industrial use or to be sold to interested industries . thus , the present invention was conceived aiming to obtain a industrial equipment and procedure for reconstituting powders of vegetal origin by lamination process , assembled with the minimal number possible of components , conveniently developed and conceived to allow it to perform its functions with efficiency and quality , showing outstanding practicality and versatility , incorporating a distinct performance . its innovative design allows obtaining a disposition with excellent level of performance , being developed according to most modern techniques , thus allowing a simplified use , relative to industrial use . it must be understood that the equipment developed for the application of the art is simple in its construction , therefore being of easy execution , thus obtaining excellent practical and functional results , incorporating an innovative conception of product , with high receptivity in the industrial sector . the machinery for reconstituting vegetal powder is constructed with durable and resistant materials , providing users of the productive sectors with quality , economy , safety and simplicity , having great durability even when used in severe and aggressive conditions .	0
in the following , a conveyer system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . referring to the drawings , particularly fig1 there is shown a mover unit &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; which moves forward or rearward along a tubular guide way 1 . the tubular guide way 1 is constructed of non - magnetic material , such as , stainless steel , steel , aluminium , nylon ( trade name ), teflon or the like . as is shown in fig3 the tubular guide way 1 is supported on a rail 15 which extends along a given path which may be in the air . as will become apparent as the description proceeds , for tightly connecting the guide way 1 to the rail 15 , a plurality of connecting bolts are used which extend from the tubular guide way 1 . that is , each connecting bolt from the guide way 1 passes through an opening formed in the rail 15 and is tightened by a nut . as is understood from fig1 and 2 , the tubular guide way 1 comprises straight sections and curved sections which are jointed to constitute a winding guide way . if desired , these sections may constitute an endless circular guide way . a pressure source &# 34 ; p &# 34 ; ( see fig1 ) is connected to the guide way 1 to feed the interior of the same with a pressurized air for driving or moving the mover unit &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; along the guide way 1 . the mover unit &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; comprises an inner slider 2 which is slidably disposed in the tubular guide way 1 . due to the pressurized air fed to the interior of the guide way 1 , the inner slider 2 is moved forward or rearward in the guide way 1 . the inner slider 2 comprises two annular head members 4 and an inner magnet unit 3 interposed between the two head members 4 . each head member 4 is slidably engaged with a cylindrical inner wall of the guide way 1 through a seal ring 4a . the inner magnet unit 3 comprises a plurality of ( three in the illustrated embodiment ) annular magnets 5 which are pivotally disposed on a common flexible shaft 6 which has axially opposed ends tightly held by the two annular head members 4 , as shown . for the connection between the flexible shaft 6 and each head member 4 , a known retainer pin is used . the flexible shaft 6 is constructed of rubber material , plastic material or the like . the magnets 5 are so arranged that the directions of line of magnetic force of them change alternately along the axis of the shaft 6 . as shown , each annular magnet 5 is sandwiched by two annular steel plates 7 . an annular spacer 8 is disposed between two adjacent magnets 5 or between each head member 4 and one adjacent magnet 5 . the spacer 8 is constructed of a shock absorbing material , such as soft rubber , soft plastic or the like . thus , when the shaft 6 is flexed by a certain degree , the magnets 5 can easily change their postures on the shaft 6 within the tubular guide way 1 . each unit consisting of the magnet 5 and associated steel plates 7 has an outer surface applied with a lower friction plastic layer 9 such as fluororesin film or the like . with this plastic layer 9 , the movement of the inner slider 2 in the tubular guide way 1 is smoothed . if desired , also the inner surface of the tubular guide way 1 is applied with a lower friction plastic layer for much assuring the smoothed movement of the inner slider 2 . the mover unit &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; further comprises an outer slider 10 which is moved on the tubular guide way 1 by the inner slider 2 with an aid of a magnetic connection therebetween . as is understood from fig1 and 3 , the outer slider 10 comprises a cylindrical cover 11 which is concentrically disposed about the tubular guide way 1 with a certain clearance kept therebetween . as is best seen from fig3 the cylindrical cover 11 has a longitudinally extending slat 11a through which a raised part 15a of the rail 15 passes . the cylindrical cover 11 is equipped with four roller units which are arranged about the tubular guide way 1 at evenly spaced intervals . each roller unit comprises a rectangular roller holder 16 which is secured at a middle portion to the cylindrical cover 11 and two rollers 18 which are rotatably connected to longitudinally opposed ends of the holder 16 respectively . as is seen from fig3 the rollers 18 held by the four holders 16 are put on the cylindrical outer surface of the tubular guide way 1 , so that the outer slider 10 can run on the guide way 1 in fore - and - aft directions . as is seen from fig1 and 4 , an outer magnet unit 20 is held by the cylindrical cover 11 , which is associated with the inner magnet unit 3 of the inner slider 2 in a manner to establish a magnetic connection therebetween . thus , when the inner slider 2 moves forward or rearward in the tubular guide way 1 , the outer slider 10 follows the inner slider 2 while running on the tubular guide way 1 . the outer magnet unit 20 comprises three pairs of semicircular magnets 12 which are unmovably held in the cylindrical cover 11 . each pair of magnets 12 are sandwiched by a pair of semicircular steel plates 22 . as is shown in fig4 in order to tightly retain the semicircular magnets 12 in the cylindrical cover 11 , a retainer structure is employed which comprises two channel members 13 secured to opposed walls of the slot 11a of the cover 11 and an elongate spacer 14 secured to a ceiling of the interior of the cylindrical cover 11 . that is , the semicircular magnets 12 and associated semicircular steel plates 22 are tightly put between the elongate spacer 14 and each channel member 13 . in order to achieve a smoothed movement of the outer slider 10 on the tubular guide way 1 , the cylindrical inner surface of the outer magnet unit 11 may be applied with a low friction plastic layer , such as fluororesin layer or the like . furthermore , if desired , the outer surface of the guide way 1 may be applied with such plastic layer . as is seen from fig6 the outer slider 10 is housed in a rectangular case 24 which has wheels 26 running on flange portions 15b of the rail 15 . when , in operation , the interior of the tubular guide way 1 is fed with a pressurized air from the pressure source &# 34 ; p &# 34 ;, the inner slider 2 is moved forward or rearward in the tubular guide way 1 . due to the magnetic connection established between the inner slider 2 and the outer slider 10 , the latter follows the former together with the case 24 running on the tubular guide way 1 . that is , upon feeding of the pressurized air into the guide way 1 , the mover unit &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; moves forward or rearward along the guide way 1 . when , as is seen from fig2 the mover unit &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; comes to a curved section of the tubular guide way 1 , the inner slider 2 is permitted to flex in compliance with the shape of the curved section of the guide way 1 . thus , smoothed movement of the inner slider 2 is achieved even in such a curved guide way section . furthermore , as is understood from fig2 even when the inner slider 2 becomes flexed at such a curved guide way section , the magnetic connection between each annular magnet 5 of the inner slider 2 and the corresponding paired semicircular magnets 12 of the outer slider 10 is kept balanced . thus , undesired releasement of the outer slider 10 from the inner slider 2 , due to lack of magnetic force provided therebetween , is suppressed according to the present invention . referring to fig6 there is shown an article holder &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; which is detachably connected to the case 24 of the outer slider 10 . the article holder &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; comprises a rectangular frame structure 28 which is arranged to cover the case 24 of the outer slider 10 . the frame structure 28 has a container part 28a mounted thereon . bolts 30 are used for detachably connecting the frame structure 28 to the case 24 . the frame structure 28 has a plurality of paired vertical rollers 32a and 32beach pair putting therebetween the flange portions 15b of the rail 15 in a vertical direction . the frame structure 28 has further a plurality of paired horizontal rollers 34a and 34b , each pair putting therebetween the rail 15 in a horizontal direction . thus , the outer slider 10 , the case 24 and the article holder &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; can move along the guide way 1 like a single unit in response to movement of the inner slider 2 . referring to fig7 to 10 , particularly fig7 there is shown a connector unit &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; used for jointing two tubular guide - way parts 1a and 1b . the two tubular guide - way parts 1a and 1b which are to be jointed are mounted on respective rail parts 15a and 15b . connecting bolts 58 are welded at one ends to each guide - way part 1a or 1b and extend through respective openings ( no numerals ) formed in the rail part 15a or 15b . nuts 60 are engaged with the connecting bolts 58 to achieve a tight connection between the guide - way part 1a or 1b and the rail part 15a or 15b . the connector unit &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; comprises generally a pair of brackets 50 and 52 , a cylindrical coupler 54 and an o - ring 56 . as is seen from fig7 and 10 , each bracket 50 or 52 comprises a vertical portion 50a or 52a and a horizontal portion 50b or 52b which are united to have a generally l - shaped cross section . the horizontal portion 50a or 52a is formed with stepped openings through which the connecting bolts 58 from the guide - way part 1a or 1b are to be passed . the vertical portion 50b or 52b of each bracket 50 or 52 is formed with two bolt openings . the vertical portion 52b of one bracket 52 has another bolt opening which is threaded . the cylindrical coupler 54 is shown in fig9 . the following steps are taken for jointing the two tubular guide - way parts 1a and 1b . first , as is seen from fig8 each guide - way part 1a or 1b is machined so that the bore thereof has an enlarged end portion 1a &# 39 ; or 1b &# 39 ; and has a tapered terminal end 1a &# 34 ; or 1b &# 34 ;. the o - ring 56 is put on the cylindrical coupler 54 . then , the two tubular guide - way parts 1a and 1b are mated along with the respective rail parts 15a and 15b having the cylindrical coupler 54 received in the enlarged end portions 1a &# 39 ; or 1b &# 39 ; of the bores of the guide - way parts 1a and 1b . thus , when the mating between the two guide - way parts 1a and 1b is properly made , the o - ring 56 is tightly set in an annular groove which is defined by the respective tapered terminal ends 1a &# 34 ; or 1b &# 34 ;. then , the nuts 60 are unfastened from the corresponding connecting bolts 58 , and the two brackets 50 and 52 are located beneath the respective rail parts 15a and 15b mating the vertical portions 50b and 52b in a back - to - back manner . the horizontal portions 50a and 52a of the two brackets 50 and 52 are attached to the respective flange portions 15b of the rail parts 15a and 15b in a such manner that the stepped bolt openings of the horizontal portions 50a and 52a thereof receive the connecting bolts 58 . upon this , the bolt openings of the vertical portions 50b and 52b of the two brackets 50 and 52 are mated . then , the nuts 60 are applied to the connecting bolts 58 to combine the bracket 50 or 52 , the rail part 15a or 15b and the guide - way part 1a or 1b . then , two connecting bolts 62 are passed through the mated bolt openings of the vertical portions 50b and 52b of the brackets 50 and 52 and two nuts 64 are engaged with the bolts 62 . finally , a shorter bolt 66 is screwed into the threaded bolt opening of the vertical portion of the bracket 52 . thus , when the coupling of the two guide - way parts 1a and 1b is completed , the connector unit &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; assumes a condition as shown in fig7 . it is to be noted that when , with the connecting bolts 62 loosened , the shorter bolt 66 is turned in one or the other direction , the positional relationship between the two brackets 50 and 52 is changed , which induces a positional adjustment of the two guide - way parts 1a and 1b .	1
as shown in fig1 a bucket 10 and a lid 12 constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention are shown . with reference to fig2 the tools of the sampling device are shown in conjunction with the lid 12 , and include a pair of pumps 14 and 16 , a large syringe 18 and a small syringe 20 . the bucket 10 as shown in fig1 is preferably a conventional 5 - gallon bucket made of a rigid plastic material . a number of annular ribs 22 are formed about the bucket and a handle 23 is rotatable about either side of the bucket . the lid 12 is frictionally and removably secured onto the bucket . with reference to fig1 and 2 , the lid is of the tool box type and includes an outer periphery 24 having a skirt 26 overlying the rim of the bucket opening . within the outer periphery 24 , the lid has an inset floor 28 divided into compartments by a pair of parallel ribs 30 and 31 extending from one side of the outer periphery 24 to the other . a third rib 32 extends from another side of the periphery , perpendicularly across the first rib 30 and terminates at the second rib 31 . on the side of the lid opposite the intersection of rib 32 and the outer periphery , a ledge 34 is defined that is angled upwardly with respect to the upper surface of the outer periphery 24 . an opening 36 is defined in ledge 34 to facilitate removal of the lid from the bucket . namely , a user may place his or her thumb into the opening 36 and pull the lid from the bucket . as shown in fig1 a pair of small apertures 37 are located within floor 28 on opposite sides of the rib 32 , and at positions between the rib 30 and the outer periphery 24 . also , a pair of small openings 38 and 40 are located in the floor 28 between the parallel ribs 30 and 31 . the openings are preferably circular and have a diameter of approximately three centimeters . a larger circular opening 42 is disposed proximate opening 38 , and preferably has a diameter of about four centimeters . also , pairs of square notches 44 and 45 are located within the first and second ribs on either side of the rib 32 . the notches 44 within rib 30 are spaced at the same distance from one another as the notches 45 in rib 31 , and the pairs are aligned with one another . as shown in fig2 the large syringe 31 is adapted for receipt within opening 42 . the syringe 18 is of conventional construction , and has a bulb 46 and a stem 48 extending therefrom . the stem has a length of about twenty to twenty - two centimeters and extends a sufficient distance to draw fluid from the cooling system of the vehicle . the bulb is preferably green to correspond with the coolant that the syringe is preferably used to extract , as described in more detail below . opening 42 is sized to allow stem 48 to fit through the opening and to form a seat for the bulb 46 of the syringe 18 . preferably , the syringe has a 45 milliliter capacity . similarly , opening 40 serves as a seat for the small syringe 20 . the syringe is also of conventional construction , and has a bulb 50 and a stem 52 . the bulb is preferably yellow in color to indicate that power steering fluid is to be removed by the syringe . the syringe has a capacity of about 14 milliliters and the stem has a length of about 13 to 14 centimeters . other openings and syringes may be incorporated within the sampling system without departing from the scope of the invention . the number is dictated by the number of different fluids that are to be sampled and displayed . also , the bulbs of the syringes could be labeled or otherwise distinguished to indicate the type of fluid for which they are designed to sample . the pumps 14 and 16 are secured to the lid within the notches 44 and 45 in the opposing ribs . with reference to fig3 and 4 , pump 14 is shown in greater detail . pump 14 has a base 54 , an air chamber 56 and a handle 58 . as shown in fig4 the base 54 has a central channel 60 extending from one end of the base to the other . at the lower end of channel 60 , the base has a threaded portion 61 with an o - ring gasket 62 at the base of the threaded portion . in the preferred embodiment , the base 54 is made of an transparent acrylic material so that the fluids may be viewed during the sampling process . a test tube 64 having a threaded top 65 may be secured within the threaded portion 61 of the pump base . the leading edge of threaded top 65 contacts the o - ring gasket 62 to form a fluid tight seal . on the opposing side of the chamber 60 within the pump base , a second threaded region 66 is defined within the base . a plug 67 having a threaded portion 68 is secured within the base against an o - ring 70 disposed at the base of the threaded region 66 . the plug 67 has an inner channel 72 placing the channel 60 of the base into communication with the outside environment . a sampling tube 74 having a diameter slightly less than that of the inner channel 72 is placed within the channel . an elastomeric sealing surface may be disposed within channel 72 to hold the tube 74 relative to the plug at one end . preferably , the diameter of the tube is less than that of the automobile dipstick , and is typically between ⅜ and ⅝ of an inch . the opposing end of the tube is adapted for sampling fluids from an automobile . preferably , the tube extends a distance of about five feet and terminates in a tapered end to prevent the end from being blocked by the reservoir wall within which the tube is placed . the tube extends beyond the length of the dipstick access tubes of nearly all vehicles . also , the tube is preferably made from high temperature tubing with a melting point of more than 400 degrees fahrenheit so that it does not melt when motor oil is transferred through the pump . the air chamber 56 is secured to the base of the pump by a screw 76 held within a small bore 78 in the base . at a distance from bore 78 , an air passageway 80 places the interior of chamber 56 in communication with the interior of the chamber 56 . the handle 58 is secured to a rod 82 slidable with respect to the chamber 56 . at the end of the rod opposing the handle , a plunger having a one - way valve ( not shown ) is disposed within the chamber . the end of the chamber opposite the pump base has at least one aperture ( not shown ) that allows air to escape the pump chamber as the handle is moved to the extended position . pump 16 is of similar construction as pump 14 . however , if the pump is not used to withdraw motor oil or another particular hot fluid from the automobile , the tube does not need to have a similarly high melting point as the tube of pump 14 . the pump 14 should be prominently marked so that the two pumps are used to sample the appropriate type of fluid . as shown in fig2 when the pumps are placed on the lid 12 , the tubes may be stored within the interior by placing the tubes through the pair of small apertures 37 in the base of the lid . in operation , after the consumer &# 39 ; s vehicle arrives at the service facility , the consumer exits the vehicle and is approached by a customer service technician ( cst ), or consumer awareness technician , who begins acquiring information from the consumer concerning his or her vehicle and the reasons for the service visit . the acquisition step preferably includes providing the customer with a survey to detail the condition of the vehicle . specifically , the survey solicits information regarding previous maintenance of the vehicle , any observations of malfunctioning by the vehicle , and mileage readings . additionally , the acquisition step may include accessing a computer database at the service station that stores the maintenance records of the vehicle at the service station or an associated station . also , the cst may acquire information regarding the date and mileage of the last fluid change by reading a sticker or other record placed on the car . for instance , it is typical for oil change shops to place a sticker on the windshield of the car indicating the last fuel change . moreover , for other fluids , a sticker or other record may be placed under the hood of the automobile to indicate the last time any of the fluid systems were serviced . as the vehicle information is being acquired , an automobile service technician ( ast ), or the customer , opens the hood of the vehicle . once the ast has access to the components under the hood of the vehicle , the sampling system described above is used to draw fluids from the vehicle . it is preferably to remove those fluids most important to the consumer at the beginning of the process . specifically , the ast removes the pump 14 from the lid 12 , and places the tube 74 directly through the dipstick access hole and into connection with the motor oil reservoir . as the handle 58 is extended from the air chamber 56 , motor oil is drawn through the tube , through central channel 60 , and into the test tube 64 . if a sufficient sample of motor oil is not drawn into the tube 64 after the first stroke , the handle 58 is retracted and extended again . once a representative sample is located within the tube , the tube is unscrewed and placed into a display device for visual inspection by the consumer . preferably , the display device used in conjunction with the method is the device disclosed in u . s . ser . no . 09 / 770 , 822 to sandor cenziper and roger moore filed concurrently in the united states patent and trademark office on jan . 26 , 2001 entitled “ display device and method for marketing automobile fluid replacement services ” and herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . once the motor oil is sampled , the ast places the first pump 14 back onto the lid and removes the second pump 16 . the tube of the second pump is placed within the transmission fluid reservoir , and transmission fluid is withdrawn in the same manner as the motor oil . typically , the transmission fluid is accessible by a dipstick access hole . however , in some vehicles , such as some vehicle produced by general motors , there is not dipstick and the fill hole must be used to sample the transmission fluids . next , the second pump 16 is replaced on the lid , and the large syringe 18 is removed . the ast places the end of the large syringe 18 into the coolant reservoir on the side of the car , or , if the car is not hot , into the radiator itself . the bulb 46 of the syringe is depressed to create a vacuum that draws fluid into the bulb as the bulb is released . then , the bulb is depressed and fluid is discharged into a test tube similar to test tube 64 . the process is repeated until a sufficient sample is located within the tube . along with a visual sample , a ph sample of the coolant may be taken by clipping a small piece of litmus paper on the end of a small rod with an alligator clip and lowering it with the coolant . this is oftentimes necessary since the visual inspection may not indicate a problem with the acidity of the coolant . next , the larger syringe 18 is replaced on the bucket , and the smaller syringe 20 is removed . using a similar process , the smaller syringe is used to sample another fluid , preferably power steering fluid . also , additional syringes may used to sample other fluids of the automobile . the current process allows the ast to take the fluid samples in less than one minute , a cycle time significantly lower than previously attainable . as described below , this instant information allows the cst to make the consumer aware of the condition of the fluids , and market replacement fluids and services based on the samples . when the ast has completed these tasks , the actual samples from the vehicle are displayed in side - by - side relation with new , unused fluid samples of the same type . the new samples may be used repeatedly and need not be filled with each successive vehicle . at that time , the cst can explain to the consumer exactly what information is shown by the display device . if the preferred display device is used , the cst can explain what each side of the device means and can explain to the consumer , judging by the visual characteristics of the consumer &# 39 ; s vehicle fluids , whether a service is recommended or not . for example , the cst can turn the display device to the side indicating the motor oil fluid system . the cst can visually compare the different visual characteristics of new motor oil versus the consumer &# 39 ; s actual motor oil . if the visual characteristics of the fluids are distinct and indicative of contamination of the motor oil of the consumer &# 39 ; s vehicle , the customer service technician can recommend the specific service to the consumer , whether a simple fluid change or whether additional services such as a system flush is needed . if the contamination is not definitive , the cst weighs three factors — the mileage of the vehicle , the interval since the last service on that fluid , and the visual information — to provide a recommendation to the customer . thus , the information taken at the acquisition stage is used in conjunction with the visual data in a fast , reliable and easily understood manner by using the method and device of the invention . once the samples have been shown to the consumer and any service has been ordered , the samples from the consumer &# 39 ; s vehicle may be emptied into the bucket through any of the apertures within the lid or by raising the lid and pouring the samples into the bucket . thus , the sampling device fully integrates the sampling and disposal of each of the fluids in the automobile system . the ast can carry the sampling system from one vehicle to the next without the need for any equipment . the design of the tools allows for removal of fluids shortly after the vehicle engine stops running so that the consumer may have instantaneous automobile information . the depth of the bucket is sufficient to maintain a distance between the tools extending into the bucket and the waste materials held therein . using the device and method of the present invention , the consumer is given objective evidence as to whether additional services on his or her vehicle is needed before the consumer exits the service facility . the determination of whether additional services should be performed can be made by the consumer quickly at the time of the initial consultation with the customer service technician . the samples are displayed in the same tubes into which the samples were drawn and not transfer is required . as can be readily seen , the device and method of the present invention allow for the consumer to make an educated decision as to whether certain vehicle services are needed . the present invention also allows the ast and cst to work together to provide needed services to a consumer who might not otherwise request such services . the visual presentation of system and method is straightforward and simple . consumers with little or no mechanical experience or knowledge can easily determine for themselves whether services are required . while not all vehicle fluids indicate a need for change simply by visual comparison , the visual condition of most fluids is instructive as to the condition of the fluid and , more importantly , of the system with which the fluid is to be used . in some instances , the visual comparison of the fluids may indicate not only a fluid change , but may indicate that significant repairs should be done to the respective system of the engine . this is both helpful to the technician and to the consumer . by using the device and method of the present invention , the likelihood of proper vehicle maintenance is increased . similarly , while not a fundamental purpose of the present invention , sales of fluid change and flush services by a service facility will increase as a result of the educational purpose fulfilled by the present invention to the consumer about the need to maintain and change vehicle fluids . the result is a situation wherein the service facility benefits from increased sales of the its services and the consumer benefits by being provided with information necessary to determine whether vehicle fluids are in need of replacement or vehicle components are in need of service . although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures , it is notes that substitutions may be made and equivalents employed herein without departing form the scope of the invention as recited in the claims .	6
the device of this invention is constructed to slidably cover a cigarette while maintaining a burning point in a through hole of the device , so as to continue combustion of the cigarette but decrease the generation of the side stream smoke . this principle is attributable to adjustment of the quantity of oxygen supplied to the burning point . thus , when the burning point of the cigarette is covered by the device of this invention , it is advantageous to form a gap between the periphery of the cigarette and the inner surface of the through hole of the device sufficient to supply a quantity of oxygen necessary to maintain combustion . more particularly , when the outer periphery of the cigarette is strongly urged against the inner surface of the through hole of the device , the necessary quantity of oxygen would not be supplied to the burning point , whereby the combustion of fire is extinguished when inhalation ceases . on the other hand , when the gap is too large , the object of this invention could not be accomplished . for this reason , the relation between the diameter of the inner surface of the through hole and the diameter of the cigarette is important . experiments have been made on the effect of decreasing the side stream smoke and continuity of the combustion of the cigarette , by varying the diameter φ of the through hole when the length l thereof is 6 mm and 10 mm respectively , and the results are shown in the following table ii . table ii______________________________________ continuity of side stream combustion ofl φ smoke cigarette______________________________________6 mm size in which cigarette disappeared fire was passes without wrinking extinguished its surface paper . within one minute . 6 mm size in which cigarette disappeared fire was passes without extinguished appreciably crimping at about its surface paper . one minute . 6 mm about 1 mm larger than disappeared fire was the diameter of extinguished cigarette . about 1 . 2 - 1 . 5 minute . 10 mm about 4 mm larger than generated fire was ex - the diameter of slightly . tinguished at cigarette . about 1 . 5 - 2 minute . ______________________________________ it was found that as the diameter φ is increased the time of combustion of the cigarette increases and the effect of preventing the generation of the side stream smoke decreases . the result of the experiments showed that when the φ is about 1 . 5 times of the diameter of the cigarette , generation of the side stream smoke can be substantially reduced . thus , by forming the diameter of the through opening in accordance with the diameter of the cigarette , the quantity of oxygen supply can be adjusted , thereby reducing the quantity of the side stream smoke while continuing combustion of the cigarette . in a normal smoking state , since an inhalation is made once per minute , the results shown in table ii show that the device of this invention can be used as a smoking instrument . as above described , the through hole is dimensioned to form a gap necessary to decrease the side stream smoke without extinguishing the combustion of the cigarette in short intervals between successive inhalations , so that the configuration of the gap is not required to be limited to a specific one . for example , the configuration of the inner surface of the through hole may be a circle , an ellipse , a square , a polygon or irregular , or combinations thereof . the configuration of the device of this invention provided with the through hole is not limited to any specific configuration . for example , the device may be a cylinder or a cubic body . examples of the longitudinal configurations of the through hole are shown in fig5 a to 5g . in fig5 a , the cross - sectional area of the through hole is constant over the length of the device . in fig5 b , 5c , 5d and 5e the cross - sectional area of the through hole at the front side of the device is greater than that at the rear side of the device . in fig5 f and 5g , the through hole area is greater at both the front and rear sides of the device than at an intermediate portion along the length of the device . the diameter of the through hole is such that the cigarette can scarcely pass through the opening without wrinkling its surface paper , and the length of the through hole was set at 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 and 9 mm respectively . then smoking tests were conducted by inserting cigarettes in the through hole . as a result , it was found that so long as the burning point moves in the radial direction of the axis of the cigarette , no side stream smoke was generated for all lengths of the hole . however , the burning point is not always in the radial direction and it is desirable that the length of the through hole should be larger than 2 mm . then , a cylindrical device having different diameters φ 1 and φ 2 ( φ 1 & gt ; φ 2 ) as shown in fig4 was made and smoked with the larger diameter side matched with the burning point . as a result , was made confirmed that there was no side stream smoke and that the interval until the fire extinguishes ( that is the interval of combustion of the cigarette ) is longer than the case in which φ 1 = φ 2 . the material for making the device of this invention may be any material that does not burn with a flame when heated by the combustion heat of the cigarette . thus , the device may be made of metals and plastics or may be a cylinder formed by wrapping a thin sheet of an inorganic paper or metal . as shown in table ii , the device of this invention permits smoking without stopping the combustion between successive inhalations , but when the device is continuously disposed on an ash tray for more than two minutes without smoking , which is longer than a normal interval between successive inhalations , the combustion of the cigarette was completely stopped . usually , cigarettes are treated to adjust combustion time so that once they are lighted they can be enjoyed continuously . accordingly , even when a lighted cigarette is left as it is without inhaling , the entire length of cigarette would burn out . depending upon the type of the ash tray , the lighted cigarette often drops off the ash tray causing a fire hazard . a statistical analysis shows that about 12 % of the fire hazard in paper is caused by careless smokers , but with the device of this invention such hazard can be reduced greatly . fig1 a shows a state of smoking in which the device 2 of this invention is at an intermediate point of a lighted cigarette 1 . under this state , a side stream smoke 4 is generated . fig1 b shows a state in which the device 2 is advanced to a position surrounding the lighted or burning point 3 . in this state , no side stream smoke is generated . when enjoying smoking the device 2 may be removed from the cigarette 1 . although the device 2 shown in fig1 a and 1b is movable along the cigarette , the device of this invention may be secured to an ash tray , for example , in which case the burning point 3 of the cigarette is inserted into the stationary device before the next inhalation is made so as to prevent generation of the side stream smoke . fig2 a to 2d show examples of the device 2 of this invention each formed with a through hole . more particularly , fig2 a shows a cylindrical device 2 with a circular through hole 5 , fig2 b a rectangular device with a hexagonal through opening , fig2 c a triangular device with an elliptical through hole , and fig2 d a cubical device formed with a hole having an irregular inner surface . the through hole 5 of the device 2 can be formed when directly forming the device , but it also can be formed by combining two halves each of indentical configuration as shown in fig3 . to facilitate the manufacturing , the device 2 may be formed by combining a plurality of parts or by wrapping a thin sheet into a cylinder . when the device is made of a non - burning and heat conductive material , as the device is moved along the cigarette the fingers of the user may be burnt so that it is desirable to provide a handle or cooling fins for the device . as above described , the device of this invention can prevent or reduce generation of the side stream smoke with a simple construction and can prevent fire hazard . as a result of experiments , it has been found that where the cross - sectional area of the through hole is made to be πr 2 mm 2 ˜ π ( r + 2 ) 2 mm 2 ( where r represents the radius of the cigarette ) and when the length of the hole is made to be longer than 1 mm , the generation of the side stream smoke can be minimized . when the length of the through hole is longer than 1 mm , a cross - sectional area of πr 2 mm 2 ˜ π ( r + 2 ) 2 mm 2 is sufficient at a point spaced at least 1 mm from one end of the device . in this invention , the length of the through hole is important . to determine the minimum value of the through hole , various experiments showed that when the burning surface is perpendicular to the axis of the cigarette , so no secondary smoke current was generated even when the length of the through hole is only 1 mm . however , in most cases , the burning surface inclines more or less with reference to the axis of the cigarette , it is advantageous that the length of the through hole should be larger than 2 mm . when the cross - sectional area of the through hole is equal to πr 2 mm 2 , the efficiency of interception of oxygen is large thus minimizing the generation of the side stream smoke . when the cross - sectional area is less than πr 2 mm 2 , supply of oxygen is completely intercepted to extinguish the fire . according to an international smoking condition , inhalation is made once ( two seconds ) per one minute and 35 ml of smoke is inhaled at each time , this condition being an average value of numerous smokers . accordingly , the device of this invention has no practical value unless it can satisfy a condition that the fire would not extinguish over a period of longer than one minute . to ensure continuous burning , it is necessary to increase the quantity of exygen supplied to the burning point covered by the device over that when the hole cross - sectional area is equal to πr 2 mm 2 . to increase the quantity of oxygen supply , grooves may be formed on the inner surface of the hole or small openings may be formed through the wall of the device . the problem can be solved by a simple measure of making the cross - sectional area of the through hole to be larger than πr 2 mm 2 . as the cross - sectional area is gradually increased , a small quantity of the side stream smoke will be generated . the measured radius of the through opening at this time was ( r + 2 ) mm . consequently , the upper limit of the cross - sectional area that can prevent generation of the side stream smoke must be π ( r + 2 ) 2 mm 2 . when the device of this invention having the dimensions just described was mounted on a lighted cigarette , a time of 1 . 2 - 2 . 0 minutes elapsed between the mounting of the device on the burning point and extinguishment of the fire . the essential condition of this invention lies in the size of the cross - sectional area of the through hole in relation to the cross - sectional area of the cigarette and in the fact it will not be substantially influenced by the cross - sectional configuration . when the cross - sectional area of the through hole , is close to the upper limit π ( r + 2 ) 2 mm 2 , the stability is improved when the cigarette is positioned at the center of the hole . for this purpose the cross - sectional configuration of the through hole is shaped polygonal for directly supporting the cigarette . alternatively , a plurality of radially extending projections are formed for supporting the cigarette by the inner ends of the projections . the generation of the side stream smoke can be prevented or greatly reduced by mounting the device described above on the cigarette for covering the burning point 3 of the cigarette , so as to control the quantity of oxygen supplied from outside which is necessary to continue combustion . in this case a balance should be maintained between suppression of the side stream smoke and continuous combustion of the cigarette . accordingly , when the device is mounted on the cigarette such that the burning point will be positioned to the outer or front end of the device the time in which the combustion continues becomes the longest , whereas when the burning point is positioned on the inner side of the front end of the device , the quantity of the secondary smoke current can be reduced but the time in which the combustion can be continued would be decreased . in the following embodiment the devices are improved such that the generation of the side stream smoke can be efficiently reduced and that the continuous combustion time can be elongated even when the combustion point is positioned at any point along the through hole of the device . in other words , it is not necessary to take care the point of burning when mounting the device on the cigarette . more particularly , according to the improved device , the sectional area of the through hole is made to be πr 2 mm 2 ˜ π ( r + 2 ) 2 and one or more perforations or slots are formed through the wall defining the through hole . these perforations or slots function to adjust the quantity of oxygen supplied into the through hole thereby prolonging the combustion time and substantially preventing generation of the side stream smoke without being affected by the position of the burning point along the through hole . the number , size and distribution of the perforations or the slots must be determined by taking into consideration the length and diameter of the through hole . in this embodiment , the ratio between the entire peripheral area a of the hole and the total area b of the perforations or slots constitutes an important factor that governs the quantity of oxygen supplied from outside . in this modification , the ratio b / a is made to be in a range of 5 and 15 % when the cross - sectional area of the through hole lies in a range of from πr 2 mm 2 to π ( r + 2 ) 2 mm 2 . with less than 5 % of the ratio b / a , it is impossible to supply a quantity of oxygen sufficient to prolong the combustion time , whereas when the ratio exceeds 15 % the quantity of oxygen supplied becomes excessive to lose the inherent object of suppressing the generation of the side stream smoke . when the ratio b / a lies in the range of from 5 % to 15 %, the effect of this invention is governed by the diameter φ and the size of the perforations . for example , by making φ = 1 . 8 mm , the relation between φ and the reduction ( in percentage ) in the generation of the side stream smoke was measured and the results are shown in the following table iii . table iii______________________________________diameter of percentage of reduction ofperforation ( mm ) side stream smoke______________________________________ 9 9010 7011 40______________________________________ the configuration of the perforation may be circular , elliptical , triangular or irregular . the direction of the slot may be perpendicular or inclined with respect to the axis of the through hole . it will be clear that both perforations and slots can be formed . the length of the device of this invention must be at least 2 mm , but for convenience of use a length of 10 mm or longer is preferred . if desired the length of the device may be equal to that of a cigarette . as shown in fig6 , and 8 , the modified device 11 takes the form of a cylinder 12 provided with four rows of perforations each extending in the longitudinal direction , each row including three performations 13 . in still another modification shown in fig9 the device 11 is provided with three slots 14 spaced in the longitudinal direction . these modified embodiments having cylindrical through holes are also used in the same manner as that shown in fig1 a . in these modifications where the quantity of the oxygen supplied to the front end of the device is deficient , the oxygen is supplemented by the perforations or slots so as to maintain combustion . modified devices shown in fig6 and 9 can be made of the same material as that described in connection with the first embodiment shown in fig1 a and 1b and their construction may be the same as those shown in fig2 a to 2d .	0
fig3 shows a cathode - ray tube 10 having a glass envelope 11 comprising a rectangular faceplate panel 12 and a tubular neck 14 connected by a rectangular funnel 15 . the funnel has an internal conductive coating ( not shown ) that extends from an anode button 16 to the neck 14 . the faceplate panel 12 comprises a cylindrical viewing faceplate 18 and a peripheral flange or sidewall 20 that is sealed to the funnel 15 by a glass frit 17 . a three - color phosphor screen assembly 22 is carried by the inner surface of the viewing faceplate 18 . the screen assembly 22 is a line screen with the blue -, green -, and red - emitting phosphors arranged in triads , each triad including a phosphor line of each of the three colors separated by guardbands of a light - absorbing matrix 23 , shown in fig4 . a multi - apertured color selection electrode , such as a tension focus mask , 24 is removably mounted within the faceplate panel 12 , in predetermined spaced relation to the screen assembly 22 . this distance is referred to as the &# 34 ; q &# 34 ; spacing . an electron gun 26 , shown schematically by the dashed lines in fig3 is centrally mounted within the neck 14 to generate and direct three inline electron beams ( shown in fig2 ) along convergent paths through the tension focus mask 24 to the screen assembly 22 . the electron gun is conventional and may be any suitable gun known in the art . the crt 10 is designed to be used with an external magnetic deflection yoke , such as the yoke 30 , shown in the neighborhood of the funnel - to - neck junction . when activated , the yoke 30 subjects the three electron beams to magnetic fields that cause the beams to scan a horizontal and vertical rectangular raster over the screen assembly 22 . as is known in the art , an aluminum layer ( not shown ) overlies the screen assembly 22 and provides an electrical contact thereto , as well as a reflective surface to direct light , emitted by the phosphors , outwardly through the viewing faceplate 18 . as shown in fig5 the tension focus mask 24 is formed , preferably , from a thin rectangular sheet of about 0 . 05 mm ( 2 mil ) thick low carbon steel , that includes two long sides and two short sides . the two long sides of the tension focus mask parallel the central major axis , x , of the mask and the two short sides parallel the central minor axis , y , of the mask . with reference to fig4 and 5 , the tension focus mask 24 includes an apertured portion that contains a plurality of first elongated strands 32 separated by slots 33 that parallel the minor axis , y , of the mask . in a first embodiment of the invention , for example , in a crt having a diagonal dimension of 68 cm ( 27 inches ), the mask pitch , defined as the transverse dimension of a first strand 32 and an adjacent slot 33 , is about 0 . 85 mm ( 33 . 5 mils ). as shown in fig4 each of the first strands 32 has a transverse dimension , or width , d , of about 0 . 36 mm ( 14 mils ) and each of the slots 33 has a width , a &# 39 ;, of about 0 . 49 mm ( 19 . 5 mils ). the slots 33 extends from near one long side of the tension focus mask to near the other long side thereof . a plurality of second strands 34 , each having a diameter of about 0 . 025 mm ( 1 mil ), are oriented substantially perpendicular to the first strands 32 and spaced therefrom by insulators 36 . a frame 38 for the tension focus mask 24 includes four major members that are shown in fig5 two torsion members 40 and 41 and two side members 42 and 43 . the two torsion members , 40 and 41 , parallel the major axis , x , and each other . the long sides of the tension focus mask 24 are welded between the two torsion members 40 and 41 which provide the necessary tension to the mask 24 . again with reference to fig4 the screen 22 , formed on the viewing faceplate 18 , includes the light - absorbing matrix 23 with rectangular openings in which the b , g , and r color emitting phosphor lines are disposed . the corresponding matrix openings have an optimum , or bogie , width , b , of about 0 . 173 mm ( 6 . 8 mils ). the optimum width , c , of each matrix line , or guardband , is about 0 . 127 mm ( 5 mils ) and each phosphor triad has a width or screen pitch , p , of about 0 . 91 mm ( 35 . 8 mils ). for this embodiment , the tension focus mask 24 is spaced at a distance , q , of about 15 . 1 mm ( 593 . 3 mils ) from the center of the interior surface of the faceplate panel 12 . the novel process for manufacturing the matrix 23 , using the tension focus mask 24 in which the mask slots 33 are wider than the mask strands 32 , is shown in fig6 - 23 . after the faceplate panel 12 is cleaned , by conventional means , a negative acting photoresist material is provided on the inner surface thereof to form a first photoresist layer 50 . as shown in fig7 and 8 , the first photoresist layer 50 is exposed to light , through the tension focus mask 24 , from at least two source positions , + g and - g , within a lighthouse ( not shown ). the first source position , + g , is located a distance δx of about 1 . 78 mm ( 70 mils ) relative to a central source position , 0 . the second source position , - g , is symmetrically located a distance - δx of about - 1 . 78 mm (- 70 mils ) from the central source position , 0 . the longitudinal spacing of the source positions , + g and - g , from the first photoresist layer 50 is about 280 . 86 mm ( 11 . 0573 inches ). as shown in fig8 the q - spacing between the tension focus mask 24 and the inner surface of the faceplate on which the first photoresist layer 50 is disposed is about 15 . 1 mm ( 593 . 3 mils ). the light emanating from source positions + g and - g selectively alters the solubility of the illuminate areas of the first photoresist layer 50 , thereby producing regions 52 of lesser solubility . the areas of the first photoresist layer 50 that are shaded by the mask strands 32 are unchanged and constitute regions 54 of greater solubility . as shown in fig9 the photoresist is developed with water , thereby removing the regions of greater solubility and uncovering areas 56 of the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 underlying the regions of greater solubility , while retaining those regions 52 of the first photoresist layer 50 with lesser solubility . as shown in fig1 , the uncovered areas 56 and the retained regions 52 of lesser solubility on the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 are overcoated with a composition of light - absorbing material 58 . the light absorbing material 58 adheres to the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 in the uncovered areas 56 . preferably , the light - absorbing material is a graphite composition available from acheson colloids co ., port huron , mich . then , the retained regions 52 of the first photoresist layer and the light - absorbing material thereon are removed using an aqueous solution of a chemically digestive agent , as is known in the art . as shown in fig1 , first guardbands 60 and a border 62 of light - absorbing material adheres to the inner surface of the facpelate panel 12 . with reference to fig1 , the process is repeated again by providing the negative acting photoresist material on the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 to form a second photoresist layer 70 . as shown in fig1 and 14 , the second photoresist layer 70 is exposed to light , through the tension focus mask 24 , from at least two source positions , + b and - b , within a lighthouse ( not shown ). the third source position , + b , is asymmetrically located a distance 2x 1 - δx of about 8 . 99 mm ( 354 mils ) relative to a central source position , 0 . the fourth source position , - b , is asymmetrically located a distance - x 1 + δx of about - 3 . 61 mm (- 142 mils ) from the central source position , 0 . the longitudinal spacing of the source positions , + b and - b , from the first photoresist layer 50 remains at about 280 . 86 mm ( 11 . 0573 inches ) from the second photoresist layer 70 . as shown in fig1 , the q - spacing between the tension focus mask 24 and the inner surface of the faceplate on which the second photoresist layer 70 is disposed remains at about 15 . 1 mm ( 593 . 3 mils ). the light emanating from source positions + b and - b selectively alters the solubility of the illuminate areas of the second photoresist layer 70 , thereby producing regions 72 of lesser solubility . the areas of the second photoresist layer 70 that are shaded by the mask strands 32 are unchanged and constitute regions 74 of greater solubility . as shown in fig1 , the photoresist is developed with water , thereby removing the regions of greater solubility and uncovering areas 76 of the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 underlying the regions of greater solubility , while retaining those regions 72 of the second photoresist layer 70 with lesser solubility . as shown in fig1 , the formerly uncovered areas 76 and the retained regions 72 of lesser solubility on the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 are overcoated with a composition of light - absorbing material 78 . the light absorbing material 78 adheres to the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 in the formerly uncovered areas 76 . then , the retained regions 72 of the second photoresist layer and the light - absorbing material thereon are removed using an aqueous solution of a chemically digestive agent , as is known in the art . as shown in fig1 , newly formed second guardbands 80 and the previously formed first guardbands 60 are retained on the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 . the process is repeated for a third time , as shown in fig1 . the negative acting photoresist material is provided on the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 to form a third photoresist layer 90 . as shown in fig1 and 20 , the third photoresist layer 90 is exposed to light , through the tension focus mask 24 , from at least two source positions , + r and - r , within a lighthouse ( not shown ). the fifth source position , + r , is asymmetrically located a distance x 2 - δx of about 3 . 61 mm ( 142 mils ) relative to a central source position , 0 . the sixth source position , - r , is asymmetrically located a distance - 2x 2 + δx of about - 8 . 99 mm (- 354 mils ) from the central source position , 0 . the longitudinal spacing of the source positions , + r and - r , from the third photoresist layer 90 remains at about 280 . 86 mm ( 11 . 0573 inches ). as shown in fig2 , the q - spacing between the tension focus mask 24 and the inner surface of the faceplate on which the third photoresist layer 90 is disposed remains at about 15 . 1 mm ( 593 . 3 mils ). as shown in fig2 , the light emanating from source positions + r and - r selectively alters the solubility of the illuminate areas of the third photoresist layer 90 , thereby producing regions 92 of lesser solubility . the areas of the third photoresist layer 90 that are shaded by the mask strands 32 are unchanged and constitute regions 94 of greater solubility . as shown in fig2 , the photoresist is developed with water , thereby removing the regions of greater solubility and uncovering areas 96 of the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 underlying the regions of greater solubility , while retaining those regions 92 of the third photoresist layer 90 with lesser solubility . as shown in fig2 , the formerly uncovered areas 96 and the retained regions 92 of lesser solubility on the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 are overcoated with a composition of light - absorbing material 98 . the light absorbing material 98 adheres to the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 in the formerly uncovered areas 96 . then , the retained regions 92 of the third photoresist layer and the light - absorbing material thereon are removed using an aqueous solution of a chemically digestive agent , as is known in the art . as shown in fig2 , newly formed third guardbands 100 and the previously formed first and second guardbands 60 and 80 , are retained on the inner surface of the faceplate panel 12 . an advantage of the present process is shown in fig2 . if the q - spacing varies , for example because of variations in the distance from the tension focus mask to the inside surface of the faceplate panel , then the r , b and b matrix openings also change , but remain equal in size . if the q - spacing changes by - 5 % because of the aforementioned &# 34 ; q - error &# 34 ;, to a value of q &# 39 ;, then each of the matrix openings increases in width from the bogie dimension of 0 . 173 mm ( 6 . 8 mils ) to about 0 . 189 mm ( 7 . 46 mils ) and the guardbands , change as follows : the guardbands 60 increase in width from a bogie dimension of 0 . 127 mm ( 5 mils ) to 0 . 139 mm ( 5 . 49 mils ) while the guardbands 80 and 100 decrease in width from the bogie dimension of 0 . 127 mm ( 5 mils ) to 0 . 0945 mm ( 3 . 72 mils ). however , if the q - spacing changes by + 5 %, then each of the matrix openings decreases in width to about 0 . 156 mm ( 6 . 14 mils ), but the guardbands change in size as follows : the guardbands 60 decreases in width to 0 . 115 mm ( 4 . 51 mils ) while the guardbands 80 and 100 increase in width to 0 . 160 mm ( 6 . 28 mils ). these results are graphically shown in fig2 . after the matrix is formed , the phosphor screen elements are deposited by a suitable method , such as that described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 455 , 133 , issued to gorog et al . on oct . 3 , 1996 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention . the present method adjusts both the size of the matrix openings and the guardbands to take into consideration variations in q - spacing . however , as shown in fig2 , there is no misregister in the red -, blue - and green - impinging electron beams as a result of the present process . the present invention also is applicable to tension focus masks of finer pitch . for example where the tension focus mask has a mask pitch of 0 . 65 mm ( 25 . 6 mils ) and a first strand width of 0 . 3 mm ( 11 . 8 mils ), the corresponding screen pitch is 0 . 68 mm ( 26 . 8 mils ). each matrix opening has an optimum width , b , of about 0 . 132 mm ( 5 . 2 mils ) and a matrix line width , c , of about 0 . 094 mm ( 3 . 7 mils ). for this embodiment of the tension focus mask 24 , the center q - spacing is about 11 . 4 mm ( 449 mils ). additionally , if the tension focus mask 24 has a mask pitch of 0 . 41 mm ( 16 . 1 mils ) and a first strand width of 0 . 2 mm ( 7 . 8 mils ), the corresponding screen pitch is 0 . 42 mm ( 16 . 5 mils ). each matrix opening has a width , b , of about 0 . 066 mm ( 2 . 6 mils ) and a matrix line width , c , of about 0 . 074 mm ( 2 . 9 mils ). in this embodiment of the tension focus mask 24 , the center q - spacing is about 7 . 4 mm ( 291 . 5 mils .	7
conventionally the averaging of several seismic traces , illustrated in fig1 is intended to enhance the signal to noise ratio under the assumption that the desired signals are aligned in time on each trace and will constructively add while the undesired noise , and / or signals not aligned in time , will destructively accumulate when the traces are summed . this can be expressed mathematically as follows : represent m seismic traces where : each seismic trace , s i ( t ), contains a signal , s ( t ), in common with the other traces and noise , n i ( t ), different from the noise on other traces , and averaging yields : ## equ1 ## in many instances averaging as indicated above is quite effective , especially in reducing background noise which is randomly present at all time on all traces . however , short time duration noise bursts and other seismic signals with magnitudes much larger than the desired seismic signals are often present , and while averaging diminishes their amplitude with respect to desired signals , they persist to a degree in the average that signal definition can become difficult . partial averaging , as defined herein , provides a way to reduce the amplitude of such noise bursts while maintaining coherent signal amplitude ; thus improving the signal to noise ratio and consequently the resolution of the seismic method . which represents a digital seismic trace containing amplitude samples from s j /( t ) taken at sample times , 0 , δt , 2δt , . . . , nδt , during the time interval ( 0 , t ). the digital form of the average s ( t ) now becomes ## equ2 ## which implies that the samples at each sample time , iδt , are averaged to produce s ( iδt ). when this is done in a programmed computer or by special purpose digital devices , the opportunity to classify the samples at each sample time , iδt , independently from other sample times becomes apparent , and discrimination can be imposed to eliminate from the average at each sample time those samples that classify by some a priori scheme as being detrimental to the average at iδt . thus some of the m samples at each sample time , iδt , may be discarded independently from samples discarded at other sample times , allowing fewer than m samples to contribute to the average for each iδt . since fewer than the available m samples are averaged at each iδt , the resulting average is termed a partial average . let the amplitude samples from the m traces at a particular sample time , iδt , be a 1i , a 2i , . . . a mi . arrange the m samples in increasing order a 1 ≦ a 2 ,≦ . . . ,≦ a m . for some chosen k & lt ; m / 2 , average the m - 2k samples a k + 1 , a k + 2 , . . . a m - k to form : ## equ3 ## definition : s ( iδt ), for all i = 0 , 1 , . . . , t / δt , is a partial average trace of order m = 2k . another way to describe s ( iδt ) is to exclude from s ( iδt ) the k smallest ( most negative ) and the k largest ( most positive ) samples at each sample time iδt . thus those samples at each iδt which are extreme in the sense of distance from the average at each iδt will be discarded . if there are no samples that are extreme , then discarding a few of the samples to construct s ( iδt ) makes little difference and s ( iδt ) will be a good approximation of s ( iδt ). however , if there are short duration high amplitude noise bursts their effect on s ( iδt ) is assured to be less than their effect on s ( iδt ). thus the signal to noise ratio in the partial average can be an improvement over the signal to noise ratio in the average and seismic resolution can thereby be improved . the partial average scheme described above can be extremely beneficial to vibroseis data acquisition and processing . the vibroseis method presumes that the seismic trace has the form : ## equ4 ## 0 ≦ t ≦ t , correlation of r ( t ) with s ( t ) when n ( t ) is wide band noise randomly present during the recording time produces results that favorably compare with dynamite sourced seismic recordings . the k th reflection in the correlated result contributes the autocorrelation of s ( t ) at the reflection time t k with amplitude a k just as with dynamite it is presumed that the source wavelet has been returned as a reflection signal at time t k with amplitude a k . furthermore , if the noise assumption stated above holds , the correlation procedure is capable of extracting reflection signals from high amplitude background noise . signal to noise ratios much less than one can be tolerated . on the other hand if noise consists of high amplitude short time duration pulses within the frequency spectrum of the vibroseis sweep , correlation with the sweep can produce high amplitude long time duration oscillations in the correlated result prior to the time of occurrence of each of the high amplitude pulses . these oscillations are called correlation noise since they are the cross correlations of the sweep and the noise pulses . in practice they can be of sufficient amplitude to obscure the autocorrelation representation of the desired reflection signals . the foregoing is the theory showing the statistical value of partial averaging to enhance data signals . it may be simplified by looking at fig1 . there is represented by level 1 the trace for a single channel covering several seismic events . a seismic event is an activation by conventional seismic methods , whether dynamite in the hole , or a vibroseis sweep . level 3 of fig1 shows a noise trace developed over the same time intervals , while level 2 shows a seismic trace utilizing the partial averaging method of the present invention . as can be readily seen , the trace of level 2 is pretty smooth as compared to the trace of level 1 in the average stack , but what is even more important , is the excursion at level 2 identified by the circle 10 . the corresponding area on level 1 is identified by circle 9 . it is difficult to pick out the corresponding excursion of partial average level 2 in the level average 1 due to the excursion in level 1 from the noise shown by circle 11 on level 3 . in the following discussion as in the foregoing , the letter i represents the sample on a particular trace whike k represents the particular trace . in this regard with reference to fig2 there is shown seismic arrays 11 through 11n . as is the conventional practice , seismic arrays include a plurality of seismic detectors providing signals along a single channel . in this regard there will be n channels with information being provided to a digital field system 8 which may be of the type manufactured by texas instruments as their model no . dfs - v . digital field system 8 provides multiplexed digital data corresponding to vibrations sensed by seismic arrays 1 through 1n on line 14 to a plurality of channel comparator means 20 through 20n . digital field system 8 accomplishes this by multiplexing the analog signals to provide a multiplexed analog signal which is converted to digital signals . digital field system 8 also provides a control signal 21 which will activate channel comparator means 20 through 20n as hereinafter explained . for ease of discussion only one channel will be discussed at this time . channel comparator means 21 provides a plurality of outputs to corresponding registers , in this example four of them , 28 through 31 , although there can be as many registers as desired . the operation of comparator means 20 is such that registers 28 through 31 will store the most negative digital information , the next most negative digital information , the most positive digital information , and the next most positive digital information provided by channel comparator means 20 . as shown in the drawings , registers 28 through 31 also provide signals corresponding to their contents back to channel comparator means 20 . in operation , when channel comparator means 20 is activated it will compare the digital information signal on line 14 with the contents of registers 28 through 31 . for example , let us assume that the digital value of signal 14 is more positive than any value in the registers 28 through 31 . the current digital signal on line 14 is entered into register 28 and the old content of register 28 is entered into register 29 . when the current digital signal on line 14 is less positive than the content of register 28 but more positive than register 29 , the current digital signal on line 14 is entered into register 29 . the contents in registers 30 , 31 are entered in a similar manner as just explained . the outputs of registers 28 through 31 are provided to switching means 40 which in turn select between the registers in memory means 25 or to other memory means 25n to be provided to another electronic switching means represented as a single pole multipositioned switch means 44 . the output of switch means 44 is provided to sign changer means 47 and to switch means 50 . switch means 50 is is essence of a single pole double throw electronic switch . the output of sign changer means 47 is also applied to switch means 50 and the output of switch means 50 is applied to summing means 54 . summing means 54 is also connected to memory means 58 in a manner so that information can be provided to memory means 58 as well as received from memory means 58 . memory means 58 is also connected to switching means 40 for controlling switching means 40 as hereinafter explained . an output of memory means 58 is provided to an average means 59 which provides an average signal , a tape in tape means 60 after completion of all operations , as hereinafter explained . in the initial operation , the multiplexed signal on line 14 is provided through switch means 44 to switch means 50 which in turn provides summing means 54 and hence to the memory means 58 . memory means 58 stores the sum values of the digital values by time interval and channel . in response to the second seismic event , the information on line 14 is applied to the appropriate channel comparator means with control of the multiplexing signal 21 and this too is provided through switch means 44 and switch means 50 to summing means 54 and hence where it is summed with its corresponding channel and time interval with the previous value . this procedure is then carried on for all of the channels , for all of the seismic events . as a result , memory means 25 through memory means 25n has stored therein the two most positive values and the two most negative values for each channel for each time interval . memory means 58 provides a control signal to switching means 40 and switch means 44 and 50 so that now the input to summing means 54 from switch means 50 is essentially the output of sign changing means 47 . switching means 40 is controlled to apply for example the output from registers 28 through 31 to corresponding terminals 71 , 72 , 73 and 74 , respectively of switch means 44 . switch means 44 is then controlled to switch through those positions . in effect the signs of the contents of registers 28 through 31 are changed and summed by summing means 54 to the stack of values for that particular channel for that particular time interval so as to remove the two most positive values and the two most negative values . switch means 44 repeats this operation for each of the memory means 25 through 25n . the final contents of memory means 58 are averaged by averaging means 59 before being stored on tape in tape means 60 . the present invention as hereinbefore described concerns seismic data enhancement methods and apparatus in which a partial averaging of the seismic data is achieved to enhance the signal to noise ratio of the seismic data . the partial averaging in effect removes at least the two most negative values and the two most positive values of a stack of seismic information for a particular channel .	6
in fig1 a partially transparent reflector 1 is disposed at 45 degrees to the axis 2 of an objective lens 3 , between said lens and a plane 4 perpendicular to the axis 2 . the objective lens 3 receives a light beam 5 such as a laser beam , said light beam coming from remote points situated in its field of reception . after passing through the lens 3 , the beam 5 forms a convergent beam 6 which is divided into two parts by the reflector 1 . part of the energy of the beam 6 is concentrated on a reception surface 8 after being reflected by the reflector 1 along an axis 7 perpendicular to the axis 2 . said reception surface 8 is situated in a plane 9 perpendicular to the axis 7 . four bundles 13 , 14 , 15 and 16 of optical wave guides , e . g . optical fibers , are disposed between the reception surface 8 and another surface 10 situated in a plane 11 parallel to plane 9 . said bundles are referred to collectively as a group 12 . each bundle comprises a plurality of optical fibers of same length disposed in parallel . at one end of the bundle , the fibers are pressed tight against one another so that their end surfaces are disposed in a plane to form a light input surface which is a sector of a circle with an angle of 90 degrees at its center . the light input surfaces of the four bundles are placed next to one another in the plane 9 and are applied against the reception surface 8 to cover it completely . fig2 shows that everything happens as if the reception surface 8 were divided into four equal portions a , b , c , d by two axes 37 , 38 at right angles to each other intersecting at the axis 7 , with each of said four portions corresponding to a respective one of the four input surfaces of the four bundles . of course , the reception surface 8 could be divided in a different way from that illustrated in fig2 . for example , fig3 shows that the reception surface could include four portions delimited by four equal circles which are tangential to one another , the overall surface being substantially square . likewise there could be more or fewer than four bundles of optical wave guides and of corresponding portions of the reception surface ; for example , there could be seven circular portions arranged in the disposition illustrated in fig4 with the overall reception surface being substantially circular . the bundles of wave guides are of different lengths in a sequence of predetermined values , the difference between two successive lengths being constant , for example . the ends of the fibers in the group 12 which are distant from the input surfaces are pressed tight against one another so that their end surfaces from a light output surface in the plane 10 . some bundles can have relatively long fibers e . g . several meters long . to make the group 12 of bundles of differing lengths as compact as possible , the following disposition , for example , can be used : the shortest bundle 13 extends along a straight line between the input and output planes 9 and 11 while the other bundles 14 , 15 and 16 are wound about the shortest bundle 13 . the output surface 10 can be directly disposed against the sensitive surface of a photoelectric receiver . however , in general , this sensitive surface is smaller than the surface 10 , so it is preferable to use an optical system constituted by two lenses 18 and 19 to form the image of the surface 10 on the sensitive surface 20 of a photoelectric receiver 21 . this photoelectric receiver may be an avalanche photodiode for example . an optical filter 17 is disposed between lenses 18 and 19 . the electric output of the receiver 21 is connected to a separator circuit 22 via an amplifier 23 . an automatic gain - control circuit 24 is connected to control the gain of the amplifier 23 as a function of the signal present at its output . the separator circuit 22 has four outputs connected respectively to four measuring circuits 25 , 26 , 27 and 28 . the outputs of the four measuring circuits are connected respectively to a processing circuit 29 . the part of the convergent beam 6 which is not reflected towards the receiving surface 8 passes through the partially transparent reflector 1 without being deflected , and is concentrated onto the sensitive surface 30 of a photoelectric detector 31 after passing through an optical filter 36 . said detector is disposed in the plane 4 and is of the same type as the photoelectric receiver 21 . the electrical output from the detector 31 is connected via an amplifier 32 to the separator circuit 22 and to a code identification circuit 33 . the code identification circuit 33 has an output connected to a control input 39 of the processing circuit 29 . of course , in a variant of the apparatus illustrated in fig1 it is possible to interchange the roles of the direct and the deflected beams with the input surfaces of the optical fibers lying in the plane 4 in the place of the detector 31 , and with the sensitive surface of the detector 31 lying in the plane 9 in place of the input surfaces of the optical fibers . the apparatus described hereinabove with reference to fig1 and 2 operates as follows . the axis 2 of the objective lens 3 is directed so as to bring the target into the reception field of the objective lens 3 , e . g . by means of a sighting telescope ( not shown ) whose axis is parallel to the axis 2 . with the target illuminated by a laser pulse , a light spot 34 appears on the surface 8 ( see fig2 ). it is seen that this spot , which is supposed to be circular , is shifted relative to the point 35 of intersection of the perpendicular axes 37 and 38 . each of the portions a , b , c , and d of the surface 8 receives an amount of laser energy different from that received by the other portions . the four bundles therefore transmit different amounts of laser energy with the amount transmitted by any one bundle being a function of the area of that part of the spot 34 which is on the portion of the reception surface 8 occupied by the bundle in question . further , the time taken by the laser energy transmitted by the four bundles of fibers to go from plane 9 to plane 11 is different for each bundle of fibers , since these bundles of fibers are of different lengths . therefore , for each light spot formed on the surface 8 , the surface 10 receives a sequence of four laser pulses shifted in time as a function of the fiber lengths of the four bundles . the optical system 18 , 19 transmits these four laser pulses onto the sensitive surface 20 of the receiver 21 . although not shown in the drawing in practice the axial length of the optical system 18 , 19 is negligible compared with the lengths of the fibers . the filter 17 only passes a narrow frequency band of light centered on the frequency of the laser pulse light which illuminates the target . the amplitudes of the electric pulses delivered by the receiver 21 in response to the four laser pulses are representative of the laser energy transmitted by each bundle of fibers . the diagram of fig5 represents the four electric pulses . in this diagram , amplitude v is plotted along the y - axis and time t is plotted along the x - axis . it is seen that the four pulses a , b , c , and d transmitted respectively by the bundles 13 , 14 , 16 and 15 reach the receiver 21 at the ends of the periods t a , t b , t c and t d which are proportional to the fiber lengths of the bundles . further , the amplitudes v a , v b , v c and v d of the electric pulses are substantially proportional to the area that the spot 34 covers in each of the four portions a , b , c and d of the reception surface 8 , ( fig2 ). the four electric pulses therefore reach the input of the separator circuit 22 after passing through the amplifier 23 . the automatic gain - control circuit 24 of known type serves to maintain the average amplitude of pulses leaving the amplifier 23 at a constant level which is independent of the ( very variable ) level of energy received from the target . naturally , the response time of the a . g . c . circuit 24 is slow in comparison to the spread of times t a to t d taken by any one target reflected spot to pass through the system . the filter 36 , analogous to the filter 17 , eliminates radiation of different frequency from the laser pulses . for each laser pulse which illuminates the target , the detector 31 delivers an electric synchronisation pulse which is not shifted in time like those emitted by the receiver 21 . this synchronisation pulse constitutes a time reference mark for the four electric pulses received at the input of the separator circuit 22 . the separator circuit 22 delivers the four electric pulses which result from a light spot formed on the surface 8 at respective ones of its four outputs . this separator circuit can be of a type analogous to demultiplexer circuits known in the field of telecommunications . the outputs of the measuring circuits 25 , 26 , 27 and 28 deliver respective signals which are representative of the amplitudes of the four electric pulses . circuits 25 to 28 send measuring signals to the processing circuit 29 which in turn generates signals representative of the position of the spot 34 on the surface 8 ( fig2 ). for example , the circuit 29 can add respective pairs of signals coming from the portions a and b , c and d , a and d , b and c . comparing the signals which correspond &# 34 ; a + b &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; c + d &# 34 ; gives a signal which is representative of the position of the spot 34 relative to horizontal axis 37 ( fig2 ) of the surface 8 . likewise , comparing the signals which correspond to a + d and b + c gives a signal which is representative of the position of the spot 34 relative to vertical axis 38 ( fig2 ) of the surface 8 . the processing circuit 29 may also include a gate at each of its four inputs . each such gate is controlled by the control input 39 of the circuit 29 . the code identification circuit 33 receives amplified electric pulses from the detector 31 and its output does not deliver a gate opening signal to the circuit 29 until these electric pulses are emitted in a predetermined code . said code serves to distinguish between different laser pulses on the same terrain and , for example , can be a pulse repetition frequency code . the circuit 33 then measures the frequency of the electric pulses it receives and delivers an opening signal only if this frequency corresponds to a predetermined value . the circuit 33 delivers a gate inhibit signal as long as the frequency of the electric pulses delivered by the detector 31 is different from said predetermined value . many components of the apparatus illustrated in fig6 are analogous to those illustrated in fig1 and analogous components are designated by the same reference . however , in the apparatus illustrated in fig6 there is no longer an electrical connection between the code identification circuit 33 and the processing circuit 29 . in contrast , an electromagnetic system 40 is connected to the output of the circuit 33 . it serves to place the reflector 1 on the path of the beam 6 only when the input of the circuit 33 receives pulses emitted in the predetermined code , the system 40 maintaining the reflector 1 outside the path of the beam 6 as long as the pulses received by the circuit 33 are emitted in a code different from the predetermined code . the advantage of this variant is that it is able to search for the target by directing all of the light energy which passes through the objective 3 onto the detector 31 , thereby increasing the sensitivity of the apparatus . the apparatus in accordance with the invention has several advantages . in particular , in said apparatus , the light pulses whose amplitudes make it possible to determine the position of the target image on the reception surface are separated in time and are received on a single receiver which delivers electric pulses amplified by a single amplifier . this eliminates any relative variation of sensitivities between the various four - quadrant receivers of the prior art . further automatic gain - control can be applied to the amplifier 23 since it affects all the signals identically and therefore does into cause any relative variation of sensitivity . the single receiver 21 may be an avalanche diode in which case sensitivity is high compared with photo - electric receivers used in prior art apparatus . the gain in sensitivity can be as much as 100 times . indeed , in practice , avalanche diodes are not used in four - quadrant receivers because it would be difficult to find four such receivers with identical response curves . the distortion caused by the mutual influence of the various portions of the reception surfaces of four - quadrant receivers is practically cancelled . the external shape of the reception surface ( circular , square or rectangular ) can be determined in accordance with particular requirements by varying the configuration of the group of optical fiber bundles . indeed , it should be noted that the external shape of the output surface 10 of the group of bundles could be different from that of the input surface 8 , and it could lie in some quite different plane such that the disposition of the photoelectric receiver 21 is chosen as a function of available space rather than being determined by the position of the objective lens . the apparatus in accordance with the invention can be applied to a system for tracking a target illuminated by a laser .	6
in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , one having an ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without these specific details . in some instances , well - known structures and processes have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention . reference throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention . thus , the appearances of the phrases “ in one embodiment ” or “ in an embodiment ” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment . furthermore , the particular features , structures , or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments . it should be appreciated that the following figures are not drawn to scale ; rather , these figures are merely intended for illustration . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of a hot / cold plate apparatus 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the hot / cold plate apparatus 2 includes a hot / cold plate 10 onto which a substrate 20 is placed . the substrate 20 may be a semiconductor substrate , a photomask blank , or other types of substrates that may be supported and heated / cooled . the hot / cold plate 10 may be an aluminum plate , a copper plate , a metal alloy plate , a ceramic plate , or a plate made out of a material capable of conducting thermal energy . the hot / cold plate 10 may also include a protective coating thereover comprising quartz , sapphire , aluminum oxide , or boron nitride , for example . depending on the configuration of the substrate 20 being heated or cooled and the heating / cooling source used for heating / cooling , the hot / cold plate 10 may have various configurations such as a rectangle , a ellipse , a circle , etc . in one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , the hot / cold plate 10 is disc - shaped having a thickness of from about 0 . 5 mm to about 3 mm and a diameter of about 340 mm to accommodate a wafer having a thickness of 750 μm and a diameter from about 300 mm to about 340 mm . as is understood by those skilled in the art , the thickness of the hot / cold plate depends on the diameter and thickness of the particular wafer to be placed thereon for processing . a heating / cooling element 30 provides heating or cooling to the hot / cold plate 10 , which in turn provides heating / cooling to the substrate 20 . as is shown in fig1 , the heating / cooling element 30 is positioned below the hot / cold plate 10 . in one embodiment , the heating / cooling element 30 may be concentric or spiral in shape and attached to the underside of the hot / cold plate 10 . however , in other embodiments , the heating / cooling element 30 may be disposed proximal to the hot / cold plate 10 such as being embedded within the hot / cold plate 10 . a controller ( not shown ) activates a voltage source ( not shown ) to allow a current to flow through a power line into the heating / cooling element 30 . the current flowing through the heating / cooling element 30 is converted to heat that is transferred to the hot / cold plate 10 and the substrate 20 is thereafter heated . the heating continues for a pre - determined time ( e . g ., until the photosensitive resin on the substrate is sufficiently dried ), after which the heating / cooling elements 30 are de - energized . in the event that cooling a substrate is desired , the hot / cold plate 10 may include one or more conduits ( not shown ) in the hot / cold plate 10 for transporting cooling fluid such as water or gas therethrough to generally provide cooling to the substrate 20 . the gas may include , for example , one or more of substantially thermally conductive and thermally non - conductive gases , such as helium , argon , and nitrogen . it is understood that alternative heating / cooling structures and / or sources may be employed within the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from its broader scope and spirit . with reference still to fig1 , the hot / cold plate 10 may also include one or more temperature sensors 40 . temperature sensors 40 may be embedded in or bonded to the hot / cold plate in one embodiment and may comprise one or more pyrometric sensors or one or more fiber - optic sensors , for example . temperature sensors 40 are operable to measure one or more temperatures at one or more respective locations associated with a substrate or a plurality of substrates . each of the temperature sensors 40 may also employ a relay signal to the controller ( not shown ). the controller is operable to control the amount of heating or cooling to the hot / cold plate 10 by controlling a voltage source ( not shown ) or a tunable gas source ( not shown ), for example , at least in part on the signals associated with the one or more measured temperatures from the temperature sensors 40 . for example , where uneven heating is detected by a particular temperature sensor at a particular location on the substrate 20 , the controller may control the voltage source ( not shown ) to allow more current to flow through a power line into the heating / cooling element 30 . the current flowing through the heating / cooling element 30 is converted to heat that is then transferred to the hot / cold plate 10 . to reduce the critical dimension ( cd ) uniformity error typically resulting from the non - uniform temperature distribution of a substrate and avoid hot / cold spots on the substrate surface , an aspect of the present disclosure provides that the substrate 20 be rotated about an axis to provide an approximately uniform temperature distribution across its surface during a heating or cooling event . as shown in fig1 , by coupling the hot / cold plate 10 to a rotating element 15 , a source of rotation is provided to the substrate 20 . the rotating element 15 is operable to rotate hot / cold plate 10 bi - directionally and may comprise , for example , 1 ) a drive shaft driven by an electric motor , an electromechanical drive motor , or a pneumatic motor , or 2 ) the drive shaft and a gear assembly , operable to translate rotation to the hot / cold plate 10 . alternatively , the substrate 20 itself may be rotated bi - directionally by a ring type holder 50 in a hot / cold plate apparatus , as illustrated in fig2 . the ring type holder 50 is operably coupled to a gear or pulley mechanism that imparts rotation to the ring type holder 50 . fig3 shows a top view of the ring type holder 50 gear apparatus , according to one embodiment of the present invention . the ring type holder 50 is positioned below and generally coaxially with the substrate 20 having a diameter proximate to the diameter of the substrate 20 , wherein the ring type holder 50 is operable to radially constrain the substrate 20 . a motor 60 imparts rotational energy to the ring type holder 50 via a pulley belt 70 , which then rotates the substrate 20 . as shown in fig4 , a top - down view , the rotatable hot / cold plate 10 may include one or more sub - plates 90 for receiving one or more substrates 20 . rotational means engageably couples to the hot / cold plate to ensure that each of the plurality of sub - plates 90 rotates bi - directionally . each sub - plate 90 may be rotating independently whilst the hot / cold plate 10 may be rotating or not . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the ring type holder 50 may include one or more sub - plates 90 , the sub - plates being capable of rotating bi - directionally . those skilled in the art understands that alternative sources for rotating a substrate or a plurality of substrates disposed in sub - plates may be employed within the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from its broader spirit and scope . fig5 is a cross - sectional view of a portion of a hot / cold plate apparatus 2 for affixing one or more substrates over the surfaces of the hot / cold plate 10 , according to one embodiment of the present invention . by having two or more substrates rotate at the same time during a heating or cooling event , the cycle time can be reduced . in one embodiment , the hot / cold plate 10 has a first surface 22 for receiving a first substrate 20 a and a second surface 24 for receiving a second substrate 20 b . in another embodiment , the first surface 22 of the hot / cold plate 10 includes one or more sub - plates for receiving one or more substrates and the second surface 24 includes one or more sub - plates for receiving one or more substrates . in another embodiment , the hot / cold plate apparatus 2 includes a robot mechanism ( not shown ) operable to position and remove substrates from the hot / cold plate 10 . in yet another embodiment , the hot / cold plate apparatus 2 includes a ring type holder ( not shown ) disposed on the first and the second surfaces 22 and 24 , each for receiving the first substrate 20 a and the second substrate 20 b , respectively each ring type holder operably coupled to a gear or pulley mechanism for imparting rotation to the ring type holders . in another embodiment , each ring type holder of the hot / cold plate apparatus 10 includes one or more sub - plates for receiving one or more substrates . aspects of the present disclosure provide several advantages . in a heating event , by controlling the temperature distribution of a wafer to be as uniform as possible , the critical dimension ( cd ) uniformity improves thereby improving the device yield . this temperature distribution uniformity may also reduce hot spots , which can occur in existing systems . in a cooling event , by managing the temperature distribution of a wafer to be as uniform as possible , possible damage to the wafer such as warpage or cracking can be avoided . in the preceding detailed description , the present invention is described with reference to specifically exemplary embodiments thereof . it will , however , be evident that various modifications , structures , processes , and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present invention , as set forth in the claims . the specification and drawings are , accordingly , to be regarded as illustrative and not restrictive . it is understood that the present invention is capable of using various other combinations and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein .	7
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure , application , or uses . with reference now to fig1 , a portion of a dual clutch transmission is illustrated and generally designated by the reference number 10 . the dual clutch transmission 10 includes a clutch housing 12 having various shoulders , flanges and features which receive , locate and retain components of the dual clutch transmission 10 . an input shaft 14 is coupled to and driven by a prime mover 16 such as a gasoline , diesel , flex fuel or hybrid or electric power plant . the input shaft 14 is supported on bearings such as ball bearing assemblies 18 . a twin or dual dry clutch assembly 20 is disposed within the clutch housing 12 and includes an outer rotating housing or carrier 22 that is coupled to and driven by the input shaft 14 . the outer housing or carrier 22 defines a cylinder having a closed end or radial wall 24 a which is coupled to and driven by the input shaft 14 and an opposite end or partial wall 24 b having an annular seal 26 . concentrically disposed within the outer housing or carrier 22 is a smaller , inner clutch carrier 30 . the inner clutch carrier 30 is rotationally coupled to the outer housing or carrier 22 by an annular interengaging set of male and female splines 32 a and 32 b . a fluid seal 33 is disposed at the juncture of the input shaft 14 and the inner clutch carrier 30 . the inner clutch carrier 30 may thus translate axially within the outer housing 22 but will remain coupled to and driven by the outer housing 22 . disposed concentrically with the inner clutch carrier 30 of the dual clutch assembly 20 is a first annular friction clutch drive disc or plate 34 which is connected to and driven by the inner clutch carrier 30 . the first clutch drive plate 34 includes clutch facing material 36 on its inner surface . spaced from the first clutch drive plate 34 is a second , intermediate annular friction clutch drive disc or plate 38 which includes clutch facing material 42 on both surfaces . the second , intermediate clutch drive plate 38 is coupled to and driven by both the inner clutch carrier 30 and the outer clutch housing 22 by a radially extending drive disc 44 . the radial drive disc 44 also fixes the axial position of the second , intermediate clutch drive plate 38 relative to the outer housing or carrier 22 . at the intersection of the inner clutch carrier 30 and the drive disc 44 , one of the components is discontinuous and a plurality of fluid tight seals 46 are incorporated . the second , intermediate clutch drive plate 38 is also piloted on an inner ball bearing assembly 48 . spaced from the second , intermediate clutch drive plate 38 is a third annular friction clutch drive disc or plate 52 which is also connected to and driven by the inner clutch carrier 30 . the third clutch drive plate 52 includes clutch facing material 54 on its inner surface . between both the first and the second clutch plates 34 and 38 and the second and the third clutch plates 38 and 52 are driven annular clutch discs or plates . a first driven clutch plate 60 , disposed between the first clutch plate 34 and the second clutch plate 38 , may include clutch facing material and is coupled to and drives a first output shaft or member 62 . the first output shaft or member 62 is supported on suitable bearing assemblies 64 and is coupled to and drives a first output gear 66 which , for example , may be associated with the even numbered gears of the transmission 10 . a second driven clutch plate 70 , disposed between the second clutch plate 38 and the third clutch plate 52 , may include clutch facing material and is coupled to and drives a second drive tube , quill or output member 72 . the second drive tube , quill or output member 72 is supported for rotation by suitable ball bearing assemblies 74 and is coupled to and drives a second output gear 76 which , for example , may be associated with the odd numbered gears of the transmission 10 . the first output gear 66 is in constant mesh with a first countershaft or layshaft input gear 68 which is secured to and drives a first countershaft or layshaft 82 which may be associated with , as noted , the even numbered gears , reverse , second and fourth , for example . the second output gear 76 is in constant mesh with a second countershaft or layshaft input gear 78 which is secured to and drives a second countershaft or layshaft 84 which may be associated with , as noted , the odd numbered gears , first , third and fifth , for example . alternatively , the first output shaft or member 62 and the concentric second drive tube , quill or output member 72 may be coupled to and directly drive a countershaft 62 and a concentric quill or tubular countershaft 72 within the transmission 10 which are essentially extensions of these components of the clutch 10 beyond the clutch housing 20 . referring now to fig1 and 2 , operably disposed between the inner clutch carrier 30 and the first and third annular friction clutch drive disc or plates 34 and 52 are pluralities of linear one way clutches . a first plurality of linear one way or overrunning clutches 90 are mounted on the left side of the inner clutch carrier 30 behind the first annular clutch plate 34 . preferably , there are three linear one way clutches 90 disposed at equal 120 ° intervals around the inner clutch carrier 30 which engage a like number of first drive members , rods or shafts 92 which extend axially from the rear surface 94 of the first friction clutch plate 34 . it will be appreciated that additional one way clutches 90 and shafts 92 disposed in suitable equal circumferential intervals may be utilized but that use of fewer than three of the assemblies is not recommended . the first plurality of one way clutches 90 each include a first housing 96 and a plurality of , for example , pawls , sprags or balls 98 which couple and translate the first rods or shafts 92 and the first friction clutch plate 34 to the right in fig1 and 2 when the housings 96 are translated to the right by translation of the inner clutch carrier 30 but release the coupling between the housings 96 and the rods or shafts 92 when the housings 96 and the inner clutch carrier 30 are translated to the left . in a similar , symmetrical arrangement , a second plurality of linear one way or overrunning clutches 100 are mounted on the right side of the inner clutch member 30 behind the third annular clutch plate 52 . again , there are preferably three linear one way clutches 100 disposed in 120 ° intervals around the inner carrier 30 which engage a like number of second drive members , rods or shafts 102 which extend axially from the rear surface 104 of the third annular clutch plate 52 the second plurality of one way clutches 100 each include a second housing 106 and a plurality of pawls , sprags or balls 108 which couple and translate the second rods or shafts 102 and the third annular clutch plate 52 to the left in fig1 and 2 when the housings 106 are translated to the left by translation of the inner clutch carrier 30 but release the coupling between the second housings 106 and the rods or shafts 102 when the housings 106 and the inner clutch carrier 30 are translated to the right . the inner clutch carrier 30 includes a tubular or cylindrical extension or member 30 a at its end opposite the input shaft 14 which is coupled to an output of a single acting or bi - directional electric , hydraulic or pneumatic actuator or operator 110 . the actuator or operator 110 is secured to the housing 12 . an annular compression spring 112 which may take the form of a stack of spring washers such as wave washers or belleville springs or a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart coil compression springs or spring washers provides a biasing or restoring force to the inner clutch carrier 30 relative to the outer housing 22 which opposes the force and travel of the actuator or operator 110 . activation of the operator 110 thus translates the inner clutch carrier 30 , locks one of the one way clutches 90 or 100 and translates one of the annular clutch plates 34 or 52 while releasing the other one way clutch 90 or 100 and the associated annular clutch plate 34 or 52 . it will be appreciated that alternate configurations of the single acting or bi - directional operator 110 and spring 112 include a bi - directional actuator or operator which may eliminate the need for the spring 112 or an arrangement in which , for example , the spring 112 is utilized and the annular volume adjacent the right end 24 a of the outer carrier or housing 22 is pressurized with hydraulic fluid to achieve translation of the inner clutch carrier 30 . furthermore , it may be desirable to incorporate a linear position sensor which senses the instantaneous position of the inner clutch carrier 30 and provides a signal or data regarding same to an associated transmission control module ( tcm ) ( not illustrated ). the first annular clutch plate 34 also includes a radially extending first annulus 114 which is secured to a plurality of housings 118 of a plurality of third linear one way or overrunning clutches 120 . the plurality of third linear one - way clutches 120 include pawls , sprags or balls 122 which engage and release a plurality of axially disposed first control rods 124 . the plurality of third one way clutches 120 are configured to lock when the first annulus 114 ( and the first annular clutch plate 34 ) translates to the left in fig1 and 2 relative to the first control rods 124 and release when the first annulus 114 translates to the right relative to the first control rods 124 . a plurality of first compression springs 126 are received about the first control rods 124 between the housings 118 of the third one way clutches 120 and a plurality of stops 128 such as taper pins or c - washers and bias the first control rods 124 to the right relative to the third one way clutches 120 . a similar , symmetrical configuration is associated with the third annular clutch plate 52 which includes a radially extending second annulus 134 which is secured to a plurality of housings 138 of a plurality of fourth linear one - way or overrunning clutches 140 . the plurality of fourth one way clutches 140 include pawls , sprags or balls 142 which engage and release a like plurality of axially disposed second control rods 144 which are preferably axially aligned with the first control rods 124 . the fourth one way clutches 140 are configured to lock when the second annulus 134 ( and the third annular clutch plate 52 ) translates to the right in fig1 and 2 relative to the second control rods 144 and release when the second annulus 134 translates to the left relative to the second control rods 144 . a plurality of second compression springs 146 are received about the second control rods 144 between the housings 138 of the fourth one way clutches 140 and a plurality of stops 148 such as a taper pins or c - washers and bias the second control rods 144 to the left relative to the fourth one way clutches 140 . the spring constants ( rates ) of the first and the second compression springs 126 and 146 are the same . the second , intermediate clutch drive plate 38 includes , as noted , the radially extending drive disc 44 which extends beyond the axis of the control rods 124 and 144 . disposed between the adjacent ends of the first control rods 124 and the drive disc 44 are a plurality of third compression springs 152 and between the adjacent ends of the second control rods 144 and the drive disc 44 are a plurality of fourth compression springs 154 . the spring constants ( rates ) of the third and the fourth compression springs 152 and 154 are the same and are very much smaller than the spring constants of the first and the second compression springs 126 and 146 . the third and the fourth compression springs 152 and 154 provide a biasing or restoring force to the respective first and the second control rods 124 and 144 , driving them away from the drive disc 44 . the operation of the twin clutch assembly 20 will now be described with reference to fig1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 . in fig2 , the dual clutch assembly 20 is in neutral , the first , the second and the third clutch drive discs 34 , 38 and 52 are separated from the first and the second driven clutch plates 60 and 70 . there is , therefore , no drive torque being transmitted from the input shaft 14 to either of the first or the second countershafts 82 or 84 . in fig3 , the actuator 110 has been energized to translate the inner clutch carrier 30 to the left . the plurality of second linear one way clutches 100 lock the rods or shafts 102 to the inner carrier 30 and the third clutch drive plate 52 translates to the left to engage the second driven clutch plate 70 between the second and the third clutch drive plates 38 and 52 , thereby transferring drive torque from the input shaft 14 to the second drive tube , quill or output member 72 , the second output gear 76 , the second countershaft gear 78 and the second countershaft 84 . in fig4 , the actuator 110 has been energized to translate the inner clutch carrier 30 to the right , to disengage the second driven clutch plate 70 and engage the first driven clutch plate 60 . motion of the output of the actuator 110 , assisted by the compression spring 112 , translates the inner clutch carrier 30 to the right and releases engagement between the plurality of second one way clutches 100 and the second rods or shafts 102 . thus , the third clutch drive plate 52 translates to the right due to the force of the second compression spring 146 and the fourth compression spring 154 , such that no drive torque is transmitted therethrough . at the same time , the plurality of first linear one way clutches 90 lock the inner carrier 30 to the first rods or shafts 92 and the first clutch drive plate 34 translates to the right to engage the first driven clutch plate 60 between the first clutch drive plate 34 and the second clutch drive plate 38 , thereby transferring drive torque from the input shaft 14 to the first output shaft 62 , the first output gear 66 , the first countershaft gear 68 and the first countershaft 82 . in fig5 , the dual clutch assembly 20 returns to neutral as the actuator 110 centers the inner carrier 30 . the plurality of first linear one way clutches 90 thus release and the first and the third compression springs 126 and 152 translate the first clutch drive plate 34 to the left and disengage the first driven clutch plate 60 from the first and the second clutch drive plates 34 and 38 . at the same time , the plurality of second linear one way clutches 100 has locked and moves the third clutch drive plate 52 to the left to prepare for re - engagement and to compensate for wear . in this regard , note the separation between the clutch plates 34 , 60 , 38 , 70 and 52 in fig2 which represents a start - up or initial activation state and the separation in fig5 which represents an operational or self - adjusted state . in both figures , the separation has been exaggerated for purposes of explanation and understanding . it should be understood that , as noted , since the pluralities of linear one way or overrunning clutches 90 , 100 , 120 and 140 and the associated pluralities of rods or shafts 92 and 102 and the control rods 124 and 144 are discrete components , they will preferably and typically be disposed in threes or fours about the center axis of the clutch assembly 20 at equally spaced circumferential intervals of 120 ° or 90 °, respectively . it should also be understood that for reasons of clarity and explanation , certain of these components have been rotated into the viewing plane in the various drawing figures . the actuator 110 is , however , preferably an annular component that surrounds the shafts or quills of the clutch assembly 20 and includes ( if hydraulic or pneumatic ) an annular piston slidably disposed within an annular cylinder . the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention and the following claims .	5
fig1 shows a semiconductor gamma ray detector a in accordance with this invention . this radiation detector is comprised of a cylinder sized semiconductor 1 of high purity germanium crystal having been machined a deep hole 2 at the center of one end ( open end ) all the way close to the other end ( closed end ). a cut 3 was made at about the middle from the cylinder side all the way close to the center hole 2 that electrically separate the detector body to be two chambers of a and b , making the new final semiconductor crystal body to comprise of two coaxial structures series axially connected together . in this new invented detector structure , the entire center hole surface 6 becomes an electrode of the new detector a ( either an anode or a cathode ). the whole outside surface 5 a and 5 b of both the detector chamber a and b respectively , which is composed of the most outer part of the open end surface except small annular area that is close to the center hole , the whole cylinder side surface , the entire cutting surface of 3 , and the close end surface that also serves as the detector window of the detector crystal body , forms the other counter electrode of the detector a ( either the cathode or the anode respectively ). a small circular shallow groove 4 has been coaxially machined from the open end of the detector crystal just lay outside the center hole to cut the detector surface channel helping reduce detector surface leakage current . now the inner electrode is open at the center edge of the open end 7 and the outside electrode is open at the out edge of the shallow groove 8 . the entire surface of the small shallow circular groove and the small center annular remaining area of the open end becomes the surface area 9 of the detector that needed to be carefully passivated and seals the open ends 7 and 8 of both the inner and outer electrodes . by doing all these , both the detector chamber a and b will be able to deplete from the entire outside surface 5 a and 5 b respectively to the center electrode 6 , makes the depletion easier than a standard coaxial gamma ray detector configuration . the electrode area of the closed end 0 , that is serving as the window of the detector , needs to be made very thin if the detector needs to function at very low energy gamma ray spectrum side . the passivation layer 9 can be either a deposition layer of proper dielectric material thin film , e . g . sio 2 , or simply the native oxidized layer of the semiconductor material of the crystal surface . the electrode layers of 5 a , 5 b , and 6 can be either a deposition layers of proper metal materials , e . g . gold , palladium , etc , for a right arrangement of correct surface barriers , or simply the thin native semiconductor surface layers that been converted to be either p + layer for cathode or n + layer for anode using the techniques of ion implantation or diffusion etc . fig2 shows another semiconductor gamma ray detector b in accordance with this invention . this radiation detector is comprised of a cylinder sized semiconductor 11 of high purity germanium crystal having been machined a deep hole 12 at the center of one end ( open end ) all the way close to the other end ( closed end ). two deep cut 13 and 13 ′ were made at about the trisection from the cylinder side all the way close to the center hole 12 that electrically separate the detector body to be three chambers of a ′, b ′, and c ′, making the new final semiconductor crystal body to comprise of three coaxial structures series axially connected together . in this new invented detector structure , the entire center hole surface 16 becomes an electrode of the new detector b ( either an anode or a cathode ). the whole outside surface 15 a , 15 b , and 5 c of the detector chamber a ′, b ′, and c ′ respectively , which is composed of the most outer part of the open end surface except small annular area that is close to the center hole , the whole cylinder side surface , both the entire cutting surface of 13 and 13 ′, and the close end surface that also serves as the detector window of the detector crystal body , forms the other counter electrode of the detector b ( either the cathode or the anode respectively ). a small circular shallow groove 14 has been coaxially machined from the open end of the detector crystal just lay outside the center hole to cut the detector surface channel helping reduce detector surface leakage current . now the inner electrode is open at the center edge of the open end 17 and the outside electrode is open at the out edge of the circular shallow groove 18 . the entire surface of the small shallow circular groove and the small center annular remaining area of the open end becomes the surface area 19 of the detector that needed to be carefully passivated . by doing all these , all three detector chamber a ′, b ′, and c ′ will be able to deplete from the entire outside surface 15 a , 15 b , and 15 c respectively to the center electrode 16 , makes the depletion easier than a standard coaxial gamma ray detector configuration . the electrode area of the closed end 10 that is serving as the window of the detector need to be made to be very thin if the detector needs to function at very low energy gamma ray spectrum side . the passivation layer 19 can be either a deposition layer of proper dielectric material thin film , e . g . sio 2 , or simply the native oxidized layer of the semiconductor material . the electrode layers of 15 a , 15 b , 15 c and 16 can be either a deposition layers of proper metal materials , e . g . gold , palladium , etc , for a right arrangement of correct surface barriers , or simply the thin native semiconductor surface layers that been converted to be either p + layer for cathode or n + layer for anode using the techniques of ion implantation or diffusion etc . fig3 shows another three - chamber series configuration semiconductor gamma ray detector c in accordance with this invention . the thickness and diameter of the three chambers of this detector c are diverse that is different from detector b shown in fig2 , giving engineer an opportunity to optimize each detector structure in accordance with the semiconductor crystal overall property . the cylinder body shape of the middle chamber e of the detector c was even slightly tapered . this radiation detector is comprised of a cylinder sized semiconductor 21 of high purity germanium crystal having been machined a deep hole 22 at the center of one end ( open end ) all the way close to the other end ( closed end ). two deep cut 23 and 23 ′ were made from the cylinder side all the way close to the center hole 22 that electrically separate the detector body to be three chambers of d , e , and f , making the new final semiconductor crystal body to comprise of three different sized coaxial structures series axially connected together . in this new invented detector structure , the entire center hole surface 26 becomes an electrode of the new detector c ( either an anode or a cathode ). the whole outside surface 25 d , 25 e , and 25 f of the detector chamber d , e , and f respectively , which is composed of the most outer part of the open end surface except small annular area that is close to the center hole , the whole cylinder side surface , both the entire cutting surface of 23 and 23 ′, and the close end surface of the detector crystal body , forms the other counter electrode of the detector c ( either the cathode or the anode respectively ). a small circular shallow groove 24 has been coaxially machined from the open end of the detector crystal just lay outside the center hole to cut the detector surface channel helping reduce detector surface leakage current . now the inner electrode is open at the center edge of the open end 27 and the outside electrode is open at the out edge of the circular shallow groove 28 . the entire surface of the small shallow circular groove and the small remaining center annular area of the open end becomes the surface area 29 of the detector that needed to be carefully passivated and seals the open ends 27 and 28 of both the inner and outer electrodes . by doing all these , all three detector chamber d , e , and f will be able to deplete from the entire outside surface 25 d , 25 e , and 25 f respectively to the center electrode 26 , makes the depletion of the entire detector easier than a standard coaxial gamma ray detector configuration . the electrode area of the closed end 20 that is serving also as the window of the detector need to be made to be very thin if the final detector needs to function at very low energy gamma ray spectrum side . the passivation layer 29 can be either a deposition layer of proper dielectric material thin film , e . g . sio 2 , or simply the native oxidized layer of the semiconductor material . the electrode layers of 25 d , 25 e , 25 f and 26 can be either a deposition layers of proper metal materials , e . g . gold , palladium , etc , for a right arrangement of correct surface barriers , or simply the thin native semiconductor surface layers that been converted to be either p + layer for cathode or n + layer for anode using the techniques of ion implantation or diffusion etc . fig4 shows a concept semiconductor gamma ray detector d in accordance with this invention . this radiation detector is comprised of a cylinder sized semiconductor 31 of high purity germanium crystal having been machined a deep hole 32 at the center of one end ( open end ) all the way close to the other end ( closed end ). n deep cut 33 a , . . . , 33 j , 33 k , . . . , 33 y , and 13 z were made from the cylinder side all the way close to the center hole 32 that electrically separate the detector body to be ( n + 1 ) chambers of g , h , . . . i , j , k , . . . , y and z , making the new final semiconductor crystal body to comprise of ( n + 1 ) coaxial structures series axially connected together . in this new invented detector structure , the entire center hole surface 36 becomes an electrode of the new detector d ( either an anode or a cathode ). the whole outside surface 35 g , 35 h , . . . , 35 i , 35 j , 35 k , . . . , 35 y and 35 z of the detector chamber g , h , . . . , i , j , k , . . . , y and z respectively , which is composed of the most outer part of the open end surface except small annular area that is close to the center hole , the whole cylinder side surface , both the entire cutting surface of 33 g , 35 h , . . . , 33 j , 33 k , . . . , 33 y , and 13 z , and the close end surface that also serves as the detector window of the detector crystal body , forms the other counter electrode of the detector d ( either the cathode or the anode respectively ). a small circular shallow groove 34 has been coaxially machined from the open end of the detector crystal just lay outside the center hole to cut the detector surface channel helping reduce detector surface leakage current . now the inner electrode is open at the center edge of the open end 37 and the outside electrode is open at the out edge of the circular shallow groove 38 . the entire surface of the small shallow circular groove and the small remaining center annular area of the open end becomes the surface area 39 of the detector that needed to be carefully passivated that seals both the openings 37 and 38 of the inner and outer electrodes . by doing all these , all ( n + 1 ) detector chamber g , h , . . . , i , j , k , . . . , y and z will be able to deplete from the entire outside surface 35 g , 35 h , . . . , 35 i , 35 j , 35 k , . . . , 35 y and 35 z respectively to the center electrode 36 , makes the depletion easier than a standard coaxial gamma ray detector configuration . the electrode area of the closed end 30 that is serving as the window of the detector need to be made to be very thin if the detector needs to function at very low energy gamma ray spectrum side . the passivation layer 39 can be either a deposition layer of proper dielectric material thin film , e . g . sio 2 , or simply the native oxidized layer of the semiconductor material . the electrode layers of 35 g , 35 h , . . . , 35 i , 35 j , 35 k , . . . , 35 y and 35 z and 36 can be either a deposition layers of proper metal materials , e . g . gold , palladium , etc , for a right arrangement of correct surface barriers , or simply the thin native semiconductor surface layers that been converted to be either p + layer for cathode or n + layer for anode using the techniques of ion implantation or diffusion etc .	8
the high frequency generator of a control circuit board 8 is composed of a capacitance connecting three point type oscillator , an inductance connecting three point type oscillator , or a transformer - type oscillating circuit , which has the frequency of 35 khz to 3 . 3 mhz . the circuit includes a automatic frequency fine - adjusting circuit resonating with a piezoelectric element 20 . a nicotine solution storage container 13 is made of silicon rubber , alternatively , other polymers that can be protected against the penetration of nicotine can be used . a one - way valve for liquid injection 12 is sealed by a ball or cone member under the pressure of a spring . an airflow sensor 18 can be comprised of an array of integrated thermal sensitive resistors in the shape of film . the electrode of a resistance or capacitance sensor 19 , which is sensitive to touches of human body , is composed of an upper metal film and a lower metal film and located at the end of the cigarette holder . the changes of the resistance or capacitance parameters due to human touch are inputted into the control circuit to perform the operation of a body sensitive switch . the electric controlled pump 11 , driven by a motor or a linear motor , drives a retarder that has a large speed ratio , via a shaft coupling , to revolve at a low speed but with large torque . the pump can be a peristaltic pump , a plunger pump , an eccentric pump or a screw pump . alternatively , the liquid pump can use piezoelectric pump , a super magnetostrictive pump , a thermal expansion drive pump , a thermal contraction drive pump , a thermal bubble pump . the electric control pump or valve may be thermal contractible . the valve is formed on a silicon rubber tube by nickel - titanium memory alloy or copper - based memory alloy under the force of electro - thermal contractions . the electro - thermal vaporization nozzle 17 is made of high - temperature resistant materials with low thermal conductivity . the nozzle 17 is a tubule , with the internal diameter of a 0 . 05 - 2 mm and the effective working length of 3 - 20 mm . an electric heating element is provided within the nozzle , and the shapes of the electric heating element and the cavity of the nozzle are designed to facilitate vaporization and ejection of liquid . the vaporization nozzle 17 may be made of conventional ceramics , or be made of aluminum silicate ceramics , titanium oxide , zirconium dioxide , yttrium oxide ceramics , molten silicon , silicon dioxide , molten aluminum oxide . the vaporization nozzle 17 may be in the shape of straight tube or spiral , and may also be made from polytetrafluoethylene , carbon fiber , glass fiber or other materials with similar properties . the electric heating element arranged within the vaporization nozzle 17 may be made of wires of nickel chromium alloy , iron chromium aluminum alloy , stainless steel , gold , platinum , tungsten molybdenum alloy , etc ., and may be in the shape of straight line , single spiral , double spiral , cluster or spiral cluster wherein the straight line and cluster are preferred . the heating function of the electric heating element may be achieved by applying a heating coating on the inner wall of the tube , and the coating may be made from electro - thermal ceramic materials , semiconductor materials , corrosion - resistant metal films , such as gold , nickel , chromium , platinum and molybdenum . the method for coating can include a coat sintering process , a chemical deposition sintering process and an ion spraying process . the materials mentioned above can be provided within the inner wall of vaporization nozzle in any of the processes mentioned above . the nozzle with high resistance , made of metal , can have no electric heating element being attached , and can be directly applied with heating current . alternatively , the materials mentioned above can be arranged outside of the nozzle in any of the ways mentioned above , and an appropriate response time can also be achieved in the power supply mode of short - term preheating . nicotine solution used in the atomization process comprises nicotine , propylene glycol , glycerol , organic acids , anti - oxidation agents , essence , water and alcohol , in which the nicotine content is 0 . 1 %- 6 %, propylene glycol content 80 %- 90 %, organic acids 0 . 2 %- 20 %, the rest is glycerol , essence , anti - oxidation agents , water and alcohol . the structural diagram of the device shown in fig1 when a smoker puts the cigarette holder on his / her mouth , the resistance sensor 19 activates the control circuit board 8 . the control circuit board 8 then outputs two driving voltages respectively , one used to supply power to the electric heating element of the vaporization nozzle 17 and the other used to activate the micro pump 11 ( shown in fig6 ). the stored solution is then pumped to the nozzle 17 by the solution storage container 13 . on the electric heating element of the nozzle 17 , the nicotine solution is then vaporized into high temperature vapor which is subsequently ejected from the opening end . in the air , the vapor ejected out is then expanded and condensed into micro aerosol droplets . the effect of the ultrasonic piezoelectric element 20 mounting on the nozzle is that , firstly , the large liquid droplets in the unstable thermal airflow under high pressure will be in sufficient contact with the electric heating element , and thereby be vaporized . secondly , the liquid droplets in the nozzle 17 are directly fragmented and atomized . thirdly , possible bumping when the liquid is above a boiling point will be avoided . the effect of integrated atomization will allow aerosol droplets with diameters of 0 . 2 - 3 um to enter into the alveolus easily and be absorbed . the airflow sensor 18 is sensitive to the diluted air which enters through air inlet 16 when a “ suction ” action take places . the sensed signals are transmitted to the control circuit , and the control circuit then stop to supply power to the micro pump and the electric heater after a certain time delay . the relay relationship between the time delays of the micro pump and electric heater is as follows : after the electric heater is activated , the micro pump is activated after a time delay of 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 seconds ; the electric heater is then turned off after a time delay of 0 . 2 - 0 . 5 seconds when the control circuit of the micro pump is turned off , so as to guarantee a complete vaporization of the liquid after quantitative liquid injection without any leftovers . the nicotine solution container may be designed to be different sizes as required . the nicotine solution may be refilled once a day , or once a couple of days . the liquid crystal display screen 10 can show operating state parameters , such as cell capacity , smoking times per day , average using cycle and warnings for over smoking . a red led 3 blinks for each smoking action , and a sawtooth wave signal that lasts for 1 . 2 seconds is given by the control circuit for blinking signals , which provides a gradual change of luminance to imitate the ignition and combustion process of a conventional cigarette . the charger 1 , charging jack 2 , spring 4 , shell 6 , threads 7 , switch 9 , passage tube 14 and baffle plate 15 are shown in fig1 . the silicon gel tube 601 , pinch roller 602 , worm 603 and motor 604 are shown in fig6 . the control circuit and the ultrasonic micro pump may be integrated on one single chip by using a micro electronic mechanical system ( mems ). fig7 is a structural diagram of the simplified device in which the ultrasonic atomization high frequency generator and the piezoelectric ceramic element 20 are omitted . to achieve a desirable atomization effect , tiny heating wires are used in combination with the nozzle ( see fig3 ), so that the maximum diameters of one or more vaporization cavities formed between the heating wires and the inner wall of the nozzle range from 0 . 02 mm to 0 . 6 mm . the function of the airflow sensor 18 omitted is replaced by the manner that the initial signal of the resistance or capacitance sensor 119 is delayed a certain time via the control circuit and acts as the ending signal . the electronic cigarette is configured as follows : the vaporization nozzle 117 , the thermal drive pump 111 ( see fig5 ) made of nickel titanium memory alloy wire , and the liquid storage container 113 connected to the thermal drive pump constitute a liquid transmission system . two outputs of the control circuit board 108 are respectively connected to the electric heater and the pump or valve . a body sensitive resistance sensor 119 is connected to the input of the control circuit . the cell 105 and red led 103 are provided in the front end within the shell , and resemble a cigarette holder , a pipe or a pen . the thermal drive pump is an electro - thermal shrinkable peristaltic pump , made of wires of nickel titanium memory alloy or copper based alloy , with gel tube which is pressed at three points respectively during the process of electro - thermal contraction to form a pressure cavity for pumping out liquid . the change of volume of the cavity within the thermal drive pump determines the quantity of the solution to be atomized each time . upon contacting with user &# 39 ; s mouth , the resistance senor 119 activates the control circuit 108 , the control circuit 108 then provides operating current to the thermal drive pump and the electric heater , and the output of the control circuit is turned off after the delay of 2 seconds for reactivation at the next smoking action . alternatively , a thermal expansion drive pump or a thermal bubble pump is also applicable . the thermal expansion drive pump forms a pressure cavity for pumping out liquid by allowing a micro hydrogen container with an embedded electric heating element to block the liquid inlet and open the liquid outlet at the time of thermal expansion . the charging jack 102 , led 103 , cell 105 , switch 109 , liquid - refilling valve 112 and air hole 116 are shown in fig7 . the electrode lead wire 401 , heating wire 402 , thread 403 , base 404 and nozzle 405 are shown in fig3 . the support 501 , extension spring 502 , pumping - out pressure plate 503 , silicon gel tube 504 , stop pressure plate 505 , supporting spring 506 , memory alloy wire 507 , electrode a 508 , electrode b 509 and electrode 510 are shown in fig5 . fig8 is a structural diagram of the electronic cigarette . the electrothermal vaporization nozzle 217 of the device is connected to the liquid storage container 213 via a pneumatic valve 220 . the super elastic member 210 is connected to the pressure plate 211 which is connected to the liquid storage container 213 . the pneumatic valve is composed of a pneumatic film 214 , a magnetic steel ring 218 , a steel valve needle 220 and a reset spring 221 . the super elastic member 210 , which is made of ni — ti memory alloy , is used to apply a constant pressure on the liquid storage container via the pressure plate 211 . when the pneumatic valve opens , the liquid with nicotine enters the vaporization nozzle from the liquid storage container via the pneumatic valve and is vaporized and condensed subsequently to form a puff of smoke at high temperature . upon contacting with user &# 39 ; s mouth , the resistance sensor activates the control circuit to supply power to the electric heater . when the user performs suction action , the nd — fe — b permanent magnetic alloy ring attracts the valve needle to move in response to the pneumatic film being subjected to negative pressure . liquid is supplied when the valve needle opens , and after the pneumatic valve is reset , power supply to the electric heater is turned off after the delay of 0 . 5 seconds by the control circuit . the led 203 , charging jack 202 , cell 205 , control circuit 208 , switch 209 , refilling valve 212 , baffle plate 215 , air hole 216 and resistance sensor 219 are shown in fig8 in the device ( see fig9 ), the electro - thermal vaporization nozzle 317 , the electronic valve 311 connected with the metering cavity 320 , and the liquid storage container 313 form a liquid transmission passage . a gas vessel filled with high - pressure nitrogen is arranged around the periphery of the liquid storage container to exert pressure thereon to facilitate the transmission of the liquid . when a control signal is applied to the electronic valve , the electronic valve is activated , and the solution with nicotine enters the metering cavity from the liquid storage container under pressure . the solution pushes a piston so as to allow a constant volume of liquid at the other side of the piston to enter the vaporization nozzle via the electronic valve . the metering cavity provided at the valve is a cylinder having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet . located within the cylinder are the piston micro holes and the reset spring connected onto the piston . the control circuit which is activated by the resistance sensor 319 controls the states of the electronic valve and the electric heater respectively . due to slow infiltration of the micro hole of the piston in the metering cavity and the force of the reset spring , the piston returns to its original position within 5 - 8 seconds after each atomization process . the cell 305 , pressure vessel 321 , pressure chamber 322 , seal threaded - opening 323 , control circuit board 308 and air hole 316 are showed in fig9 . the silicon gel tube 406 , pressure - stopping plate 407 , memory alloy wires 408 , support 409 , electrode lead wire 410 and pressure spring 411 are shown in fig4 . the inlet 701 , piston 702 , micro hole of the piston 703 , metering cavity 704 , reset spring 705 and outlet 706 are shown in fig1 . 1 . 6 % nicotine , 85 % propylene glycol , 2 % glycerol , 2 % essence , 1 % organic acid and 1 % anti - oxidation agent . 2 . 4 % nicotine , 80 % propylene glycol , 5 % glycerol , 1 % butyl valerate , 1 % isopentyl hexonate , 0 . 6 % lauryl laurate , 0 . 4 % benzyl benzoate , 0 . 5 % methyl octynicate , 0 . 2 % ethyl heptylate , 0 . 3 % hexyl hexanoate , 2 % geranyl butyrate , 0 . 5 % menthol , 0 . 5 % citric acid and 4 % tobacco essence ; 3 . 2 % nicotine , 90 % propylene glycol , 2 . 5 % citric acid , 1 % essence and 4 . 5 % tobacco essence ; 4 . 0 . 1 % nicotine , 80 % propylene glycol , 5 % glycerol , 8 % alcohol , 2 . 9 % water , 1 % essence , 1 % tobacco essence and 2 % organic acid .	7
a c - arm x - ray device 1 shown in fig1 has components arranged in a known manner , with the differences in accordance with the invention described below . the c - arm x - ray device has a support 2 at which a c - arm 5 provided with an x - ray source 3 and an x - ray receiver 4 is seated . in the exemplary embodiment , the c - arm 5 is isocentrically adjustable ( see the double arrow ‘ a ’) along its circumference around its isocenter iz and its orbital axis o . together with the support 2 , the c - arm 5 is also isocentrically pivotable around its angulation axis a in the directions of the double arrow ‘ b ’. 2d and 3d images of subjects , for example patients , can be acquired with the c - arm x - ray device 1 and presented on a display device 6 . the devices required for this purpose , particularly an image computer , are implemented in a known way and are therefore not shown in fig1 and need not be explicitly described . particularly for medical applications , navigation - guided interventions at a patient ( not shown ) are to be implemented with the c - arm x - ray device 1 . for this reason , it is necessary to determine a coordinate transformation between a coordinate system k m that is allocated to a measurement of the c - arm x - ray device 1 , and has its origin in the isocenter iz of the c - arm x - ray device 1 in the exemplary embodiment , and a coordinate system k p allocated to a position acquisition system 10 ( schematically shown in fig1 ) wherein the coordinates of an instrument 11 to be navigated relative to a patient are defined . to this end , a support mount 20 to which a coordinate system k h1 is allocated is arranged at the support 2 of the c - arm x - ray device 1 . a carrying arm 21 that is removable from the support mount 20 is secured to the support mount 20 . an x - ray calibration phantom 22 is secured to the carrying arm 21 , with a coordinate system k r1 being allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 22 . the carrying arm 21 is arranged in a defined manner at the support mount 20 and the x - ray calibration phantom 22 is arranged in a defined manner at the carrying arm 21 so that the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h1 allocated to the support mount 20 and the coordinate system k r1 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 22 is known on the basis of the known dimensions of the carrying arm 21 . for determining the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k r1 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 22 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume of the c - arm x - ray device 1 , a series of 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom 22 is acquired from different projection directions by movement of the c - arm 5 around its orbital axis o . the x - ray calibration phantom 22 is arranged at the carrying arm 21 so that it is penetrated by an x - ray beam proceeding from the x - ray source 3 to the x - ray receiver 4 . the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k r1 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 22 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume of the c - arm x - ray device 1 is determined from the acquired series of 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom 22 . to this end , moreover , the x - ray calibration phantom 22 has x - ray - positive marks in a known way that are imaged in the 2d projections . the orientation of the x - ray - positive marks in the coordinate system k r1 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 22 is thereby known . since , thus , the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h1 allocated to the support mount 20 and the coordinate system k r1 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 22 , and the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k r1 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 22 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume of the c - arm x - ray device 1 , are known , the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h1 allocated to the support mount 20 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume can also be determined in a simple way . this latter transformation , for example , is stored in a memory ( not shown in fig1 ) of the c - arm x - ray device 1 . when the c - arm x - ray device 1 is to be utilized for navigation - guided interventions at a patient , the carrying arm 21 provided with the x - ray calibration phantom 22 is removed from the support mount 20 , and a marker plate ( not shown in fig1 but well known ) that is provided with markers is arranged in a defined manner at the support mount 20 of the c - arm x - ray device 1 thus the coordinate system k h1 allocated to the support mount 2 is also allocated to the marker plate in the exemplary embodiment . the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h1 allocated to the marker plate 20 and the coordinate system k p allocated to the position acquisition system can be determined from camera images acquired with cameras 12 , 13 of the position acquisition system 10 wherein the marker plate is imaged , so that — overall — the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k m allocated to the c - arm x - ray device 1 and the coordinate system k p allocated to the position acquisition system can be determined , for example with a computer ( not shown in fig1 ). this computer can be allocated to the position acquisition system 10 or can be the image computer ( likewise not shown in fig1 ) of the c - arm x - ray device 1 . camera images are acquired of the instrument 11 , provided with a marker plate 14 having markers during the course of a navigation - guided intervention . the positions of the instrument 11 with respect to the coordinate system k p allocated to the position acquisition system 10 thus can be determined on the basis of the camera images , and these can be can be transformed into coordinates of the coordinate system k m of the measurement volume on the basis of the identified coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k p allocated to the position acquisition system 10 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume . for guidance of the instrument 11 relative to a patient , images of the instrument 11 can be mixed into x - ray images of the patient acquired with the c - arm x - ray device 1 . fig2 illustrates a second possibility for determining a coordinate transformation between a coordinate system allocated to a measurement volume of a c - arm x - ray device and a coordinate system allocated to the c - arm x - ray device itself without the use of markers in the registration . the c - arm x - ray device shown in fig2 essentially corresponds to the c - arm x - ray device shown in fig1 , so the components of the c - arm x - ray device are provided with the same reference characters . differing from the c - arm x - ray device 1 shown in fig1 , the c - arm x - ray device 1 shown in fig2 has a support mount 30 arranged at the radiation receiver 4 . the support mount 30 has a coordinate system k h2 allocated to it . a carrying arm 31 at which an x - ray calibration phantom 32 is arranged in a defined way is arranged at the support mount 30 in a defined way . the x - ray calibration phantom 32 is releasably attached to the carrying arm 31 . like the x - ray calibration phantom 22 , the x - ray calibration phantom 32 has x - ray - positive marks ( not shown ). the orientation of these marks relative to a coordinate system k r2 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 32 is known . due to the defined arrangements of the carrying arm 31 at the support mount 30 and the x - ray calibration phantom 32 at the carrying arm 31 , as well as due to the known dimensions of the carrying arm 31 , the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h2 allocated to the support mount 30 and the coordinate system k r2 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 32 is known . as can be seen from fig2 , the x - ray calibration phantom 32 is arranged at a stand 33 standing on the floor in addition to being arranged at the carrying arm 31 . the arrangement of the x - ray calibration phantom 32 at the stand 33 does not ensue until after the fastening of the carrying arm 31 provided with the x - ray calibration phantom 32 to the support mount 30 . in the present exemplary embodiment , the stand 33 is ( in a way not shown in detail ) height - adjustable , and is adjustable around ball - and - socket joints 34 , 35 for this purpose . for acquiring 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom 32 from different projection directions , the carrying arm 31 is released from the x - ray calibration phantom 32 and thus from the support mount 30 , but the orientation of the x - ray calibration phantom 32 does not change relative to the support mount 30 nor relative to the c - arm x - ray device 1 , so that the transformation rule between the coordinate system k h2 allocated to the support mount 30 and the coordinate system k r2 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 32 , which is known due to the defined arrangement of the x - ray calibration phantom 32 at the carrying arm 31 and of the carrying arm 31 at the support mount 30 , is preserved . for determining the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k r2 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 32 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume of the c - arm x - ray device 1 , a series of 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom 32 from different projection directions is acquired − after the removal of the carrying arm 31 − by movement of the c - arm 5 around its orbital axis . the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k r2 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 32 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement of the c - arm x - ray device 1 is then determined from the acquired series of 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom 32 . since , thus , the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h2 allocated to the support mount 30 and the coordinate system k r2 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 32 and the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k r2 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 32 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume of the c - arm x - ray device 1 are known , the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h2 allocated to the support mount 30 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume can also be determined in a simple way . this latter transformation can be stored in a memory ( not shown in fig2 ) of the c - arm x - ray device 1 . a marker plate detectable by the position acquisition system 10 is arranged at the support mount 30 in a defined manner so that — as in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 — the coordinate system k h2 allocated to the support mount 30 can also be allocated to the marker plate . a transformation rule between the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume and a coordinate system allocated to a position acquisition system thus can be determined . as a result , the pre - conditions are established for mixing images of an instrument into x - ray images of , for example , a patient acquired with the c - arm x - ray device 1 . fig3 illustrates a third possibility for determining a coordinate transformation between a coordinate system allocated to a c - arm x - ray device and a coordinate system allocated to the measurement volume of the c - arm x - ray device . the c - arm x - ray device shown in fig3 corresponds to the c - arm x - ray device 1 shown in fig1 and fig2 , so that the components of the c - arm x - ray device shown in fig3 are provided with the same reference characters as the components of the c - arm x - ray device 1 shown in fig1 and 2 . the c - arm x - ray device 1 shown in fig3 differs from the c - arm x - ray devices 1 shown in fig1 and 2 by virtue of a support mount 40 , to which a coordinate system k h3 is allocated , being arranged at the x - ray source 3 . a carrying arm 41 is arranged at the support mount 40 in a defined way and an x - ray calibration phantom 42 is arranged at the carrying arm 41 in a defined way . like the x - ray calibration phantoms 22 and 32 , the x - ray calibration phantom 42 has x - ray - positive marks whose orientation relative to a coordinate system k r3 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 42 is known . due to the defined arrangements of the carrying arm 41 at the support mount 40 and the x - ray calibration phantom 42 at the carrying arm 41 as well as due to the known dimensions of the carrying arm 41 , the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h3 allocated to the support mount 40 and the coordinate system k r3 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 42 is known . for determining the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h3 allocated to the support mount 40 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume , and before the carrying arm 41 provided with the x - ray calibration phantom 42 is arranged at the support mount 40 , the x - ray calibration phantom 42 or some other x - ray calibration phantom is arranged relative to the c - arm x - ray device 1 independently of the carrying arm 41 , for example on any kind of substrate , so that an x - ray beam emanating from the x - ray source 3 can penetrate the x - ray calibration phantom . the x - ray calibration phantom 42 is employed in the exemplary embodiment . a first series of 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom 42 is acquired from different projection directions by moving the c - arm 5 around the orbital axis o , for example along its circumference . first projection matrices for the c - arm x - ray device 1 are determined therefrom and deposited in a memory of the c - arm x - ray device 1 . subsequently , the carrying arm 41 provided with the x - ray calibration phantom 42 is arranged at the support mount 40 , as shown in fig3 . a 2d projection of the x - ray calibration phantom 42 is now acquired at an arbitrarily selectable but defined position of the c - arm 5 . the only requirement is that c - arm this c - arm position must be a position of the c - arm 5 that this assumed in the acquisition of a 2d projection of the first series of 2d projections . a second projection matrix belonging to this position of the c - arm 5 is determined from this 2d projection . based on the known coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h3 allocated to the support mount 40 and the coordinate system k r3 allocated to the x - ray calibration phantom 42 as well as based on a first projection matrix that is allocated to the defined position of the c - arm 5 , determined during the course of determining the first projection matrices , and based on the second projection matrix that is allocated to the defined position of the c - arm 5 , the coordinate transformation between the coordinate system k h3 allocated to the support mount 40 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement of the c - arm x - ray device 1 is calculated . the calculation thereby ensues on the basis of the following equation : p 1 = p 2 * t ( k h3 ; k r3 ) * t ( k h3 ; k m ), wherein p 1 is the first projection matrix that is allocated to the defined position of the c - arm 5 , p 2 is the second projection matrix that is allocated to the defined position of the c - arm 5 , and t ( k h3 ; k r3 ) is the known transformation rule between the coordinate systems k h3 and k r3 . t ( k h3 ; k m ) is the sought transformation rule between the coordinate systems k h3 and k m . by resolution of the projection matrix p 1 into an extrinsic component and an intrinsic component as well as by resolution of the projection matrix that proceeds from a matrix multiplication of the projection matrix p 2 by the transformation rule t ( k h3 ; k r3 ) into an intrinsic component and extrinsic component , the transformation rule t ( k h3 ; k m ) can be composed of a rotary component and a translational component that are formed from the extrinsic components of the resolutions of the projection matrices . accordingly , the transformation rule between the coordinate system k h3 allocated to the support mount 40 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume can be determined in this way , so that the preconditions are established for being able to mix images of an instrument into x - ray images of , for example , a patient acquired with the c - arm x - ray device 1 , with the assistance of a position acquisition system , for example the position acquisition system 10 of fig1 . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig3 , moreover , second projection matrices can be acquired in a number of defined positions of the c - arm 5 on the basis of 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom 42 acquired at these position in order to determine the transformation rule between the coordinate system k h3 allocated to the support mount 40 and the coordinate system k m allocated to the measurement volume . it must be noted , however , that the second projection geometries of the c - arm x - ray device 1 may possibly be modified by the weight of the carrying arm 41 and of the x - ray calibration phantom 42 . this would then require an additional calibration of the c - arm x - ray device 1 with the carrying arm and the x - ray calibration phantom 42 arranged thereat . in the exemplary embodiments , the c - arm 5 is moved around its orbital axis o in order to acquire 2d projections of the x - ray calibration phantom . the c - arm 5 alternatively can be moved around its angulation axis a for acquiring 2d projections . further , the x - ray device need not necessarily be a c - arm x - ray device . the arrangements of the support mounts 20 , 30 and 40 as described in the exemplary embodiments are examples . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 , for example , the support mount 20 alternatively can be arranged in a component of the c - arm x - ray device 1 that is immobile during the acquisition of the 2d projections . in the case of the exemplary embodiment shown in fig2 , further , the support mount 30 alternatively can be arranged at the x - ray source 3 or at the c - arm 5 . the situation is the same in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig3 . 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 .	0
the exercise machine illustrated in fig1 through 4 has a support base 2 , a pair of support legs 18 , three pivotable support beams 5 , 6 , 7 , a padded seat 16 , two padded backs 22 , 24 , two telescopic support beams 20 , 31 , a telescopic arm 3 , a pivotal fork 4 , a pair of pivotal arms 9 , a two piece pivotal leg 35 , 40 , two pairs of padded rollers 8 , four sets of three pulleys 12 , 13 , and three resistance bands 56 . the support legs 18 are permanently connected to the support base 2 . the support base is tubular to allow the telescopic arm 3 to insert inside , as shown in fig7 . the telescopic arm 3 is able to slide in and out of the support base 2 and can be locked into place by a snap pin 26 , which is permanently connected to the right side of the support base , as shown in fig6 and 7 . this telescopic arm can be adjusted to fixed lengths for use in a variety of different exercises . there is a stay 49 with a snap pin 53 permanently connected to the top end of the telescopic arm ( fig6 ). a pivotal fork 4 is then pivotally connected to the telescopic arm 3 by the stay 49 permanently attached to the rear of the telescopic arm . the snap pin 53 on the say 49 allows the pivotal fork to be locked in four different angles , as shown in fig7 . each angle may be used for a different exercise , the two pivotal arms are pivotally connected to the stays 23 on the ends of each fork arm , as shown in fig5 and 6 . a snap pin 14 is also permanently attached to the stay 23 on the end of each of the fork arms of the pivotal fork 4 ( fig6 ). the snap pin 14 allows the pivotal arm 9 to be adjusted and locked to different angles , as shown in fig5 . a set of pulleys 13 are attached to each pivotal fork stay 23 by a pin 29 that also allows the pivotal arm 9 to pivot , as shown in fig6 . another set of three pulleys 12 is connected to stays 15 at the end of each pivotal arm 9 ( fig5 ). an oversized pulley 11 is permanently connected to the pivotal fork base , as shown in fig5 , and 7 . there are three sets of resistance bands 56 that thread through the pulleys 12 at the end of the pivotal arm 9 . the bands 56 then run down the pivotal arm 9 and the arm support , or fork 4 , around the oversized pulley 11 and return down the other fork arm and pivotal arm 9 and thread through the pulleys 12 at the end of the pivotal arm , as shown in fig6 . a rubber stopper near the ends of the resistance bands keep the bands from pulling back through the pulleys . at the very ends of each resistance band are eye hooks 76 , as shown in fig6 . these eye hooks 76 allow a handle / ankle strap to clip on so a user can use one , two or all three resistance bands during exercise . the pulleys allow the smooth flow of the resistance bands while any given exercise is being performed . the padded seat 16 and back 22 are pivotally connected to the support base 2 by three pivotal support beams 5 , 6 , and 7 , as illustrated in fig2 . the support base 2 has three sets of stays 33 , 84 , and 85 permanently connected at given areas . a pin through the pivotal support beams and stays connect them in a pivotal manner . the main ( middle ) support beam 5 may be locked vertically or unlocked to fold horizontally by screwing or unscrewing a jam nut 25 . when locked vertically the exercise machine is in an operative state , as shown in fig3 and 4 . when the jam nut 25 is unlocked , the main support beam 5 , along with the two outer support beams 6 , 7 , can be pivotally folded flat or nearly flat on top of the support base 2 . in this position the exercise machine is in an inoperative state , as shown in fig2 . the top of the main pivotal support beam 5 has a pair of braces 52 . the padded seat beam 16 and main padded back beam 22 are pivotally connected to main pivotal support beam 5 by pins through holes 50 and 59 , as shown in fig2 . the two outer pivotal support beams ( 6 and 7 ) are tubular to allow the insertion of telescopic beams 20 and 31 . the front telescopic beam 20 is pivotally connected to the stay 82 on the padded seat beam 16 . the rear telescopic beam is pivotally connected to the stay 83 on the main padded back beam 22 , as shown in fig2 . the two outer support beams 6 and 7 , both have a snap pin attached at the top , as shown in fig3 . the snap pin 34 on the rear support beam allows the inserted telescopic beam 31 to adjust the padded back to any of the four given angles , as shown in fig3 . the snap pin 41 on the front support beam 16 allows the inserted telescopic beam to adjust the padded seat to any of the three given angles , also shown in fig3 . the padded seat comes in two pieces , which allows the padded back to be folded in half . this allows the exercise machine to be compact and portable , as shown in fig2 . the padded back therefore has an operative and inoperative state . in an inoperative state , the second half of padded back 24 is folded on top of the main padded back 22 and locked into place by a jam nut 78 , as shown in fig9 . the padded back can be put into an operative state by : ( 1 ) unscrewing the jam nut 78 ; ( 2 ) pivoting the second half of padded back 24 180 °; ( 3 ) one must then remove the pin from hole 57 , thus allowing the small telescopic arm 81 to drop into the notched housing 44 attached to the rear of the main padded back 22 . the second half of padded back 24 is now in a linear plane with the main padded back 22 ; ( 4 ) the pin is then replaced through both hole 66 and 10 in the notched housing 44 ; ( 5 ) the jam nut 78 is then locked down to secure the padded back in an operative state . connected in front of the padded beam 16 , are two padded rollers 8 , one on each side of padded seat , as illustrated in fig1 and 4 . these padded rollers will aid in keeping the underside of the users leg in comfort while exercising . at the end of the padded seat beam 16 are two braces 33 . these braces pivotally connect the two piece pivotal leg 35 and 40 to the padded seat beam , by a pin in hole 28 ( fig4 ). the pivotal leg is made up of two pieces , with main pivotal leg 35 being able to fit snugly inside the three - sided pivotal leg brace 40 . the main pivotal leg 35 has a pair of padded rollers 8 protruding from the bottom ( fig1 ). these padded rollers are used to comfort the feet during exercise . the pivotal leg brace 41 is shorter in length to allow the main pivotal leg 35 to pivot in and out of it without conflict with the padded rollers 8 , a shown in fig8 . the pivotal leg brace 41 also has a hook 21 , which allows the resistance band ( s ) 56 to be hooked on when performing any leg exercise . in an inoperative state , the two piece pivotal leg is locked at a 25 ° angle to the padded seat beam by putting a pin through both pieces of the pivotal leg and hole 61 , as shown in fig2 . while in an operative state , the two piece pivotal leg can be locked into four different positions . the first position is a sit - up position . a pin is put through hole 30 , thus locking the two piece pivotal leg at a 90 ° angle to the padded seat . the seat angle is changed to f and the padded back angle is set at angle b , all shown in fig3 . this allows the user to perform sit - ups . the second position is for the exercise leg extension . a pin is placed in hole 54 . the seat angle is set at angle f , shown in fig3 . the padded back is then set at angle d ( fig3 ). the eye hook 76 of the resistance band 56 is then hooked onto hook 21 of the pivotal leg brace 40 . a user can then be seated and place his or her feet behind the padded rollers 8 and perform the leg extension exercise . the third position is when the main pivotal leg 35 is placed at a 90 ° angle ( or close to 90 °) to the pivotal leg brace 40 . this angel can be locked into place by placing a pin through hole 45 . the seat angle is set at e ( fig3 ). the padded back is set at angle a ( fig3 ). the resistance band eye ( s ) 76 are then hooked onto the hook on the other pivotal leg brace 410 . the user then lies on the bench on his or her stomach , placing the heals of each foot on the underside of the padded rollers 8 on the main pivotal leg 35 . a leg curl exercise can now be performed . the last position is to change the position of the exercise machine itself . a pin is placed in hole 30 . the seat angle is set at angel g ( fig3 ). the padded back is set at either angle a or b ( fig3 ). the exercise machine is now placed in an upright position , as shown in fig1 . the padded rollers 8 , on the pivotal leg 35 , 40 , now become the front leg supports themselves . the stoppers 17 on the end of the padded rollers 8 aid in support , as shown in fig1 . in this position the pivotal fork 4 and pivotal arms 9 can be set for a variety of exercises . fig8 through 51 illustrate a second embodiment of exercise machine . the support base l00 includes a frame bar 102 and laterally extending base elements 104 and 106 . rollers 108 enhance portability . a base extension 110 is slidably extendable from the frame bar 102 and may be locked by a locking element 112 . the components associated with the main frame include a seat 114 mounted on a seat support bar 116 . a seat back 118 also includes a support bar 120 . the seat back 118 is illustrated in a single piece . the seat 114 relies on a padded element 122 rather than a second set of rollers . a leg 124 is selectively pivotally mounted at one end of the seat 114 . the leg 124 is provided as an assembly including a first portion and a second portion . the first portion 126 is a leg extension adapter which is a channel to receive the second leg portion 128 . the second leg portion 128 is a bar extending beyond the length of the first portion 126 to receive a mounting rod 130 which in turn mounts rollers 132 to the distal end of the second portion 128 . the first portion 126 , the second portion 128 and a bracket 134 located on the end of the seat support bar 116 allow for various combinations of movement of the leg 124 relative to the seat support bar 116 . the first portion 126 and the second portion 128 may be held together and fixed so as not to pivot . these elements may also be arranged at 90 ° and allowed to pivot . the second leg portion 128 may also be constrained from lowering below a horizontal extension from the seat 114 . the articulated support linkage provides and positions the seat support bar 116 and the seat back support bar 120 . the linkage further provides a main beam 136 which is pivotally mounted to the support base 100 and to both the support bars 116 and 120 . a stay 138 on the frame bar 102 both pivotally receives the main beam 136 and allows for it to be pivotally locked by means of a locking element 140 . a bracket 142 on the other end of the main beam 136 cooperates with the support bars 116 and 120 to pivotally pin each of these element thereto . the main beam 136 does not elongate . a front beam 144 is also pivotally mounted between the frame bar 102 and the seat support bar 116 . the front beams 144 is extendable through a telescoping insert 146 . the beam 144 is coupled with the seat support bar 116 at a distance from either end of the bar . similarly , a rear beam 148 is pivotally coupled between the frame bar 102 and an inner point on the seat back support bar 120 . the rear beam 148 is extendable with an insert 150 . an arm support 152 in the form of a fork is pivotally mounted to a stay 154 which is in turn fixed on the base extension 110 of the support base 100 . this portion of the articulated support linkage provides for pivotal movement of the arm support 152 from a position extending substantially along the support base to one extending outwardly perpendicular to the base extension 110 . intermediate positions may also be chosen . arms 156 and 158 are pivotally mounted at the outer ends of the arm support 152 . the arms 156 and 158 pivot about axes which are perpendicular to a plane extending through the mounting axis for the arm support 152 on the support base 100 . this arrangement effectively allows the arms 156 and 158 to move toward one another or away from one another laterally of the centerline of the device . the arms are curved to permit them to closely approach the support base 100 in one of the several orientations of the system . as with the first embodiment , a plurality of pulleys 160 are arranged on the arm support 152 and the arms 156 and 158 . the outer pulleys 160 found on the arms 156 and 158 receive the ends of the resistance elements 56 . the resistance elements are kept from withdrawing from the pulleys 160 by enlarged ends . the elements 56 extend from the outer pulleys 160 on the arms 156 and 158 through the other pulleys . attachment eyes are provided on the ends of the resistance elements for attachment to elements for resistance to exercise movements . hand grips 162 are provided with the equipment . they typically include a rigid gripping portion 164 and an attachment clip 166 for attaching to one or more of the resistance elements 56 . turning to the several positions possible with the machine as described , a storage position is illustrated in fig1 . the storage position illustrates that the arms 156 and 158 extend substantially along the support base 100 . further , the base extension 110 is telescoped inwardly to present the shortest link . the seat 114 and the seat back 118 are arranged to be substantially coplanar . they are also compactly placed adjacent the support base 100 in a parallel arrangement through a pivoting of the main beam 136 , the front beam 144 and the rear beam 148 . the leg 124 is pivoted upwardly from a vertically depending position so as to extend from the seat structure down to the support base 100 in the most compact way . thus , the several articulated support linkage elements presents a storage position which is thin , compact and of a minimum length . the locking element 140 may be employed with the stay 138 to lock the machine in the storage position . in fig1 - 15 , a sit - up exercise position is illustrated . the articulated support linkage again is arranged with the seat 114 and seat back 118 in a coplanar orientation . however , the beams 136 , 144 and 148 have been rotated to a vertical position . the leg 124 has been positioned to extend vertically downwardly from the seat 114 and a locking element 168 has been associated with the bracket 134 to retain the leg 124 in that position . the arms 156 and 158 may remain in the compact position at the support base 100 . the rollers 132 provide a position to comfortably engage the feet for purposes of performing sit - ups . in fig1 - 18 , a leg curl exercise position is achieved . again , the arms 156 and 158 may remain in the compact orientation of the prior positions . the seat 114 and seat back 118 remain coplanar and parallel to the support base 100 . the leg 124 is changed such that the first portion 126 is pivotally locked relative to the second portion 128 in a substantially 90 ° angle . thus , the second portion 128 extends substantially horizontally at rest . the first portion 126 depends substantially vertically in the rest position . the ends of the resistance elements 56 are hooked to the eyelet 170 . the number of resistance elements employed determines the amount of force required to perform the leg curl . if there are three such resistance elements associated with the arms 156 and 158 , any number of ends from one to six may be hooked to the eyelet 170 with each addition providing an incremental increase in resistance force . turning to fig2 - 24 , a leg extension exercise position is illustrated . this arrangement again has the arms 156 and 158 positioned adjacent the support base 100 . the rear beam 148 is extended and locked in position by a locking element 172 such that the seat back 118 is arranged at an oblique angle with the seat 114 . the leg 124 is arranged with the first portion 126 and the second portion 128 locked together by a locking pin 174 . the leg 124 is arranged to depend vertically downwardly in the rest position . resistance elements again may be attached to the eyelet 170 as in the prior position . a bent over row exercise position is illustrated in fig2 - 24 . a hand grip 162 is added to the equipment with the seat 114 and seat back 118 in a coplanar horizontal position . the resistance elements are attached to the hand grip 162 to provide resistance force . in this exercise position , only the ends of the resistance elements terminating at one of the arms may be employed . in fig2 - 26 , a seated arm curl exercise position is illustrated . the seat back 118 is oriented as in the leg extension exercise position while the arms 156 and 158 may be pivoted outwardly to an appropriate and comfortable position . this position is likely also to apply to the bent over row exercise position . with the machine remaining in the seated arm curl exercise position , leg abduction ( outer ) and leg abduction ( inner ) may be performed through the use of leg bands rather than the hand grips 162 employed with the seated arm curls exercise position . multipurpose grips may also apply . these further exercises are illustrated in fig2 - 30 . a slightly different orientation of the system as employed for the seated arm curls is used for the lateral arm raise exercise position as illustrated in fig3 - 32 . the arms 156 and 158 are shown to be rotated outwardly to match the greater spread of the arms as employed with this exercise . the seated row exercise position is illustrated in fig3 - 35 . the seat back 118 is most conveniently in a horizontal position . the arm support 152 is pivoted about the horizontal axis transverse to the frame bar 102 so that it extends upwardly from the support base 100 . the arms 156 and 158 are pivotally positioned about the axes arranged perpendicularly to a plane extending through the mounting axis for the arm support 152 to best adjust to the user &# 39 ; s most comfortable width . the base extension 110 is adjusted outwardly and held in place by the locking element 112 so as to provide a comfortable initial position for the user . hand grips 162 are associated with the two ends of the resistance elements so that a uniform resistance force is created . as can be seen in the detail , a locking element 176 provides for retention of the vertical orientation of the arm support 152 . a number of the following exercises are performed by tipping the entire mechanism upwardly so that the support base 100 extends vertically . to achieve stability , the base element 104 is positioned at the end of the frame bar 102 . further , the leg 124 is locked in position vertically depending from the seat 114 . thus , the rollers 132 cooperate with the base element 104 to provide a stable support position . through extension of the front beam 144 , the seat 114 may be reoriented to a perpendicular position relative to the vertical frame bar 102 . a locking element 178 retains the extension of the front beam 144 . in fig3 - 37 , a tricep extension exercise position is illustrated with the arm support 152 arranged to extend outwardly from the support base 100 and with the arms 156 and 158 shown in their rotated inwardly position . hand grips 162 link with resistance elements . fig3 - 39 illustrate a lat pull down exercise position which is the same as the prior tricep extension exercise position but for the rotation of the arms 156 and 158 away from one another to an outward position which gives the appropriate spread for the exercise . the military press exercise position ( fig4 - 41 ) and the bench press exercise position ( fig4 - 43 ) vary from the prior position through the rotation of the arm support 152 downwardly to again lie against the support base 100 . the arms 156 and 158 may be rotated to a comfortable position to provide the appropriate spread . the press position is then available for both the military press and the bench press exercises . to achieve the butterfly exercise position , the arms 156 and 158 are simply expended to their full lateral extension as illustrated in fig4 - 45 . finally , the machine may be again tipped to have the support base 100 extending horizontally . if the seat has not been changed from the press position , it remains out of the way for use of a standing position at the front end of the support base 100 . the leg 124 may be rotated fully out of the way as can be seen in fig4 - 51 . by standing on the base element 104 , the machine is insured to remain on the ground as various standing exercises may be performed . as shown in these figures , a calf raise exercise , an upright row exercise and a squat exercise may be performed with the device in this orientation . a most convenient cycle of exercises with the least number of adjustments is understood to be performed by progressing through the exercises in the order of the figures as presented here . thus , a versatile system providing for a large number of exercises and for a compact storage position is disclosed . while embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described , it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the invention , therefore is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims .	0
fig1 shows a database system that includes a database 8 and a processor 4 ( central processing unit ( cpu ) and memory ) that stores and executes software for a database management system ( dbms ) 6 and a version control system 10 . a computing device 2 containing processor 4 in one example is a server . such systems are also referred to as database servers . the processor 4 may be a single cpu or multiple cpus that operate in the server 2 . the database 8 is typically stored on a plurality of direct access storage devices ( dasds ) although only one such device is illustrated in fig1 . the dasds may be , for example , disk packs , and it is understood by those skilled in the art that the database system includes the required dasd controllers and channels that establish the communication between the database 8 and the processor 4 . in another example , the database ( 8 ) may be stored inside the main memory ( 4 ) itself . terminals 1 are any input / output ( i / o ) device that accepts requests from and returns results to database users . for example , the terminals may be personal computers ( pcs ) or applications that use the advertised application programmer interface ( api ). transactions and queries are submitted from the terminals 1 and are processed concurrently by the dbms 6 . different versions of data in the database 8 are maintained by the version control system 10 . fig2 describes the version control system 10 in more detail . the logical table 12 contains a set of logical tuples 14 . each logical tuple 14 points either directly to a physical content item 18 in the physical table 16 or points to a version - list 20 . for example , logical tuple 14 a contains a pointer that points directly to physical content item 18 a , and logical tuple 14 b contains a pointer that points to version - list 20 . logical tuple 14 contains a flag field 222 that indicates whether the logical tuple points to a version - list or directly to a physical tuple . exclusive locks ( x - locks ) 302 are associated with the logical tuples 14 and indicate that a write operation from one transaction has locked out write operations from other transactions from accessing that same logical tuple . these locks are managed by the dbms . for example , x - lock 302 b in the lock manager 300 from one transaction prevents write operations under other transactions from accessing logical tuple 14 b . any operation , that can access a logical tuple 14 , first checks whether an associated version - list exists by checking the version - list flag 222 in the logical tuple 14 . the operation that accesses a logical tuple with the version - list flag 222 set goes to the associated version - list . the physical table space 16 contains physical tuples alternatively referred to as content items . when a write operation is complete on a data record , but before its owner transaction commits , the data record ( the logical tuple ) has two physical versions in the physical table space . a committed content item is available only to read operations , and a pending content item is available only to the write transaction that created it . for example , logical tuple 14 b was modified by a write operation . the writer created a copy 18 b ′ from the original committed content item 18 b for the logical tuple 14 b . the committed content item 18 b is available to any read operation . however , the pending content item 18 b ′ is available only to the write transaction that created the pending content item 18 b ′. the tuple version - list 20 consists of three fields . ( 1 ) an “ owner id ” field contains the unique identifier of the transaction that created the version - list 20 . for example , the transaction id ( xid ) for the write transaction that created pending content item 18 b ′ is located in owner id field 22 . ( 2 ) a “ committed content item ” field 24 contains a pointer to the physical committed content item 18 b in the physical table space 16 . ( 3 ) a “ pending content item ” field 26 points to the pending content item 18 d ′ in the physical table space 16 . fig3 shows the database when there is no active transaction associated with a particular physical content item 18 a . in this condition , the logical tuple 14 a points directly to the committed content item 18 a and there is no tuple version - list 20 . for example , the address value in logical tuple 14 a points directly to the address location where the physical tuple 18 a is located in the physical table space 16 . the physical content items 18 have an associated deleted flag 30 , an allocated flag 32 and a reference count 34 . the deleted flag 30 is used to mark physical content items for deletion . the allocated flag 32 is used to identify that the space is currently allocated . the reference count 34 identifies the number of read operations currently referencing the physical content item . any one of an insert , delete or update is referred to generally as a write operation 38 . all operations , including read operations , occur under transactions with associated xids . when a write operation 38 creates a logical tuple , it goes through the following steps . insert operation 38 creates a new physical content item 18 b in the physical table space 16 , and also creates the associated version - list 20 . then it creates a new logical tuple 14 b which points to the version - list 20 . the owner id field 22 in the version - list 20 contains the transaction id ( xid ) 36 for the write operation 38 . the committed content item field 24 is set to null and the pending content item field 26 points to the newly inserted physical content item 18 b . this completes the insertion of a new logical tuple into the table space . a table - scan by some transaction , other than the above mentioned write transaction 38 , will see only the committed content item field 24 in the version - list 20 . finding field 24 to be null , this transaction will skip the logical tuple 14 b . because the transaction id 36 , for the write transaction 38 , matches the value in the owner id field 22 , a scan by the write transaction 38 will look at the pending content item field 26 . once the write transaction 38 commits , the version - list 20 is destroyed , the indicator 222 in the logical tuple is set to 0 and the logical tuple 14 b points directly to the physical tuple 18 b . at this point the deleted flag 30 for content item 18 b is not set . the allocated flag 32 is the same value as when the physical content item 18 b was created indicating to the dbms 6 ( fig1 ) that the physical address space in the table space 16 is currently allocated to content item 18 b , and the reference count 34 is set to zero . the delete operation is very similarly to the insert operation described above . the only difference for a delete operation from an insert operation is that the committed content item 24 in version - list 20 , for a delete of a logical tuple 14 b , will point to the committed content item 18 b and the pending content item 26 is null . using the same logic as described for the insert operation , other transactions will see the previous value of the logical tuple 14 b ( i . e . committed content items 18 b ). the current transaction 38 will skip this logical tuple 14 b . fig4 shows what happens when an update operation 38 is performed on an existing logical tuple 14 b . after creating pending content item 18 b ′, but before completing the transaction , the write operation 38 may need to re - access logical tuple 14 b . the logical tuple 14 b points to version - list 20 . because the transaction id 36 in owner id field 22 matches the transaction id 36 for the write operation 38 , this operation uses the pending content item field 26 in version - list 20 to reach the pending content item 18 b ′. thus , the write operation 38 only sees the pending content item 18 b ′. all successive updates made by the write transaction are applied to the pending content item 18 b ′. these update operations 38 change the version - list 20 if it already exists ( e . g . from a previous insert operation ) or creates a new one if one does not exist . in this version - list , the committed content item field 24 points to the committed content item 18 b and the pending content item field 26 points to the pending content item 18 b ′. the owner id field 22 in version - list 20 contains the transaction id ( xid ) 36 for write transaction 38 . any write operation 38 first obtains an exclusive lock on the logical tuple ( data record ) 14 b by requesting an x - lock on the corresponding logical tuple , such as x - lock 302 b ( fig2 ). this allows only one write transaction to write to a logical tuple at a given time . however , any read operation , such as read operation 39 part of another transaction id 36 b , is free to read the committed content item 18 b ( if one exists ) while the x - lock 302 b is set . this conforms to an american national standards institute ( ansi ) read committed isolation level . read committed isolation means that any read operation should read the last committed copy of a data record ( logical tuple ). at commit time for those transactions that performed a delete or update operation , the old committed content item needs to be removed from the physical table space . however , the behavior of these write operations 38 is modified based on the reference count 34 associated with the committed content item 18 b . the reference count 34 for committed content item 18 b is incremented for each read operation 39 accessing the corresponding logical tuple 14 b . when the transaction that performed the write operation 38 commits and completes the needed modifications of the logical tuple 14 b , it will deallocate the version - list 20 and de - allocate the associated old committed physical content item 18 b . content items 18 are always created first , and then deleted . the update and delete operations on a logical tuple always delete the prior committed content item . when the transaction that performed the write operation 38 is complete , it will try to delete the old committed content item 18 b and will make the pending content item 18 b ′ the new committed content item in the physical table 16 . the write transaction 38 first checks the reference count 34 for the old committed content item 18 b . if the reference count 34 is zero , the write transaction 38 assumes full control of the old committed content item 18 b and deletes it by resetting the allocated flag 32 . if reference count 34 is not zero , the write transaction 38 marks the content item 18 b deleted by setting the deleted flag 30 and pushing all necessary log records 45 . when the read operation 39 currently reading content item 18 b is complete , it decrements the reference count 34 . if the reference count 34 is zero , the read operation 39 checks to see if the deleted flag 30 for content item 18 b is set . if the deleted flag 30 is set , the read operation 39 effectively removes the content item 18 b from the physical table space 16 by resetting the allocated flag 32 . the old committed content item 18 b is now available to the dbms 6 for allocating to another content item . in the “ deferred delete ” scheme described above , the read operation 39 assumes ownership of the content item 18 b and completes the delete without having to push any log record . additional strategies work in conjunction with deferred delete to make recovery and undo operations possible . a checkpointer assumes that the delete of the content item has actually finished and the copy of the database on disk will always show this content item as marked “ deleted ” and “ free ”. the recovery process also makes sure that all content items that are not busy are marked free . the term “ tuple lifetime ” describes the time required for a physical tuple ( content item ) to exist for a referencing transaction . for a read - committed isolation read operation , the tuple lifetime for a referenced tuple is the time required to copy the tuple out into the application buffers . for any write operation , including a read - committed isolation write - operation , the lifetime for modified tuples is the lifetime of the modifying transaction . for instance , an x - lock is held on the logical tuple for the lifetime of the tuple and while the pending content item is alive and cannot be modified by any other transaction until the end of the transaction . in a simple locking based concurrency control scheme a shared lock is held on a tuple item , so that there is a guarantee of the existence of the tuple until the reading transaction finishes copying the tuple value into its buffers . one effect of the current scheme is that no locks have to be held by any read - only transactions . a “ sort ” is a representative of a set of operations that may need to read the same data more than once . examples of sorts are joins , group by and distinct attribute , etc . a read operation doing a sort may read a set of content items from the physical table . the read operation gains ownership of any content item that may be deleted during the execution of the sort operation , and deletes all such content items on the completion of the sort operation . the deferred delete is extended to statements that need statement level consistency . the sort operation , for example , needs statement level consistency to ensure that the sort actually terminates . in cases where the content item accessed by the sort can change when the sort is underway , there are no termination guarantees . our scheme guarantees that any content item whose reference count is greater than zero will not be deleted from the table space . any transaction that needs statement level consistency can increment the reference count of all accessed content items . at the end of the statement , the reference counts for all the content items are decremented . fig5 shows a set of logical tuples 50 that contain address values id1 – 1d5 . the address values in logical tuples 50 point to corresponding physical tuples 52 in the physical table space t 1 . in this example , each physical tuple 52 has an “ a ” column of data records and a “ b ” column of data records . one example of a sort operation 58 is the following : ( select * from t 1 and order by b ). in sort operation 58 all physical tuples 52 in table t 1 are to be reordered according to the values in column b . sort operations performed in some other database systems may either have to copy the required physical tuples 52 from table t 1 into another temporary table , if they want to maintain high concurrency . the copies of physical tuples in that temporary table are sorted by the operation before using them . this scheme requires a large amount of memory for storing a second set of tuples . further , the second copy of the tuples 52 cannot be shared with other transactions . alternatively transactions may have to hold locks for the entire duration of the sort thus severely limiting concurrency in the system . the oracle ® database system solves this problem with multiple versions but does not maintain a fast access path for previous version thus severely limiting execution speed of the database system . however , in the present database system , instead of making a second copy of the physical tuples 52 , a second copy 55 of the logical tuples 50 is created . the second copy of logical tuples 55 only contains addresses id1 – id5 and is typically much smaller in size than the physical tuples 52 . the sort operation 58 only reads the physical tuples 52 . therefore other transactions , can access the same physical tuples 52 . the reference count 34 is incremented for all of the physical tuples 52 referenced by the sort operation 58 . in this case , every physical tuple 52 in the physical table space t 1 . this insures that the physical tuples 52 are not deleted until the sort transaction 58 is complete . if a write transaction 56 changes the content for any of the physical tuples 52 , the deferred delete scheme described above allows the sort operation 58 to control when the old committed physical tuples 52 are deallocated . during the sort operation 58 , the logical tuples 55 are sorted according to the values in data column b of physical tuples 52 . the final sorted set of logical tuples is shown in table 60 . the deleted flag 30 is set for any of the physical tuples 52 deleted by the write transaction 56 . the sort operation 58 resets the allocated flag 32 for the physical tuples 52 with deleted flags 30 set . the sort operation 58 does not reset the allocated flags 32 for the physical tuples 52 that were not flagged as deleted by the write transaction 56 . fig6 shows another feature of the version control system where an index scan distinguishes between committed and uncommitted entries in an index 60 . index schemes usually require two or more index lookups for delete operations and multiple index lookups for update and insert operations . the version control system , described above , requires only one index lookup for insert and delete operations , and three index lookups for update operations . existing optimization techniques can be used to further reduce the cost of lookups for update operations . to accomplish this efficiency , a version - list 70 stores , in addition to the aforementioned three components , a list of multiple index entries . each affected index has duplicate index entries . the list of affected indexes is not kept for logical tuple insert and delete operations since these operations affect all indexes . for example , a logical tuple insert requires an insert operation on all indexes on the underlying table . that is , one index lookup operation per logical tuple insert per index . when a transaction ( that performed the delete operation on a data record ) commits all index entries for that the corresponding logical tuple must be deleted from all indexes . this results in one index lookup operation per logical tuple delete per index . however , each update operation keeps a list of affected indexes in the corresponding version - list . at the time a logical tuple is updated , a new entry with an uncommitted mark is inserted into all affected indexes . at the time the logical tuple update is committed , the committed index entries for all affected indexes for the logical tuple are deleted and all uncommitted entries are marked committed . in one example , an insert operation creates logical tuple 68 in turn creating content item 84 , version - list 70 and an index entry 64 a . the index entry 64 a points to logical tuple 68 . initially the pending content item field 74 in version - list 70 points to the committed content item 84 and the committed content item field 76 is null . in an update operation 80 , the index entry 64 a and logical tuple 68 already exist . the update transaction 80 creates pending physical content item 86 from the committed content item 84 . a version - list 70 is created where the committed content item field 74 points to the committed content item 84 and the pending content item field 76 points to the pending content item 86 . the update operation 80 causes the creation of a new index entry 66 a that corresponds to the pending content item 86 . the new index entry 66 a is marked by setting flag 66 b . a marked index entry refers to the new pending version of the content item and an unmarked entry refers to the committed version of the content item . the index is marked as affected meaning there are double entries in the index 62 . the version - list 70 also includes an index map 78 that identifies indexes with double entries . in this case , index map 78 identifies index 62 as having double entries 64 a and 66 a . during an index scan , the transaction 90 that performed the update operation 80 may receive index entry 64 a . index entry 64 a points via logical tuple 68 to the version - list 70 . this transaction 90 has the same xid contained in the owner id field 72 of version - list 70 and the index 62 is identified in index map 78 . therefore , a null value is returned to the transaction 90 preventing the transaction 90 from using the index entry 64 a associated with committed content item 84 . the index scan accordingly skips index entry 64 a and provides the transaction 90 with marked index entry 66 a . the marked index entry 66 a points to the version - list 70 via logical tuple 68 . since the index entry 66 a is marked and the transaction id matches the id in owner id field 72 , the read operation ( also called a scan ) of the transaction 90 is provided the value in pending content item field 76 that points to pending content item 86 . this process ensures that the update transaction uses the correct index entry 66 a for accessing pending content item 86 . fig7 is a flow diagram describing in more detail the indexing scheme described above . the version - list 70 shown in fig6 is referenced by the owner xid containing the transaction id of the operation that updated the logical tuple 68 . the committed tupid term refers to the physical tuple id of the previous version of the logical tuple . the uncommitted tupid term refers to the physical tuple id for the new version of the logical tuple . the indexmap term refers to the bitmap of all effected indexes and in one embodiment is populated only for update transactions . the scanner however analyzes inserts , deletes , affected indexes and unaffected indexes . the version - list references a logicaltuple . vlist . the term “ mark ” identifies a committed or uncommitted mark in the index entry . the indexid is a bitmap that represents the index entry being scanned . for insert there will be only one index entry which is marked committed . in block 92 the dbms determines if the logical tuple is versioned . non - versioned logical tuples are not analyzed further , and the physical tuple that the logical tuple points to is returned to the scanner in block 90 . if the logical tuple is versioned , the logical tuple points to the version - list . when a scanner sees an index entry , it is resolved in the following manner . there are two index entries if the index is an affected index . a first index entry is left unmarked for the committed representing the position where the previous version of the logical tuple is positioned in the index . a second index entry is marked for the uncommitted copy representing the new position of the logical tuple in the index . in block 96 if the index entry is marked committed ; and the transaction id matches the ownerid in the version - list or the transaction id represents a committed transaction ; and the index entry represents the affected index , which is confirmed by checking the membership of the index id in the affected index bitmap , a nullid is returned to the scanner in block 94 and a physical content item entry is assumed not to exist . if the index entry is marked as committed in block 100 or marked as uncommitted in block 104 , and the transaction id ( xid ) matches the vlist or if the xid represents a committed transaction , the uncommitedtupleid is returned in block 98 or block 102 . if there is no xid match between the transaction and the version - list or the owner xid is not a committed transaction , the commitedtupleid is returned in block 108 . the same is true for deletes and the same logic is true for unaffected indexes . the logic in fig7 is alternately represented as follows : the scheme presented above conforms to the standards of ansi sql where only an update transaction sees its own updates and read transactions see only committed data . this implementation conforms to ansi read committed isolation levels . all effects of an update transaction become visible to read transactions in one step . as shown in fig7 , all transactions have a committed field , which is set to true when the commit decision is executed for that transaction . after the committed field is set , all scanners see the update value of the logical tuple , by following the uncommitted physical tuple id . once a decision to commit has been executed , an atomic commit is achieved without holding a latch or a lock . cleanup of the logical tuples can then be lazy . the scheme mentioned here is easily portable to serializable transactions where the serializable transactions follow the two - phase locking scheme . to ensure index consistency , a shared lock can be used on any entry that is encountered by a serializable index scan . a read lock can be obtained on the logical tuple pointed to by the index entry . once the lock is obtained , and the index entry is found to be “ in - update ”, the transaction must be modifying the logical tuple . in this case , the pending content item id is returned . if it is found that the index entry is not marked , the index entry is ignored if the ownerid of the logical tuple and the transaction id of the current transaction match , otherwise the committed content item id is returned . different aspects of the invention provide non - blocking reads on behalf of non serializable transactions , that is , a read of a data record is not delayed . dependency is not needed between reads and writes of a data record and writers are allowed to have dependencies among themselves but are not required with any read operation . efficient version - location is provided when a read operation reads a data record . there are no delayed consistency checks so a transaction never needs to be rolled back at commit time due to anything other then “ write ” operation deadlocks that it must have encountered during the execution of the write operations rather than at commit time . garbage free execution is provided where versions of a data record do not stay in the database any longer than is required . efficient reduced isolation support provides execution of a transaction running at reduced levels of isolation , including efficient location of a version to be read . non - blocking transaction admission does not delay a transaction due to any locking conflicts and the age of data is bounded . efficient index management is provided in the presence of multiple copies of the same data record and simple extensibility is provided for snapshots while maintaining garbage - less execution properties . further , transactions do not have to pre - declare themselves to be read - only or read - write . the system described above can use dedicated processor systems , micro controllers , programmable logic devices , or microprocessors that perform some or all of the operations . some of the operations described above may be implemented in software and other operations may be implemented in hardware . for the sake of convenience , the operations are described as various interconnected functional blocks or distinct software modules . this is not necessary , however , and there may be cases where these functional blocks or modules are equivalently aggregated into a single logic device , program or operation with unclear boundaries . in any event , the functional blocks and software modules or features of the flexible interface can be implemented by themselves , or in combination with other operations in either hardware or software . having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in a preferred embodiment thereof , it should be apparent that the invention may be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles . we claim all modifications and variation coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims .	8
please refer to fig4 showing a flowchart of the method for real - time judging compatibility of a working surface with an optical mouse as follows : step 100 : start . the optical mouse generates a ray onto the working surface ; step 102 : an optical sensor captures the ray reflected by the working surface and senses the optical characteristics of the working surface ; step 104 : the optical sensor generates a sensing value according to the optical characteristics of the working surface ; step 106 : ajudging circuit operates the sensing value to judge the compatibility of the working surface with the optical mouse and generate ajudging signal ; step 108 : a display device display the result in step 106 ; step 110 : end . in step 102 , the characteristics of the ray reflected from the working surface relates to the surface grain , reflectivity and transparency of the working surface . for instance , if the surface grain is too high in similarity ( in 100 nanometer grade ), the working surface is unsuitable for an optical mouse . in addition , high reflective ( e . g . a mirror that completely reflects light ) or high transparent ( e . g . glass that light can fully pass through ) surfaces are neither suitable for the optical mouse . thus , the optical characteristics of the working surface can be known by detecting the ray reflected from the working surface . the sensing value in step 104 relates to the optical characteristics of the working surface . as shown in fig . 4 , in step 106 the judging circuit analyzes the sensing value to generate the judging signal . the judging circuit judges whether the working surface is suitable for the optical mouse according to the range where the sensing value is located in , and outputs the result as the judging signal . in general , the higher the sensing value , the more suitable the working surface for the optical mouse . for instance , in case the working surface is a high transparent surface ( e . g . glass ), the sensing value is approximately 0 , and in case of some black surfaces , the sensing value is very small ( approximately less than 10 ), so that it is known that these surfaces are not suitable for an optical mouse . in step 108 , the display device displays the result by light or message according to the judging signal generated in step 106 . the user knows the result from the display device , such as whether the working surface is suitable or not for the optical mouse . please refer to fig5 showing an optical mouse 60 according to the present invention . the optical mouse 60 is for implementing the method shown in fig . 4 . the optical mouse 60 includes an optical sensor 62 for sensing the optical characteristics of the working surface of the optical mouse 60 and outputs the sensing value according to the optical characteristics , ajudging circuit 64 electrically connects to the optical sensor 62 for receiving the sensing value from the optical sensor 62 and generating a corresponding judging signal , a display device 66 electrically connects to the judging circuit 64 to operate according to the judging signal . in this embodiment , the display device 66 includes a red led 68 and a green led 70 . the operation of the optical mouse 60 in fig5 is described as follows . when a user moves the optical mouse 60 , the optical mouse 60 generates the ray onto the working surface , and the optical sensor 62 scans the working surface that the optical mouse 60 has passed by and captures the ray reflected by the working surface . since different working surfaces have different optical characteristics , and different optical characteristics are shown by the optical difference between the incident ray and the reflected ray , the optical sensor 62 can convert the optical characteristics into the corresponding sensing value and transmit it to the judging circuit 64 . the judging circuit 64 includes a firmware , and a program code , which will judge the received sensing value . if the sensing value is located in a first range , the judging circuit 64 transmits a corresponding first judging signal to the display device 66 . the display device 66 turns on the green led 70 and turns off the red led 68 according to the first judging signal , so that the user can know that the working surface is suitable for the optical mouse according to a predetermined definition of the led . similarly , if the sensing value is located in a second range , the judging circuit 64 transmits a corresponding second judging signal to the display device 66 . the display device 66 turns on the red led 68 and turns off the green led 70 according to the second judging signal , so that the user can know that the working surface is not suitable for the optical mouse according to a predetermined definition of the led . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the definition of the green and red led can be marked on a side of them , such as “ please change mouse pad ” on a side of the red led 68 . the red led and the green led in the present embodiment described above are only an example , any type of display device , such as lcd , organic led and so on could belong to the present invention . please refer to fig6 showing a judging system 90 according to the present invention . the judging system 90 is for judging the compatibility of a working surface , which includes an optical mouse 72 , a host computer 78 and a monitor 86 electrically connected to the host computer 78 . the optical mouse 72 includes an optical sensor 74 for sensing the optical characteristics of the working surface of the optical mouse 72 and outputting a sensing value according to the optical characteristics , and a control circuit 76 for transmitting the sensing value to the host computer 78 . the host computer 78 includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 80 and a storing device 82 for storing a driver 84 to operate the sensing value . the operation of the judging system 90 is described as follows . when a user moves the optical mouse 72 , the optical sensor 74 of the optical mouse 60 scans the working surface that the optical mouse 72 has passed by and captures the optical characteristics of the working surface . as mentioned above , different working surfaces have different optical characteristics , and the optical sensor 74 converts the optical characteristics into the corresponding sensing value . continuously , the optical mouse 72 transmits the sensing value and an axial displacement signal of the optical mouse 72 to the host computer 78 through the control circuit 76 . after receiving the sensing value and the axial displacement signal of the optical mouse 72 , the host computer 78 uses the cpu 80 to execute the driver 84 stored in the storing device 82 to operate the sensing value . since the optical mouse continuously transmit sensing values to the host computer 78 , the cpu 80 will record the sensing values and operate them by the driver 84 ( e . g . calculate an average of the sensing values per unit time ). the host computer 78 displays the result on the monitor 86 to notify the user that whether the working surface is suitable for the optical mouse 72 . since these sensing values are executed by the cpu 80 , the compatibility of the working surface can be judged more precisely . please note that the results of the operation on the sensing value by the cpu 80 is not necessary to be display directly on the monitor 86 , it can be displayed only when the user requires this kind of message . moreover , the driver 84 is not limited to display the compatibility of the optical mouse 72 , but also provides related information about the optical characteristics of the working surface , such as it indicates what kind of the working surface it is , showing reasons why the working surface is not suitable for the optical mouse , or recommending a proper working surface . this kind of information can be stored in the driver 84 or downloaded from the internet through the driver 84 . in such a manner , the user can know the compatibility of the working surface from the monitor 86 when something is wrong to the cursor , and judge if the malfunction is due to incompatibility of the working surface and prevent him / her from using other unsuitable working surfaces . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and the method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention . accordingly , the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims .	6
one embodiment of the invention relates to live attenuated bacteria that are no longer capable to express a functional cra protein as a result of a mutation in the cra gene , for use in a vaccine . the gene product , ( formerly known as frur ; the fructose repressor protein ), now also known as cra ( the catabolite repressor / activator protein ), is a regulatory protein in many main pathways of the carbohydrate metabolism . the cra - gene product cra regulates the central carbon metabolism . more specifically , cra positively regulates transcription of genes encoding biosynthetic and oxidative enzymes ( e . g . key enzymes in the tca cycle , the glyoxalate shunt , the gluconeogenic pathway and electron transport ) by binding upstream of the promoters of these genes and negatively regulates transcription of genes encoding glycolytic enzymes ( e . g . key enzymes in the embden - meyerhof and entner - doudoroff pathways ). due to its key position in carbohydrate metabolism , the cra gene and its gene product cra are widespread in the bacterial realm . the cra protein is a highly conserved protein . it can be found in e . g . escherichia coli , in salmonella enterica species , such as serotype typhimurium , enteritidis and dublin , in actinobacillus species such as a . pleuropneumoniae , in haemophilus species such as h . paragallinarum , in aeromonas salmonicidae , in pasteurella species such as p . piscida and p . multocida , in streptococcus species such as s . equi and s . suis and in yersinia species such as y . pestis . the gene itself and its complete nucleotide sequence in salmonella and escherichia have been elucidated already in 1991 by jahreis , k . et al . ( mol . gen . genet . 226 : 332 - 336 ( 1991 )). jahreis showed that the cra protein in salmonella enterica , serotype typhimurium and escherichia coli differed only in 4 positions , of which two were merely conservative exchanges . this is of course in line with what could be expected for a protein playing a role in so many universal pathways in the bacterial carbohydrate metabolism , especially where e . coli and salmonella diverged not that far during evolution . the mechanism of binding of the cra protein has been at least partially elucidated by ramseier , t . m . et al . ( j . mol . biol . 234 : 28 - 44 ( 1993 )). the role and function of the cra protein ( the catabolite repressor / activator protein ) have been regularly described in the literature , e . g . in a recent mini - review by saier , m . h . and ramseier , t . m . ( journ . bacteriol . 178 : 3411 - 3417 ( 1996 )). such a mutation can be an insertion , a deletion , a substitution or a combination thereof , provided that the mutation leads to the failure to express a functional cra protein . a functional cra protein is understood to be a protein having the regulating characteristics of the wild - type protein . therefore , a cra protein that is defective in at least one of its functions is considered to be a non - functional cra protein . live attenuated bacteria for use according to the invention can be obtained in several ways . one possible way of obtaining such bacteria is by means of classical methods such as the treatment of wild - type bacteria having the cra gene with mutagenic agents such as base analogues , treatment with ultraviolet light or temperature treatment . strains that do not produce a functional cra protein can easily be picked up . they grow on minimal medium exclusively in the presence of glucose and other sugars as carbon sources ( which differentiates them from cya and crp mutants ) but they are not able to grow with gluconeogenic substrates as sole carbon source . ( chin et al ., j . bacteriol . 169 : 897 - 899 ( 1987 )) they can therefore very easily be selected in vitro . the nature of the mutation caused by classical mutation techniques is unknown . this may be a point mutation which may , although this is unlikely to happen , eventually revert to wild - type . in order to avoid this small risk , transposon mutagenesis would be a good alternative . mutagenesis by transposon mutagenesis , is also a mutagenesis - technique well - known in the art . this is a mutation accomplished at a localised site in the chromosome . transposon - insertions can not be targeted to a specific gene . it is however very easy to pick up cra - mutants since they do not grow in vitro without nutrient compensation for lack of cra activity . therefore , they can easily be selected from a pool of randomly transposon - mutated bacteria . a possibility to introduce a mutation at a predetermined site , rather deliberately than randomly , is offered by recombinant dna - technology . such a mutation may be an insertion , a deletion , a replacement of one nucleotide by another one or a combination thereof , with the only proviso that the mutated gene no longer encodes functional cra . such a mutation can e . g . be made by deletion of a number of nucleic acids . even very small deletions such a stretches of 10 nucleic acids can already render cra non - functional . even the deletion of one single nucleic acid may already lead to a non - functional cra , since as a result of such a mutation , the other nucleic acids are no longer in the correct reading frame . each deletion of insertion of a number of nucleic acids indivisible by three causes such a frame shift . more preferably , a longer stretch is removed e . g . 100 nucleic acids . even more preferably , the whole cra gene is deleted . it can easily be seen , that especially mutations introducing a stop - codon in the open reading frame , or mutations causing a frame - shift in the open reading frame are very suitable to obtain a strain which no longer encodes functional cra . all techniques for the construction of cra - negative mutants are well - known standard techniques . they relate to cloning of the cra - gene , modification of the gene sequence by site - directed mutagenesis , restriction enzyme digestion followed by re - ligation or pcr - approaches and to subsequent replacement of the wild type cra gene with the mutant gene ( allelic exchange or allelic replacement ). standard recombinant dna techniques such as cloning the cra gene in a plasmid , digestion of the gene with a restriction enzyme , followed by endonuclease treatment , re - ligation and homologous recombination in the host strain , are all known in the art and described i . a . in maniatis / sambrook ( sambrook , j . et al . molecular cloning : a laboratory manual . isbn 0 - 87969 - 309 - 6 ). site - directed mutations can e . g . be made by means of in vitro site directed mutagenesis using the transformer ® kit sold by clontech . pcr - techniques are extensively described in ( dieffenbach & amp ; dreksler ; pcr primers , a laboratory manual . isbn 0 - 87969 - 447 - 3 and isbn 0 - 87969447 - 5 ). the cra gene comprises not only the coding sequence encoding the cra protein , but also regulatory sequences such as the promoter . the gene also comprises sites essential for correct translation of the cra mrna , such as the ribosome binding site . therefore , not only mutations in the coding regions but also mutations in those sequences essential for correct transcription and translation are considered to fall within the scope of the invention . in a preferred embodiment , the invention relates to live attenuated bacteria of the genera escherichia , salmonella , actinobacillus , haemophilus , aeromonas , pasteurella , streptococcus and yersinia for use in a vaccine . in a more preferred form of the invention , the live attenuated bacterium according to the invention is selected from the group consisting of s . enterica serotype typhimurium , enteritidis , choleraesuis , dublin , typhi , gallinarum , abortusovi , abortus - equi , pullorum , e . coli or y . pestis . these bacterial genera comprise a large number of species that are pathogenic to both humans and a variety of different animals . in an even more preferred form thereof , the live attenuated bacterium according to the invention is s . enterica , e . coli or y . pestis . in a still even more preferred form , this embodiment relates to live attenuated bacteria according to the invention in which the mutation in the cra gene has been made by recombinant dna technology . well - defined and deliberately made mutations involving the deletion of fragments of the cra gene or even the whole gene or the insertion of heterologous dna - fragments or both , have the advantage , in comparison to classically induced mutations , that they will not revert to the wild - type situation . thus , in an even more preferred form , this embodiment of the invention refers to live attenuated bacteria in which the cra gene comprises an insertion and / or a deletion . given the large amount of vaccines given nowadays to both pets and farm animals , it is clear that combined administration of several vaccines would be desirable , if only for reasons of decreased vaccination costs . it is therefore very attractive to use live attenuated bacteria as a recombinant carrier for heterologous genes , encoding antigens selected from other pathogenic micro - organisms or viruses . administration of such a recombinant carrier has the advantage that immunity is induced against two or more diseases at the same time . the live attenuated bacteria for use in a vaccine , according to the present invention provide very suitable carriers for heterologous genes , since the gene encoding the cra protein can be used as an insertion site for such heterologous genes . the use of the cra gene as an insertion site has the advantage that at the same time the cra gene is inactivated and the newly introduced heterologous gene can be expressed ( in concert with the homologous bacterial genes ). the construction of such recombinant carriers can be done routinely , using standard molecular biology techniques such as allelic exchange . therefore , another embodiment of the invention relates to live attenuated recombinant bacteria , preferably of the genera escherichia , salmonella , actinobacillus , haemophilus , aeromonas , pasteurella , streptococcus and yersinia that do not produce a functional cra protein , and in which a heterologous gene is inserted . such a heterologous gene can , as mentioned above , e . g . be a gene encoding an antigen selected from other pathogenic micro - organisms or viruses . such genes can e . g . be derived from pathogenic herpes viruses ( e . g . the genes encoding the structural proteins of herpes viruses ), retro viruses ( e . g . the gp160 envelope protein ), adenoviruses and the like . also a heterologous gene can be obtained from pathogenic bacteria . as an example , genes encoding bacterial toxins such as actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae toxins , clostridium toxins , outer membrane proteins and the like are very suitable bacterial heterologous genes . another possibility is to insert a gene encoding a protein involved in triggering the immune system , such as an interleukin or an interferon , or another gene involved in immune - regulation . insertion of the heterologous gene in the cra gene is advantageous , since there is no need to find an insertion site for the heterologous gene , and at the same time the cra gene is knocked out . thus , in a preferred form of this embodiment the heterologous gene is inserted in the cra gene . the heterologous gene can be inserted somewhere in the cra gene or it can be inserted at the site of the cra gene while this gene has been partially or completely deleted . because of their unexpected attenuated but immunogenic character in vivo , the bacteria for use in a vaccine , according to the invention are very suitable as a basis for live attenuated vaccines . thus , still another embodiment of the invention relates to live attenuated vaccines for the protection of animals and humans against infection with a bacterium of which the wild type form comprises a cra gene . such vaccines comprise an immunogenically effective amount of a live attenuated bacterium for use in a vaccine , according to the invention or a live recombinant carrier bacterium according to the invention , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . preferably , the vaccine comprises a live attenuated bacterium according to the invention , selected from the group of escherichia , salmonella , actinobacillus , haemophilus , aeromonas , pasteurella , streptococcus and yersinia . immunogenically effective means that the amount of live attenuated bacteria administered at vaccination is sufficient to induce in the host an effective immune response against virulent forms of the bacterium . in addition to an immunogenically effective amount of the live attenuated bacterium described above , a vaccine according to the present invention also contains a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . such a carrier may be as simple as water , but it may e . g . also comprise culture fluid in which the bacteria were cultured . another suitable carrier is e . g . a solution of physiological salt concentration . the useful dosage to be administered will vary depending on the age , weight and animal vaccinated , the mode of administration and the type of pathogen against which vaccination is sought . the vaccine may comprise any dose of bacteria , sufficient to evoke an immune response . doses ranging between 10 3 and 10 10 bacteria are e . g . very suitable doses . optionally , one or more compounds having adjuvant activity may be added to the vaccine . adjuvants are non - specific stimulators of the immune system . they enhance the immune response of the host to the vaccine . examples of adjuvants known in the art are freunds complete and incomplete adjuvant , vitamin e , non - ionic block polymers , muramyldipeptides , iscoms ( immune stimulating complexes , cf . for instance european patent ep 109942 ), saponins , mineral oil , vegetable oil , and carbopol . adjuvants , specially suitable for mucosal application are e . g . the e . coli heat - labile toxin ( lt ) or cholera toxin ( ct ). other suitable adjuvants are for example aluminium hydroxide , aluminium phosphate or aluminium oxide , oil - emulsions ( e . g . of bayol f ® or marcol 52 ®, saponins or vitamin - e solubilisate . therefore , in a preferred form , the vaccines according to the present invention comprise an adjuvant . other examples of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or diluents useful in the present invention include stabilisers such as spga , carbohydrates ( e . g . sorbitol , mannitol , starch , sucrose , glucose , dextran ), proteins such as albumin or casein , protein containing agents such as bovine serum or skimmed milk and buffers ( e . g . phosphate buffer ). especially when such stabilisers are added to the vaccine , the vaccine is very suitable for freeze - drying . therefore , in a more preferred form , the vaccine is in a freeze - dried form . for administration to animals or humans , the vaccine according to the present invention can be given inter alia intranasally , intradermally , subcutaneously , orally , by aerosol or intramuscularly . for application to poultry , wing web and eye - drop administration are very suitable . still another embodiment relates to the use of a bacterium for use in a vaccine or a recombinant bacterium according to the invention for the manufacture of a vaccine for the protection of animals and humans against infection with a wild type bacterium or the pathogenic effects of infection . still another embodiment of the invention relates to methods for the preparation of a vaccine according to the invention . such methods comprise the admixing of a live attenuated bacterium according to the invention or a live recombinant carder bacterium according to the invention , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . identification , cloning and sequencing of the mutated gene in s . typhimurium sr - 11 fad − the transposon - mutated gene of the mutant s . typhimurium sr - 11 fad − has been identified , cloned and sequenced . the nucleotide sequence of the mutant gene that renders the disclosed sr - 11 fad − a - virulent is set forth in sequence id no : 1 . sequence id no : 2 sets forth the amino acid sequence of the protein molecule that the nucleotide sequence of sequence id no : 1 encodes . it was now determined that s . typhimurium sr - 11 fad − is mutant in the cra gene . the point of the transposon insertion has been found to be located within the range of about 45 base pairs from the 3 ′ end of the cra translational stop codon . a 4 . 5 kb pstl fragment containing the 1 . 5 kb tn 10 d cam insertion flanked by a 1 . 9 kb s . typhimurium sr - 11 dna fragment on the one end and a 1 . 1 kb s . typhimurium sr - 11 dna fragment on the other end was inserted in the pstl site of pbluescript ii sk (+). the resulting plasmid , pjha7 , was put into e . coli hb101 by electroporation . the regions flanking the tn10 d cam insertion were sequenced using the sanger dideoxy thermal cycling method . the nucleotide sequences immediately flanking each side of the tn 10 d cam insertion were found to be 100 % homologous to the s . typhimurium cra ( frur ) gene and the point of the insertion was found to be 45 nucleotides from the 3 ′ end of the cra translational stop codon . this suggested that s . typhimurium sr - 11 fad − is a cra mutant . in contrast to sr - 11 , sr - 11 fad − failed to grow on m9 minimal agar plates containing citrate , oleate , pyruvate , acetate , succinate and fumarate . the s . typhimurium sr - 11 wild type cra ( frur ) was amplified by pcr and was inserted into the pstl site in the ampicillin resistance gene of pbr322 . the resulting plasmid , pjha8 , returned the ability of s . typhimurium sr - 11 fad − to grow as well as their wild type parents utilising each of the aforementioned compounds as carbon sources . these experiments establish that s . typhimurium sr - 11 − is a cra ( frur ) mutant . sr - 11 fad − was constructed by bacteriophage p22 ht105 int transduction of chloramphenicol resistance from a mini - transposon mutant of lt - 2 into sr - 11 . although unlikely , it was therefore possible that avirulence of sr - fad − was due to loss of some sr - 11 dna upon transduction , e . g . loss of a pathogenicity island , rather than due to a defective cra gene . therefore , as described immediately below , a strain identical to sr - 11 , hereinafter sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 , except that it contains the same mutation in the cra gene that is present in sr - fad − , was constructed by allelic exchange . the 4 . 3 kb pstl sr - 11 fad − dna fragment that contains the sr - 11 fad − mutant cra gene ( chloramphenicol resistance gene in cra ) was inserted into the pstl site of pld55 , a suicide vector that contains both an ampicillin resistance gene and a tetracycline resistance gene ( tetar ). this was named pmjn10 . pmjn10 was put into e . coli s17 - 1 λpir by electroporation . following mating of e . coli s17 - 1 λpir ( pmjn10 ) with sr - 11 , several ampicillin , tetracycline , and chloramphenicol sr - 11 transconjugants were tested for the ability to utilise oleate , citrate , actetate , pyruvate , succinate , and fumarate as sole carbon sources . all were able to do so as would be expected if pmjn10 had integrated into the chromosome by a single crossover using homologous sequences , i . e . as if both the mutant and wild type cra alleles were present in the chromosome . five of these “ integrants ” were tested for the presence of pmjn10 as a free plasmid and none had it , further suggesting that the plasmid had inserted in the sr - 11 chromosome . each of the five integrants were streaked on a luria agar plate containing chloramphenicol . in this instance , cells in which a second crossover takes place survive only if the cra allele left in the chromosome is the mutant allele containing the chloramphenicol resistance gene . samples of the streaked integrants were then streaked on tetracycline sensitive selection agar ( tss agar ). tss agar contains fumaric acid and tetracycline sensitive cells , i . e . cells that have lost the suicide plasmid come up as very large colonies relative to the tetracycline resistance cells that still have the plasmid in the chromosome . a total of 34 large colonies were tested for resistance to chloramphenicol , sensitivity to ampicillin and tetracycline and for the ability to utilise oleate , acetate , pyruvate , citrate , succinate , and fumarate as sole carbon sources . of the 34 isolates , six were resistance to chloramphenicol , sensitive to ampicillin and tetracycline , and were unable to utilise the aforementioned compounds as sole carbon sources . one of the isolates , designated sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 ( ax meaning allelic exchange ), was transformed with either pbr322 or pjha8 ( pjha8 containing the wild type cra gene ) and both strains were tested for the ability to utilise glucose , glycerol , oleate , acetate , pyruvate , citrate , succinate , and fumarate as sole carbon sources . in contrast to sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 ( pbr322 ), sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 ( pjha8 ) was able to utilise the aforementioned compounds as sole carbon sources , suggesting that sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 is a cra mutant . both strains , as expected , were able to use glucose and glycerol as sole carbon sources . to determine whether a functional cra ( frur ) gene renders s . typhimurium sr - 11 virulent the following experiments were performed . four balb / c mice were infected perorally with sr - 11 ( 2 . 1 × 108 cfu / mouse ) and 5 mice with sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 ( 2 . 8 × 10 8 cfu / mouse ). by day 8 post infection , all 4 sr - 11 infected mice had died , whereas all 5 mice infected with sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 remained healthy and active ( table 1 ). since sr - 11 cra mod ax - 2 is identical to sr - 11 with the exception of the same mutation in cra that is present in sr - 11 cra mod the possibility is eliminated that something anomalous happened during construction of sr - 11 cra mod by transduction from the lt - 2 strain , unrelated to cra , that could account for its loss of virulence . it was also still possible that insertion of the chloramphenicol resistance cassette into the cra gene resulted in a polar effect on downstream genes and therefore that the attenuation of sr - 11 fad − was not due to a defective cra gene . therefore , the sr - 11 cra mod was complemented with pjha8 , which only contains the wild type cra gene , with the intent of determining whether sr - 11 cra mod ( pjha8 ) regained virulence . as a control , sr - 11 cra mod was complemented with pbr322 , the vector used in constructing pjha8 . four balb / c mice were infected perorally with 3 . 1 × 10 8 cfu / mouse of sr - 11 cra mod ( pbr322 ) and 4 mice with 4 . 3 × 10 8 cfu / mouse of sr - 11 fad − ( pjha8 ). by day 9 post infection 3 of the 4 mice infected with sr - 11 cra mod ( pjha8 ) had died whereas the 4 mice infected with sr - 11 cra mod ( pbr322 ) remained healthy and active ( table 1 ). the livers and spleens of all mice that died had greater than 10 8 cfu per organ of sr - 11 fad − ( pjha8 ). this result rules out the possibility that inactivation of the cra gene with a chloramphenicol cassette causes a downstream effect that results in avirulence and proves that a functional cra gene is required for sr - 11 virulence . a mice were infected perorally with between 2 . 0 × 10 8 cfu / mouse and 5 . 0 × 10 8 cfu / mouse , depending on the strain . all mice that died did so by day 9 post infection . all mice that survived recovered completely . four s . typhimurium strains , and one strain each of s . enteritidis , s . gallinarum , s . dublin , and s . choleraesuis were tested for the cra gene by southern hybridisation . in all cases the cra gene was found on the same size 4 . 3 kb pstl dna fragment as sr - 11 . six different pathogenic e . coli strains were also tested and all had the cra gene , although the gene was present in three different size pstl fragments among the six strains . in addition , an aeromonas salmonicidae strain and strains of the bacterial genera actinobacillus , haemophilus , pasteurella , streptococcus and yersinia were tested and all showed the presence of a cra gene . the presence of the cra gene in the bacteria mentioned above was demonstrated as follows : genomic dna of these strains was digested with 20 units of pstl ( promega ) at 37 ° c . overnight . gel electrophoresis ( 0 . 7 % agarose , 1 × tae ) was used to separate the various size pstl dna fragments . the separated dna was transferred under alkaline conditions to positively charged nylon for 3 hours using the s & amp ; s turboblotter system ( schleicher and schuell ). the membrane was baked for 30 minutes at 90 ° c . to bind the dna to the membrane . subsequently , a 700 basepair fragment of the cra gene of salmonella typhimurium was dig labelled and used to probe the membrane . the membrane was prehybridised ( in a roller bottle hybridisation oven ) at 62 ° c . for 24 hours in hybridisation buffer containing 5 × ssc , 0 . 1 % n - lauroylsarcosine , 0 . 02 % sds , 1 . 5 % blocking reagent ( from dig detection starter kit ii with cspd , boehringer mannheim ). labelled probe was denatured and added to fresh hybridisation buffer and the blot was incubated at 62 ° c . for 16 - 20 hours . blots were washed twice with 2 × ssc , 0 . 1 % sds at 62 - 65 ° c . for 5 min . blots were then washed twice with 0 . 1 % sds , 0 . 5 × ssc at 60 ° c . for 15 min . the blots were developed as recommended with the following modification : 2 % blocking reagent was used in the blocking solution ( 1 % is normally used ), blots were blocked for an hour ( 30 min . is the normal blocking time ) and a lower concentration of the antibody ( 70 % of the concentration normally used ) was used for the detection of the dig - labelled probe . these changes were recommended by the manufacturer for lower background signal . vaccination of chickens with cra - negative salmonella typhimurium strain sr11 cra mod efficacy of vaccination . growth conditions for the salmonella strains were comparable to those described in example 2 . in one experiment two groups of 20 broilers ( at 3 days of age ) were vaccinated orally with 6 × 10 7 cfu salmonella t . sr11 cra mod in pbs . one group was boosted after 11 days with 8 . 3 × 10 7 cfu of the same strain . after 18 days , both groups were challenged subcutaneously , intramuscularly and orally with 1 . 9 × 10 9 bacteria of a virulent wild type strain . table 2 gives the results . combined vaccination safety and efficacy experiment . in a second experiment both the efficacy of the vaccine and the safety of the vaccine were determined . the safety of the vaccine was determined on the basis of growth retardation . one group of 15 broilers was vaccinated orally with 2 . 7 × 10 8 cfu salmonella t . sr11 craze in culture medium . another group of 15 broilers was vaccinated orally with 1 . 3 × 10 8 cfu of the same strain in pbs . after 18 days , both groups were challenged subcutaneously , intramuscularly and orally with 6 . 5 × 10 8 bacteria of a virulent wild type strain . table 3 gives the results . results : both experiments show , that a very high level of protection is obtained with a cra - negative salmonella typhimurium strain , in spite of the high challenge dose given . in addition , no significant growth retardation as a result of vaccination is seen . therefore it can be concluded that cra - negative salmonella typhimurium strains are very suitable in live attenuated vaccines for the protection of poultry against infection with a wild type bacterium . a pig challenge study was done to determine the safety of salmonella choleraesuis cra negative knockout ( ko ) strains 34682 and 35276 compared to cra positive parent strains 34682 and 35276 . these knockout mutants were made using the plasmids and methods identical to those described above for the construction of cra mod ax - 2 . twenty ( 20 ) 5 - 6 week old pigs that had never been vaccinated for salmonella were purchased from a farm with no history of salmonella . the pigs were divided into four groups of 5 pigs . throughout the study , the pigs were housed in 4 isolation rooms . five pigs in each group were challenged at 5 - 6 weeks of age . the pigs were challenged intranasally ( 0 . 5 ml / nare ) and orally ( 1 . 0 ml culture + 4 . 0 ml bacterial diluent ). the challenge culture was approximately 9 . 0 × 10 8 cfu / ml . following challenge , the pigs were observed daily for clinical signs typical of salmonella infection including weight loss , diarrhoea , and elevated rectal temperature . seven days post - challenge , the pigs were euthanized . the pigs were necropsied and the lungs , liver , spleen , mesenteric lymph nodes ( mln ), and ileum were cultured for growth of s . choleraesuis . the average daily gain ( adg ) was calculated by subtracting the beginning weight from the end weight and dividing by the number of days from challenge to sacrifice . group adg is the mean of the individual pig adg . a mouse study was done to determine the ld50 of various s . choleraesuis strains ; cra positive parent strains 34682 and 35276 , and cra negative knockout ( ko ) strains 34682 and 35276 . two hundred ( 200 ) 16 - 20 grams cf - 1 sasco mice were divided into 20 groups of 10 mice each for the mouse safety testing . throughout the study the mice were housed in the same room , but in different tubs . each strain had 5 subgroups containing 10 mice each . these subgroups were challenged with 0 . 25 ml intraperitoneally ( ip ) using 5 different dilutions of the strain ( 10 − 3 - 10 − 7 ). frozen seeds of each of the four strains were diluted 10 − 3 - 10 − 7 . each of these dilutions were injected intraperitoneally ( 0 . 25 ml ) into 10 mice . the weight gain of the pigs is shown in fig1 . these data clearly show differences between pigs challenged with ko strains and pigs challenged with parent strains . the data also reflect the overall health differences of the animals . both groups of pigs challenged with the parent strains lost weight from the time of challenge until sacrifice ; whereas the pigs challenged with the ko strains gained approximately 0 . 75 kilograms per day . the results of the mouse study are shown in table 4 below . the right column shows the ldso in cfus of the various strains . the knockout strains clearly show a high level of attenuation . from the pig safety test it shows that cra knockout ( ko ) strains give a significantly higher weight gain post challenge , when compared to the parent strains . this demonstrates the attenuated character of the cra ko mutants . in addition to pig safety testing , mouse safety testing also showed that the cra ko strains were attenuated : the ld 50 of the ko - mutants is dramatically higher than that of the parent strains . the purpose of this example was to evaluate the safety of the ko - 34682 cra mutant compared to its parent strain , and to determine the efficacy of salmonella strain ko - 34682 against heterologous virulent salmonella strain 35276 challenge . in addition , efficacy of the ko - 34682 cra mutant was compared to non - vaccinated controls . twenty 3 week old pigs that have never been vaccinated for salmonella were purchased from a farm with no history of salmonella . the pigs were divided into four groups of 5 pigs and were housed in 4 separate isolation rooms . pigs were vaccinated orally at 3 weeks of age with approximately 1 × 10 9 cfu / ml of salmonella choleraesuis strain ko - 34682 , the 34682 parent , or left non - vaccinated . twenty - one days following vaccination , the pigs were challenged intranasally ( 0 . 5 ml / nare ) and orally ( 1 . 0 ml culture + 4 . 0 ml bacterial diluent ) with virulent salmonella choleraesuis strain 35276 . the 35276 challenge strain was made nalidixic acid ( nal ) resistant prior to challenge so plates containing nal could be used to differentiate the challenge strain from the vaccine strain . following challenge , the pigs were observed daily for clinical signs typical of salmonella infection including weight loss , diarrhoea , and elevated rectal temperatures . the duration of salmonella shedding was evaluated by culturing the faces daily . nine days post - challenge , the pigs were euthanized . the pigs were necropsied and the lungs , liver , spleen , mesenteric lymph nodes ( mln ), and ileum were cultured for growth of salmonella choleraesuis on hektoen enteric ( he ) agar plates containing 80 ug / ml of nalidixic acid . the diarrhoea score was calculated by giving one point to each pig for each day of diarrhoea post - challenge . at the end of the test , the total number of points scored during the study were divided by the number of days from challenge until sacrifice . this number was multiplied by 100 to give the percentage of days the diarrhoea was seen . fecals were taken from the pigs daily to determine the length of salmonella choleraesuis shedding post - vaccination and again post - challenge . after 2 days of negative results , taking fecals was stopped . the fecals were titered on he plates for isolation . points were given in relation to growth seen after various dilutions of the samples . points were assigned as follows : the average daily gain ( adg ) was calculated by subtracting the beginning weight from the end weight and dividing by the number of days from challenge to sacrifice . group adg is the mean of the individual pig adg . two pigs that were vaccinated with salmonella choleraesuis wild type parent strain 34682 died post - vaccination . the other three pigs in this group remained alive throughout the end of the study . fig2 shows the s . c . isolation results for each organ . for all organs , groups of pigs vaccinated with the ko vaccine had no isolation from any organ compared to the parent and non - vac groups . the non - vac group had salmonella choleraesuis isolated from all 5 pigs in the ileum and the mln whereas the parent group had no isolation in either of those organs . by assigning one point to each organ salmonella choleraesuis was isolated from , an isolation score was calculated for each group . the results demonstrate that the pigs vaccinated with the ko vaccine had lower scores than the pigs vaccinated with the parent strain , and were significantly lower than the non - vacs . the average daily diarrhoea score is shown in fig3 . this figure shows a significant difference in the ko scores compared to the other three groups . the ko group clearly showed the lowest score . the salmonella shedding of the pigs following vaccination and post - challenge are shown in fig4 and 5 . following vaccination , the chart shows the parent having the highest level of shedding . in the post - challenge chart , the non - vaccinates shed salmonella choleraesuis for the longest duration , thus receiving the highest score . the weight gain of the pigs is shown in fig6 . these data clearly shows differences between the different groups . they also reflect the overall health differences between the animals . the non - vac group lost an average of 0 . 15 kilograms per day , whereas the ko group gained an average of 0 . 6 kilograms per day . salmonella choleraesuis knockout strain 34682 proved to be an efficacious and safe vaccine strain . isolation of salmonella at necropsy was completely negative for the knockout strain . the non - vaccinates scored the highest in re - isolation . concerning average daily weight gain post challenge , the knockout strain had the highest weight gain and non - vacs had significantly less weight gain . the live ko - 34682 salmonella choleraesuis vaccine strain is safe and efficacious . fig1 : average daily weight gain post - challenge per pig per day in us - pounds . this weight multiplied by 0 . 4536 gives the weight in kilograms . fig2 : percentage of pigs from which salmonella choleraesuis could be re - isolated from various tissues ( mln = mesenteric lymph node ). fig6 : average daily weight gain post - challenge per pig per day in us - pounds . gtg aaa ctg gat gaa atc gct cgg ctg gcc ggt gtc tcg cgc aca act 165 val lys leu asp glu ile ala arg leu ala gly val ser arg thr thr gca agc tac gtt ata aac ggt aaa gca aag caa tac cgc gtg agc gac 213 ala ser tyr val ile asn gly lys ala lys gln tyr arg val ser asp aaa acc gta gaa aaa gtc atg gcg gta gtg cgt gag cac aat tac cat 261 cct aac gct gtg gct gcc ggg ctg cgt gct gga cgc aca cgt tcc att 309 ggt ctg gtg atc ccg gac ctt gaa aac acg agc tac acc cgt atc gca 357 gly leu val ile pro asp leu glu asn thr ser tyr thr arg ile ala aac tat ctt gag cgc cag gca cgc cag cgt ggc tac caa ctg ctg atc 405 gcc tgt tct gaa gat cag ccg gat aac gaa atg cgc tgc att gag cac 453 ala cys ser glu asp gln pro asp asn glu met arg cys ile glu his ctt ttg caa cgc cag gtg gat gca atc att gtt tca act tcg tta ccg 501 ccg gag cat ccc ttc tat cag cgc tgg gcc aac gat ccg ttc ccc atc 549 pro glu his pro phe tyr gln arg trp ala asn asp pro phe pro ile gtc gcg ctc gac cgc gcg ctg gat cgc gaa cat ttc acc agc gtg gtc 597 ggc gcc gat cag gat gat gcc gag atg ttg gcg gaa gag ctg cgt aaa 645 ttc ccg gcg gaa acg gtg ctt tat ttg ggc gcg ctg ccg gag ttg tcc 693 gtc agt ttc ctg cgc gag cag ggg ttc cgc acc gca tgg aaa gac gat 741 val ser phe leu arg glu gln gly phe arg thr ala trp lys asp asp ccg cgg gag gtg aat ttc tta tat gcc aac agc tat gag cgc gaa gcc 789 gcc gcg cag ttg ttt gag aaa tgg ctg gaa acg cat cct atg ccg cag 837 ala ala gln leu phe glu lys trp leu glu thr his pro met pro gln gcg ctc ttt acg aca tcg ttc gcg cta tta cag ggc gtg atg gac gta 885 acg ctg cgg cgc gat gga aaa ctg cct tcg gat tta gcg att gcg acc 933 ttc ggc gat cat gag ctg ctg gat ttt ctg caa tgc ccg gta ctg gcg 981 phe gly asp his glu leu leu asp phe leu gln cys pro val leu ala gtg gcg cag cgt cat cgt gat gtc gcg gaa cgc gtg ctg gag att gtg 1029 ctg gca agt ctt gat gaa ccg cgt aaa ccg aaa ccc ggc tta acg cgt 1077 att cgg cga aac ctt tat cgt cgc ggc att ctg agc cgt agc 1119 val lys leu asp glu ile ala arg leu ala gly val ser arg thr thr ala ser tyr val ile asn gly lys ala lys gln tyr arg val ser asp gly leu val ile pro asp leu glu asn thr ser tyr thr arg ile ala ala cys ser glu asp gln pro asp asn glu met arg cys ile glu his pro glu his pro phe tyr gln arg trp ala asn asp pro phe pro ile val ser phe leu arg glu gln gly phe arg thr ala trp lys asp asp ala ala gln leu phe glu lys trp leu glu thr his pro met pro gln phe gly asp his glu leu leu asp phe leu gln cys pro val leu ala	0
a detailed illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed herein which exemplifies the invention and is currently considered to be the best embodiment for such purposes . however , it is to be recognized that other means for determining delays between two input signals whose phases are to be compared , and other means for delaying an input signal could be utilized . accordingly , the specific embodiment disclosed is only representative in providing a basis for the claims which define the scope of the present invention . referring to fig1 a plurality of antennas , a1 thru an , where n is 3 or more , are connected to corresponding receivers r1 through rn . the antennas al thru an are looking essentially at the same radiating source and are providing output signals which are roughly equal in magnitude and have low signal - to - noise ratios , i . e ., less than 0 db . each receiver r1 thru rn processes the rf information from its associated antenna , and provides an information - containing baseband signal output b1 thru bn which could be in either analog or digital form . processing of the first baseband signal b1 will be described separately since it is somewhat different than that of the remaining baseband signals b2 thru bn . the first baseband signal b1 is delayed by a fixed delay circuit 10 , a delay being required since other baseband signals may actually precede the first baseband signal b1 in phase . the output of the fixed delay circuit 10 is designated as b1 &# 39 ; and establishes a phase reference to which the remaining baseband signals b2 thru bn are to be adjusted . a first correlator c1 is provided , the correlator c1 having as one input the first delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ; and as another input a sum signal s1 from a first adder ad1 , this signal being a sum of all other baseband signals b2 - bn after having been delayed as will be explained below . the first correlator c1 compares the phase of the first delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ; and the sum signal s1 from the first adder ad1 , and provides a first correlation signal e1 which is related to the phase difference between the delayed first baseband signal b1 &# 39 ; and the sum signal s1 . this correlation signal e1 identifies both the phase difference between the two signals and which is the leading signal . referring now to the second antenna a2 and receiver r2 combination , a second baseband signal b2 is provided , this signal most probably having a phase difference with respect to the first baseband signal b1 due to a difference in pointing between the second antenna a2 and the first antenna a1 , and a difference in lag introduced by their respective antenna and receiver systems . the second baseband signal b2 is provided to a first variable delay circuit v2 , to be described in more detail below . the output of the variable delay circuit v2 defines a second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; which is provided to a second correlator c2 . a second adder ad2 receives as inputs all of the other delayed baseband signals , b1 &# 39 ; and b3 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ;, except that of b2 &# 39 ;, and provides second sum signal s2 to the second correlator c2 . as explained for the first correlator c1 , the second correlator c2 compares the phase of the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; and the phase of the second sum signal s2 , and provides a second correlation signal e2 related to the phase difference between its two input signals b2 &# 39 ; and s2 . this correlation signal e2 is then provided to a difference unit d2 , the function of which is to provide a variable delay signal j2 related to the difference between the first correlation signal e1 and the second correlation signal e2 . this variable delay signal j2 then controls the variable delay circuit v2 so that the phase of the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; will coincide with the phase of the second sum signal s2 , that signal being the sum of all of the other delayed baseband signals b1 &# 39 ;, b3 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ;. thus , a correlation loop defined by the variable delay circuit v2 , the second correlator c2 , and the second difference unit d2 will tend to delay the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; so that it will be in phase with the second sum signal s2 . however , the second difference unit d2 provides a means whereby the variable delay signal is also related to the first correlation signal e1 , which is related to the phase difference between the first delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ; and all of the other delayed baseband signals b2 thru bn , as previously explained . baseband signals b3 thru bn from the remaining receivers r3 thru rn are processed in the same way as the second baseband signal b2 . all of the delayed baseband signals b1 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ; are provided to a summing network 12 , the output of which provides a composite baseband signal bc . the signal combiner as above described provides stable correlation loops which result in all of the delayed baseband signals b1 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ; being in phase , and provides a composite baseband signal bc from the summing network 12 which has a signal - to - noise ratio significantly higher than that of the individual baseband signals . in operation , and again referring to fig1 the outputs of the receivers r1 thru rn define baseband signals b1 thru bn , respectively , which are to be phase aligned with respect to each other . each of the receivers r2 thru rn provide input baseband signals b2 thru bn to individual control loops which provide delayed baseband output signals b2 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ; aligned to the first baseband signal which has been delayed by a predetermined time increment . use of the first correlator c1 , associated with the first delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ;, causes the delay of a first sum signal s1 to become equal to the delay provided by the fixed delay circuit 10 , whereby resulting in all the remaining baseband signals b2 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ; to be aligned with the first delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ;. subtracting the output e1 of the first correlator c1 from each of the other correlator outputs e2 thru en causes each of the correlation loops to become decoupled from the other loops , thus providing stable operation . each correlation signal e i , is given by the equation ## equ1 ## where i reaches to any of the correlation signals , k is the correlator constant , n is the number of antennas in the array and τ i is the time delay of the baseband signal into the ith correlator . thus , the output e1 of the first correlator c1 is ## equ2 ## subtracting equation ( 2 ) from equation ( 1 ) gives since τ 1 , associated with the fixed delay circuit 10 , is fixed , it may be used as a zero time references . thus , the variable delay signal j2 to each of the variable delay circuits v 2 is where τ i is now the relative delay of each delayed baseband signal with respect to the first delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ;. these equations hold only if the delayed baseband signals are aligned within one quarter of a subcarrier cycle . for acquisition , this can be easily accomplished by roughly presetting the variable delay circuits v2 thru vn using knowledge of antenna pointing coordinates . each of the correlators c1 through cn are identically configurated , the second correlator c2 being shown for exemplary purposes in fig2 . as can be seen , the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; is provided to a first one bit analog - to - digital converter 14 , the output of which comprises a bit stream having a bit rate equal to a clock pulse sample frequency f c , and each bit having a state corresponding to the polarity or state of the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; when sampled . the output of the first analog - to - digital converter 14 is designated as v2 ( t ). this signal is provided to a first shift register 16 , which is also clocked at the clock pulse sample frequency f c . the output of the first shift register 16 is a signal corresponding to v2 ( t ) going into the shift register , but delayed by a delay period γ , γ being defined as the delay in v2 ( t ) created by the number of clock pulses at the sample frequency f c required to shift v2 ( t ) through the first shift register 16 . in a similar manner , the sum signal s2 from the second adder ad2 , which comprises the sum of all of the delayed baseband signals b1 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ;, except b2 &# 39 ; is provided to a second one bit analog - to - digital converter 18 . this signal s2 is processed by the second analog - to - digital converter 18 in the same way as the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; is processed by the first analog - to - digital converter 14 . the output of the second analog - to - digital converter 18 is designated as y ( t - τ ) where τ is the phase difference between b2 &# 39 ; and s2 . this signal y ( t - τ ) is clocked through a second shift register 19 and is delayed by a time increment γ , its output being designated as y ( t - τ - γ ). a first exclusive - or circuit 20 receives v2 ( t - γ ) and y ( t - τ ) as inputs . a second exclusive - or circuit 22 is also provided , this circuit receiving as inputs v2 ( t ) and y ( t - τ - γ ). the output of both the first and second exclusive - or gates 20 and 22 , respectively , are provided to a third exclusive - or gate 24 , the output of which is indicative of whether signals b2 &# 39 ; and s2 are in phase . if they are not in phase , a counter 26 is indexed by the third exclusive - or gate 24 . the output of the second exclusive - or gate 22 defines whether the counter 26 counts up or down . the output e2 from the counter 26 thus provides an indication of the magnitude of phase difference between b2 &# 39 ; and s2 as well as which of the two signals is leading in phase with respect to the other . the counter 26 is reset at periodic intervals by a reset pulse or reset line 28 , so that the second correlation signal e2 is redefined at predetermined time intervals . the correlator c2 thus provides a count at predetermined intervals defined by a pulse on the reset line 28 which is related to the phase difference between b2 &# 39 ; and s2 . it will produce a count of zero when the input signals are exactly in phase or aligned . when the input signals are not aligned , the count is related to the phase delay . in effect , the second correlator output e2 represents an integral of the input signal phase difference averaged over a time interval defined by the reset pulse on line 28 . thus , operation of the correlator is equivalent to that of an integrate and dump circuit having a predetermined gain constant . the difference units d2 - dn are also identical in configuration . a typical difference unit d2 is shown in fig3 . the output e2 of the second correlator c2 is provided to a digital attenuator 36 for appropriate scaling in accordance with a predetermined gain constant . a comparison circuit 38 is provided for subtracting the first correlation signal e1 from the second correlation signal e2 , thereby supplying an output signal directly related to the phase error of the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ;. if both of the inputs to the comparison circuit 38 correspond to zero count , then its output would be zero , thereby indicating that the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; is in phase with the first delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ;. the output of the comparison circuit 38 is converted to an analog signal j2 by a digital - to - analog converter 40 , this delay control signal j2 controlling the amount of delay to be introduced by the second variable delay circuit v2 . the delay control signal j2 could also be a digital signal and the type of variable delay circuit v2 chosen accordingly . the comparison circuit 38 provides a means whereby a correlation signal e1 derived from the fixed delay circuit 10 and its associated sum signal is subtracted from the second correlation signal e2 . this allows the signal terms from all of the other correlation loops to cancel out in the second correlation loop because the first correlation signal e1 is related to the sum of the other delayed baseband signals b2 &# 39 ; thru bn &# 39 ; and the second correlation signal e2 is related to all of these sum signal components . therefore , subtraction of the first correlation signal e1 from the second correlation signal e2 results in only the error related to the second delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; being applied to the variable delay circuit v2 . the other correlation loops operate in the same manner . the variable delay circuits v2 thru vn are also identical in configuration , the one associated with the second baseband signal being shown in fig4 for illustrative purposes . as can be seen , the delay control signal j2 from the second difference unit d2 is provided to a frequency synthesizer and search oscillator 46 which provides two clock pulse outputs . the first clock pulse output f c is the clock pulse sample frequency previously discussed . the second clock pulse output is f c + δf , δf being controlled by the delay control signal j2 . a first in , first out ( fifo ) memory system 48 is also provided , the memory system 48 being responsive to the second clock signals f c + δf for clocking bytes into memory , and responsive to f c for clocking bytes out of memory . a delayed baseband signal analog - to digital converter 50 provides digital bytes defining the second baseband signal b2 , the bytes being provided at a frequency f c + δf . a delayed baseband signal digital - to - analog converter 52 converts output digital bytes from the memory system 48 to an analog delayed baseband signal b2 &# 39 ; at a frequency defined by the first clock pulse output frequency f c . thus , the time interval required for a specific byte to pass through the fifo memory system 48 is related to δf , which in turn is controlled by the delay control signal j2 . an analysis for one of the correlator loops will now be described . it should be understood that this analysis is equally applicable to any of the correlator loops associated with the baseband signals b2 thru bn . a laplace diagram for a correlation loop is shown in fig5 . in fig5 s is the laplace complex frequency , z is exp ( st ), t is the correlation period between correlator outputs as defined by the reset pulse on the reset line 28 , g &# 39 ; s are the gain constants for the loop components , r is the input signal delay of the second baseband signal b2 , τ e is the time delay of the loop output signal b2 &# 39 ;, and η is the noise portion of the correlation signal j2 . the delay control signal j2 is the difference between the first and second correlation signals , e1 and e2 , respectively . the noise η results from large noise components in the input signals . the delay control signal j2 updates the variable delay circuit v2 according to the difference equation where y n is the previous time delay . taking the z - transform of the preceding equation ( 5 ) provides the digital filter function indicated at 60 . the zero order hold function indicated at 62 is created between the variable delay value is held constant throughout the correlation period t . this control loop is a first order loop which means that the output error is driven to zero for a step input delay function . for a ramp input delay , the loop has a steady state error τ . sub .∞ given by where r a is the input ramp in microseconds / second , τ . sub .∞ is the steady state error in microseconds , and g is the open loop gain loop constant given by t times the product of the individual loop component gain constants . of major importance to a degradation specification is the standard deviation of the loop output loop σ e , caused by the correlator output noise η this is found to be ## equ3 ## where σ n is the standard deviation of the correlator output noise η . from stochastic analysis of the correlation function , ## equ4 ## where 2kf s is the noise bandwidth of a low pass filter in the receiver , f s is the frequency of the baseband signal and f s = 1 / t s , f d is the data rate in symbols per second and f d = 1 / t d , n is the number of antennas in the array , r t is the signal - to - noise ratio of the signal s2 at the output of the second adder ad2 . these equations are based on hard limiting of the individual signals before being supplied to the correlator . the sum of the signals to the correlator reference input , that is the sum of the signals provided by the output of the second adder ad2 , is the algebraic sum of the hard limited signals . of course , the output sum of signals from the summing network 12 is the sum of the full value individual signals before being hard limited . although each of the sum signals s1 - sn has been described as not containing the delayed baseband signal to which it is to be correlated , each sum signal could include all the delayed baseband signal b1 &# 39 ;- bn &# 39 ; without significantly affecting the correlation process . thus , from the above , it should be apparent that a method and means has been disclosed for summing baseband output signals from a plurality of receiving systems for large aperture antenna simulation wherein the sum of certain of the outputs of the receivers are used as correlation references . the various loops become stable because a means for cancelling out interactive signals from other loops is also provided .	7
referring first to fig1 there is shown an overall block diagram illustrating the relationship between specialized cpe and a call control platform disposed in an interexchange is carrier ( ixc ) network , in accordance with the present invention . cpe 110 , which is &# 34 ; specialized &# 34 ; cpe as described more fully below in connection with fig2 is connected to and served by a lec switch 121 in lec network 120 . when the present invention is utilized by a subscriber at cpe 110 , an initial call is made from cpe 110 through lec switch 121 to a call control platform ( ccp ) 131 in ixc network 130 . this initial call may illustratively be completed by dialing ( a ) a local toll - free number , such as a call to the &# 34 ; 576 &# 34 ; exchange , or ( b ) an &# 34 ; 800 &# 34 ; toll free number , either of which cause a call received in switch 121 to be routed to ccp 131 via circuit or trunk 132 . note that the present invention could also be used even if the call to the ccp is not toll - free , or if the call originates in a foreign country . note also that certain other elements in and portions of lec network 120 and ixc network 130 , such as additional switches , signaling networks , databases , and so on , are not shown in fig1 in order to simplify the description and focus attention on the salient portions of the present invention . in accordance with the present invention , once the initial connection is established between cpe 110 and ccp 131 , this connection is maintained &# 34 ; intact &# 34 ; notwithstanding the fact that the handset of cpe 110 is replaced in its cradle . this is accomplished , as explained more fully below , by arranging cpe 110 such that it switches , after the initial connection is established , from a conventional mode to a bypass mode in which it is disabled from generating a disconnect signal that would otherwise cause the cpe to be disconnected from the call control platform when the cpe is placed in an on - hook condition . in other words , in the bypass mode , cpe 110 is inhibited from generating &# 34 ; out - of - band &# 34 ; signals ( such as a switch hook actuation ) that are normally interpreted by lec switch 121 as a signal to tear down an already established connection . in this way , the connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 stays in effect until intentionally terminated . such intentional termination may be accomplished by a timing mechanism , or by activating a special button or key sequence on cpe 110 that switches the cpe from bypass mode to conventional mode , thereby restoring normal switch hook actuation and causing the connection to switch 121 to be dropped . the connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 constitutes a &# 34 ; pipe &# 34 ; through which incoming and outgoing calls from and to a &# 34 ; far - end &# 34 ; device may flow . note that in a foreign country , the lec would be replaced by a ptt and the ixc could be an international carrier . referring now to fig2 there is shown a block diagram of specialized cpe 110 of fig1 that may be used in accordance with the present invention to establish a &# 34 ; pipe &# 34 ; between cpe 110 and call control platform 131 in ixc network 130 of fig1 . cpe 110 is referred to as &# 34 ; specialized &# 34 ; because , while it performs many of the conventional functions of a telephone instrument , it is arranged to provide both in - band and out - of - band signaling generation and detection in a non - conventional manner . with respect to conventional functions , cpe 110 includes a conventional receiver / transmitter and handset 225 , which is interconnected with other elements via a bus 250 . a keypad 221 is provided so that a subscriber using the cpe may enter signals corresponding to dialed telephone numbers , or other sequences that are recognized as control sequences that cause specific actions to occur . a ringer 222 , which may be a tone ringer , is arranged to provide different audible indications , for example , to alert a subscriber to an incoming call that arrives while a piped connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 is in effect , and to differentiate such a call from a conventional call received when such a piped connection is not in effect . a display 223 , which may be an lcd display , is arranged to provide visual information to a subscriber , indicating , for example , the digits dialed on keypad 221 during the initiation of a call , the time and date , calling number identification , and information regarding the status of various features and functions of the cpe . a tone generator 224 is arranged to generate audible tones that can be perceived by a subscriber through the handset , such as &# 34 ; call waiting &# 34 ; tones indicating during the course of an on - going call that another call has arrived . cpe 110 is connected to lec network 120 via a line interface 240 which provides two principal functions . first , an out - of - band signaling detector / generator 241 provides conventional control and supervisory signal functions with respect to incoming and outgoing calls . second , an in - band signaling detector / generator 242 provides control and supervisory signal functions with respect to incoming and outgoing calls that are made while the pipe between cpe 110 and ccp 131 is in effect . detector / generators 241 and 242 operate under the control of processor 210 , which is a microprocessor that carries out program instructions stored in program memory 211 . various processes performed by these programs include originating an outbound call , discussed more fully below in connection with fig5 and receiving an incoming call , discussed more fully below in connection with fig8 and 9 . when cpe 110 is operating in its conventional mode , detector / generator 241 responds to ringing signals applied by the lec network 120 , and causes ringer 222 to generate an audible alerting tone to indicate the arrival of an incoming call . if the call is answered by lifting the handset from its cradle , cradle and switch hook 220 generate a switch closure or other signal that is detected by lec network 120 , terminating the ringing signal and cutting the call through to receiver / transmitter and handset 225 . similarly , if the handset is removed from its cradle , this is detected by cradle and switch hook 220 , which generates a switch closure or other signal that is detected by lec network 120 , causing dial tone to be applied so that an outgoing call may be initiated . this same functionality provides cpe 110 with the ability to conventionally initiate an initial toll free call to ccp 131 , so that a piped connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 can be established . all of the foregoing functions provided by cpe 110 when operating in the conventional mode are considered to involve &# 34 ; out - of - band &# 34 ; signaling , since the signaling involves switch closures , establishment of ground loops , application of and detection of battery and ringing voltages , etc ., and does not involve generation and transmission of voice frequency tones except for dialing . cpe 110 may be switched between conventional and bypass modes either locally or remotely . if switching between modes is controlled locally , cpe 110 may include designated mode control buttons 226 , which , when pressed , switch the cpe from conventional mode to bypass mode , and , vice - versa , from bypass mode to conventional mode . alternatively , switching between modes may be accomplished by entry of a specific sequence of key strokes on keypad 221 . if switching between modes is controlled remotely , cpe 110 may be arranged to respond to signals generated by ccp 131 . after a piped connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 has been established , and cpe 110 is operating in bypass mode , detector / generator 242 responds to in - band ringing signals applied by ccp 131 , and causes ringer 222 to generate an audible alerting tone different from the tone generated in response to conventional calls , to indicate the arrival of an incoming call that was directed to ccp 131 when a person dialed a personal telephone number provided to the subscriber . if the call is answered by lifting the handset from its cradle , cradle and switch hook 220 generate an in - band switch closure signal that is not detected by lec network 120 , but rather is detected only by ccp 131 . this signal causes termination of the ringing signal generated by ccp 131 , and results in cutting the call through to receiver / transmitter and handset 225 . similarly , if the handset is removed from its cradle , this is detected by cradle and switch hook 220 , which generates an in - band switch closure signal that is not detected by lec network 120 , but rather is detected only by ccp 131 . this signal causes dial tone to be applied to cpe 110 from ccp 131 , so that an outgoing call may be initiated . all of the foregoing functions provided by cpe 110 when operating in the bypass mode are considered to involve &# 34 ; in - band &# 34 ; signaling , since the signaling is accomplished by generation and transmission of voice frequency tones that have no effect on the connection through lec switch 121 . this means , for example , that even if the handset is returned to its cradle , the connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 will not be terminated . rather , termination occurs only when a special sequence is entered on keypad 221 and recognized in processor 210 , or when a special button provided on cpe 110 that is part of input / output elements 231 , is activated . note here that fig2 also includes a &# 34 ; smart card &# 34 ; reader 230 connected to bus 250 . reader 230 is provided so that calls can be initiated using a credit card - like programmable data carrier , and information received during a call can be stored in such a card . other optional input / output elements 231 include voice recognition and voice response circuitry . fig3 is a block diagram of call control platform 131 of fig1 arranged in accordance with the present invention . the principal functions of this platform include ( a ) receipt and generation of in - band signaling messages to and from cpe 110 , ( b ) routing of incoming calls to the appropriate subscriber , based upon the dialed number or other routing / call completion information received with a call , ( c ) routing of outgoing calls to the appropriate far - end destination , based upon dialed digits collected from the cpe , and ( d ) initiation of a billing process , if necessary . many of the foregoing functions may be performed by an appropriately configured program controlled switch , such as the conversant voice response unit available from at & amp ; t corp ., or by similar , commercially available equipment . accordingly , the components shown in fig3 are meant to be illustrative only , and not limit the arrangement that may be used by persons skilled in the art . in fig3 ccp 131 is connected to lec network 120 ( and through that network to cpe 110 ) via a line interface 340 that includes an in - band signaling detector / generator 341 that may be similar to detector / generator 242 of fig2 . ccp 131 does not require an out - of - band detector / generator , since that functionality is provided in the lec switch 121 , and ccp 131 does not respond to the same out - of - band signals to which switch 121 responds . incoming and outgoing calls are coupled through line interface 340 to and from a bus 350 , which interconnects the other components of ccp 131 . these components include a switch fabric 321 , which provides that actual connection function between lec network 120 and other elements in ixc network 130 , which are coupled to bus 350 via a network / trunk interface 330 . a digit collection and analysis element 320 may be connected to bus 350 and arranged to receive and analyze signals generated in cpe 110 using key pad 221 of fig2 so that , with respect to outgoing calls , switch fabric 321 is enabled to provide the appropriate connections necessary to complete the calls . a voice prompt and response processor 325 is provided to generate voice prompts , collect responses made by way of voice or touch - tone entry , evaluate the responses , and perform other operations in accordance with stored control programs . processor 310 , which may be a microprocessor operating under the control of program instructions stored in program memory 311 , is arranged to control the overall functioning of ccp 131 and the components connected to bus 350 . various processes performed by these programs include originating an outbound call , discussed more fully below in connection with fig6 and receiving an incoming call , discussed more fully below in connection with fig7 . a separate billing processor 322 may be part of ccp 131 , or , alternatively , this functionality may be incorporated within processor 310 . in either event , the billing function is initiated , as described more fully below , when , after a piped connection is established between cpe 110 and ccp 131 , subsequent outbound calls are initiated from cpe 110 . a subscriber data memory 312 contains profiles and other information relating to individual subscribers authorized to use the features and functions of ccp 131 , and may be accessed by processor 310 when performing the various processes described below . referring now to fig4 there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the steps in the process for establishing an initial connection constituting a &# 34 ; pipe &# 34 ; between the cpe 110 of fig2 and call control platform 131 of fig3 . this process is performed by a subscriber using cpe 110 , but several steps in the process , as indicated below , are performed in ccp 131 . the process of fig4 begins in step 401 , and proceeds to step 403 , in which a determination is made as to whether or not the &# 34 ; specialized &# 34 ; cpe ( such as the cpe of fig2 ) is in place , i . e ., is connected to a telephone line at a place where a subscriber using the present invention intends to make and / or receive telephone calls . if not , the existing cpe is replaced with the specialized cpe in step 405 , and the process proceeds to step 407 . note here that it is contemplated that the specialized cpe of fig2 is portable , so that it may be carried from place to place by a subscriber . the cpe then may be &# 34 ; plugged in &# 34 ; to any standard telephone jack , as desired . this would be particularly useful in a situation where a salesperson desires to make and receive calls from &# 34 ; temporary office &# 34 ; or a hotel room . in step 407 , the subscriber lifts the handset on the cpe and receives dial tone from the lec in step 409 . the subscriber then dials a toll free number , such as a local toll free number or an 800 number , which initiates a call from the cpe through lec network 120 to ccp 131 in ixc network 130 . this process of calling a platform is familiar to many subscribers , and is used , for example , to place many types of operator assisted calls placed to the number 1 - 800 - call - att . note that the number dialed is not required to be a toll - free number ; the present invention could be practiced using a conventional domestic or international long distance number . when the connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 is initially made , the caller is prompted in step 413 ( for example , by voice prompt and response processor 325 of fig3 ) to enter an identification ( id ) and personal identification number ( pin ), in order to identify and verify that the caller is in fact a subscriber authorized to use ccp 131 and the features and functions of the present invention . if the pin is validated , the features associated with this particular subscriber are activated in step 415 . as an example , subscriber data memory 312 of fig3 may contain a profile for each subscriber , including a speed dialing list to be used in connection with outbound calls , a call forwarding profile , to be used in connection with incoming calls to provide alternate routing , a billing profile to indicate how ( e . g ., to which account ) outgoing calls should be billed , and an operating profile to indicate , for example , how long a piped connection should be maintained before it is automatically disconnected . alternatively , the subscriber profile may be downloaded from elsewhere in the ixc network following subscriber identification and verification . following completion of step 415 , the subscriber may be queried , in step 417 , to determine if the subscriber desires to place a call to a far - end destination at the present time . if so , the process illustrated in fig5 is performed . on the other hand , if a no result occurs in step 417 , the handset of cpe 110 is returned to its cradle in step 419 . at this point , cpe 110 is considered to be &# 34 ; on hook &# 34 ;. however , because of the arrangement of cpe 110 , as described previously , the on - hook status is not detected by switch 121 in lec network 120 , because the on - hook status is evidenced by an in - band rather than an out - of - band signal . accordingly , switch 121 does not disconnect the connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 . referring now to fig5 there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the steps in the process performed in cpe 110 for originating an outbound call . subsequently , in connection with fig6 the steps performed in ccp 131 in originating the same call will be described . when a subscriber lifts the handset of cpe 110 in step 501 , the subscriber receives a dial tone from ccp 131 in step 503 . this is not the conventional dial tone received when the handset of conventional cpe is lifted , since ( a ) cpe 110 is now connected , via a piped connection , to ccp 131 , and ( b ) the actuation of the switch hook caused by lifting the handset is not detected by switch 121 , since the conventional out - of - band signaling does not occur . in step 505 , the subscriber dials the number of the desired far - end destination using keypad 221 , and thereby generates in - band signaling that is received by ccp 131 in digit collection and analysis element 320 . the call is routed by switch fabric 321 through network / trunk interface 330 to the appropriate destination , causing cpe 110 to receive a ringing or busy signal in step 507 , depending upon the status of the far - end destination . if the far - end destination is busy , the subscriber replaces the handset in the cradle in step 509 , and the same or another call may be initiated by repeating the process of fig5 from the beginning . if the far - end answers , the process proceeds to step 511 , in which a two - way talking path is established between the subscriber using cpe 110 and the far - end destination . communications continue until terminated in accordance with one of three possibilities : first , if the subscriber replaces the handset in its cradle in step 513 , an in - band signal is generated in step 515 , causing the connection to the far - end destination to be disconnected by ccp 131 in step 515 . the process returns to the beginning in step 516 , awaiting initiation of another outgoing call , or arrival of an incoming call . the piped connection , however , remains in effect , because switch 121 does not respond to the in - band signal generated in step 515 . second , if the far - end disconnects in step 517 , this event is detected by ccp 131 , causing ccp 131 to disconnect the call in the normal fashion in step 519 . this will be discerned by the subscriber in the normal fashion , causing the subscriber to replace the handset in its cradle in step 521 . the process returns to the beginning in step 522 , awaiting initiation of another outgoing or incoming call . again , the piped connection , however , remains in effect , because switch 121 does not respond to the signal generated when the handset is returned to its cradle in step 521 . third , the subscriber may , in step 523 , press a button or enter a sequence of keystrokes using keypad 221 on cpe 110 , which , depending upon which button is actuated or which sequence is entered , may indicate a desire to ( a ) disconnect the current call , or ( b ) disconnect the current call and initiate an new call . in the former event , the process proceeds to step 515 , in which an in - band signal is generated , causing ccp 131 to disconnect the current call . in the latter event , the process proceeds to step 525 , in which ( like step 515 ) an in - band signal is generated , causing ccp 131 to disconnect the current call . however , following step 525 , the process of fig5 returns to step 503 , so that a subsequent call may be initiated . fig6 is a flow diagram illustrating the steps in the process performed in call control platform 131 for originating an outbound call . the process begins in step 601 , when ccp 131 receives an in - band signal from cpe 110 indicating that the had set was lifted from its cradle . alternatively , in step 601 , a call may also be initiated when ccp 131 detects that a call origination button on cpe 110 has been actuated , or when a special key sequence has been entered on keypad 221 . in step 603 , ccp 131 generates and transmits to cpe 110 , an in - band signal dial tone signal . digits dialed by the subscriber using keypad 221 are received in step 605 , and analyzed by digit collection and analysis element 320 in step 607 . at this point in the process , any originating features , such as speed dialing , may be applied to the call , and signals sent to switch fabric 321 so as to route the outgoing call to the appropriate far - end destination . subsequent processing depends upon whether the far - end destination is determined , in step 609 , to be busy or idle . if a yes result occurs in step 609 , indicating a busy condition , an in - band busy signal is played or provided to the subscriber in step 611 , causing the subscriber to return the handset to its cradle . this is detected in step 613 , whereby the process returns to the beginning , in step 615 , to await origination of a subsequent call . if a no result occurs in step 609 , the far - end destination is idle , and an in - band audible ringing signal is played to the subscriber in step 617 . ringing continues until it is determined in step 619 that the far - end destination has answered . if a no result occurs in step 619 , the subscriber will again return the handset to its cradle , and the process proceeds to step 613 , described above . if a yes result occurs in step 609 , the billing process in billing processor 322 of fig3 is started in step 621 , and a two - way talk path is established in step 623 between the subscriber at cpe 110 and the called party at the far - end destination . this status continues until the call is terminated , either when the far - end disconnects , or when the subscriber at cpe 110 disconnects . if ccp 131 detects a far - end disconnect in step 625 , the billing process is completed in step 627 , and , in step 629 , the current call is disconnected from cpe 110 such that the subscriber is aware that the far - end has disconnected . this would ordinarily be accomplished by maintaining silence on the line , or by playing an announcement to the subscriber . in either event , the subscriber would return the handset to its cradle , which action is detected in step 631 , causing the process to return to the beginning in step 633 . note that the piped connection remains in effect . if ccp 131 detects an in - band disconnect signal from cpe 110 in step 635 , which occurs for example , because the subscriber has returned the handset to its cradle , the billing process is completed in step 637 , and , in step 639 , the current call is disconnected from the far - end . this would ordinarily be accomplished by generating an appropriate disconnect signal illustratively in network / trunk interface 330 . the process then returns to the beginning in step 641 . note again that the piped connection remains in effect . referring now to fig7 there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the steps in the process performed in call control platform 131 for receiving an incoming call . the process begins in step 701 , when a call placed to a personal telephone number ( ptn ) associated with a particular subscriber using the present invention , is routed to ccp 131 . as an example , the ptn can be a &# 34 ; 500 &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 700 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; 800 &# 34 ; number that is unique to an individual subscriber , and that &# 34 ; follows &# 34 ; the subscriber to any location at which the subscriber is currently present . in this example , the call would be routed by the first switch encountered in ixc network 130 , using information obtained from a data base lookup which associates the 500 , 700 or 800 number with the routing number for ccp 131 . when a call is received in ccp 131 , a determination is made in step 703 as to whether the cpe 110 is busy , perhaps on another incoming call or on a previously initiated outgoing call . if a no result occurs in step 703 , the appropriate incoming call features for the particular called subscriber identified by the incoming call are applied in step 705 . this would include , for example , forwarding the call to another location in the event that the subscriber had invoked call forwarding , or invoking distinctive call alerting . next , in step 707 , an in - band alerting signal is sent to cpe 110 , causing an audible alerting signal to be generated . in response to the alerting signal generated as a result of the signal transmitted in step 707 , the subscriber will or will not answer the call ; in the latter event , the far - end caller will disconnect . each situation is discussed in turn . if ccp 131 receives an in - band signal in step 711 , indicating that the handset on cpe 110 has been lifted , this indicates that the incoming call has been answered . in this event , a billing record may be generated in step 713 , if a charge is imposed on a user of the present invention with respect to incoming calls . however , this step is optional . next , in step 715 , a two - way talk path is established between the caller at the far - end and the subscriber at cpe 110 . the process then proceed to step 717 , which transfers control to either step 625 or 635 in fig6 depending upon how the call is terminated . if ccp 131 does not receive an in - band signal in step 711 , but , instead , the far - end caller disconnects in step 719 , the process proceeds to step 721 , so that ccp 131 stops sending the in - band alerting signal to cpe 110 . the process proceeds to step 722 and then returns to the beginning , to await : another incoming call . if a yes result occurs in step 703 , indicating the cpe 110 is busy , the subscriber &# 39 ; s profile is checked in step 723 to determine if this subscriber has any &# 34 ; busy features &# 34 ; which specify what is to be done with an incoming call when the subscriber is engaged in another call . if the subscriber has no such features , the process proceeds to step 725 , in which a busy signal is returned to the far - end caller , and the process returns to the beginning in step 726 . if the subscriber &# 39 ; s profile provides for alternate routing , the incoming call is routed to the alternate destination in step 727 , and the process proceeds to step 726 and returns to the beginning to await another call . if the subscriber &# 39 ; s profile provides for &# 34 ; call waiting &# 34 ; functionality , the process proceeds to step 729 , in which a distinctive in - band alerting signal is generated and applied to the cpe . this signal should not simulate the familiar tone that accompanies an incoming call when conventional call waiting service is provided to distinguish this case from lec initiated call - waiting . after the in - band call waiting signal is generated in step 729 , an &# 34 ; acceptance &# 34 ; indication may be received from the subscriber in step 731 , indicating that the subscriber wishes to answer the incoming call , or the far - end may disconnect the call in step 737 . in the former event , the existing call is placed on hold in step 733 , and the new call is cut through to the subscriber at cpe 110 , following which the call waiting process is completed using in - band signaling in step 735 . on the other hand , in the latter event , ccp 131 stops sending the in - band alerting signal in step 739 , and the process proceeds to step 740 , where it returns to the beginning to await arrival of a new call or completion of the current call . fig8 a flow diagram illustrating the steps in the process performed in cpe 110 for the process for receiving an incoming call , when the call is placed to a subscriber &# 39 ; s ptn and routed to cpe 110 from call control platform 131 . the process begins in step 801 , when cpe 110 receives an in - band alerting signal from ccp 131 , and proceeds to step 803 , where a determination is made as to whether the incoming call is a call waiting call ( because cpe 110 is already engaged in an on - going call ) or is a new call to an &# 34 ; idle &# 34 ; line . if the result in step 803 is no , indicating that there is no other call being handled , the appropriate ringing signal is generated in step 805 , causing ringer 222 to be activated . in response , the subscriber may or may not answer the call . if the subscriber answers the call , the handset is lifted from its cradle , and an in - band signal indicating that the handset has been lifted in generated in step 807 . the process then proceeds to step 809 , in which control is transferred to step 511 of fig5 where a two - way talk path is established and the call can continue until terminated . on the other hand , if the subscriber does not answer the call , the process proceeds to step 811 , in which ringing is terminated when ccp 131 ceases to continue providing the in - band alerting signal . if call waiting is invoked , and the result in step 803 is yes , the appropriate alerting signal is generated in step 813 . this signal is an &# 34 ; alerting &# 34 ; signal rather than a &# 34 ; ringing &# 34 ; signal as generated in step 805 , since , in this case , the subscriber is engaged in an on - going call and receives the alerting signal through the handset and not ringer 222 . in response to the alerting signal generated in step 813 , the subscriber may or may not respond with an &# 34 ; acceptance &# 34 ; signal indicating a desire to place the existing call on hold and to be connected to the incoming call . this acceptance signal may be a switch hook flash , or actuation of a button on the cpe , or entry of a special key sequence using keypad 221 . if an acceptance signal is entered by the subscriber , an in - band acceptance signal is transmitted from cpe 110 to ccp 131 in step 815 , and the process proceeds to step 817 , in which the call waiting process is completed using in - band signaling between cpe 110 and ccp 131 . on the other hand , if an acceptance signal is not entered by the subscriber , the alerting signal generated in step 813 is terminated in step 819 , when the in - band alerting signal from ccp 131 ends . fig9 is a flow diagram illustrating the steps in the process performed in cpe 110 for the process for receiving an incoming call , when the call is placed to a subscriber &# 39 ; s cpe location telephone number and routed to cpe 110 from the lec to which the cpe is connected . ordinarily , if cpe 110 is not arranged to provide call waiting functionality , a caller that places a call to the subscriber &# 39 ; s cpe location telephone number will receive a busy indication at any time when the piped connection between cpe 110 and ccp 131 is in effect . however , as indicated in fig9 such a call may be received in cpe 110 by subscribing to the lec call - waiting feature ( if available ) and arranging cpe 110 to recognize and appropriately respond to the conventional call waiting signal generated by lec switch 121 . the process of fig9 begins in step 901 , in which a call waiting signal is received in cpe 110 . in response , cpe 110 generates an appropriate alerting signal in step 903 . note here that this signal may be different from the alerting signal generated in step 813 , so that the subscriber is aware that the incoming call was placed to the subscriber &# 39 ; s cpe location telephone number rather than the subscriber &# 39 ; s ptn . in response to the alerting signal generated in step 903 , the subscriber may or may not respond with an &# 34 ; acceptance &# 34 ; signal indicating a desire to place the existing call on hold and to be connected to the incoming call . this acceptance signal may be a switch hook flash , or actuation of a button on the cpe , or entry of a special key sequence using keypad 221 . if an acceptance ; signal is entered by the subscriber , switch - hook flash is generated by cpe 110 in step 905 . this is an out - of - band signal , and is detected in switch 121 , since the piped connection passes through that switch . accordingly , the call waiting process may then be completed using conventional out - of - band signaling , in step 907 . on the other hand , if an acceptance signal is not entered by the subscriber , the alerting signal generated in step 903 is terminated in step 909 , when the out - of - band altering signal from lec switch 121 ends . various modification and adaptations of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art . for that reason , it is intended that the invention be limited only by the appended claims .	7
a system embodying the present invention is illustrated in fig1 . as in a conventional alarm system , the system includes one or more detector networks 12 having individual alarm condition detectors d which are monitored by a system controller 14 . when an alarm condition is sensed , the system controller signals the alarm to the appropriate devices through at least one network 16 of addressable alarm notification appliances a . because the individual devices are addressable , supervision occurs by polling each device so that a network 16 , also referred to as a notification appliance circuit ( nac ), can include one or more single - ended stub circuits 22 . as shown , all of the notification appliances are coupled across a pair of power lines 18 and 20 that also carry communications . a preferred combination audible / visible notification appliance 24 is presented in fig2 . embodiments of individual audible and visible appliances are subsets of this schematic . lines 18 , 20 are coupled across over - voltage protector 110 to protect the appliance 24 against power surges and lightning strikes . a microprocessor 126 controls and operates audible indicator circuit 106 , flashing visible indicator circuit 108 and status indicator 120 . a shift register 118 provides the microprocessor 126 with serial access to six address bits set in dip switch 112 , three device code bits set in register 116 , and a switch status bit set by switch 114 . data - in and sync state inputs are provided to the microprocessor 126 through sync / data detector 122 . the microprocessor 126 includes data output line 138 , strobe power converter control line 140 , strobe flash trigger 142 , horn control line 144 , and led control line 146 . the microprocessor 126 also includes random access memory ( ram ) 129 and read only memory ( rom ) 127 . in an alternate embodiment , the functions of microprocessor 126 , as disclosed hereinbelow are performed by an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ). the audible indicator circuit 106 includes a drive circuit 134 that drives an audio transducer 136 . in the embodiment of fig2 , the audio transducer is a conventional piezo element . the microprocessor 126 operates the audible indicator circuit 106 by sweeping the drive circuit 134 with a nominal 3 khz square wave signal on horn control line 144 . in an alternate embodiment ( fig2 a ), the audible indicator circuit 106 can instead include a speaker 136 ′ as the audio transducer through which the microprocessor 126 plays prerecorded announcements retrieved from rom 127 . in the alternate embodiment of appliance 24 , an audible indicator circuit 106 ′ includes a selector 137 which selects between the 3 khz square wave signal on line 144 and an audio signal 135 under control of the microprocessor 126 on control line 143 . the audio signal 135 is provided to the appliance 24 from the system controller 14 either on a separate loop or superimposed on power / communication lines 18 , 20 . the flashing visible indicator circuit 108 can be easily constructed from the teachings in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 559 , 492 ( stewart et al . ), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . the visible indicator circuit 108 includes a boost converter 128 , capacitor 131 , high - voltage trigger 130 and flash bulb 132 . the boost converter 128 is a charging circuit powered by the power lines 18 , 20 that applies a series of current pulses to capacitor 131 on line 133 to charge the capacitor . the high - voltage trigger 130 is a firing circuit that causes the capacitor 131 to discharge through the flash bulb 132 . to avoid overcharging of the capacitor 131 as the flash bulb waits for a firing signal , the microprocessor 126 disables the boost converter 128 through control line 140 when the capacitor reaches a firing voltage level . in the alarm system disclosed in stewart et al ., the firing circuit responds to a change in voltage across the power lines to trigger the discharge . in the preferred embodiment of the notification appliance 24 of the present invention , the microprocessor triggers discharge through strobe flash trigger line 142 . the status indicator 120 in the preferred embodiment is an led that is controlled by the microprocessor 126 through control line 146 . while an unobtrusive led indicator is preferred , it should be understood that in other embodiments the status indicator can include audible indicators such as a horn or speaker or even the circuit 106 operated at a much lower volume . the switch 114 is a manually - activated switch , which is preferably a magnetic - field sensitive switch such as a reed switch . in a typical application , a technician manually passes a magnet across the face of the appliance to activate the reed switch . a single appliance test process using the switch is described further herein . in an alternate embodiment , the switch 114 comprises an infrared receiver responsive to an activation signal from an infrared transmitter operated by the technician . a detected activation signal sets the switch status bit in shift register 118 . the notification appliances 24 are operated through commands received over the nac 16 from the system controller 14 . at system installation and at predetermined intervals , the appliances monitor the nac 16 for a timing - training message broadcast from the system controller 14 which causes each appliance to adjust its local timebase to match that of the system controller 14 . the alarm system has two normal modes of operation : supervisory mode and alarm mode . in the supervisory mode , the system controller 14 applies 8 to 9 vdc to the nac 16 to provide only enough power to support two - way communications between the system controller and the microprocessor 126 of each appliance 24 . in the alarm mode , the system controller 14 applies a nominal 24 vdc to the nac 16 to supply power to operate the audible and visible indicator circuits of the appliances . in the preferred embodiment , the system controller 14 communicates digital data to the appliances using a three level voltage signal : sync ( less than 3 volts ), data 1 ( 8 - 9 volts ) and data 0 ( 24 volts ). communication from the notification appliance 24 towards the system controller 14 is effected by the microprocessor 126 on data line 138 . when not performing any functions , the microprocessor is put into a sleep mode to conserve power . the sync level signal is used to wake up the microprocessor 126 from a low power state . the appliance then checks whether a message is addressed to it and , if so , acts on the message . after a predetermined period with no activity , the device goes back to sleep . on reset or power up , the microprocessor 126 reads the dip switch 112 to obtain the individual appliance address . it then monitors the nac 16 for polls to this address by the system controller 14 . device code bits hardcoded into register 116 indicate the appliance type , e . g ., horn , flashing bulb or both . an appliance can only act on a command by the system controller to turn on when the appliance is in alarm mode . an appliance 24 does not go into alarm mode operation until the voltage across the nac 16 exceeds the minimum alarm mode voltage ( e . g ., 24 vdc ) for more than 5 milliseconds , as determined by the microprocessor 126 . the appliance 24 turns off when the line voltage is determined to have dropped below the minimum alarm mode voltage continuously for greater than 5 milliseconds . selected groups of appliances 24 can be controlled by using group designators programmed by the system controller 14 . the appliance 24 retains the group designators in ram 129 of the microprocessor 126 . in addition , default group designators include groups designated all audibles , all visibles , and all appliances . operation of the notification appliance 24 in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to fig3 - 5 . a flowchart illustrating an installation verification process of the present invention is shown in fig3 . the notification appliances 24 are installed and the system controller is programmed during a system installation at step 100 . to test and verify the programming of the controller , a system test mode is entered at the system controller 14 at step 102 and a technician testing the system initiates an alarm input at a particular alarm condition detector ( e . g ., smoke detector , pull station ) at step 104 . at step 106 , the alarm input is detected and the system controller selects one or more notification appliances to be operated that correspond to the specific detected alarm input at step 108 . in response , the system controller transmits an led on message to the selected notification appliances at step 110 to operate status indicator 120 . this then allows the technician to conduct a “ silent test ” of the appliances without actually sounding the audible indicators or flashing the visible indicators . after a test time interval , or on a command by the technician , the system controller transmits an led off message to the selected appliances at step 112 to deactivate status indicator 120 and the alarm system returns to normal operation at step 114 . in the case of a combination audible / visible notification appliance , there are alarm modes in which the flashing visible indicator , audible indicator or both are to be operated . therefore , it is important when conducting silent testing of the appliances to provide an indication to distinguish such alarm modes . one method is to operate the status indicator 120 at a first rate to indicate that both the audible and visible indicators are being tested , at a second rate to indicate only the visible indicator , and at a third rate to indicate only the audible indicator . the different rates can instead be different on / off duty cycles . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating a troubleshooting process of the present invention . in the normal mode of operation , the system controller 14 supervises the notification appliance circuit 16 by polling the notification appliances 24 at step 200 . the appliances respond to the poll with an answer message transmitted back to the system controller at step 202 . if all of the appliances answer the poll at step 204 , then the system controller can assume that the appliances are functional and that the wiring has integrity . if an appliance does not answer the poll , a system trouble is issued by the system controller at step 206 . at step 208 , if the technician selects a diagnostic command , the system controller enters a troubleshooting mode on the specific nac 16 associated with that particular appliance al 210 . the system controller at step 212 transmits an led on message to the all appliances group address on the specified nac 16 . all of the appliances then operate their respective led indicators , except for the faulty appliance , which can be visually identified by the technician . after a test interval long enough to allow proper identification of the faulty appliance or on a command by the technician , the system controller transmits an led off message to the all appliances group address and the system returns to normal alarm operation at step 214 . as noted in the background , conventional testing of a single notification appliance is accomplished by causing all of the appliances on a notification circuit to operate , followed by a technician walking through the building to check that all of the appliances are functioning . this process can be very disruptive in buildings such as hospitals which do not typically have an unoccupied period for such testing . a flowchart illustrating an individual appliance testing process in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig5 . at step 300 , the system controller 14 sends a broadcast message to the appliances to put them into a manual test mode . in this manual test mode , the status of magnetic switch 114 is monitored by the microprocessor 126 at steps 302 , 304 , 306 , 308 . at step 302 a timer is reset and the status of the magnetic switch bit is checked . if a switch activation has occurred , then at step 306 the timer is incremented and at step 308 the timer value is compared with a sample period . if the timer value is less than the sample period , the status checking loops through steps 304 , 306 , 308 until either a switch activation is not detected at step 304 or the timer value reaches the sample period at step 308 . in an alternate embodiment , the status checking loop 304 - 308 can be modified to only require the switch to be activated for a portion ( e . g ., 90 %) of the sample period to account for “ bounce ” in the switch . after the timer value reaches the sample period , meaning that the switch has been activated for the duration of the sample period and therefore a legitimate switch activation has occurred , the microprocessor 126 at step 310 operates the status indicator 120 briefly ( e . g ., 500 milliseconds ) to serve as a local acknowledgment to the technician . the microprocessor then sends a switch active message to the system controller . the system controller receives the switch active message and may note the event in a system history log before putting the notification appliance circuit 16 into alarm mode and sending an appliance on message to the particular activated appliance at step 312 . the microprocessor 126 receives the appliance on message and operates the appropriate alarm indicator circuits 106 , 108 . after a test interval , the system controller sends an appliance off message to turn off the alarm indicator circuits . in an alternate embodiment , the individual appliance testing process is modified to aid the technician in determining which appliances have been tested and which are yet to be tested . accordingly , at the commencement of manual test mode , the system controller 14 sends a broadcast led on - period message to cause the appliances to operate the status indicator 120 at a specified periodic rate . upon a switch activation as described above with respect to steps 304 , 306 , 308 of fig5 , the operation of the individual status indicator at step 310 is modified to instead deactivate the status indicator , followed by the remaining steps 312 and 314 . in this manner , a technician is able to distinguish untested appliances ( blinking status indicator ) from tested appliances ( extinguished status indicator ). alternatively , the testing could begin with the status indicator off and each would be turned - on to indicate testing . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various is changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation , many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described specifically herein . such equivalents are intended to be encompassed in the scope of the claims .	6
in a heat - treating apparatus according to the present invention , a chamber 10 is constructed of a top plate 12 , an upper frame 14 and lower frame 16 for forming side walls and a platen 18 and adapted to house and treat a object to be treated . these component parts of the chamber can be disassembled in such a manner as shown in fig2 and assembled in such a manner as shown in fig1 when they are used . in the assembled state , o - rings are fitted between the component parts to provide a complete air - tight space within the chamber 10 . the o - rings are fitted in place between the component parts by the techniques known to the mechanical engineers in the art and omitted for brevity . cooling systems , not shown , are associated with the component parts to prevent an adverse effect resulting from &# 34 ; overheating &# 34 ;, such as the oxidation of respective component parts at the time of heating treatment . a pressure - reducing pipe and so on , not shown , are connected to the lower frame 16 of the chamber at a location opposite to hinge members 24 to properly control an atmosphere within the chamber which is necessary at the time of heat treatment . the top plate 12 is of a hollow type and made of stainless steel and holds a cooling member therein . a number of a halogen - contained type infrared lamps 26 are arranged on the top plate 12 to provide a incoherent light source for heating . a pair of support legs 28 are connected to one side of the top plate 12 and swingably supported on a pair of associated hinges which are fitted to the lower frame 16 . the upper frame 14 is of a hollow type and made of stainless steel . a cooling member is held within the hollow frame 14 . the inner surface 32 of a central opening of the upper frame 14 is au - evaporated to provide a mirror - like surface . a pair of support legs 34 are connected to one side of the upper frame and swingably supported on the hinges 24 which are coupled to the lower frame 16 . a pneumatic type damper 36 is coupled to the upper frame 14 to prevent a sudden drop of the top plate 12 and upper frame 14 during assembly . the lower frame 16 is of a hollow type and made of stainless steel . a cooling member is housed within the hollow frame 16 . gold is evaporated on an inner surface 38 of a central opening of the lower frame 16 to provide a mirror - like inner surface . a pair of legs 42 are connected at one end to the lower frame 16 and provided with the hinges 24 which support the top plate 12 and upper frame 14 . a window plate 22 is made of quartz and sandwiched between the upper frame 14 and the lower frame 16 . the plate 22 serves to allow passage of only a light beam which is effective to give heat . in the embodiment of the present invention , the window plate 22 is fitted in a recess 44 of the lower frame 16 during assembly and held down by the lower surface of the upper frame 14 . a ring - like temperature security member 56 is supported beneath the lower surface of the window plate 22 as will be set forth below . the platen 18 made of aluminum is of a hollow type and holds a cooling member therein . the plate 18 is supported by a stem 46 which is attached to a central lower surface of the platen 18 and which is associated with a lifting mechanism , not shown . as a result , the platen 18 is driven by the lifting mechanism and can be lifted between a position as indicated by a dot - dash line and a position as indicated by a solid line in fig1 . three support pins 52 are provided on an upper surface 48 of the platen 18 and made of a material resistant to a treating temperature , such as quartz . the respective support pin 52 is elastically movable up and down by means of a spring means held within the platen 18 . a substrate 70 to be treated , such as a semiconductor wafer , is supported at three points by the three support pins 52 . the substrate 70 is placed on the support pins 52 and so set as to be floated within the chamber 10 , leaving an adequately great spacing 54 between the rear surface of the substrate 70 and the platen 18 . since the top surface 48 of the platen 18 is mirror - finished , the beam of light which passes through the quartz window plate 22 is reflected from the inner surface 38 of the lower frame and top surface 48 of the platen and past the spacing 54 onto the rear surface of the substrate 70 so that the rear surface of the substrate 70 is subjected to thermal illumination . in place of supporting the substrate in a floated state by pins within the chamber , the substrate can be floated by jetting a gas upwardly from the top surface of the platen . at the time of heat treatment , the ring - like temperature security member 56 is located around the substrate 70 as shown in fig3 and 4 . for the temperature security member 56 , a proper material is selected from a material the same in nature as , and different from , the semiconductor substrate 70 and , more preferably , a material having a smaller specific heat . it is , therefore , necessary for the temperature security member 56 to have an inner opening 58 similar in outline to , and somewhat greater than , the substrate 70 . a dimensional difference between he outline of the substrate 70 and the inner opening 58 of the temperature security member provides a gap 62 of , for example , about 0 . 5 mm . if therefore , an orientation flat is present in a semiconductor wafer to be treated , then a corresponding portion is provided at the inner opening 58 of the temperature security member . it is not always necessary that the temperature security member 56 be of a fully continuous ring type . for example , it is of a split type having four segments in which case some spacing may be left between the segments . it is desirable that the thickness of the temperature security member 56 be the same as , and greater than , that of the substrate 70 . in the present embodiment , the temperature security member 56 has the same thickness as that of the substrate 70 . the temperature security member 56 is located relative to the substrate 70 in substantially the same plane and , preferably , is positioned within the chamber 10 before the substrate 70 is loaded within the chamber . in the present embodiment , a plurality of quartz pins 64 are circumferentially welded to the lower surface of the window plate 22 with a center axis of the window plate as a reference . the temperature security member 56 is securely supported by the pins 64 . the platen 18 is lifted by the lifting mechanism so that the substrate 70 is placed in a predetermined position for heat treatment . in this state , the temperature security member 56 is centered in substantially the same plane relative to the substrate 70 with a small gap 62 defined therebetween . in another form of the present invention , the support pins 52 for the temperature security member 56 are provided on a top surface 48 of the platen . the substrate 70 , together with the temperature security member 56 , is loaded into the chamber . however , this process is less desirable in terms of a process simplification . the present apparatus is used in a manner as will be set forth below . first , the present apparatus is placed in a lowered position as indicated by the dot - dash line in fig1 it being ready for an operation to be performed . it is to be noted that a substrate 70 to be treated , such as a semiconductor wafer , is transferred to a position , while being sucked by a transfer mechanism including known flat plate - like arms not shown . the transfer arm is inserted between the support pins 52 of the platen 18 with the wafer 70 placed thereon . if any orientation flat exists in the wafer , the wafer 70 is positioned circumferentially relative to the configuration of the inner opening 58 of the temperature security member and then the transfer arm is somewhat lowered to allow the wafer 70 to be placed in a point contact relation on the three support pins . when , in this state , the arm is withdrawn , the substrate or wafer 70 is floated on the pins just over the platen 18 . then , the platen 18 is lifted by the lifting mechanism to an upper extreme position as indicted by the solid line in fig1 and the wafer 70 is sealed within the chamber 10 . with the wafer thus positioned , the ring - like temperature security member 56 is automatically located relative to the wafer 70 and hence to a predetermined position necessary to perform a heat treatment according to the present invention . the automatic positioning of the wafer is achieved by having positioned the temperature security member 56 within the chamber 10 as set forth above . when the wafer of the same size is to be treated , an ideal positional relation is automatically obtained any number of times between the wafer 70 and the temperature security member 56 without further adjustment of the position of the temperature security member 56 . with the wafer 70 set to a predetermined position as indicated by the solid line in fig1 the interior of the chamber 10 is occupied by a predetermined atmosphere and then light is emitted by the infrared - ray lamps 26 for illumination so that the wafer 70 is heated . that is , the upper surface of the substrate 70 is heated principally by direct light coming from the infrared lamps 26 and indirect light reflected back from the top plate 12 or the inner surface 32 of the upper frame . on the other hand ., the rear surface of the wafer 70 is heated by light which , after passing through the window plate 22 , is reflected back from the inner surface 38 of the lower frame and upper surface 48 of the platen 18 and passes across an air spacing 54 between the platen 18 and the wafer 70 . although heat may tend to be dissipated from around the wafer 70 , it is prevented by the temperature security member 56 . since the heating of the wafer 70 is conducted as set forth above , not only the surface of the wafer 70 but also the wafer per se , including a bulk , is uniformly heated , thus preventing the occurrence of sip lines which might otherwise often occur in the interior of the wafer 70 , particularly in the marginal edge portion of the substrate . at the completion of the heating operation , the chamber 10 is cooled and returned back to the original state , followed by the lowering of the platen 18 to the lowest position as indicated by the dot - dash line in fig1 . the transfer arm is inserted between the support pins 52 of the platen 18 and the wafer 70 is removed out of the platen 18 . since a spacing 54 is defined by the support pins 52 between the rear surface of the wafer 70 and the upper surface 48 of the platen 48 , a simpler arm action is ensured upon the loading and unloading of the wafer 70 . furthermore , it is possible to prevent generation of dust resulting from , for example , a frictional contact between the wafer 70 and platen . although the present invention has been explained in conjunction with the preferred embodiment , various changes and modifications may be made without departing the spirit and scope of the present invention .	7
a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now described with reference of the accompanying drawings . firstly , as shown in fig3 through 4 , the front panel of the air conditioner body 24 which is connected to side panels 26a and 26b , includes an upper front panel 33 having a plurality of air right / left control plates 32b which are supported at its upper and lower ends by upper and lower supporting members 32c and 32d , and a plurality of air up / down control plates 32a which are supported at their right and left ends by right and left supporting members 32e ( only the right supporting member 32e is shown in the drawing ). the plates 32a , 32b extend across an upper outlet 31 for discharging the cool air to the room in a cooling operation . an operation control panel unit 34 is provided with an operation control section 34a . an openable air intake panel 38 defines an air inlet for introducing the room air into the air conditioner and has an intake filter netting 38a at its inner side . a lower front panel 35 is provided with a plurality of air right / left plates 36b supported at their upper and lower ends by upper and lower supporting members 36c and 36d , and a plurality of air up / down plates 36a supported at their right and left ends by right and left supporting members 36e ( only the right supporting member 36e is shown in the drawing ). the plates 36a , 36b extend across a lower outlet 37 for discharging the warm air into the room in a heating operation which will be described later . a bottom supporting plate 27 is provided for covering and supporting the whole surface of a base panel 28 arranged on the bottom of the air conditioner body 24 . the right and left side plates 26a and 26b of the air conditioner body 24 are integrally formed with the rear panel 60 by a hammering process . a top plate 25 is arranged on the upper side of the air conditioner body 24 and the side plates 26a and 26b may be formed integrally with the top plate 25 by a bending process . and , in the inner side of each of the right and left side plates 26a , and 26b a pair of angle - shaped supporting members 26c and 26d are provided to support upper and lower supporting plates 43a and 43b which carry blowers 39a and 39b and a blower motor 46 . the plates 43a , 43b are supported at an elevation between a supported between the heating heat - exchanger 40 and a cooling heat - exchanger 44 , that is , at the vertically central area of the air conditioner body 24 . in addition , a generally rectangular division region 26g is formed in the right side plate 26a of the air conditioner body 24 to support a supporting panel 42b which carries an air introducing blower 41 having an end forming the air introducing pipe connecting opening 41a and the combustion burner 42 . on one side surface of the division region 26g , there is provided a through hole 26f which is connected with a communicating tube 42a of the combustion burner 42 and a communicating tube 40d which is formed integrally on one side surface of the heating heat - exchanger 40 . also , on the side surface of the division region 26g , four tapped holes 26e ( only two holes are shown in the drawing ) are formed to receive four bolts 40a , fixed to a supporting plate 40b carried by the communicating tube 40d of the heat exchanger 40 . accordingly , the bolts 40a are threadingly inserted into four holes 42d formed on the supporting panel 42b and are coupled to nuts which are not shown . as a result , the communicating tube 42a of the burner 42 is connected with the communicating tube 40d which is formed on the side of the heat - exchanger 40 . the rectangular division region 26g is covered with a combustor cover 26c and fixed by a nut which is not shown . the cooling heat - exchanger 44 is arranged in a space defined between the upper front panel 33 and a rear panel 60 of the air conditioner body 24 , namely , above the blowers 39a and 39b . the upper end of the heat exchanger 44 is supported by a cooling heat - exchange connecting plate 50 , and the lower end thereof is disposed slantingly in a condensed water bowl 45 which is connected to a drain - pipe 45a . the cooling medium , compressed by the compressor which is not shown , is injected through an injecting tube 44b into the cooling heat - exchanger 44 and returned through an outlet tube 44a to the compressor after circulating through the cooling heat - exchanger 44 . as shown in fig5 ( a ) through ( d ), magnets 67 , 68 are arranged on the outer side of each blower case . magnet supporting members 65 and 66 , each of which is provided with tapped holes 65a and 65a , are threadingly fixed to the blower case by means of a fixed screw 69 ( see fig5 ( c )). also , in the inner side of each blower case , an air blocking plate 53 made of , for example , elastic metallic foil material is supported at its right and left sides by supporting rods 71 and 72 . the air blocking plates are arranged rotatable to block the outlets 39m and 39n arranged in the upper blower cases 39d or to block the outlets arranged in the lower blower cases 39c ( only the outlets 39m , 39n are shown in fig . ( 5a )). magnets 67 , 68 act to fix the blocking plate 53 by magnetic force in one of its two positions of adjustment . the supporting rod 71 is threadingly coupled at a tapped hole formed in the center thereof with a tapped hole , not shown , formed in supporting member 74 which is attached at its ends to the upper and lower blower cases 39d and 39c , and a tapped hole 73a formed with a knob 73 by means of a fixed screw 75 and mounted rotatably on the right side of the lower blower case 39c . similarly , the supporting rod 72 is threadingly coupled at a tapped hole 72a , formed in its center , with a tapped hole , not shown , formed in a supporting member 77 by means of a fixed screw 75 and mounted rotatably on the left side of the lower blower case 39c . accordingly , when the cooling operation is executed in the air conditioner , an operator or an user opens the intake panel 38 and rotates the knob 73 to thereby move both edges of the wind blocking plate 53 along a a guide rail , not shown , in the blower case , so that the air blocking plate blocks an outlet ( not shown ) which is formed toward the lower supporting plate 43a of the blower 39b . alternatively , when the heating operation is executed in the air conditioner , the operator or an user opens the intake panel 38 , rotates the knob 73 is a direction opposite to the cooling operation to block the outlet 39m formed toward the upper supporting plate 43b of the blower 39b by means of the wind blocking plate 53 and then operates normally the air conditioner . here , while the blower 39b positioned on the right side of the body only is described for simplicity of illustration , the left blower 39a , of course , is provided with the wind blocking plate which is similar to the plate of the blower 39b and acted equally . also , the magnet supporting members 65 and 66 have the same shaped construction from each other , and the left blower 39a is provided with the same magnet supporting members as those of the right blower . further , as the communicating tubes 40d and 42a may be used double tube so as to introduce and discharge simultaneously the combustion air to the heating heat - exchanger . the air conditioner according to the present invention constructed as described above will be now described in reference to the cooling and heating operation . firstly , in case of the cooling operation , the operator or an user opens the intake panel 38 , rotates the knob 73 to block the outlet , not shown , formed toward the lower supporting plate 43a of the blower 39b by the wind blocking plate 53 and then closes the intake panel 38 . after that , when the operator operates the operation control unit 34a to drive the air conditioner , the room air , introduced by blower 39b in accordance with the drive of the blower motor 46 is flowed through the outlet 39m , formed in the upper supporting plate 43b as indicated by a black arrow in the p area shown in fig3 ( c ). as a result , the introduced room air is passed through the cooling heat - exchanger 44 in which the cold agent supplied from the compressor which is not shown is flowed therein , heat - exchanged into the cool air and then the cool air is discharged through the upper outlet 31 to the room to be conditioned . meanwhile , in case of the heating operation , the operator or an user opens the intake panel 38 , rotates the knob 73 in a direction opposite to the cooling operation to block the outlets 39m and 39n formed toward the upper supporting plate 43b of the blower 39a and 39b by the wind blocking plate 53 and then closes the intake panel 38 . then , the operator operates the operation control unit 34a arranged in the operation control panel 34 to drive the air conditioner , the room air introduced by the blowers 39a and 39b is flowed through the outlet , formed in the lower supporting member 43a , as indicated by the white arrow in the q area shown in fig3 ( c ) and then the introduced room air is passed through the heating heat - exchanger 40 in which the air heated by the combustion burner 42 located at the lower side of the blower 39b is passed through therein . as a result , the introduced room air is heat - exchanged warmly and the warmly conditioned air is discharged to the room . while the preferred embodiment of the present invention that the knob is arranged in the air conditioner body 24 has been described , the present invention is not limited to that embodiment . for example , a plurality of knobs 73 may be preferably arranged on the right and left side plates 26a and 26b . with this structure , since the knobs 73 are arranged on the side plates 26a and 26b , there is an advantage that utility of the air conditioner may be further improved . as described above , according to the air conditioner of the present invention , since the blower is positioned between the cooling heat - exchanger arranged in the upper side , and the heating heat - exchanger arranged in the lower side , of the air conditioner , namely , in the central area of the air conditioner body , the output of the blower will be lower in case of the cooling or heating operation and the cooling and heating efficiency also may be improved in the cooling and heating operation . further , power consumption is decreased in accordance with the output decrease of the and positive pressure in the air conditioner body is decreased , thereby it will be appreciated that the present invention is a very practical invention .	5
referring now to fig1 the numeral 10 denotes generally the toothbrush of this invention and includes a head 12 having a flat upper surface 14 and a longitudinal axis 16 . the head is , typically , integrally joined to a handle 20 , with head longitudinal axis 16 not necessarily coincident ( as shown ) with the longitudinal axis of handle 20 , only a portion of the latter being shown . the handle construction forms no part of the invention . both head 12 and handle 20 may be formed of suitable plastic material such as any of those commonly used . any of a first group of polygonal tufts is denoted as 24 , with a single wide tuft 25 defining each group , each single wide tuft having its longitudinal axis oriented transversely to axis 16 . it will be noted that the bristles in tufts 25 are shorter than those of the bristles in the other groups . all of the groups 24 are parallel to each other and are orthogonal to the axis 16 . tuft 25 is termed a bristle bar or bristle bar of tufts . a second group of generally round tufts is denoted as 26 , each group 26 also oriented transversely to axis 16 . the two endmost tufts of row 26 are each denoted as 30 , with each such tuft tilting laterally or sideways toward a respective side of head 12 , ( orthogonally to axis 16 ) by about 12 degrees with respect to the vertical . the remaining three spaced apart tufts in each group 26 , each denoted as 32 and termed interproximal bristles , are substantially perpendicular to surface 14 , i . e ., vertical . each tuft 30 is laterally spaced from its next adjacent tuft 32 . tufts 30 and 32 are preferably of the same diameter . the bristles in tufts 30 are termed gumline bristles . each group 26 thus contains both interproximal and gumline bristles . the groups of round tufts are preferably in rows transverse to the longitudinal axis of head 12 . a third group 34 is defined by two laterally spaced generally round tufts 36 . each tuft 36 tilts laterally toward its respective side of the brush head by about 30 degrees . each tuft 36 also tilts with respect to a plane which contains it , about 14 degrees to the vertical . thus each tuft 36 tilts both laterally and forwardly toward the free end of the head . tufts 36 are termed leading tip bristles . this group 34 is preferably comprised of two or more tufts . referring now to fig2 of the drawings , the construction is the same as that shown in fig1 except that the wide bristle bar tufts 25 , each of which defines a row 24 , are each replaced by a row 240 defined by individual round tufts 242 . rows 240 of tufts 242 , as the tufts in the other rows 26 , 24 and 34 of fig1 are aligned transversely to axis 16 and are longitudinally spaced therealong . the construction of rows 24 of fig1 entails forming relatively wide transverse grooves in head 12 for receiving the bottom ends of the bristles which define each bristle bar tuft 25 . this can be done manually . if currently available automated machinery is used to form such wide grooves , certain problems arise in filling the grooves and in maintaining the bristles in each bristle bar at their desired perpendicular relation to head surface 14 . to overcome these problems , transverse rows each of closely spaced generally round holes are formed on surface 14 , instead of a wide groove , as shown in fig2 . individual rounded tufts 242 are then , by automatic machinery currently available , inserted and fixed into these holes . the result yields rows 240 nearly identical to rows 24 , with individual tufts 242 in close laterally spaced relation to each other . it will be observed that the arrangement of rows in both embodiments is such that rows 24 and 26 ( as well as rows 240 and 26 ) alternate along axis 16 , except that two rows 26 are next to row 34 . thus , there are at this region of the head two rows 26 adjacent each other as measured along longitudinal axis 16 of head 12 . the tufts of rows 26 are preferably each of the same height and , as noted above , their height as measured vertically is greater than that of the tufts of rows 24 . typically , the height of the bristles in first group 24 is about 8 . 5 mm , while the height ( as measured vertically ) of the bristles of the tufts in the second and third groups 26 and 34 is typically about 10 . 5 mm . the longest tufts are those in group 34 , with the next longest being tufts 30 . the vertical height , however , of tufts 30 and 34 is the same as measured from the head surface 14 . the spacing between rows 24 ( 240 ) 26 , 30 , 32 and 34 is typically about 0 . 09 inches , as measured at the bottom of the tufts . in the embodiment of fig1 the lateral spacing between tufts 32 is about 0 . 06 inches and the lateral spacing between tufts 30 of any group 26 is about 0 . 28 inches . the length of single tufts 25 is about 0 . 34 inches and their thickness is about 0 . 06 inches . the lateral spacing between tufts 36 is about 0 . 070 inches . the base diameter of tufts 36 and 30 is about 0 . 050 inches to about 0 . 060 inches . the base diameter of tufts 32 is about 0 . 040 inches . in the embodiment of fig2 the lateral spacing between tufts 32 is about 0 . 065 inches and the lateral spacing between tufts 30 of any row 26 is about 0 . 312 inches . the lateral spacing between tufts 242 is about 0 . 065 inches and that between tufts 36 is typically about 0 . 092 inches . the base diameter of all of the tufts is about 0 . 050 inches to about 0 . 060 inches . referring to fig3 to 6 and their respective counterparts fig3 a to 6a , the specific cleaning function of the tufts of the embodiment of fig1 is illustrated . the several groups are highlighted by vertical hatching at fig3 to 6 . in this description , the tufts are described and grouped as to the functions they perform , while the previous description has described the tufts solely as to the several rows they define . at fig3 and 3a , bristle bars 25 clean the broad surfaces of the teeth with centrally located bristle packs that maximize the cleaning contact to the teeth . the shorter length of these bristles brings them into contact with the surfaces of the teeth as the longer interproximal bristles 32 ( as shown in fig4 and 4a ) enter the crevices between the teeth . tufts 32 and 36 are omitted from fig3 a for purposes of clarity . conventional toothbrushes do not concentrate bristle density or tuft density to such a degree , with the result that less cleaning than is desirable is accomplished on the broad tooth surfaces . at fig4 and 4a , the long , centrally located interproximal tufts of bristles 32 reach into the crevices between teeth . these bristle tufts are spaced to allow deep cleaning access . the specific placement pattern of these tufts allows for dynamic and independent cleaning action . convention toothbrushes have bristles of the same length and density that tend to structurally support each other , acting as a single block and preventing the dynamic , independent action required for multi - task cleaning . at fig5 and 5a , long flexible bristles 30 line each side of the brush head 12 and are angled outwardly to gently sweep plaque from the teeth at the gumline and from in between teeth . the intentional outward angle results in a soft , controlled bristle action aimed at the gumline . conventional toothbrushes have vertical bristles whose flexing is not controlled or directed towards the gumline . conventional vertical bristles can cause damage to the soft gum tissue . at fig6 and 6a , leading tip tufts of bristles 36 at the tip of the brush head are angled forward to ensure that the cleaning action reaches the teeth at the back of the mouth and cleans in between teeth . additionally , they clean the lingual surfaces and the sulcus areas of the front teeth . vertical bristles limit the access of conventional toothbrushes to the back of the mouth where plaque continues to accumulate . there are thus four functional groups of tufts in head 12 . there are the bristle bar group defined by tufts 25 , 242 and 246 for cleaning broad surfaces of the exposed sides of teeth , the interproximal bristle group defined by tufts 32 for cleaning the crevices between teeth , the gumline bristle group defined by tufts 30 for cleaning teeth at the gumline , and the leading tip bristles group defined by tufts 36 which ensures cleaning of teeth in the back of the mouth . in the embodiment of fig7 the five generally round tufts 242 in each of rows 240 of fig2 are replaced by a greater number of quadrangular tufts 246 which are preferably rectangular . in all other respects , the bristle / tuft configuration and dimensions are the same . each quadrangular tuft preferably should be of about the same area as the round holes in head 12 which receive generally round tufts 242 of fig2 . these tufts can also be square in shape but when not square in shape , the smaller dimension of each tuft 246 preferably is along each row 240 , i . e ., is perpendicular to axis 16 . the change from a generally round to a quadrangular tuft cross section , with these dimensions of each quadrangle , permits seven quadrangular tufts 246 in each row instead of five round tufts 242 , with only slight row lengthening . the cross - sectional area of each round tuft 242 is the same as the cross - sectional area of each quadrangular tuft 246 , but the tuft dimension along row 240 is smaller with a rectangular shaped tuft , the preferred shape , hence the greater number of bristles in a row 240 of rectangular tufts . another advantage of the rectangular tuft shape is that it more nearly approximates the bristle bars 25 of fig1 in the number of individual bristles in each row 240 . namely , the number of bristles in each row 240 of fig7 is greater than the number of bristles in each row 240 of fig2 . in the embodiment of fig7 the lateral spacing between tufts 32 is about 0 . 65 inches and the lateral spacing between tufts 30 is about 0 . 312 inches . the lateral spacing between tufts 246 is about 0 . 054 inches and that between tufts 36 is about 0 . 092 inches . the shortest dimension of each rectangular tuft 246 is about 0 . 039 inches and its longest dimension is about 0 . 05 inches . in fig7 the longest dimension of each rectangular tuft 246 is parallel to axis 16 . if desired , rectangular tufts 246 of any row 240 , or of all the rows 240 , may be rotated 90 degrees so that the longest dimension of each rectangular tuft is perpendicular to axis 16 . to preserve required intertuft spacing along any row 240 , it may be necessary to omit one of the tufts 246 , so that any row 240 would contain only six of the rectangular tufts . referring now to the embodiment of fig8 the construction is similar to that shown in fig7 also utilizing rectangular polygonal tufts . the differences relate to the tuft sizes and spacing , to be later given , and to those tufts at the free end of the head , i . e ., remote from the handle . in the embodiments previously described , two tufts 36 are located nearest the head free end , with each tuft tilted both forwardly ( away from the handle ) and laterally outwardly , away from the head center along axis 16 . in the fig8 embodiment , the two forwardmost tufts 36 are replaced by three tufts 37 arranged in a single transverse row 250 , the latter parallel to transverse rows 240 . each tuft 27 is of the same size . the middle tuft is centrally located on the tuft head 12 , coincident with axis 16 , and is perpendicular to the brush head . the two outermost tufts 37 tilt laterally outwardly at about 12 degrees from the vertical . these tufts can also tilt forwardly as do tufts 36 with regard to the embodiment of fig7 . the tufts 37 each lie in a plane transverse to axis 16 . tufts 37 perform a function similar to that of tufts 36 . in the embodiment of fig8 the longitudinal spacing ( as measured along axis 16 ) between the transverse rows of tufts is 0 . 10 inch . the spacing between the tuft receiving openings in the brush head , as measured along each transverse row , is about 0 . 015 inch . the diameter of the brush head openings which receives the round tufts is about 0 . 06 inch . the shortest dimension of each rectangular tuft 248 is about 0 . 047 inch , while the longest dimension is about 0 . 060 inch . the rectangular tufts of fig8 are each denoted as 246 . in fig8 as in the embodiment of fig7 the longest dimension of each rectangular tuft is parallel to axis 16 . if desired , rectangular tufts 248 of any row 240 , or of all the rows 240 , may be rotated 90 degrees , so that the longest dimension of each rectangular tuft 248 is perpendicular to axis 16 . to preserve required intertuft spacing along any row 240 , it may be necessary to omit one of the tufts 248 . the head of the embodiment of fig8 is about 0 . 1 inch longer than the head of the embodiment of fig7 while its width is about 0 . 030 inches wider . the diameter of tufts 32 and 37 may be the same or may differ . preferably , they are of the same diameter .	0
referring now to fig2 - 7 , a wire clamp 10 according to the present invention includes body 12 and wire 14 . body 12 , also referred to as securing member 12 , includes longitudinal bores 16 and 18 , which preferably extend through the body . in alternative embodiments , either or both of longitudinal bores 16 and 18 may be blind bores which do not extend through body 12 . vertical opening 20 , also referred to as deformation recess 20 , extending through body 12 is preferably located between longitudinal bores 16 and 18 , and is round as shown in fig6 and 7 . in alternative embodiments , opening 20 may be shaped differently , including but not limited to the oblong shape shown in fig3 . fig1 illustrates a variation of the sleeve of fig3 in which ridges or bumps 30 are formed on the surface of the sleeve . this allows the sleeve to be deformed using a flat jawed tool or with a hammer . opening 20 may extend only partially through body 12 and may be a blind hole , as shown in fig8 or a blind channel , as shown in fig9 or may be a thru - hole extending completely through to opposing sides of body 12 , as shown in fig1 . in the embodiments shown in fig2 - 6 , vertical opening 20 and longitudinal bores 16 and 18 together define walls 22 and 24 respectively . wire 14 is a surgical grade wire , typically of stainless steel . in the preferred embodiment , wire 14 is monofilament for reasons described below , but may also be stranded . wire clamp 10 is applied by passing wire 14 around fractured bone 26 in fig5 inserting the wire ends into longitudinal bores 16 and 18 , and then drawing them tight . ( fig3 ). pliers 21 also referred to as crimping tool 21 having pointed jaws are then squeezed against body 12 to deform longitudinal bores 16 and 18 and the wire ends into interlocking , serpentine configurations ( fig4 ). deformation of the body surrounding the longitudinal bores into a serpentine bore configuration is made possible by opening 20 , which allows deformation of walls 22 and 24 . the serpentine bore configuration achieved with the present invention provides greater clamping force than has heretofore been possible with prior art clamps in which only the outer wall of each longitudinal bore is urged against the stranded wire , but in which the inner wall of the bore is not deformable by any level of compressive force that can be readily applied in a surgical setting . although the embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of a surgical application , it should be understood that the wire clamp of the present invention can be used wherever wire or cables must be secured . applicant has discovered that use of a monofilament , stainless steel surgical wire in conjunction with the serpentine configuration increases the strength of the wire clamp assembly even further . increased strength is achieved by using a monofilament wire for at least two reasons . first , the stainless steel monofilament wire undergoes plastic deformation as it is deformed into its serpentine configuration . if the deformed monofilament wire is to be pulled from the body , sufficient force must be applied to rework the wire as it is passes through the serpentine bore . reworking the wire is particularly difficult because the wire was work - hardened during its initial deformation . also , there are three separate bends that must be reworked to slide the wire . stranded wire on the other hand , is more resilient , and does not plastically deform or work - harden as much as monofilament wire when urged into the serpentine configuration achieved in the present invention . as a result , stranded wire can be separated from the body by a lesser force than that required for monofilament wire . moreover , this greater strength achieved by use of monofilament wire is achieved at lower overall cost due to its lower cost compared to stranded stainless steel wire . in an alternative embodiment ( not shown ), the clamp comprises body 12 and wire 14 having a first end permanently fixed in bore 16 , and a second distal end . body 12 has a longitudinal bore 18 to receive the distal end of wire 14 . in use , the distal end of wire 14 is passed around the fractured bone and inserted into bore 18 . bore 18 and the second wire end are then deformed into an interlocking , serpentine configuration by use of a plier as described above . this embodiment provides the advantage of having only one portion of the wire which is slidable relative to the body , rendering installation easier in some instances . alternatively , as shown in fig2 , a wire 40 with a beaded end 42 can be used to accomplish the same result . the bead catches on the end of the sleeve and prevents the wire from sliding out of the sleeve . another embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 - 14 . as shown in fig1 , the wire locking system of this embodiment includes a crimp sleeve 100 . crimp sleeve 100 is generally cylindrical with first and second ends 102 , 104 extending transverse to a cylindrical axis 106 . first and second wire - receiving bores 108 , 110 extend through the sleeve in a direction transverse to the cylindrical axis . a deformation recess 112 extends through the sleeve in a direction transverse to the cylindrical axis as well as the axis of bores 108 , 110 . recess 112 extends between the bores in a crimp zone 114 to provide room for the required locking deformation to occur . a crimp hole 116 is formed parallel to cylindrical axis 106 , bisecting bores 108 , 110 . the crimp hole allows the pointed tips 118 of a crimping tool ( not shown ) to apply force directly to the sections of wire disposed in bores 108 , 110 , as shown in fig1 . a third wire receiving bore 120 is formed parallel to cylindrical axis 106 to receive a central portion of the wire therethrough , as shown in fig1 . in this configuration , the ends of the wire are received in bores 108 , 110 to form a double - wire securing structure . while the various described embodiments involve securing the ends of a wire to form a loop , the invention can also be implemented with only one wire - receiving bore , as where only one end of a wire is to be anchored . in such cases the sleeve would typically be formed as part of , or attached to , some other structure . fig1 - 20 show a wire locking sleeve 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention . sleeve 200 includes curved ends 202 , 204 and first and second parallel , spaced - apart wire - receiving bores 206 , 208 extending therebetween . a deformation recess 210 extends through the sleeve transverse to and between the wire - receiving bores . a crimp hole 212 transversely bisects the wire - receiving bores and the deformation recess to provide access for a crimping tool , as described above . when pressure is applied to the sides of the sleeve at the crimp hole ends , the sleeve is deformed inwardly toward the deformation recess , as shown in fig2 . sleeve 200 is preferably formed from quarter - inch diameter round biocompatible stock , typically stainless steel or titanium . by virtue of the design and position of the holes , it is possible to manufacture the sleeve using only a screw machine . one advantage of certain embodiments of the present invention is that they do not rely on deformation of the wire to achieve grip . this allows use of much harder wire , such as stainless steel or titanium , than can be used with sleeves rely on deforming the cross section of the wire to grip , as is the case with many sleeves designed for use with copper wire . while the invention has been disclosed in its preferred form , the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible . applicants regard the subject matter of their invention to include all novel and non - obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements , features , functions and / or properties disclosed herein . no single feature , function , element or property of the disclosed embodiments is essential . the following claims define certain combinations and subcombinations which are regarded as novel and non - obvious . other combinations and subcombinations of features , functions , elements and / or properties may be claimed through amendment of the present claims or presentation of new claims in this or a related application . such claims , whether they are broader , narrower or equal in scope to the original claims , are also regarded as included within the subject matter of applicant &# 39 ; s invention .	0
fig1 depicts a block schematic diagram of a communications system 10 that includes at least one , and preferably , a plurality of radio access networks , illustratively depicted by radio access networks 11 1 and 11 2 . the radio access networks 11 1 and 11 2 each enable at least one user , and preferably a plurality of users ( e . g ., users 12 1 , 12 2 , and 12 3 ) to access an external data network 14 such as the internet or the like . in a preferred embodiment , the user 12 1 utilizes a lap top computer while the user 12 2 utilizes a personal data assistant and the user 12 3 utilizes a wired communications appliance . other users ( not shown ) could employ other types of wired or wireless communication appliances . each of the radio access networks 11 1 and 11 2 includes at least one , and preferably , a plurality of access points ( aps ), illustratively illustrated by aps 18 1 - 18 4 , via which each of the users 12 1 , 12 2 and 12 3 accesses a wireless local area network ( lan ) 20 within each access network . in the illustrated embodiment , each ap , such as ap 18 1 , includes a wireless transceiver ( not shown ) for exchanging radio frequency signals with a radio transceiver ( not shown ) within a communications appliance employed by a user , such one of users 12 1 and 12 2 . one or more of the aps 18 1 - 18 4 could also include a wired access mechanism by which a user , such as user 12 3 , can access the network via a wired communications appliance . each of the aps 18 1 - 18 4 in each of the radio access networks 11 1 and 11 2 employs one or more well - known wireless or wired data exchange protocols , such as the “ hiperlan 2 ” or ieee 802 . 11 protocol . indeed , different aps can employ different wireless protocols to accommodate users whose communications appliances use different protocols . each of the access points 18 1 - 18 3 communicates with a corresponding one of users 12 1 and 12 2 over a radio frequency link by choosing a particular radio channel over which to send and receive data . with most radio technologies , such as the ieee 802 . 11b standard , adjacent channels exhibit some degree of overlap . thus , radio interference will occur when geographically adjacent aps transmit on adjacent channels . in the past , the problem of adjacent channel interference has been overcome by manual intervention , or the adoption of specific protocol modifications to force the selection of non - adjacent channels . these approaches incur the disadvantage of requiring either full - time administrative control over geographically adjacent aps or requiring them to implement specific protocol modifications . typically , the ability to exert control over adjacent aps does not exist when such adjacent aps belong to different network entities . fig2 illustrates in flow chart form the steps of a method in accordance with the present principles for selecting a radio frequency channel for an ap , such one of the aps 18 1 - 18 4 within one of the access networks 11 1 and 11 2 . the channel selection method of fig2 commences upon execution of step 100 during which the ap sets the following parameters : following step 100 , the ap makes a check during step 102 to determine whether the last channel used by the ap still remains available . if so , then ap selects the last channel used as the current channel during step 104 . checking the availability of the previously used channel increases efficiency . often times , the ap can re - use the last channel before another ap claims the channel . should the ap find the last channel unavailable , then the ap will select a channel at random from the available channel list during step 106 . following either of steps 104 and 106 , the ap executes step 108 during which the ap sets the channel - monitoring interval scan_time to a random value lying between time_min and time_max . thereafter , the ap monitors the channel during step 110 . the ap monitors the channel by listening during the interval scan_time for the presence of traffic ( if any ) carried by another access point ( ap ). during step 112 , the ap checks whether the monitoring performed during step 110 uncovered use of the channel by another ap . upon finding the channel free of traffic during step 112 , the ap claims the channel for use during step 114 and the channel selection process ends ( step 116 ). if the ap finds the channel in use during step 112 , the ap then makes a check during step 118 to determine whether other channels remain available for selection , taking into account the separation between selected channels prescribed by the current value of channel_step . thus , for example , if the channel_step = 2 , then after selecting channel # 1 , the channel # 3 becomes the next channel available for selection . depending on the value of the current_channel and the number of channels available , the ap could find that additional channels still remain available . if so , the ap executes step 120 selects a next new channel in accordance with the relationship : before proceeding to re - execute step 108 . otherwise , upon detecting exhaustion of the available channels during step 118 , the ap resets the value of current_channel during step 122 in accordance with the relationship : in other words , during step 122 , the ap resets the value of channel_step to the lowest integer value of one - half the previous value of channel_step . thus , if the value of channel_step prior to step 122 was 3 for example , then following step 122 , the new value would be one . after step 122 , program execution branches to step 120 . to better understand the above - described channel selection method , consider the following three examples . assume that the aps 18 1 and 18 2 in the radio access network 11 1 of fig1 use channels # 1 and # 6 , respectively , while ap 18 4 remains off line . further assume that ap 18 3 just commenced operation and is the only ap implementing the channel selection method of the present principles . in implementing the channel selection method , assume that ap 18 3 employs the following values : channel_min = 1 , channel_max = 11 , channel_step = 5 , time_min = 500 , and time_max = 1000 , with the time_min and time_max measured in milliseconds . additionally , assume that ap 18 3 did not store any information about the previously used channel . in accordance with the channel selection method of the present principles , the ap 18 3 will first select a current channel in accordance with the relationship for present purposes , assume that ap 18 3 selected channel # 6 . next , the ap 18 3 selects the value for scan_time in accordance with the relationship : for present purposes , assume that ap 18 3 selected the value of scan_time as 600 milliseconds . accordingly , the ap 18 3 will listen to channel # 6 for that interval . since the ap 18 2 is currently using channel # 6 in this example , the ap 18 3 will detect use of this channel . therefore , the ap 18 3 will select a new channel in accordance with the relationship : in the present example , with current_channel = 6 and channel_step = 5 , the ap 18 3 will select channel # 11 . the ap 18 3 now establishes a new value for the parameter scan_time , say 750 ms and then listens to channel # 11 for that interval . assuming that this channel carries no other traffic , the ap 18 3 will now claim channel # 11 for use . assume that the aps 18 1 , 18 2 , and 18 3 within the radio access network 11 1 use channels # 1 , # 6 , and # 11 , respectively . further assume that ap 18 4 in the same radio access network now commences operation and implements the channel selection method according to present principles . in implementing the channel selection method , assume that the ap 18 4 selects the following parameter values : channel_min = 1 , channel_max = 11 , channel_step = 5 , time_min = 500 , time_min = 1000 . additionally assume that ap 18 4 did not store information about the previously used channel . using the channel selection method of the present principles , the ap 18 4 will first select a channel in accordance with the relationship assume that ap 18 4 selects channel # 6 as in the previous example . next , the ap 18 4 selects the value for the parameter scan_time in accordance with the relationship : assume that ap 18 4 selected a value of 660 milliseconds for scan_time so ap 18 4 will listen to channel # 6 for 660 ms for that interval . with channel # 6 in use by ap 18 2 in this example , the ap 18 4 will find channel # 6 occupied . thus , the ap 18 4 selects a new channel in accordance with the relationship : in the current example , the ap 18 4 will now select channel # 11 . the ap 18 4 next establishes a new value for scan_time , say 550 ms and then listens to channel # 11 for that interval . since channel # 11 remains in use by ap 18 3 in this example , the ap 18 4 will find channel # 11 occupied as well . having found channel # 11 busy , the ap 18 4 selects another channel , and in this example , will now pick channel # 1 due to wrap around . having selected channel # 1 , the ap 18 4 selects a new value for scan_time , say to 800 milliseconds and will listen to channel # 1 for that interval . since channel # 1 remains in use by ap 18 1 in this example , the ap 18 4 will find channel # 1occupied as well . all possible channels for selection have been exhausted in this example when channel_step = 5 . therefore the ap 18 4 will reduce the value of the parameter channel_step in accordance with the relationship : in the current example , the new value of channel_step becomes 2 . after reducing the value of channel_step to 2 , the ap 18 4 now selects another channel using the previously described relationship . in this example the ap 18 4 now selects channel # 3 . thereafter , the ap 18 4 selects a new value for scan_time , say 730 milliseconds and now listens to channel 3 during that interval . upon finding channel # 3 free of traffic , the ap 18 4 now claims this channel for use . note that in this case , interference cannot be completely avoided because all interference - free channels are already in use . this example describes scenario when two aps , such as aps 18 2 and 18 3 within the radio access network 11 1 , both startup simultaneously , while another ap , such as ap 18 1 in the same network , currently uses channel # 1 . assume that both aps 18 2 and ap 18 3 utilize the following parameter values : channel_min = 1 , channel_max = 11 , channel_step = 5 , time_min = 500 , time_min = 1000 . also , assume that neither ap 18 2 nor ap 18 3 store information about the channel each previously used . using the method of the present principles , both of the aps 18 2 and 18 3 will each select a current channel as follows in accordance with the relationships : also assume ap 18 3 selects channel # 6 . if both ap 18 2 and ap 18 3 were to actually claim the same channel , severe interference would result . however , as will become apparent from the discussion hereinafter , the channel selection method of the present principles will prevent both of the aps 18 2 and 18 3 from claiming the same channel . after each of the aps 18 2 and 18 3 initially selects a channel , each ap establishes a value for the parameter scan_time as follows : next , the ap 18 2 listens to channel # 6 for 660 ms while ap 18 3 also listens to the same channel for 820 milliseconds . assuming that no traffic otherwise exists , then ap 18 2 will find the channel free during the period it listened and thus claim the channel for use . since the parameter scan_time established by ap 18 3 is longer than the parameter scan_time established by the ap 18 2 , the ap 18 3 will listen longer and will ultimately detect use of channel # 6 by the ap 18 2 during the time interval between 660 and 820 ms . having found channel # 6 occupied , the ap 18 3 now must choose another channel and does so in the manner previously described . in the current example , assume ap 18 3 selects channel # 11 . the ap 18 3 now selects a new value for scan_time , say 530 milliseconds the ap 18 3 now listens to newly selected channel # 11 for 530 ms , and upon finding it free , now claims the channel for use . the foregoing describes a technique for selecting a radio channel by an access point in a radio access network to minimize adjacent channel interference .	7
referring first to fig1 the illustrated preferred oxidant generator embodying the invention includes an outer shell 10 within which a removable unit 11 is mounted at a central location . the unit 11 divides the interior of the shell into a first chamber 12 within unit 11 and a second chamber 13 extending about unit 11 . these chambers are in communication with one another through an aperture or apertures 14 formed in the side of unit 11 , with an ion permeable membrane 15 being disposed across the aperture . two electrodes 16 and 17 are positioned at opposite sides of membrane 15 , within chambers 12 and 13 respectively , and are energized electrically by a power source 18 . electrode 16 is preferably the cathode of the electrolytic circuit , and electrode 17 is preferably the anode . the shell is filled with a solution of sodium chloride 19 , which is electrolyzed to produce mixed oxidant gases at the anode 17 to be withdrawn from the shell by an aspirator 20 ( fig5 ), while a solution of sodium hydroxide ( caustic soda ) is produced within cathode chamber 12 . a mixer unit 21 ( fig5 ) circulates the saline solution within anode chamber 13 both vertically and circularly about unit 11 to disperse and maintain the saline solution at a uniformly saturated strength throughout chamber 13 . the shell 10 is formed of a rigid electrically nonconductive material , such as polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ). this shell includes a tubular side wall 22 centered about a vertical central axis 23 of the generator and typically consisting of a short length of large diameter cylindrical plastic pipe . the shell is closed at its upper end by a cover 24 forming a horizontal top wall of the container having a cylindrical hub 25 extending downwardly about and fitting closely on the upper end of side wall 22 . similarly , the lower end of the shell is closed by a bottom member 26 forming a horizontal bottom wall 27 having an upwardly projecting circular hub 28 at its periphery fitting closely about the lower portion of the outer surface of side wall 22 . all three of these sections 22 , 24 and 26 of the shell may be formed of polyvinyl chloride . the inner unit 11 of the device includes a tubular , preferably cylindrical , side wall 29 of a diameter substantially smaller than the shell and centered about vertical axis 23 . side wall 29 may be a length of pvc pipe . the lower end of this pipe 29 is closed by a plug 30 secured to the pipe by a coupling 31 . plug 30 forms a horizontal bottom wall 32 of central unit 11 , and has a cylindrical hub portion 33 projecting upwardly from the bottom wall at a diameter corresponding to side wall 29 . coupling 31 has upper and lower cylindrical portions received closely about the lower extremity of side wall 29 and hub 33 respectively . coupling 31 is secured permanently and rigidly to side wall 29 by adhesive bonding the parts together annularly and in fluid tight sealed relation . the coupling is similarly secured rigidly and permanently to plug 30 by adhesively bonding these parts together annularly and in sealed relation . the upper end of unit 11 is closed by a circular cover 34 having a vertical cylindrical hub 35 which fits closely about the upper extremity of side wall 29 . covers 24 and 34 are removable from their associated side walls 22 and 29 respectively , but are sufficiently tight friction fits thereon to remain permanently in place and form gas tight seals until forcibly removed . the bottom plug 30 , coupling 31 and cover 34 of inner unit 11 are , like side wall 29 of the inner unit and the three sections of the outer shell , formed of polyvinyl chloride or other electrically nonconductive essentially rigid resinous plastic material . the lower end of unit 11 is centered within shell 10 by a plurality of locating blocks or lugs 36 , typically three such blocks , which are glued to the upper surface of horizontal bottom wall 27 of the shell at evenly circularly spaced locations ( see fig3 ). these blocks may be of the illustrated rectangular configuration , to present planar inner surfaces 36a engageable with and extending tangentially with respect to the outer cylindrical surface of coupling 31 . unit 11 is installed within shell 10 by movement downwardly along axis 23 and into the space formed between the three blocks 36 , to thus interfit with those blocks and be effectively retained thereby against horizontal movement in any direction . water is filled into the inner cathode chamber through pvc piping 37 ( fig4 ) including a short length of pipe 38 extending horizontally through the side wall of shell 10 , a union assembly 39 , a short length of pipe 40 connected to and extending through the side wall 29 of unit 11 , an elbow connection 41 , and a pipe 42 projecting downwardly within chamber 12 and to a location near the bottom of that chamber at which an inclined open end 43 of pipe 42 delivers the water to the chamber . pipe 38 may be connected at the exterior of the shell to an elbow 44 , carrying an upwardly projecting pipe 45 which is closed by a threaded cap 46 except during introduction of water into the generator . union 39 is of conventional construction , including parts which are connected threadedly together , to provide an easily disconnected joint between pipes 38 and 40 . excess sodium chloride solution is withdrawn from chamber 12 through pvc piping 48 ( fig3 ) typically including a short length of pvc pipe 49 connected into side wall 29 of unit 11 near the upper end thereof and attached threadedly at 50 to a union assembly 51 corresponding to union 39 . this union is in turn attached to a short length of pipe 52 which extends through the side wall of the shell and is connected at the exterior of the shell to a t fitting 53 ( fig1 ) leading to a downwardly projecting drain line 54 and an upwardly projecting vent line 55 . when the inner unit 11 of the generator is to be removed , the two sections of each of the unions 39 and 51 are easily and quickly unscrewed ( at the location identified by the number 47 in fig1 ), to break the two connections to unit 11 . the aperture 14 in the side wall 29 of unit 11 may be formed by drilling a series of circular holes horizontally through that side wall in a pattern such as that illustrated in fig4 . in that figure , the aperture 14 is illustrated as including six circular openings 14a , 14b , 14c , 14d , 14e and 14f centered about vertically spaced and vertically aligned horizontal axes 56 , with the successive openings intersecting one another and communicating at the locations 57 . the top and bottom openings may be smaller in diameter than the vertically intermediate openings , as shown . the ion permeable membrane 15 which bridges across the aperture 14 formed by the various circular openings 14a , 14b , etc . may be an essentially rectangular sheet of woven cation exchange membrane material adhered to the outer cylindrical surface of side wall 29 of unit 11 , with the sheet of membrane material itself being curved cylindrically in correspondence with the curvature of aperture 14 in that side wall . the membrane material projects upwardly beyond the upper end of aperture 14 and downwardly beyond its lower end , and also projects horizontally beyond the opposite sides of the aperture , and is glued to side wall 29 entirely about the periphery of the aperture . the membrane may be formed of any of the various known cation exchange materials capable of passing sodium ions from the anode chamber to the cathode chamber while resisting reverse movement of sodium hydroxide molecules from the cathode chamber to the anode chamber , to thus retain the caustic solution within the cathode chamber . for example , the membrane may be a modacrylic woven fiber membrane , or a perfluorinated membrane fabricated from copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorinated monomers containing sufonic or carboxylic acid groups . salt and water can be filled into the annular anode chamber 13 through a fill tube 58 connected into the horizontal top wall of cover 24 of the shell . except during such introduction of salt or water into the anode chamber , fill tube 58 is closed by a circular cover 59 having a vertical cylindrical hub 60 which is a tight frictional fit on fill tube 58 to form an essentially tight seal therewith . the anode 17 and cathode 16 are stamped from an appropriate metal or metals capable of withstanding deterioration or corrosion under the conditions encountered in the cell . preferably , the anode is stamped from titanium and is coated on all of its surfaces except its cut ends with a corrosion resistant conductive substance which is not sacrificial in the electrolytic process . any known coating material currently employed for this purpose in oxidant generators of the present type may be utilized . the cathode may be formed of 316 stainless steel . the anode desirably contains a large number of apertures 117 distributed over its entire area , to assist in separating the oxidant gases from the anode during their upward movement to the surface of the saline solution . preferably , the anode is cut from mesh of the type known as expanded metal . as seen in fig1 the expanded metal mesh forming the anode has a vertically elongated main portion 317 extending downwardly from a location 61 above the surface 119 of the saline solution to a lower extremity at which the anode is cut off to form an essentially horizontal bottom edge 62 . along this entire vertical extent between the locations 61 and 62 , the anode has essentially the cross section illustrated at 17 in fig6 ( except insofar as that cross section is varied by the expanded metal construction of the anode ), and is spaced a short distance from membrane 15 by two thin spacers 63 and 64 above and beneath aperture 14 . spacers 63 and 64 are formed of an appropriate known electrically conductive resinous plastic material , such as polyvinyl chloride , and are cemented in fixed position relative to pipe 29 by a suitable adhesive . the upper spacer is cemented to pipe 29 but not to anode 17 , and the lower spacer 64 is cemented to pipe 29 , and / or membrane 15 and / or coupling 31 , but again is not bonded to anode 17 to thus allow easy detachment of the anode from unit 11 . at its upper end , anode 17 has a portion 99 which extends rightwardly in fig1 and which terminates in an upwardly turned portion 100 which contacts and is retained by an electrically conductive terminal bolt 101 extending through openings in portion 100 and the side wall of the shell . a conductive nut 102 secures the bolt in place and a second conductive nut 103 threaded onto the bolt is tightenable against a lead 104 from the positive side of power source 18 to conduct electricity from the source to the anode . the lower end of anode 17 is connected to unit 11 by movement of the anode downwardly relative to unit 11 and into a socket recess 118 formed by a structure 65 carried at the lower end of unit 11 . this structure 65 may be considered as including the lower spacer 64 and also a horizontally elongated locating block 66 spaced outwardly from and parallel to spacer 64 in the relation illustrated in fig1 and 6 . the narrow spacing between these parts is just sufficient to easily receive and locate the lower end of anode 17 . two members 67 and 68 are glued to opposite ends of member 66 , to form the ends of the slot or socket recess within which the lower end of the anode is received . elements 66 , 67 and 68 are formed of non - conductive material such as pvc , and are glued rigidly to the upper portion of coupling 31 . it will thus be apparent that in assembling the apparatus the lower end of anode 17 is insertible downwardly within the horizontally elongated socket recess 118 formed between the four elements 64 , 66 , 67 and 68 , and is retained by those elements against horizontal displacement in any direction from the socket recess . when unit 11 is to be removed from the shell , the upper end of anode 17 is disconnected from the shell and the anode is then pulled upwardly out of the socket recess formed by the structure 65 . a similar socket recess 69 is formed at the inner side of the side wall of pipe 29 for receiving the lower end of cathode 16 in interfitting relation . this recess 69 may include a bottom member 70 adhered to the inner side of pipe 29 and portion 33 of plug 30 , and a vertically extending block 71 having its lower portion cemented to the outer surface of member 70 . the upper portion of element 71 projects upwardly above the level of member 70 , to define with a lower portion of pipe 29 the narrow socket recess 69 into which cathode 16 is insertible downwardly . the cathode itself may have the shallow v - shaped horizontal sectional configuration illustrated in fig6 with this cross - section continuing along the entire vertical extent of the cathode from its lower horizontal edge 116 to its upper horizontal edge 72 . the cathode is thus received closely adjacent pipe 29 at the location of aperture 14 and extends above and beneath that aperture . elements 70 and 71 forming the socket recess 69 are , like the other portions of the body of unit 11 , formed of a non - conductive material such as polyvinyl chloride . near its upper end , cathode 16 is attached rigidly to the side wall 29 of unit 11 by an electrically conductive metal bolt 73 extending through openings in the cathode and in side wall 29 and in a vertically extending portion 74 of a conductive sheet metal strap 75 extending radially between unit 11 and shell 10 . the bolt and its nut thus form an effective electrical connection between conductor 75 and cathode 16 . at its outer end , conductive strap 75 has an upwardly turned portion 76 which is clamped by a conductive terminal bolt 77 against the inner surface of shell 10 , with a nut 78 holding the bolt 77 in place , and with a second nut 79 being adapted to secure a lead 80 from the negative side of power source 18 to the terminal bolt 78 and thus form an electrical connection between lead 80 and the cathode . the device 21 for circulating the saline solution within anode chamber 13 includes a vaned rotor or propeller 82 which is attached rigidly to an elongated rigid drive shaft 83 extending along an axis 84 . this axis is inclined at an angle a with respect to the horizontal and at an angle b with respect to the vertical . shaft 83 extends upwardly along inclined axis 84 through an electrically non - conductive resinous plastic ( typically pvc ) tubular bushing 85 glued into an opening in the horizontal portion of cover 24 of the shell . the shaft is a close fit within the cylindrical passage through bushing 85 to be journalled thereby for rotation about axis 84 . propeller 82 and shaft 83 are formed of or coated with a resinous plastic material or materials capable of withstanding corrosion or other damage or deterioration from contact with the saline solution . preferably , the propeller is molded of polyvinyl chloride and the shaft is formed of steel but coated with a thin layer 113 of pvc . shaft 83 and the propeller 82 are driven rotatably by an electric motor 86 mounted at the upper side of the cover of the shell by a bracket 87 . the shaft of the motor and shaft 83 are connected by a coupling 88 . beneath the coupling and at the upper end of bushing 85 , a water deflecting annular element 89 centered about axis 84 is attached rigidly to and about shaft 83 by a set screw 90 . element 89 has a planar annular undersurface 91 disposed transversely of axis 84 and received in engagement with or slightly spaced from the upper annular end surface 92 of bushing 85 . this bushing surface 92 is planar and disposed transversely of axis 84 . the lower portion of element 89 and its undersurface 91 project radially outwardly a substantial distance beyond bushing 85 to effectively deflect any rain or other liquid from entering the shell between the bushing and shaft . motor 86 drives propeller 82 in a direction causing the angularly disposed vanes of that propeller to produce movement of the saline solution downwardly along axis 84 . the inclination of the shaft and propeller gives both a horizontal and vertical component to the movement of the saline solution induced by the propeller . also , as will be apparent from fig3 the positioning of the propeller and its shaft in the shell is such that the movement of the saline solution caused by the propeller has a component circularly about unit 11 and axis 23 and within annular anode chamber 13 . the saline solution is thus circulated circularly within annular chamber 13 , and at the same time is directed downwardly to disperse the salt within the solution both circularly and vertically for optimum uniformity and maximum saturation of the solution at all points throughout the anode chamber . by tending to move the solution downwardly rather than upwardly , the apparatus avoids unwanted agitation of the upper surface of the saline solution . also , the circulation of the solution acts to enhance separation of the generated oxidant gases from the solution and facilitates movement of the gases upwardly through the solution to the space 93 at the top of the shell . the oxidant gases are withdrawn from space 93 in the upper portion of the shell through a tubular fitting 94 connected into the top wall of cover 24 . a hose or other conduit 95 leads the oxidant gases to an aspirator or venturi tube 20 having a venturi passage 97 through which a flow of water to be treated is directed from a supply line 98 . venturi passage 97 progressively tapers to a reduced diameter and then flares to an increased diameter , with the gases from conduit 95 being introduced into the most restricted minimum diameter portion of passage 97 . as the water flows through the venturi passage , the oxidant gases are drawn by aspirator action through conduit 95 from the shell , to create a slight vacuum in the upper portion 93 of anode chamber 13 . the oxidant gases thus injected into the water stream from line 98 act to disinfect and purify the water and otherwise improve its condition for virtually any use to which the water may be put . in placing the generator in use , an operator fills water into the anode and cathode chambers , and introduces salt into the annular anode chamber in a quantity sufficient to produce a substantially saturated saline solution in that chamber and also leave an excess of undissolved salt in the bottom of the anode chamber . sodium hydroxide pellets may be introduced into the cathode chamber 12 in a quantity producing an initial dilute solution of sodium hydroxide in that chamber for the purpose of minimizing the start - up time required for the apparatus . the covers 24 , 34 and 59 are then placed in their closed positions of fig1 and 4 , and power source 18 is turned on to energize the anode and cathode with a desired direct current voltage , typically six volts dc at 20 amps . the fluid level within cathode chamber 12 is preferably kept at a level somewhat above the level of the saline solution in anode chamber 13 , as seen in fig1 . any excess above this level overflows into drain line 54 . motor 86 may be energized intermittently to produce circulation of the saline solution within the anode chamber at timed intervals . usually , the periods of operation of the motor and propeller 82 will be shorter than the intervening periods in which the motor and propeller are not in operation . for example , the propeller may be turned on for three minute intervals and turned off for twelve minute intervals . sodium ions from the nacl solution in the anode chamber are attracted by the cathode through membrane 15 and into the cathode chamber , where they combine with oh ions to produce a sodium hydroxide solution of progressively increasing concentration in the cathode chamber . the chlorine ions from the sodium chloride are attracted to the anode , and form chlorine gas on the surface of and near the anode , with that gas bubbling upwardly through the saline solution to its surface and into the space 93 . other oxidant gases are also formed at the anode , and within space 93 , including for example oxides of chlorine such as chlorine dioxide , as well as ozone , hydrogen peroxide , and the like . all of these gases rise to the upper portion of the anode chamber , and are drawn off by aspirator 20 for intermixture with the water being treated . propeller 82 produces horizontal , vertical and circular movement of the saline solution in the anode chamber , to disperse the dissolved salt as evenly as possible both vertically and horizontally in a manner maintaining a substantially saturated saline solution at all levels within the anode chamber . by virtue of this saturated condition of the solution at all points at which it contacts the anode , the anode can have maximum oxidant producing effect , and the capacity of the overall generating system can be higher than in prior arrangements in which there is no such circulation of the solution . without circulation , the solution is near saturation only toward the bottom of the shell , and the concentration gradually decreases toward the top of the saline solution . the electrolyzing effect near the top of the anode chamber is therefore less than optimum . when the concentration of the caustic solution within cathode chamber 12 becomes excessive , water is introduced into the cathode chamber through piping 37 , causing overflow of the caustic solution through piping 48 and drain line 54 . injection of water can be continued until the proper concentration of the caustic solution is attained . when the concentration of the saline solution in the anode chamber falls off , as indicated by a drop in amperage of the electrolyzing current , cover 59 can be removed and additional salt can be filled into the anode chamber through fill tube 58 . if membrane 15 becomes clogged or damaged , the membrane can be very rapidly replaced by removing the entire central unit 11 from the shell and replacing it with another similar unit having a new membrane . removal of the unit 11 may be permitted by first removing cover 24 and its carried parts , disconnecting the threaded unions 39 and 51 from unit 11 , and removing the anode and cathode from their illustrated positions within the device . the cathode can be removed by disconnecting bolt 73 from the upper end of the cathode and then pulling the cathode upwardly from the socket recess within which its lower end is received and entirely out of pipe 29 . the anode can be removed by disconnecting bolt 101 , and then pulling the anode upwardly from the socket recess within which its lower end is received and out of the shell . connector strap 75 is removed . the operator then pulls the entire unit 11 upwardly along axis 23 , including the interconnected pipe 29 , plug 30 and coupling 31 , with the lower end of unit 11 moving upwardly out of its interfitting position within locating blocks 35 . the membrane of course is carried by the pipe 29 to which it is attached . after removal of unit 11 , a replacement unit of the same type can be inserted downwardly along axis 23 to the installed position of fig1 and then be connected to the various elements in the manner previously discussed to place the device back in operation . the new unit 11 will have a new membrane 15 capable of returning the apparatus to its initial condition of complete electrolyzing effectiveness . the membrane of the original unit 11 can be cleaned whenever convenient , and thus be ready for reuse when needed . alternatively , the membrane of the original unit can of course be cleaned immediately after removal to enable reinsertion of the same unit into the shell . while a certain specific embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed as typical , the invention is of course not limited to this particular form , but rather is applicable broadly to all such variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims .	2
the invention concerns a medicament which makes possible an improved penetration of the active material through the tissue membrane or barrier of the object organ . a known problem in the case of the administration of medicaments consists in that the actual active material frequently can only poorly pass the cell membrane so that either the per se possible actions of the medicament cannot in practice be achieved or the active material must be overdosed to such an extent that the undesired side actions , especially in organs other than the object organ , are increased . especially problematical in this regard is the co - called blood - brain barrier . the normal blood brain barrier is a highly selective permeability barrier which prevents the blood / brain transfer of many compounds . this especially marked barrier has its anatomical basis in the capillary vessels which display special structural characteristics . the ability of an active material in free solution ( i . e . not bound to protein ) in the blood plasma to penetrate the blood - brain barrier is substantially determined by the ability of the active material itself to separate out of the plasma and to penetrate into the lipid of the endothelial cell plasma membranes . if no specific mechanism is here present , the lipid solubility is the important factor which causes the penetration of the active material through the blood - brain barrier so long as the molecular weight of the active material is not greater than about 500 . higher molecular active materials are then also not able to penetrate the blood - brain barrier even when the lipid solubility is good . therefore , it has already been suggested chemically to modify medicaments by adding a radical with high lipid solubility which makes the penetration into the barrier easier . in the case of suitable choice of this group , it would then again be split off by the metabolism , whereby the active material is liberated in its active form . a disadvantage of this concept consists in that a modification , which under certain circumstances is difficult to carry out , of the actual active material is necessary and , in the case of the known sensitivity of the effectiveness of medicament active materials to changes in the molecule , activity impairments or new undesired side effects are to be feared . similar difficulties as in the case of the blood - brain barrier are also present in the case of other organs , for example in the case of the liver , skin etc . therefore , the problem forming the basis of the invention is to solve this problem in a simple way and without change of the actual active material . according to the invention , this succeeds with a medicament which is characterised in that it consists of an active material in combination with a compound of the general formula ## str2 ## in which one of the residues r 1 and r 2 signifies an alkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl or alkoxy group with , in each case , 3 to 7 c - atoms and the other residue signifies an h - atom and conventional pharmaceutical additive and dilution agents . the compound of the general formula is a glycerol derivative which is substituted in position 1 or in position 2 with one of the above - mentioned short - chained groups . the substituents can be straight - chained or branched and possibly also cyclic and contain up to two double or triple bonds . typical examples of the compounds according to the invention are 1 - n - propylglycerol , 1 - n - isopropylglycerol , 1 - n - butylglycerol , 1 - isobutylglycerol , 1 - tert . butylglycerol , 1 - n - pentylglycerol , 1 - n - hexylglycerol , 1 - cyclohexylglycerol and 1 - n - heptylglycerol , as well as their isomers 1 - methylbutylglycerol , 1 - allylglycerol , 1 - butynglycerol , the corresponding 2 - glycerol compounds , as well as proprionic acid , butyric acid , valeric acid , valeric acid , oenanthic acid , acrylic acid , crotonic acid , angelic acid or tiglic acid , hexenoic acid , heptenoic acid , propionic acid and tetrolic acid esters in position 1 or 2 of the glycerol . the compounds of the general formula in which r = h are new and , as such , form a subject of the invention . in the case of the medicament according to the invention , it is important that the active material and the compound of the general formula , in the case of which it is a question of a c 1 - or c 2 - glycerol derivative , are used jointly and simultaneously , namely , by injection into a blood vessel which conveys the medicament to the object organ directly and by the shortest possible way . if the object organ of the medicament is the brain , then for the administration there is suitable e . g . the a . carotis . in the case of other organs , the same thing applies . for example , the femoral artery is suitable for administration in the upper leg . surprisingly , it has been found that the medicament according to the invention has the result , within seconds after the administration , of an extraordinarily strong increase of the active material concentration in the object organ . it is assumed that the additive contained in the medicament according to the invention , the glycerol derivative of the general formula momentarily opens the tissue barrier , for example the blood - brain barrier , and , in this time , makes possible the entry of the actual active material of the medicament to the object organ . the period of this effect is short and , depending upon the concentration of the glycerol derivative , is to be placed at most about one minute . thereafter , no noticeable further increase of the active material concentration in the object organ takes place . however , within the said short period of time , it is possible , according to the invention , to increase the dosaging of the actual active material on the other side of the membrane barrier by a multiple . the effectiveness of the medicament according to the invention was tested according to the method of oldendorf ( brain - res ., 24 , 372 - 376 ( 1970 )). in the case of this method , the tested active compounds are administered in radioactively marked form and then , after a predetermined time , the radioactivity transferred to the object organ is determined . in the case of the medicament according to the invention , the administration took place into the a . carotis . 15 seconds later , the experimental animal was decapitated , the brain removed and the radioactivity bound therein determined . in the following table 1 are given the results obtained with this process , namely for 11 different compounds , 9 of which are antitumour agents , namely in the case of administration without addition of a compound of the general formula , with addition of glycerol 1 - propyl ether and glycerol 1 - pentyl ether . the numerical values give the percentage proportion of active material which has passed the blood - brain barrier . as comparative substance , there was employed an isotonic buffer solution . the compound of the general formula was present in iso - osmolar concentration , which corresponds to about 0 . 3 osmol / 1 . in the solution administered . table 1______________________________________substance without with c . sub . 3 with c . sub . 5______________________________________endoxan 11 . 4 ± 0 . 4 18 . 9 ± 0 . 3 53 . 5 ± 6 . 1daunomycin 10 . 8 ± 2 . 7 24 . 1 ± 3 . 3 76 . 8 ± 7 . 0methotrexate 4 . 7 ± 0 . 6 5 . 7 ± 1 . 0 26 . 2 ± 5 . 8vinblastine 5 . 4 ± 1 . 7 4 . 2 ± 0 . 6 44 . 3 ± 6 . 7bleomycin 4 . 9 ± 1 . 4 ./. 5 . 7 ± 1 . 8peplomycin 4 . 5 ± 1 . 9 ./. 13 . 8 ± 1 . 55 - fluorouracil 3 . 7 ± 1 . 0 ./. 13 . 0 ± 0 . 1vepeside 3 . 8 ± 0 . 5 ./. 15 . 2 ± 2 . 1et 18 - o - ch . sub . 3 . sup .+ 4 . 5 ± 0 . 8 16 . 4 ± 4 . 1 ./. glycerol 3 . 9 ± 1 . 9 11 . 9 ± 2 . 9 27 . 4 ± 2 . 7phosphatidyl - 2 . 6 ± 0 . 8 ./. 16 . 3 ± 3 . 3choline . sup .+ mitoxandrone 1 . 8 ± 0 . 1 ./. 25 . 1 ± 2 . 0______________________________________ analogous experiments were carried out with glycerol compounds substitute in position and gave comparable results . + dissolved in inger albumin in the case of the experiments according to the method of oldendorf , the active materials were used in amounts of between 10 and 100 μmol . there was thereby obtained no dependency of the penetration percentage of the active material concentration , i . e . that with increasing amount of active material , the percentage passing the blood - brain barrier remained about the same . in the case of methotrexate as active material , the penetration was also investigated in the case of higher concentrations . it was here found that up to above 10 mmole , a linear increase took place of the proportion of active material advancing to the place of action with practically the same percentage proportion of active material passing the barrier . the penetration achieved also depends upon the amount of glycerol derivative of the general formula used . referring to the results given in table 1 , e . g . with endoxan and the c 3 additive , there was achieved a penetration of scarcely 20 %, whereas with an equal amount of the c 5 additive the penetration lay above 50 %. however , if one increases the amount of the c 3 derivative 2 . 5 fold , then the percentage penetrating also increases to about 50 %. analgous experiments were also carried out with other organs and gave fully comparable results . thus , for example , in the case of a rat extremity , the medicament was administered into the femoralis and the extremity amputated after 30 seconds and divided up into several parts . it was thereby shown that the concentration passing the membrane decreased with increasing distance for the point of administration but was still significantly increased even in the most distant parts . the additive compound according to the general formula contained in the medicament according to the invention proved to be completely non - toxic . the absence of toxicity of the compounds of the general formula is shown , for example , by the fact that these were administered ip in 50 % concentration for three weeks to rats without it being possible to ascertain any kind of disadvantageous actions . in our own experiment , the c 3 compounds were administered subcutaneously in 17 % concentration without any negative manifestations . as expedient upper limit , in the case of the derivatives with a radical containing 3 carbon atoms , there is to be regarded a concentration which corresponds to a 30 % solution . in the case of the c 5 derivatives , the expedient upper limit lies in the region of 5 to 8 % of the solution to be injected . in the case of these concentrations , the period of opening , referred to the blood - brain barrier , amounts to about one minute . the opening times can be determined in that one first injects the compound of the general formula and then , at different times up to a minute thereafter administers the active material . if the distance between the two injections is greater than the opening period , then the membrane barrier has again closed and the percentage of active material taken up is correspondingly low . the administration expediently takes place as &# 34 ; bolus &# 34 ; injection , whereby initially no substantial mixing of the injected substance with the blood takes place . the additive compounds of the general formula contained in the medicament according to the invention are rapidly broken down by the liver and are , therefore , no longer detectable in the circulation within the shortest time . this is especially surprising in the case of the compounds in which r 1 = h since an enzyme splitting the 2 - o - alkyl position has hitherto not been described . the choice of the alkylglycerol component according to the general formula for the medicament according to the invention depends , to a certain extent , upon the properties of the actual active material . if the actual active material has no surface - active properties , then the best results were then obtained when r 1 or r 2 in the compound of the general formula has 5 to 7 c - atoms . if , on the other hand , the active material possesses surface - active properties , then one achieves the best results with a compound of the general formula in which r 1 or r 2 has 3 to 5 c - atoms . with regard to the choice of the active material , the medicament according to the invention is subjected to no limitations , i . e . all usual active materials with insufficient penetration into the object organ can be improved by the preparation according to the invention . however , it has been ascertained that , in general , a marked effectiveness is only obtained in the case of active materials with a molecular weight in the range of about 100 to about 3000 and the best results are achieved with those active materials the molecular weight of which lies below 2000 , especially in the range of 200 to 1500 . an indication of the usefulness of active materials in the scope of the medicament according to the invention is given by its water / oil partition coefficient . in the accompanying drawing is : fig1 a graphic representation in which the percentage passing the blood - brain barrier is plotted against the logarithm of the water / oil partition coefficients for the active materials 5 - fluorouracil ( 1 ), methotrexate ( 2 ), endoxan ( 3 ) and daunomycin , thus active materials with a molecular weight up to 600 . one sees that even in the case of alogarithm - 3 , admittedly a substantial improvement is still achieved but , with increasing lipophilia , the penetration increases somewhat linearly with the logarithm of the water / oil partition coefficients . fig2 a graphic representation analogous to fig1 for active materials with a molecular weight lying above 600 , namely , bleomycin ( 5 ), vepeside or peplomycin ( 6 , 7 ) and vinblastin ( 8 ). one sees that in the case of bleomycin with strongly hydrophilic character , the penetration improvement is relatively small , whereas it is increased by more than 25 fold in the case of the most lipophilic of these active materials ( after subtraction of the blank value of about 3 % for sucrose due to the method ). since the blood - brain barrier represents the greatest hindrance for chemotherapy from the point of view of the membrane penetration , the medicament according to the invention is especially suitable for active materials which are to act in the brain . these are especially cytostatics but , for example , also psychopharmaceuticals , agents against parkinson &# 39 ; s disease ( dopamine ) and others . by means of the use of mixtures of compounds of the general formula , for each active material there can thereby be adjusted certain desired conditions which can easily be monitored according to the method of oldendorf . therefore , the medicament according to the invention makes it possible to bring active materials into the object organ in higher concentrations than hitherto or to achieve the same effects with substantially smaller amount of active material . commercially available 1 , 2 - isopropylideneglycerol , 0 . 2 mole , is dissolved in 300 ml . tert .- butanol and mixed with 0 . 3 mole k tert .- butylate . one boils under reflux and mixes dropwise over a period of time of 60 minutes with a solution of alkyl bromide , 0 . 25 mole , in 100 ml . thf . thereafter , it is further boiled under reflux for 60 minutes . one cools , mixes with 300 ml . diisopropyl ether and 300 ml . water . the upper phase is evaporated on a rotary evaporator , the oily residue is taken up in 500 ml . ch 3 oh . mixed with 50 ml . 1n hcl and boiled under reflux . after 60 minutes , the splitting off of the protective groups is complete . one neutralises with na 2 co 3 , 0 . 1 mole , while stirring , filters and removes the solvent in waterpump vacuum . the oily residue is distilled . table 2 shows the physical data . the yields of pure 1 - alkylglycerols lie between 80 and 90 %, referred to 1 , 2 - isopropylideneglycerol . table 2______________________________________1 - alkylglycerol b . p . n . sub . d . sup . 20 ° c . ______________________________________propyl 83 - 84 ° c ./ 0 . 05 mm . 1 . 4420butyl 124 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4444pentyl 134 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4500hexyl 141 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4511heptyl 147 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4525______________________________________ starting from 1 , 3 - benzylideneglycerol , prepared according to johary and owen ( j . chem . soc ., 1955 , 1299 - 1301 ), the alkyl radicals are introduced in the 2 - position . for this purpose , 1 , 3 - benzylideneglycerol , 0 . 2 mole , dissolved in 300 ml . tert .- butanol , was mixed with k tert .- butylate , 0 . 3 mole , and boiled under reflux . after dropping in of alkyl bromide , 0 . 25 mole , in 100 ml . thf in a period of time of 60 minutes , it is further heated under reflux for 60 minutes . one cools , mixes with 300 ml . diisopropyl ether and shakes out against 300 ml . water . the upper phase is evaporated on a rotary evaporator , dissolved in 500 ml . methanol and heated under reflux for 30 minutes with 50 ml . 1n hcl . one cools , neutralises with na 2 co 3 , 0 . 1 mole , with stirring and filters . after removal of the solvent in a waterpump vacuum , the oily residue is distilled . table 3 shows the physical data . the yields of pure 2 - alkylglycerols lie between 70 and 80 %, referred to 1 , 3 - benzylideneglycerol . table 2______________________________________2 - alkylglycerol b . p . n . sub . d . sup . 20 ° c . ______________________________________propyl 126 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 5000butyl 134 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4525pentyl 143 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4554hexyl 150 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4571heptyl 156 ° c ./ 10 mm . 1 . 4589______________________________________ a medicament with improved penetration of the object organ consisting of an active material in combination with a compound of the general formula ## str3 ## in which one of the residues r 1 and r 2 signify an alkyl , alkylene , alkynyl or alkoxy group with , in each case , 3 to 7 c - atoms and the other residue signifies an h - atom and conventional pharmaceutical additive and dilution agents .	8
looking first at fig1 a prior art can tapping valve is shown which includes a valve arrangement 50 having a threaded portion 52 on one end carrying a can tapping point 54 and sealing means which provides access to a can 56 of pressurized fluid . as taught therein , a can gripper 58 is generally attached to the top of the pierceable pressurized fluid container 56 . the valve body is threaded into the gripper 58 until the piercing point 54 pierces a portion of the can to place the valve in communication with the pressurized fluid . within the body of the apparatus , there is a conventional valve stem 60 and seat 62 having an external handle 64 for driving the valve stem 60 into contact with seat 62 to thereby control the flow of the fluid from the pressurized container . beyond the valve seat 62 there is an additional check valve comprising a valve ball 66 and a seat 68 which allows fluid to flow only from the container and not back into the container . the apparatus taught by kowal additionally includes a pressure relief valve 70 in communication with the pressurized container for venting fluid in the event excessive pressures are encountered . fig2 shows a can tapping valve apparatus 2 according to the present invention connecting a pressurized fluid container 4 to a fluid conduit 6 . valve apparatus is attached to container 4 by a conventional gripping means 8 . the lower portion 14 of valve 2 has external thread 3 for mating with internal threads in a neck portion 12 of gripping means 8 . gripping means 8 may be integral with container 4 , but is more commonly a separate part snapped onto a rim 10 on container 4 . the top of container 4 includes a pierceable seal 5 which valve 2 contacts when threaded into gripping means 8 . a piercing member 13 is carried in the lower end of valve 2 to pierce the seal 5 and place valve apparatus 2 in communication with the interior of the container 4 . with reference now to both fig2 and 3 , the can tapping valve apparatus is illustrated in greater detail . the valve apparatus comprises a body member 14 , and a stem member 16 . in addition , piercing member 13 and fluid seal 20 are carried within a cavity 22 in the lower end of body member 14 . the cavity 22 forms part of a continuous flow passage 24 which extends along the length of body 14 . a tapered valve seat 26 is formed in the flow passage 24 generally near the center of the body member 14 . while the illustrated tapered seat 26 is preferred , it will be appreciated that another shape such as squared - off seat would also be suitable . adjacent valve seat 26 , a cavity 28 of the flow passage 24 is provided with a smooth wall 29 . another portion 30 beyond cavity 28 is provided with an internal thread for mating with the stem member 16 . an outer surface 31 of the upper part of body member 14 is knurled to provide a good grip for threading the valve 2 into the gripping means 8 . in one preferred embodiment , a cylindrical rubber section 20 having a cylindrical opening 21 is contact fitted with cavity 22 . piercing number 13 is stamped from sheet metal with a narrowed shank 32 which fits tightly within the narrowed portion of flow passage 24 and a shoulder 34 for abutting the bottom of the cavity and fitting tightly within the opening 21 . a pointed tip 18 extends outward from member 13 for piercing a can top . an end portion 17 of stem member 16 is adapted for fitting within cavity 28 of body member 14 . portion 17 of stem 16 has external threads 38 adapted for mating with threads 30 in cavity 28 . next to threads 38 is a smooth walled section 40 carrying an o - ring 42 for sealing against the smooth wall 29 of cavity 28 . at the end of end portion 17 an inner tapered valve seat 43 forms an end wall for cavity 28 . as best seen in fig4 seat 43 is tapered to correspond to seat 26 but has a cross - cut groove 44 providing two fluid paths for communicating with flow passageway 24 . a barbed end 41 is disposed opposite end portion 17 on stem member 16 . end 41 includes a hollow cylindrical portion 47 extending beyond threads 38 and tapering to a plurality of serially spaced cylindrical ridges 46 for insertion in tube 6 to provide a fluid tight seal . tubing 6 is sealed to stem 16 by means of a brass sleeve 7 , which is crimped around the tube 6 to abut ridges 46 . cavity 28 and valve seat 43 form a chamber 9 ( fig1 ) for containing a spherical valve ball 36 , preferrably formed of an elastomeric material such as neophrene rubber . ball 36 has a diameter selected to loosely fit in chamber 9 and to seat tightly on valve seat 26 , thereby forming a seal to allow fluid flow only from the body through the step of the valve apparatus 2 , as shown by the arrow . as best illustrated in fig2 variable fluid flow control is achieved by assembling the can tapping valve apparatus 2 so that stem 16 urges valve ball 36 against seat 26 . the position of valve ball 36 relative to seat 26 is adjusted by rotating the stem 16 with respect to body portion 14 . when valve apparatus 2 is connected to container 4 , as illustrated in fig1 this control is achieved by rotating container 4 relative to tubing 6 . in practice , it has been found that o - ring 42 provides an effective fluid tight seal between stem 16 and body 14 up to about 125 pounds per square inch . this pressure level is quite adequate for all normal uses of the apparatus . if conduit 6 is inadvertently connected to the high pressure line of air - conditioner compressor , pressure greatly in excess of this level will be applied to the outlet , that is , the stem member 16 of valve apparatus 2 . under such circumstances , valve ball 36 is urged against seat 26 to block the excessive pressure from the container 4 , and thereby avoid a dangerous explosion of the container . in addition , such a high pressure condition will cause leakage of fluid past o - ring 42 which will aid in reducing pressure within the flexible hose 6 to reduce the chance of explosion of the hose and provide a signal to the user that an excessively high pressure condition exists . a similar type of safety valve function would occur if container 4 were heated to drive fluid through the valve tube while tubing 6 is accidentally connected to a closed inlet valve on , for example , a compressor . in use , the can tapping valve apparatus is initially assembled with the stem 16 threaded fully into the body 14 to force the valve ball 36 against the seat 26 to place the valve in a closed position . the tube 6 is permanently connected to stem 16 by the crimped ring 7 . the tubing 6 normally carries a conventional fitting ( not shown ), permanently connected to its end opposite the valve apparatus adapted for connection to an appropriate inlet port such as the port of an air - conditioning compressor . if container 4 does not carry an integral gripping means 8 , then the separate gripping means 8 is snapped onto the rim 10 of the container 4 . the valve apparatus 2 is then threaded manually into the neck 12 of the gripping means 8 and turned by means of the knurled portion 31 until the pointed tip 18 contacts the pierceable seal 6 . at this point , additional force is applied to the knurled portion 31 to force tip 18 to penetrate seal 5 and to form a fluid tight seal using rubber section 20 between valve apparatus 2 and container 4 . after this is done , valve apparatus 2 has been placed in communication with container 4 and fluid may be released through flow passageway 24 and chamber 9 to hose 6 by rotating the hose relative to the container . this may be done by gripping the knurled portion 31 of body 14 in one hand , while turning the crimped sealing band 7 with the other . in practice , it has been found more convenient to grip the entire container 4 and rotate it and valve body 14 as a unit while holding hose 6 in the other hand . the fitting on the opposite end of hose 6 is generally connected to an inlet port of an air - conditioning compressor loosely while some refrigerant is allowed to flow through valve 2 to flush air from hose 6 . after sufficient flushing of air has occured , the fitting is tightened on the compressor and the compressor inlet valve opened , so that further flow of fluid through valve 2 , is into the compressor . the apparatus may of course , be used with a typical gauge and vacuum pump arrangement which allows the tubing 6 to be evacuated of air and moisture before refrigerant is allowed to flow therethrough . the flow rate of fluid is controlled by manually rotating body 14 relative to stem 16 . reverse flow of fluid from the compressor into the container is blocked by the same ball and valve seat arrangement . in addition , excessive pressure conditions within the tubing 6 and stem 16 are indicated by leakage of fluid around the o - ring seal 42 . while the present invention and its use have been illustrated in terms of particular apparatus , it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims .	8
refer to fig1 where an in - use - illustration is presented according to an embodiment of the invention . as can be seen , an adjustable book mirror 1 is shown attached to a front or back cover of a book 4 . also shown in this figure is an adult 6 reading to a child 8 with the adjustable book mirror 1 attached to the book 4 all while seated on a chair 10 . this methodology allows the adult 6 to see the child &# 39 ; s facial expressions clearly while reading a story . as a result , the adult 6 can finally see facial expressions that were never before possible while reading a book to the child 8 . in addition , this also allows the child 8 to watch the mechanical motion of her adult &# 39 ; s 6 lips . it is well know in the art that lip reading is possible and that all people , whether handicapped or not , benefit from watching the mechanical motions of the human mouth while speaking . furthermore , the adjustable book mirror 1 will help the child 8 associate the mechanical motions of her adult &# 39 ; s 6 lips with the words that she is currently vocalizing . consequently , this adjustable book mirror 1 invention will also help the child 8 learn to read and speak the language of the adult 6 . it should be appreciated that the adjustable book mirror 1 may advantageously be used by a single individual , whereupon the facial expressions of the reader are reflected back to the reader . the visual feedback to the reader enhances rehearsing speeches and performances . for the hearing impaired , the visual feedback would be useful in verifying proper pronunciation of the words . the adjustable book mirror 1 advantageously incorporates a light 2 , which may project light onto the book to aid in reduced lighting situations and / or onto the faces of the adult 6 and child 8 . to further enhance the reading experience , the adjustable book mirror 1 may further incorporate an audio player 7 , such as a radio , digitally recorded audio device , etc . to provide a soothing melody . it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art having the benefit of the present invention that the book mirror 1 may incorporate a reflective surface having many characteristics , some of which are described in greater detail below . for example , a reflective surface may have a preset orientation with respect to a gripping member that attaches to the book , with the orientation selected as typically convenient for each individual to see the other . this simplified connection between the gripping member and reflective member provides economical advantages . in addition , a convex reflective surface may be particularly appropriate with such a fixed orientation so that each individual may be at a range of positions relative to each other and the book , yet be in view of the other . refer now to fig2 where a close - up illustration of the present invention is shown clamped to the book 4 according to the embodiments of the invention . this illustration shows how the adjustable book mirror 1 is attached to the book &# 39 ; s 4 back cover . the adjustable book mirror 1 is clamped to the book 4 simply by sliding it over the cover . it can then be adjusted in the horizontal position along the length of the back book 4 cover . then , the mirror itself can be adjusted in a circular rotation about the mirror &# 39 ; s vertical axis , as shown in fig6 . all of these adjustments will allow the person reading the book to clearly see the child and vise - versa . refer to fig3 and 4 where perspective and front views of the present invention are shown according to the embodiments of the invention . a somewhat circular mirror 12 is shown mounted into a top shell 14 and a matching bottom shell ( not shown ). the top shell 14 and bottom shell can be both manufactured using normal plastic injection molding processes . the mirror 12 can be made of normal mirror materials such a glass with an opaque backing . likewise , the mirror can be composed of any suitable material that has a reflective surface . however , for safety reasons , it is preferable to have the mirror 12 made of harmless shiny - aluminum material or a shatter - resistant plastic ( e . g ., polycarbonate , acrlic , mylar , etc .). this mirror material is used extensively in many common plastic toys . however , the optical quality must be either equal or greater as compared to normal household - type glass mirrors . the mounted mirror 12 and top shell 14 and bottom shell form a male hinge section which is inserted into a female hinge section 18 c of a base 18 to form a pivoting mechanism , or by any other hinged devices , not limited by this invention . a pair of end caps 24 may be disposed on two opposite end portions of the base 18 . likewise , these end caps 24 can be manufactured using standard plastic injection molding techniques . however , these end caps 24 may also be eliminated by designing and manufacturing the base 18 with attached end caps 24 or with no end caps at all . alternatively , the end caps may include male threads received by female threads on a nonadjacent portion of the pivoting mechansim . thus , a variable amount of friction may be presented between the end caps and an adjacent portion of the pivoting mechanism that moves relative to the end cap . thus , tightening the attachment aids in maintaining the orientation with a variable amount of resistance . in addition , disassembly of the end caps by a child is thwarted , especially when a tool attachment structure ( e . g ., hex head aperture ) is included for tightening the end caps , or other locking mechanism . next , the user attaches the adjustable book mirror 1 to the book by sliding the base over the book &# 39 ; s back cover . the user accomplishes this by inserting the tip of the base 18 , which has a chamfer edge 18 a , over the back of the book cover . another chamfered edge ( not shown ) then is slid over the top of the book cover . the book mirror 1 is inserted until the book cover &# 39 ; s top edge rests against the base 18 . a rubber pad 20 is then used to help hold the whole adjustable book mirror 1 firmly in place . when the adjustable book mirror 1 is properly inserted the mirror 12 may be rotated by a circular r fashion . this allows the mirror 12 to be adjusted to any position in the r axis that is agreeable to its user . refer to fig5 where an assembly side - view of the adjustable book mirror is shown according to the embodiments of the invention . a non - toxic glue is first applied along the edges of the top shell 14 and a bottom shell 16 . the mirror 12 is then inserted between the top shell 14 and bottom shell 16 . the three pieces are subsequently pressed together and held firmly in place until the glue dries . next the rubber pad 20 must now be glued to the base 18 and allowed to sufficiently dry . then the assembled mirror 12 and top shell 14 , and bottom shell 16 can now be inserted into the two female hinge sections 18 c which are part of the base 18 . the two female hinge sections 18 c must be bent slightly outward to allow the preassembled mirror 12 , top shell 14 , and bottom shell 16 to be inserted in place . once completed the two female hinge sections will go back to their original shape thus holding the whole assembly firmly in place . the pair of end caps 24 are then inserted into the two female hinge sections 18 c . if designed and manufactured properly the pair of end caps 24 may be press - fitted into place and may not require any glue to be held firmly in place . however for safety reasons , a non - toxic glue may be used just to make sure that they cannot be pulled back out . also the two end caps &# 39 ; 24 diameters should be designed large enough to not allow a child to choke on them if they are successful in pulling them back out . when all adhesives have thoroughly dried , the user may now attach the adjustable book mirror 1 to the book by sliding the base over the book &# 39 ; s back cover . the user does this by inserting the chamfer edge 18 a over the back of the book cover . another chamfered edge 18 b is then slid over the top of the book cover . refer to fig6 where a side - view of the present invention according to the embodiments of the invention is shown . as can be seen the book mirror 1 can be opened and adjusted to any position r 1 . refer now to fig7 where a cross - sectional - side - view of the present invention according to the embodiments of the invention is shown . as can also be seen the book mirror 1 is designed to be assembled with snap - together pieces . however to maximize strength , most of the larger parts , such as the top shell 14 and bottom shell 16 , should be glued together with a non - toxic adhesive . now refer now to fig8 where a front - view of a new pivoting book mirror 3 according to another embodiment of the invention is shown . as can be seen the main difference between this version of the invention and the previous one is that the pivoting book mirror 3 can now be adjusted in more than one dimension . this will allow the user to adjust the mirror 12 without the need to slide the whole device along the back of the book &# 39 ; s cover in the horizontal direction with respect to the axis of the book &# 39 ; s cover . to allow this multi - directional alignment of the mirror 12 , the essential elements of the pivoting book mirror 3 comprise a pivoting base anchor 28 consisting of a capsule 28 c from which projects upwardly , a tubular arm 26 for supporting the preassembled top shell 14 , bottom shell ( not shown ), and mirror 12 . the tubular arm 26 is threaded on its flat end and is attached simply by screwing it into a matching female receptacle that is manufactured into to the back of the bottom shell . once assembled the tubular arm 26 will be allowed to pivot and / or rotated in just about any direction in a three - dimensional coordinate space . all of this is designed , manufactured , and assembled in a manner to be described hereinafter , and means for attaching capsule 28 c which is bearing top shell 14 , mirror 12 , and bottom shell to a book , magazine or the like comprising a clamp formed of a upper two - armed member consisting of a rigid base section 28 a and a movable base section 28 b . the rigid base section 28 a and the movable base section 28 b are all rigidly attached , preferably as an integral piece with the capsule 28 c , to the pivoting base anchor 28 . more specifically , the pivoting base anchor 28 has arms integrally attached at one end to capsule 28 c and preferably , but not necessarily , connected as one piece . all of these members ( i . e ., rigid base section 28 a , movable base section 28 b , and capsule 28 c ) can form a rigid construction which may be molded as one piece of appropriate plastic to form the entire pivoting base anchor 28 . refer to fig9 where it is shows a side - view of the pivoting book mirror 3 according to the embodiments of the invention . in this figure , only a partial view of the tubular arm 26 is shown . as can be seen , tubular arm 26 is attached as a movable and adjustable piece to the inside walls of the capsule 28 c . other mechanisms inside the capsule are then used to hold the tubular arm semi - rigidly in place . as can also be seen , the movable base section 28 b is formed in a somewhat tongue - shaped fashion fitting , preferably as one integral piece , within member 28 a . also note that the movable base section 28 b has a raised bow section which in its normal position , may extend slightly above member 28 a . the dimensions of members 28 a and 28 b as such that they provide a sufficient gripping surface to clamp between them a number of pages to the cover of a book or other document so that the pivoting book mirror 3 , in essence , becomes self - supporting to allow the tubular arm 26 to be safely adjusted in any direction . refer now to fig1 where a cross - sectional side view of the pivoting book mirror 3 is shown according to the embodiments of the invention . in this figure it can be clearly seen how a matching female receptacle 36 is manufactured as part of the back of the mirror containing shell which makes up a mirror assembly 17 . however this receptacle 36 , can be , as previously mentioned , be made as one rigid piece as part of the bottom shell or it can also be manufactured as a separate piece that is later attached to the bottom shell by any suitable means such as self - tapping screws and strong adhesives . once attached , the tubular arm 26 can then be attached to the mirror assembly simply by screwing it into the matching female receptacle 36 . however , before this can be accomplished , the tubular arm 26 must first be inserted up through a large opening in the bottom of capsule 28 c and then through a smaller opening in the top of capsule 28 c , both of which are manufactured as part of the pivoting base anchor 28 . the smaller opening in the top of capsule 28 c will prevent the tubular arm 26 from being pulled out the top of the capsule 28 c . however , the smaller opening in capsule 28 c is manufactured large enough to allow the tubular arm 26 to be pivoted or rotated in just about any direction in a three - dimensional coordinate system . a suitable metal or plastic spring 34 is then inserted up into the inside of the capsule 28 c through the opening in the bottom of the pivoting base anchor 28 until it is fully seated up against the rounded bottom end of the tubular arm 26 . the spring 34 must be designed to hold the mirror assembly firmly in place after final assembly is accomplished . however , the spring &# 39 ; s 26 constant coefficient must also allow free movement of the mirror assembly with very little force from its user . to close the opening and hold the spring 34 and tubular arm 26 firmly in place , a cover 30 is then next inserted up into the opening in the bottom of capsule 28 c . a short alignment peg 30 a that is molded into the topside of cover 30 is then used to align the spring 34 with the whole assembly . this round peg 30 a is designed and manufactured to be slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the spring 34 . a screw 32 , or a plurality of screws 32 , is then used to secure the cover 30 to the pivoting base anchor 28 . once assembled , the tubular arm 26 will be allowed to pivot and / or rotated in just about any direction in a three - dimensional range . as can be seen , the spring 34 is compressed to apply a static force on the tubular arm 26 after final adjustment of the mirror assembly 17 by the user . the spring 34 is used to apply pressure to the round bottom of the tubular arm 26 which is prevented from going any further by the top inside of the capsule 28 c . this is designed to help hold the mirror assembly 17 and the attached tubular arm 26 both firmly in place once adjustment is completed . however , the tension in the spring cannot be made too high to make the adjustment too rigid for the user to comfortably adjust the tubular arm 26 and attached mirror assembly 17 . likewise , the tension in the spring 34 , after final assembly , cannot be made too low as to not hold the load of both the pivoting arm 26 , and all other attached pieces , firmly in place once the user completes adjustment of the mirror assembly 17 . as a result , selection of a spring 34 , if purchased as an off - the - shelf item , is very important for the correct operation of the pivoting book mirror 3 invention . all previously mentioned plastic parts , such as the female receptacle 36 , the tubular arm 26 , the cover 30 , and the pivoting base anchor 28 can all be made from standard plastic - injection molding processes . the spring 34 , if made of metal , can be manufactured using normal spring manufacturing machines . likewise , the metal screws 32 can all be manufactured from any standard screw - molding machines . refer now to fig1 and 12 where a perspective and front views are shown according to another embodiment of the invention . as can be seen , a combination book mirror / light 5 will now not only allow the reader to see the person &# 39 ; s facial expressions and vise - versa , the book or magazine or any other document will now have the capability to have its pages , or the faces of the listener and / or reader , illuminated by a light bulb or light - emitting - diode ( led ) or similar lighting source . note that this version of the invention is very analogous to the one pictured in fig3 . however , a modification has been incorporated to now allow a book light to be turned on or off for better viewing of the reading material . a book light top shell 44 is connected to the top edge of a top mirror shell 38 and a bottom mirror shell by a pair of light hinges 42 . an on / off switch 56 controls power to the book light . this configuration will allow the book light to be adjusted in any position along the vertical axis of the book mirror / light 5 . refer now to fig1 where a cross - sectional side view of the book mirror / light 5 invention is shown . it can be seen that the base 18 is the same base used in previous fig4 - 7 . so its manufacturing , assembly , and operation processes will not be repeated . however , the rest of the invention is quite different and will now be explained . the on / off power switch 56 is shown inserted into a slot in the modified top shell 38 . also , the minor 12 is held in place when the modified top shell 38 and a modified bottom shell 40 are both glued firmly together and allowed to dry . the light assembly consists of a light bulb 46 which is held in place by a light socket 48 which is mounted to the inner side of the book light top shell 44 . a clear - plastic lens 50 is inserted into the book light top shell 44 to help protect fingers from possibly getting burned . this whole assembly is connected to the rest of the invention though the use of a couple of steel pins ( not shown ). an electrical wire 52 a is then soldered to one of the two terminals of the light socket 48 . the electrical wire 52 a is then run inside the length of the whole minor assembly and soldered to a negative terminal metal tab that is electrically connected to the negative terminal of a battery 62 a . another electrical wire 52 b is then soldered to the other terminal of the light socket 48 and it too is run the length of the invention in the space behind the mirror 12 . the other end of the wire 52 b is then soldered to one of the two terminals of the power on / off switch 56 . a third wire 52 c is then soldered to a positive terminal metal tab ( not shown ) that is electrically connected to the positive terminal of a second battery 62 b . the chemical batteries 62 a and 62 b are held firmly battery support 64 which is molded into the inside of the plastic battery chamber . the other side of the batteries 62 a and 62 b is supported by a sponge pad 60 that is glued to the inside of a plastic battery access door 58 . to complete the electrical circuit , a metal shorting terminal 66 is connected between the positive terminal of battery 62 a and the negative terminal of battery 62 b . this will electrically configure the pair of chemical batteries 62 a and 62 b together in series . refer now to fig1 where an electrical diagram is shown according to the embodiments of the book mirror / light invention . this diagram is an electrical schematic for the invention used in fig1 - 13 . as can be seen , the light bulb 46 is electrically connected to the wire 52 a and wire 52 b through the light socket 48 . one end of wir 52 a is then soldered to a negative terminal metal tab that is electrically connected to the negative terminal of battery 62 a . likewise , the other end of wire 52 b is soldered to one terminal of the power on / off switch 56 . the other terminal of the power on / off switch 56 is soldered to wire 52 c , which has its other end soldered to a positive terminal metal tab that is electrically connected to the positive terminal of battery 62 b . to complete the series circuit , the metal shorting terminal 66 is electrically connected between the positive terminal of battery 62 a and negative terminal of battery 62 b . refer now to fig1 and 16 where front and perspective views of a pivoting book mirror / light 7 is shown according to another embodiment of the invention . as can be seen , this invention is yet another of many possible variations of the book mirror / light invention . however this version is different than the previous one shown in fig1 and 12 because a swivel light 76 is now located at a pedestal 72 and can be rotated in any direction . in addition , a somewhat square or rectangular shaped mirror 68 is now enclosed in a similarly shaped upper enclosure 70 and lower enclosure ( not shown ). these parts are then connected to the tubular arm 26 using the same plastic screw - in type mechanism as previously mentioned in the specification paragraph for fig1 . also , the round bottom tubular arm is assembled in the pedestal 72 the same fashion as what was described for fig9 and 10 . this will allow for multi - dimensional rotation and pivoting in any direction to allow the user maximum flexibility in adjusting the square shaped mirror 68 . using this same design but on a smaller scale , the swivel light 76 can also be rotated in any direction . to make this version of the invention more lightweight , a power cord 80 is used to connect to a separate power source , such as a battery pack 82 or an alternating current outlet . it will be appreciated that a pivoting adjustable mounting may used such as a ball - and - socket joint as depicted in fig1 , with either or both ends of pedestal 72 terminating in such a joint . alternatively , one or more ends of the pedestal , or the lenth of the pedestal itself , may comprise a deformable connection , wherein the mounting may be bent by the user to a desired orientation . refer now to fig1 wherein a flow chart diagram depicts the methodology of how to use the present book mirror or book mirror / light devices according to embodiments of the invention . as shown a step 90 is used by either the reader or listener of the book to attach the invention to the book . a step 92 is then used to allow users of the invention to adjust their positions . after that step is completed , a step 94 is used by adjust the position of the book , and subsequently the attached book - light - mirror invention , with respect to their own positions . next , a step 96 is used to adjust the position of the book relative to the reader &# 39 ; s and listener &# 39 ; s positions . next , both the reader and listener have to now decide , using a decision step 98 , whether they can see each other &# 39 ; s faces prior to reading . if the answer is false then step 92 , step 94 , and step 96 all should to repeated until this condition becomes true . once true , a step 100 is then used to turn to the first page in the book that is about to be read aloud . a step 102 is then used , for the book - light - mirror version of the invention , to turn on the light . the reader or listener can then adjust the light &# 39 ; s position as shown in a step 104 . the listener can subsequently use the mirror to view the reader &# 39 ; s mouth to help correlate audio sounds and visual movements with words currently being read . next , a decision has to be made , using a decision step 106 , whether the pages of the book are clearly illuminated by the light . if false then step 104 should be repeated until the condition becomes true . otherwise a step 108 is next used by the reader to articulate words from the pages of the book . the reader then uses the mirror to periodically watch facial expressions of the listener using a step 110 . likewise , the listener uses the mirror , at a step 112 , to watch the reader &# 39 ; s facial expressions . however , it is also the hope that the mirror will help the listener correlate the visual and audio cues with the current words being read from the book . next , another decision has to be made , using a decision step 114 , whether both pages of the book have been read . if false then the step 108 , step 110 , step 112 all have to be repeated until this condition becomes true . when the decision step 114 condition becomes true , then another decision , a decision step 118 , has to be made whether the reader is finished reading the book . if decision step 118 is false then the step 108 , step 110 , step 112 , and decision step 114 all should be repeated until this condition becomes true . while the present invention has been illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail , it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications may readily appear to those skilled in the art . for example , although injection plastic molding is described in some instances as economical method of manufacture , it will be appreciated that a broad range of materials and fabrication methods may be employed .	1
specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure . these are , of course , merely examples and are not intended to be limiting . in addition , the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and / or letters in the various examples . this repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and / or configurations discussed . fig1 shows one embodiment of a rotatable hub 100 for a luminaire according to one aspect of the current disclosure . in this embodiment light rail 130 is shown such that electrical wiring can be run down a bore 128 of the rail frame 130 . this access 128 is used to provide electricity to the opposite end of the lamp 126 through wire 129 , without exposing the wire 129 to the heat of the lamp while still maintaining an attractive luminaire . in the figure the rail frame 130 has a rotatable hub on each end . the rotatable hub 100 comprises an electrical socket 118 ( such as a bjb socket # 26 . 641 . 2001 or similar ) for holding the lamp 126 and providing electricity to operate the lamp , a socket base 116 for holding the socket 118 . in this embodiment the socket base 116 has a raised threaded portion 152 which extends into an electrical connector housing 138 . mounting the socket base 116 on the threaded raised portion 152 allows the socket to swivel or rotate in relation to the electrical connector housing 138 . the electrical connector housing 138 is mounted to the socket base 116 by a spring washer 120 , a hub nut 112 and a hub cap 110 . since the hub nut 112 is screwed on to the threaded portion 152 , the electrical connector housing 138 is rotatably coupled to the socket base 116 . the electrical connector housing 138 has indicia on it indicating the relative position of the light rail 130 . set screw 134 holds the rotatable hub 100 in place once its position is set . in view of the foregoing , one aspect of this embodiment is that socket base 116 has mounting holes 150 ( only one shown ) such that the tabs 151 of lamp socket 118 can mount by snapping in place . the size of mounting holes 150 is determined by the size of the tabs 151 on the socket 118 . one having skill in the art would recognize that the design of socket base 116 can be modified to accommodate differing sockets 118 and still be within the spirit of the current invention . thus socket holder 116 provides a means for passing electricity to one end of the lamp 126 , providing structural support for the socket 118 and for holding the position of the light rail when set screw 134 is tightened . references in the specification to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, “ an example embodiment ”, etc ., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature , structure or characteristic , but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature , structure or characteristic . moreover , such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment . further , when a particular feature , structure or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment , it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to effect such feature , structure or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described . parts of the description are presented using terminology commonly employed by those of ordinary skill in the art to convey the substance of their work to others of ordinary skill in the art . fig2 shows attachment of a light rail to a rotatable hub . in the figure a rotatable hub assembly is partially shown in an exploded diagram . the housing 238 is connected to a socket holder 216 by mounting hardware ( not shown ). the mounting hardware is screwed on to the socket holder 216 to provide support and to allow the socket holder 216 to rotate with respect to the housing 238 . the rotation is limited by a stop pin 236 . the stop pin has a first end disposed in slot 248 to allow a predetermined amount of play such that the stop pin is slidable . the stop pin has a second end that extends through the light rail portion 246 and into a hole ( not shown ) on the housing 238 . a light rail 230 is attached to the socket base 216 such that the light rail rotates with the socket base 216 . a portion of the light rail 231 is affixed to the socket base 216 and has an elongated hole 246 for the stop pin 236 to pass through and a second hole 252 for the threaded portion of the socket base 216 to pass through . the socket holder 216 has a bore 250 through it to allow for passage of electrical wiring to control the lamp ( not shown ). the wires would extend from the socket , through the bore 250 in the socket base 216 and into the cavity 239 in the center of the housing 238 . the wires would extend further outside the housing 236 through hole 254 and exit the housing . in the example shown the light rail has an escutcheon 242 to cover the socket ( not shown ) and socket holder 216 . the hole 254 may have elongated members ( or prongs ) 256 on one or more sides for use in supporting the device . the elongated members may be formed with threaded holes for receiving a fastener or with other means for attaching the elongated members to a supporting structure . in operation the rotatable hub rotates until a stop ( not shown ) on the housing 238 contacts the stop pin 236 . the stop pin , by having some play allows for rotation in excess of 360 degrees . the amount of allowable rotation determined by the length of slot 248 . the stop pin provides protection from rotating the rotatable hub to a point where the wiring would bunch and experience stress to the point of damaging the luminaire . in this illustration the light rail 230 can be easily changed with light rails of differing shapes . also the design of the housing 238 provides for easy mounting to a support arm ( not shown ) to fix a luminaire to a ceiling , wall or other support structure . fig3 illustrates one way to mount the luminaire to a structural support . a rotatable hub 320 is attached to a light rail 322 . the rotatable hub 320 has two extended members or prongs 324 disposed to fit into the inner cavity or passage of a hollow support arm 314 . each of the extended members has a threaded female screw hole and the hollow support arm 314 has at least one hole 326 for alignment to the threaded female screw holes . the electrical wiring for providing power to a lamp ( not shown ) is disposed into the hollow of support arm 314 and terminates at a connector 316 . a matching connector 318 is attached to wires ( not shown ) on the housing , which in turn are coupled to a lamp by way of a socket described above . the connector allows for quick disconnect of the entire fixture without having to remove the support arm 314 from the support structure . in fig3 the extended members 324 are designed to fit snugly into the hollow of support arm 314 and the housing of the rotatable hub 320 is designed to be substantially the same as the support arm 314 . thus when the rotatable hub 320 is placed into the support arm 314 the hub aligns such that the light rail is perpendicular to the support arm 314 . this allows for easy installation of the luminaire . the support arm 314 may have an opening 326 for receiving a set screw , bolt or other fastener 328 . the fastener 328 may be formed to coupled with a threaded hole on extended members 324 . fig4 illustrates several examples of light rails used in accordance with the current disclosure and their corresponding light direction patterns . one feature of the current invention is the ability to change light rails to light rail a is a bee rail , light rail b is a wing rail , light rail c is a race rail , light rail d is a box rail and light rail e is a que rail . the light rails may be made from aluminum or other materials strong enough to support the weight and temperature requirements for the luminaire . fig5 shows an embodiment of a luminaire having multiple segments 500 . a mounting structure 510 supports an arm 512 . at the end of the arm is a hub 514 . electrical wires are run through the support arm to the hub assembly 514 and through the hub assembly 514 to the lamp . a light rail 516 is connected to the hub assembly 514 at one end and at the other end of the light rail 516 is another hub assembly 522 connected to a second support arm 522 and to a mounting structure 518 . different light rails can be used and multiple light rails can be connected together . in this figure , electrical wiring is run internally to the light rail , such that only one hub need be electrically powered for each lamp . in the disclosure shown , electrical wires would be run internally to arm 512 to hub 514 to power the lamp in light rail 516 . electrical wiring would also be run internal to arm 520 to hub 522 for powering light rail 524 . in the embodiment shown arm 526 does not require any electrical wiring . by eliminating the need to run wires in all three arms , this embodiment provides for a light fixture that is easier to install than conventional light fixtures . fig6 shows details of how one to install one embodiment according to the current disclosure . in this detail , electrical wiring is run internally to arm 610 to connector 612 . connector 612 connects to connector 616 located on the hub 614 . because one embodiment of the current invention may provide for electrical wiring internal to the light rail , hub 618 may not need electrical wiring . fig6 also shows the installation of two light rails ( 620 and 622 ) into arm 610 . the hub 614 is designed to fit squarely into the arms such that when two hubs are inserted into an arm , they provide for easier alignment . similar ease of alignment can be realized using multiple shaped hubs and arms , such that additional light rails other than those shown can be constructed or different angles between the light rails may be built . for example , a designer may want 4 light rails installed in a single arm or a 90 degree angle between two of the light rails . fig7 shows one aspect for providing a luminaire over a workspace such as a desk 700 . in the figure a single light rail 708 is connected to two support arms 716 and 718 . the support arms are connected to a main chassis 710 which may include ballast for the lamp . also main chassis 710 may be used to facilitate mounting the lighting system above a desk or other structure . this embodiment would typically mount under an overhead storage cabinet or bookshelf located above a desk . power is supplied to the lamp through electrical connector 712 and on / off switch 714 . fig8 shows the details of a portion of the example shown in fig7 . in fig8 the luminaire is shown as a light rail 822 connected to a hub 820 . electricity is supplied to the lamp ( not shown ) through wires ( not shown ) connected to electrical connector 818 . electrical connector 818 connects to electrical connector 816 which is connected to wires through the core of arm 814 . electricity is supplied from ballasting equipment not shown . items 828 and 830 are escutcheons for providing an aesthetic appeal . this figure illustrates one of the features of the disclosure for providing a modular system wherein many different luminaires may be formed to meet differing needs , while using common parts and assembly . this provides for more affordable manufacturing and ease of installation . fig9 shows a double light rail system 900 according to the current disclosure . in this figure a mounting structure 910 connects to a support arm 912 and supports a hub connector 928 . the hub connector 928 supports the first hub 914 and a second hub assembly 916 . each hub supports one or more light rails 920 , 918 , 926 , and 924 . the electrical connections for the lamps may run internally through the support arms 912 and may also run internally to the light rails 920 , such that only a single support arm has electrical wiring in it . typically in the double light rail system 900 , electrical wires would be run through arm 912 and arm 928 obviating the need for wiring in arm 930 . in this disclosure two variations of the hub are used , a “ right - hand ” hub and a “ left - hand ” hub . the primary difference between the right - hand hub and the left - hand hub is the existence of electrical connections for lamps and mounting hardware , although other structural differences may also be employed . this disclosure allows multiple light rails to be strung together . multiple support arms , hub assemblies and light rails allow for different configurations of lights being grouped together . one having skill and the art would appreciate that the current invention can be mounted from a variety of structural supports such as a ceiling with a light rail directing the light up or down , or from a wall with a light rail directing the light out , down , up or back across the wall to provide for reflective or indirect lighting . multiple light rails positioned to illuminate in different directions can be used . one aspect of the current disclosure is that electricity is only supplied to one hub for each lamp . each light rail described above has a bore running substantially the length of the light rail to allow for electrical wires to extend through the bore and couple to the socket at the other end . this facilitates ease of installation and reduces costs because power only needs to be supplied to a single arm in many situations . the above illustration provides many different embodiments or embodiments for implementing different features of the invention . specific embodiments of components and processes are described to help clarify the invention . these are , of course , merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention from that described in the claims . although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples , it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims . accordingly , it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention , as set forth in the following claims .	5
the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which preferred embodiments are shown . the objective of the present invention is to provide a method for packaging semiconductor package device . in the following , the well - known knowledge regarding the of the invention such as the formation of chip and the process for forming package structure would not be described in detail to prevent from arising unnecessary interpretations . however , this invention will be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein . please refer to fig3 , which shows a vertical view of the wafer . in fig3 , a wafer 10 is provided which having a top surface ( not shown in figure ) and a back surface ( not shown in figure ), and a plurality of dices 20 is disposed thereon . next , according to sawing line ( not shown in figure ) on the wafer 10 , the wafer 10 is cut by the cutting - off tools ( not shown in figure ) to obtain a plurality of dices 20 as shown in fig4 . in this embodiment of fig4 , each the plurality of dice 20 having an active surface 22 and a back surface 24 , and a plurality of pads 26 is disposed on the active surface 22 of each the plurality of dices 20 . next , please also refer to fig4 , a carrier substrate 30 having a top surface 34 and a back surface 36 is provided , and a plurality of chip - placement areas ( the dotted line region ) 32 is disposed on the top surface 34 of the carrier substrate 30 . a plurality of first connecting points 40 is disposed on top surface 34 of each of the plurality of chip - placement area 32 and a plurality of second connecting points 42 corresponding to the plurality of first connecting points 40 is disposed on the back surface 36 of the carrier substrate 30 . next , the active surface 22 of each the plurality of dice 20 is upward to dispose on each of the plurality of chip - placement areas 32 on the top surface 34 of the carrier substrate 30 . in this embodiment , an adhesive layer ( not shown in figure ) is further disposed between the back surface 24 of each of the plurality of dices 20 and the top surface 34 of the carrier substrate 30 to fix each of the plurality of dices 20 on the top surface 34 of the carrier substrate 30 . next , please refer to fig5 which shows a cross - sectional view of the plurality of conductive wires that electrically connected the die with the carrier substrate . in fig5 , the plurality of conductive wires 50 is formed on the plurality of pads 26 on the active surface 22 of each of the plurality of dices 20 by wire bonding process , and is electrically connected with the plurality of connecting points 40 on the top surface 34 of the carrier substrate 30 . please refer to fig6 a , a heat dissipation structure 60 is disposed on the active surface 22 of each of the plurality of dices 20 after the wire bonding process is performed . the heat dissipation structure 60 is disposed in the middle of the plurality of pads 26 on the active surface 22 of each of the plurality of dices 20 by silver paste or non - conductive glue and is electrically isolated from the plurality of pads 26 . the purpose of the utilization of the heat dissipation structure 60 is that the heat dissipation structure having a higher coefficient of thermal expansion to increase the heat conduction performance for the semiconductor package device in longitude direction . in this embodiment , the material of the heat dissipation structure 60 is copper whose heat conduction coefficient k being about 389 w / m - k , copper - contained metal compound , aluminum whose heat conduction coefficient k being about 210 w / m - k , or aluminum - contained metal compound . in addition , the shape of the heat dissipation structure 60 is cylinder , rectangle cylinder , non - uniform cylinder , and non - uniform rectangle cylinder . next , please refer to fig6 b , which shows a cross - sectional view of performing an encapsulation process to form a package body to encapsulate the plurality of dices , the plurality of conductive wires , and portion of the top surface of the carrier substrate . in fig6 b , a polymer material such as epoxy resin is formed on each the plurality of dices 20 to encapsulate the plurality of dices 20 , the plurality of conductive wires 50 , the heat dissipation structure 60 and the portion of the top surface 12 of the carrier substrate 10 to form a package body 70 . please refer to fig6 c , a plurality of connecting components 80 is formed on the back surface 36 of the carrier substrate 30 and is electrically connected to the plurality of second connecting points 42 . in this embodiment , the plurality of connecting elements 80 is solder ball . then , the carrier substrate 30 is cut by the cutting - off tools ( not shown ) according to the sawing line ( not shown ) on the carrier substrate 30 to obtain a plurality of semiconductor package device . in addition , the present invention also provides another embodiment for packaging the semiconductor package device , the packaging procedure is the same as the fig3 to fig5 as aforementioned , the different between the above embodiment is that heat dissipation structure 62 is disposed in the middle of the plurality of pads 26 on the active surface 22 of each the plurality of dices 20 after the wire bonding process is performed . the height of the heat dissipation structure 62 is higher than the arc of the plurality of conductive wires 50 as shown in fig7 a . similarly , fig7 a shows that the heat dissipation structure 62 is disposed in the middle of the plurality of pads 26 on active surface 22 of each of the plurality of dices 20 and is electrically isolated from the plurality of pads 26 . the purpose of the utilization of heat dissipation structure 62 is that the heat dissipation structure having a higher coefficient of thermal expansion to increase the heat conducting performance for the semiconductor package device in longitude direction . in this embodiment , the material of the heat dissipation structure 62 is copper whose heat conduction coefficient k being about 389 w / m - k , copper - contained metal compound , aluminum whose heat conduction coefficient k being about 210 w / m - k , or aluminum - contained metal compound . in addition , the shape of heat dissipation structure 62 is cylinder , rectangle cylinder , non - uniform cylinder , and non - uniform rectangle cylinder . thereafter , as shown in fig7 b , a polymer material such as epoxy resin is formed on each of the plurality of dices 20 to encapsulate the plurality of dices 20 , the plurality of conductive wires 50 , the heat dissipation structure 62 and portion of the top surface 34 of the carrier substrate 30 to form package body 70 . because the height of the heat dissipation structure 62 is higher than the arc of the plurality of conductive wires 50 , the portion of the heat dissipation structure 62 is to be exposed out of the package body 70 after the encapsulation process is performed . the purpose of this semiconductor package device with the heat dissipation structure is to decrease the gap between heat dissipation structure 62 and package body 70 , so that the heat dissipation efficiency can be increased . finally , referring to fig7 c , a plurality of connecting components 80 is disposed on the back surface 36 of the carrier substrate 30 and is electrically connected the plurality of second points 42 on the back surface 34 of the carrier substrate 30 . in this embodiment , the plurality of connecting components 80 is solder ball . next , the carrier substrate 30 is cut by the cutting - off tools ( not shown ) according to the sawing line ( not shown ) on the carrier substrate 10 to obtain a plurality of semiconductor package device . thus , according to above embodiments , the semiconductor package device with the heat dissipation structure can apply for the hsbga ( heat slug ball grid array ) package device , the heat dissipation performance semiconductor package device with the heat dissipation structure of the present invention is the same as that of hfcbga ( high performance flip chip ball grid array ) package device . in addition , the semiconductor package device with the heat dissipation structure of the present invention having a simple structure and simple manufacturing process than that of the conventional semiconductor package device with the heat slug , so that the cost and the yield can be maintained . it is understood that various other modifications will be apparent to and can be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention . accordingly , it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the description as set forth herein , but rather that the claims be construed as encompassing all the features of patentable novelty that reside in the present invention , including all features that would be treated as equivalents thereof by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains .	7
referring to fig1 and 2 , a packaging device 1 for the extemporaneous mixing of two constituents a and b stored separately in an upper first compartment 2a and a lower second compartment 2b respectively , has an axis x . the constituents a and b may be , for example , an oxidizing constituent and a coloring constituent , whose mixture is intended for dyeing the hair . the first compartment is formed by a first body 20a and the second compartment is constituted by a second body 20b , the two bodies being joined by a connecting element 6 . this connecting element 6 has a circular central opening 12 permitting the first compartment 2a to communicate with the second 2b . in the storage position shown in fig1 the opening 12 is obturated by an obturating element 14 such as a detachable stopper of a circular shape complementary to the shape of the opening 12 . for assembly of the bodies 20a and 20b respectively , each body has at a first end 21 a or 21b , a first open neck 22a or 22b , and at a second end 23a or 23b opposite to the first , a second open neck 24a and 24b . as shown in the drawings , all the necks 22a , 22b , 24a and 24b have the same geometry and dimensions . the second neck 24b of the lower compartment 2b is obturated by a second obturating element 9 , here in the form of a base . the obturating element 9 has a side wall 9a allowing it to be aligned with the external contour of the body 20b of the second compartment 2b . the base 9 has a flat bottom 9b to ensure the stability of the unit 1 when it is placed onto a working surface . a third obturating element 8 is provided to obturate the first neck 22a of the upper compartment 2a and to permit dispensing of the mixture of the constituents a and b . for this purpose , it is provided with a dispensing opening 26 through which the dispensing of the mixture can be effected . the dispensing opening is here situated at the end of a hollow dispensing nozzle 28 that is closed by a closing cap 30 which the user removes , for example by twisting , before the mixture a + b is dispensed . the obturating element 8 has a side wall allowing it to be aligned with the external contour of the body 20a of the upper compartment 2a . the connecting element 6 has a partition 60 orientated perpendicularly to the axis x . the opening 12 is cut at the center of this partition 60 . a double cylindrical skirt 61 , 62 is concentrically disposed relative to the opening 12 on each side of the partition 60 , which skirt constitutes the connector and whose function will be described below in greater detail . at its circumference , the partition 60 has an external skirt 64 with an external diameter substantially equal to the external diameter of an external contour of the compartments 2a and 2b , this external skirt forming a cover skirt . thus , four identical connecting elements 61 , 62 , 81 , 91 are provided to cooperate each with the identical necks 22a , 24a , 22b , 24b of the compartments 2a and 2b . these connecting elements comprise a double cylindrical skirt , whereof a first 61 a , 62a , 81 a , 91 a is adapted to be inserted with a force fit inside each neck 22a , 24a , 22b , 24b . a second skirt 61b , 62b , 81b , 91b concentric with the first , is provided to be fitted with a tight fit on the outer side of each neck . if necessary , this second skirt 61b , 62b , 81b , 91b takes a discontinuous form . thus a first double skirt 81 is situated on the internal side of the obturating element 8 ; a second double skirt 61 and third double skirt 62 are symmetrically situated on either side of the partition 60 of the connecting element 6 . a fourth annular skirt 63 with a smaller diameter than that of the cylindrical double skirt surrounds the opening 12 and serves as a seat for fixing the stopper 14 . the skirts 61 , 62 , 81 , 91 for coupling the connecting element 6 on the compartments may also have a thread system . in this case the second skirts 61b , 62b , 81b , 91b have an internal thread and are screwed onto the necks 22a , 24a , 22b , 24b of the compartments 2a and 2b , these necks being provided with an appropriate complementary thread . in accordance with this embodiment , the obturating element 8 further comprises actuator for causing the stopper 14 to be ejected . the actuator is formed by an annular zone 18 surrounding the base of the dispensing nozzle 28 , in the shape of a flattened cone frustum emerging towards the outside . the annular zone 18 is formed by a wall of a sufficiently small thickness to be deformable by axial depression , as shown in fig2 . the annular zone has an internal tube forming an extension of the nozzle 28 , intended to come into contact with a first end 17a of an axially extending stem 16 whose second end 17b is in contact with the stopper 14 . to position the stem 16 accurately between the annular zone and the stopper , its second end 17b is joined to the stopper 14 . advantageously , the stem 16 and the stopper are made of a single piece . according to another possibility ( not shown ), the actuator having a deformable zone may be situated at the bottom of the device . in this case , the deformable zone is located at the center of the bottom of the element 9 and takes the form of a bellows , for example . it is , of course , understood that the stopper and its stem are here disposed inversely to the arrangement shown in fig1 relative to the opening 12 . in other words , in this configuration , the stem passes through the lower compartment 2b ; its ends are in contact with the deformable zone of the bottom and the stopper 14 respectively . during the ejection of the stopper , the latter is accommodated in the first compartment 2a . generally the parts forming the device of the invention are made of a thermoplastic material compatible with the product , for example of polypropylene . the connecting element 6 and the obturating elements 8 , 9 and 14 are advantageously obtained by injection molding . as for the bodies 20a and 20b of the compartments 2a and 2b , they may be made of pvc ( polyvinyl chloride ). these bodies are advantageously made by blow molding . the functioning of the device which has been described is illustrated in fig2 : to cause the first constituent a to be transferred into the second compartment 2b for mixing the two constituents a and b , the user depresses the deformable zone 18 by pressing thereon . the depression of this zone 18 produces an axial translation of the stem 16 , which in its turn produces the detachment of the stopper 14 from its seat and the release of the first opening 12 . the first constituent a flows by gravity into the second compartment 2b where it is mixed with the second constituent b . after shaking the unit 1 , the user then removes the closing cap 30 simply by twisting it , thus releasing the dispensing opening 26 . by upending the unit 1 , the dispensing nozzle 28 being directed towards the bottom , the mixture of the constituents a + b can be applied to a base to be treated , for example to the hair . as shown in fig3 and 4 , a packaging device 101 intended for packaging four constituents a , b , c and d has parts identical with the parts forming the device 1 . thus the device is surmounted by an upper obturating element 8 provided with a dispensing nozzle 28 , itself closed by a detachable closing cap 30 . the obturating element 8 has a deformable zone 18 which may be depressed by the user in a similar way to that described with reference to the device of fig1 and 2 , with a view to effecting the mixing of the constituents a to d . the base of the device 101 is formed by a lower obturating element 9 with a flat bottom 9a . between the upper obturating element 8 and lower obturating element 9 are four identical axially aligned compartments 2a , 2b , 2c and 2d , each compartment being connected to an adjacent compartment by one of the identical connecting elements 6a , 6b or 6c . detachable stoppers 14a , 14b and 14c are respectively mounted to the connecting elements 6a , 6b or 6c , thus ensuring the hermetic packaging of each constituent a , b , c and d . each of the stoppers 14a , 14b and 14c is respectively provided with a central stem 16a , 16b and 16c orientated towards the dispensing nozzle 28 and ending in the vicinity of an adjoining stopper , with the exception of the stem 16a placed at the top , which ends in the vicinity of the deformable zone 18 . when the user wishes to apply the product , he depresses the dispensing nozzle 28 towards the bottom 9a . this nozzle bears against the stem 16a and ejects the stopper 14a . the stopper 14a then bears against the stem 16b of the stopper 14b , causing the latter to be ejected . the stopper 14b comes into contact with the stem 16c of the stopper 14c and causes , in its turn , the ejection of the latter . in this way , all the compartments 2a to 2d communicate with one another , so that their contents accumulate in the bottom portion of the device 101 . by vigorously shaking the unit 101 , a homogeneous mixture of the constituents a to d is obtained . it then suffices to remove the detachable cap 30 , to direct the nozzle 28 downwards and to dispense the mixture . in this way , it is possible to make up a device with n compartments intended to contain n different constituents . it should be noted that the devices described above have all the advantages of a modular system , making it for example possible to assemble various compartments in a variable order , or to invert the orientation of one or several compartments , which provides wide scope for mounting and filling from an industrial point of view .	8
referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the invention only , and not for purposes of limiting same , the figures show an interval modulator control with lockout that is particularly useful for adjusting the operation of a vehicle brake light for enhanced display indication of the braking of a vehicle . more particularly , and with reference to fig1 , the invention provides for the limited modulation of a brake light to signal the braking of a vehicle , but also precludes modulation if the brake is applied more than once within a preset time period to avoid annoying , repetitive flashing of the brake lights . the system will determine if a brake light is on or off by the detection of the supply of current to the brake lamp . accordingly , as a user hits the brake , the brake lamp will turn on 12 . if this is an initial application of the brakes so that it is desired to brighten and dim the unit so adjacent operators will especially notice the change in intensity of the light signal , and more readily recognize that the vehicle is being braked , then the unit will modulate the power signal to the lamp . in such case the power will never be perceived to be completely off to the brake lamp , either because the power is never turned completely off or because the power is turned on and off so quickly that the brake light source is never perceived as being extinguished . however , the modulating of the power will present an appearance of flashing intensity to an observer . with reference to fig2 , it can be seen that the lamp 20 would normally be serially disposed between positive 22 and negative 24 power lines , which are controlled in a conventional manner by the application of the brake ( not shown ) by the user . the subject invention comprises a processing unit 26 which is shown to be serially interposed between power line 24 and the lamp 20 , and also connected to the other power line 22 to form a complete circuit . a pulse width modulation or microprocessor timing device can perform the processing required by the unit 26 . alternatively , the processing unit 26 is implemented with a small set of inexpensive integrated circuits such as cmos binary counter and logic gates , as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . the processing unit 26 is sized to be fitted even as an add - on within conventionally sized brake light casing 25 , e . g . approximately between one and three cubic inches . when modulation is desired , the unit 26 will affect the power delivered to the lamp 20 with a control element such as a transistor interposed between the lamp 20 and at least one of the power lines 22 , 24 to cause the lamp to effectively brighten and dim . there are two predetermined time intervals which are set to control how long the modulation occurs and when it can occur . returning to the flow chart of fig1 , after it is determined that the brake lamp is on , the system will determine whether or not the lock out interval is expired 14 . by □ lockout intervals □ is meant the time period in which modulation of the brake lamp is effectively locked out , i . e ., should not occur . if the lock out has expired , then it is appropriate to modulate the brake lamp and this occurs at step 16 . so long as the brake remains in continuous operation , the system will cause the brake lamp to brighten and dim for an interval . when the interval has expired 18 , then the system will reset the modulation interval 28 and reset the lock out interval 30 so that the brake lamp will remain on 12 , and so that no modulation can occur unit the lock out interval has timed out 32 , which time out can only occur during the brake being off or in a released state . it is a feature of the invention that the lockout interval precludes repetitive modulation when the brake has not been released for a long enough time to allow the lockout interval to expire , for example , 40 seconds . thus , if the vehicle operator were in stop - and - go traffic , so that the brake is repeatedly applied in intervals of less than 40 seconds , the modulation would not occur , but rather the brake light would operate in a completely conventional manner and would be continuously on for the time period that the brake is set . the invention operates to especially attract the attention of a following operator when a brake is first being applied at intervals in excess of the 40 second lock out period . concerning the modulation interval , again this is a matter of subject of determination , about 5 seconds of modulation has met expectations . the modulation can result in a variety of flashing frequencies so long as it is easily recognizable , e . g . a flash per second . the invention can be disposed in any of a number of brake lights , for example , in an passenger vehicle the invention can be disposed within the middle brake light of an automobile which is typically positioned within a rear window . alternatively , the light could be placed in other easily recognizable locations such as the rooftop or a rear and central vehicle area . the remaining two brake lights on rear tail fenders will operate in a conventional manner . alternatively , the invention can be disposed in other places . for example , the invention can be disposed in optional or mandatory , tractor - trailer truck brake lights . for instance , referring to fig3 a trailer - mounted brake light 310 includes a first or red light region 318 and a second or yellow light region 326 . the red light region 318 and the yellow light region 326 are in the form of concentric circles . the yellow light region 326 is smaller than , and centrally located within , the red light region 318 . therefore , the red light region 318 forms and annular ring around the yellow light region 326 . however , other light region arrangements are contemplated , such as for example , both regions may be red , the regions may have other shapes such as square or rectangular or of some esthetically pleasing shape . furthermore , one region may be distributed evenly throughout the other , so that in what appears at first to be a single region , some light emitting diodes belong to the first region , while others , interspersed between the light emitting diodes of the first region make up the second region . the first or red light region 318 includes red light emitting diodes ( see fig4 ) or lamps . alternatively , a conventional lamp and red filter arrangement may be used . the yellow light region 326 includes yellow light emitting diodes ( see fig4 ) or lamps . alternatively , a conventional lamp and yellow filter arrangement may be used . preferably , the red light region 318 conforms to statutes and regulations with regard to break light output intensity , visibility , beam pattern and other pertinent parameters . in this regard , the second or yellow light region 326 is optional equipment whose operation is unrestricted by statue or regulation . in operation , the red light region 318 is operated as a conventional brake light . the red light region 318 is simply lit during any braking event i . e . ; whenever the vehicle brake actuator is actuated . in contrast , the yellow light region 326 is operated according to the method of limited modulation described in reference to fig1 . assuming that the lockout period has expired when the vehicle brake actuator is actuated , the yellow light region 326 is flashed or modulated between two or more levels of light intensity for a predetermined period of time after the initial application of the brakes . for example , the second region is flashed for about 5 seconds . after this modulation interval has expired , the second or yellow light region 326 is maintained at a constant brightness . if at any time the brake actuator is released or returned to a released brake position both the red and yellow light regions 318 , 326 are extinguished . during subsequent brake application , the operation of the yellow light region depends on whether or not a lockout time has expired since the end of a previous brake application . if the lockout time has not expired , the second or yellow light region 326 is operated to produce a constant light intensity . if the lockout interval has expired , the yellow light region 326 is flashed as described above . referring to fig4 , a controller 410 operative to control the trailer - mounted brake light 310 includes a voltage sensor 418 , a lockout timer 422 , a pulse width modulator 426 , a modulation interval timer 430 and a control element 434 . the voltage sensor 418 can take the form of an appropriately designed controller power supply or can be a circuit dedicated to sensing the state of a brake actuator switch signal line 438 . for example , a voltage on a conventional brake actuator switch signal line 438 is compared to a voltage of a common 442 or ground line or vehicle chassis . the sensed state of the brake actuator switch signal line 438 is reported to the lockout timer 422 and the modulation interval timer 426 . the brake actuator switch signal line 438 can have one of two states . the brake actuator switch signal line 438 can be high to report that the brake actuator is in a brakes applied position or the brake actuator switch signal line 438 can be low to report that the brake actuator is in a brakes unapplied position . the lockout timer 422 begins to run if the state of the brake actuator signal line 438 changes from a brakes applied ( high ) state , to a brakes unapplied ( low ) state . the modulation interval timer begins to run whenever the voltage sensor 418 reports that the brake actuator switch signal line 438 changes from a brake actuator unapplied state to a brake applied state . the pulse width modulator 426 receives control signals from the lockout timer 422 and the modulation interval timer 430 . the control signal from the lockout timer 422 can have one of two states . the two states are a lockout state and an enable state . the control signal from the modulation timer 430 can also have one of two states . the two states are a modulate state and a constant brightness state . the signal from the lockout timer 422 is in the lockout state while the lockout timer is running , or when the lockout time has not expired . when the lockout time has expired , the signal from the lockout timer is changed to , and maintained in , the enable state . the control signal from the modulation timer 430 is in the modulate state while the modulation interval timer is running . when the modulation time has expired the control signal from the modulation timer 430 is changed and maintained in the constant brightness state . when the signal from the lockout timer 422 is in the enable state and the signal from the modulation interval timer 430 is in the modulate state , the pulse width modulator produces a pulse width modulated control signal for driving the control element 434 . the pulsing control signal causes the control element 434 to vary an average amount of current able to flow through the control element 434 . for example when the pulse width modulated control signal is at a high level a maximum current may flow through the control element . when the pulsing control signal is at a low level , only a minimum amount of current may flow through the control element 434 . for instance , when a pulse width of the pulse width modulated control signal is relatively wide , a relatively large average current is allowed to flow through the control element . when the pulse width of the pulse width modulated control signal is relatively narrow , a relatively small average current is allowed to flow through the control element 434 . a first set of light emitting diodes 446 or other light sources , such as , for example , yellow light emitting diodes mounted in the yellow light region 326 of the trailer - mounted brake light 310 is connected at a first end to the brake actuator signal line 438 and at a second end to an input side of the control element 434 . the output side of the control element is connected to common 442 . an amount of current flowing through the first light emitting diodes 446 is thereby made equal to the amount of current flowing through the input ant output terminals of the control element 434 . when a relatively large average current is flowing through the control element 434 , the same relatively large average current is flowing through the first set of light emitting diodes 446 and the first set of light emitting diodes 446 produce a relatively bright light . when a relatively small average current is flowing through the control element 434 , the same relatively small average current is flowing through the first set of light emitting diodes 446 , and the first set of light emitting diodes 446 produce a relatively dim beam of light . therefore , as pulse width modulator 426 modulates the average current through the control element 434 the average current through the first set of light emitting diodes 446 is also modulated , thereby modulating the amount of light produced by the first set of light emitting diodes 446 . if the control signal from the lockout timer 422 is in the lockout state , then the signal from the pulse width modulator is set at a constant level . preferably , the signal from the pulse width modulator is set to allow a maximum amount of current to flow through the control element 434 and therefore a maximum amount of current is allowed to flow through the first set of light emitting diodes 446 . similarly , if the control signal from the modulation interval timer 430 is in the constant brightness state the signal from the pulse width modulator is set at a constant level . preferably , the signal from the pulse width modulator is set to allow a maximum amount of current to flow through the control element 434 and therefore a maximum amount of current is allowed to flow through the first set of light emitting diodes 446 . of course , current can only flow through the first set of light emitting diodes 446 if a voltage or signal level on the brake actuator signal line 438 is high enough to drive current through the light emitting diodes 446 and the control element 434 . therefore , the first set of light emitting diodes 446 can only be modulated or driven at a steady level when the brakes are applied and the brake actuator signal line 438 is at a high level . a second set of light emitting diodes 450 or other light source , such as the light emitting diodes of the red light region 318 of the trailer mounted brake light 310 are connected at a first end to the brake actuator signal line 438 and at a second end to a current limiting resister 454 . a second end of the current limiting resister 454 is connected to common 442 . therefore , whenever the brakes are applied and the brake actuator signal line 438 is at a high level , the second set of light emitting diodes 450 is driven at a steady current level and the second set of light emitting diodes 450 produces a steady level of light . the controller 410 can be implemented in a simple micro - controller . in that case , the various timers 422 , 430 , and the pulse width modulator 426 are implemented in software or hardware or some combination thereof . alternatively , the various components 422 , 430 , 426 of the controller 410 can be implemented with counters and logic gates , such as for example the well known mc14060 14 - bit binary counter and oscillator , and various logic gates such as common nand and nor gates . the control element can be a transistor , such as for example a mosfet or bjt type transistor . of course , the control element is preferably selected for an appropriate voltage and current handling ability . while the first and second sets of light emitting diodes 446 , 450 have been illustrated as a single series connected string , other arrangements are possible . for example , additional strings of light emitting diodes can be connected in parallel to the shown sets . in that case in may be necessary to increase the current carrying capability of the control element 434 and / or the current limiting resistor 454 . the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of this specification . it is our intention to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof .	1

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